Spark the Electric Jester 3

Genre: 3D Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Spark the Electric Jester is a series of 3D Platformers that have been releasing on PC since 2017, with the third installment in the series releasing in 2022 on PC and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2024. And I think it would be putting it mildly to say that this game is inspired by the 3D Sonic the Hedgehog games – it is blatantly copying Sonic in everything from the way it plays and moves to the way it looks, even down to the way “act” titles slide onto the screen.

The game’s levels consist mostly of corridor-like obstacle courses to be rushed through at high speeds, complete with speed gates, trampoline pads, grind rails, and enemies that can be directly targeted with a mid-air spin-dash-like move. I don’t know if this goes so far as to flirt with copyright issues, but it doesn’t feel too far from that.

Having said that, I always say there’s nothing wrong with a copycat so long as it’s a good copycat, and to its credit, Spark the Electric Jester 3 is an excellent copycat of the 3D Sonic formula, with movement and jumping feeling great, and even with added maneuverability thanks to a double-jump and mid-air dash.

What’s more, this game adds extra elements of its own that work quite well – there are challenge levels where specific goals need to be met, usually by making use of a specific move. There’s also an upgradeable move set, with players getting even more speed and maneuverability by spending in-game currency.

On the other hand, there are other added elements that don’t work quite so well here. The game includes boss battles with a button-mashy combat system that just doesn’t feel all that great. There’s also more than a little frustration caused by the need to babysit the camera.

In addition, when we turn to the presentation, the game suffers a serious lack of personality, and what little personality is here is something that was clearly taken from the Sonic franchise. The positive to this is that the game’s 3D visuals do still have Sonic’s signature colorful look to them that works quite well, and the energetic synthesized soundtrack is also very Sonic-esque. But everything about the game has the feel of a knockoff product, especially the uninspired character designs. And then on top of this, Spark the Electric Jester 3 also suffers from performance issues on Nintendo Switch, with the framerate suffering noticeably at points. There are also regular load times, not just when loading stages, but also on the game’s world map screen.

Overall, despite these issues, Spark the Electric Jester 3 is still a solid 3D Sonic-style game, even if it can’t compete with the blue hedgehog himself. But Sonic fans willing to put aside that comparison and enjoy this game for what it is will find a superb 3D Platformer that has many of the same qualities they love from Sega’s mascot franchise.

tl;dr – Spark the Electric Jester 3 is a 3D Platformer that’s blatantly copying the formula of 3D games in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, but it largely does a good job of it, even if the game absolutely feels like an unoriginal knockoff and a few of its original ideas fall flat. It also suffers from performance issues on Nintendo Switch. Yet despite all of this, the core is a very good 3D Platformer, and even if it doesn’t beat Sonic at his own game, Sonic fans are still going to thoroughly enjoy this.

Grade: B

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2024 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: The “Wow, this game was way better than I expected!” Award

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