PlayStation Magazine - 05.2020

087

REVIEW

INFO
FORMATPS VR
ETAOUT NOW
PUBGROUNDING INC
DEVGROUNDING INC

L

ast seen racing with the rest of the Sega

family last generation, Ulala makes her

long-awaited return to the spotlight

in the rhythm antics that made her

name in the galaxy two decades ago. Although

creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi isn’t involved in

this belated sequel (Grounding Inc is, however,

formed of ex-Sega staffers), like his other

beloved game, Rez, Space Channel 5 has been

reimagined for PS VR, which feels like the way

it should have been played all along.

Forget the quaint idea of tapping buttons to

dance to a beat – in Kinda Funky News Flash,

with a pair of PS Move controllers you literally

do have to copy your opponents’ dance moves,

while the movement tracking makes new moves,

such as striking poses, possible. The way the

original games required you to memorise the

rhythm and sequence meant that it was often

easier if you did dance along (or at least tap your

feet), so using motion controls while immersed in

the game’s retro-aesthetic world is a no-brainer.

You’re not playing as Ulala herself but rather

one of her new rookie reporters (who also

conveniently stands to the side behind her during

missions, which means you can follow her cues

rather than having to go by memory). It’s a cool

way of making you a participant while still letting

you admire Ulala as the star of the show.

The new ‘three consecutive

strikes and it’s game over’ rule

is pretty lenient considering if

you recover in one sequence

the strike count will reset, and

if even that’s too much you

can just opt to play the game

in Safety mode without any

penalties. But there’s another

unintended easing of difficulty

as you can pretty much cheat

the rhythm mechanics. If your

opponent’s moves are ‘left,

right’, there’s nothing stopping

you from stretching out both

arms in a T-pose and they’ll

register as correct.

FLASH! AARGH!

Kinda Funky’s greatest

weakness, however, is that with

just four levels, the comeback

is far too short-lived to

justify its price of admission,

especially when there are far

more interesting and replayable

PS VR music games you could

play at a fraction of the cost.

In fairness, the original Space

Channel 5 was a short game,

but then it also provided a

challenge, and New Game Plus

offered new routes in each

stage. By comparison, Kinda

Funky’s levels aren’t only

shorter and essentially set in

one location owing to the PS

VR format keeping you on

the spot, the additional modes

are also woefully lacklustre

(calling a casual-friendly

tutorial version of the first

level ‘Arcade mode’ is surely

false advertising).

There’s still fun to be had if

you follow its rules, and just

like last year’s Shenmue III,

it’s another trip down memory

lane for hardcore Sega fans. But

you’ll likely have your fill of

nostalgia if you just download

the free demo.

CHU CHU BABY @DaMisanthrope

VERDICT

Kinda Funky is only

kinda a sequel, as it

shamelessly recycles

assets from past games.

While PS VR ought to be a

natural medium for Space

Channel 5, it’s hard to see

Ulala as more than a nostalgic

opening act for the rest of the

competition. Alan Wen

SPACE CHANNEL 5 VR:

KINDA FUNKY NEWS FLASH

A groovy comeback that’s over in a flash

PS VR REVIEW