Published by Flynn’s Arcade, Flora & Fang: Guardians of the Vampire Garden is the latest new, retro-style arcade release from their enthusiastic library of digital downloads. This time, the inspiration comes from a mix of Donkey Kong 3 mixed slightly with Buster Bros. and Snow Bros.
Perhaps the oddest part of this co-op action platformer comes from its narrative. For some reason, the children of Dracula are put in charge of guarding the family garden. Why are vampires gardening? Don’t they get all the nutrients from drinking the blood of their victims? Either way, it is nice to see the undead taking a more serious approach to their diet.
Flora and Fang is pretty much a quasi-sequel to Nintendo’s Donkey Kong 3, a game in which the player controls Stanley the Bug Man, not Mario, as he pumps bug spray up Donkey Kong’s hiney. The goal in that game is to keep bugs away while pushing DK upward to his exit point, basically like a creative game of Tug-of-War.
Flora and Fang evolves this vertically shooting bug spraying mechanic by mixing it with other single screen action/puzzle platformers. These two little vampires must repel incoming pests from stealing their crops. To do this, they can shoot their bug spray to initially trap/stun an enemy, but then must finish them off by attacking a couple more times. Finally, the bubble must then be busted to finish them off. Mixing these vertical attacks with simple platforming becomes chaotic with the mix of enemies. The pesky flying bugs might distract you from the silently invading spiders, for example. Snow Bros., in comparison, also used this form of attack where the player must encapsule an enemy in snow by throwing numerous snow shots, then kick them to clear them off stage. Bubble Bobble also has a similar attack system as another point of comparison. I just wish the game explained what the power-ups and floating lettered balloons do.
Fighting this way is not without challenge. Numerous enemies can swarm the screen simultaneously, forcing the player to prioritize targets. Having three hearts of health eases the difficulty but the challenge always remains high. Thankfully, local co-op is available which helps with the difficulty and makes the experience more enjoyable (just like playing co-op Bubble Bobble or Buster Bros.). The little vampires also have the option to pick up and throw the crops to different positions on the map which also adds to the strategy and depth. In time, abilities can be unlocked and enhanced by spending the collected coins from defeated enemies. Granted, it will take time to unlock the good stuff so the early stages can be considered the most difficult.
In addition to the early difficulty spike, most stages are endurance matches. Not only do you need to survive, protecting the veggies from the onslaught of pests is intense and stress inducing. Some stages continue for too long, in my opinion, especially since it is all or nothing; if you die at the buzzer, the entire stage must be restarted. Also, this is one of those games that immediately rates the player’s performance at the conclusion of each stage. Unfortunately, this scoring system seems random and can be a little frustrating. There were plenty of stages in which I thought I performed well only to get a D rank. Alternatively, I got a couple S ranks when I thought I was struggling. Each stage keeps track of your rank so there is replay value if you wanted to go back to aim for those high scores. However, most stages only last a couple of minutes or so the pace of play remains fast with all staged linked through an overworld map (so you don’t have to tediously replay the early stages each time).
Like so many other Flynn’s Arcade titles, this game looks like a new late 80s arcade game. From the dark backgrounds, wonderous pixelated sprites, and even the choice of font, this game could be plopped into an upright cabinet and you wouldn’t know this is a new 2025 release. The same goes for the soundtrack – it fits the bill of being a new, old game. My only real complaint in the presentation department comes from the overuse of the rumble feature. Pretty much every action causes the controller (Joycon or Pro Controller) to jolt which gets annoying quickly. There is no option to turn off the rumble feature in-game so I had to back out to the Switch’s main menu to deactivate. It isn’t a deal breaker, but one that I had to mention.
While Flora and Fang is entertaining solo, it is best played with a co-op partner. While the grading system might benefit from some tweaking (or be removed entirely), this Flynn’s Arcade release is another banger, one that has more depth and replay value than some of their other titles especially in co-op. It easily justifies the lower asking price and should be placed on your wishlist.
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By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
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RATING
OUR RATING - 8
8
SCORE
Drawing inspiration from Donkey Kong 3, Flora and Fang offers an honest challenge and an enjoyable experience especially when played in co-op.
Editor in Chief - been writing for mygamer,com for 20+ years. Gaming enthusiast. Hater of pants. Publisher of obscure gaming content on my YT channel.
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