Review #056: Aqua Kitty UDX (Nintendo Switch)
Updated: Oct 8, 2019
Reviewer: Allan J.
Developer: TIKIPOD LTD.
Publisher: TIKIPOD LTD.
Category: Action, Shooter
Release Date: 2.15.2018
Download Aqua Kitty UDX from the Nintendo eShop here.
It’s Okay Because I Like the Abuse
I’m not sure that I can speak for everyone here, but I have certain genres of gaming that I love, but absolutely suck at. The shoot ‘em ups is one of those genres for me. From way back to the first schmups I played: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back on Atari 2600, Galaga on the NES, to modern shooters like The Bug Butcher—which I also recently reviewed here—I have always been a glutton for punishment with these games. Many of them I have never beaten, let alone even gotten to the final stage, but I still thoroughly love giving it my all—even if I know that I will probably spend most of my time playing through the first level over and over again. Aqua Kitty UDX is certainly no exception to this notoriously difficult genre, but it is at least somewhat forgiving. I was also able to make it several levels past level one without cursing the developers’ names, which is an achievement—or “cat-chievement”—all its own!
The Milk Must Flow!
Aqua Kitty UDX reminds me of a much fancier version of a game I mentioned previously, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back on Atari 2600. The game's main mechanics require that you move left or right through a Pac-Man-esque looped world, where if you just go far enough in the same direction, and you end up back where you started.
Basically, you pilot a submarine at a milk-mining site—your kitty-people have discovered an underwater source of unrefined, full-fat milk, which they desperately need… obviously—and try to keep hostile jelly fish, mechanized robot-fish, and the like, from cat-napping your kitty miners and destroying your mining operation. Aqua Kitty UDX uses the standard control formula for the most part, where you have your fire buttons and you control the direction of your sub with the D-pad, but also allows you to change the direction you are facing by tapping the L or R buttons. Each stage adds a new feature, whether a new enemy type, a new power-up to try out, or just more bosses to keep track of. The difficulty is there for sure—I still have not beaten this game—but it is not an impossible W to obtain. The controls are certainly responsive enough to allow for some pretty impressive weaving in-between enemy fire.
Audio/Visuals
Visually, this is a very bright, bubbly, retro-style piece, with beautiful pixelated goodness. The music is equally bright and bubbly, and pairs perfectly with the action. There was always something going on somewhere, and generally there were a lot of enemies on screen at any given time. This did not look cluttered at all, and it was always easy to keep track of yourself on-screen among the chaos.
Wrapping Up
While I am still working on beating this one—and honestly, that could take ages—this is still a very fun, cute little shooter with a lot of depth and well-thought-out design. If you are a fan of the shoot ‘em up genre—whether for the fun or just to enjoy some punishment—I would recommend picking up Aqua Kitty UDX for the Switch. Even if you are not a fan of the genre, you may still like this one. There’s cute kitty noises too, if that does it for you. It definitely didn’t hurt for me.
Final Score: 8/10
Download Aqua Kitty UDX from the Nintendo eShop here.
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*Review Code Provided by TIKIPOD LTD.