Pocky and rocky 2 box art series#

What’s interesting is that the character you play changes with every stage, so there’s a little bit of variety as you make your way to the final boss in stage 9. Early on you learn that the villain Black Mantle, from previous games in the series, has made his nefarious return, and so much of the game sees you in hot pursuit.

The story begins with Rocky rushing back to the shrine to tell Pocky that monsters from the mountain have started attacking, to which Pocky responds, “But why? They promised not to be bad anymore.” Even though this line definitely got a chuckle out of me, without a way to speed up the dialogue without skipping it entirely, it becomes a chore to sit through the lengthy cutscenes that bookend each of the game’s stages. While guiding the shrine maiden, raccoon, and their pals through nine total stages is fun enough, the poor writing during cutscenes and odd way of locking content prevent this blast from Taito’s past from being a must-play. Having played both games around the time of their original release, I was looking forward to the traditional Japanese setting of Pocky & Rocky Reshrined, with its focus on Japanese mythology and challenging shooter-style gameplay.

Pocky and rocky 2 box art series#

Even though the series first appeared in Japanese arcades in 1986 as Kiki Kaikai, Nintendo fans probably know the pair of titular characters from their two adventures on the SNES, Pocky & Rocky and Pocky & Rocky 2.