Released about a year and a half ago on PS4/Switch, Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined is now available on Xbox. Awesome to see Natsume games on a Microsoft console. Hopefully more are on the way.
Everything mentioned in my original PS4 Review, which can be viewed HERE, stands true with this Xbox port.
In short, this is a hard game. Like, really hard. So hard that you will not even be able to reach the first checkpoint in level 1. This is one of those games you need to replay a million times until you memorize the spawn points of every enemy, learn the patterns of each boss, and have lightning quick reaction time. The difficulty is so high that I can easily see this turning players away or causing rage quitting frustration. Also, to unlock the Easy mode, you need to grind the normal mode until you earn enough in-game cash. This game enjoys kicking you while you are down and doesn’t even feel bad about it. However, just to be clear, high difficulty shouldn’t be confused with low quality.
There are two reasons why the difficulty is so high. First, like the SNES originals, this is a twin-stick shooter but with only one stick. Since you cannot move and shoot in all directions, the stop-and-pop stiff directional shooting often puts the player at a severe disadvantage with the high-action moment-to-moment gameplay. Secondly, co-op is restricted to local play. Even if you had a local co-op partner, it still probably wouldn’t matter since Reshrined isn’t exactly a pick-up-and-play action game. To make any progress, like mentioned above, you need to replay until you have completely mastery of each stage. Unless you have a dedicated co-op partner, they will only slow you down. If players had the ability to team up online with quality help, then the difficulty would not be so intense.
Like a Souls game, if you manage to stick with it, it can be a rewarding experience. Just keep in mind, it will take a tremendous amount of time and dedication to reach this level of play. The outer appearance of a cartoon racoon and anime girl are deceiving. This could be the hardest game you play all year and then some. Therefore, it isn’t for everyone. Be warned.
SCORE: 8/10
Don’t Forget About: the GBA sequel with Becky
Also Play: Wild Guns Reloaded
Wait For It: more classic Natsume titles to get the modern sequel treatment
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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