Skatemasta Tcheco from eastasiasoft is a side-scrolling platformer in which you control the titular character on a mighty skateboard. Check our Skatemasta Tcheco review!

Tcheco is back for another herculean journey on his shiny new skateboard. Survive bigger and crazier auto-scrolling stages as you smash and flip over everything that tries to stop Tcheco in his tracks! From beaches and cityscapes to a sports stadium and even the moon, traverse a vibrant selection of stages in any order as you roll your way to victory.

 

Skatemasta Tcheco begins without an introduction, and as a true arcade-like experience, you’ll be thrown into action as soon as the game begins. Tcheco is a skateboarder and his only goal is to advance in the different levels. I liked how the game offers you the chance to play the levels in the order you wish to, thanks to a world map. Each level has a few stars representing his difficulty.

The gameplay comprises controlling the skater through the different levels presented. The levels themselves are auto-scrolling which added to the challenge because there are often wide gaps that could have been easier to pass through at our own pace. Pressing the X button jumps, and pressing the same button twice does a dash attack. I did have a gripe with how approximative the hit detection is. More than once I had the feeling that this game was unfair to the player because the hitbox is way wider than it seems, and the same issue applied for the gaps.

I didn’t like the dash attacks because not only you CAN get hit with this special move, but it also happens often against your will when you accidentally press X a second time before landing. No button other than X is used on the controller, so this issue could have been avoided if, for example, the dash attack was bound to the square button.

The level design was nothing special and includes gaps, disappearing platforms, and enemies coming at you. I enjoyed the first levels of Tcheco, but the fun factor decreased at an incredible pace once you progress because, in my opinion, this game went too far with its pitfalls and disappearing platforms. The Mega Man franchise became famous for its disappearing platforms and challenging difficulty, but here it just feels unfair with platforms that don’t appear when we would require to jump for instance. The game does compensate by giving you a lot of heart containers, but after my first levels, it felt like it was to hide the fact that the gameplay could have had used balance improvements.

I also do question the enemy roster because while there are some evil animals, for instance, there are also a few bizarre enemy choices: homeless people, grandmas roaming the streets, etc… I don’t know what led to this enemy choice, but unless there’s lore with Tcheco I’m not aware of, I think those polarizing choices could have been avoided.

 

As for the presentation, there a few aspect ratios available. I changed from widescreen to a 4:3 boxed screen ratio in the options since it made me feel like I was playing a game on my old CRT TV. The soundtrack is ordinary and some tracks will be annoying by the time a level is completed.

Trophies wise, this game is an easy one to achieve the Platinum and only features 11 Gold and a Platinum trophy, which can be achieved in less than 15 minutes without requiring a guide. You just have to reach and beat the second boss level, and read the trophy descriptions to get help about what to do on some others.

Skatemasta Tcheco is a basic side-scrolling platformer that doesn’t have much to offer besides a new Platinum trophy. While I did enjoy the first levels, I eventually didn’t like the way you can get hit while you were seemingly okay, and the fact that the game relies too much on pitfalls and disappearing platforms to look like it is harder than it should be. If you are looking for a new quick Platinum trophy then this game might be your alley, otherwise, I’d suggest you pass to other games.

Here’s a Trophy guide to help you with this game, in case you need it.

Disclaimer
This Skatemasta Tcheco review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by eastasiasoft.