Towelket One More Time Kemono First Impressions

I just completed the latest Towelket game, Towelket One More Time: Kemono. I have a lot to say about it so let's talk about it 🧐 (I won't mention any spoilers but I will be discussing themes and stuff I picked up from the story)

The story is split up into two parts that you'll jump back and forth between throughout the game. The first is Okappa's story which starts with her waking up to seeing her world is completely overrun by beasts and the other story is Tantanuki, where he starts attending a new school.

Honestly when I first heard of this premise I was a bit weary of how well the story would flow together. After playing it I can say that it was paced way better than I expected. There was never a particular section where I felt it overstayed its welcome.

I'd have to say my biggest issue with this game is the characters. None of them are bad really but I feel like none of them really got their chance to shine before the game ended. That includes the protagonists as well. Okappa is funny and cute at first but after a time skip pretty early on in the game, she ends up losing those traits and it's a bit jarring to say the least. I feel it would have been a lot more impactful if we got to witness this development in her character instead of it happening offscreen.

Tantanuki on the other-hand is a silent protagonist so I didn't expect much from him. Nekoashi Otome is the heroine but oddly enough she didn't feel all that present in the game either. There aren't many specific events regarding her until the midpoint where she tags along for the rest of the game but even during that time she doesn't speak much. In the end I felt more chemistry with characters like Habanera who had an amusing section in the game.

There are a couple of other characters that I expected to have a bigger role (or a role at all) but barely had anything to say. The interactions that are there were amusing but I felt like we never really got past the introduction phase for most of the characters which is a shame. There was definitely the potential to have a more campy atmosphere like Shippoutachi no Kizuna but we don't get to spend much time with them at all.

But despite this, I did enjoy the story a lot. There's definitely something to be said about the pointless cycle of war and racial supremacy (I know sounds weird for a Towelket game) and the way the game executed it was pretty well done in my opinion. There were countless moments where I felt genuine dread towards the situation that was being present. The ending left me with a feeling melancholic in the classic Towelket fashion.

Visually the game looks great. The bold outlines of the background work extremely well for a side-scroller RPGmaker game. It definitely fits the tone and it's overall pleasant to look at. I enjoyed Dekapari's art style but I admit that there were times where it was a bit hard to look at with the softer style to it, especially with screenshots where the picture quality inevitably gets a bit worse. I hope the future games take on this art style because it's really a treat to the eyes.

I really did enjoy this game. It's a pretty solid entry to the Towelket series. Though I feel with stronger characters it could have really made this game go from decent to amazing. Even a little bit of fluff here and there really wouldn't hurt. I don't mind a bit of padding at all when it exists to develop the characters.