#334 – KickMaster

Let your legs flail with reckless abandon!

PLAYERS: 1

PUBLISHER: Taito

DEVELOPER: Kid

GENRE: Action

RELEASE DATE: January 1992

If the shoe doesn’t fit… kick it off because you’re the KickMaster! Just don’t kick it into the shoe salesman’s face. You’re not an evil KickMaster, after all. There’s some story in KickMaster about saving the world from evil, rescuing the princess, and reclaiming your right to the throne. All well and good, but all that tiresome exposition gets in the way of what you really want to do: kick demons in the face over the course of eight back-breaking, potentially soul-corrupting levels. Seriously, these levels are hard. You better hope your foot lands square and true with each attack. Utilizing all of the unique lite-RPG elements are essential to winning in KickMaster. Every time you kill an enemy, it explodes with loot or EXP or health. The more you level up, the sweeter types of kicks you can do. The whole leveling-up system reminds me of Zelda II, without the needless grinding. Also, as you progress, you gain different types of magic, which you can switch between on the pause screen. You can summon lightning spirits to help you fight your battles (believe it or not, sometimes a simple boot to the jaw doesn’t always work), refill your health, give you a shield, and even fly. These simple additions add replay value to an otherwise solid, if not slightly generic platformer. In fact, I’m surprised KickMaster hasn’t gotten more cult love over the years. It’s definitely worthy of mindless fan adoration. Kick on, you crazy master!

B