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Guide Sparkster through the enchanted land of Elhorn - defeating his enemies with fancy swordplay and overcoming the many obstacles he faces along the way.

On planet Earth all walks of life are restrained by their natural abilities. All except us humans who, in our time, have learned to do whatever we please. However, spare a thought for the likes of Opossums who are amongst the most useless animals there are - on Earth.

The fairy-tale land of Elhorn, on the other hand, is rife with animals that possess human-like qualities. This is all due to the land's history of advanced civilisation and a mysterious group known as the Seven Great Sorcerers. This band of magi creates the Pig Star - a computer satellite used to control Elhorn's weather - and the Forbidden Fire - the limitless energy system that provides for all of Elhorn's inhabitants. One animal in particular that benefits from all this excess magical energy is an Opossum named Sparkster who, as it turns out, is a most unlikely hero! His tale of bravery begins when one of the distinguished Sorcerers, donning the title Dark Lord, turns the Pig Star against his associates, killing off most of them and plunging the word into a terrible Dark Age!

Komata is the one sorcerer to survive this cataclysm and promptly amasses an elite army, known as the Rocket Knights, which he employs to fight back at Dark Lord. Sparkset is orphaned in the wake of the disaster and so is taken on-board by a Rocket Knight named Mifune Sangelo who trains the young 'Possum into a useful fighter. It isn't long before Mifune loses his life in battle, leaving Sparkster to avenge not only the death of his parents but his mentor as well!

We've been waiting ages for this, Konami's most incredible looking game to date! Now that it's here players have the opportunity of seeing that Sparkster gets his revenge in this most intense of platforming/shoot-'em-ups!

As is traditional with platform games, Rocket Knight Adventures comes with its fair share of power-ups. Apples replace one heart of Sparkster's life gauge and bananas replace half of it. There are also plenty of red diamonds to collect for points and 1-UPs are well worth hunting down.

Whenever Sparkster is feeling a bit down, the rocket booster on his back is guaranteed to give him a lift. It takes a few seconds to charge up, but once this has been done, press the direction button and the furry little fellow rockets off the screen.

This cunning device proves particularly useful when it comes to scaling the odd cliff or reaching things otherwise beyond Sparkster's grasp. He also happily rebounds off walls without inflicting any damage to himself. This technique sometimes being the best way to move upwards between two walls.

There are a number of things that break with platform traditions in Rocket Knight Adventures. While there are bosses at the end of each stage, don't expect them just there. They tend to pop up as and when they feel like it.

It might be a mutant pig in control of an armoured car, a mechanical caterpillar, a maniac on a roller coaster or an underwater crab vessel. Don't think you've come out victorious when it starts to explode either, because defeating a boss often involves more than one attack.

After the first boss has been defeated, Sparkster comes across a mystery item which sends him skyward. The action switches from platform style to shoot-'em-up and Sparkster has to shoot his enemies out of the air and tackle a colossal sea monster.

Look out also for a very fast roller-coaster ride, taking on evil piggies as you go, and plenty of other touchers like underwater scenes which, while not unusual in a platform game, proves good clean fun here.

A noble knight he might be, but this guy has still got a tail! It proves very useful when he has to climb trees, vines and so on. Although he hangs upside down, Sparkster is still capable of wielding his sword, jumping and using his rocket pack.

The trees are always worth exploring because there are often power-ups hidden in their foliage, but be warned - the branches and vines prove quite slippery.

The gauge in the top right corner of the screen does more than power up Sparkster's rocket booster. It also acts as a power up for his sword attack. By hitting button A our fluffy hero performs a revolving sword attack which protects from all sides. Being a knight, Sparkster's regular attack involves some fancy swordwork, but because Elhorn is a land of magic the sword also gives off a searing fire which kills enemies standing a few feet away.

Rocket Knight Adventures certainly is the kind of game that can break the rules and get away with it. There are some fancy touches like the flying scene, the roller-coaster ride and the funky bosses who you'll find strutting throughout the game.

One offence I often have to ticket platformers for is ease of completion. Rocket Knight Adventures is a bit of a criminal in that department, I'm afraid.

But if you do straight for the hardest setting, you'll feel better for it. Apart from that criticism, the response on the controls is faster and smoother than most, the graphics and animation are so professional it's suspicious, the sounds so cool all you can do is nod - basically the whole thing really smokes!

As far as platforms go this is better than the pair I'm wearing... and that's saying something!!

This is one of the best games I have ever played. It is challenging without being totally vindictive and spectacular without sacrificing the all-important gameplay. The large amount of fresh ideas are bound to keep the player in suspense right through to the final battle with Dark Lord himself.

I sat transfixed throughout the whole game. I anticipated the quality of this game, but I certainly didn't expect such a sensory overload! I'm still buzzing about it now! I thought I'd seen everything that the Megadrive is capable of.

I was wrong. Rocket Knight Adventures propels youor machine into your face! So long as the more advanced players remember to play the game on the harder difficulty setting, Rocket Knight Adventures is and shall remain a classic for quite some time!

Presentation 88%
P. The intros and title story are entertaining, two difficulty settings.
N. It's a shame there isn't a two-player option.

Graphics 94%
P. The imagination and clarity of the graphics is superb. The animation is smooth with plenty of comic touches.

Sound 86%
P. Impressive booms and bangs ahoy! The music tinkles away, cute and cuddly.

Playability 90%
P. No confusion with the controls and cunningly responsive.

Lastability 89%
P. There are plenty of levels which encourage you to employ new skills.
N. A bit too easy, especially on easy mode funnily enough!

Overall 91%
A beautifully crafted piece of Megadrive software with just the right balance of action and adventure to satisfy all needs.