Ah, another Umihara Kawase fangame I didn’t know about! Sweet!

Much like Ganbare Natsuki-san, this is a Japanese doujin tribute to the UK series. Unfortunately it follows more traditional doujin distribution channels, via CD-ROM sales, so it’s a little harder to get ahold of. But it’s a very pleasing recreation of the UK formula. Oh, and since the creator is a fan, it also skins the game with characters from the Kemono Friends animal-girl media property. Why not??

It seems to follow in the footsteps of the Shun instalment specifically, with its art style of digitised photo backgrounds, 3D level geometry, and drawn character sprites. There are no enemies or moving platforms, but there is the occasional appearance of another Kemono Friend to interact with; for example, a jumping cat character you can grapple onto that will drag you along. The wire is long, and the controls feel very good; perhaps my skills have also improved after playing all the games, but I found getting around these levels to be within my ability… to a point.

The structure is that of the first two UK games: get through a stage by hooking and swinging from the abstract landscape, with different doors taking you on different routes. There’s a complex map I’m sure, but thankfully no lives system so you can keep on retrying. Normal doors (tyres in this case) are blue, alternate exits are red, so it’s easier to track your route. These routes always end with a final level where you’re required to get the extra collectible: some kind of creature from Kemono Friends instead of the backpack from UK.

What’s nice though is that levels are broken up into categories, which makes runs much more manageable (there’s also the stage replay function for any levels you’ve reached). There’s the tutorial set, normal, and difficult, then the 1.2 update added another “normal” set and a set to train you on advanced techniques. I played almost all the normal levels, but couldn’t clear even the first hard one to see any more.

Which is fine. These kinds of fangames tend to assume you’re familiar with their inspiration and build from there, but I was pleased that so much of the game was within my grasp since I could only ever do about half the levels in the classic games. And as with those games, the skill ceiling is high; the trailer itself should show you that flashy movement is very possible. Not for me though!