Review - Rocket Knight

To anyone familiar with the Rocket Knight games on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo, get ready, because after 16 and a half years, another game in the Rocket Knight series is out, simply titled Rocket Kinght. That said, it's obvious that this isn't a sequel anybody in particular was waiting for, but it certainly is a blast from the past.



Rocket Knight's hero is an opossum named Sparkster, and things have changed in the 16 years since he twice saved the kingdom of Zebulos (which I'm not sure if it's either now called Zephyrus or if it's a different kingdom altogether) from the villainous pig empire. In fact, the pigs and the opossums have become friends and allies since then, and ol' Sparkster's got himself a wife and kid, living the life of a simple farmer. But things aren't staying that way for long, of course, and this time, it's wolves who are a threat to Zephyrus, and when Sparkster catches sight of an attack on the nearby kingdom, he dons his rocket pack once again defending Zephyrus as the Rocket Kinght.

The gameplay, as you would imagine, is very much similar to the Genesis era games of the past. Rocket Knight might look dual-core, but it plays 16-bit. You've got your arsenal of jetpack-based maneuvers from the old games - Boost jumping, burst attacks, ricocheting off walls to reach new areas, as well as Sparkster's natural ability to hang from rods and poles by his tail. The controls are tight and responsive, with the exception of jumping down from platforms, which didn't want to work for me a few times. As well, the game has a few levels where you take to the skies in a sidescrolling shooter-esque style.

Other than that, it's your typical early 90s platformer, and there's not much more to say about it, which is a bit unfortunate considering how much I could say about the retro games that came 16 years before it, especially the first game. There were elements from the original titles that sadly aren't present in the new downloadable title. For starters, this game has puzzles that involve switches, and for most of the third world, it's mostly switch puzzles and timing wall ricochets. Mind you, these segments of the game are actually pretty good, and they did the best they could with the limited design elements, but there could have been more. For instance, in the first game, there was a stage where you change position behind a waterfall by jumping on a platform, and another where your character is blocked by the foreground, and you have to rely on the reflection of waving lava in order to move on. There's none of that in Rocket Knight, but imagine how much bigger and better the game would have been had they brought back these stages.

Another disappointment comes in the form of bosses. In the originals, there were bosses around every corner, and the stage-end bosses were so kick-awesome they make my testosterone cry. Rocket Knight's bosses are a bit ho-hum. They're not bad bosses, but compared to games that came out 16 years ago, it's a bit of a shame they didn't do a better job. The soundtrack was yet another downer for me, because again, I find the retro games' soundtracks to be superior to the new game's. In fact, aside from the reprise of Stage 1-1 from the original Rocket Knight Adventures, I can't think of one memorable tune, when I can easily remember at least five from the original game.

Something I'm not sure is a good or bad thing yet is the length of the game. I was able to finish it for the first time clocking in at about 2 hours. If you're into retro games or arcade games that are about an hour long, you won't find this to be much of a problem, but for $15, I still don't know if it's worth that much. There are achievements in the game that vicariously encourage multiple playthroughs, but take that aside, and you'll get as much content as you would 16 years ago.

As much as I'm bitching about the game not being as good as its predecessors, Rocket Knight really isn't a bad game, and the little it does, it does very well. There are a few new things I like about the new game, such as the scoring system. Each time you pick up a gem (the game's common collectible) or a power up, or defeat an enemy, the score multiplier increases by .1. I know scores in games don't mean a whole lot, but the multiplier actually made it fun to increase your score, and it encourages you to be a better player when possible. I also liked that even though there's a Free Mode with a level select and progress saving, there's the Arcade Mode with no level select or progress saving, making it feel more like the original games of the past.

If you like platformers from the late 80s and early 90s, Rocket Knight is a game that's right up your alley. However, I can't really say this will appeal to anyone. The difficulty curve is pretty steep, probably due to its short length, and although I never found it frustrating, I can certainly say it's not for everyone. And while I find the predecessors to have a bit more content, better gameplay and better music, putting the jet pack on one more time felt like visiting an old friend I thought I'd never see again.




By the way, to get a feel for how short this game is, it came out TODAY, and I finished writing this review at 2:39 PM (US Eastern).

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Posted on 12 May 2010 by Bryan Skinner

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