Spark the Electric Jester

Spark the Electric Jester is an action-platform video game developed and published by Brazilian studio Feperd Games. After being funded through Kickstarter, the game was released in 2017 for Microsoft Windows. Primarily developed by Felipe Daneluz, the creator of the Sonic: Before the Sequel, Sonic: After the Sequel, and Sonic Chrono Adventure fangames, the game incorporates elements from the Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man X, and Kirby series.[1] Players follow Spark, a former circus performer with electric abilities, as he tries to hunt down the robotic clone who replaced him, Fark.

Spark the Electric Jester
Steam artwork
Developer(s)Feperd Games
Publisher(s)Feperd Games
Designer(s)Felipe Daneluz
Composer(s)James Landino, Pejman Roozbeh, Paul Bethers, Michael Staple, Andy Tunstall, Falk Au Yeong
SeriesSpark the Electric Jester
EngineClickteam Fusion
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseApril 10, 2017
Genre(s)Action, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Spark the Electric Jester received positive reviews. The gameplay and soundtrack were praised, with criticism lending towards performance issues. A sequel, Spark the Electric Jester 2, was released in early 2019.

Gameplay
Spark in his cool form. With this power, Spark can perform new actions and can run on water.

Spark the Electric Jester is a 2D action and platform game in the style of various 16-bit games.[1] Players take control of Spark, an electric jester who embarks on a journey to protect the world from robots who have turned on the planet's population, as well as to find his robotic counterpart, Fark. The game is split into 16 stages, with each one concluding with a boss fight.

Spark's base moveset consists of running, jumping, wall jumping, melee attacks, a charged shot, and a dash which accelerates his speed. If the player performs a combo on an enemy in quick succession, a blue "static bar" will appear on screen and fill up. Once this bar is full, using a charged attack will deal a greater amount of damage to enemies then a normal charged attack would. The player can take up to eight hits of damage before dying, and as there is no life system in the game, the player will continue from the last checkpoint they reached. Health can be replenished with H-Capsules, and Bits can be collected to fill up a bar located in the HUD. If the bar is full when the player dies, they can continue playing where they left off without having to start at their last checkpoint.

Throughout each stage different powers can be found inside glass containers. Breaking the container and collecting the power inside will give Spark an altered look, moveset, and new abilities. These powers can be used to attack enemies differently, reach areas inaccessible with other powers, and if the static bar is filled up, the player will be rewarded with a new attack or enhancement. Two powers can be held at once, and can be swapped out for one another on the fly.

Upon completion of different game modes, more are unlocked.

Development

Spark the Electric Jester was created by Felipe Daneluz, who originally conceptualized the main character, Spark, off of a power-up from one of his fangames,[2] with Ristar, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Kirby being cited as influences for the character's design.[3] Felipe found that the reaction to Spark's design was mixed, and although attempts were made to redesign the character, he concluded that it just needed refinement.[4] On July 27, 2015, a Kickstarter campaign for the game was launched. The campaign was successful, with over two thousand dollars being funded over its project goal. After a series of minor delays, the game was released on April 10, 2017.

On June 14, 2018, an update was released for the game. Performance improvements, bug fixes, updates to the hard modes, and a completely reworked plot were included in the update.[5]

Reception

Spark the Electric Jester received positive reviews. Critics felt that the gameplay was original and distinct, with Jed Whitaker of Destructoid stating "These powers make all the difference in this game, without them it would just be a serviceable Sonic clone, but with them, it sets Spark at what I'd consider equal or better footing than the classic Hedgehog titles".[6] The soundtrack was praised, with Amr Al-Aaser of Rock, Paper, Shotgun remarking "It’s a powerful feel good mood that’s easy to get swept away in".[7] The game's performance was criticized, with Richard Seagrave of GameSpew commenting "Perhaps the only thing that really lets Spark the Electric Jester down is its performance. The developer has battled to eradicate the game’s framerate problems but some still persist".[8]

Sequel

On September 12, 2017, a sequel entitled Spark the Electric Jester 2 was announced.[9][10] Unlike its predecessor, Spark 2 features 3D gameplay and stars Fark as the main character. The game was developed with Unity and was released on May 16, 2019.[11]

References
  1. "Spark the electric jester". Kickstarter. July 27, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2018. Spark the electric jester is an action/platformer video game heavily based on classics from the 16-bit era, such as Mega Man X, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Kirby Super Star (Kirby’s Fun Pak in the EU).
  2. "Spark the Electric Jester: Art Book". July 3, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2019. Spark was originally conceptualized over the idea of turning a power up from one of my fan games into a character of its own.
  3. "Spark the Electric Jester: Art Book". July 3, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2019. Spark has elements inspired by several different games on his design such as Ristar, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Kirby.
  4. Daneluz, Felipe (July 3, 2017). "Spark the Electric Jester: Art Book". Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  5. Daneluz, Felipe (June 14, 2018). "Spark - Update 1.5 Coming Soon!". Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  6. Whitaker, Jed (May 15, 2017). "Review: Spark the Electric Jester". Destructoid. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  7. Al-Aaser, Amr (January 30, 2018). "Spark the Electric Jester is more than mere homage". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  8. Seagrave, Richard (July 26, 2018). "Spark the Electric Jester is the Best Sonic Game That Isn't a Sonic Game". GameSpew. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  9. "Fark the Electric Jester - Announcement Trailer". YouTube. September 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  10. Daneluz, Felipe (August 20, 2018). "Super lowkey announcement, Fark will be renamed "Spark The Electric Jester 2". That's it, bye!". @LakeFeperd. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  11. Daneluz, Felipe (May 3, 2018). "Spark the Electric Jester 2 Final Trailer". LakeFeperd. Retrieved May 12, 2019. he game's releasing on the 16th of may!
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