Growing up in New York City, it was hard not to be a fan of hip-hop, but there never were many hip-hop video games. I remember that Wu Tang fighting game, the Def Jam Vendetta games and Marc Ecko’s Getting Up. There hasn’t been much lately. But now there’s Floor Kids on the Nintendo Switch.
It’s coming out December 19 in Australia, and I’ve been having fun with it. The Floor Kids originally debuted in a series of short films by artist and bboy JonJon that featured Kid Koala’s music. Now they’re on the Switch in a game that feels like it’s half-skateboarding game and half-rhythm game. Floor Kids breaks up the action into four types of actual breakdancing moves and lets you come up with your own routines to rack up the most points. With a diverse set of characters to choose from, each bboy or bgirl also has their own set of moves that makes them feel unique.
It’s all brought to you in a really cool art style with some slick animation and even features some unreleased tracks from Kid Koala. It’s hard not to find yourself bobbing your head if not just to stay in line with the rhythm. The game can feel a little intimidating at first, but if you memorise the right moves and string together the right combos, you can pull of some pretty amazing transitions and get the crowd going to boost your overall score. As a music game fan, I found the little rhythm sections within each song a little lacking but they don’t last too long. I just wish they asked a little more of my coordination besides tapping one button to the beat.
Floor Kids is a cool surprise that feels right at home on the Switch. It reminded me of a type of game I didn’t realised I missed until now. I hope we see more of this moving forward. Now if we can just get a reboot of the Def Jam Vendetta franchise…
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