I've had to tattoo a bunch of crap to my body Memento style to keep these games straight. But, if memory serves me correctly, this is the first Rocket Knight game on the Genesis out of two, and isn't to be confused with Sparkster on the SNES, which is a totally different thing that doesn't take place in the same continuity but features the same characters. They didn't need to do it like this. They didn't need to do this to my brain.
Complicating this is that I'm pretty sure I did not play these in the correct order, and generally I find them to be similar enough that it's easy to assume a certain level is from one game when it's in fact from another. I gave myself a little refresher since it's been a couple years since I last beat this game, and I've taken all my dementia pills, so when I say this is my favorite one to play I hope you can just take me at my word.
Rocket Knight Adventures puts you in control of the titular marsupial. Armed with a sword and a jetpack, you are unleashed upon a world of pigs with orders to terminate indiscriminately. Challenging platforming sections act as buffers between some amazing boss encounters, which for me is the real draw of Rocket Knight. You might be able to call this game a boss rush, though I think that's stretching things a bit, and perhaps underselling how good some of the platforming is. There's also sections where you're flying through levels laying waste to anything that dares to impede your path of destruction, which gameplay-wise are less autoscrollers and more ridiculous showpieces.
The benefit of there being multiple games spread between both consoles is you have a direct point of comparison for music and sound quality. Personally, I like the soundtrack in this game the best, I think it's a lot punchier coming through the Genesis. I feel similarly about the graphics, though I do think the Genesis follow up is more vibrant and a fair bit more expressive. That's not to say any of these games look or sound bad.
If you're looking for a good 16-bit platformer to kill an afternoon with, you can't go wrong with Rocket Knight Adventures. Or Sparkster. or the other Sparkster.
Complicating this is that I'm pretty sure I did not play these in the correct order, and generally I find them to be similar enough that it's easy to assume a certain level is from one game when it's in fact from another. I gave myself a little refresher since it's been a couple years since I last beat this game, and I've taken all my dementia pills, so when I say this is my favorite one to play I hope you can just take me at my word.
Rocket Knight Adventures puts you in control of the titular marsupial. Armed with a sword and a jetpack, you are unleashed upon a world of pigs with orders to terminate indiscriminately. Challenging platforming sections act as buffers between some amazing boss encounters, which for me is the real draw of Rocket Knight. You might be able to call this game a boss rush, though I think that's stretching things a bit, and perhaps underselling how good some of the platforming is. There's also sections where you're flying through levels laying waste to anything that dares to impede your path of destruction, which gameplay-wise are less autoscrollers and more ridiculous showpieces.
The benefit of there being multiple games spread between both consoles is you have a direct point of comparison for music and sound quality. Personally, I like the soundtrack in this game the best, I think it's a lot punchier coming through the Genesis. I feel similarly about the graphics, though I do think the Genesis follow up is more vibrant and a fair bit more expressive. That's not to say any of these games look or sound bad.
If you're looking for a good 16-bit platformer to kill an afternoon with, you can't go wrong with Rocket Knight Adventures. Or Sparkster. or the other Sparkster.
2 Comments
Well now I'm gonna.
FallenGrace
2 years ago