Story Full of Twists and Turns | Kitsune Tails Review

*This article contains spoilers for the story of Kitsune Tails

If you enjoy platformers and pain, you probably know the lovely genre: Precision Platformers! The genre of games that has you dying and replaying a section or level enough times to where you will have muscle memory, you can do it in your sleep, you have ingrained every jump into your core memory. If you love a tough challenge, that dopamine rush once you pass the finish line, read along to here more about Kitsune Tails.

Kitsune Tails has you playing as the kitsune Yuzu as she sets off on her journey. The airheaded girl is oblivious to the love triangle happening around her. Lover spats are one thing, but the narrative that your best friend has kidnapped their romantic enemy is a bit extreme. When it comes to a blow, Yuzu has to adventure around the lands to secure magic orbs in order to break your new romantic pursuer out of the elemental prison.

The story carries the game in terms of what you are fighting for. You are battling these foes, facing off against masters to gain these six elemental orbs in order to free your new friend. All the while, you are told that your childhood best friend is the person who kidnapped your new friend and threw them in the Elemental Prison due to their overwhelming jealousy. The confusion only continues with every master you encounter.

Platforming here is challenging. In typical kaizo fashion, one mistake will be your downfall. You will be bouncing off enemies with no platform in sight. The skill needed is something you will either (1) have coming into the game (2) gain it while playing (3) rage quit the game because you never get it.

Trek through all six worlds with their unique biomes and enemies. Once you have tackled all the worlds, you can free Akko from the elemental prison. Finding your childhood friend Kiri already possessing all the keys leaves more confusion than answers. She was the one who kidnapped Akko in the first place, what is she doing here?

End of Act I

It turns out that a lot of things happened in a short amount of time. The word that spread was that Kiri was the mastermind behind the kidnapping due to her anger, but Kiri has been working endlessly to free Akko. With both ladies pursuing Yuzu, Kiri felt pressured to finally confess her feelings. The dance that started this whole thing was where Kiri wanted to voice her feelings. After Kiri lies to Akko about her being needed outside the village, Akko disappears, leading everyone to point a finger at Kiri.

Act II consists of re-running the entire game as Kiri. Don’t fear, Kiri has some new moves to try out. With both a katana attack and a dash (with some more moves gained as you progress), Kiri feels like playing the game on easy mode. With each world beat more information is revealed, showing that Kiri was set up.

On the way to clear her own name, Kiri and Akko begin to get closer. They learn more about each other and bond over their struggles to get recognized romantically by Yuzu. Even going as far as to realize maybe they would make a better couple.

This is very much a power of friendship type of ending when the new trio face the true evil villain. Akko and Kiri are now able to go on a date and Yuzu can voice that romance with another person is simply not something that she wants in life. All three friends are able to strengthen their bond and end this journey closer than ever.

This game caused a lot of headaches and hand pain for me, but seeing the story till the end made me so happy. The twists and turns of this story and the gameplay makes this a perfect game for those who want a great storyline alongside a challenging platformer.