Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD Switch Review

Time for some Australian cliches in this Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD Switch review, since I’ve recently pur-chased it from Nintendo’s electronic shop.

Sometimes I’m in the position to review a game before release, others just in time, but I don’t always get round to picking up a copy as too busy saving the world.

In various gaming incarnations.

Let’s throw another shrimp… no, I’m not going that route you mongrel, let’s just get started.

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD Switch Review

There were so many anthropomorphic (that’s the posh term for human bean-like beasts) gaming characters about in the late 90s/00s that the market was a little over-saturated.

Sega had Sonic, Sony selfishly had Crash and Spyro and Nintendo had a talking plumber. It was time to mix it up with something new that hadn’t been done before: a Tasmanian tiger.

Just because it has ‘Tasmanian’ as the prefix, don’t get confused with Warner Bros.’ linguistic wordsmith Taz – he’s a devil and a surprising mascot for scary hairy biker gangs.

Tasmanian tigers are different. Well, were, as they’re now extinct, so the best way to embrace the species was through Ty the Tasmanian Tiger.

I’m losing you a bit now, aren’t I? Let’s speed it up and say that the original game was released on the GameCube, Xbox, PS2 and the Betamax.

The Comeback Kid— Tiger

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger stood out from his peers as he had weapons: boomerangs, and in this latest Switch release, you can use the joy-cons to control them.

I mentioned in the news bit that there were a lot of revisions to the graphics, and any maths nerd or graphics bitch will be rubbing their thighs at all the upgrades this Ty has.

Well, for the non-tech pervs like us, let’s just say that this revamp maintains all the qualities of the original, but looks super pretty.

In Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD, your job is to secure a series of Thunder Eggs and take on the might of evil-doer, Boss Cass. That’s guy’s a douche.

It plays out much like Super Mario 64 and other similar 3D worlds from yesteryear as you follow Ty from behind, occasionally rotating the camera with the right stick, just to make sure his face is still there.

One of the problems with these games was the camera control, and while it has been improved in this remaster, it still handles poorly in places – such as when you’re scaling a mountain or in tight quarters. 

Ty doesn’t do the classic ‘see inside his skull as the game engine breaks’, but it can be a little annoying. However, get past this little hurdle and Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD is ace.

Bringing It Back From Extinction

Bringing Ty back was a good move as the game is perfect for Nintendo and especially for the Switch. 

The characters throughout, while slightly cliched with a bit too much Australian slang, is brilliant, vigorous and likeable. 

Up for another Aussie experience? Why not read the review for Stone – with 100% organic koala.

Other than his boomerangs, Ty can get up close and bite his enemies. It’s easy to pull off, and because of the default difficulty, you can get away with this little melee for the majority of the game.

If that’s too monotonous for you, you can always up the challenge as Krome Studios also added a hardcore mode for the posers.

Some reviewers will have you believe that they 100% everything, but due to the volume of games I consume, that’s unrealistic for me. Also, that’s my excuse why I don’t personally play on hardcore mode. 

Not because I’m crap. Honest.

But, if 100% is your goal, you’re in luck as Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD has loads to unlock.

Other than the Thunder Eggs to collect – which form into a talisman; you have an arsenal of boomerangs to earn, pick up various shiny things that will make a magpie moist and select alternative skins to make Ty less Tiger and more deep-sea diver or caped crusader (a.k.a. the Doomerang).

Return of The Platformer

Do bear in mind that Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD isn’t your typical rogue-like or classic 8-bit game with unbeatable gameplay – chances are you could complete this in a couple of sittings, but why?

Exploring Ty’s world will bring up plenty of cherished memories of experiencing the game on the PS2, and other similar titles that have a certain innocence about them.

Even if you’re biting enemies in the face.

Remember that this is a remaster, and while there are a couple of new features, it’s still the same mechanics as the original. That is, it’s not entirely an open-world experience, but there is a certain degree of freedom.

The opening sequence to Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD was a little long-winded plus the frequent tutorial interruptions were, to refer to another famous Australian animal, kangarooing it a bit – stop, start, stop, start.

However, once you get past that, the game is fluid, and the action frequent. 

Other than the camera angles here and there, my only real criticism would be the jumping side of things.

It’s not exactly exclusive to the game, but there are times where you have to jump at the last minute to reach a higher platform; otherwise, you fall and have to return to do the same thing.

A typical platform game then, but it does ruin the flow just an incy wincy bit.

If you played the original, then come back to Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD as it’s very much the same game once more, but ‘new and improved’ and will bring back fond memories.

But if you are new to the character, still give it a go if you’re a fan of the 3D open-world (ish) action platform adventure as it’s a lot of fun and pretty understated when you compare it to its peers.

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