History VideoGame / KaoTheKangaroo

* ThreateningShark: The first game has sharks that jump out of bodies of water in a predictable pattern, and also sharks that walk on land [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext and wear lifesavers]].

* SpaceZone: One of the worlds Kao winds up at in the first game. Other than being set on Mars and on a space station, it controls no differently than the rest of the game.

* SquashedFlat: In the first game's Dreamcast version, Kao gets flattened if he falls from a high enough spot.
* SuddenlyVoiced: Nobody talked in the first game, which was changed in the later games.

* VideoGameLives: Only in the first game.

* ''Kao the Kangaroo'' (2000; [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]], {{PC}}, [[UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance Game Boy Advance]])
* ''Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2'' (2003; UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]], UsefulNotes/PS2, {{PC}})

* ''Kao Challengers'' (2005; [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]])

* ExposedEyeballsAsEyes: Kao's eyes are just eyeballs placed on top of his head. Notably, he's the only character in the series whose eyes are like this.

* BigBad: In the first and second game, it's the Hunter who captures Kao's friends. In the third game, it's the Volcano God (or "the fiery guy") who unleashes lava monsters onto the island.

In 2020, Tate Multimedia (Tate Interactive's new name) announced that a fourth ''Kao'' game was in development. It was officially unveiled in January of 2022, [[RecycledTitle simply named]] ''Kao the Kangaroo''. See the trailer [[https://youtu.be/cdm8OiuauXU here]].

* HailfirePeaks: The final snow level in ''Round 2'' is set in an icy cavern that is rife with lava. This is especially apparent during towards the end of the level where you are sliding down a path of ice that is ''floating on the lava''.

In 2020, Tate Multimedia (Tate Interactive's new name) announced that a fourth ''Kao'' game was in development.

* DummiedOut: ''Mystery of the Volcano'' still has the upgrades you could get in ''Round 2'' from collecting stars, it's just that they are inaccessible because there are no stars in the game.

'''Kao the Kangaroo''' is a series of platformer games made by a Polish studio named Tate Interactive, starring the titular [[BoxingKangaroo marsupial with boxing gloves]]. Each game has him go on a quest to save his animal friends from some kind of danger, primarily the animal-catching Hunter. The series was mostly popular in Poland, having not made much of an impact in the foreign markets.

* ''Kao the Kangaroo: Mystery of the Volcano'' (2005; {{PC}}, [[NoExportForYou released only in Poland]])

* TailAttack: Naturally, one of Kao's ways of dispatching enemies in every game is a tail-spin attack.

* TheSpiny: The porcupine enemies in ''Round 2'''s forest levels. Since they're covered in spines, none of Kao's normal attacks work on them, only his ShockwaveStomp u[grade and boomerangs, but they never contain any stars either.

** Also in ''Round 2'', the underwater level features a single ray enemy who shoots projectiles. It doesn't take any more punishment than other enemies in the level, so it's unclear why it doesn't have more presence. The Steam release alleviates it somewhat by having it appear ''two'' times and giving him a health bar (even though one of them dies to a single missile), thus turning it into a MiniBoss of sorts.

* AbnormalAmmo: ''Round 2'' has vehicles that fire giant pinecones.
* ActionBomb: ''Round 2'' has an enemy who's a dynamite stick on legs and who chases after Kao until he hits something.

* BearsAreBadNews: In ''Round 2'', one of the escape sequences involves you running away from a giant bear.
* BeeAfraid: The first level in ''Round 2'' has bees that will hit the ground where you just stood, and will remain stuck there for a brief moment so you can attack them.

* CharacterTitle: Well, what do you think?

* EgomaniacHunter: The Hunter, natch.
* ElementalPowers: In ''Mystery of the Volcano'', you have to find 4 elemental artifacts in order to open a door leading to the FinalBoss. The levels that you find these artifacts in are themed after the four elements.

* GroundPound: Both ''Round 2'' and ''Mystery of the Volcano'' have it. It can be used not only to fight enemies, but also to press switches and the like. ''Round 2'' even has an unlockable upgrade that makes the attack a lot more potent.

* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: ''Round 2'' and ''Mystery of the Volcano'' both have this, with the former being egregious about this to the point of [[{{Narm}} narmyness]].

* IndyEscape: ''Round 2'' has quite a few sequences where you have to use a superspeed powerup to run away from something.

* LastLousyPoint: ''Round 2'' in particular has a notable situation where in the second-to-last level, there's a hidden box with a single coin in it that you can only reach by utilizing your triple jump upgrade.

* MercyInvincibility: Of course.

* MookMaker: ''Round 2'' has a box that produces running sticks of dynamite.

* NPCRoadblock: Nearly the entirety of ''Round 2'' revolves around collecting enough coins to bribe the guard who is blocking the way to the BigBad's ship. If you try to walk by without paying, he shoves you away. No, you cannot just knock him out, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation even though in later levels you defeat lots of mooks who look just like him with no problem]].

* {{Pirate}}: One of the bosses is a pirate. You also encounter sailor enemies throughout the last two levels.

** In ''Round 2'', the dynamite enemy described under ActionBomb appears only once in the entire game. Considering that he could be a source of a unique challenge across various points of the game, it's a wonder he's not featured more often.
** Also in ''Round 2'', the underwater level features a single ray enemy who shoots projectiles. He doesn't take any more punishment than other enemies in the level, so it's unclear why he doesn't have more presence. The Steam release alleviates it somewhat by having him appear ''two'' times and giving him a health bar, thus turning him in a MiniBoss of sorts.