‘Underestimating’ is a term often applied recklessly, but for The Adventures of Rocket Knight, a series that is struggling to reach global stardom despite Konami’s three-pronged stab, it’s fitting. Its first entry sits at the upper end of all things 16-bit and is one of the best titles on the Mega Drive. Yet Sparkster, despite achieving all the right accomplishments for a personified gaming hero of the 90s, has inexplicably underperformed in the market.
The Re-ignite the collection features Mega Drive entries Rocket Knight Adventures (1993) and Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 (1994), also electric spark for Super Nintendo (1994). Additionally, there are a ton of additional options and features in the form of an art museum, music player, boss mode, CRT filters, backgrounds, rewind feature, and save states.
Emerging from Konami’s most famous period of development, Rocket Knight Adventures – the series’ first installment – is divine. Everything in its assembly, from the aesthetics and mechanics to the dazzling theatrical variety and astonishing musical score, is absolutely correct. It is without a doubt the best of the three and remains an outstanding example of how to hone an action game experience with loads of invention and nothing superfluous.
Set in a fantasy kingdom that combines traditional castles, knights and princesses with giant steampunk machines and smoke-covered towns, the brave Sparkster is tasked with recovering a beautiful young woman. from the clutches of Axel Gear – his knightly enemy – and the pack of pig warriors known as Devontidos. It’s a journey that will take him across land and sea, past giant airships and straight into space; a quality adventure like a movie has Back to the futurethe font has a look that is ‘cinematic’ and inspires confidence.
Sparkster is equipped with a close-range sword slash, a jump, and a rocket pack that underpins the series’ indispensable gameplay mechanic: boost. Holding the button charges the rocket pack in seconds, allowing for nearly continuous use. It also has countless applications, being able to be used as an offensive weapon, to pierce through enemies, as a defensive move when you need to pull the tail, and as a way to traverse scenery, often revealing The dishes are hidden out of sight. Konami designed the stages around accelerating rockets to chef’s-kissing perfection, having you ping-pong between tunnel walls and skating away from impending dangers. It’s a game packed with invention, bombarding you with one new action set piece after another; a tornado-like mixture of video game principles spread across an impressive canvas. Whether dodging pillars of fire or soaring through stormy cityscapes; Confronting giant bosses or rushing down roller coaster ramps at breakneck speeds, Rocket Knight never stops dazzling. From the fantasy Earth to the fantasy starscape, where you find yourself in a pig-shaped version of the Death Star, the game reaches a thrilling climax with gravity gimmicks and mecha battles giant.
While executed to near-perfection and stylistically bold, Michiru Yamane’s musical creations populate this 16-bit cupcake with a series of tracks that are so stirring and memorable that spread. Being the genius that she is, she took Konami’s specifications and turned it into a product that was epic in every way. Special mention must be made of the eye-catching chainsaw game that she reserves for the final part of the game: a piece so unrelentingly dirty that it raises the stakes beyond all expectations. In a game where you play as a marsupial from the cartoon Knight, the bloody sonic brutality Yamane displays in the finale is almost paradoxical – but oh, we revel in how much it is.
The sequel, Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 is a curiosity. When placed next to its predecessor, it feels like a straight-to-video sequel. The Sparkster still looks the part, sporting a leaner and leaner appearance, but visually it’s less gritty, more cartoony, and the overall scale is toned down. It’s more of a console game in the traditional sense, losing the bold arcade motifs and breathtaking variety that defined its predecessor. The landscape lacks variety and detail, and the layout would feel formulaic without the emphasis on augmentation mechanics.
Here, your rocket pack will charge automatically and faster, and the correct way to attack the game is to spam it. Once you learn how to accelerate, accelerate, accelerate, you will have a lot of fun here. It replaces the pig army with lizards and fortunately it’s less messy from stage three onwards. Even though it seems clumsier and more generic, there are still some fun elements and ideas involved, such as corkscrewing giant rivets, racing out of the depths of the pyramid, and overtaking through trap-filled tunnels in the finale. In its own right, this is still a solid action game for the Mega Drive and thus worthy of attention; and Michiru Yamane returns, opening act one with a song so heroic that it’s now Rocket Knight’s de facto theme.
Finally, Sparkster, the third and final entry in the collection, comes from the light atmosphere of the Super Nintendo – and its graphics really stand out. Once again, Yamane inspires the sound with driving tunes and there are some nice compositions scattered throughout the adventure. Sparkster can be complicated in places, partly because the stage design isn’t as graceful as the original. And, while it looks the part and is certainly the second best game here, it still doesn’t hit as high as the first installment in the series.
This is partly due to pacing issues and the limitations of traditional platform game structures. This becomes clear as early as stage two, which is like a Sonic stage with its expansive, multi-story levels and conveyor gear, where the gung-ho boost will get you instantly destroyed in many different stone crushers. That said, this is still a strong Super Nintendo action adventure and one that looks great, with giant bosses and unique vehicles to drive. It captures the spirit of adventure, featuring Sparkster’s wonderful charm, and fans of the series will be happy to return to a title whose DNA is closer to the original.
In terms of simulation quality, the Re-Sparked Collection feels about right. Having played these games non-stop for years, there were some little oddities that gave us pause for a moment and a lot of debate about whether it was our imagination or not. However, the vast majority of players won’t blink.
In addition to all the cool bonuses on board, you can even play different areas of the game with little difference in terms of presentation and the specially added art museum, complete with original flyers, magazine ads, manuals and concept art for all three titles. There’s also a brand new animated intro that’s very well done — even if it falls flat The first Japanese television series in 1993 — and an updated remix of the Sparkster theme for you to enjoy.
Conclusion
Rocket Knight Adventures is a series that includes two great games and one excellent, timeless work. While the sequels all score above average for a ’90s platformer, it’s the launch series that really shows off the score of this review. Rocket Knight Adventures is a suitable title Gun hero in the pantheon of games that were especially overlooked in their heyday. It does everything an arcade action adventure should and more, outperforming many of the actual arcade games in development. Ever-evolving stages, amazingly varied scenarios and captivating cinematic soundtrack make it one of the best games of the genre. If that isn’t the definition of underrated then we don’t know what is.
