Mighty Goose (NS)

by
Evan Norris
, posted 16 hours ago / 621 Views

Samus Aran better watch out. While she continues her sabbatical from video gaming, another intergalactic bounty hunter in orange armor has arrived on the scene: Mighty Goose, the eponymous hero of a new side-scrolling run-and-gun game in the style of Metal Slug and Contra. While Mighty Goose isn’t as remarkable as some of the giants of the genre, it’s still a solid, enjoyable shooting game with reliable action, diverse levels, several cool weapon and vehicle types, and vibrant pixel art. Only a short running time and some visibility problems hold it back. 

There’s a loose story in Mighty Goose, although it’s really just an excuse to get Goose and his sidekicks into a bunch of explosive situations on several planets. The Void King has raised an army of minions, monsters, and mechs to conquer the galaxy, and only the legendary Mighty Goose can stop him.

Anyone who’s played a Contra or Metal Slug title will recognize the tenets of Mighty Goose immediately. It’s a 2D side-scrolling run-and-gun game with some light platforming. Your main objective is to blast to smithereens anything that moves. That includes grenade-totting robots, spitting slugs, hard-shelled insects, skeletons, aether-manipulating beings, and several giant bosses. Across nine distinct levels you’ll face these enemies and others, as you inch closer to the domain of the Void King.

The levels in Mighty Goose are solid. First, they’re thematically and visually distinct. You’ll start in a Void prison, then land on the sandy planey Zandbak, then travel to the bug-infested caverns of Bugga’Veo, and so on. Second, they’re mechanically different from each other. Some feature the standard run-and-gun gauntlet, one asks Goose to leap across a moving convoy, and another starts with a horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up sequence. Others lean heavily on vehicles, like tanks, bikes, and a goose-themed mech with a giant blade.

Complementing these varied level designs is some solid gameplay. The 2D controls are tight, combat is crunchy, and the action has a rewarding sense of forward momentum — thanks in part to Goose’s rolling dodge move and the ability to fire downward to stay suspended in air. Gunplay is solid as well. Goose’s pea-shooter base gun won’t do much damage, but there are plenty of upgrades in the form of machine guns, rocket launchers, lightning guns, and one of the best video game shotguns you’ll ever use. 

Mighty Goose mixes up the traditional run-and-gun framework with a few twists of its own. Before each level you can visit the armory, in which you can elect several perk “chips” — e.g., “sprint boots” and “gun nut” — choose one of eight different secondary weapons and, best of all, elect a companion. These are relatively underpowered sidekicks who travel with you into battle. There’s Commander Vark, a pig engineer who drops machinegun ammo; Knabbo, a rabbit miner who uses a small energy pistol to attack enemies; and MetaWheel, a robot fitted with a powerful rocket launcher, to name a few. 

These companions are usually automated, but if you have a friend nearby you can activate two-player local co-op in the pause menu and let your buddy control Vark, Knabbo, etc. The second player in this equation won’t be as versatile or as powerful as Goose, but it’s a neat little bonus.

What’s not so nice is the game’s running time. Mighty Goose only lasts for about two hours before the credits roll. Now, to be fair, developer Blastmode doesn’t stop there. There’s a secondary, post-game campaign in a mirror universe. Basically it’s the same nine levels with ramped-up difficulty. It’s a fun take on a new game plus, and you’ll earn a very powerful chip for beating all 18 stages, yet the game could still use more content. You can replay levels for higher letter grades and work towards unlocking every last chip and companion, sure, but additional levels or modes would have been nice.

No matter its short duration, Mighty Goose looks great. The pixel art is vibrant and bold, and the character models have a substantial stoutness to them. Best of all are the special effects and explosions. There are times when the screen is literally filled with fireworks — with no noticeable slowdown, no less. On a visual level, it’s a treat. That said, it can also cause a lot of visibility problems on screen. Stray bullets and smaller enemies can and will be lost on screen, and it’s easy to absorb a hit or two in the chaos. This is a bit of a problem, especially in a genre where maintaining your health is so essential.

Regardless of some visibility issues, Mighty Goose is a solid take on the run-and-gun genre. Its levels are distinct, its controls responsive, its action smooth and exciting, and its loadout system interesting in its tactical applications. Plus there’s a nifty, if under-developed, co-op feature. The biggest problem is that there simply isn’t enough of it, due to a short running time. Let’s hope this is only the first of Goose’s intergalactic adventures. Someone has to keep Samus on her toes, after all.

This review is based on a digital copy of Mighty Goose for the NS, provided by the publisher.

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