Rocket Knight Adventures and Sparkster
Rocket Knight Adventures,
Sparkster (for Genesis)
and Sparkster (for SNES)
Rocket Knight Adventures (for Genesis), Sparkster (for Genesis) and Sparkster (for SNES) can actually be considered a trilogy of action/platform games. The Genesis and SNES versions of Sparkster are actually two entirely different adventures, as they were developed separately, though they share same main character and similar gameplay. All 3 games star a "rocket knight" (Yes, a knight with a rocket pack!) named Sparkster who is actually an opossum. In the past, we've seen way too many mass-produced mascot-like game characters and, fortunately, Sparkster should not at all be considered one of them. Sparkster and the world he lives in are very unique and delightfully steampunk-like. The atmosphere of the games is strange, whimsical and fun like a timeless fairytale. The gameplay centers around the player using Sparkster's rocket pack and sword to zoom and slash your way through some truly unique levels, enemies and bosses. At times, the game even plays like Contra with a sword, with the agility of the rocket pack making up for the short range of the sword. This makes sense, as the creator of the series also worked on a few games in the Contra series. Overall, it's a great series and just begging for a revival!
- Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Knight_Adventures
- Hardcore Gaming 101's Sparkster Article: http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/sparkster/sparkster.htm
- Petition to "Bring back Sparkster!": http://www.petitiononline.com/s5233/
NOTE!: As I said, the Genesis and SNES versions of Sparkster are vary different games, not just ports, so don't overlook that. Both are great games!
NOTE 2!: The English and Japanese releases of Rocket Knight Adventures very only slightly in some of the game's intro animations. The HG101 article has more detail on this.
---
If you see any errors in the above information or links therein, please contact me immediately!