Sparkster Returns! Rocket Knight, 2.5D platformer for XBLA/PSN/Steam

Cherrn

I've long wondered why Konami hasn't done anything with the Rocket Knight license for ages now, especially in the wake of their other retro revivals.

HOLD IT

http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3176338

the 16-bit era, when animal mascots were everywhere and attitude trumped gameplay, Konami's Sparkster stood out. He may have been a mascot, but he was remarkably light on cockiness. What he lacked in smirks he more than made up for with intense gameplay in a thumb-blistering Contra vein. Now, 15 years later, Sparkster is returning in a brand new title for Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation Network, and Steam. Konami offered us an exclusive first look at the game, and what we saw is a spot-on follow-up to an old-school classic. Join us as we blow out Rocket Knight all this week via previews, blogs, features, screenshots, podcasts, and videos!

If you're unaware of the Rocket Knight games, the series consisted of three iterations, two on the Genesis, one on the SNES. You played as Sparkster, the titular rocket knight, an armored possum wielding a sword and carrying a jetpack. I've sadly not played the Genesis games a great deal, but the SNES game (Sparkster) was a wildly creative, fast-paced platformer, utilizing extremely colourful graphics and huge sprites. The game had tons of variety, awesome bosses, and was fairly challenging as well. Someone else can probably lavish praise on the Genesis games.

So, great on Konami!

Zombiemambo

Looks like Crash Bandicoot.

Igel

Rocket Knight Adventures was really good, I hope this is too.

Darmak

I remember renting the one on the SNES, it was a lot of fun and really hard. Hopefully this will be both as well, it already looks really pretty.

Jubeh

Rocket Knight Adventures was one of the first games I ever beat on the genesis when I was a kid and it took me like 9 hours. It blew my little kid mind. Insta-bought.

cloudeagle

Woah, cool.

Rocket Knight Adventures. Good stuff. Imagine the pacing and craziness of Contra at its best. Now replace the gun-shooting dude with a sword-slashing possum, and the aliens with pigs in robots.

I was wondering if we'd see more of him ever since he randomly popped up as a character in Konami's new version of Track and Field.

Ragnar Dragonfyre

I looved this game when I was a kid. I used to sit and fan art of Sparkster a lot.

I'm pretty excited for this. Can't wait!

Grimthwacker

YES. All I can say is YES. The SNES Sparkster was one of my favorite games on the system (I liked the original Rocket Knight Adventures and the Genesis version of Sparkster too, but not as much). Pure platforming action at its finest. It's great to see Konami such a cool series its due.

Now if only Nintendo can do something like this with . . . oh, I dunno . . . Kid Icarus? *ducks incoming tomatoes*

Eteric

I don't like the look of it. Kind of wish they had gone full 2D like Wario did.

Cantido

My brother's gonna freak out. We never got to play the original two player one. I think player 2 is a villain in Sparkster.

Airan

I was a massive fan of Rocket Knight Adventures - the robot boxing match was one of the highlights of my childhood gaming.

But what the hell is this shit

It's like they stuck him in LittleBigPlanet toy environment and the enemies don't seem to be very creative, just weapon-wielding wolves o_O

Johnny Fabulous

THIS IS THE BEST NEWS EVER.

Litany

I agree with Eteric. I'd have preferred straight 2D or Mega Man 9's retro look, but more of Rocket Knight is reason enough gloss over the look. The first Genny game is still in my Genesis and I've been meaning to hook that up for awhile now. Here's hoping this doesn't disappoint... and gets us the originals on any of the services (VC, PSN, Live! and Steam).

ginguskahn

Litany wrote: »

Here's hoping this doesn't disappoint... and gets us the originals on any of the services (VC, PSN, Live! and Steam).

This, so much!

elliotw2

Airan wrote: »

I was a massive fan of Rocket Knight Adventures - the robot boxing match was one of the highlights of my childhood gaming.

But what the hell is this shit

It's like they stuck him in LittleBigPlanet toy environment and the enemies don't seem to be very creative, just weapon-wielding wolves o_O

Well, these are the enemies from the SNES Sparkster.

jclast

I have never played the originals, but I love platformers, and the style of this looks gorgeous.

Delzhand

Looks good, generally, but the depth of field blur seems...

Well, I think it could be implemented better. I don't care for it as-is.

undeinPirat

Delzhand wrote: »

Looks good, generally, but the depth of field blur seems...

Well, I think it could be implemented better. I don't care for it as-is.

I'm hoping it just looks better in motion, to me it seems like a feature that could be pulled off well with the generally fast fast fast gameplay.

Henroid

Oh fuck YES, this is one of those things I wasn't expecting to come back from the brink! The screenshots don't look like they'll do the game justice so hopefully we'll have some video footage soon.

One of the coolest moments of the 16-bit era was if you played Sparkster (Genesis) on normal or hard, the stages would be extended. So the first level was badass "Let's go kick some ass" music while you go through some ruins, and then for one sequence of the level the music changed to something more slowly paced while you ran through a bit of forest. You'd fight a mini-boss there, and as soon as he was gone, the badass music would start again and what does Sparkster do?

Stowaway on a truck transporting a big robot.

Edit - Now with more YouTube of the music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfurXePADXw

And I don't want to hear any shit about "WAH WAH GENESIS SOUND SUCKED" - go fuck yourself and take it for what it is.

jeddy lee

When are we expecting this?

Cherrn

Well, it'll be a while before it's out, so they have plenty of time to shine it up graphically. Also, those screens are likely just from one level, so probably not indicative of the entire game's graphical style. I'm not worrying too much yet.

jack eddy wrote: »

When are we expecting this?

Article says next year. Hopefully there'll be a date in the trailer on friday.

RoyceSraphim

Pigs in steampunk AT-STs...once rule 34 kicks in, this will be a very powerful nexus of internet energy.

fragglefart

Great news! The new graphics look lush too.

So we have Sparkster and EWJ remixes, now we just need Dynamite Headdy!

Xagarath

The first genesis game was a classic, but the sequals were both lacking most of the quality of level design.
Cautiously optimistic, but no more.

Charlie_Foxtrot2

And about half a year, I gave hope of any of this happen.


I'm so freaking happy. I'm a big fan of the original RKA. Sparkster (for the Genesis) was kinda of good.


BUT HALLELUJAH!

Timestones

The art direction leaves a little to be desired for me, but if the rest of the game holds up well to the originals then all I can say is fuck yeah!

Cantido

fragglefart wrote: »

Great news! The new graphics look lush too.

So we have Sparkster and EWJ remixes, now we just need Dynamite Headdy!

Two things.

1st, where is this Earthworm Jim Reloaded and where can I have it?

2nd, they could never capture the rape-tastic challenges of Dynamite Headdy. That game was fucking hard in my youth and I kept coming back for more. I finally finished it on Wii but botched a number on the Secret Code on accident.

Zombiemambo

Cantido wrote: »

fragglefart wrote: »

Great news! The new graphics look lush too.

So we have Sparkster and EWJ remixes, now we just need Dynamite Headdy!

Two things.

1st, where is this Earthworm Jim Reloaded and where can I have it?

2nd, they could never capture the rape-tastic challenges of Dynamite Headdy. That game was fucking hard in my youth and I kept coming back for more. I finally finished it on Wii but botched a number on the Secret Code on accident.

Really? Dynamite Headdy isn't that hard, to be honest.

Ah_Pook

im not really loving those screenshots, but the SNES one was fun. i'll definitely play a demo of this if/when one happens.

Cantido

Zombiemambo wrote: »

Cantido wrote: »

fragglefart wrote: »

Great news! The new graphics look lush too.

So we have Sparkster and EWJ remixes, now we just need Dynamite Headdy!

Two things.

1st, where is this Earthworm Jim Reloaded and where can I have it?

2nd, they could never capture the rape-tastic challenges of Dynamite Headdy. That game was fucking hard in my youth and I kept coming back for more. I finally finished it on Wii but botched a number on the Secret Code on accident.

Really? Dynamite Headdy isn't that hard, to be honest.

True, I'm able to process a little more chaos now than I could back in the day. Also, Touhou made the flying segments a piece of cake. I still think everything past the flying levels is really tough, even now. But this was the hardest shit ever back then.

darunia106

Excuse me.



This news is very exciting.

Raiden333

Fuck yes.

UnbreakableVow

Well this is what I get for not coming on the boards all day.

I cannot fucking wait for this. This is the best Sega Genesis game by far, and the only game that made me want one back in the day (I just played my neighbor's instead).

Niceguyeddie616

Despite being a huge Sega freak back in the day, this game and it's sequel must have slipped past my radar.

I'm a sucker for platform games, so this looks pretty sweet. Maybe I'll search for Sparkster in the meantime

elliotw2

I bought Rocket Knight Adventures for $10 on Amazon, and it was still in shrinkwrap, so getting a copy of it shouldn't be too hard. Also, if I remember right, the Genesis version of Sparkster isn't as good as the SNES one

cloudeagle

The music of Rocket Knight Adventures (as opposed to Sparkster). Wow. Fantastic stuff. I really limited myself on ones to post; if you like 'em go to youtube for more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jYFekmLdUs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjpUi5G_xdw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0zPf6KbnrE

fragglefart

Cantido wrote: »

fragglefart wrote: »

Great news! The new graphics look lush too.

So we have Sparkster and EWJ remixes, now we just need Dynamite Headdy!

Two things.

1st, where is this Earthworm Jim Reloaded and where can I have it?

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/29/first-details-of-earthworm-jim-remake-unearthed/

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/19/new-earthworm-jim-less-new-than-expected-its-a-remake/



http://www.gamerbytes.com/2009/09/earthworm_jim_hd_created_from.php

Gameloft revealed their plans to bring EarthWorm Jim back to the digital distribution services last month. To know more about the remake of EarthWorm Jim we contacted and spoke to a Gameloft representative and asked them a couple of questions.

We can reveal that EarthWorm Jim will be based on the Sega Genesis version of the game, but is being reworked completely from scratch without the original game's code. The game will be enhanced from the original game, featuring better graphics, smoother animations and will feature several difficulty levels - something not in the original.

While there are no screenshots of the console version of the game, there are a few iPhone screenshots floating around. The above image showcases the difference between the original and the iPhone remake, so we can hopefully expect that much care and dedication to the original game to flow through the rest of the remake.

Gameloft are also aware of the chronology of Earthworm Jim. The Special Edition, released on the Sega CD and PC, had an additional level called "Big Bruty". We can now confirm that the game will include this level.

The game will use leaderboards to track killed enemies, total time, and several other statistics. They also stated there will be "some surprises, which will be revealed later".

When asked whether the original team, such as Dave Perry nor Doug Nepal, are involved in the project, Gameloft responded with a no - however the game will contain the original music created by Tommy Tallarico.

As for the Wii version, the game is being developed by one of Gameloft's many development studios, and have several production teams working to maintain consistency between the platforms. The graphics are "optimized for each platform", so WiiWare fans won't be losing anything but a bit of resolution.

Finally, we asked whether there was a chance of Earthworm Jim coming to the PSP, as the game was announced a few days before PSP minis were revealed. Gameloft are "considering" bringing Earthwom Jim to the PSP at a later date, but are currently working on numerous other PSP minis titles.

Earthworm Jim will be released later this year, with a one-month exclusivity period for the Xbox Live Arcade version.

That's all I know!

UnbreakableVow

Well, Gameloft did the Prince of Persia classic remake, which is damn fine, so Earthworm Jim fans I imagine should be in for a treat.

I'm not among those fans, however.

The Grey GOAT

Awesome!! Rocket Knight Adeventures was one of the best games on the Genesis and just plain fun to play. It also had one of the best soundtracks on the Genesis. I can't wait to see if this turns out to be good. What's next on the list of reviving old games? Please say Strider (NES version)!!! :winky:

Kai_San

Holy shitdick thats genesis music? Even the Earthworm Jim music didnt seem to pgrade the consoles msical capabilities quite like that.

It helps thats its well written too, but man that is seriously pushing the limits in ways I didn't think the genesis could.

Henroid

cloudeagle wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0zPf6KbnrE

That's strange. That song has some elements playing in that YouTube that I don't remember hearing when I actually played the game (most notably the alarm-paced buzzing). Maybe it's 'cause that was ripped from the Japanese version?

Regardless, the boss music in that game was fucking ace.