| Introduction:
During the fall Harvest Festival, princess Luna is kidnapped by a character named Impy. It sesems a character named Zynagon is intent on marrying the princess, by force if neccesary. Pocky springs into action with her friends, but they will have to face Zynagon's minions along the way.
Graphics [8.5/10]:
The graphics in this game are pretty good. All of the characters are fairly well detailed, and the game did a good job of using different colors and shades. The game has some neat special effects to, especially when you use the throw option with your partners. The game does seem to slow down for a second when you use the throw option or the magic option though. Outside of that, this game is a visual treat.
Music and Sound [8.5/10]:
The music for this game is pretty good too. I especially like the opening title music, the stage three music, and the music for the last stage. The music fits the theme for most situations. However, I think the music sounds dorky when you rescue Captain Peach. The sound effects in this game are good. You can hear Pocky say "magic" in a cute voice when she does the magic option with her partner. There are many other sound effects which fit what is going on well.
Gameplay [7/10]:
This is a pretty fun game to play in the one-player mode, but is not a very good two-player game. First of all, in stages 1(which you have the option of skipping), 5, and 8 only the first-player(Pocky) is allowed in those stages. The second player will also not see much action against stage endbosses, because the throw partner option is the handies way to beat them. So Pocky will just launch her partner at the boss, and second player is out until that boss is beaten. When you throw a partner, it makes an interesting effect, but it doesn't make up for second player not being able to do anything. Also, only Pocky can die. When she runs out of armor and takes another hit, she loses a life. The second player will only disappear temporarily when hit enough times, and can come back as long as Pocky is still alive. However, this is a fairly fun game in the one-player mode. They added the throw feauture, which I talked about, and there is also a magic feature. This makes Pocky and her partner one body, and you can now use your partner's special abilites. For example, Rocky can locate all items on the screen, Bomber Bob can lift boulders that might have something underneath them, and Little Ninja can pick locks. However, they removed the slide feature from the original Pocky and Rocky, which was handy to use against bosses. This game isn't too hard, except for stage 8, which is impossible. In stage 8, you have to ride on top of a dragon, who dodges slowly, while fending off like 20 enemies on the screen at once. Despite its flaws, its a fun game. Its a good fantasy setting/shooter/action type game.
Challenge and Replay [9/10]:
This game is fairly challenging, and took me awhile to beat. The hardest stage is 8, that is what held me up the longest. The stage after that(which is the last stage) is not nearly as hard. Like the original game, this game has an easy, medium, and hard difficulty setting. The settings aren't too different, except for the fact that enemies may be a little faster and shoot more. This game does have some replay because on some stages, you pick a path to take. If you pick the right one, you find a new partner to team up with. It may take you some replays to find all the partners. There are four new ones you can find besides the three you start out with. The four new ones have their own special abilities when you use the magic option. So experiment with them all, to find out who can help you get through a certain area the easiest and/or find secret items for you.
Conclusion/Overall [8/10]:
Don't be fooled by the mediocre rating in the gameplay department, this is still a good game. The only reason it got the rating it did is because it's a lousy two-player game. It is fun in the one-player mode, and will keep you entertained for awhile. It will take you awhile to beat this game and find all the extra partners. It seems this game is for one good player(Pocky), and for one inexperienced player(whoever Pocky's partner is for the level). The first player ends up doing all the work and the second player doesn't get to do diddly. I don't know why it couldn't have been more like the original game in this aspect. Anyways, it is a pretty good game, but not as good as the original. This game has improved music, graphics, and special effects, but lacks the amount of gameplay the original had.
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