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スパークスター
©1994 Konami
Release: 1994-09-15 (¥9800)
Cartridge SHVC-ASSJ
Action / Platform game
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Released in America as
SPARKSTER
( SNS-ASSE-USA )
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Released in Europe as
SPARKSTER
( SNSP-ASSP-XXX )
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Sparkster is a cartoony side scrolling action game by Konami, and sequel of
Rocket Knight Adventures originally released for the Sega Megadrive in 1993
(this Super Famicom episode is often considered as a spin-off rather than a direct sequel though).
The evil Lioness and her growing army of wolf soldiers are taking over the opossum kingdom, and the
young Flora, the king's daughter, has been kidnapped and held for ransom by the cruel invader.
The protagonist of the game is Sparkster, a skilled and courageous opossum rocket knight,
and his sole mission it to rescue the distressed damsel and to save the kingdom from total annihilation.
But little does he knows that his arch-enemy Axel Gear, the rogue and betrayer rocket knight,
has also joined forces with the assailant and will do anything in his power to make
sure Sparkster doesn't succeed
in his mission. Sparkster's first incredible ability is to hang from anywhere with his tail (trees,
pipes and so forth), allowing him to escape dare situations, or reach inaccessible areas. Then, with the
help of his trusty sword, he can slash his enemies, fire deadly beams or break through walls. But
Sparkster's armor and unmistakable aviator glasses hide another secret - the opossum wears a
jet-pack on his back, and holding the attack button for a few seconds gives Sparkster the
incredible ability to fly through the air and reach higher platforms, or bounce off walls. The same
technique can be used to unleash rocket-boost charges against the enemy. Sparkster has a few
other tricks up his sleeves, such as a powerful spin attack or an equally damaging air dashing move.
Sparkster consists of nine stages and features a simple password system to save the player's
progress.
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Sparkster is an interesting and imaginative franchise, and many players have drawn a
strong parallel between Konami's opossum hero, and Sega's flagship character
Sonic the Hedgehog. And parallel there is. The first Sparkster game was released
for the Sega Megadrive in 1993 under the name Rocket Knight Adventures, and this
two years after Sonic the Hedgehog. Like Sega's flagship platformer, the game
featured fast-paced action and a rodent character (well, technically, hedgehogs are not
rodents, but you get the point). Unlike countless other Sonic wannabes in the mid-1990s,
Rocket Knight Adventures was actually wonderfully crafted and was Konami at its best.
But the game never became a huge hit, which was rather unfortunate (the game enjoyed some levels
of success though). Of course that didn't stop Konami, who went ahead and released a first
sequel for the Super Famicom and Megadrive in 1994 simply called Sparkster.
Both games were released the same month, but the Super Famicom version was the first one to
hit the shelves. Although both game share the same cover art, they are two completely different
games and were apparently developed by two different teams at Konami. The Super Famicom version is
arguably better, but it is often seen as a spin off, rather than a true sequel. On the same note,
the Japanese Megadrive version of the game was subtitled Rocket Knight Adventures 2,
and is considered as the true sequel to the first game. Then Konami abandoned the
franchise until 2010, when a sequel was contracted to the British independent Climax Studio.
The game, called Rocket Knight, was only released for the Xbox Live Arcade and
Playstation Network and used 3D graphics. Although this 'revival' episode looks decent,
I feel that it lacks the soul and cleverness of the original games, and ends up being a generic action
platformer... Finally, Sparkster made a few small cameo appearances in other Konami
games, such as Ganbare Goemon 2 (Super Famicom, 1993) where he appears in a house, or
Snatcher (Sega CD, 1994) where he can be seen in the Outer Heaven night club.
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Teaser text from the American version:
He's one opumped opossum!
Sparkster is a jet-packin'into action
as the toughest Roket Knight to
ever swing a sword. grab the
controls and blast through nine
wild stages in your quest to rid the world of the
nasty Colonel Wolfheim and his allies -- a tough pack of wolves
that aren't here to dance!
Oh yeah, and before you get too comfortable -- Axel Gear is here. This Rocket
Knight-gone-bad has a score to settle with Sparkster. Our hero will need his
REWED-UP new rocket pack and powerful new attack moves to kick Axel's tail
back to the dark side of the planet.
Come on. Don't waste time on games that we designed for somebody's little
brother. Tahe Sparksyer for a spin and feel what real adventure is! You'll sizzle
through the secret rooms in the ancient pyramid and stomp wolf hide in a midair
battle. Search for the power-ups and avoid opossum-squelching traps, and see
some of the most amazing boss characters ever put into a video game.
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Game Staff (Copied from the American version end credits) :
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Director
Main Programmer
Axelay! Ueda
Programmer
Fururu!!
Ponce Yamamoto
Main Designer
Yada Bonsei
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Designer
Reika
Ohanayamicchan
Nagisa Chan
Sato Noriyoshi
Sound Design
K.Uehara
M. Ikariko
M. Matsuhira
Y. Yamane
A. Yamaoka
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Package Design
K. Namba
Y. Nozawa
Special Thanks
ROCKET KNIGHT
ADVENTURES TEAM
KUROKOTAI
...And All Konami Staff
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Advisor
J. Blaustein
Producer
K. Tom
CONGRATULATION!
(c)1994 Konami
All Rights Reserved
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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Difficulty levels and endings
Sparkster's last two stages can only be unlocked by adjusting the game's
difficult level, giving the game a total of three different endings:
First ending (easy difficulty)
The player fighs Axle Gear in a robot battle duel and escapes with princess
Flora. Game ends after Level seven.
Second Ending (normal difficulty, default)
The player unlocks level eight, fights Generalissimo Lioness and
escapes with the princess as the enemy base explodes behind them.
Third Ending (hard, very hard and crazy hard difficulty)
The player unlocks level nine. After defeating Generalissimo Lioness,
the player goes after a missile targeted directly at the opossum kingdom.
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Crazy hard mode:
Go to the title screen and enter the setup menu. Then highlight
Level and press Left, Left, Right,
Right, Down, Up, Down, Up,
A and X. The Crazy Hard difficulty mode
should now be available.
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
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Sparkster somewhat felt through the cracks of popularity, and is barely
known in the west. This is rather unfortunate, because it is one of the best
platform/action game available for the system (and a damn good series that started
on the Sega Megadrive in 1993). The cartoony graphics are colorful, very
well drawn and are incredibly detailed. The enemies (and especially the jaw-dropping
bosses) are remarkably animated and look breathtaking. Of course, and as expected with
Konami (especially in the mid-1990s), surprises don't stop here, and you
will be blown away (as I was) on how varied the game is. For instance, soon after the
first stage, Sparkster effortlessly rides a giant robotic ostrich, and, later
in the game, one level turns into a fast-paced vertical shooter! Sparkster is
Konami at its very best, and the game showcases incredible level design (and
some really clever uses of the Super Famicom hardware and sprite deformation
effects), as well as flawless controls and a superb and truly memorable soundtrack.
Let me warn you though, this game is hard - some levels are incredibly challenging and
feature really unfair checkpoints. All in all, an excellent and wonderfully inventive
game, and a great addition to the Sparkster series.
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