Game #1013: Punky Skunk

  It doesn't stink!

 Punky Skunk is an interesting case, it's a fully 2-D platformer that was originally conceived for the SNES, but after they finished it... they decided to remake it from scratch on the PS1. That's why, for all intents and purposes, this feels like a proper SNES platformer, albeit with more colorful graphics, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 Punky has a very basic moveset, a jump, do be careful as you can't defeat enemies this way, as well as, umm... a short-range stinky spray as his basic attack, he is a skunk after all! This game's gimmick are costumes, as in every stage Punk can find a costume that gives him an alternate moveset: Parachute, to glide around, a Pogo Stick for higher jumps, as well as the ability to smash on enemies, a Snowboard to slide around, Roller Skates which work as a more manageable snowboard and, lastly, Digging claws. You can take off your costume at any moment by pressing Circle, and sometimes you'll need to since you lose the Spray attack while wearing a costume. A few of the final stages will feature two costumes, but you can only have one to swap with at any time.

 Y'know, the game is fairly simple, but it works well. Stages are fairly small, but there's an incentive to explore: Extra hitpoints. Hidden throughout most levels are Candle enemies. Defeating them allows you to try a minigame, beat the minigame and you get a hitpoint-piece, collect four and you'll get a permanent extra hit point! Some mini-games are a bit annoying, like the Reels, but it's not too bad.

 Something I didn't like too much were the boss battles, as they are usually mini-game-ish. At best they are, well, dull, and at worst they are annoying. The Volleyball boss is particularly wonky, I looked up online what I was doing wrong, but once I figured out that pressing square as soon as the ball touched Punky's hair spikes it became a piece of cake. That said, the final boss was the best fight in the entire game, thankfully.

 Another thing I didn't like was the final stage, it's a maze, and until you figure it out you'll be going around in loops. Not fun. A few levels were a bit poorly designed, usually the ones in which you are supposed to use the snowboard or the skates and need to react to a pit in seconds flat. The game is fairly generous with lives, however, so I was never close to a game over.

 It's not perfect, far from it, but I enjoyed my time with Punky Skunk, and I sort of find it neat to have a SNES-style platformer on the system. It could've used some more polish in the gameplay department, but, y'know, it's serviceable.

 6.5