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Simple can be good. Strip away all the bells and whistles, kill the need for lots of buttons, and refine the central gameplay down to the basics and amazing things can happen. Not that the marble-rolling genre has ever been the most complex group of games ever made, but Kororinpa: Marble Mania is even simpler and more devious than usual.
What makes Kororinpa shine so brightly is its control method, using the Wii remote's tilt functions almost exclusively. There's no jumping or camera control to worry about, or worse, lack of camera control when it's desperately needed. The entire game is designed around a camera that's bolted into place, keeping up with the marble at all times as it rolls through the maze, and set in an unchanging perspective that almost never needs adjustment.
Kororinpa is simply a fantastic game. It's a pure skill-oriented treat that anyone can enjoy, but takes amazing skill to master.
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Not having to deal with the camera is for the best, because there are other things to worry about. Each level is filled with orange crystals, and it's necessary to collect them all to open up the exit. Tilting the controller tilts the maze, and the remote is very sensitive. Just keeping the playfield level is a challenge at the start, and getting good enough to keep the marble rolling along a thin curved path will require a steady, sensitive hand.
That's for later, though, as the first several levels can be blown through in a matter of minutes. They're nice and flat, with walls surrounding the whole thing, and can be cleared in a few seconds with very little practice. It doesn't take long for that to come to a stop, though, as the levels grow twistier, the walls fall away, and rolling up ninety degree angles becomes normal. Kororinpa takes full advantage of 3D design, and its possible to turn the levels completely upside-down when necessary. While that doesn't happen very often, almost every one of the later levels requires a few ninety degree turns, and you never realize how difficult it is to rotate something on one axis and keep it perfectly level on the others until it's time to navigate a path with no walls that would seem wide as a freeway were it flat.
As nerve wracking as that can be, falling off the maze is almost penalty-free. While the earliest levels just have a beginning and end, once the difficulty starts ramping up then Kororinpa starts handing out the checkpoints. Activating them involves rolling over one after getting the right amount of orange crystals, but as long as you haven't missed any then the checkpoint is going to light up. With persistence and a rock-steady hand, anyone can get through Kororinpa. Going for the gold on each level, though, is going to take some serious practice.
That's because, while falling off is only a slight drawback in terms of distance, it's devastating when chasing a top time. The 5-10 seconds it takes to get back to the spot you fell might as well be a lifetime when aiming for a gold ranking. Even a silver rank can be tough to earn, although on most levels a second or third attempt will be enough practice to nail it. Every five gold-ranked levels, however, open up another one of the five evil, devious Space mazes.
In addition to the 45 regular levels and five bonus Space mazes, there are an additional 15 secret levels to earn. Opening up those, however, involves yet another challenge. Each of the regular levels has one green crystal in it, usually hidden in an out of the way spot, or just hovering in mid-air and requiring some very precise falling off of ledges to claim. The green crystals are in the level until claimed, then gone forever, and getting them all opens up most of Kororinpa's secrets. Extra levels, more music (including themes from Star Soldier and Milon's Secret Castle), and even extra balls with varying characteristics.
The easiest marbles to use are slow and unresponsive. They'll go in the direction you tilt and respond slowly to small errors, giving enough notice that it's easy to pull them back from the brink. They're cute, too, looking like a cat, dog, pig, frog, etc, and great for learning the hardest levels. They won't be earning any top times, though, and that's where the fast marbles come in. These zip along at high speed but don't give a whole lot of time to correct mistakes. An incredible level of precision is required to guide the faster marbles, but those with nerves of steel and a feather touch can use them to rack up some scary-fast times.
Kororinpa is simply a fantastic game. It's a pure skill-oriented treat that anyone can enjoy, but takes amazing skill to master. The clever use of 3D design the mazes makes them a blast to work through, and the only complaint I've got is that there aren't more of them. Anyone striving to just get to the game's end will find a fairly short challenge on their hands, but they'll also be missing the point. Practicing a level, working through the tricky parts, and pulling out a time that would seem impossible on the first go-round is incredibly satisfying. Kororinpa is fun, charming, accessible, and as challenging as you want to make it, and the sooner there's a sequel the happier I'll be.
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