A while ago I reviewed a game called Regina & Mac. It was a 3D platformer trying to imitate Banjo-Kazooie, but it was really awful. And now we have another one with Hop N Marty. In this one, Marty is a marmoset and Hop is his poison dart frog friend. When an evil pirate kidnaps their pygmy marmoset friends, the two hop into action to save them in this Banjo-Kazooie imitator. But is it any better than Regina & Mac? You’ll just have to read on to find out! It’s available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Most of the time you’ll play as Marty. He can double jump, slam down to the ground to activate switches, and throw oranges when you collect them. When you come across small doors, you can then enter them as Hop. Hop can jump higher than Marty, and instead of throwing objects you can aim his tongue at things like a grappling hook. You’ll travel through 3D areas collecting things like bananas and pygmy marmosets which help you open portals to new levels in the hub world which is a laboratory owned by your scientist cat friend. Other collectables include peanuts and flies for health.
So is the game better than Regina & Mac? Well, a little, but not by much. Play control is a bit floaty, and the worst offender is the camera angles. You can adjust them, but the controls for that are touchy as well. This carries over into aiming. Most of the game is pretty generic and amateurish, but there are some high points. For instance, even though the first level is a generic rain forest level, the second world is a giant living room which gave me some Chibi Robo and Katamari Damacy vibes. I especially liked the part where you climb inside a game console and play a little mini 3D 8 bit Zelda style dungeon. But overall you’re probably better off just playing Banjo-Kazooie, the game it’s trying to imitate instead.
Kid Factor:
Hop N Marty is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Fantasy Violence. Defeated enemies just disappear, and when you get hit, you just flash and say, “Oh.” Reading skill is needed for the text, and younger gamers may need help with some of the tougher jumps.
