Goemon is a long-running franchise that seemed destined to fade into the background. A consistently charming and enjoyable series of adventure games, it hasn't seen a new entry since 2005. What does that have to do with Bakeru? Well, Bakeru is effectively the Bloodstained to Goemon's Castlevania — including members of the original development team. The charming Goemon has been replaced by a new hero, the young tanuki Bakeru, but otherwise, there's a lot of similar DNA throughout the two games. This modern revival stands up shockingly well.

Bakeru is a rather lazy tanuki who lives with his grandfather. One day, he saves a young sprite from the evil Festival Troops. These baddies, led by the Oracle Saitaro, want to use the power of festivals to take over the country of Japan. With some urging from his grandpa, Bakeru sets out to save Japan from the dangers of unchecked partying.

The core gameplay in Bakeru is wonderfully straightforward. It's a 3D platformer/collect-a-thon in a classic old-school style. Each stage puts players in control of Bakeru, as he must explore the level and find three Demon Lamps to break. Sometimes, you'll run into boss fights or gimmick stages, but most of the game boils down to that simple but accessible idea.

Bakeru has a pleasantly large number of skills. His basic combat revolves around his two drumsticks, which he can use to beat on enemies like a drum. One is bound to each of the shoulder buttons, and you can use them freely. Timing your attacks between the two sticks makes you attack a tad faster and allows you to quickly dart from between enemies while you quite literally drum your way across them. For bigger or stronger enemies, you can use special moves like charge attacks, spinning multi-hit blows, or ground pounds to deal additional damage.

In addition, Bakeru can use the tanuki's "henge" or transformation ability. As you progress through the game, you'll unlock various transformations. These transformations let you do things like shrink down to miniscule size (complete with a longer-distance flutter jump), armor up with samurai gear for hard-hitting attacks, or equip a pair of guns to shoot enemies from a distance. Bakeru can swap between these forms at will, but they drain the henge meter while active. Thankfully, the meter drains slowly and is easy to replenish, so it isn't particularly difficult to remain in the form you like much of the time.

These forms are also used to solve puzzles in the environment. Most puzzles are quite simplistic and clearly designed for young gamers, so they rarely amount to something more complex than figuring out where to smash something to unlock a path or realizing that a small hole can be used as a secret path if you shrink. Solving these puzzles can lead to lanterns or to various collectibles scattered throughout the environment.

Collectibles might actually interest the parents. While the game is kid-friendly, the collectibles feel designed for a young audience. A lot of them contain trivia and facts about the history of Japanese culture; gasp, this means they might even count as educational! As far as educational tidbits go, this seems to be a particularly well-crafted one. It isn't in your face, and receiving it as a reward for solving a puzzle seems like a much better way to assure that a younger player is invested in it.

There are a few other stages that tend to switch things up, such as shoot-'em-up auto-scrolling stages, waterski races and giant robot fights. None of these are particularly exceptional, but they add some variety to the gameplay and keep the (admittedly simplistic) mechanics from overstaying their welcome. The game is excellent at ensuring that each new level has something interesting, but I did wish some of them were slightly more fleshed out. The giant robot fights seemed like they could have used some more oomph.

However, it's impossible to escape the fact Bakeru is 100% a game for younger kids. It is a very easy game. You can technically die in it, but it's extremely difficult to do since the game throws a ton of health at you, enemies are not very aggressive, and you can purchase healing items if needed. It's still perfectly possible for the game to be a treat despite the low difficulty level, but if you're expecting something more akin to Mario instead of Kirby's Epic Yarn, you might be in for disappointment.

Thankfully, the vibes in Bakeru are immaculate. The environments are bright, colorful and full of detail. You might be going through a beach filled with ornate sandcastles in one level and a beautiful winter wonderland the next. I was never bored with the environments. The gameplay is largely smooth, but it does struggle to maintain a consistent frame rate during busy scenes. The music is nice not particularly memorable, and it contains a fairly standard set of Japanese-style tunes that fit the game well.

Bakeru is a cute, fun, instantly accessible game for kids of all ages — and maybe even some adults. It doesn't reinvent the genre, but it's a pleasantly comfortable platformer that provides the sort of pleasant experience you'd expect from a developer named Good-Feel. The only things potentially holding back the title are that it's a bit simple and basic for older gamers, and there's some occasionally poor performance. If you're a parent looking for a safe and comfy game for your kids, Bakeru is a great choice.

Score: 8.0/10