Rocket Knight Adventures

"Definitely the most fun platformer I've ever played"

Here it is, Konami's Genesis debut, an arcade-style platformer which could be the closest thing to perfection ever to grace the genre.

Story - 8/10
Hardly a story, but platformers are rarely about story. I mean, how many times does Princess Toadstool have to get kidnapped before it gets old?

Anyway, welcome to the world of Elhorn. You play ''Sparkster,'' a member of an elite group of warriors known as ''Rocket Knights'' loyal to the kingdom of Zebulos. The kingdom of Devotindos is attacking, and things are looking bleak. Traitor Rocket Knight and lead antagonist ''Axle Gear'' has kidnapped the princess of Zebulos, and it's up to you to stop him.

There's more to it, but it's best explained by reading the manual.

Basically, Zebulos is a kingdom of the opossum species, whereas Devotindos is a kingdom of pigs, in full Disney-style anthropomorphic glory. In some parts it's original, in some parts it's cliche, but in all ways it's fitting, and it drives the game well. Most of the story is told through cutscenes or in a few cases, in-game battles, and there are definitely a few surprises waiting for you near the end.

The real star of the story is Axle Gear though. You'll confront him several times throughout the game, all of which you are severely outgunned. He's silent, efficient, and always in control, making him one of the better antagonists in the video game world.

However, I would never have picked a name like ''Sparkster,'' seeing as there's nothing he does regarding sparks, and it sounds cheezy anyway. Oh well.

Gameplay- 10/10
Like boss battles? Hate motonony? Rocket Knight's got your number. This game has 7 levels with at least 19 boss battles (which varies by difficulty setting).

The bosses come in all shapes, sizes, and difficulty. They really reminisce of classic arcade game boss battles, where the bosses perform routine waves of attacks, all of which require you to stay alert and keep moving, or suffer the consequences. The first times playing through them are definitely the best, as you never truly know what to expect. Many are persistant multi-stage bosses, refusing to die until you've put them away for good.

While the bosses are definitely the highlight of the game, the rest of the game really shines as well. Except for a few parts of the first level, there is hardly any similarity between how any two parts of the game are played out. In the first level alone, you'll be be fighting footsoldiers, biped robots, and buggies, not to mention running from a wall of fire, going through a short flight section, learning how to use the rocket pack while ricocheting off walls, and fighting 3 bosses.

The gameplay is mainly divided into 3 types of play: swimming, fighting on land, and flying. While swimming and walking, you can charge up your rocket pack and then let loose to go flying in any given direction for a short time, bouncing off walls as you hit them. While on land, you can jump off of the ground, and hang from branches and vines. In all 3 types of play, you can swing your sword to do a bit of damage with the sword itself and send what looks like a disc flying forward, which serves as a projectile attack. The controls are incredibly easy, making the learning curve for the game next to nothing. You also have the standard ''lives and continues'' setup of retries, and 8 hearts worth of health to determine how close you are to death. Hearts are taken off in varying amounts depending on what hurts you. Some things take off half a heart, some take off 4 and a half, and some things kill you instantly. Also scattered throughout the world is fruit, which recharges varying amounts of health.

There are also 1up's scattered throughout the game, which are almost all disappointingly obvious and easy to get. Some are hidden well or tricky to get without sacrificing it immediately, but most are simple.

As far as difficulty goes, Rocket Knight Adventures is pretty challenging, mainly because doing well on and sometimes even finishing any individual part requires a bit of trial and error. The boss battles in particular, as mentioned before, are rather lengthy, so knowing how to deal with each stage and the various waves of attacks requires practice. While there's only one part of the game that will almost definitely kill you until you know what you're doing, all of the game can be figured out given a bit of time. So while it's extremely difficult to win on your first try, this is definitely a game that can be mastered with practice.

Graphics- 9/10
While the Genesis isn't normally known for its graphical capabilities, many games have found ways to push its limits, and this is no exception. The characters are vibrant, the animation is extremely fluid, and the worlds themselves look excellent. The addition of things like parallax scrolling and component animation (using multiple parts to make a single object) only makes it better. The world backgrounds are also excellent, always setting a perfect mood for the level you're in. The only shortfall in the graphics department is the heavily-recycled explosion animation, which is used for fire, rocket trails, thick smoke, things breaking, and every explosion in the whole game except for one.

Sound- 10/10
The sound effects are of average quality, nothing more or less than fitting. None of the sound effects are particularly memorable, but none sound poorly-done either. The music, however, is another story. There's quite a mix of tunes played throughout the game, ranging from the semi-triumphant ''here comes the hero'' themes heard in the first level to the ''dirty-bass techno'' groove played in the final one. The boss theme in particular is outstanding, I have yet to hear boss music that gets me more jumpy than the stuff here. The only tune that seems remotely ''out of place'' is the one played on the final boss fight, until it suddenly switches and then things get serious.

Replayability/Difficulty - 10/10
Completing the games with certain difficulties unlocks a new difficulty, as well as a key combination to unlock it at the title screen. Difficulty goes from Normal to Hard to Very Hard to Crazy Hard. Each step up gives you fewer credits, fewer lives, and makes enemies do more damage. Crazy Hard is next to impossible because everything will kill you in one hit, so I don't really see how any human being is supposed to beat it on that difficulty. The only thing I was disappointed by with the difficulty settings is that the bosses have the same amount of health regardless of difficulty, and I probably would have had a bit more fun had the boss battles lasted longer when I played through at Very Hard.

Either way, this game stands up to repeat plays because, as mentioned before, it's really quite the opposite of tedious. There's just no part of this game that can be beaten without trying, and I find it hard to get sick of a good boss fight. Or in this case, 20 of them.

Buy or Rent?
BUY! Hop on eBay and pick it up for $5 or so plus shipping. Need a Genesis? That's $20. I paid $30 or so when it was new, and I haven't regretted it yet.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/06/02, Updated 11/06/02