it's such a cute game, I've been having so much fun with it!! fynn's gotta be one of my favorite player character designs I've ever seen in a game, as someone who's loved dragons their whole life!!
Just finished the game on switch. Love all the hidden tidbits. Hidden Signs, out of bounds locations, extra challenges, hidden dialogue when taking items to the other worlds. Thank you for this game.
I've got no game design experience to speak of but isn't it a compromise between full clipping and getting hung up on geometry? How could you really fix it?
Something worth noting about Castle on the Coast is that it was licensed by the Valley Children’s Hospital in California. George is actually the hospital's mascot. They went THAT HARD on *licensed kids game* That is awesome.
This on top of a portion of the game's proceeds goes directly to supporting the hospital & their patients. So it's absolutely worth putting forth the money if you'd like to contribute to a great cause!
Thanks for the recommendation on Corn Kidz, that game is a BLAST. It nails all the subtleties of N64 gamefeel that most of these indie throwbacks miss.
My brother was the solo game developer on Castle on the Coast - he did the graphics, level design, UI, everything except the music and voice acting. Huge project for one guy.
Give him a hug for me, the game is amazing. I loved the demo years ago, I pointed out how the jetpack was the most unique and fun aspect of it. Then I got totally delighted in the full game when not only was the jetpack kept, but also kind of expanded with the vehicles controls in one of the levels. I have 100%ed it once and might do it again, I always recommend it to people.
@@zeldagameryt4018to quote what Seve himself tells Alexis in the first 5 minutes of the game: "We're just developmentally crippled mutant goats, all the experts agree"
It's worth mentioning that Sony forced Analgesic to censor Sephonie on their platforms, as the PS4/5 release has no mention of Taiwan whatsoever, instead replacing it with "Atlantis". Which is incredibly awful for the part-Taiwanese developer, and also stupid, since Taiwan itself plays a very big part in the game. The Xbox and Switch versions are fortunately unaltered, as far as i'm aware.
I've been harping on this since I played it on PS5 back in August, so I'm glad to see someone beat me to the punch this time. Massively offensive change that neuters the game heavily. Is there confirmation that it was Sony policy? I was under the impression it was censored on all consoles, but maybe I'm mistaken.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the little touches James puts into these videos. Like when he talked about the controls of Corn Kids 64, he went to the effort of loading up and recording Mario 64, Banjo and DK 64 for comparison. Or how when he made the balloon comparison, he actually went to the trouble of blowing up a balloon to help with the metaphor. He didn't have to go to so much extra effort and I LOVE that he did.
I wholeheartedly thank you for introducing me to Cornkidz64. It almost feels like N64 Psychonauts to me, the gameplay is great, but the vibes to accompany it are also immaculate. Plus the whole 'traveling the world of someone's psyche\dreams' thing. Snarky kids, strange happenings, warped surroundings...
I'm sure you've heard of it, but Penny's Big Breakaway just came out and that's a platformer that heavily emphasizes advanced movement. I'd love to see a video for it in the future.
It’s nice to see that you guys are following James🙂Thanks to him I found Anodyne in the first place. I recently got Return to Dust and I hope this one is even better than the first game, but first I’m going to platinum Yakuza 7 so I can focus on RtD😬
Hey uhhh that shot where you have where you have Seve, Mario, Banjo & DK jump at the same time was phenomenally put together and I just want you to know that your editing and shot composition is truly inspiring
You covering Indie Platformers that I've never heard of (but I will play now) is my favorite genre of Nitro Rad videos. Please never stop making these bro!
5:16 "This dude nobody heard of" I mean, I know it was a long time ago but Lyle in Cube Sector was one of the OG indie metroidvanias before it was a big trend.
It absolutely is, but it's strangely niche nowadays? It's rare to find people that know about it if they weren't *there* when it was quite well-known... Which is a shame
I had thought the art style looked oddly familiar when I saw Corn Kidz 64 on 4chan... and then someone said "You haven't beaten Corn Kidz if you haven't beaten Lyle in Cube Sector" and it finally clicked.
Corn Kidz was one I was super interested from moment I saw the trailer but I still haven't gotten around to playing it. But James has introduced to a bunch of cool indies I never would have heard of otherwise. I'm playing Pseudoregalia right now even.
Corn Kidz 64 gave me a feeling I haven't had since I was a kid-the feeling of being excited to get home so I could play more of a game and feeling the dopamine hit of the music starting up as I finally sit down and boot it up. Legit made me feel like a kid again. Incredible game.
My favourite thing about Cavern of Dreams is the number of hidden easter eggs. Mild spoilers... By experimenting with a certain late game ability, you can go out-of-bounds and find all sorts of weird messages, items, and even puzzles. The amount of stuff that only exists to be found is incredible
I went ahead and talked about Castle on the Coast to my mother, I think my toddler brother would genuinely love it (and honestly I might be 20 but it looks like a game I'd enjoy so much too). I played Orbo's Odyssey and had a blast. I'm definitely gonna check out Corn Kidz 64 and Cavern of Dreams, they've been on my backlog for a while now. Thank you for all the great recs James!
My favorite thing about Nitro Rad is that any time I look up the games he showcases, especially on Steam, there's always an army of people shouting him out. I dunno I just think it's really cool that he always inspires people to try more platformers.
Bouncing off the Orbo's Odyssey control discussion, I think the Souls games using the shoulder buttons for combat inputs instead of the traditional face buttons so you always have full camera control without needing to claw grip was very smart design. And I was pleasantly surprised to see the new God Of War games copy that.
Reminder: Pro controllers with extra back buttons have existed since the 360 era. I can't imagine playing comfortably games like Titanfall or souls series with claw grip or constantly dropping thumb from camera stick.
I honestly hate that design and if the game has a proper lock on system then you dont even need the camera controls during combat anyways. or you can just do what devil may cry does and pull the camera back during combat so you can see everything around you. the combat controls being placed on the shoulder buttons just always feels bad too me and I hate it.
Looks like Corn Kidz 64 is going in my backlog. I did pick up Cavern of Dreams after I saw a prior review of it; it was a nice afternoon even if I did get lost a few times in the back half of the game. The game hit a nostalgic sweet spot for me despite me not growing up with an N64. (The closest I got was playing N64 at my day care)
Corn Kidz 64's dev is the guy behind Lyle in Cube Sector, an old ass indie game from the early 2000s. It's freakin dope, I loved discovering it and playing it, and also a few months later CK64 was announced! How awesome is that
You’ve talked about Corn Kidz 64 so much on the 1 dollar podcast, I couldn’t see why that wall jump would be so good but it utilizes the camera in a way I don’t think I’ve seen a game do before! The camera isn’t just a something to make sense of platforming, but a tool in it of itself!
Thanks for the vid Nitro Rad. I wanted to shout out the game Tinykin. Admittedly, its not the most mind blowing of platformers but something about it stuck with me.
oh wow! that first game, the moment you showed the dudes website I screamed at my screen "that's the Lyle in Cube Sector guy!" I freaking love that game! definitely have to check out his new one. (actually looking at the main characters eyes, its kind of obvious now :D)
Honestly it's crazy how much Cavern of Dreams nails the atmosphere, aesthetics, & design. It has that soul to put it short. It really is created by someone who understands what made N64/PS1 era games so good.
I just finished it tonight and the entire time playing I kept thinking "this guy just fucking GETS IT." Like, it's so good and some design decisions are so obvious and it just all WORKS.
about halfway through the vid, you started talking about using LT/LB as a jump button in platformers, and this is something I started doing around 2020 because I was playing a lot of Halo 3 at the time. Halo 3 introduced a button scheme called Bumper Jumper, that let you keep your right thumb on the stick to aim while being able to jump, shoot, melee, and throw a grenade with your pointer fingers up at the top. Ever since then, I've been pressing LB as well as A to jump at the same time! I also have been noticing a lot of developers putting this into their games. I love it!
I had overlooked some of these games despite being very aware of them, but hearing your perspective in what's wonderful with each one with such genuine excitement made me feel excited and want to play them myself (and I will!). So, thank you!
Everyone insists Corn Kidz is like an N64 game, but I swear, no matter which angle I look at it, it only ever feels like a PlayStation game to me, or more specifically a Spyro game. The particular bounciness of the characters and the design of the particle effects don't feel at all like any N64 games I've seen, honestly. Heck, even it controlling better with a PS type controller locks that in for me even further. Like the creator had a vision more tightly-knit to the PS1 but decided branding it with 64 was more marketable.
I do sorta agree with you, since its polygons are more pixelated and 32 bit it definitely does look like it came from the PlayStation one, same goes for the animation too, definitely very bouncy, I can see what you mean by it kind of looks like Spyro. But at the same time the textures on the backgrounds are detailed enough to look like it came from the N64, along with having that feel of Banjo or Mario styled controls. So, I’d say it’s a hybrid between the PlayStation and N64 look.
PS1 games typically used way more vertices and smaller polygons than N64 games to compensate for the lack of perspective correction; the warble was less intense on smaller faces. Meanwhile N64 games stretch polygons waaay out and environments really arent made with that many vertices. The appearance of Corn Kidz' environments lean much farther towards the N64 description i just gave imo
man, you gotta be one of my favorite creators on youtube, your excitement for games is just absolutely contagious and you've introduced me to so many cool games I'd never have heard of otherwise!! keep up the awesome work!!
CORN KIDZ MENTIONED! Had absolute pleasure playing it last year (without anxiety tower bc skill issue) I'm so, so glad it gets more coverage. The more people buy this game the more deserved support will the developer get. With Cavern of Dreams (not to be confused with The Cave of Bad Dreams) I played demo on one of the Steam Next Fests and... it felt too sluggish for me. It's such a tiny baby dragon but it feels like you're controlling bag of bricks on ice. So personally didn't liked this one. Castle on the Coast I've never heard of but I'm eager to play because it looks really fun! So I'm very glad Ive checked on your video. Keep em coming Rad Lad! 🤘
I appreciate the feeling of hope your videos imbue deep inside me. There are times when it’s hard to see the beauty in the world and the humanity that you reveal hidden in these lesser known games gives me a reassurance that no matter how the space changes passionate devs will keep expressing themselves.
Thanks for making this video because I certainly wouldn't have heard of Corn Kidz 64 otherwise. The character design and especially the animation are incredibly good like wow !!
Cavern of Dreams is easily my favorite of this bunch, absolutely loved 100%ing the game and finding its numerous secret areas. It plays extremely satisfying, much more then it looks from a video. If I had to describe the atmosphere it would be like one of those "false retro games that pretend to be cute before turning into a horror game", except it never actually ticks over into horror. It always feels comfortable, yet is somehow just unnerving enough to feel like something truly scary COULD be just around the corner, which really adds to the dream-like ambience its going for.
I still love the fact that, when I noticed you started rambling about Corn Kidz 64 on Twitter in like short quips. That was enough of a argument for me to get the game without even looking into it. And holy heck that was one of the best platformers I've played in my life. The way it sells the N64 look genuinely well is just outstanding
ah man that wall jump rant was great haha. I honestly ended up scrapping wall jumps from my game for a similar reason as your issues with a lot of the ways they're done.
I bought CornKidz 64 a few days before this video released because of you talking about it on twitter, and I've retruned to the video to say thank you, I've got to experience a fantastic game that ticks so many boxes in terms of what I like. You have one of the greatest channels on youtube!
You've done a great job balancing the quantity of games you cover in this video with the quality and attention to detail of your other reviews! It's exciting to know you'll be doing another of these next year
It's always really fun when I can tell just how excited you are to talk about the games, the energy and quick rapid-fire bits were infectiously positive! Also, super glad to see these games get a shout out, I've been following some of them for a while.
I actually have 3 3d platformers I recommend 2 are very little known. First one was Penny's big breakaway. idk if you were gonna review that one. But the 2 lesser known 3d platformers I follow that are still in development I recommend checking out. One is called Happy hell and it's like a freaky Mario 64 with the mechanic of selling pieces of your soul for platformer moves but the real challenge is beating the game without selling any of your soul. The other is Lorcan Legends of the Fae previously called Lorcan the Leprichaun. It's a modern 3d platformer with an epic skating mechanic. Those 2 are still in development but I recommend checking them out.
I think, eventually, someone is going to cynically create a game called "The Game Designed to be an Iceberg" and it will feature seemingly random imagery, but with the care and attention that draws the indie community to dissection. There will be esoteric imagery up the wazoo. But there will be an actual answer, just one never spoken. Real Lynchian stuff.
Gravity Circuit is a 2D platformer heavily inspired by the Megaman ZX games with a very unique twist. Movement focuses on momentum with the grappling hook as well as your many upgrades and items you get on your quest. I absolutely fell in love when I played it and I'd love if more people know about it. Even if you don't like the Megaman games it's similar to Shovel Knight in the sense that you don't need to like the inspiration to enjoy this.
James, although I’m one of the console only players, I wanted to let you know how thankful I am for your reviews and videos. I’ve waited very patiently for some of these games to come out on console sometimes, but it’s always insanely rewarding and worth the wait. I want you to know that you’re personally responsible for me choosing to pick up both the anodyne games, sephonie, blue fire, and demon turf. I put a ton of weight on your recommendations and i appreciate these indie platformer reviews, and i hope you keep doing it every year!
Thanks for doing this reviews James! I'm a die hard 3D platform fan, and giving scope to this indie projects is such an amazing work! I've known games like Psychonauts and BlueFire thanks to you, to mention some of them. I just bought Pseudoregalia and Castle of the Coast, and aiming to adquiere CornKids and Cavern of Dreams =D I'm so happy some indie devs aim to make this kind of projects, so unique in artstyle, full of charisma and personality x)
Your videos are consistently fantastic. Between raising kids from the mid-70s to 2003 and sticking with Atari and Amiga computers, I missed out on N64 type games. Now, at 68, I'm discovering these new games thanks to your channel. Just finished Castle on the Coast and started Cavern of Dreams, and though my reflexes may be slower, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself, thanks to you and these talented developers. As long as you're making videos, count me in as a loyal viewer. Much appreciated.
I know you just did the channel update and I want to say I absolutely love this format. Lots of little goodies to check out, updates on previously mentioned games, and a ton of enthusiasm for the stuff you're enjoying. Just here to say keep it up!
TBH this video convinced me to buy Corn Kidz 64, Castle on the Coast, and Cavern of Dreams. Really enjoying them so far, so thank you for introducing me to these awesome games. Also, amazing video as usual.
Hello! Massive Sly Cooper fan here, and I'm gonna be that guy for a moment. *Pushes Up Nerd Glasses Despite Not Actually Wearing Any* "Well ACTUALLY, you press the CIRCLE button to do the rail walking ability, NOT triangle.Eheheheh! 🤓" Okay but for real, you've been my goto for sick 3D platformer recommendations as of late. I added Corn Kidz to my wishlist after you talked about it a bit in your previous video, and my girlfriend just bought it for me on sale a few days ago. It's straight up been my hyperfixation ever since. I've actually been playing it nearly nonstop the past few days. I absolutely love it! Nearly got 110% completion and everything! I don't think I've had a game take me back to my childhood as hard as this one in quite awhile. (Which is funny, because the N64 was actually just a little bit before my time. :P ) Just running around, talking to all the characters and exploring the world was a blast. Such a great game with fantastic movement, and I probably wouldn't have even HEARD of if it hadn't been for these videos. So thank you for recommending a real hidden gem!
I came here from the update video at… 2:16am and saw Castle on the Coast was on sale for $2.25 on Switch and I’m excited to play it after a long day of work tomorrow lol
I was actually making a list of these myself, haha. I also recommend Spirit & the Mouse; it’s not necessarily a platformer, but is DEFINITELY a collectathon Kiwi 64 and Macbat were interesting too (especially the former with its butter smooth controls), but they tend to feel more like tech demos unfortunately. Fun nevertheless! I’m also looking into Lunistice and Psuedoregalia
What a good video, I LOVE Corn Kidz 64 it's an excellent mix of Banjo and Conker well executed, so much that it has made me wish thinking how would be like remakes or a new game of Banjo-Kazooie or Conker, but made by BogoSoft, maintaining the original N64 aesthetic, making the characters more animated with more expressive 3D models while keeping the low poly feel, improving the moveset perhaps even limiting it a little bit and improving the level design. That would be amazing, but again it's just wishful thinking. A man can dream. I also wish that Bogo, his dev, wasn't so mysterious and could be a little more open to talking and telling about his future plans, what new projects he has in mind and above all that he shows more of his art, I want to see more artwork from Corn Kidz 64 I want to see more artworks of his characters, guides to how to draw them or maybe even little comics, something. Anyway, amazing video James and greetings from Chile :D
Hey James! Just wanted to leave a comment saying how much appreciation I have for the attention you give to these lesser known indie platformers and the passion with which you discuss their mechanics and aesthetics. Been a long time viewer but this video has inspired me to finally try out some of these gems and the classics that laid their foundation that I've been sleeping on as a fan of the genre. Cheers, and looking forward to the next video!
I’ll definitely keep an eye out for some of these games. Because if there’s one thing I enjoy from your videos, is that you’re always passionate about them. And it makes the reviews feel more real.
This will always my favorite genre, its like that feeling of dream mixed with childhood combined and gives you those great vibes you get all those years ago
I appreciate Orbo doing that with the controls. I'm someone who has almost always remapped controls for every game for forever, and almost universally, I have jump mapped to a shoulder button. It personally feels a lot more comfortable to me and puts less strain on just my thumb, while also llowing me to still control the right stick more easily. Like I play Celeste exclusively with the shoulder buttons. And people have told me my controls are weird which, yeah, unconventional, but it works for me. It's also why I hope that one day, back buttons like on the steam deck become standardized on controllers
When you said "this one is for all the cracked out platformer fans who just wanna go BBBBRRRERREEEE with a controller," I had a Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at screen moment and immediately wish listed the game LOL
I really like this and the other compilation video. Definitely worth watching more than once. :) Sorry to hear the RU-vid algo buried it, I'd love to see more of these! -preferably more than one per year... but obviously these probably take more time, so take all the time you need. 😊
while its technically not a pure 3D platformer, the Supraland series is a really REALLY good take on a portal/metroid prime kind of experience that also has some strong platforming elements in it. In fact, the second game (Six Inches Under) has some of my favorite 3d movement in a game and really leans into giving you moves to just break the boundaries and explore outside of the map. It's a ton of fun and both of the games have demos to try out as well
This is gonna be an oddball suggestion for a game to check out James but I recommend Ocnus Theory, it's a one man indie game that's basically a mix of Katamari Damacy meets Getting Over It, with some Dark Souls type lore to it too. It sadly doesn't get much coverage, which is a shame, I've grown to love it myself as an incredibly unique experience, and the dev does his best to make the game as enjoyable and polished as possible (to the point that he even helped me get a save back after my own playthrough got corrupted!).
Don't know if someone said this in the comments already but Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of Invader Zim, did a bunch of comics before doing Zim. Like SQUEE and JOHNNY THE HOMICIDAL MANIAC and yes, the comics from the developer of CORN KIDZ 64 are similar to Vasquez stuff as well as his peers from "the goth comics wave" from SLG like Roman Dirge or Jamie Smart. I am getting a feeling of all those three artists from their comics. But I'm a nerd lol
The appreciation of DK64 through references in this video and then to break out the DK isle music has both killed me and brought back a well of emotion I didn't think was possible. I truly don't think I'll ever not love the platformer/collect-a-thon genre and there's something that warms the soul to keep seeing time and time again the love others had for these types of games by way of carrying a torch that AAA studios long since discarded.
Real convenient for this video to drop right before a steam sale… I love Cavern of Dreams, it’s one of the cutest and sweetest little games I’ve played in a hot minute. We’re in a good age of platformers
I definitely grew up as an N64 kid, so all these games are going right on my wishlist. I've honestly bought a lotta games on your recommendation and you've never steered me wrong yet!
After watching this video, I actually bought Corn Kidz 64 just a day after, played the first tutorial level and honestly I had a blast playing it. Wall jumping is so much fun! I'll definitely keep playing it, maybe 100% it, is a great game! Will definitely play other of the games here later on like Cavern of Dreams, it peeks my interest!
I downloaded Corn Kidz 64 and Cavern of Dreams on Christmas of last year and all I have to say is, MONEY.WELL.SPENT. Played those games like it was 1999.
Just bought Cavern of Dreams thanks to you. I've been aware of Corn Kidz for a while but I do prefer to play on console so I'm in the wait and see phase at the moment. That said it's cheap enough that double dipping wouldn't be a problem.
I know you mentioned as well "And not just ones you see in nintendo directs" But, like, even though I saw it in a nintendo direct I do feel the need to point out Pennys Big Breakaway. That game is a fun as hell 3-D platformer made by a small team! While I can definatly see you wanting to support lesser known games, I still think Pennys is worth a play! The movement in that game is really fun, getting good with your Yo-yo tricks is very satisfying!
