Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Release: 08/05/93 Genre: Platformer
When Konami first began publishing Genesis titles the initial batch was not that impressive. Sunset Riders was a compromised port and the Hyperstone Heist couldn’t decide if it wanted to be an original title or not. It did not take long for the really excellent games to show up however. Tiny Toons: Buster’s Hidden Treasure is a hidden gem but the true star of their Sega lineup would be Rocket Knight Adventures. There were legions of mascot platformers yet RKA rose to the top thanks to its excellent play mechanics and design. Do not pass this up.
Rocket Knight Adventures’ gameplay is built on the back of Sparkster’s jet pack. This versatile piece of equipment is simple to use and gives the game so much variety. By holding down the attack button you can quickly build up a charge. This can be employed in a large variety of ways. The most basic is to jet around the screen. You can’t fly permanently outside of a few sections but this is the next best thing. The quick boost can be used for attacking although direct hits with your sword do more damage. While jetting Sparkster will bounce of enemies and ricochet off walls. There are so many possibilities that it is insanely fun to just play around, which the game encourages.
At its core the mechanics are simple. Where Rocket Knight truly shines is in its level design. The many scenarios are endlessly creative and no two levels are ever alike. One moment you are avoiding blazing fire in burning castle and then you are tailing a flying airship from both the inside and out. Each of the game’s seven levels is divided into multiple sections that place you in a different scenario. Stage five begins over the skies of an industrial city before entering Axle Gear’s tower. Next you race a bunch of invincible mechanical knights to the exit in multiple rooms. Finally you pilot mobile platforms through spiky passages before finally facing Axle Gear himself. Most of these segments end in mini boss battles. It’s not exactly a boss rush like a Treasure game but it does come close.
The variety doesn’t end there either. There are numerous points where Sparkster will take flight and the game effectively becomes a shooter. It would be easy to assume it’s like Gradius but Rocket Knight has a pacing of its own. The boss battles frequently defy expectations and are genuinely funny at times. Your first encounter with Axle Gear takes place in massive rock em sock em robots. The final boss of stage four is an air pirate who has a giant pig robot that mimics his moves. His manner of attack consists of gyrating his hips rapidly, all while his mech does the same. Right up until is closing moments the game never stops showing you something new and packs more creativity than multiple games combined.
Getting to the end of Rocket Knight will take some time as the game is tougher than your standard platformer. It only takes a few hits to die although the game is generous with food. The frequent boss battles are heavy on pattern recognition and generally take a few attempts to complete. It can be unfair at times; some levels use mechanics that I’m not a fan of with failure resulting in instant death. This wouldn’t be so bad if not for the difficulty settings. On normal you have two lives and one credit. It is easy to find extra lives but it still seems a bit excessive. To see the true ending you’ll have to beat this on hard gives one life and no continues. Despite that I feel the game is so fun and generally pretty balanced that it is more than worth pursuing.
The overall production values are simply fantastic and hold up against later efforts for the system. Unlike so much of Konami’s work with the hardware it shies away from constant special effects. Rocket Knight Adventures is instead an artistic marvel and really pushes the Genesis. The sprites are large and expressive and most levels feature three to five layers of scrolling in their beautiful backgrounds. The game also has a fantastic soundtrack as well.
More than anything what really puts Rocket Knight above so much of its lame platform competition is its world. Unlike most platformers that seem to be a collection of video game tropes Rocket Knight has a consistent theme. The war between the Opossum kingdom and the alien pigs serves as the backdrop and adds consistency. There is no dialogue but the great animation conveys the story well. Sparkster himself expresses a range of emotions that is both funny and serious at the same time. It’s really understated but no less notable and part of why Rocket Knight Adventures is still memorable despite so few games in the series.
In Closing
Rocket Knight Adventures is amazing and one of the best games for the Genesis and that era. If you like video games you must own this title. Creative, original, and truly unique, it rarely ever gets better than this.
