There had been buzz over the weekend that 1UP would reveal something big from Konami today. Something big… and retro. Some thought that they would have the first official scoop on Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth for WiiWare, but that would turn out not to be the case.
As you have no doubt determined by now, Konami has finally given in to the demands of the fans of Sparkster, and is bringing a new Rocket Knight adventure to Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Network.
1UP has the full scoop on this new title, and are going to exploit it to the 5th degree– that is, Retronauts is hosting a five-day exclusive look at the 15-year return of Sparkster. And things kick off with their preview, followed by blogs, a look at the game’s character design, a podcast, and finally, the trailer for the game itself.
But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, and look at what has been laid before us. We’ll try to keep it simple.
“The funny thing about Rocket Knight is that when you look for information on the Internet — if you can find it — you never see anything bad about him,” says Konami producer Tomm Hulett. “The people who played the games and remember Sparkster really love him.”
As such, his legacy left me wanting to play one of those games, which I had missed upon their initial release.
But the new game, available for XBLA, PSN, and Steam (what? No WiiWare?), will be a 2.5D adventure developed by Climax, with Hulett (who is working on Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for the Wii and also headed up Contra 4 for the Nintendo DS) taking charge with the goal of an early 2010 release.
Interestingly enough, the game is a sequel which takes place in real-time. That is, it has been fifteen years since Sparkster’s last game, and in the story, it has likewise been a decade and a half since his last adventure. “The idea is that there haven’t been any games these past 15 years simply because Sparkster hasn’t had any adventures,” Hulett notes. Simple enough.
The plot is equally interesting:
In a Nakazato homage, the new game’s backstory is fairly dense: Sparkster saved the opossum kingdom of Zephyros (and its princesses) back in the day, but found himself disenchanted when the villainous pigs he battled in the first game were allowed to take up residence in Zephyros. He moved away with his family — and notably didn’t marry the princess — and lived in quiet and peace until he looked up one day and noticed a war raging in the sky over Zephyros. To his surprise, though, his former enemies (the pigs) were fighting on the side of the opossums against an army of wolves; even stranger, his former nemesis, the nefarious Axel Gears, had become the kingdom’s rocket knight in his absence. And so Sparkster puts on his gear and launches into the fray.
But despite the complexities of the plot, the game will be straight-up action with only the occasional pantomimed sequence progressing the story along, just as before. “When you reaches the end of the first stage, Sparkster faces off against Axel with a look of determination — which quickly changes to cartoon panic as a massive robot bursts through the wall.”
Unlike the old games, which featured rather close-up sprites, the camera is zoomed out more to allow for more comfortable use of Sparkster’s defining feature, his jetpack. As such, the device can play an even greater role in the game, whereas before it had been a risky endeavor to utilize its power.
The new title blends the playstyles of the previous incarnations, with Sparkster’s sword acting as a melee weapon that can fire bolts when energy is diverted from his rocket pack. Other moves are retained, while new moves– such as batting enemy projectiles back at them– have been added.
In addition to platforming action, there are also shooter-style segments which tweak a few things, such as letting Sparkster’s sword charge at a faster rate than in the regular levels.
What won’t be changing is the series’ unique personality. One of the most striking things about Sparkster is that he wasn’t a typical mascot with attitude. Yes, he was a cute, heroic animal, but he was far more earnest than the standard wisecracking 16-bit mammal. He smiled rather than smirked; he braced himself for battle instead of posing cockily; and when his rocket boosts petered out, he briefly lost his composure and flailed his arms in panic. “We’ve spent a lot of time trying to get Sparkster’s personality right,” says Hulett. “There have been times when we’ve looked at the animations and said, ‘no, that’s not right’.” Fortunately, the team has an easy solution for balancing things out: “Whenever we have an animation that seems too cocky for Sparkster, we just give it to Axel.”
Nonetheless, there is still a precarious balancing act to maintain– Konami wants to appeal to fans of the challenging old games, while not scaring off newcomers.
To this end, two modes are presented: the oldschool-style “Arcade Mode,” which features no saving, strictly level-by-level progress, and possibly no continues. On the opposite side of the coin, there is Free Play Mode, which allows for saving, restoring at any time, and moving around a level map to select a stage. The luxurious aspects of more modern gaming.
“We’ll also be tuning Achievements to reward really hardcore players for time and score,” Hulett notes. “And yes, all of that will be posted to Leaderboards.”
1UP notes that for a successful franchise resurrection, developers need “to understand what it was that made the original such a classic in the first place, to really dig into the game and see what the core appeal was. By all appearances, Rocket Knight is shaping up to be a textbook example of this principle.”
Personally, I’m looking forward to it, and perhaps getting a taste of what I missed back in the day.
