Gaming
Games
Tembo the Badass Elephant: Adorable Demolition
Pokemon creators take a break from collecting monsters in favor of collecting a high body count.
More “BUDA BUDA” sounds than a Punisher comic
© Gamefreaks
The title character in Tembo the Badass Elephant lives up to the bluntness of his name. Developed by Game Freak, this destruction-intensive action side-scroller is a rare treat from a studio that has lived and breathed Pokemon for the last 20 years. If you’re familiar with their early 1990s gameography, then you know that they’re experienced in this classic genre.
Game Freak knows we are eager to witness the awesomeness of this justice-seeking elephant, which is why the backstory is short and concise and its tutorial is filler-free. Havok is being wrecked in a peanut-shaped country and the defense force has called its muscle, Tembo to save the day. In pure “serious business” mode, this pachyderm laces up with war paint and a battle-appropriate bandanna, ready to rescue hostages and kick butt.
Tembo’s trunk uppercut is as brutal as it looks.
© Gamefreaks
Challenges abound but not to the brutal degree of say, Super Meat Boy. Game Freak succeeded in giving us a false sense of confidence with an introductory level that was a near cakewalk. When Tembo is not mowing down foes with his charging attack, he’s butt-stomping himself down the middle of a building. It only gets harder from this point. Whereas some classic 16-bit games save the obligatory moving train level later in the game, Tembo gets to ride the rails during one of the early chapters. It doesn’t take long to reach the pits of instant death in the second area. It’s a twisted juxtaposition in a level that has picturesque mountains and endless blue skies, the kind of visuals that makes thirtysomething Sega Genesis enthusiasts wish it was 1993 again. Figuring out these hazards gets complicated since some of these drops aren’t fatal at all, but instead reveal secret areas. Not all the hostages are kept in plain sight and it takes an exploratory mindset and some obsessive compulsions to find every captive.
An example of Angry Birds-inspired chaos & physics
© Gamefreaks
Not to take anything away from Game Freak’s accomplishments and creativity, but Tembo the Badass Elephant could be mistaken for a Yuji Naka Kickstarter project if the former head of Sonic Team wanted to make an unofficial successor to Sonic the Hedgehog. We sensed this even before finishing the tutorial. Just because Tembo is an elephant doesn’t mean he can’t ball up and roll as a sphere of mayhem. The trick is to not get so caught up in the rush of charging through multiple screens of baddies and destructible objects that you ended up falling for a trap. And as much as Tembo the Badass Elephant gets 16-bit action platforming right, it also features contemporary Angry Birds-inspired chain reaction ruination.
It’s not all about speed, though; he’s an elephant version of Rambo because of his many talents. Tembo might lack the grace of a tiger uppercut, but that doesn’t stop him from using his hammer-shaped trunk to jump attack airborne enemies. His trunk is primarily used to extinguish flaming obstructions. Peculiarly enough, many of these objectables are flaming skulls; red skulls can be doused permanently while blue ones regenerate their flames after a few seconds. This adds depth to an otherwise straightforward action platformer. What truly sold it for me, though is his fire-extinguishing spin jump attack, where he sends large drops of water flying in all directions. That’s a Revenge of Shinobi homage right there, harkening back to Joe Musashi’s 8-way shuriken attack.
Even Tembos death scenes are plush-worthy adorable
© Gamefreaks
Tembo the Badass Elephant is about wanton destruction, hostage rescue, and fire hose problem-solving, but it is also a game with adorable nuance. Without relying on a lot of animation, the comic strip-inspired intermissions convey Tembo’s mercenary elephant charm. The payoff for the thousands of peanuts he collects is to see him chug a jar of peanut butter every time he uses up a life. Tembo’s most endearing move is his jump extension. When you think this loveable, yet undeniably heavy mammal has jumped as far as he could, he swings his legs frantically as if wanting to fly. Even if it’s just a couple more feet of distance, he is technically flying, and that is often all he needs to reach many of the game’s seemingly unreachable ledges.
Tembo’s exaggerated animation highlights the game’s classic cartoon influence. Even Tembo’s running sound effects made us think of the countless foot chases in Hanna Barbera cartoons. Tying these elements together are the worded sound effects that appear with every action. The art direction alone makes us want to play more, if only to see what winsome moves Game Freak might be saving for Tembo in later sections of the game.
For more games coverage, follow @RedBullGames on Twitter.
