[SNES - Scrolling Shooter] Pocky & Rocky

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Pocky & Rocky (奇々怪界～謎の黒マント ,KiKi KaiKai: Nazo no Kuro Manto^?) is a scrolling shooter video game with action elements licensed by Taito to Natsume, who developed and published the game for release in Japan in 1992 and the rest of the world in 1993. It is the sequel to the 1986 arcade gameKiKi KaiKai (unofficiallly released in North America as Knight Boy) and follows the continued adventures of a young Shinto shrine maiden named Pocky (called "Sayo-chan" in the Japanese version) and her new companion, Rocky the Tanuki, also known as a raccoon dog ("Manuke" in the original).
Development

Unlike its predecessor, Pocky & Rocky was not developed by Taito, but was instead licensed to Natsume, for the series' console debut. The project was overseen by Yoshihino Hattori,^[2] who wrote the game's story which he based heavily on Japanese mythology and folklore. The game contains elements of standard arcade shooters,
with a top-down scrolling display. It was also given action game
features, such as the ability to move or attack in eight directions.
Rocky, who was designed by Tomoyuki Ishiyama, was given the role of Pocky's sidekick, and served as the default second-player character who could also be freely chosen in a one-player game.
Sequences featuring 2D artwork were added at set points throughout the game to help move the story forward, which usually occurred when a boss
character was defeated at the end of a level. These scenes, though
present in the Japanese and North American versions of the game, were
omitted for the PAL region releases.

Story

Set in Feudal Japan, Pocky & Rocky has the player assume the role of a young girl who, while tending to a shrine one night, is visited by Rocky, a tanuki and member of a group of yōkai known as the "Nopino Goblins",
all of whom have recently been driven insane by an unknown force.
Together, Pocky and Rocky must travel through several levels consisting
of various ancient Japanese locales while battling a number of
creatures from popular Japanese myth, including kappas, obake, and yūrei.
Eventually, they must breach the stronghold of the mysterious Black
Mantle, who has been using these monsters (collectively referred to as
the "Gorgonzola Goblins") to fulfill his evil deeds. Whichever
character the player chooses to play will make no difference in the
outcome of the story.

Gameplay

Pocky & Rocky takes place from a top-down perspective
with the characters moving either horizontally or vertically through a
level while defeating approaching enemies and destroying obstacles that
may block the player's path. Pocky can use her o-fuda talismans (simply called "cards" in the English language
version) to attack enemies from afar, or purification rod, which she
swings at a wide arc, to hit ones close up. Likewise, Rocky can throw
leaves across the screen or quickly turn his backside towards the enemy
and swing his tail from side to side. By holding the short-ranged
attack button down and then releasing it, Pocky does a spinning attack
that can hit any enemy around her, while Rocky is able to transform
into a statue, rendering him invulnerable to all attacks for a short
time while leaving him immobile. Both characters can also slide across
the ground, covering an area quickly. If a player bumps into the other
while sliding, it will cause them to spin out of control across the
screen, damaging any enemies they come in contact with, though the
initial bump causes some damage to the receiving character. A
limited-use special attack can be used to hit several or all the
enemies present on the screen, and is only available once per life
(they differ in actual range and power between the two characters).
Though most enemies only require a few attacks to defeat, boss monsters
present at the end of each level take much more, and may require an
additional use of strategy.
Various power-ups can also be acquired that will increase the
effectiveness of either Pocky or Rocky's attacks, such as making their projectiles larger or giving them the ability to throw multiple ones at once. Others include the ability to become invincible, or regain hit points,
giving them more endurance. Each item obtained will add to the player's
total score, and when a certain amount is reached, they are given an
additional life, another chance to complete the current level.
Three levels of difficulty can be selected before a player begins
the game: easy, normal or hard. Selecting a higher difficulty will make
the enemy creatures more difficult to defeat and provide a higher
challenge to the player, as well as increase the number of hits
required to defeat a boss. Defeating the game on a harder mode will not
yield any greater ending or reward, and it is merely for the player's
own gameplay preference.

Sequels

Pocky & Rocky became popular enough to spawn two official
sequels and one spiritual successor, though none are well recognized.
The first sequel is called Pocky & Rocky 2 (or Kiki KaiKai: Kayako), also on SNES, and the other is Pocky & Rocky with Becky (Kiki KaiKai Advance) on the GBA. The GBA game introduces a new character called Becky (or Miki-chan in Japanese) who is also a miko like Pocky, but is only beginning her duties. UFO Entertainment later released a spiritual successor to the series called Heavenly Guardian, developed by Starfish, for the PS2 and Wii systems.

Developer(s)
Natsume

Publisher(s)
Natsume

Designer(s)
Yoshihino Hattori (producer)
Sunichi Taniguchi (char. design)
Hiroyuki Iwatsuki (composer)

Platform(s)
Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Release date(s)
^JPN December 22, 1992
^NA June 1993
^PAL August 19, 1993

Genre(s)
Scrolling shooter

Mode(s)
Single player, two players

Media
24 megabit cartridge