Press Release | 2/8/2010 | KONAMI REVEALS NEW CHARACTER ART FOR ROCKET KNIGHT

by Rocket Knight on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 11:59am ·

Stars of Upcoming Classic Action-Adventure Game are Revealed With a Next-Gen Makeover

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today released character art for Rocket Knight, a new 2.5D sequel to Konami's classic action adventure series currently in development for Xbox LIVE® Arcade, the PlayStation®Network and for PC download via Steam. Included in the new screens is the franchise's iconic hero, Sparkster, striking a pose and ready for action. Then there's the dastardly Axel Gear, who looks quite suspicious. It seemsthat he's replaced Sparkster as the hero of Zephyrus. Also featured is General Sweinhartgiving a rousing speech to inspire the Zephyrians to war.

In Rocket Knight, players assume the role of Sparkster, a heroic opossum who returns home to the Kingdom of Zephyrus after 15 years only to discover that wolves have attacked his homeland. Rocket Knight introduces expansive new worlds to the franchise, with massive platform levels as well as rocket-flying levels. Using their wits and a trusty rocket pack, players must overcome the hostile wolf army aiming to attack Sparkster's beloved kingdom. As gamers battle their way past the enemy, their rocket pack can be used to ricochet off walls, launch Sparkster through obstacles and enemies in his way, and drill through weak walls to create new passageways. To attack distant foes, Sparkster can shoot projectiles from his sword or create a burst vortex with his rocket pack to repel enemy bombs right back at them. When all else fails, players can use Sparkster's prehensile tail to hang from and slide down rails in order to avoid danger. With online leaderboards, dedicated players will also be able to show off their high scores and fastest times online.

Rocket Knight will be available for Xbox LIVE® Arcade, the PlayStation®Network and for PC download via Steam in 2010.

Heroic Sparkster strikes a pose to show that he's ready for anything.Axel Gear is back, and appears to have replaced Sparkster as the hero of Zephyrus. What could he be planning?General Sweinhart's rousing speech inspires the Zephyrians to war!

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  • Ian James, Gary Burchell, Julian Ho and 10 others like this.
    • Paul Yendley Awesome stuff! :>
      February 8, 2010 at 12:04pm
    • Yuluga Reyens cool!
      February 8, 2010 at 12:22pm
    • Katie Anderson Awesome artwork. =D
      February 8, 2010 at 2:47pm
    • Pan Seng Tat
      Wait-a-minute... Shouldn't Axel be given the purple/violet color motif instead? And shouldn't Axel be the more posh, polished counterpart to Sparkster's bumbling personality?

      Seriously, the art direction could use some more reference from ...the classic games; the sudden departure does make this look a bit jarring, if not logically inconsistent with the game mythos established in RKA. If this were a reboot, it would made more sense, but this is a sequel: it can't be good.

      As a standalone art piece(s), it does look neat, but comparing with its roots... there is something odd, and I cannot say that I am comfortable with it.      See More
      February 9, 2010 at 1:08am
    • Jimmy Erehwon In the story, fifteen years have passed since we last saw these characters, including Axel. It's logically consistent for him to have changed in that span. At the same time, he still features the details that distinguished his original design, such as a fancier sword and rocket pack than Sparkster and a knight's visor instead of flight goggles.
      February 9, 2010 at 7:14am
    • Rocket Knight Check out the latest blog post - there's some more discussion about the artwork there.
      February 11, 2010 at 11:30am