Spark's Story Cleared on September 20th
Fark's Story Cleared on September 22nd
Spark's Challenge Cleared on October 2nd
Spark The Electric Jester is a game made by Sonic fan creators that brought you Sonic Before and After the Sequel, and as you'd imagine is based on the 2D games while taking aspects from Kirby and Mega Man X to give it its own identity. Obviously Sonic inspired games are nothing new since three years prior we have Freedom Planet which is an amazing game that I think blows every 2D Sonic game out of the water. Right off my review score, you can see that I don't really like it as much, and going into the game, I wasn't expecting it to be on the same level. But I wasn't expecting it to be a bad game either, and in its own way, is an amazing game with only a few minor gripes.
Being based on Sonic, you are able to move fast and jump. But unlike other Sonic games where you attack by bouncing on them or spin-dashing into them, you actually have a dedicated attack button to damage foes in your way and the attacks you are able to pull are dependent on the power-ups you have and there are 10 in the game. You could hold up to 2 at a time and you can find them across the levels, and you have a dedicated button for switching between the two power ups, and not only do they have different kind of attacks, but also mobility and "charge" attacks as well.
In your base form, you have the ability to dash and charge up your attack for a powerful blast, but when you attack enough, you fill up a meter which allows you to fire an even bigger charge attack. When you have power-ups, however, some of these interactions change entirely and I'll review every one of these power-ups to give you an idea.
Bat is a power you come across early on which is basically the same as your base form as you keep the same charge attack and mobility, but you gain a tremendous physical attack boost and is arguably considered the best power-up for dealing with bosses because the attack power is just that high. However, being more close to your base form, the mobility is one of the weakest in the game.
Wind is a very mobile power and another you can get early on. It gives you an Air Dash which is actually considered very useful in some situations because not only does the dash give you a means to close the gap, it also acts as a parry as well if you are able to time it, so being able to parry even in the air is actually really good. Plus, you get a triple jump, a float that drastically lowers your fall speed and increases air time, and a charge that seems like it does nothing unless you have the meter charged, but if you shoot it backwards, it propels you forward quite a distance.
Gravity is a power that you are most likely going to miss on your first playthrough like I did, but I did get a chance to use it through Wishes Mode (more on that later) and it gives you the ability to float in the air indefinitely and allow you to control the direction of flight too. This could lead to some wacky evasion antics for bosses, but it is balanced by the fact that repeatedly attacking causes it to tire out and just become unable to attack for a couple of seconds.
Board is a power that gives Spark a board to ride on and it will become very clear on the 2nd act of the 3rd level which is designed with the power-up in mind. You just go really fast and upon going fast for long enough, you can achieve speed break which damages foes along the way. You can also attack which spins you around, and if used in the air can give you air-time which might come in handy. Despite only a few levels being designed with this power-up, you can still actually use it as long as you have it in any level in the game.
Sword gives Spark a sword which despite it seeming as such, is less of a melee power-up and more of a ranged one as your attacks swing a cut projectile at the foe, and you can create blue balls that can be swung at the foe. Your charge-up is not an attack, but instead a mobility boost that improves both your speed and jump for a couple of seconds. On top of that, the time window in which you are able to dodge attacks with your dash increases meaning you get an easier time to avoid attacks.
Cool gives Spark ice powers which has some impressive damage potential if you are able to get off a spin and its charge-up can also deal a great amount of damage too. The physics does seem to change to be slippery, but not to the point of being unbearable. You can also walk on water and create a platform while in the air.
Fire gives Spark fire powers which gives him some fire attacks including a Fireball Dash (plus you can air dash as well), Flame Breath, and while he doesn't have any charge-up attacks here, every 3 standard attacks allow for his up or down attacks to unleash blue flames which deals increased damage. But if you manage to keep this ability when you get to the one lava level in the game, make sure you do not lose it because it gives you an immunity to lava and hot waters.
Edgy makes Spark more angtsy in appearance donning a black and red color schematic which I respect because it just embraces the edge which includes giving it a kunai to throw at enemies and when the meter is fully charged, it can unleash a red blast of energy based on Chaos Blast. It's also ironically one of the best abilities in the game because you get a double jump, an air dash, and the ability to walk on walls. It's also not too bad with its damage output either.
Hammer grants Spark a hammer which deals a good amount of damage, but compared to Bat does have the advantage of giving a small double jump and the ability to hurl projectiles by slamming the ground and calling upon rocks which he could swing at the foes although it takes good timing to get the direction you want.
Archer is the true ranged power-up which grants a bow that can fire projectiles although each shot has a short cooldown which means you can't just fire it rapidly... unless if you charged up the meter, ready a charge attack, and only then can you fire repeatedly. The damage isn't the strongest, but it does allow you to chip away foes from a safe distance and the charge attack can allow a few shots to fire explosive arrows.
Magical is a power-up that gives a star wand which acts as a mix of ranged and mobile as you gain an air dash. The damage isn't that amazing, though, but if you are able to get the meter to max, you can unleash a starfall which can good AoE damage. You can also fire downwards repeatedly to increase air time. You can also do this with Archer, but with the unlimited ammo, it is much more reliable.
Knight is a power-up that gives Spark an armor and a spear, and on the surface it might seem pretty standard as far as powers go as you deal melee damage, but it's biggest strength is that it gives a shield which is pretty much a free hit point that can be regenerated every couple of seconds. In harder difficulties when you have Wishes Mode enabled, you might get some value out of it.
Mage is a power-up that gives Spark probably the coolest charge up move in the game and the damage it deals is quite good, but as a whole, it feels remarkably underdeveloped as it does not have any mobility benefits or even an up or down attack which makes it quite possibly the worst power-up in the game. It's not to say "avoid it at all costs" as you can still get good value out of it if you end up with it, but that's because the game is easy at least on standard difficulty.
There's one more power-up you can get, but that's at the end of the game, and in Wishes Mode, you can't even use it until after you've completed every mode in the game. I'm talking about Super Spark which gives a triple jump and an air dash, but also gives you and a spin attack that you can cast as many times as you desire. It's actually not that fantastic in the grand scheme of things, but it does look pretty cool when using it in the final boss.
Bur once you get the final boss down, there is another mode you can do which is playing as Fark which is Spark's robot doppelganger that replaced his job. Just a bit of a note on the story, there isn't much that goes on in it, so if Freedom Planet's story putted you off, then you might consider this a good thing. That aside, the dialogue is quite absurd and believe it or not, the dialogue was actually reworked in patch 1.5 which admittedly sounds really bizarre, but from what I'm told is because they had a new direction in mind for Spark 2 and I guess they didn't really like how Spark was portrayed in 1.0 as he was seen as more brash and arrogant while 1.5 portrays him as kind of a doofus. Also, the entire reason for his journey in the first place is just because he got fired and wants him job back which feels less traditional compared to a character like Sonic or Lilac who fights to save the world, but for a game with a less serious tone, I think the motivation works just fine.
As for Fark, he is the robot that replaced his job and in 1.0, Spark was pretty damn salty about it to the point where taking him down was his main objective. In 1.5, he doesn't take Fark as seriously and is more concerned about the robot takeover in general. But what does Fark even do?
Fark is unable to use any power-ups, but he does have some of the advantages that some Spark abilities have. He can double jump, air dash, and walk on walls like what Edgy Spark can do. He can fire 3 standard attacks and unleash a stronger up or down attack like what Fire Spark can do. Instead of a power-up switch, he can parry attacks which is much easier to pull off than dash dodge and also fills up a meter which at 50% can activate to grant not only super speed like Sword Spark, but grants invincibility and a burst of healing which is balanced by the fact he only has 4 health compared to Spark having 7. However, if you keep the meter at 100%, Fark becomes Super Fark which grants him a larger attack range although not much else to it. Fark's levels are also made harder as you get new bosses to fight and even an exclusive final boss... well, perhaps not so exclusive when you are able to experience everything that Fark goes through with Spark's Challenge.
Spark's Challenge is Fark's Story, but with Spark instead. The game warns you in the beginning that Dash Dodge is mandatory to win because Fark's stages were built with his Parry in mind which Spark does not have. Oh and if you somehow have the nuts to do it on Hard Mode, you only get two hits before you have to go back to the save point. You do have unlimited lives, so you are free to try as many times as you like, but doing Spark's Challenge on Hard Mode is absurdly difficult because pulling off a Dash Dodge can be very precise. Like just when you thought you got down the timing, you end up being a few frames off and now you just took damage or died. The good news is that you are able to use Wishes Mode if you so desire which allows you to access every power-up in the game by pressing down + power-up switch button which allows you to scroll through every power-up in the game which allows you to use what you want for any situation. The game recommends this setting and having endured it, I would argue you are going to need it. You can use Gravity and Wind to avoid a horde of enemies, Edgy to climb up walls while going fast through what I call a Dash + Jump combo, Archer to damage enemies from a safe distance, Magical to clear a wave of small enemies in your way if you are able to fill up your meter, and Knight as it gives you a free hit point periodically.
As cool as it is, I really do not like how you have to toggle left and right between over 10 power-ups. This would be one thing if it were 4 power-ups, but with that many power-ups would warrant a Quick Select wheel like what Ratchet & Clank does, but in this game, switching power-ups can be a hassle. So if you need to switch from Wind to Fire, you need to get to a safe spot, press down + power swap, and repeatedly tap left or right to get the desired power-up. You also cannot move while switching power ups either.
Another problem I have with the game is its sense of momentum which is different from Sonic which isn't bad on its own because Freedom Planet has a different sense of momentum, but at the very least that game doesn't have you slow down when you are going up a slope even you are going fast which means you are forced to spam the dash button to go through loops. If this sounds like its by design to add use to the dash, it wouldn't devalue it since other than being used to dodge, it does build up an initial burst of speed and for some power-ups, it's useful for closing the gap with an Air Dash or for Edgy and Fark, you can pull off a massive burst of speed with by pressing dash while in the air and immediately after pressing jump to leap a massive distance. I understand the game is more combat focused and yeah, you do get those high-speed thrills often enough, but the momentum could've been so much better.
I've also ran into technical issues including Frame Rate drops as well as the inability to actually pause in Level 14 as it shows an error message, but nothing game breaking as far as I'm aware. I heard there were much worse bugs on initial release, but have long since been patched. With how extremely precise the Dash Dodge is even with Sword active to the point where it feels inconsistent, I don't even know if I'd recommend doing Spark's Challenge at least on Hard difficulty and not only that, but because you have two health, you have to be wary of your surroundings, but sometimes you can be met with a barrage of enemies, get camped from the higher ground, or even get goobed because of that one enemy that teleports and airstrikes you from above.
But regardless of my problems, Spark the Electric Jester is actually a really great game that I would rank up there with my favorite 2D platformers. I actually like it a lot more than Sonic, as ironic as this sounds. It wore its inspiration and was still able to deliver a memorable experience with a simple and well-designed character in Spark, and an amazing soundtrack with having one of my favorite final boss themes in any video game I've played.
Fark's Story Cleared on September 22nd
Spark's Challenge Cleared on October 2nd
Spark The Electric Jester is a game made by Sonic fan creators that brought you Sonic Before and After the Sequel, and as you'd imagine is based on the 2D games while taking aspects from Kirby and Mega Man X to give it its own identity. Obviously Sonic inspired games are nothing new since three years prior we have Freedom Planet which is an amazing game that I think blows every 2D Sonic game out of the water. Right off my review score, you can see that I don't really like it as much, and going into the game, I wasn't expecting it to be on the same level. But I wasn't expecting it to be a bad game either, and in its own way, is an amazing game with only a few minor gripes.
Being based on Sonic, you are able to move fast and jump. But unlike other Sonic games where you attack by bouncing on them or spin-dashing into them, you actually have a dedicated attack button to damage foes in your way and the attacks you are able to pull are dependent on the power-ups you have and there are 10 in the game. You could hold up to 2 at a time and you can find them across the levels, and you have a dedicated button for switching between the two power ups, and not only do they have different kind of attacks, but also mobility and "charge" attacks as well.
In your base form, you have the ability to dash and charge up your attack for a powerful blast, but when you attack enough, you fill up a meter which allows you to fire an even bigger charge attack. When you have power-ups, however, some of these interactions change entirely and I'll review every one of these power-ups to give you an idea.
Bat is a power you come across early on which is basically the same as your base form as you keep the same charge attack and mobility, but you gain a tremendous physical attack boost and is arguably considered the best power-up for dealing with bosses because the attack power is just that high. However, being more close to your base form, the mobility is one of the weakest in the game.
Wind is a very mobile power and another you can get early on. It gives you an Air Dash which is actually considered very useful in some situations because not only does the dash give you a means to close the gap, it also acts as a parry as well if you are able to time it, so being able to parry even in the air is actually really good. Plus, you get a triple jump, a float that drastically lowers your fall speed and increases air time, and a charge that seems like it does nothing unless you have the meter charged, but if you shoot it backwards, it propels you forward quite a distance.
Gravity is a power that you are most likely going to miss on your first playthrough like I did, but I did get a chance to use it through Wishes Mode (more on that later) and it gives you the ability to float in the air indefinitely and allow you to control the direction of flight too. This could lead to some wacky evasion antics for bosses, but it is balanced by the fact that repeatedly attacking causes it to tire out and just become unable to attack for a couple of seconds.
Board is a power that gives Spark a board to ride on and it will become very clear on the 2nd act of the 3rd level which is designed with the power-up in mind. You just go really fast and upon going fast for long enough, you can achieve speed break which damages foes along the way. You can also attack which spins you around, and if used in the air can give you air-time which might come in handy. Despite only a few levels being designed with this power-up, you can still actually use it as long as you have it in any level in the game.
Sword gives Spark a sword which despite it seeming as such, is less of a melee power-up and more of a ranged one as your attacks swing a cut projectile at the foe, and you can create blue balls that can be swung at the foe. Your charge-up is not an attack, but instead a mobility boost that improves both your speed and jump for a couple of seconds. On top of that, the time window in which you are able to dodge attacks with your dash increases meaning you get an easier time to avoid attacks.
Cool gives Spark ice powers which has some impressive damage potential if you are able to get off a spin and its charge-up can also deal a great amount of damage too. The physics does seem to change to be slippery, but not to the point of being unbearable. You can also walk on water and create a platform while in the air.
Fire gives Spark fire powers which gives him some fire attacks including a Fireball Dash (plus you can air dash as well), Flame Breath, and while he doesn't have any charge-up attacks here, every 3 standard attacks allow for his up or down attacks to unleash blue flames which deals increased damage. But if you manage to keep this ability when you get to the one lava level in the game, make sure you do not lose it because it gives you an immunity to lava and hot waters.
Edgy makes Spark more angtsy in appearance donning a black and red color schematic which I respect because it just embraces the edge which includes giving it a kunai to throw at enemies and when the meter is fully charged, it can unleash a red blast of energy based on Chaos Blast. It's also ironically one of the best abilities in the game because you get a double jump, an air dash, and the ability to walk on walls. It's also not too bad with its damage output either.
Hammer grants Spark a hammer which deals a good amount of damage, but compared to Bat does have the advantage of giving a small double jump and the ability to hurl projectiles by slamming the ground and calling upon rocks which he could swing at the foes although it takes good timing to get the direction you want.
Archer is the true ranged power-up which grants a bow that can fire projectiles although each shot has a short cooldown which means you can't just fire it rapidly... unless if you charged up the meter, ready a charge attack, and only then can you fire repeatedly. The damage isn't the strongest, but it does allow you to chip away foes from a safe distance and the charge attack can allow a few shots to fire explosive arrows.
Magical is a power-up that gives a star wand which acts as a mix of ranged and mobile as you gain an air dash. The damage isn't that amazing, though, but if you are able to get the meter to max, you can unleash a starfall which can good AoE damage. You can also fire downwards repeatedly to increase air time. You can also do this with Archer, but with the unlimited ammo, it is much more reliable.
Knight is a power-up that gives Spark an armor and a spear, and on the surface it might seem pretty standard as far as powers go as you deal melee damage, but it's biggest strength is that it gives a shield which is pretty much a free hit point that can be regenerated every couple of seconds. In harder difficulties when you have Wishes Mode enabled, you might get some value out of it.
Mage is a power-up that gives Spark probably the coolest charge up move in the game and the damage it deals is quite good, but as a whole, it feels remarkably underdeveloped as it does not have any mobility benefits or even an up or down attack which makes it quite possibly the worst power-up in the game. It's not to say "avoid it at all costs" as you can still get good value out of it if you end up with it, but that's because the game is easy at least on standard difficulty.
There's one more power-up you can get, but that's at the end of the game, and in Wishes Mode, you can't even use it until after you've completed every mode in the game. I'm talking about Super Spark which gives a triple jump and an air dash, but also gives you and a spin attack that you can cast as many times as you desire. It's actually not that fantastic in the grand scheme of things, but it does look pretty cool when using it in the final boss.
Bur once you get the final boss down, there is another mode you can do which is playing as Fark which is Spark's robot doppelganger that replaced his job. Just a bit of a note on the story, there isn't much that goes on in it, so if Freedom Planet's story putted you off, then you might consider this a good thing. That aside, the dialogue is quite absurd and believe it or not, the dialogue was actually reworked in patch 1.5 which admittedly sounds really bizarre, but from what I'm told is because they had a new direction in mind for Spark 2 and I guess they didn't really like how Spark was portrayed in 1.0 as he was seen as more brash and arrogant while 1.5 portrays him as kind of a doofus. Also, the entire reason for his journey in the first place is just because he got fired and wants him job back which feels less traditional compared to a character like Sonic or Lilac who fights to save the world, but for a game with a less serious tone, I think the motivation works just fine.
As for Fark, he is the robot that replaced his job and in 1.0, Spark was pretty damn salty about it to the point where taking him down was his main objective. In 1.5, he doesn't take Fark as seriously and is more concerned about the robot takeover in general. But what does Fark even do?
Fark is unable to use any power-ups, but he does have some of the advantages that some Spark abilities have. He can double jump, air dash, and walk on walls like what Edgy Spark can do. He can fire 3 standard attacks and unleash a stronger up or down attack like what Fire Spark can do. Instead of a power-up switch, he can parry attacks which is much easier to pull off than dash dodge and also fills up a meter which at 50% can activate to grant not only super speed like Sword Spark, but grants invincibility and a burst of healing which is balanced by the fact he only has 4 health compared to Spark having 7. However, if you keep the meter at 100%, Fark becomes Super Fark which grants him a larger attack range although not much else to it. Fark's levels are also made harder as you get new bosses to fight and even an exclusive final boss... well, perhaps not so exclusive when you are able to experience everything that Fark goes through with Spark's Challenge.
Spark's Challenge is Fark's Story, but with Spark instead. The game warns you in the beginning that Dash Dodge is mandatory to win because Fark's stages were built with his Parry in mind which Spark does not have. Oh and if you somehow have the nuts to do it on Hard Mode, you only get two hits before you have to go back to the save point. You do have unlimited lives, so you are free to try as many times as you like, but doing Spark's Challenge on Hard Mode is absurdly difficult because pulling off a Dash Dodge can be very precise. Like just when you thought you got down the timing, you end up being a few frames off and now you just took damage or died. The good news is that you are able to use Wishes Mode if you so desire which allows you to access every power-up in the game by pressing down + power-up switch button which allows you to scroll through every power-up in the game which allows you to use what you want for any situation. The game recommends this setting and having endured it, I would argue you are going to need it. You can use Gravity and Wind to avoid a horde of enemies, Edgy to climb up walls while going fast through what I call a Dash + Jump combo, Archer to damage enemies from a safe distance, Magical to clear a wave of small enemies in your way if you are able to fill up your meter, and Knight as it gives you a free hit point periodically.
As cool as it is, I really do not like how you have to toggle left and right between over 10 power-ups. This would be one thing if it were 4 power-ups, but with that many power-ups would warrant a Quick Select wheel like what Ratchet & Clank does, but in this game, switching power-ups can be a hassle. So if you need to switch from Wind to Fire, you need to get to a safe spot, press down + power swap, and repeatedly tap left or right to get the desired power-up. You also cannot move while switching power ups either.
Another problem I have with the game is its sense of momentum which is different from Sonic which isn't bad on its own because Freedom Planet has a different sense of momentum, but at the very least that game doesn't have you slow down when you are going up a slope even you are going fast which means you are forced to spam the dash button to go through loops. If this sounds like its by design to add use to the dash, it wouldn't devalue it since other than being used to dodge, it does build up an initial burst of speed and for some power-ups, it's useful for closing the gap with an Air Dash or for Edgy and Fark, you can pull off a massive burst of speed with by pressing dash while in the air and immediately after pressing jump to leap a massive distance. I understand the game is more combat focused and yeah, you do get those high-speed thrills often enough, but the momentum could've been so much better.
I've also ran into technical issues including Frame Rate drops as well as the inability to actually pause in Level 14 as it shows an error message, but nothing game breaking as far as I'm aware. I heard there were much worse bugs on initial release, but have long since been patched. With how extremely precise the Dash Dodge is even with Sword active to the point where it feels inconsistent, I don't even know if I'd recommend doing Spark's Challenge at least on Hard difficulty and not only that, but because you have two health, you have to be wary of your surroundings, but sometimes you can be met with a barrage of enemies, get camped from the higher ground, or even get goobed because of that one enemy that teleports and airstrikes you from above.
But regardless of my problems, Spark the Electric Jester is actually a really great game that I would rank up there with my favorite 2D platformers. I actually like it a lot more than Sonic, as ironic as this sounds. It wore its inspiration and was still able to deliver a memorable experience with a simple and well-designed character in Spark, and an amazing soundtrack with having one of my favorite final boss themes in any video game I've played.