ROCKETRON

Astro Port decided to experiment with a Metroidvania here: although less complex than other games of the genre, most of its basic building blocks are there, like a map and upgrades to enhance traversal and offensive abilities. The protagonist works for an organization first seen in [b]Steel Strider[/b] and is even assisted by the same AI, fights a cult connected to the original big bad of [b]Vulkaiser[/b] but the villain of [b]Zangeki Warp[/b] appears involved too; however, it's set a few years before the latter game, and an enemy is clearly an evil version of the ship/mecha from there, which raises a lot of questions. The player makes use of a device called Rocket Musket that works like a multi-directional jetpack as long as there is energy, quickly recharged by landing on the feet for a little while; amusingly, when out of juice a sound like a failing lighter is heard. On the front side, the device has an interchangeable arsenal that comprises, by the end, 8 different weapons including a laser drill. All of them have infinite ammo but the trade-off is that, save two, they are connected to the player's health; generally, the more powerful the currently held weapon is, the less hits it takes to lose it, until enough health icons to repair it are collected. While health, movement speed and weapons can be upgraded with crystals found all around the maps, the rocket depends exclusively on power-ups found while exploring, making possible to cover increasingly long distances. Maneuvering around obstacles in all directions is one of the most fun aspects of the game. Maps and special visors allow to discover secret areas. The style of most AP games is recognizable but it's been made more colorful and "cartoonish". Music is quite forgettable though, they can do much better than that. The initial speed of the character is incredibly low, forcing to use lots of upgrade crystals on speed. It makes traversing the early parts a slog. The weapon system, while fine on paper, is incredibly annoying not just because being hit means losing a weapon that can make the difference in a tight situation, but also because it takes lots of healing items, well beyond restoring the health to full, to just bring a weapon back online, and the chance of enemies dropping them is fairly low; health items left behind by bosses are often not even enough for the character. Worse, save points do NOT heal or repair. At one point there is a boss you can only lose against, after a cutscene you have only the basic gun and the drill, and must repair all other weapons. There are some sections clearly made to farm those items but to make them even more annoying, going out and back in them is accompanied by very slow screen transitions. It's not even some technical issue but a choice as, in case of death, the transition to the most recent saved position is very quick. The level design is quite simple, with a low "density" of maps. The map displays only the current section and doesn't allow to see others. Also be careful as some rooms with items you can't access yet, still count as explored in the map. Long stretches of time can be spent just wandering or with the aforementioned health/repair farming. It can be finished in a couple of hours and yet it feels padded. The localization is buggy, as often text boxes will show up with nothing, including in important cutscenes and in the endings. AP games have never shined in their stories and in how they present them, but here you are just left in the dark in a game that has a bit more of it. The touch of the developers is still recognizable, and I've had genuine fun with the rocket. There is also great potential for speedrunners or hardcore challenges, especially if one goes for spending the least crystals for upgrades as possible. But the thumb you see here is certainly not the same I've given to [b]Zangeki Warp[/b], [b]Wolflame[/b], or any other of their previous games; it should be rather pointed sideways. I can't fault Astro Port for having experimented but for the first time, it seems they bit more than they could chew, making [b]Rocketron[/b] their weakest game to date.