Emulating SNES games en masse as a kid I did stumble upon the Pocky & Rocky games (or rather KiKi KaiKai. Took years before I found out the games weren't actually Japan exclusive) and quickly grew to appreciate the games, even though they were definitely too hard for me to be able to beat either of them (at least without heavy use of savestates.) Didn't think there'd ever be a new game in the series, especially not after Pocky & Rocky with Becky, but somehow Reshrined is a game that is very much real, and also really good.
Just like developer Tengo Project's previous games Wild Guns Reloaded and The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is certainly very familiar and even reuses some stages from the first game, but fairly quickly morphs into something that is part remake, part sequel, with absolutely beautiful pixel art graphics and a soundtrack with a mix of fantastic rearrangements of old tracks, and some very good new ones as well. The difficulty has also certainly been toned down a bit, in part thanks to less trial and error thanks to kinder enemy placement than in the old games, but also thanks to a bigger move pool and even an energy shield that unlocks a few stages in, and abilities being much easier to power-up (and keep those power-ups since they can now be picked up again after taking a hit.) Still not at all an easy game since it does keep the spirit of the original so the enemies are still fairly relentless and come from most directions at the same time at high speeds, but it still feels a lot more fair and made for modern sensibilities than the previous games did. Pretty sure it even has unlimited continues (I only used two on my playthrough, but there didn't seem to be a limit) so anyone with a bit of patience could realistically beat it.
Pocky & Rocky is at its heart a very simple and arcade-y series of run 'n gun games so I don't really have all that much to say here, but I did really appreciate how much care was put into the story mode to give some variety to the gameplay, through the stages making you play as different characters with different attacks, and also make it feel like you're growing stronger throughout the journey, through giving you more health after each stage and having Pocky unlock new skills after some stages. The plot is sort of nonsense, but it's at least the fun kind that's not afraid to go to pretty bizarre places, and the cutscenes know not to overstay their welcome.
Just like developer Tengo Project's previous games Wild Guns Reloaded and The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is certainly very familiar and even reuses some stages from the first game, but fairly quickly morphs into something that is part remake, part sequel, with absolutely beautiful pixel art graphics and a soundtrack with a mix of fantastic rearrangements of old tracks, and some very good new ones as well. The difficulty has also certainly been toned down a bit, in part thanks to less trial and error thanks to kinder enemy placement than in the old games, but also thanks to a bigger move pool and even an energy shield that unlocks a few stages in, and abilities being much easier to power-up (and keep those power-ups since they can now be picked up again after taking a hit.) Still not at all an easy game since it does keep the spirit of the original so the enemies are still fairly relentless and come from most directions at the same time at high speeds, but it still feels a lot more fair and made for modern sensibilities than the previous games did. Pretty sure it even has unlimited continues (I only used two on my playthrough, but there didn't seem to be a limit) so anyone with a bit of patience could realistically beat it.
Pocky & Rocky is at its heart a very simple and arcade-y series of run 'n gun games so I don't really have all that much to say here, but I did really appreciate how much care was put into the story mode to give some variety to the gameplay, through the stages making you play as different characters with different attacks, and also make it feel like you're growing stronger throughout the journey, through giving you more health after each stage and having Pocky unlock new skills after some stages. The plot is sort of nonsense, but it's at least the fun kind that's not afraid to go to pretty bizarre places, and the cutscenes know not to overstay their welcome.