Rocket Knight Adventures (1993)

Rocket Knight Adventures was a game I always saw advertised in video game magazines growing up. Even though there was no shortage of platformers in the '90s, Rocket Knight always seemed like it had the potential to be more than just the garbage that was getting shoved onto the SNES and Genesis at the time. Thankfully, with the Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked collection, I can finally see what I was missing all these years ago.

Rocket Knight Adventures is a clever, inventive platformer, and I found myself very impressed with each new level and how each of the 7 levels tried something new and experimental. One level might ask for more standard platforming, but make you look at your reflection in order to get from jump to jump, while another might be more of a shooter. Each level and boss was pleasantly unique, and I really admired how this game constantly reinvents itself to keep things interesting.

But like a lot of the platformers of the time, it's easy to see how badly this wants to be Mario and Sonic. Rocket Knight's dash move is more of a chore than a fun game mechanic, attempting to basically be the equivalent of Sonic's dash. This is also often pretty difficult, in a way that would require multiple playthroughs and testing the waters of certain levels. Thankfully, this collection allows for a rewind function, but even then, I had a hard time working my way through these levels. Especially when this starts getting into one-touch deaths, I can't imagine playing this when I was a kid.

Really glad I got to finally give this a chance and see the inventiveness of these levels and how this series was trying to differentiate itself from the other platformers of the time. This would've pissed me off as a kid, but as an adult, I admire what Konami was doing here.

Rocket Knight Adventures is about as hidden of a gem as it can get - a slick and incredible adventure that could use the top shelf in your Genesis library.

Featuring a surprisingly in depth story in the manual, you play as the heroic opossum knight Sparkster, out to fight an army of pigs and robots from the Devontindos Empire, led by Emperor Devilgus Devontidos and a corrupt knight named Axle Gear. There's a princess to save and a Pig (read: Death) Star to stop so the adventure begins!

Sparkster has relatively simple controls - he can slash which releases a projectile and can jump. By holding down the slash button he charges a rocket pack that can either spin the slash in place or rocket in eight directions. He can fly up high, bounce on walls, and land targeted attacks on enemies and bosses that provide invaluable invulnerability to make up for the fact that hit detection is pretty tough in this game. Not to diss it, but this game is fairly difficult in the way that Sparkster has to bob and weave and anticipate enemy attacks, especially during horizontal scrolling shooter stages in between regular bouts.

Along with a simple but incredibly helpful control system, Rocket Knight Adventures has some GORGEOUS set pieces and graphical tech that must be seen to be believed. Reflecting lava that can be used to detect hidden platforms, 3D graphics, more segmented limbs than you can shake a pig mech at, and blazingly fast scrolling. It runs supremely well, save for some slowdown that can actually be useful in a tight spot.

Those graphics tech wonders also show a gorgeous world filled with fun and detail, from a breakneck minecart ride to a spine filled forest to an airship high in the sky to a steampunk pig city to the outer reaches of space and the Pig Star itself - Rocket Knight aims for wonder and succeeds at every turn. The music is stellar and peppy, with a boss theme that's only matched by games like Alien Soldier in terms of catchiness.

Rocket Knight Adventures is a short game, taking about an hour to beat - though with its intense difficulty and amazing set pieces it's worth every bit to keep practicing until you save the princess and save the world!

After my fifth or sixth attempt at playing through this game, I think I have to accept that it just isn't for me.

The sprites, animation and environments are beautiful, varied and charming. Every time I start the game, I think "oh, I am in for a treat."

But it feels like the designers weren't sure how to compensate for how over-powered Sparkster's jetpack and projectiles are. So they just dialed the difficulty of everything way up. The result for me is a bizarre pendulum-swing between owning a stage or getting wrecked by what feel like unavoidable obstacles.

I've read that if you take the time to endure the game's difficulty and really get to know the layout of levels, there's a real art to using the jetpack precisely. I'm not nearly patient enough to get there.

About the Game:

In Rocket Knight Adventures you take control of Sparkster the Opossum and hack, slash and jetpack your way through an army of evil pig soldiers to save your princess... If that's not the best description for a platforming game I don't know what to tell you. Rocket Knight Adventures (as well as Sparkster on the SNES) has always been a game I've been vaguely aware of but never actually sat down to play.

It is a Konami game, and even back before I really started paying attention to producers and developers I always knew that I'd be in for a good time after hearing that familiar chime while the game was starting up.

Gameplay, Story and Value:

All things considered, Rocket Knight is your typical sidescrolling platformer. You run and jump and can charge your jetpack to rocket off in any of eight directions. Press B to jump and hold it to charge said jetback, and press A to slash with your sword which also fires off a short-range projectile. You're able to rocket through enemies or over obstacles, and you can hang off (and rocket off of) branches, beams and other objects. Basically, you have plenty of options to hack and slash your way through every stage, and the controls accommodate them quite well. Aside from a couple jetpack misfires, which you'll learn to avoid, the controls are spot on.

In addition to basic platforming, you'll also encounter schmup stages that do a perfect job of channeling Konami's space shooter, Gradius. These offer a great diversion and for the most part are fun as hell, if not somewhat frustrating at time due to an absence of checkpoints.

Every level is broken up into three sub-stages, with each sub-stage ending with a boss fight. The first two bosses of any level are generally simple, with the third one being more involved. Even the lesser bosses are a ton of fun, as they're brimming with character and usually involve some interesting mechanic or other.

Even after getting a handle on the game's mechanics, Rocket Knight Adventure proves to be a fairly difficult game. I actually had to turn the gameplay level down to Easy just to get through most of it, and even then death came often. Still, the game never feels overwhelming or cheap, and there's a tangible level of satisfaction every time you start the game again and progress further than last time. Every time you nail a boss fight without taking damage, or time your jetpack boosts perfectly to zip through a stage.

Ever level in Rocket Knight is unique, and I always found myself excited to see what would be coming next after defeating a boss. While the first level is your basic introduction to the game, you'll quickly find yourself riding mine carts, navigating underwater minefields, bringing down airships and even flying through space. The pace never feels slow, and the game never fails to provide new gameplay elements over its seven long levels.

It took me just over an hour to reach the final phase of the final boss, who I couldn't quite beat before getting losing my last continue, and it was definitely time well spent.

Presentation, Music and Sound:

This game looks fantastic. Sprites are large and colorful and visual effects like reflections are used extremely well. Level designs are varied and enjoyable, and in spite of everything going on onscreen there's never a hint of flicker or lag. Everything is distinctive and fun to look at, and the attitude Sparkster conveys during his many animations rival even that of a certain blue hedgehog.

Music is very reminiscent of Konami's Gradius games, which is to say it's very good. Though I won't find myself humming any of the tunes from this game, everything was very appropriate for it's stage, and only added to enhance the experience. Sounds are equally as good with clanking swords, charging boosters and... screaming pigs.

Fun:

Though I expected to enjoy Rocket Knight Adventures I didn't expect to actually have as much fun as I did! Everything about this game just clicked with me, and I feel like it doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. It's a fantastic platformer, and one that I was so close to beating that I won't be able to help but pull it off the shelf again in the future. Even after that, learning how to play at high difficulties is a compelling reason to keep on going.

Review:

Playthrough: