The way the game plays is genuinely fantastic. When you first start out, you're a little clumsy and make plenty of mistakes, which the game does not punish you very harshly for. There's no health or lives system, which really benefits the game's learning curve. It's a constant, steady slope upward until tackling Ranks. Then, the slope becomes a lot steeper, but it's not impossible!! The game is very fluid with its moveset options. Everything feels natural and right, each button press seamlessly flowing into each other. Because the game is fast-paced, it rarely ever stops you for more than a second, which is incredibly vital. This is emphasized by each playable character's moves.
Peppino is genuinely my favorite character to play. He's also the character the player will start with upon playing the game for the first time.
Despite being a fat Italian, he's incredibly nimble and fast. He also packs a huge punch, able to grab enemies with a Grab Dash and defeat them with a Finishing Blow. In boss fights, he can't defeat them immediately, but it still hits hard. His greatest ability, arguably, is climbing walls. If he's Mach Running in mid-air or runs up a ramp upon colliding into a wall, he'll climb up! It allows for seamless exploration and progression through a level. The wall climbing is why I prefer Peppino, outside of his anxious and pathetic demeanor charming me too well.
Gustavo and Brick are a bit slower and aren't able to hit Mach 4 like Peppino or Noise, but that doesn't devalue them as a playable character at all. The only thing that could arguably be a downside is that Gustavo can't utilize any transformations.
Gustavo isn't able to pick up enemies like Peppino or Noise, but he can still spin into them and instantly defeat them that way. He also can kick Brick into them like a bowling ball, which can complete a Chef Task in Pig City. Unfortunately, Gustavo cannot climb up walls. He can only travel vertically with Rat Balloons, or by bouncing off of the wall with Brick. Unlike Noise, the verticality will never decrease. Gustavo also can hang off of rails.
Noise shares a lot of gameplay mechanics with Peppino, but he has a lot of quirks that quickly set him apart. He has some different sound effects for simple things, like his Mach Run or getting hit! The biggest difference between him and Peppino is the fact Noise is vertically challenged. No, it's not that he's short, but rather he can't climb walls. He bounces right off of them with his skateboard, which does send him up, but upon repeatedly bouncing against the wall, it will send him down eventually.
In boss fights, Noise isn't physically strong, so he relies on his Noise Bombs to do damage for him. Arguably, this is slower than Peppino's method of being strong as hell.
Peppino and The Noise are both able to utilize transformations in levels to progress. They're all very fun to control, some of which feel differently depending on who you're playing as! Because of that, I have different favorite transformations for each character.
In Peppibot Factory, you get crushed by a Box Stamper and compressed into a small box: the Boxed Transformation. Peppino's able to flap the box lid to fly, and he's pretty fast for a pizza! While some see Noise's Boxed Transformation as better since you don't have to repeatedly press jump, I vastly prefer Peppino's because of it. Plus, the sound effects are really goofy.
While the controls for the Knight Transformation is the same as Peppino's, the key difference is Noise can bounce off of walls when he hits into them. Peppino's momentum is completely haulted until the animation for him bumping into the wall is complete. This makes Noise's variant of the transformation much more seamless when it comes to making mistakes.
This game's jam-packed with amazing levels, none of them being a genuine miss. The themeing is strong for all of them and it's hard to pick some favorites, so I settled with talking about one level per floor. Do note that because the game is playable as both Peppino and The Noise, I'll be talking about how both of their gameplay affect how I play the level.
Playing through this level for the first time was a little frustrating. I often kept getting hit by the pizza cutters, but something this game is really good at is making it feel like it's your mistake instead of the game's. With how versatile both Peppino and Noise are, you truly are in control if you get hit or not most of the time. You really feel that here. This level does a really good job at highlighting the differences between playstyles, too! Peppino has an easier time traversing the escape section, easily climbing the walls, while The Noise struggles since he isn't really built for verticality. He has to Super Jump to get out of that long vertical section. This is why Peppino wins.
This is one of my favorite levels for the Weenie Mount alone, but even excluding that this is a really solid level. When I first played the game, I got frustrated with the Horsey races as Peppino, because I was still a bit clumsy playing the game. I would restart the level if I lost one since the Toppins are locked behind a cage if you lose. It felt really embarrassing... Seems like The Noise shares my sentiment, because if you fail a Horsey race, you can just... Grab Dash into it, and break open the cage to get a Toppin anyway. I was still getting used to Noise's moveset when I lost, and dashing into the Horsey caught me by genuine surprise. It was hilarious!
This ended up being a favorite stage of mine mostly due to the theming. I'm unfortunately a sucker for tropical settings. The rest of the levels on this floor were equally fun, but this one just sits above the rest for that reason alone. I admit I'm biased.
This level hosts the Barrel Transformation, which is really fun to roll around in. However, during the escape sequence, the first barrel section can be really tricky if you don't know what you're doing. When I first played, I constantly fumbled the timing as Peppino, which got me a bit angry. That same energy came back when I played this level as The Noise, because unlike Peppino, his Barrel Transformation rolls up walls. Eventually I learned and got used to it, and find the humor in him rolling up walls!
To the complete contrast of Crust Cove, I also really like this level for the theming! Not only that, but Peppino even gets a special idle animation exclusive to this level where he's shivering. Poor guy probably hates the cold. You even see Gustavo in his winter outfit in the beginning of the level, shoveling the snow in front of a cabin in the level! Makes me wonder though, is that cabin his? Why is it here? While playing as Noise, nobody takes Gustavo's place, which was a little disappointing. I was really hoping to see Noisette there, personally. Would've been cute.
Right before the escape section, the player gets access to Satan's Choice, also known as Pepper Pizza. Eating it makes them invincible and red, and in Peppino's case, allows further progression of the level. It's very rewarding since the Snowmen in the level can't get scared upon running at Mach 3 or 4 into them, so they can still hurt you. Funnily enough, Noise has the option to completely skip it, since at the start of the level, he drinks... gasoline, and uses his jetpack to break ice blocks. The jetpack doesn't make him invincible, but it does the job. Thanks buddy. Though, seeing him eat the pizza and have flames in his mouth is really funny. If the Firemouth Transformation too is anything to go by, Noise is a fan of spice.
When I first played WAR, I was shocked by the timer. "What do you mean I only have a minute!?" Then, I discovered the Terminals increasing your time, and I knew this level was going to be hard but worth completing. My first time around was rough: I didn't go for any secrets and mainly aimed to get the hell out of there with the Toppins. It took me several tries, but I wasn't willing to face the final boss without beating every level. When I finally beat it, I felt so accomplished. Then, after I beat the game... it was time to Rank it. I saved WAR for last. At that point, my skill with the game increased so dramatically, that WAR was actually a breeze! I felt so proud of myself, and even managed to get the "Trip to the Warzone" Chef Task by complete accident! I was worried that when The Noise Update would come, because Noise wields a machine gun, it would be easier to beat. That's not the case, and it's just as difficult! Really happy for that.
When Pizza Tower first released, a lot of people were headcanoning Peppino to be a war veteran. This was originally the case in older lore of the game, but at some point it got retconned. There were screenshots going around saying he was drunk when he made that statement, but it seems more indicative that he was flip-flopping on the idea in hindsight. I've always been of the opinion that it adds depth to both Peppino as a character and further mystery to Pizzaface's intentions. To me, it didn't feel "too edgy" since the game never made a point to focus on it. When The Noise Update came and people discovered how to unlock Swap Mode, there were some medals hung up on the wall in Peppino's house, seemingly re-confirming the idea that he is a war vet. I personally welcome it!
After the final boss, I was shocked to realize there was another level right after. Upon knocking down the final Pillar John, the music kicked in, and I felt determined. The level is a gauntlet of everything you've went through in the levels. It utilizes multiple transformations and items, testing your reflexes and knowledge of the game. It really felt like everything was being thrown in your way to prevent you from leaving the tower, threatening to trap you under its rubble. After everything though, there's nothing stopping you. If you got this far, you can make it out. And the best part of it? You only have five minutes. That's a minute per floor. But when I saw that time, I knew I could do it. The game does a fantastic job of instilling that confidence in you. While the level is pretty easy in hindsight, it feels GOOD. When I first beat the level, I managed to get to the end right as the song finished my first time.
As you descend the tower, the previous bosses, Mort, Gerome and Snotty if you didn't kill him tag along with you. It feels so nice to see that despite the pummeling Peppino put the bosses through twice, he still leads them out. What a guy. Funnily enough, this is nearly the opposite in The Noise's campaign: he leaves everyone but Noisette, a Noisey, and a bucket behind. The song for him that plays here, too, is a huge ego stroke. He's uh, really got his priorities straight. In Swap Mode, Gustavo tags along still thankfully.
This goes over my thoughts when it comes to fighting against each boss. If you want to know my thoughts on the characters, you'll have to read about that here.
Pepperman is a huge example of the learning curve the game has. When I first played against him, I thought he was pretty hard. His little art critters kept spawning when I least expected it, and his statues I always forgot about. When I first defeated him, I got a Rank. I was that bad. However, when I eventually returned to
Rank him, he was suddenly a lot easier. I didn't understand why people said he was easy, but now I do
and I agree. He's a genuinely good introductory boss fight. Playing as Noise against Pepperman made me relive that brief moment where Pepperman was kind of hard, since you have to attack with bombs. It's specifically harder when it comes to chiseling the statues, since it takes more time and I like to be fast.
This fight was a bit of a pain when I first played it, but I managed to get through with yet another Rank. I thought it was a really fun gimmick to fight with a Revolver instead of how Peppino usually fights, especially because it highlight's Vigilante's character of wanting to even the playing field. It's also a reference to how Metaknight fights work in Kirby, but, shush. Ironically, Noise ends up not getting a Revolver, opting to use bombs instead. It's a decent work-around, although it makes it hard to
Rank. Speaking of,
Ranking Vigi as Peppino was really, really tricky and hard. Even now, I still struggle a little with it, but not as much as I did then. Vigi gives very little openings in his later attacks, which makes it a bit hard.
He's my favorite boss fight in this game. The Noise is the only boss who's attacks are completely random in order, selected from a pool of attacks he can preform. He keeps you on your toes, is annoying like his character, and it feels so good. There are camera Noiseys following him, too, recording his every move! I love the second phase transition, where the flying Noise balloon in the background flies forward and crashes into the arena, defeating the camera Noiseys. His attacks become a lot more violent and lethal now that there's no cameras. Then, when you finally defeat him, he pulls out his minigun, prepared to completely destroy Peppino... until Noisette comes in and drags him off stage, Noise screaming in despair. Great. Saved by women once again!
My favorite thing about this fight is the fact that coming into it for the first time, you're bound to panic and be unsure of what to do, causing you to take damage constantly. At least, that's how I played. I was overly cautious and I was constantly moving, which ended up playing against me, going against everything else in the game. This fight teaches you that if you stop panicking and sit still for a moment, you actually won't get hurt all that much! Once I realized that, Ranking Fake Peppino got a lot easier.
I remember finding out that in The Noise's campaign, Fake Peppino wasn't changed as a fight at all and feeling mildly disappointed. Then, I realized in the Boss VS. screen, his nameplate just says "Peppino," even after defeating him. My disappointment was immediately replaced with laughter. You know what, I'm glad he wasn't changed. It's infinetely funnier that Noise opted to portray Peppino as his weird and creepy clone instead of just getting a fake Noise.
I have a lot to say about this fight. Phase one starts out simple, but as the previous bosses showed, it gets harder. Phase two begins, and it throws you for a complete loop. You find out that it's not Pizzaface behind this, but Pizzahead!? And he's just... some clown?? Then, phase three begins, but you don't even realize it's a third phase. You think you finally defeated him, but, he gets right back up like nothing happened. Then, he throws the previous four bosses against you. No, not a boss rush! And clearly, Peppino thinks the same, because he SNAPS and lunges towards Pepperman. Suddenly, the bosses are a joke, and you're a complete powerhouse. When it's time to fight Pizzahead, he takes not four, but SIX hits to finally be defeated. When it happens, it feels SO, so satisfying. Same goes for Ranking it, although that task is much, much harder.
Playing as Noise allows you to throw bombs instead of beating the hell out of everyone, and in phase three he flat up just turns Super. However, considering that The Noise's campaign is just a reenactment, it's safe to say Noise can't actually do that.
On the outside, it's a reskinned The Noise fight exclusive to The Noise campaign. However, as you progress in the fight, you realize things are different. For one, Doise doesn't use bombs but rather boulders. If you parry one, they don't explode and still pose a risk to you! Secondly, there's no recording studio or anything watching the fight, so there's no Doise balloon to crash into the arena. He just gets a bit more violent as a part of the usual second phase. Then, when you defeat him, a boulder falls into the player's head as he laughs, until Peddito swoops in and carries him offscreen. I laughed so hard when I saw this happen. Apparently, there were people who mistook this as Noisette because of the pink?? That's so hilarious! I was so stunned, I wanted to watch the cutscene again, so I re-entered the arena, and... he was just dead. His corpse was literally on the ground in front of Noise, flies surrounding him too. Then, the game told me I Ranked him, and I unlocked an outfit for doing so?? GREAT??? THANKS????
Peppino
Gustavo
The Noise