Pocky & Rocky is a beloved top-down run ‘n gun series that began in arcades before seeing well-received entries on the SNES and other systems. Now a new entry has been released with Pocky& Rocky Reshrined, which hopes to take the series back to its old-school roots but with modern presentation elements. The result is a game that gets what worked and manages to improve on it with modern ideas in the best way possible.
Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is best described as a remake of the first SNES game that is also a remix with new concepts and ideas. It has the same themes and style, not to mention enemies, but the game feels like something totally different. There are new characters to use here for instance, and new modes to unlock for something unique.
This is, as mentioned, a top-down run ‘n gun shooter and the game adheres to many classic shmup mechanics. Your main attack is an eight-way projectile, in addition to a super move that will attack all enemies on the screen. These are not the only moves, however, as the game also has a slide move for dodging enemies and moving quickly, but more importantly, there is a sweeping motion that can deflect attacks.
Deflecting attacks is key to your success, as some enemies are best fought by deflecting their attacks rather than launching your own. Deflecting will prevent damage as well of course, and the mechanic makes the game take on a bit of a puzzle element. It definitely adds something that is not as common as you might think in shooters and needs to be used liberally.
Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is a very tough game that will force you to learn and grow or die repeatedly. Easy mode is not an option right away because it, like many other features of the game, needs to be unlocked by finding the right amount of coins in the story mode. The story mode itself is not long and will only take around two hours to complete, that is once you get the hang of the challenge and understand how to play well.
The story mode will slowly introduce you to the various characters you can play as, and what their special abilities are. New characters include Ame-no-Uzume, Ikazuchi, and Hotaru Gozen, and while each of them has the basic controls shared with Pocky and Rocky, their special abilities and techniques are all different. This ends up resulting in a co-op experience that is far different than previous entries and adds a lot to the game’s replay value, especially with the right friends. and this lends itself to a more enjoyable two-player coop experience later.
The game is chaotic and with co-op added, the chaos rises to new levels. That said, co-op mode needs to be unlocked by completing the story mode first unless you can find the right amount of coins. This feels like a strange choice, especially since co-op gameplay has always been a big part of the series.
While Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is a hard game, it is not completely unforgiving. While the game has limited lives and game overs, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined has checkpoints to continue from in a stage and will work even after a game over, and many times one will appear after the mid-boss of a stage. The game thus manages to find a good balance between an old-school challenge, and a modern take on difficulty.
As for the visuals and sound, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is a gorgeous-looking and sounding game. This is a reimagining with colourful art, very detailed graphics and a great cartoonish art style. The game manages to surpass the original Pocky & Rocky soundtrack as well, creating memorable tunes that take influence from the classics, while still doing their own thing.
Even with some censorship in the west, compared to the Japanese version, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is a perfect example of how to reimagine a classic overhead run ‘n gun game. With the right amount of challenge and great modern touches, what we have here is a game that understood its assignment and excelled at it. This is one that comes highly recommended.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch
Also available on PS4
Published by Natsume Digitally – ININ Games physically in Europe. Limited and Collector’s editions are available via Gamesrocket ( shipping in Q3)