Sparkster

Sparkster (スパークスター, Supākusutā) is a side-scrolling platformer video game developed and published by Konami for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game, the only one in the series to be released on a Nintendo console, was directed by Hideo Ueda and was released in Japan on September 1994, in North America in October 1994, in Europe in 1994.

This article is about the SNES video game. For the Sega Genesis game, see Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2.
Sparkster
North American SNES box art
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)Konami
Director(s)Hideo Ueda
Composer(s)Kazuhiko Uehara
Masahiro Ikariko
Minako Matsuhira
Michiru Yamane
Akira Yamaoka
Platform(s)Super NES
Release
  • JP: September 15, 1994
  • NA: October 1994
  • EU: 1994
Genre(s)Platformer, scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Sparkster is a different game from the Sega Genesis version despite having the same title in North America and Europe, which bore the full title of Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2, and has no plot continuity with the original Rocket Knight Adventures.

Gameplay
Sparkster

The eponymous main character is an opossum knight named Sparkster who fights an army of yellow wolves and robots. He is armed with a sword that can fire energy bolts and a rocket pack that allows him to fly short distances. The gameplay remains mostly the same as in Mega Drive/Genesis games, with the most notable change being the addition of a short-distance rolling dash. At the end of every level, Sparkster battles a boss, and the level is complete when it is defeated. The 3rd (2nd in Easy) stage consists of Sparkster riding a robot-ostrich in an auto-scrolling level, while the 7th (5th in Easy) consists of a top-down shooter level. One major difference is that the game's final level depends on the difficulty the player selected. On easy, the game culminates with battle against Axel Gear, but on normal, the story continues with Sparkster fighting the leader of the Wolves on the next level. On hard difficulty, the game continues beyond that, with the true final stage.

Plot

The kingdom of Eginasem, a land inhabited by opossums, is under attack by the Lioness's army of yellow dog and wolf soldiers, which also kidnapped Princess Flora. Sparkster, the Rocket Knight, is out to battle this threat, rescue the princess and save his kingdom from certain destruction. His nemesis, the rival Rocket Knight Axel Gear, is aiding the invading forces, making Sparkster's task even more dangerous. The player's goal is to battle through all of the enemy warriors and robots, defeat Axel Gear and infiltrate the enemy's battleship, where the yellow dogs leader, Generalissimo Lioness, is planning to launch a warhead to destroy planet Eginasem.

Reception

GamePro rated the game positively, but mentioned that it was not a strong enough improvement from the original Rocket Knight Adventures, criticizing the lack of an improved control scheme and new weapons and powerups. However, they praised the impressive graphics, moody music, and the two secret hard modes.[1] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it an 8.2 out of 10, saying that it shows Konami "back to form" with "huge levels, gigantic bosses, outstanding graphics and excellent music."[2]

Sparkster was awarded Best Sound Effects of 1994 by Electronic Gaming Monthly.[3]

gollark: Very elegant though.
gollark: It has some annoying quirks.
gollark: I quite like it, sure.
gollark: Arguably C does encourage you to learn a set of important lower-level concepts, but I think those are less important.
gollark: C and C-ish things are *not* really a good choice because you'll focus more on annoying C details than fundamental concepts.

References
  1. "ProReview: Sparkster". GamePro. IDG (64): 146. November 1994.
  2. "Review Crew: Sparkster". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis (63): 34. October 1994.
  3. "Electronic Gaming Monthly's Buyer's Guide". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 1995.
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