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Rocket Knight Adventures Game Review

Rocket Knight Adventures is a 1993 platform video game developed and published by Konami for the Sega Genesis. It is one of the best platformers of the nineties and one of the most underrated for sure.

This game garnered positive reviews back in 1993 and it is still very warmly regarded. It led to three solid, but far inferior sequels, and eventually Konami just gave up on the franchise, which is very frustrating to me as a big fan of it. The whole franchise us underappreciated, but especially this incredible first entry deserves more attention as it does so many things exceptionally well.

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There is a lot of plot behind this game, but it was only explained in other media and instruction manuals. The game itself has a very basic plot unfortunately. Basically, you control this opossum who has to defeat these villainous pigs and save his kingdom. The characters are memorable, but the story is nothing to write home about really.

The gameplay, though, is the main reason to play this game as it is truly superb. In fact, this is one of the most unique platformers of the nineties, and honestly had it been made by Nintendo, I am sure that it would be praised lavishly nowadays as it deserves to. Yes, I’ve said it as this needed to be said. As it stands, it’s one of the best designed Sega games in terms of levels and gameplay mechanics too.

The linear side-scrolling is definitely standard, but the game has so much more to offer. In fact, it may not even be called a proper platformer due to its overwhelming focus on horizontal shooter elements later down the line. You have the option to jump, attack enemies with the sword and fly with the help of a rocket that’s powered through the terrific charging method.

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The horizontal shooter levels may just be the best ones while the use of the mecha robots was also exceptional and very different from the majority of other games released in the early nineties. The level design is incredible through and through, but also extremely diverse as each one is not only authentic in design, but also in mechanics required to beat it, and yes even in the genres.

The power-ups and items include the bananas that give you health and the red gems that are used for bonuses. Yes, the game is somewhat scarce in this particular area, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker for me in the slightest as it excelled so much in many other areas.

Rocket Knight Adventures has seven stages that are all quite large. The fifth and the second stage were my favorites for various different reasons, but overall most of the levels are intricately designed and certainly quite unique. Each is rather different. Some use carts, others use shooting elements and there are some that cannot be beaten without the use of Sparkster’s rocket, which itself is just a fantastic mechanic. The diversity was commendable here, but I just wished that the horizontal shooting stage was a bit more memorable and more demanding.

Each stage contains a couple of levels and usually a boss at the end of each, a smaller boss of course as the final one is the one that you should be afraid of the most. These bosses are quite intimidating, especially in the second half of the game as the first half doesn’t have particularly memorable bosses. Fish Robot and Worm Boss are quite forgettable and easy to get through. Train Boss is also not all that difficult.

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But others are all rather hard. Wiggling Robot requires patience and striking at the right time, so he can be beaten somewhat easily, but the final couple of bosses were really demanding. I loved fighting the Pig Cruiser and this boss definitely elevated its otherwise pedestrian sixth stage. The shooting is so much fun and the boss is versatile in his movements and weapons.

Pigstar Core at the end was too difficult to me personally. It has so many parts to it as the boss just gets back in a different form whenever you think you’ve just beaten him. Axle Gear himself is also demanding, being basically a mirror image of Sparkster himself. My favorite boss has to be Axle Gear’s Giant Robot. This is the part of the game where you basically go into the mecha robot and there is suddenly a giant mecha fight on screen. I adored these crazy Japanese mecha elements mixed in with the otherwise present steampunk aesthetic and influences. The game is definitely unique in its world building, atmosphere and animation.

Rocket Knight Adventures features outstanding visuals. Graphically, the game is stunningly colorful throughout. It just looks so pleasingly cartoony in the character designs and genuinely cool in the various weapons and robots. It is polished and quite timeless in its appeal. The character of Sparkster looks amazing. He is this very cute opossum who is not just a copy of ‘Sonic’, but a genuinely cuter and unique character in his own right.

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The game also features a pretty good score, though it’s far from accomplished and/or as memorable as its predecessor was. It runs smoothly and the controls are so well utilized. It only has seven stages, but at least those stages are quite large, making up for a solid length overall.