Pocky & Rocky Reshrined

Genre: Top-Down Action

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Pocky & Rocky Reshrined, released in 2022 on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, and ported to PC and Xbox One in 2023, is a Top-Down Action game that seems designed to give the impression that it’s a remake of the 1993 cult classic Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Pocky & Rocky. However, the more you play, the more it becomes clear that Reshrined is at most a “re-imagining” of the Super Nintendo game, if not an almost entirely new game.

Reshrined’s plot is largely the same as the original game – shrine maiden Pocky, responsible for keeping the peace with with the local “goblin” spirits, is notified by one such goblin, a tanuki named Rocky, that something has caused the other goblins to lose their minds and become violent. As such, the two set out to quell this chaos and find its source.

While the visual style of this game is faithful to the original Pocky and Rocky, it has received a massive upgrade, with some truly gorgeous 2D pixel artwork for characters and backgrounds, with lots on nice detail, like leaves on the ground that shuffle around as you pass by. This is joined by some really catchy synthesized tunes with a traditional Japanese inspiration, such as Rocky’s Message, The Haunted Shrine, The Enchanted Forest, and An Ancient Land, to name a few. In short, this game does a great job of looking and sounding great while still maintaining a tie to its 30 year-old predecessor.

When it comes to the gameplay, you start to see some differences right away. Your character is automatically selected for you in the main campaign rather than giving you a choice. That character is much smaller now in relation to the rest of the screen, which gives you a bit more ability to dodge enemy attacks, but you’re also much slower now. You have a standard projectile attack that can be upgraded by grabbing bonus items, as well as a melee attack that can deflect projectiles. In addition to these, you have a special attack that’s limited in number, as well as a dodge move. This last move is something of a disappointment – it doesn’t prevent damage to you, it just gives you a short burst of speed in one direction so you can get away from that danger.

Speaking of danger, Pocky & Rocky Recharged is extremely tough, with lots of enemies on-screen that often don’t have any significant hit stun, frequent occurrences of enemies filling the screen with projectiles, and controls that don’t really allow you to aim and move independently (2-Stick Shooter controls would have been really nice here). What’s more, while this game does have an easy mode, you can only unlock it by playing through the regular mode first, collecting so many coins that you’ll likely just accept that you’ll be playing through the game in Normal mode instead. At the very least you can cut the challenge a bit by playing this game in Co-Op, but even there things will still be pretty tough.

Because of the high challenge level, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is far less accessible than it could have been, limiting its appeal. However, if you’re the sort who craves a challenge, I think you’ll find this game to be delightfully refreshing whether you’ve played the original Pocky & Rocky or not, especially if you can play with a friend who’s as much of a glutton for punishment as you are.

tl;dr – Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is a Top-Down Action game that’s not a remake of the SNES classic so much as it is a ground-up reimagining of that game. It looks and sounds great, has some fun mechanics, and is great in co-op, but it is punishingly difficult. However, if you and a friend crave a challenge, I think you’ll find this to be a fun time.

Grade: B-

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