Sparkster

• Title — Sparkster • Developer — Konami • Publisher — Konami • Director — Hideo Ueda • Designer — Tsunenari Yada • Programmer — Hideo Ueda • Composer — Kazuhiko Uehara Masahiro Ikariko Minako Matsuhira Michiru Yamane Akira Yamaoka • Series — Rocket Knight • Platforms — Super NES • Genre — Platform, shoot 'em up • Modes — Single-player

• Illustration — Sparkster Total! described Sparkster as a "platform blaster". The eponymous main character is Sparkster, an opossum knight who fights an army of yellow wolves and robots. He is armed with a sword that can fire energy bolts and a rocket pack that allows him to fly short distances. The gameplay remains mostly the same as in Mega Drive/Genesis games, with the most notable change being the addition of a short-distance rolling dash. At the end of every level, Sparkster battles a boss, and the level is complete when it is defeated. The third (second in Easy) stage consists of Sparkster riding a robot-ostrich in an auto-scrolling level, while the seventh (fifth in Easy) consists of a top-down shooter level. One major difference is that the game's final level depends on the difficulty the player selected. On easy, the game culminates with battle against Axel Gear, but on normal, the story continues with Sparkster fighting the leader of the Wolves on the next level. On hard difficulty, the game continues beyond that, with the true final stage.

The kingdom of Eginasem, a land inhabited by opossums, is under attack by the Lioness's army of yellow dog and wolf soldiers, which also kidnapped Princess Flora. Sparkster, the Rocket Knight, is out to battle this threat, rescue the princess and save his kingdom from certain destruction. His nemesis, the rival Rocket Knight Axel Gear, is aiding the invading forces, making Sparkster's task even more dangerous. The player's goal is to battle through all of the enemy warriors and robots, defeat Axel Gear and infiltrate the enemy's battleship, where the yellow dogs leader, Generalissimo Lioness, is planning to launch a warhead to destroy planet Eginasem.