As a fan of side-scrollers Rocket Knight seemed like a natural purchase when it was released on the Xbox 360. Several years later I've finally got around to playing through this sequel the classic Genesis' series. What makes Rocket Knight stand out from many other modern platformers is of course the protagonist's signature jetpack. This jetpack not only lets you get around faster but can help you charge right through your enemies. This title from Konami was clearly inspired by the arcade which has lead to a shorter overall play time. That said the little time you must invest to complete Rocket Knight should still be worth while.
In rocket Knight you play as Sparkster, a opossum warrior, in a quest to save his people from the tyranny of evil pigs. The army of pigs tricks your people into helping them in their fight against a menacing pack of wolves. If those two threats together wasn't challenging enough you must deal with a rival knight who wishes to take credit for all your hard work. There is a total of ten stages broken up by three chapters which all feature a boss fight. The bosses add some good variety and require a bit more strategy then most of the stages which you can boost your way through pretty easily. Your only real motivation to explore levels is to collect gems and extra lives but gems only affect score so they aren't particularly exciting to hunt down.
Sparkster not only has his jetpack to help him get around but wields a large sword to help him slice down his opposition. With his jetpack he can not only charge through enemies but bounce off walls to reach new heights. You must be careful watch your fuel gauge which will slowly but steadily be refilling. You can also use some fuel to spin in a circle attacking foes that get near you from any direction. While many stages take place solid ground some levels have you flying through the air. These flying stages play more like a space shooter and helps to add some really nice variety overall.
Rocket Knight isn't revolutionary but the solid gameplay helps to deliver a rather enjoyable experience. The difference in gameplay between grounded stages and flying stages, along with some clever boss fights, helps keep the gameplay fresh through all three chapters. This arcade game does have a shorter completion time somewhere between an hour or two. I guess the hope is that you would want to improve your scores or play the game again on a more challenging difficulty setting. Personally after one playthrough I'd rather move on to another game especially with so many other excellent side-scrollers out there. Still I'm glad I finally got around to completing this little gem which for fans of this genre is definitely worth at looking into.