Review – Rocket Knight

The Scoop: Way back in the early 90s it seemed like a lot of games used the model set by Sonic the Hedgehog which had a non-human protagonist with a lot of ‘tude and some sort of stellar ability as a marketing ploy for you to buy the game.  Rocket Knight Adventures, the 1993 Sega Genesis release, did follow the same formula with its protagonist, Sparkster, the jetpack-wearing opossum donning aviator glasses which gave him just enough ‘tude, but it certainly was no cash-in.  It was, instead, one of the best platformers on that system with its solid gameplay and level design.  It warranted a Genesis sequel, Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 and a spin-off for the Super Nintendo simply titled Sparkster, but unfortunately he still got a little lost over time.  Now fifteen years later Sparkster is rightfully back in Rocket Knight, a game that has all the cleverness of the original titles and is worthy to be the update this series deserves.

Two for the price of one!

The Setup: Rocket Knight is not a remake or sequel to Rocket Knight Adventures, but a revival for the entire franchise.  It has a new story and new levels so you do not need to have played the originals to jump right into this one.  Rocket Knight is more visually in line with the SNES spin-off Sparkster, but plays like the Genesis incarnations.  It’s a 2D platformer with spiffy 3D-modeled characters giving it a more modern look but is still deep with classic gameplay.  You’ll be bouncing off walls with Sparkster’s jetpack to reach new heights and use his tail to hang and slide on pipes.  Even the side-scrolling spaceship style shooting levels are back where the spaceship is replaced with Sparkster and his jetpack.

What’s Hot: What I found to be the most fun is how clever the game is and how it forces you, the gamer, to be the same.  You will need to be conservative and make the best use of Sparkster’s abilities to get by with a minimal amount of damage since you won’t have a continuous reserve of lives to waste.  You can run through the levels “beat ‘em up” style using only Sparkster’s sword, but you will eventually find it will cost too much health to do so.  You’ll have to find a better way of getting around and knocking down enemies using his jetpack, but it’s up to you to figure out how.  It isn’t overly technical where you’ll need to memorize moves or enemy locations but you will have to find the best way to get by.

Eat your heart out Zaxxon!

While I was playing, I got to one part of the game where there was a wolf in a big wheel; like a hamster in a ball that followed you and would knock off health if he was touched.  I beat him by running up to him hacking away with Sparkster’s sword, but it cost so much health that I couldn’t make it to the end of the level.  I had to figure out a way of hanging from pipes using Sparkster’s tail and using a burst from his jetpack to get some damage on him then be able to jump high enough to get out of his way.  Rocket Knight is loaded with these kinds of moments that keep the gameplay from getting stale.

What’s Not: The only real knock against the game, which might cause a few gamers to balk at its $15 price tag, is its length, since it is short.  You can easily finish it in three to five hours depending on what difficulty setting you’re on, but the game does benefit from this by containing very little filler, which does give it some replay value.  Each level has its own unique moments you’ll want to see again and there are some challenging trophy/achievement incentives that are old school in mind like the beating the game in under an hour and getting a million points on the multiplying scoring system.  All this will have you wanting several play-throughs and it will still feel worthy of your time.

Final Verdict: Although it isn’t the deepest platformer since it is missing some now standard elements for an Arcade/PSN/Steam network release like a multiplayer or co-op mode, it thankfully doesn’t have anything wedged in just for the sake of having it.  Rocket Knight is a solid return for this series that should have never been lost in the first place and I think you are really going to like this game.  I’m glad it’s here.  It made me feel good.  I want Konami/Climax Studios to make more.