Reviewing the Sparkster games is no simple task. Before you can even sit down to commit one word you need to shuffle through a mountain of paperwork, checking off countless boxes, double-checking signatures, cross referencing material and sourcing footage in order to ensure you're prepared to talk about the correct game. It's a laborious task, and a thankless one at that. Unfortunately, I fear my previous review for Rocket Knight Adventures (the first of the two Genesis Sparksters) was colored by my inability to distinguish aspects of these two games. There were a few set pieces I mistakenly believed were from Rocket Knight Adventures, but as I've come to find out were in fact from Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2, and I suppose it's possible maybe a bit of Sparkster (SNES) was peppered into my memory too, further poisoning the well.
I've started drinking again.
One key area of difference between the original Rocket Knight and RKA2 is how each game utilizes Sparkster's jetpack. In the first game, levels were tightly designed around the jetpack, which not only made navigation with it feel fun, but integral to the experience. While it's not rendered worthless or unenjoyable in RKA2, levels do feel less intelligently designed and more focused on rote platforming, with a few particular stages being much more closed off, limiting how you can use your jetpack. The lowest point of RKA2's level design comes somewhat late in the game, in the form of an airship level where you must knock out portions of the ship while jumping through tubes which transport you to other sections of the stage. The maze-like structure of this level isn't helped by the fact that everything kinda looks the same. It's not great and it takes too long to complete, a blemish on what is still a fine game despite the more regressive way it handles one of Sparkster's key features.
Everything else about RKA2 is fantastic, though. The sprite work is bursting with character and looks even better than the original, and the soundtrack is just as energetic as its ever been. Sparkster still feels great to control, and even though the jetpack is under utilized, it still avoids feeling unwieldy even when you're literally bouncing off the walls with it. Combat is swift, has good impact, and the pacing of levels outside of the aforementioned airship is top notch. Odds are, if you liked the original RKA or Sparkster, you'll probably dig Rocket Knight Adventures 2, even if you may not like it quite as much (like me.)
I've started drinking again.
One key area of difference between the original Rocket Knight and RKA2 is how each game utilizes Sparkster's jetpack. In the first game, levels were tightly designed around the jetpack, which not only made navigation with it feel fun, but integral to the experience. While it's not rendered worthless or unenjoyable in RKA2, levels do feel less intelligently designed and more focused on rote platforming, with a few particular stages being much more closed off, limiting how you can use your jetpack. The lowest point of RKA2's level design comes somewhat late in the game, in the form of an airship level where you must knock out portions of the ship while jumping through tubes which transport you to other sections of the stage. The maze-like structure of this level isn't helped by the fact that everything kinda looks the same. It's not great and it takes too long to complete, a blemish on what is still a fine game despite the more regressive way it handles one of Sparkster's key features.
Everything else about RKA2 is fantastic, though. The sprite work is bursting with character and looks even better than the original, and the soundtrack is just as energetic as its ever been. Sparkster still feels great to control, and even though the jetpack is under utilized, it still avoids feeling unwieldy even when you're literally bouncing off the walls with it. Combat is swift, has good impact, and the pacing of levels outside of the aforementioned airship is top notch. Odds are, if you liked the original RKA or Sparkster, you'll probably dig Rocket Knight Adventures 2, even if you may not like it quite as much (like me.)