Whip! Whip! (Switch) review

Arcade-style titles were once the foundation for the games industry; today they have nearly grown exctinct. Long lapsed is an era when a twenty-five-cent wager could be converted into a coveted spot on the leaderboard, where a three-letter monogram could flaunt your prowess. Generally, our recreations are no longer intense fifteen-minute sessions, dominated by a single, identifiable hook, with a high-score serving as the main motivation. Now, games have evolved into interminable affairs typically driven by extended exposition and built around a multitude of mechanics for players to master, all in pursuit of a perceptible goalmouth.

The release of Whip! Whip! on the Switch and PC returns players to that halcyon period when a protagonist’s ability set could be summarized with a pictograph and two buttons were all you needed to restore harmony in a digital world. It’s a game that unambiguously draws from two historic arcade titles from the Eighties, action-platformer, Bubble Bobble, along with Capcom’s, Bionic Commando.

The first inspiration is immediately evident when commencing a single-player or local co-operative game. After a few screens that impart a peculiar impetus (essentially, a baker-fox named Tira teams up a sentient mitten) Whip! Whip!’s brightly hued, single-screen platforms undoubtedly recall Taito’s comical coin-op, with the protagonist leaping across section of the on-screen scaffolding. Like Bub and Bob’s beloved outing, enemies exhibit similar behaviors, moving back and forth on platforms and gradually encroaching on the player. While they can be eliminated individually, you’ll want to create a chain-reaction, potentially turning every creature into delectable foods worth an exponential amount of points.

But instead of shooting bubbles capable of encapsulating and eliminating enemies, you’ll use Minton, the golem-glove to grab distant foes. Latching onto to adversary pulls Tira in, and when after striking an enemy, a blue flame ignites underneath him, gradually lifting the fox up. As you fall, the blaze scorches any other opponents you touch, until it’s extinguished when you touch any type of platform.

Undoubtedly, it takes a bit of time to get used to Tira’s powers. Early on, it’s easy to target a cluster of enemies, and after eliminating one, your flame burns out just as another monster touches you. On the upside, Whip! Whip! endows players with a bit of persistence, with Tira beginning each game with a collection of six hit-point hearts. Purge the playfield of multiple enemies and you’ll randomly trigger the letters “E-X-P-A-N-D” to appear, Mr. Do-style, earning a trio of additional hearts.

But like most games of the arcade era, you’ll gradually learn technique. In this case, it’s identifying scoring possibilities. Soon, you’ll be using Minton to propel yourself skyward, striking a single foe, before gliding into an assembly of adjacent adversaries. When performed correctly, it’s a suitably satisfying experience, only undermined by a reward system that might not dispense the one letter you need to replenish your hit point supply. Across the game’s hundred stages, referred to as recipes, you’ll also encounter the occasional power-up icon which do things like speed up the movement speed of Tira, expanding the reach of Minton, or even bypassing a few stages.

Like the Bubble Bobble series, Whip! Whip! breaks the cadence by delivering a boss battle every ten stages. Initially, these can be off-putting, and you might absorb a bit of injury before determining that not only are the on-screen foes summon by the baddies are lethal, but so are their entire, screen-filling body. But given the main campaign’s ability to continue your journey on the stage that Tira perished, losing a few hearts during these showdowns doesn’t feel punitive. Once you complete the game, you’ll unlock a challenge mode that confiscates the ability to continue. Longevity is also extended by gaming endings that differ if you play as an individual or with a local partner.

With sprite-based arcade action complemented by cheerful chiptune harmonies, Whip! Whip! is poised to induce pangs of nostalgia for retro-loving players. While it’s not a faultless game, feeling derivative, like those coin-op bootlegs that would be built on the backs of popular quarter-munchers, it is an enjoyable romp. Until Taito honors late Bubble Bobble creator Fukio Mitsuji with a compilation or re-release, Whip! Whip! serves as an ersatz reminder of arcade gaming’s golden era.

Whip! Whip! was played on the Switch with
review code provided by the publisher. 

Whip! Whip!
Developer: Alpha unit
Publisher: Alpha unit
Release date: June 28th, 2018
Price: $9.99 via digital download
Arcade-style titles were once the foundation for the games industry; today they have nearly grown exctinct. Long lapsed is an era when a twenty-five-cent wager could be converted into a coveted spot on the leaderboard, where a three-letter monogram could flaunt your prowess. Generally, our recreations are no longer intense fifteen-minute sessions, dominated by a single, identifiable hook, with a high-score serving as the main motivation. Now, games have evolved into interminable affairs typically driven by extended exposition and built around a multitude of mechanics for players to master, all in pursuit of a perceptible goalmouth. The release of Whip!…

Review Overview

Gameplay - 80%
Controls - 75%
Aesthetics - 75%
Content - 75%
Accessibility - 80%
Performance - 90%

79%

GOOD

Summary : Played every coin-op in the annals of arcade history? Whip! Whip! offers something new but delightfully retro, mixing mechanics of Bubble Bobble and Bionic Commando.

User Rating: 4.63 ( 3 votes)

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

12 comments

  1. Now watch me whip!
    Now watch me nae nae!

  2. $10 is kind of expensive for this kind of game. The old games on Switch sell for $8.

  3. The creator of Bubble Bobble died? That’s the saddest thing I’ve read all day.

  4. The Switch is the new Sega Game Gear judging by those screenshots.

    • It’s retro. It doesn’t have to toss around 100K polygons. Just like how not every song has to have an orchestra of 300 people in the background.

  5. Good review, but you forgot to mention that Minton can be used to grad treats and can be used in the air.

  6. Japanese game or from somewhere else?

  7. Black Bomberman

    Thanks for the review. Picked it up last night and got through about 40 levels. It’s pretty fun.

  8. I got an update today. Anyone know what that did/fix?

    • I saw that. I have no idea what it did. Some of the screens still have button prompts overlapping the text.