Kabuto Park Review
Bug Lover
When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time outdoors. My family was fortunate enough to own a cottage by the lakeside, and I would spend every summer playing in the sand, hiding out in my tree fort, swimming in the cold, deep waters, and trying to catch frogs. There was nothing better than spending a hot summer, slathered in sunscreen and exploring the natural world around me. This is likely why Doot Tiny Games’s Kabuto Park caught my attention — it’s a reflection for anyone yearning for simpler times, and it achieves this in quite a tight little package.
The game has a simple concept: exploring the natural world for a summer and collecting bugs to make them battle. Players are introduced to Hana and Midori, two friends who are spending their summer exploring Kabuto Park. Midori explains to Hana that there is a bug battling competition amongst the other kids in the area. With twenty different opponents, Hana must collect badges from the very best bug battlers to meet the Summer Beetle Battles Champion. Hana crafts her team of bug-friends and sallies forth to try and win the competition. While the story is fairly barebones, the gentleness and sincerity in its writing are quite infectious, as Hana meets kids who are way too jazzed about beetles, bees, and other insect friends. There is a childlike quality to the writing that is just so wholesome and sweet that it’ll melt even a grumpy person’s heart.
Kabuto Park has two core gameplay elements: collecting bugs and battling. The first requires players to catch bugs in one of the four areas in the park. However, the only way to gain access to new areas is to upgrade Hana’s boots from the game’s shop, which means having to battle other children in the tournament for a cash reward. The game’s loop is so simple and effective that players will find joy in collecting bugs, participating in battles, and enjoying their cash reward for new upgrades. If Kabuto Park were a longer game, perhaps this loop would be too repetitive to enjoy, but since it’s a short game, clocking in at just over two hours, at no point does the game feel padded or outstay its welcome. By the end of the game, players will have access to all upgrades and every area of the park. With a hundred bugs to collect, it’s the right amount without feeling overwhelming.
Well, what do we have here? A rare one!
During the collecting phase, Hana will go into an area of the park that she has unlocked. Players will click on a magnifying glass, which signifies where the bugs are hidden. There are Common, Uncommon, and Rare bugs, indicated by how they sparkle: no sparkles Common, blue sparkles for Uncommon, and gold sparkles for Rare. There are also special shiny bugs, which have their own unique stats and skills. Once the player selects which area they wish to explore, a minigame will appear where they must catch the bug by hitting the green part of the gauge. Hitting the red part is a fail, whereas the blue areas allow the player to get a bit closer, making it easier to catch the bug in question.
As the game progresses and more areas are unlocked, the gauges change, transitioning from static to moving or even fading away. This means players must pay extra attention to avoid missing the chance to catch a bug. These changes add a nice bit of variety, though they aren’t perfect, as the gauges that fade in and out of view provide some unique trickery on the eyes. The only other issue present is that players will find themselves catching a lot of the same bugs over and over again, and all have the same skill sets, but slightly different levels. It’s not a bad thing, but even with a hundred bugs to collect, it gets repetitive and having more available would help weed this out.
To end each day at Kabuto Park, Hana must participate in a round of the Summer Beetle Battles Championship, battling the insects she has caught. Each battle is a three-on-three contest, with the goal of knocking the opponent’s team out of the ring. Each of the three selected bugs Hana has in her party comes with three skills each, and higher rarity bugs often have better skills. There are Hold and Push phases that quickly occur during battle. During the Hold phase, enemies can use their skills to push Hana’s team back, but it also allows Hana’s bugs to use defensive skills to reduce the enemy’s push or buffs that protect them in the moment. During the Push phase, Hana can select abilities that can debuff or push the enemy back. Power is gained each second the battle is happening, and the numbers correspond to the cards in Hana’s deck. Even after using a card, Power recharges very quickly, and the battle system becomes a back-and-forth dance of pushing and holding, requiring the right amount of strategy to keep players on their toes. Given the number of bugs that can be collected, there is a lot of room for experimenting with different team combinations and seeing what skills they have.
PUSH THEM OVER!
As Hana expands her bug collection, she can also sell bugs and transform them into candy, one of the game’s currencies. Players can use candy to level up the bugs in their party. Hana can also buy items and upgrades to make catching bugs easier: the magnifying glass grants more catching attempts, the Bug-o-pedia increases the number of rare bugs that will appear, the net expands the catching gauge, and her boots allow her to access new areas. She can also buy honey from a shop to woo a more difficult bug to be caught, though the catching only becomes challenging in the last location. While Hana can buy lots of upgrades for catching, there are no items to assist in battles, though given the variety of bugs and skills, this may be for the best. Bugs caught can also be placed in a terrarium, where Hana can check in on them and even pet them.
Kabuto Park‘s visual presentation is fantastic, as it transports players into the game’s cozy and simplistic world. There is a rough edge to all of the game’s artwork and characters that accentuates how dreamy and child-like the world is. There’s an amazing use of colour, as every location gives the feeling of beholding a stunning painting, and while there is only a handful of areas to explore, each is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Every bug and child Hana encounters also has their own unique look that fits into the game’s overall whimsical vibes, making the game a treat to look at. There’s not a lot of music present, but there are lots of ambient sounds when exploring the different locations of the park. There is also a very charming map theme that is hummable, and the battle music is the right flavour of loud that pumps the player up to knock some beetles out of the ring.
For an RPG under two hours long, Kabuto Park offers an excellent balance of bug collecting and battling, keeping everything in its tight package simple. It’s one of those rare games that I restarted simply because I found myself wanting to go through all over again. Doot Tiny Games has offered RPGamers a cozy RPG that will take players back to simpler times when exploring the world around them was the way of life. Any RPGamer who loves a creature collector RPG or wishes to indulge in a short and sweet experience should absolutely spend five dollars to check out this gem of an indie game.
Adorable presentation and concept
You can pet the bugs! And meet other weird kids!
Battles are fast-paced
Catching bugs can be a bit tricky late game
Needs more bugs for battling and petting
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