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Sparkster, my man. We gotta talk about your obsession with replacing my hedgehog-shaped heart.
You ever wish you grew up with something instead of looking at it through the lens of a jaded 30-year old who's played every piece of trashware and who-gives-a-shit release that had been readily available to them to emulate for the last two decades? You start wondering why they made the introduction fight with your rival skippable, when it's required for the golden ending due to the chaos emerald-laced sword you pull out in the cutscene afterwards, which goes along with the other six swords you're supposed to find later. Two of those swords just being things given to you, either from another fight with your rival or from some run amok stick figure mech in the final stage that sticks it into the ground for you and goes "hasta la pasta" as it heads off to Cucamonga to chill with the big wooden mannequin from Dynamite Headdy.
You ask yourself why the stage where you control your giant mech rampaging through downtown enemy territory is arguably the lowest point of the game. Why do the dumb little chicken walker mechs that the lizard soldiers use take so many rocket-propelled fist punches, thus enabling the auto-scrolling gameplay to become an act of juggling like a Tekken match? Why does Axel Gear in his already-repaired mech feel the need to show up in the background, and sometimes aim behind you where you can't interact with his giant flaming bowling balls and awkwardly punch them back to his ugly face and continue the segment? Why must we rematch in a rock'em sock'em robots bout again where I bait your projectile, and quickly run up and uppercut you in the jaw as you stare in amazement at my ability to block? How many times must we teach you this lesson old man?
Sparkster seems to have gotten a bit more jaded just like me, he's not quite as jovial and happy to be the hero like in Rocket Knight Adventures and has adopted a determined demeanor and a strut that could challenge a Belmont. He now refuses to use projectiles, because he has bought into his own hype and believes that all he needs is a sword and an expensive jetpack he bought at the Possum Boutique that automatically fills his meter. He's developed a gambling problem and started pulling slot machines full-time with all that jewelry he's acquired, and will continue doing so even after a bomb lands on top of his skull out of thin air. His overbearing hubris that has stacked on top of him after defeating the evil swine will surely be the end of him, but not if I can help it! I'll be the one to guide him to safety through the corridor-infested journey of his, and we'll surely take down the confusing mess of an airship layout that is his enemy's getaway vehicle and save the princess!
I still believe in him, for he is the coolest. Godspeed, hero boy.
You ever wish you grew up with something instead of looking at it through the lens of a jaded 30-year old who's played every piece of trashware and who-gives-a-shit release that had been readily available to them to emulate for the last two decades? You start wondering why they made the introduction fight with your rival skippable, when it's required for the golden ending due to the chaos emerald-laced sword you pull out in the cutscene afterwards, which goes along with the other six swords you're supposed to find later. Two of those swords just being things given to you, either from another fight with your rival or from some run amok stick figure mech in the final stage that sticks it into the ground for you and goes "hasta la pasta" as it heads off to Cucamonga to chill with the big wooden mannequin from Dynamite Headdy.
You ask yourself why the stage where you control your giant mech rampaging through downtown enemy territory is arguably the lowest point of the game. Why do the dumb little chicken walker mechs that the lizard soldiers use take so many rocket-propelled fist punches, thus enabling the auto-scrolling gameplay to become an act of juggling like a Tekken match? Why does Axel Gear in his already-repaired mech feel the need to show up in the background, and sometimes aim behind you where you can't interact with his giant flaming bowling balls and awkwardly punch them back to his ugly face and continue the segment? Why must we rematch in a rock'em sock'em robots bout again where I bait your projectile, and quickly run up and uppercut you in the jaw as you stare in amazement at my ability to block? How many times must we teach you this lesson old man?
Sparkster seems to have gotten a bit more jaded just like me, he's not quite as jovial and happy to be the hero like in Rocket Knight Adventures and has adopted a determined demeanor and a strut that could challenge a Belmont. He now refuses to use projectiles, because he has bought into his own hype and believes that all he needs is a sword and an expensive jetpack he bought at the Possum Boutique that automatically fills his meter. He's developed a gambling problem and started pulling slot machines full-time with all that jewelry he's acquired, and will continue doing so even after a bomb lands on top of his skull out of thin air. His overbearing hubris that has stacked on top of him after defeating the evil swine will surely be the end of him, but not if I can help it! I'll be the one to guide him to safety through the corridor-infested journey of his, and we'll surely take down the confusing mess of an airship layout that is his enemy's getaway vehicle and save the princess!
I still believe in him, for he is the coolest. Godspeed, hero boy.
This game makes the decision of having Sparkster's rocket pack constantly charging, which actually feels kind of inspired - in the original there was rarely a reason to not be charging the rocket during downtime, so I like that change here where it's simply a matter of releasing the automatic charge rather than having to charge it yourself.
Unfortunately every other aspect of Sparkster's moveset in this game has been absolutely gutted in favor of having you constantly zipping through the levels with the rocket, the walking speed is abysmally slow and just generally jumping, using your sword and hanging from tightropes just doesn't feel good to do at all.
It genuinely feels like a bootleg knock-off of the original - like, you know, it kind of tries to replicate all the stuff from the original game, but it was made in a sweatshop so they barely work and everything feels off since they couldn't actually replicate the nuances of the mechanics?
I couldn't stomach playing it for more than a few minutes.
Unfortunately every other aspect of Sparkster's moveset in this game has been absolutely gutted in favor of having you constantly zipping through the levels with the rocket, the walking speed is abysmally slow and just generally jumping, using your sword and hanging from tightropes just doesn't feel good to do at all.
It genuinely feels like a bootleg knock-off of the original - like, you know, it kind of tries to replicate all the stuff from the original game, but it was made in a sweatshop so they barely work and everything feels off since they couldn't actually replicate the nuances of the mechanics?
I couldn't stomach playing it for more than a few minutes.
definitely not a bad game but its odd to me how much of this game just feels like a step down from rocket knight 1. the entire time i couldnt help but think that this game felt like it should have been the first rocket knight when you compare the visuals, level designs, and mechanics with the actual first rocket knight game. it just makes me wonder what happened here to land on this being the sequel to rocket knight. again, i do think this game is a decent amount of fun and i dont regret sitting through and playing it, but it just feels like theres some essence of the first game removed here that just confuses me how this could be the sequel to such a unique and fantastic platformer that somehow came out before this one. i will say though that ost went crazy so at least they got that right
While it's an alright game on its own merits, as a sequel to Rocket Knight Adventures, it just feels "off" in just about every way aside from the OST (which is still peak).
Visually, this looks more like a generic fantasy action/adventure that can't measure up Disney-meets-Steampunk aesthetic the first game had going on. That's not to say the game looks terrible by any stretch, but it's a noticeable step down from what we got with RKA.
Mechanically, there's a lot of changes that just don't make much sense. Why is there a random slot machine gimmick that may rain bombs down or a (mostly useless) rocket boost when I'm in the middle of trying to cut up some lizard samurai? Why is Sparkster's sword gimped? I do like the idea of having the jetpack charge automatically up to two tiers (presumably doing more damage if you let it charge twice), but the level design really stops complimenting the mechanic altogether at several points. (You really don't want to use it during autoscrollers or some of the tight corridors in the last stage for example)
There are a couple things Sparkster does a bit better than the previous game, though- oversized mechs and exploration. While the mech fight with Axel isn't nearly as fun (and has to be done twice for the best ending with literally no difference between bouts), you do get a whole stage dedicated to running around a scorched city with it and this was a nice change of pace. Secondly, to get the best ending, you need to acquire several hidden swords throughout the course of the game. The only real issue with this is that most players are bound to miss the very first one since you're locked out of it if you skip the opening the cutscene. (Spoiler- getting them all lets you turn into Not-Super Sonic at the end)
Difficulty is kinda all over the place compared to RKA, which had a gradual curve. The first four stages of the game are pretty easy, save for the hidden sword in the desert. It then becomes Konami hard in stage 5 with several gotcha moments (IE a giant insta kill laser that drops in without warning and a bunch of random ass crushers at the last leg of the stage) and dick-ish enemy placement. Mercifully, you don't lose your progress with the swords if you continue but continuing is very limited on normal (just twice). It's just worth slogging through to see the final boss, though. It's actually pretty awesome and I'm not going to spoil it.
While it may be the second worst of the small spattering of Rocket Knight games, it's still worth playing. Just don't go in expecting the same level of polish as RKA- that game was like lightning in a freaking bottle and I don't think it could ever be replicated.
Visually, this looks more like a generic fantasy action/adventure that can't measure up Disney-meets-Steampunk aesthetic the first game had going on. That's not to say the game looks terrible by any stretch, but it's a noticeable step down from what we got with RKA.
Mechanically, there's a lot of changes that just don't make much sense. Why is there a random slot machine gimmick that may rain bombs down or a (mostly useless) rocket boost when I'm in the middle of trying to cut up some lizard samurai? Why is Sparkster's sword gimped? I do like the idea of having the jetpack charge automatically up to two tiers (presumably doing more damage if you let it charge twice), but the level design really stops complimenting the mechanic altogether at several points. (You really don't want to use it during autoscrollers or some of the tight corridors in the last stage for example)
There are a couple things Sparkster does a bit better than the previous game, though- oversized mechs and exploration. While the mech fight with Axel isn't nearly as fun (and has to be done twice for the best ending with literally no difference between bouts), you do get a whole stage dedicated to running around a scorched city with it and this was a nice change of pace. Secondly, to get the best ending, you need to acquire several hidden swords throughout the course of the game. The only real issue with this is that most players are bound to miss the very first one since you're locked out of it if you skip the opening the cutscene. (Spoiler- getting them all lets you turn into Not-Super Sonic at the end)
Difficulty is kinda all over the place compared to RKA, which had a gradual curve. The first four stages of the game are pretty easy, save for the hidden sword in the desert. It then becomes Konami hard in stage 5 with several gotcha moments (IE a giant insta kill laser that drops in without warning and a bunch of random ass crushers at the last leg of the stage) and dick-ish enemy placement. Mercifully, you don't lose your progress with the swords if you continue but continuing is very limited on normal (just twice). It's just worth slogging through to see the final boss, though. It's actually pretty awesome and I'm not going to spoil it.
While it may be the second worst of the small spattering of Rocket Knight games, it's still worth playing. Just don't go in expecting the same level of polish as RKA- that game was like lightning in a freaking bottle and I don't think it could ever be replicated.
In a slew of mascot platformers that came out during the 8 and 16-bit era, I'd like to think that Sparkster was pretty good. It had a lot of charm and personality, it looked nice, and the music rocked. It had a unique gimmick in going fast and while it was hard as hell at first, gaining a grasp of the rocket mechanics was a core part of the game I enjoyed.
That being said, the game has a slew of old platformer crust to it, like randomly spawning enemies (sometimes cruelly), drab or repetitive boss fights, and level design that often is on the fringe of greatness but borders on frustrating more often than not with a lot of gimmicks that involve waiting around. Sparkster it at its best GOING FAST.
This game is fine. I have a lot of fond memories of it smashing my face against it as a child, but it's rock solid.A shame we never got any more games in the franchise.
That being said, the game has a slew of old platformer crust to it, like randomly spawning enemies (sometimes cruelly), drab or repetitive boss fights, and level design that often is on the fringe of greatness but borders on frustrating more often than not with a lot of gimmicks that involve waiting around. Sparkster it at its best GOING FAST.
This game is fine. I have a lot of fond memories of it smashing my face against it as a child, but it's rock solid.
Alright I'm on record, ON THIS WEBSITE, as being a Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 (Not Sparkster) defender. Maybe I was a little hasty on that.
Not completely. This game is fine and the whining I was reacting to was the kind of thing Gamers do when they don't have a great articulation of their actual issues where they just list differences. Like for example, the jetpack works differently in this one. But being different isn't inherently making it trash or anything. That's a separate decision, which was also made. Okay that was mostly a goof too.
The jetpack, like everything else, really hits on something I can only call the enSonicification of RKA here. Sparkster himself is drawn just a bit COOLER here, even if there's definitely a cartoony edge to a lot of his animations. The jet dash being so at-will, automatically charging, and not actually bouncing if you hit a surface head-on lead to him feeling way more competent by default. The dash isn't a super-powerful measure to be deployed with a lot of consideration and skill anymore, but a thing you can do constantly without losing much control. You're agile as hell. You're COOL now!
The other Sonic thing is that the levels are now much more open and much more themed. Grass level, desert level, and so on. There's less of a narrative to it. You fight a living tree thing that punches you in the first level because it was just a boss they thought of. How is it working for the lizard kingdom? No idea.
I am much less of a fan of Genesis Sonic than most but really my problems here are just that the checkpoints are kinda frustrating and the level design isn't quite up to snuff. Whatever. It's a perfectly fine game.
Not completely. This game is fine and the whining I was reacting to was the kind of thing Gamers do when they don't have a great articulation of their actual issues where they just list differences. Like for example, the jetpack works differently in this one. But being different isn't inherently making it trash or anything. That's a separate decision, which was also made. Okay that was mostly a goof too.
The jetpack, like everything else, really hits on something I can only call the enSonicification of RKA here. Sparkster himself is drawn just a bit COOLER here, even if there's definitely a cartoony edge to a lot of his animations. The jet dash being so at-will, automatically charging, and not actually bouncing if you hit a surface head-on lead to him feeling way more competent by default. The dash isn't a super-powerful measure to be deployed with a lot of consideration and skill anymore, but a thing you can do constantly without losing much control. You're agile as hell. You're COOL now!
The other Sonic thing is that the levels are now much more open and much more themed. Grass level, desert level, and so on. There's less of a narrative to it. You fight a living tree thing that punches you in the first level because it was just a boss they thought of. How is it working for the lizard kingdom? No idea.
I am much less of a fan of Genesis Sonic than most but really my problems here are just that the checkpoints are kinda frustrating and the level design isn't quite up to snuff. Whatever. It's a perfectly fine game.