Sparkster on SNES is a decent follow up to the original Rocket Knight Adventures on Genesis (my favorite game of all time, so there is a healthy amount of nostalgia bias at play here). The rocket rodent has a snappier move-set with an air dodge to escape midair dangers, the music carries a strong energy (for the most part), and the game speed clips along with a solid performance throughout.
What's missing, however, is the focused level design, thematic links between stages, and imposing bosses. Whereas Sparkster himself seems to have been given thought about his controls, everything else about the game feels very generic. The first few stages seem to have decent through-lines, but then Sparkster is suddenly in a random pyramid maze followed by a sky filled with giant musical instruments for some reason. Every boss falls completely flat, lacking any of the detailed design or weight of the original, with the worst offender being the final boss. RKA ended with a cinematic final level featuring a reveal that the main bad guy was just a robot decoy, a fantastic duel against Axel, an extremely intense low-grav fight against the "brain" of the ship, and a harrowing escape back into the atmosphere of the planet. Sparkster on the SNES has a small lion jump back and forth while throwing lightning. I heard there was more to the ending on Hard Mode, but I've looked it up and all you do is attack a motionless generator to blow up a missile. Hardly the energy of the epic conclusion from the original.
Overall, Sparkster feels mostly "safe." The titular possum just breezes through levels and bosses without much trouble, never really for any particular reason. It's still a fun action platformer, but the Rocket Knight spirit lasted for exactly one game. Still, if you're going to play a game called "Sparkster," make it the one on SNES, because there's even less magic in the other one on Genesis.
What's missing, however, is the focused level design, thematic links between stages, and imposing bosses. Whereas Sparkster himself seems to have been given thought about his controls, everything else about the game feels very generic. The first few stages seem to have decent through-lines, but then Sparkster is suddenly in a random pyramid maze followed by a sky filled with giant musical instruments for some reason. Every boss falls completely flat, lacking any of the detailed design or weight of the original, with the worst offender being the final boss. RKA ended with a cinematic final level featuring a reveal that the main bad guy was just a robot decoy, a fantastic duel against Axel, an extremely intense low-grav fight against the "brain" of the ship, and a harrowing escape back into the atmosphere of the planet. Sparkster on the SNES has a small lion jump back and forth while throwing lightning. I heard there was more to the ending on Hard Mode, but I've looked it up and all you do is attack a motionless generator to blow up a missile. Hardly the energy of the epic conclusion from the original.
Overall, Sparkster feels mostly "safe." The titular possum just breezes through levels and bosses without much trouble, never really for any particular reason. It's still a fun action platformer, but the Rocket Knight spirit lasted for exactly one game. Still, if you're going to play a game called "Sparkster," make it the one on SNES, because there's even less magic in the other one on Genesis.