Revisiting Sparkster - SNESdrunk
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- Опубликовано: 12 июл 2024
- Not to be confused with Rocket Knight Adventures or Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2...
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This game is one of those forgotten gems that makes me think, "if the stars had lined up just right back then, this would have been huge." It's clear that these games were somebody's passion project at Konami, with so much effort and care put into them to make them shine. In some alternate timeline, Sparkster could've had a Saturday morning cartoon, an action figure line, and a revival series of its own. Most games don't really have that potential, but Sparkster has got it. A true hidden gem.
Yep. Maybe there were just too many good games at the time. Maybe we just assumed it was another ‘me too’ game like Bubsy and alike.
And Sparkster would have been in a Smash Bros game.
Instead we’re stuck in the Sonichu timeline 💀
@@AndalusianLuisany boyfriend-free white girls😂😂😂😂
The Rocket Knight series honestly could have rivaled Sonic the Hedgehog. It had so much potential.
As someone who grew up in the SNES era, I can tell you exactly why this wasn't big: it was never promoted, really. Only hardcore gaming nerds (like myself) bought gaming mags, and without a TV commercial, no one would know about it. Guess what they never had, really?
I agree. Growing up in this era, I've heard about this game but personally never played it. Seeing it in action here and talked about, it easily would've been a big hit. And yet, I only recall hearing about it from Nintendo Power, if memory serves.
Also it shared a Nintendo Power issue with Donkey Kong Country, so
Indeed, never saw an ad for it, or RKA for that matter, only knew of the games from gaming magazines like EGM and Game Pro. Hell the SNES one if I remember right, was not featured in Nintendo Power that much, if at all.
Let's all thank the Lort then that today we have SNESDrunk 😃 for real, love this guy. I've added so many gems to my collection bc of his good vids 👍
@@Bloodreign1 It got a six page feature (NP #66, p18-23), but very little of what makes this game interesting comes across in print. Looking back it is not hard to see why I paid attention to DKC, Earthworm Jim, and FF3, but passed over Sparkster.
Konami at this period in time loved making versions of games exclusive to that system so they weren't always simply just ports of what another system had. They liked trying to get the best out of a specific piece of hardware rather than attempting a direct port that may have had to be compromised in some way to get running on one system.
And it really worked on so many levels
except for Genesis Sunset Riders :(
@@DaedalosC9could have been so so much better with a larger cartridge size. The Snes was almost arcade perfect besides some animations and censorship.
Tiny Toons is a great example
I played, and loved, all three of those games. Konami, in general, was an absolute legend throughout the 8-bit and 16-bit eras. I honestly feel blessed to have been born at the start of the 8-bit era, and experience the creativity and memories from so many amazing games.
A sparkster collection on modern platforms would be rad. Come on konami!
This comment has aged like a fine wine!
Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked (YESSSS!)
This aged well
Rented this one a TON as a kid. Looks like it still holds up really well!
0:54 I absolutely LOVE this song. Konami being awesome with the music, as usual.
I swear that song is in mischief makers too, or something. It sounds incredibly familiar but I've not played sparkster.
@@Selgeron Not too surprising, considering who developed Mischief Makers.
The more driving rock version used in the first level on the Genesis version of Sparkster is way better imo
What's the song called
@@vegeta4882 It's literally just the Stage 1 music. It doesn't have an official title, as far as I know.
One of the most Underrated games on the SNES, from one of my favorite platforming franchises.
I was introduced to this game by a former friend. I was hooked to this game during my kid days. Sadly, I never got to play the Genesis versions. This game has some of my favorite soundtracks that I still listen to till this day
Aww, why are they a former friend?
Loving these revisits. I know you still have snes games that you haven't touched on but you gotta go back for favorites and relive what made you get started. You're the best drunk.
Man those sampled orchestras in the first level are insane. When i first heard them i was surprised yet again at how good an SNES game can sound.
Thank you for shining the spotlight on my boy Sparkster. The Rocket Knight Adventures series is vastly underrated and deserves another chance in life.
This game series certainly is one of the "Hidden Gems", really great quality and fun to play, not too easy and not too challenging as well and I'll be forever grateful that I got to know of these games thanks to SNES Drunk's earlier videos about them :)
in the realm of mascot platformers, this was already a steady 10 for myself, and the fact Snes got a spinoff intrigued me, as i didn't get to play until emulation was a thing. immensely fond of the first game on the megadrive (more so than the second) to say I've never beat it. also it had so much potential to be a animated TV series in a way. we did get a comic adaption here in the UK, but that was sadly short lived.
From what I hear, the SNES might not be a spin off but takes place before RKA2
Probs due to some ENG translation mess ups
I was hoping for a cartoon version of the game as well.
So cool. I looked for the comic on eBay rn, found nothing but pricey game cartridges. Will keep an eye out. What a gem that comic is 🤓
@@zerocal76 should of mentioned the whole series is from the UK version of the sonic the hedgehog, and is available here. (bad voice acting though!) ruclips.net/video/hYgtPMco3k0/видео.html&ab_channel=tymime
Everyone celebrates RKA but never the two Sparkster games, which I think are both pretty fun. I'm happy to see you give them their due!
About time we got a Rocket Knight collection on modern consoles!
...well...
I like to give the screen finger-guns whenever SNESDrunk says “you’re gonna have to play this ‘any way you can’”
Yea obviously he mean play it on my wii through genesis vc injections right?
BTW don't do that, it a pain to do and may not work on your wii, just use genesis plus gx emulator on your wii and have a blast.
Would love for Rocket Knight Adventures and the two Sparksters to be released in a package. Never played the SNES one
I think it’s worth noting that Treasure was formed by former Konami employees in 1992, while Sparkster released for SNES in 1994.
Sparkster was directed by Hideo Ueda, who mainly worked on shooters at Konami, including a role as lead programmer on Axelay in 1992 as well as a number of games in the Gradius, Parodius and Twinbee series. He remained with Konami at least until the 2000s, as he was credited on MGS3.
That said, devs undoubtedly kept in touch with their former co-workers, and a healthy spirit of competition led remaining Konami employees to push their limits trying to keep up with Treasure’s software wizardry; and gamers reaped the rewards with Konami titles like Sparkster, Contra: Hard Corps and Castlevania: Bloodlines.
The stage-1 music is one of my favorite tracks on SNES. Absolutely perfect to set the hype-meter for this adventure 😎
Honest to god this game and the series is one of the main reasons I've started drawing and even made me dig deep for this series like some lore bits and how Axel Gear (the rival knight) dyes his hair a different color every game
Great series that could use a modern treatment. I recall fondly playing the first genesis Rocketknight with my cousins a lot. The balance of the games allows for pickup playthrough if you’re new to it.
Playing this game on a theater surround system back in the day was pure dynamite. Loved this game. 👍
For me, the first RKA game is my second favorite Megadrive game, only behind Sonic 3 & Knuckles. It's such a great time! Sparkster: RKA (Megadrive) is still good, but not even close to the original imo. Still worth checking out, tho. Sparkster (SNES) is my 10th favorite SNES game, just behind Super Castlevania IV and just ahead of Final Fantasy V. Really, I think the first RKA and SParkster (SNES) deserve much more attention. This could have easily been one of Konami's flagship franchises if people had given it more attention. Alas, c'est la vie...
The Genesis Sparkster put me off the SNES title, assuming they were the same! I wish I hadn't, Genesis RKA -> SNES Sparkster seems like the best way to go
As a matter of fact I've only found out this one existed through your channel. Back in the day I played only the first Genesis game and it was a blast
This is one of those games where I'd happily buy a good retro collection, like Konami's done with Castlevania and Contra. I'm pretty surprised they haven't gotten around to doing it!
There's only the three games compared to the many, many games of Castlevania or Contra series...oh and that newer Sparkster game doesn't count, it's pretty bad...and honestly just feels like a cheap nostalgia cash-grab instead of a full-fledged game...But what ya do expect of modern day Konami, were lucky to get anything out of them that isn't a some Pachinko or gambling game.
A fitting tribute. I will always enjoy Rocket Knight Adventures. Good times!
Loved rocket knight as a kid. Wish I knew this existed when I was a kid.
Sparkster is a reminder that Konami used to be a good game developer! The soundtrack of this game is amazing, the first stage theme is amazing, one of my favorite game music.
They used to be the best game developer.
@@ninjacape together with square and Capcom!
I grew up on Rocket Knight Adventures and I was absolutely blown away by this game. One of my favorite SNES games and a fantastic sequel (that is IMO superior to the rather odd Genesis Sparkster.) The Bird Mecha stage lives rent free in my head and so does its amazing soundtrack.
Yeah, I loooved RKA and absolutely did not click at all with the Genesis Sparkster. Then I assumed the SNES Sparkster was the same game.
But it's soooo much more like RKA and so much better than Genesis's Sparkster. Good stuff!
I’ve been loving you revisiting these games you’ve previously talked about, it’s been awesome it’s cool to see how far you’ve come😎
I keep hoping Konami will make a Sparkster collection. I love these games, and even the 2011 sequel was pretty good. Glad to see some Sparkster love.
God I LOVED Sparkster so much as a kid. Such an incredible soundtrack to go along perfectly with the gameplay!
Also I've NEVER seen that jetpack exploding animation before!!!
The main theme of the ending theme is quite similar to the Chorus of "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship. A very fitting theme for a Rocket Knight who just won a space war. :)
As always, I love your nuanced perspective regarding comparing games on both consoles in the 16 bit console war era. There is no reason to try and declare a winner, when it is so often the case that they are both awesome.
I'm loving these revised videos, and of course with a gem from retro Konami like Sparkster. Thank you so much, SDrunk. I should replayed it after I finished the Castlevania collection 🦇
Good review! I actually used to own a physical copy of this one. You can definitely see Treasure's footprint in this game (and the Genesis games). Creative levels, many wild bosses and lots of cool special effects! This game is definitely underrated and it is a shame that it rarely gets discussed when people mention excellent SNES action games!
I did play the 2010 Sparkster game, but it felt like a shell of the Genesis and SNES games. I found the redesign for Sparkster unappealing and it just feels so generic. It doesn't have that same creative energy as the 16-bit titles. Not a terrible game, but just a very disappointing Sparkster game.
That SNNNNNESdrunk was really well tuned. Off to a great start.
Watching your videos helps me find awesome additions to my SNES Collection! Awesome videos dude!
Wished I had played it. I got the original out of a 10 dollar bin at the entrance to KB Toys on a whim (I'm sure the cover art attracted me) and after a few minutes playing I called my best friend and told him he needed to get his mom to take him to the mall to get this game.
Still one of my favorite snes games. Glad I have it physically!
Loved this series as a kid. I remember that if you left the game you would get an interactive cut scene where you got to fight your rival in a giant rodent mech.
I discovered this game some 10 years ago and remember enjoying the game's rather energetic soundtrack.
You hit the nail on the head with those closing lines. I think we all overlook this one, and it def needs some love!
I picked this up from a bargain bin at KB Toys as a kid for $8. I still have it. Love this game.
I loved rocket knight as a kid, but have oddly never heard of this before
There’s an alternate timeline where they’re still making games in this series 😢
I love this channel and it does make me feel better when you wish me a good day
Oooo I love the musical instrument obstacles! I'm going to have to check this one out.
Oh man. When I was in grade school I was so into this game that my friends and I developed a fan culture with different knights and we played at recess in that universe. One kid got mad that he couldn’t also have the Master Sword from Link to the Past but THAT’S MIXING METAPHORS. Anyway it started drama and the teacher made us stop playing that game. I could have written the Saturday morning cartoon this game would have inspired
All three games are great but Sparkster is like that album one of your favorite artist made solo without the band. But it's extremely indulgent in their style and gets experimental even.
It might not be as well known or received as the platinum hit Rocket Knight Adventures but it has soul and style.
Thank you for the video and I hope you have a great rest of your day.
I bought this a handful of years ago and I love it. Just wish you weren’t as zoomed in and screen tearing wasn’t an issue. Would be perfect.
So a weird random story about my childhood. When I was growing up, I only had one game on the SNES. It was Sparkster and I played the hell out of that game erryday. One day, while being babysat- my babysitter invites her bf over. He sees me playing, then takes the controller away from me. I cried and told my babysitter and she confronts him. He argues with her that I’m a baby, that I shouldn’t be playing these games. So she breaks up with him on the spot and you know what he does? He punches me then steals my copy of Sparkster and then walks out of there. 🥲
Sorry, I miss this game so much and I’ve never shared this story with anyone before. It just felt good to share. 😅
Konami.
Rocket Knight Collection. Easy Money.
Nice review as always! Thanks. Been trying to decide to snag the rocket knight adventures resparked and I think this video persuaded me to grab it! Today is the cutoff for preorders so gonna go grab it now for switch. I just feel like it’s one of those games that should be on a Nintendo console over Xbox or PlayStation.
I really wish Konami would come back to Sparkster/Rocket Knight. The 2010 game was a pretty large departure. Just didn't have the same...feel to it. For lack of a better way to say it, that's how I feel. Getting a few of the original team together or maybe just a japanese in-house development team would likely solve this. Sparkster deserves more love.
You should do videos on those Genesis Rocket Knight games too. Love your stuff, dude 👍
When my cousin brought this game for my aunt's SNES, I thought it was a video game adaptation of Dragon Ball, especially the protagonist who has a tail and fights an evil army with robots like the Red Ribbon Army.
This was a really good game that I wish got more attention. For a long time I thought this was the only one in the series, until years later when I found out about the Rocket Knight games.
Excellent review bruh!
My nostalgic hype did not disappoint me one bit. And the Genesis games are pretty great too!
Nice video! I love the rocket knight series and now i know the super nintendo has a game that's awesome!
Can't wait for Rocket Knight re-sparked to come out to play it again. Even if I have to get digital
I think one can debate if Rocket Knight 1 is better than this, but this one is a lot better than Rocket Knight 2. This one keeps all of the same mechanics, while that game really was trying to do something different. And I don't think it was as fun.
Love this game😊 and the music 👌 got it on Snes. Thanks for the vid😊
Limited Run is re-releasing a all three games packaged together on cart for Switch and disc for PS!!!! I truly never thought I'd see the day!
This game is more funny depending on the way you play. A lad of mine used to play it full aggressive, doing some small combos and things like that. It's the same as Shinobi 3 on the Mega Drive. If the player don't use some time to exploit the jetpack and assimilate it's recovery time, the gameplay can be too slow... but when you learn to play it more aggressively, it turns into one of the fastest action games on the SNES. Cheers!
The jetpack exploding it just hilarious!
I got my copy of Sparkster at a game store in Oklahoma a few years ago. I believe I paid $35 or $45 and it was worth it since it's pretty expensive now. I beat it around 2018 or 2020. I made a list of games I beat during those years and this game was one of them. It was pretty fun too!
The music is so good too! Love Sparkster!
Never knew what his name was, always just called him Rocket! Love the vid
Really loved playing these games when I was a kid.
Looks really neat!
It blows my mind you can beat Contra III on hard, but not super punch out.
"Being adequately prepared to spike a controller into the ground" is an absolute golden piece of writing.
This review will soon get a lot more views now that the original trilogy is getting a major re-release in modern-day systems. I can't wait for more people to find out about this series!
The RK collection is being released soon!
This series is just such a blast to play! I haven't played the SNES entry as much but it's just as good as the Sega titles.
I found a copy of this game on ebay recently and really enjoy it. When Drunk says, "90's Konami at its best," he knows what he says. This game plays differently than any other game out there. Were I to compare it to a land mass, it would be a large, island paradise that is lush and colorful and full of pure waters and the only thing it has in common with other platform games is it is an island
Thanks for this. I just thought it was a remake. I will have to play this now.
First video of yours I've watched in a while that I didn't notice a Minnesota shout-out easter egg. Good episode all the same though!
The Rocket Knight series is just so wonderful. It has the strong appealing mascot design & world building of Sonic, but with (IMO) substantially better gameplay. I just discovered these games as an adult by way of showing my kids retro games, and they are now absolutely obsessed with this little opossum. They make Rocket Knight costumes and zoom around the house and love to watch me play. It makes me a little sad this series never caught on the way Mario and Sonic did. I reckon it came down to the lack of marketing oomph to stand out in the crowd.
Never played this one but damn that closing track you used makes me want to
My first exposure to this series was actually the remake on the 360 lol
This game looks great! I have Rocket Knight on Genesis, but had no idea this game existed.
Sparkster on SNES is and remains one of the more fun games on the platform. Good music, fun levels, neat bosses and tight controls. I've never touched the Sega games... but the Rocket Knight game's also been on Steam. Store page unavailable at present though, so I guess delisted?
Sparkster has some of the best SNES music... There's no denying that. And it fitted so well with the intensity of the action too!
I have discovered this game while looking at a rom site. I liked the Genesis game so I gave shot. I wasn't disappointed.
I remember this game being heavily advertised when it came out, but it never got much recognition after that.
I didn't know that Rocket Knight Adventures was part of a series of games! Neat :3
SNES DRUNK 2.0
Let’s gooooooooo
You just unlocked a hidden memory
I was just thinking about this game the other day and now I need to play it
We need a Sparkster collection for modern systems, featuring not just Sparkster’s Mega Drive, SNES and PS3 outings but also DS title New International Track & Field and iOS title Krazy Kart Racing, as Sparkster is playable in both of them and they could also include online multiplayer in them!
This was another great, yet under appreciated franchise by Konami. The 2010 reboot by Climax was passable to say the least, but it isn't up to the standards of the old games. Though to be honest, I wouldn't trust modern Konami to make a new entry, unless they outsource it to a developer with enough skill and passion. We can only hope that would happen, and that they won't screw it up.
One of my favorites. Too bad the Climax version wasn't that good.
That developer really dropped off fast, huh.
Well, we can play this many ways of any way we can, still.
That was Climax not WayForward
@@JIreland1992 Thanks. I fixed my mistake. I just remember WayForward was working for a lot of titles and got it mixed up.
There is some Contra 3 vibes into that game too. Looks good and fun. 😎
Fun fact: Sparkster makes a cameo appearance in the great game Snatcher!
Really glad I bought this game recently. I believe it was a reproduction card but I still don't mind. I'm in the process of rebuilding my Super Nintendo library anyway. That said, this is a staple to any SNES library. I love it.
3:55 that doesn't stop a lot of people from comparing games from both platforms still today, the 16-bit Console Wars are very much alive!