Battle Kid 2 – Reaching The Summit of the Mountain of Torment

It’s probably not much of a secret that my favourite console has remained the Nintendo Entertainment System since time immemorial. The aural and visual aesthetic, the closeness to ‘pure’ concepts and execution. This is why it’s a joy to collect and play NES games I have never played before. But it’s rare that I can open up a brand new game for the console.

Most recently this thirst was slaked by the 2012 release, Battle Kid 2. I was lucky enough to grab a copy of the first release of this game in December and I’ve played a whole bunch of it since. It’s the kind of game that makes you feel like a kid again, bringing out that enthusiasm to see what’s next. To press on and on. To see what’s changed, what’s new, and just what’s through that ominous door.

Battle Kid is a homebrew NES game series created by Sivak Games and released on actual hardware through The Retro Zone. They are challenging new releases for an old console that invoke a strange melange of both nostalgia and something fresh. Although Battle Kid as a series is inspired by classic games and I Wanna Be The Guy, it is not derived from them and that’s important. It is its own individual identity.

Battle Kid 2 also maintains its own identity and is a separate experience from the first game. It’s a smart sequel – although the core mechanics are very similar and the progression through the game is quite similar to the first it makes enough changes that the games can stand alone. This is accomplished through new environmental hazards, new enemies, and new gameplay mechanics. Some items from Battle Kid, particularly the high jump and infinite breathing underwater, are part of your skill set from the beginning. The Wall-Grip is a new power-up which allows you to climb special walls. Once you have this ability you will use it extensively throughout the rest of the game. It’s not just a gimmick, either, it works well and fits smoothly with the rest of the game. Another new element is sludge, which limits your movement and requires a special item to move through at a normal aquatic pace.

It’s also a much larger game. The main game of Battle Kid 2 is hundreds of rooms long. It’s an interconnecting Metroid style map that opens up more and more as you gain items. It’s a very similar progression to Metroid or the original Legend of Zelda in that items carry you forward in the game by allowing you to breach new areas. In Battle Kid 2, they don’t break the game either. You have a fancy new double jump and can get through old areas with no problem now? Well, don’t look now but these new areas
Are going to require you to mix this double jump with your other items and understand the limits of your new power if you hope to succeed. This makes entering a fresh area all the more exciting – just how is the game going to get the most out of your new item?

Which leads us to the difficulty factor. Now, the Battle Kid series is known for being difficult, and I would even hazard to say Battle Kid 2 is a little harder than Battle Kid 1. But it’s not a silly hard. It’s not like a game where the difficulty is a “gotcha” factor, everything works and if you die it’s usually your own error. I would liken the average room as being close to The Adventures of Lolo/Eggerland. Now, I know they are completely different kinds of games. But the spirit is the same – you enter a room, identify the elements and how they work together and against you, then once you solve the room once it sticks with you and becomes much easier upon repetition. It lives up to the same spirit of discovery, precision, and execution as Lolo. Although Battle Kid 2 requires a lot of dexterity, it’s the same flavour of challenge. It’s a better “hard” than the kind found in places like Ninja Gaiden’s enemy spawn rate. Even though Battle Kid 2 is tough, everything makes sense and it‘s clear Sivak designed everything to do just that. It makes it less of a struggle and more of a joy.

Battle Kid 2 is a one hit and you Game Over style of game. On Easy Mode, you can take three hits. It requires precise, quick movements. Save points always have a number of dangerous rooms between them – you can’t just instantly pay the same room again and again until you fluke it. If this sounds like fun – then you’re right. It’s a whole lot of fun, and it drives you onwards. This is the kind of game you feel the need to beat.

Aesthetically, Battle Kid is a gorgeous game. Environments are generally more interesting with much more tile variance.  Bosses are just as imposing. It’s an impressive looking game with a terrific soundtrack. And moreover it’s clean. Every enemy and attack is very much visible against the backgrounds, and the audio cues of attacks or objects are rarely drowned out (only think of one room this happens). So aesthetics are actually super important in a game this challenging because if things are clear and crisp then deaths can’t be “cheap.”

You will really appreciate this if you take on any of the game’s many bosses. Bosses range from huge and imposing yet stationary to small, highly mobile, and just as imposing. I’ve always had a thing for boss monsters and Battle Kid 2 doesn’t disappoint. There’s everything from a deadly golem to a robotic lobster (aptly named Lobsterbot) – Sivak and crew had fun with this. This rogue’s gallery harkens back to the old NES games. Remember the bosses in the great game Clash at Demonhead or the wild Monster Party and how varied they were, for instance. The cohesive element was typically that the bosses would be fun to fight.  What matters in the boss design here is that they are cool and make sense in terms of gameplay. I’m very happy with the bosses in this game, and I truly enjoyed fighting every one of them.

If I have one complaint about the game is that there is sometimes too much backtracking through the same area. I don’t mind the backtracking all that much, but there is a section of the “Nexus of Caves” that you are required to backtrack through a number of times and especially towards the end of the game. Maybe one extra Teleporter could have alleviated this. But the area is easy, so this complaint is a very minimal one.

Battle Kid 2, like its predecessor is for a particular audience. I would say that audience is for anyone who grew up on NES action games – or yes certainly anyone who became a fan of these games anytime aftermarket. People say that Battle Kid 2 is like this or like that, but Battle Kid 2 is truly like one game – Battle Kid. And even then it does things differently. That said, could I see a Battle Kid 3? Certainly. As long as it can stay fresh, and doesn’t get series fatigue. I think a third would be a great way to cap off this whole saga…

If you are able to manage playing an NES Contra or Mega Man, or heck, even Mario then you are capable of beating Battle Kid 2. These are all dexterity based action romps on the NES and if you can play them then Battle Kid 2 should be possible. It’s challenging, yes, but so was Contra.

I will say that of course – Battle Kid 2 is not for everyone. It can be a frustrating game if you let it become frustrating. If you get frustrated by frequent deaths then Battle Kid 2 would be your anathema. The game is in really short supply, but if you’re curious there is a free demo that you can play.

Battle Kid 2 is big, beautiful, and at times brutal. It’s an obvious labour of love, tight and tooled for maximum enjoyment from its audience. It’s the kind of game where although you may Game Over, you just want to drive on to see the next boss or the next room. It’s a “one more try…” kind of game. It’s a “that one didn’t really count…” kind of game. If you let it grab a hold of you, it might not want to let go. So if you want to feel that grip, consider picking up a copy of Battle Kid 2!