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The mech also doesn’t handle water well (like most cats) but unlike my cats, Kiki is happy to be around water. Gato can also play on this in interesting ways. Kiki can hop out of the mech suit the majority of the time, allowing Kiki to access areas that are too small for a lumbering mech to fit through. But there are some cool bits that deviate from that formula. I would be lying if I didn’t say the game follows the Metroid formula pretty close, hell I’ve even mentioned it several times already. But It adds enough to make it something more. In a way, the scale of the world/facility and how it manages to condense the essence of a game like Metroid, it is almost a ‘Mini Metroid’. This helps keep everything moving, and you will find signs or have Gary contact you to show you’re going in the right direction.
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It does have a similar setup, while still being a more streamlined version. In Gato, it is tighter and straight forward. You work out where you need to go as you obtain items and weapons that open new paths. In similar games, the exploration is on a bigger scale and more open-ended. If you’ve played Metroid, Castlevania or any number or similar games then you’ve played Gato Roboto, a side-scrolling platformer and shooter with a touch of exploration. It’s obvious where it’s going, but it’s entertaining enough to get there I didn’t expect it, but there is a story throughout told through old computer logs or Gary talking to you, the cat who cannot talk. After some exploration through the seemingly abandoned research station, you’ll be firing missiles, spin jumping and dashing all over the place in no time. She starts off with a more basic mech, only able to jump and shoot the basic cannon. Kiki is a fragile cat, so it’s fortunate there’s a Mech suit that happens to fit in a cat, allowing Kiki to be a force to be reckoned with. After a cat-related crash landing, Gary is unable to leave the ship and it’s up to Kiki to explore the planet/facility to help/get help. Space patrolman Gary and his cat Kiki have gone to respond to a distress beacon. Instead of a bounty hunter named Samus stuffed into special armour, it’s a cat called Kiki. It’s rare that I could solely mention Metroid as being a direct inspiration for a game. Metroidvania is such a frequently used term, I myself have been unashamedly guilty of this.
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