Kameo: Elements of Power

Unleash the Powers within You

NA release: 22nd November 2005
EU release: 2nd December 2005
JP release: 2nd February 2006
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Microsoft
NGC Magazine Score: N/A
Version Played: Xbox 360

Kameo: Elements of Power was a very intriguing game that many people saw footage off via VHS tapes given away with magazines from Nintendo’s Spaceworld events. You played as Kameo, who had a sci-fi capture device that let her absorb enemy creatures. It was a very ambitious project with open levels, the ability to either use creatures to fight for you (like Pokémon) or transform yourself into them, using their attacks and even flying around. It looked amazing.

After Rare got purchased by Rare, it’s transition to Xbox (which then became Xbox 360) was more of a complete restart, changing the nature of the game entirely. Being able to capture any enemy was abandoned, and the more open game was transformed into a more Zelda-like game, where you unlocked a smaller cast of special Elemental Warriors which had abilities that let you traverse the game’s various dungeons.

One thing that definitely is intact is Rare’s charm. The creature designs are fun and imaginative, and their abilities do feel quite unique. Some are used a lot more than others, such as Chilla’s ability to scale icy walls and Major Ruin’s rolling ability, while others feel very underutilised – Ash the dragon is just used to activate a couple of switches and Snare (a snake-like plant) is barely used, although at least he’s useful for a few combat sections as he can throw enemies off edges. It makes them feel more like Zelda items due to the lack of freedom in getting through the stages. There is a nifty selection wheel to swap warriors on the face buttons easily (like Twilight Princess)

Combat is probably where these creatures shine, as on top of their original abilities, you can unlock new attacks using magical fruit you can locate in the various towns and villages and from completing side-quests. Some enemies will require specific warriors to fight them (such as the fire trolls needing to be doused with water), but for the most part you have a lot more freedom in how you attack enemies, letting you play to your style.

While your main base of operations is a floating castle (where you can warp to each main areas after completing them), there’s also an overworld that connects everything else. Here you’ll fight in large battles with hundreds of hundreds of on-screen enemies. While the vast amount of soldiers is impressive, I get the impression that these were added just for the Xbox 360.

Kameo is a extremely fun game, even though you can see that they had to scale it back a lot. In many ways, it feels a lot like Starfox Adventures, which had similar meddling and had to tone things back. Despite its issues, I can’t help but have a smile on my face every time I play it, as the warrior designs are all lovely and it oozes charm. It’s main weakness is that it could have been something truly special.

Great

Kameo is a game that will last players weeks but not months. The core gameplay is intelligent and almost always fun with a few areas that boarder on frustrating. While the game isn’t quite the Zelda killer that it’s sometimes been touted as its still a fun adventure that will appeal to a broad audience. Each level is packed with examples of intelligent game design and at its best moments this game should be counted among the reasons to go out and get that new console everyone’s been talking about.
David Clayman, IGN

Did the GameCube Miss out?

Even if it still ended up being scaled back, I think this game would have been much more appreciated on GameCube. It’s a lovely game.

Remake or remaster?

I’d love a sequel that brought back some of the original ideas.

Official Ways to get the game

Kameo: Elements of Power is available on Xbox Series, either on its own or part of Rare Replay.