Pokettohiro (Switch)
Pokettohiro is one of many newer games released for older hardware as a novelty, its name even coming from the developer’s desire for it to be played on the handheld Game Boy Color. A physical release for the system is a nice touch for enthusiasts, but thankfully this deliberately retro platforming adventure also made the wise decision to come to more modern and accessible gaming systems. In a rather interesting touch though, Pokettohiro does not run natively on the Switch, Steam, or other platforms, instead making use of an emulator similar to what Shinyuden used for porting the Game Gear title Griffin to modern systems. With additional features like rewinding, save states, cheat codes, achievements, and a gallery of production materials to peruse, Pokettohiro actually ends up imitating retro games even more as it now also mirrors the way many people will play games from the era its evoking in the modern day.
Taking place in a magical land, Pokettohiro tells a pretty typical tale of adventure. The Black Knight has seized control of the Magical Crystal that protects the realm, harnessing its power while scattering its tens of pieces so no other can bear its might against them. You are a nameless Hero who never speaks a word during the adventure, although the Black Knight does at least have a few interesting things to say tied to your knightly warrior. The main Hero is just one of six you will be playing as during your quest, this action side-scroller having you gain new powers not by finding gear or upgrading the Hero, but instead having someone new join the team. Be it the Archer with her long range attack, the Birdman with his power of flight, or the Mage whose magic can transform suspicious objects into something helpful, your teammates each bring a new ability to the adventure, the places you explore often containing little bonuses for returning later with an appropriate character while new dungeons and regions often aim to test the powers of your most recent acquisition.
While each of the characters have a special ability, for the most part, progressing often involves relying on the newest member with little reason to return to an old face. There really is nothing the main Hero can do that necessitates switching back to him after you get the Archer, and a character like the Ninja with his high leap is outclassed entirely by the Birdman’s flight. The final character even feels inferior to the Birdman and ends up mostly useful for when their unique power is relevant, the party of heroes feeling less like a toolkit you swap between to suit a range of situations and more like a gradual series of upgrades that maybe requires you to regress for a room or two when their distinct ability becomes briefly useful. With the player needing to pause and select their hero each time they want to swap, it is perhaps for the best it’s not something done too often since the action would stop and start frequently if that was the case. Perhaps devoting a button to quick swaps could have allowed for more flexibility had that instead been the game’s intended angle.
Birdman’s superior abilities do come a bit late into the adventure and speed up things like looking for secrets you passed or getting around familiar environments, Pokettohiro’s adventure having you return to areas with some regularity to take new branches once you have the right powers. Passing through a scorching desert, the volcanic mountains, and even diving beneath the sea, your journey will take you to areas that are memorable enough in their shape so you can recall where you spotted a secret area you couldn’t access yet and their relatively small size before you reach the area dungeon also means backtracking isn’t usually too much of a chore. Instead, you can enjoy the enemies unique to the area as you seek out the Magic Crystal shards or optional collectibles like pages for the monster display at the museum or music for its jukebox. Magic Crystals are important for progress, some doors only opening when you have enough of them, but the degree to which they are hidden varies. Some will float out in the open or serve as the prize for some platforming, others require the Mage’s power to reveal, and many of the game’s shops contain one for sale, the coins that pop out of defeated enemies put to use mostly for buying such collectables.
Most regular baddies will fold to a single hit from whatever attack your current character utilizes and it can be easy to take some time to build up coins or recover health from their drops, the coins and hearts even automatically collected in a nice touch. You only have three hearts even during boss battles though, and while save areas are placed about well with consideration for your vulnerability, you can feel the squeeze of being close to death fairly often. While many enemies do mostly just hop or walk in place and make for easy killing, there are every now and then more dangerous monsters like stinger firing bees or lightning spewing clouds that can be a bit tougher to approach. Bosses are often large foes that look fairly good considering the hardware limits of the Game Boy Color release. Most things like the heroes and enemies are squat and cute, but big boss monsters can be more complex including a fairly accurate to life Moray Eel face. Most bosses have one or two tricks that maybe get a little tougher as you wear them down, some feeling like they fold easily as a result while others will keep you scrambling the whole fight as the boss attack’s dominate an arena. They do serve as good climaxes to the dungeons where you get your new party members, a nice barrier pre-empting the excitement of having someone new join the team.
Ultimately though, Pokettohiro does feel rather simple overall. Roadbumps don’t last long, most dangers are handle with a quick attack, and area navigation mostly relying on just fighting your way forward does make the game feel a little lean at parts. There aren’t really many navigational puzzles and bosses are the only foes that will really give you action that lasts more than a flash, with the side quests even rather minimal in nature. A father has seven missing children and it is fun to encounter one and learn how strange the kids can be, but otherwise characters you meet are fairly simple and will likely just have one request that’s more about finding a useful item somewhere than doing anything particularly special. While it takes some clear inspiration from old adventures like Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, it feels like it’s missing a truly defining angle, a unique element that would make it more than a tribute to the past.
THE VERDICT: Pokettohiro is a cute retro journey where you gradually expand your band of heroes to suit new situations, although many of them do feel like they’re either meant for only very quick and specific interactions or end up outclassed by the next new member. The world places a good deal of monsters to block your crystal collecting quest and there is some excitement to be found in uncovering the secrets you sometimes have to ignore until you’ve acquired a different party member, but save for some of the more dangerous boss fights, Pokettohiro can feel like it’s keeping things a touch too simple. The sense of discovery and decent but quick action make the necessary backtracking more manageable at least, and while no part of it excels, it does at least tap into the basic fun of the kind of world saving retro games it’s paying tribute to.
And so, I give Pokettohiro for Nintendo Switch…
An OKAY rating. While sometimes new heroes feel more like they’re just there to remove very plain but specific barriers, the game scattering around many areas where you see side paths and secrets that require them before you have the relevant hero does lead to Pokettohiro having a bit more going on then quickly carving your way through the latest area in search of crystals. That eye for something that may be useful later or that one of your characters can potentially interact with now adds little moments of interest to the game’s compact areas. Trying to always keep on watch for potential extras gives this often simple platforming adventure an extra layer that keeps it from feeling too basic, although just because it’s not always challenging doesn’t mean it won’t whip out the occasional surprise. Flying as Birdman can open up a lot of the game, but in his specific region he’s got the toughest movement demands to avoid hitting aerial threats. The volcanic region features instant death lava so you need to handle the skeletons and tortoises guarding ledges with more care than a regular foe so they don’t knock you into your doom. Besides little things like the character swapping being a touch slow and some mostly harmless graphical glitches that likely come from it emulating Game Boy Color hardware perhaps too accurately, there aren’t very many issues with what is present. Rather, the game’s quality feels more like it’s determined by it not going further with its ideas or looking to really make the most of its little band of heroes. Perhaps Birdman is too useful for his own good, but he also makes a late game secret sweep more manageable in an adventure with no fast travel options so he’s not truly the issue. More chances to potentially solve puzzles or face foes that encourage swapping your characters could be interesting, but with many enemies also being so swiftly eliminated by a single attack, perhaps some occasional tougher foes that put up a fight or require a unique approach could have enhanced even the current flow of having little reason to revisit old characters after their designated chunk of the adventure concludes.
While Pokettohiro potentially kept its heroes and world a bit generic intentionally to feel like it embodies a specific type of old platforming adventure rather than setting out to build its own identity, it can’t quite measure up to those games since those inspirations were trying to be unique and distinct. You’ll get some of the same thrills with very little frills you might get from a game made in the 80s or 90s, and releasing on modern consoles instead of just the classic Game Boy Color means it’s much easier to acquire Pokettohiro and tap into the nostalgic style it offers. It can’t beat the classics, but if you want a game in the same mold as them when there aren’t too many other titles of this specific type coming out still, Pokettohiro can give you something that’s new but feels old in a good way.