Spark the Electric Jester Reviews

amazing

AMAZING OMG ITS SO GOOD DONT SLEEP ON THIS GAME SERIES

This Game has so many issues, Bad Configuration Mapping, Bad Resolution Scaling and also i heard it also can have Frame Rate Issues

Pretty much what it says on the tin. It was alright, but I didn't have enough fun to finish it. Maybe you'll like it more.

Spark the Electric Jester is an homage and spiritual sibling to the original Sonic the Hedgehog games on the Sega Genesis. While it replicates a lot of the good (and bad) of Sonic, it includes it's own unique gameplay spin that feels much more like Kirby. The result is a pretty fun retro-feeling platformer. Good: * The music in this game is crazy good. Especially near the end of the game, it has no reason to go so hard. * The game has it's own design aesthetic, but it feels like a legitimate Genesis experience. * The game features a large number of different 'powerups' that you can discover in levels and switch between, that all alter Spark's moveset and abilities. This allows you to experiment a bit with how you deal with enemies and platforming challenges. * When you get the chance to go fast and run through the terrain, the game moves smoothly and really feels like the best fast sections of Sonic. * Levels have a variety of interesting platforming elements like low gravity, speed boosters, goop that makes you double jump, and more. They are large and full of verticality. * There's some cutscenes here that are rendered in a sort of old flash style that is a bit rough but charming. * Spark is the main character, but there's at least one other character to play as with a different playstyle and multiple game modes. Meh: * Enemy design didn't feel that unique, and most enemies felt either trivial (only taking a hit or two) or annoying (taking many hits and doing very difficult-to-dodge attacks). * Spark has the ability to wall-jump which is generally great and aids in exploring. However, it can make precise platforming difficult, since he's a bit sticky at times and you'll find yourself wall jumping or sliding when you don't mean to. Bad: * The storyline is...a mess. In the last few hours of the game, you are finally delivered a clearish mission to do, but the many hours before that feel like moving through pretty random places for no obvious reason, meeting random npcs with dialogue filled with dumb jokes. * Levels are large and varied, but unfortunately much of the space feels somewhat wasted; there's nothing to really collect in the game, so any exploration you choose to do is only going to net you an alternate powerup. It felt like a missed opportunity, to not put in some more secrets to reward thorough exploration. * There's a bunch of different powerups, but I found myself relying on only a few of them for 90% of the game. The wind powerup is arguably the most accessible and useful in the game, to the point that if possible I always tried to hold on to it and struggled a few times when I didn't have it. I wish some of the powerups had a stronger argument for choosing them. * This game suffers from the same problem as the original Sonic games; on paper it's about going fast, and levels include sections where you get to move rapidly and it's super satisfying. But they are commonly disrupted and you are forced to slow down and do some platforming that can be really finicky. The choppiness of the gameplay gets annoying, especially when enemies and hazards are thrown in. * There were a few moments of extreme slow-down in the game, and it didn't feel like it was meant as slow-motion; it was like the game was trying to emulate an older game console struggling to keep up with what was being rendered. That feels a little too faithful to a retro experience, or the result of some unoptimized game logic.

The game is certainly not without its faults. The bosses are usually super lame, the game is pretty buggy, and the powerups are very inconsistent in quality. But the core of the game is a blast in spite of these issues. The "collect a thon" aspect of many platformers is pretty much entirely absent, with the game focused around simply going fast in whatever wacky way it has cooked up. The good powerups are what make the game really shine, as the movement bonuses can really allow you to get creative with your traversal. The story and soundtrack had a few laughs and bangers respectively, but neither is a reason to pick the game up if you weren't otherwise interested. Freedom Planet (on classic mode) in many ways feels like a more refined version of Spark, but Spark is certainly well worth the price tag.

Let me put it this way, It's rare for me to devote myself to 100%'ing a game that becomes extremely hard by the time the hardest modes are unlocked, but this is so exceptionally well crafted and extremely fun, that it didn't just make me feel forced to do so, it made me want to do it. I've said multiple times that this game is like if Sonic, Megaman, Kirby and Rocket Knight Adventures had a baby, and it came out in the best way possible, and the music and aesthetics is something to behold as well I highly, highly recommend it!