TEMBO THE BADASS ELEPHANT Reviews
Though there are a couple of interesting gameplay twists, Tembo the Badass Elephant is largely a no-frills nod to old-school platformers – for better or worse
It's fun to furiously trumpet and get to smashin' stuff as Tembo for a while, but before too long you're reduced to hoping he makes his way over to a better sequel – or possibly the Virtua Fighter roster.
'Tembo The Badass Elephant' might have a few niggling issues with a short campaign and some difficult to reach requirements to access new stages, but all and all the title stands as solid as an elephant. It's a blast to play, smashing through enemies and exploring all of the levels, and is worth the time of anyone that enjoys platformers. It's by no means perfect, but this collaboration ended with both Sega and Game Freak on top.
The controls and the way they unpredictably unleash the wrong moves at the worst possible time really disrupt Tembo's platforming gameplay. Pair this with a no-mercy difficulty and you have a frustrating mess that could have been so much more.
Not being able to live up to such lofty rivals is no great shame, of course. Tembo is simply a very pretty, and pretty good, game, albeit one that never quite lives up to its early promise. That alone makes it the best platformer that Sega has released in years, and for that Game Freak deserves our thanks.
If you are looking for a satisfying and whacky 2.5D platformer, this is a great game to pick up.
Tembo the Badass Elephant is a goodhearted, challenging platformer where speed and rhythm sit at the forefront of the gameplay experience. It's really about getting into that great groove, where enemies are going "poof" every second and Tembo is in absolutely no danger 'cuz you've got him down cold. There are a few shortcomings but none of them should keep the intrigued from giving Tembo a go.
A rock solid foundation for a new platforming franchise, Tembo the Elephant is exhilarating when it's at its best, but its heavy challenge and need to repeat levels can be frustrating.
Solid gameplay and a charming art style make Tembo a good platformer, but poor replay value.
Tembo the Badass Elephant has a set of interesting ideas and manages to create a cool contrast between the protagonist and the feats that he manages to accomplish, but the full potential of the title is never realized by the team at Game Freak.
From out of nowhere, Game Freak has surprised everyone with a fun platformer that is not only inspired from the classics such as Sonic, Mario, Yoshi, and more, but manages to combine them in new and refreshing ways. Tembo has attitude, but unlike Sonic, he doesn't speak. He can jump and stomp enemies, but unlike Mario, Tembo doesn't die in a measly one or two hits. Tembo can also hover for a few moments and ground pound, but unlike Yoshi, he doesn't look like a child's play toy while doing so. These things and more make Tembo one badass elephant indeed.
A few flaws short of a modern platforming classic, but although Tembo isn't perfect he is exactly as badass as promised.
Tembo the Badass Elephant is made even more frustrating by the fact that it doesn't flat out suck. There's a solid sidescroller in here, but Game Freak's taken it in the wrong direction. This should have been an adventure all about momentum, but it does everything within its power to pump the brakes. Give this wide load a wide berth – it's made itself irrelephant.
Tembo: The Badass Elephant may be a bit short and straightforward, but the gameplay is solid and the destruction is satisfying. Game Freak has played to their strengths and designed a character that feels immediately iconic. We hope to see more from Tembo in the future as this powerful pachyderm is popping with potential.
A strange hybrid of Donkey Kong and Sonic the Hedgehog, Game Freak once again proves that they can do so much more than Pocket Monsters.
Tembo the Badass Elephant's ride may be a very short one, but it is undeniably a high quality romp. The game has very high highs with very few low points and not a single bit of filler or wasted moments. Tembo can almost be too lean by being so utterly focused in upping the challenge, though. The design and aesthetics are 100% on the mark and it is curious that Game Freak doesn't do more original titles like this as often, since it is clearly very good at it. Game Freak is so much more than just Pokémon and Tembo the Badass Elephant proves it.
A platformer in the mould of the Sonic-games of old, and as such, well worth your time and money.
Tembo the Badass Elephant could have been so much more than what is offered. SEGA seemed to be searching for a successor to Sonic with Tembo but at the same time wanted to get a piece of the market for particularly hard games, forgetting to make it fair at the same time. It is an incredibly nice looking and sounding game, and when everything falls into place Tembo is a joy to play, but these instances are rare. The poor control scheme mixed with stupidly hard late levels, which almost caused me to destroy my controller, take major points away from what could have been a promising game.
Regular jarring difficulty spikes sap the joy from this otherwise colourful and inventive platformer.
Tembo the Badass Elephant is a really enjoyable game at its core, but it can get tiring to replay the same stage five times over just to grind out a few kills to see the next set of levels. It's an odd design choice for sure, but most of you will probably enjoy dashing through unsuspecting Phantom Soldiers and butt stomping them into oblivion regardless.