Rise of Fox Hero

With a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, Fox Hero looks like he’s about to go on a fantasy adventure inspired by The Legend of Zelda. But hang on a second, because with floating platforms and enemies consisting of spiky-shelled turtles and fireball-spitting piranha plants, you might be tempted to say that Rise of Fox Hero was inspired more by Super Mario Bros. Could this be the game that finally brings Mario and Link together in the retro-fueled mash-up we’ve all been waiting for? Don’t get too excited, because I just played through Rise of Fox Hero, and it's not good. Here’s my review.

I know what you’re about to ask: Who is this Fox Hero? Unfortunately, I don’t know. He appears to be a cartoon fox wearing a suit of armor and wielding a sword and shield combo. There’s no set-up or story explaining his origins, and even after playing through all 32 stages, I’m still not sure what he was rising up against. Hell, I’m not even sure if his name is Fox Hero or if he’s just a hero who happens to be a fox. I mean, it’s not called Rise of a Fox Hero, so I guess that’s his name. I really don’t know.

What I do know is that Rise of Fox Hero is a colorful platformer that reminds me a lot of Super Mario 3D Land. You run and jump around a bunch of simple, linear stages that are full of disappearing platforms, rotating spike traps, bouncy pads and all of the typical 3D platforming obstacles. Hell, it even has those platforms that change position every time you jump, just like in Super Mario 3D Land. Just about the only thing missing is the gimmicky 3D effect ... and the fun multiplayer, a cast full of recognizable characters, well-constructed level designs, power-ups and a story.

That’s not to say that Rise of Fox Hero is devoid of original ideas, because it does bring swordplay and puzzles to the table. There are times when you’ll get a hint of that Legend of Zelda influence, such as when you’ll need to solve a brain-teaser in order to unlock one of the four gold coins hidden in each of the 32 stages. While not a huge part of this game, there are enough different types of puzzles to keep the player guessing right up to the end.

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When you have a hero who is a sword-wielding fox, you might expect some cool moves, fancy abilities and maybe even a combo system. Sadly, Rise of Fox Hero doesn’t have any of that. We’re able to run, jump and slash our sword. That’s it. You can’t roll out of the way, charge up your attack, chain together combos, rush the enemies or anything that would be fun or interesting. I mean, you can’t even use the shield. It’s just for decoration.

This speaks to the game’s bigger problem – it doesn’t bother to do any world building. It’s one thing to not give us a story or a proper introduction to the foxy hero, but this game never makes the effort to get you invested in the world or characters. There are four chapters to play through, yet there are no themes to the levels. Each chapter is just a grab bag of different locations, bouncing between the tropical heat and icy cold so quickly that I’m surprised Fox Hero wasn’t constantly getting whiplash. If you’re not going to add a story or create a shared theme that runs through the levels, then why bother splitting the game up into chapters to begin with?

I suspect I know the answer to that question, and it’s to facilitate a needlessly repetitive boss fight. These one-on-one battles feel completely disconnected from the rest of the game and add very little to the adventure. In fact, I would argue that they only help to highlight the shallow gameplay. If ever there was a time to introduce a side-step, double jump or roll maneuver, this would be that time. But the game never does that, and the boss battles devolve into little more than button mashing affairs.

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I suppose I could bring up that there are apples to collect in every level, and if you want to find all of those hidden coins I talked about earlier, you’re going to need to go out of your way. A lot of these collectibles will require overcoming a tricky platforming section, a challenge that ramps up in a hurry as you near the end of the game. The problem is that there’s no incentive to get these apples and coins. It would be one thing if you used them to unlock new powers or costumes or really anything, but there’s nothing like that in this game. It’s just a lot of busywork.

What’s disappointing about Rise of Fox Hero is that it’s not a bad game, at least on paper. It controls well, the level designs are well-crafted, the different locations are colorful and Fox Hero has the potential to be a cool character. Had the developer given the game more personality and added some depth to the gameplay, I would be having a much more positive reaction. This feels like the first pass at making a 3D platformer; that moment right before the developer adds cool items, abilities and a whimsical story. As it is, Rise of Fox Hero is yet another generic platformer that I simply cannot recommend.