Had this 2D platformer launched in the ‘90s, it would likely be mentioned in the same sentence as Natsume’s Pocky & Rocky and Konami’s Goemon (aka The Legend of Mystical Ninja,) due to it featuring similar sights. This too uses ancient Japanese folklore as its central theme, set in a world full of yōkai of varying friendliness. It plays like neither of these SNES classics, however, being conceptually different from most 2D platformers out there.
While leaping through typical platforming stages, coins must be avoided rather than collected. The ultimate goal is to work your way towards a mountain, and defeat the demon astride it, with as few coins in your possession as possible – ideally less than twenty, which is one of the achievement goals.
This of course means you’re going to need to rewire your brain to leap over coins instead of gathering as many as possible. As somebody weaned on 2D platformers, this is trickier than it initially seemed. Especially when the number of coins carried can make the large, numbered, blocks that litter the levels disappear. Stages are wholly designed around this gimmick, placing coins precariously, or hiding collectables (cassette tapes and golden cat statues) behind blocks requiring either low coin amounts, or surprisingly high amounts.
After a brief intro and an equally brief promptness tutorial, our heroine Tamako – who finds herself trapped in the yōkai world – is free to explore a top-down overworld map. Red tori gates lead to new levels, mostly set across grasslands and stoney mountainous regions, usually with 2-3 different stages available at one time. The map also houses a bunch of secrets, including shops where any accidentally collected coins can be spent. Around halfway through a town becomes available too, filled with kooky characters that can be interacted with; a welcome respite from platforming.
Boss battles against demons feature periodically, and in the absence of Tamako having an attack, they mostly involve overcoming the odds using the environment. The majority are memorable, with one scrolling vertically, and another involving giving a pungent giant a foot bath. Careful not to be squished! One boss did however exit stage right only to never appear again, prompting a restart after some head scratching. A couple of similar glitches crept in, which prevents Rising Dusk from being described as polished. The pixel art is pleasingly detailed though, with some neat environmental effects, and both music and incidental sound effects suit the experience perfectly – with one BGM track even having sampled speech.
It’s both the level design and the variety of stages themselves where Rising Dusk excels. The numbered block mechanic is implemented well, with the number of coins carried sometimes making your life easier, or much harder. One stage has platforms made from wooden numbered boxes, and the amount of coins carried can make these platforms topple over if you aren’t careful, with said boxes vanishing from under your feet. Two auto-scrolling stages also involve following a paper lantern through a cave, while another uses silhouettes and a few devious tricks. Occasionally tanukis will appear within some areas, stealing your coins – a playful idea to reduce your count to the amount required to progress.
None of Tamako’s path-patrolling adversaries can be defeated outright. Some knock Tamako back, often into coin stashes, while others (kappas, specifically) can move stone blocks around to your advantage. I wasn’t able to beat a single stage on a first attempt, with most requiring a couple of retries – making for a fair difficulty level. It has decent replay value as well. It’s unlikely you’ll find all hidden collectables within a stage on the first try, and unlike a lot of similar games, it doesn’t dish out achievements easily either – you’ll have to put the effort in to unlock the majority.
I was able to see the ending credits after around 3 hours of play, which was a little sooner than expected. One minute you’re making your way through forests, the next you’re at the final bosses’ door (well, Tori Gate) with little in the way of a dramatic build up. More detrimental to the experience is the unwillingness to commit to making players collect as few coins as possible. This didn’t appear to hold much consequence. Moreover, we’re informed early on that Tamako needs to collect demon bones, one of which is available in a hidden shop for a lofty 500 coins. And there I was, with fewer than fifty to my name. This, too, led to some head scratching.
Despite the irregularities, I still enjoyed my (all too fleeting) time with Rising Dusk, dipping in and out over a few evenings. The controls are responsive, the ancient Japan setting is appealing, and progression is relatively easy going. A couple of gags even managed to prompt a chuckle. Developer Studio Stobie may have been able to learn a trick or two from the classics of yore, especially when it comes to pacing, but at least we can say Rising Dusk has a lot of ideas to call its own.
Studio Stobie’s Rising Dusk is out Dec 14th on consoles. Published by Shinyden. It first launched on PC in 2018.