Welcome to 16-Bit Brawl, a series where we pit two Sega Genesis and Super NES games against one another to see which one comes out on top. This time, we’re going to take a look at everyone’s favorite jet pack wearing possum, Sparkster! Who had the better game? Let’s find out. 

With Rocket Knight Adventures Re-Sparked out in the world finally giving players the chance to experience the sheer excellence of Rocket Knight Adventures on modern platforms, there seemed like no better time to revisit the strange case of its sequel, or should I say sequels, Sparkster. Both the Super NES and Sega Genesis got games with the same name, same box art, and even mostly the same music, called Sparkster. But these two games are actually completely different experiences with unique stages, gameplay elements, and character controls. And even though the music is the same, it shows up in a completely different order. It’s super weird. Let’s meet the contestants.   

First up, we have Sparkster for Sega Genesis. This game is technically called Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2, but that name doesn't appear on the actual game box itself. This one is also considered the canonical sequel to Rocket Knight Adventures, if you happen to be following the storyline. However, of the two, this one has the most different gameplay from the Genesis original. Sparkster’s jet pack charges automatically, there’s a constant slot machine mechanic running throughout the game, and combat is no longer projectile based. Still, this is Konami working some serious magic in both the audio and visual departments. It’s got some issues, but it’s also undeniably cool. 

Over on the Super Nintendo, we have Sparkster. This marks the first time the character appeared on a non-Sega platform, and is considered more of a side-story, which is weird because this game’s play style is much more in line with the Genesis original. You have to manually charge your jetpack, and your sword shoots projectiles. It’s also Konami working the magic they had been exhibiting on the Sega Genesis around this time on the Super NES. It’s chock full of wild visual tricks that look super cool. The music is also spectacular, and like its Genesis counterpart, is undeniably cool.   

Now that we’ve taken a closer look at the combatants, let’s see how they fare. 

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Graphics (1 point)

Okay, let me start by saying that these are both extremely good-looking games. They have very similar sprites for Sparkster himself and while neither of them are as wonderful as the pure perfection as his sprite in the original game, they’re both pretty cool on their own. But for as close as it is, I think I’m going to have to give the nod to Super NES here. 

The Genesis game isn’t quite as interesting-looking overall. It’s cool, for sure, but the SNES game has the sort of wacky robot designs that I loved about the original game. IUt’s also chock full of some really neat effects, like the water in stage 1. I also think the stages themselves, from a visual design perspective, are a bit more interesting on SNES. 

The only thing that really gives me pause in this department is the slowdown. The Super NES game has some notoriously dreadful slowdown whenever basically anything even remotely complicated happens on screen. This is corrected in the new Re-Sparked collection, but we’re talking original recipe here, so that doesn’t count. What’s especially weird though is that the Genesis game has slowdown too. Not nearly as much as the SNES game, but still. Genesis games aren’t typically hampered by slowdown. 

In the end though, having just played these two games back to back, I still think the Super NES wins here. It’s close, but I think it’s a better looking game all around. 

Sparkster (Genesis) - 0

Sparkster (SNES) - 1

Sound (1 point)

Here we have another category that’s extremely close. In fact, most of the songs themselves are actually the same! This one all comes down to instrumentation, and honestly, I can’t choose. When I hear the Genesis songs, I can’t help but think “yeah, this is as good as it gets.” But then I hear the SNES versions and they’re just as good, but for completely different reasons. Both soundtracks use these compositions in ways that play to the strengths of their particular platforms. It’s really quite genius. 

That just leaves sound effects, and well, they’re pretty dang close here too. The Genesis ones are a little flatulent, as usual, but the SNES ones could be sharper. No matter which platform you’re playing though, they’re super effective and fun. These games sound excellent across the board. 

Looks like it’s a wash. They both excel in this department, to the degree that I can’t choose. This one's a tie.   

Sparkster (Genesis) - 1

Sparkster (SNES) - 2

Gameplay (2 points)

This one seems to be a category people are generally split on, but for me, it’s a pretty straightforward call. See, Rocket Knight Adventures isn’t just one of the best games on Sega Genesis, it’s my absolute favorite game on the platform. It’s such a wonderfully made game, flaws and all, and I love it to bits. And of its sequels, only one plays like the original, and that's Sparkster for Super NES. 

I used to think Sparkster on Genesis was a great but misunderstood game, but I admittedly didn’t spend a whole lot of time with it. I loved its soundtrack, and I thought it looked great, and I assumed I’d get around to properly playing it someday, and having gone through the first level or so, I figured I had enough of a handle on it to move forward with the assumptions that I’d love it when I finally played through it. Now that I’ve gone through it on the Re-Sparked collection, I can honestly say that I don’t think it’s all that good. 

The rocket pack’s multiple charge levels are neat, and using the corkscrew attack to solve some rudimentary puzzles is a great idea, but the combat isn’t rewarding at all. The sword swing changed form a downward arc in the first game to a slow forward stab in the sequel. It’s not fun to use. Yes, the hidden swords that can transform you into Super Sparkster is a neat idea, but nothing in this game really adds up to being more than the sum of its parts. The robot mech stage is a perfect example. It’s cool on paper, but in practice it’s an exercise in tedium and frustration. It’s not an awful game, but it’s nowhere near as good as the first one. 

The Super NES game though, well, is better, but still not great. Having the projectile shots with the sword is great, and Sparkster in general feels a lot more like how he did in the first game, especially with the jet pack, and the roll move is quite cool. It’s also got some fun variety in the form of a fun top-down shooter level, though the boss of that stage is complete garbage that I’m convinced you have to be lucky in order to beat because for the life of me I can’t determine any sort of functional strategy for that battle. 

The music is great, the levels look cool, but it’s in the actual level design itself that the game just falls apart. It suffers from the same problem Bubsy does, in that the game wants you to move fast, but there’s a constant barrage of things just off camera that will kill you. This is a game where the camera needed to be panned out way more than it was, which wasn’t super possible on SNES, especially not while having the game look as cool as it does. It’s a frustrating game that just so happens to also be awesome. Of course the same could be said about the original on Genesis, but that game made it work with exceptional visual and audio design. It's close, but it doesn't quite stack up. 

But it does stack up much closer than its Genesis counterpart. The Super NES game may be frustrating, but I had way more fun working my way through it than the other one. 

Sparkster (Genesis) - 1

Sparkster (SNES) - 4

And there you have it. By using my very scientific and not at all flawed system, we have determined that the Super NES game is the champ. It’s got better visuals, gameplay that’s both more varied and more in line with the original, and sound that’s just as good as its competition. It’s close, for sure, but the answer is clear. 

The winner is Sparkster for Super NES. 

Of course, the caveat being, neither followup can really stack up against the original Genesis game. It’s just Konami at its best! Regardless, if you’ve never played this series before, pick up the Rocket Knight Adventures Re-Sparked collection on the platform of your choice and give it a go. If you’re a fan of Konami’s classic games, this one will make your day. 

And that’s it for this edition of 16-Bit Brawl. If you have a pair of games you’d like to see us pit against one another, or just genuinely disagree with my assessment here, let us know. See you next time!