Rocket: Robot on Wheels (N64, 1999)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7.5 Control-6.5 Challenge-7 Story-4.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-8 Fun-6.5 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-6.5
+
Some good puzzles (second rollercoaster construction, sound sequence puzzle in arabian level, spatial awareness/parallel worlds ones in the pyramid) and some decent ones (using objects as platforms, distracting the robot rooster to win at the tic-tac-toe game, sticking the sheep NPCs to thorny walls and using them as platforms, the color mixing (fountains) and coloring puzzles in the roman level, pillar code inside raccoon, gilded cage, using a clown enemy to make it pull a rope for you)
Start with a grapple hook (decent, works on specific parts of each level as well as some thrown objects) and being able to carry and throw objects and enemies
Good variety (platforming challenges, puzzles and various mini-games in each level)
Some creative or interesting level design (build a rollercoaster track and try to make it pass through pre-placed targets, fountain color mixing puzzle, ice floes affected by water streams, upwards air stream+fans room, moving cogwheel platforms, spinning cylindrical rooms challenge, parallel worlds mechanic to the pyramid level - Zelda 3/Soul Blazer, destructible fan trap in final level)
Various hidden items
There's a hint system for the tickets and some other objectives in levels+you can see your completion stats via the pause menu
Some platform adventure elements (hub area connected to levels (which don't connect to each other), movement upgrades to progress at times as well as to get to some items - there are also vehicles (1-2 per level) but they don't carry over between levels, upgradeable life bar (find the upgrades in the levels))
Various mini-games (car and dolphin vehicle races - alright (the on foot one is pretty good), clown level tent - meh, magic carpet races against time - decent, eagle chase - kinda tedious, catch/beetle turning in food fright level - meh)
Some interesting movement upgrades (freeze ray - lets you create platforms on water+freeze some enemies, double jump, grapple upgrade/hookshot - lets you aim it in FP view+reaches much further, )
Pretty good animation
Camera quick turn (z+r; doesn't work in tight spaces though)
Dynamic music transition when going underwater and back (Banjo-Kazooie)
Can quickly exit any level via the pause menu
Some sequence breaks (can get to the food fright level before the pyramid one via an alternate path in the hub area; minor: if you position yourself correctly you can get to the top of the roman tower right away - kinda tricky, damage boost jumping during the indoors bomb throwing segment in the arabian level, can get to the upper part of the room outside the pyramid level without the hookshot/upgraded grapple)
Codes for "super" versions of your moves+faster movement
A few shortcuts within levels
Airglider/bike hybrid vehicle (pyramid level only and could've controlled better though)
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (can enter the third level before finishing the second (or even entering the second if you collected everything in level 1 and the hub area up to that point), can do the fourth level (arabian flights) before the third (mines), can do the fifth level (pyramid) before entering the fourth if you collect a lot of tokens and nearly all tickets up until that point, can enter the final level before finishing the sixth, open-ended levels and in some aspects the hub area, linear final level)
Save & quit only (does save all completion progress however and you can use it anywhere). Loading a save restores your HP and puts you at the beginning of the hub area
HP recharge stations (about one per area)
Vehicles stay where you left them while in a level unless summoned via the vehicle pads
Collectathon gameplay (bolts/tokens for activating vehicles in the levels and upgrades via tinker (the quotas here aren't too bad), tickets for opening up new levels - again not too bad, 7 machine parts per level for activating an additional part of it and getting one ticket - sometimes optional?, 4 screws in some levels to unlock other items)
Can't kill some enemies
The rollercoaster rides themselves could've been more exciting (or skippable) - maybe by adding a rail shooter or jumping element to it?
Non-interactive control tutorial (text pop-up; can bring it up at will via the pause menu which is good)
The triple jump requires the use of certain enemies here and works exactly like in Mario 64. Bombs are also temporary power ups placed in a few parts (they break certain walls - Zelda)
Throwing a carried item while moving takes some practice (not really explained in-game) and you can't get as much momentum with a bomb as you can with a screw
Forgiving about falling into death pits (arabian level, mine) - lose 1 HP and respawn near where you fell
Can't carry items (including bombs) between rooms through doorways
You can create ice floes while underwater and have them float upwards but you can't jump onto them to use them as elevators to the surface
Gliding works kinda like in SMW but you lose forward momentum too easily
Freeze beam could've been used in more ways - can't freeze and stand on enemies, can't put out torches
The physics-based puzzles in the final level could've been explored a bit further
Interactive credits but you can only see them if you get all items
-
Some control/interface issues (camera issues in tighter spaces and you can't make it stay in place while moving if it's not behind you+can't turn it near walls (sometimes can't turn it at all for seemingly no reason)+can't place it behind your avatar while your back is next to a wall, camera sometimes forces an overly zoomed in view (can't zoom out in these situations), camera sometimes doesn't focus on Rocket when jumping to a lower platform so you can't properly see where you are, no level maps, the dune buggy physics are a bit finicky and you can't make tight turns, floaty jumps+dolphin jumps and grapple swings, the grapple range could've been a bit more lenient or there could've been a visual indicator when in range - couldn't get used to it throughout the whole game, kinda tricky to judge jumping distances at times, can't rotate the camera smoothly nor hold the button down to keep rotating in steps - moves in 8 or so steps like in banjo-kazooie, the dolphin vehicle turns kinda slowly and could've moved a bit faster when tapping the button (see Ecco), can't look around while moving - breaks flow at times, can't rotate the camera while riding the magic carpet, can't aim that high when throwing, somewhat glitchy box physics when stacking the smallest ones - not used that much though, very poor camera angles for the inside the gem statue segment of the arabian level - makes the slopes part confusing, breaking doesn't let you make tighter turns on the bike+can't rotate the camera while on it+you lose too much momentum in mid-air while gliding+overly floaty physics when moving across uneven surfaces+get stuck on obstacles and walls a bit too easily, the aiming controls while using the hookshot are ertically inverted while the one for throwing are not - bad during the final level)
Some trial & error (bullshit how even if you make it on time with more than 1 second to go during the screw collecting mini-game in the hub area you can still fail as the timer just keeps going (have to quickly grab the ticket), no hints for the machine part locations - only a problem in some levels though, the game doesn't tell you that you should go back to the hub area when you have enough bolts/tokens for a movement upgrade (slam - used to get to later levels sooner), the game could've made it clear that you can partially submerge yourself in the fountains to paint half your body - it's unexpected in an N64 game and you might not jump into a fountain that way (the guard is also more brown than orange on his lower body!), some near useless ticket hints, can't attack the blue enemies in one room of the mines level, fall through the rail track in the mine cart room in the mines level, fairly easy to miss the location of the final level)
Various tedious aspects (having to replay a longer segment after falling down (inside the dinosaur robot statue, inside the roman tower and the water cave in the same level, level 6, etc. (or the opposite in one part of the arabian level)) - no checkpoints in the middle of levels or platforming challenges, plenty of dead space and no teleporters or alternate entry points within levels, one of the bomb throwing challenges in the arabian level (the one that goes back down if you take too long), no item magnet (Sonic 3) - breaks flow a bit, various items are placed seemingly as far off the beaten path(s) as possible so it's hard to keep a good flow going (should've been placed at the end of challenges and then lead you back to the main path instead), having to find a vehicle before using its pad to summon it seems pointless at times when they aren't hard to find or get to but are placed much further into the level than the pads (can use a code to have all of them from the get go however), no new hazards or enemies when backtracking through a level, item containers respawn when re-entering a level but aren't marked as emptied (some of them hold tokens), the part in the pyramid level where your swinging can randomly be interrupted by a flying enemy that can't be attacked without falling down and luring it to you+if you get past that part before having activated the sun pads you have to redo it+you don't even have to take that route into the room, the broken walls in the mines don't stay broken, some one-way elevators in the food fright level and if you die the two-way ones on floor 1 stop working!, the last magnet puzzle in that sometimes the metal boxes don't stick when it looks like they should, bomb throwing segments would've flowed better at times (and without reducing the challenge) if you just had a slow firing ammo-based weapon instead of having to go back to the bomb dispenser)
Uneven difficulty (tricky: race through rings against time in clown level, parts of bee house platforming segment in clown level, in the dinosaur segment, climbing the roman tower; easy - clown level race vs other car, most of the roman level, the colored gems segment in the mines level)
Throws don't feel snappy/forceful enough
Can't take out the thief enemies (they temporarily grab whatever you are carrying with the tractor beam)
Annoying how in level 1 the other car can suddenly abort the race because something is in the way even if it's not your doing
Kinda few movement upgrades (no wall jump, permanent hover jump or stomp (slam is never really used like a stomp) - mario series, no dash move)
Pretty generic story and music+some character designs
So-so draw distance on certain objects (dolphin vehicle in roman level, some machine parts in the arabian level, electric barrier around the snake head entrance in the pyramid level)
Kinda weak feedback from the slam move
Kinda short compared to BK and Mario 64 (7 levels and the last two are shorter than the others)
The clouds could've felt "fluffier" - basically flat surfaces with non-solid uneven surfaces on top
Sometimes lower framerate
Non-interactive jumps during the minecart segment
Using the boat vehicle might've been more fun if it could dodge, jump or shoot - have to take it slow in the indoors tunnel part
Kind of easy food fright level/level 6 (repeats the target throwing gimmick without added complexity or challenge for example)
No real bosses (the giant spider is sort of a boss but it's pretty lame)
Underused hookshot/upgraded grapple outside of the last three levels (arbitrarily can't use it to get to the higher part of the room (and into level 6) outside of the pyramid level until finishing that level? not 100% sure about this one)
Really lame ending if you didn't get 100%
Notes:
-The save file got wiped during the sixth level when playing the game in retroarch
Level Design-7 Frustration-8 Fun-6.5 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-6.5
+
Some good puzzles (second rollercoaster construction, sound sequence puzzle in arabian level, spatial awareness/parallel worlds ones in the pyramid) and some decent ones (using objects as platforms, distracting the robot rooster to win at the tic-tac-toe game, sticking the sheep NPCs to thorny walls and using them as platforms, the color mixing (fountains) and coloring puzzles in the roman level, pillar code inside raccoon, gilded cage, using a clown enemy to make it pull a rope for you)
Start with a grapple hook (decent, works on specific parts of each level as well as some thrown objects) and being able to carry and throw objects and enemies
Good variety (platforming challenges, puzzles and various mini-games in each level)
Some creative or interesting level design (build a rollercoaster track and try to make it pass through pre-placed targets, fountain color mixing puzzle, ice floes affected by water streams, upwards air stream+fans room, moving cogwheel platforms, spinning cylindrical rooms challenge, parallel worlds mechanic to the pyramid level - Zelda 3/Soul Blazer, destructible fan trap in final level)
Various hidden items
There's a hint system for the tickets and some other objectives in levels+you can see your completion stats via the pause menu
Some platform adventure elements (hub area connected to levels (which don't connect to each other), movement upgrades to progress at times as well as to get to some items - there are also vehicles (1-2 per level) but they don't carry over between levels, upgradeable life bar (find the upgrades in the levels))
Various mini-games (car and dolphin vehicle races - alright (the on foot one is pretty good), clown level tent - meh, magic carpet races against time - decent, eagle chase - kinda tedious, catch/beetle turning in food fright level - meh)
Some interesting movement upgrades (freeze ray - lets you create platforms on water+freeze some enemies, double jump, grapple upgrade/hookshot - lets you aim it in FP view+reaches much further, )
Pretty good animation
Camera quick turn (z+r; doesn't work in tight spaces though)
Dynamic music transition when going underwater and back (Banjo-Kazooie)
Can quickly exit any level via the pause menu
Some sequence breaks (can get to the food fright level before the pyramid one via an alternate path in the hub area; minor: if you position yourself correctly you can get to the top of the roman tower right away - kinda tricky, damage boost jumping during the indoors bomb throwing segment in the arabian level, can get to the upper part of the room outside the pyramid level without the hookshot/upgraded grapple)
Codes for "super" versions of your moves+faster movement
A few shortcuts within levels
Airglider/bike hybrid vehicle (pyramid level only and could've controlled better though)
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (can enter the third level before finishing the second (or even entering the second if you collected everything in level 1 and the hub area up to that point), can do the fourth level (arabian flights) before the third (mines), can do the fifth level (pyramid) before entering the fourth if you collect a lot of tokens and nearly all tickets up until that point, can enter the final level before finishing the sixth, open-ended levels and in some aspects the hub area, linear final level)
Save & quit only (does save all completion progress however and you can use it anywhere). Loading a save restores your HP and puts you at the beginning of the hub area
HP recharge stations (about one per area)
Vehicles stay where you left them while in a level unless summoned via the vehicle pads
Collectathon gameplay (bolts/tokens for activating vehicles in the levels and upgrades via tinker (the quotas here aren't too bad), tickets for opening up new levels - again not too bad, 7 machine parts per level for activating an additional part of it and getting one ticket - sometimes optional?, 4 screws in some levels to unlock other items)
Can't kill some enemies
The rollercoaster rides themselves could've been more exciting (or skippable) - maybe by adding a rail shooter or jumping element to it?
Non-interactive control tutorial (text pop-up; can bring it up at will via the pause menu which is good)
The triple jump requires the use of certain enemies here and works exactly like in Mario 64. Bombs are also temporary power ups placed in a few parts (they break certain walls - Zelda)
Throwing a carried item while moving takes some practice (not really explained in-game) and you can't get as much momentum with a bomb as you can with a screw
Forgiving about falling into death pits (arabian level, mine) - lose 1 HP and respawn near where you fell
Can't carry items (including bombs) between rooms through doorways
You can create ice floes while underwater and have them float upwards but you can't jump onto them to use them as elevators to the surface
Gliding works kinda like in SMW but you lose forward momentum too easily
Freeze beam could've been used in more ways - can't freeze and stand on enemies, can't put out torches
The physics-based puzzles in the final level could've been explored a bit further
Interactive credits but you can only see them if you get all items
-
Some control/interface issues (camera issues in tighter spaces and you can't make it stay in place while moving if it's not behind you+can't turn it near walls (sometimes can't turn it at all for seemingly no reason)+can't place it behind your avatar while your back is next to a wall, camera sometimes forces an overly zoomed in view (can't zoom out in these situations), camera sometimes doesn't focus on Rocket when jumping to a lower platform so you can't properly see where you are, no level maps, the dune buggy physics are a bit finicky and you can't make tight turns, floaty jumps+dolphin jumps and grapple swings, the grapple range could've been a bit more lenient or there could've been a visual indicator when in range - couldn't get used to it throughout the whole game, kinda tricky to judge jumping distances at times, can't rotate the camera smoothly nor hold the button down to keep rotating in steps - moves in 8 or so steps like in banjo-kazooie, the dolphin vehicle turns kinda slowly and could've moved a bit faster when tapping the button (see Ecco), can't look around while moving - breaks flow at times, can't rotate the camera while riding the magic carpet, can't aim that high when throwing, somewhat glitchy box physics when stacking the smallest ones - not used that much though, very poor camera angles for the inside the gem statue segment of the arabian level - makes the slopes part confusing, breaking doesn't let you make tighter turns on the bike+can't rotate the camera while on it+you lose too much momentum in mid-air while gliding+overly floaty physics when moving across uneven surfaces+get stuck on obstacles and walls a bit too easily, the aiming controls while using the hookshot are ertically inverted while the one for throwing are not - bad during the final level)
Some trial & error (bullshit how even if you make it on time with more than 1 second to go during the screw collecting mini-game in the hub area you can still fail as the timer just keeps going (have to quickly grab the ticket), no hints for the machine part locations - only a problem in some levels though, the game doesn't tell you that you should go back to the hub area when you have enough bolts/tokens for a movement upgrade (slam - used to get to later levels sooner), the game could've made it clear that you can partially submerge yourself in the fountains to paint half your body - it's unexpected in an N64 game and you might not jump into a fountain that way (the guard is also more brown than orange on his lower body!), some near useless ticket hints, can't attack the blue enemies in one room of the mines level, fall through the rail track in the mine cart room in the mines level, fairly easy to miss the location of the final level)
Various tedious aspects (having to replay a longer segment after falling down (inside the dinosaur robot statue, inside the roman tower and the water cave in the same level, level 6, etc. (or the opposite in one part of the arabian level)) - no checkpoints in the middle of levels or platforming challenges, plenty of dead space and no teleporters or alternate entry points within levels, one of the bomb throwing challenges in the arabian level (the one that goes back down if you take too long), no item magnet (Sonic 3) - breaks flow a bit, various items are placed seemingly as far off the beaten path(s) as possible so it's hard to keep a good flow going (should've been placed at the end of challenges and then lead you back to the main path instead), having to find a vehicle before using its pad to summon it seems pointless at times when they aren't hard to find or get to but are placed much further into the level than the pads (can use a code to have all of them from the get go however), no new hazards or enemies when backtracking through a level, item containers respawn when re-entering a level but aren't marked as emptied (some of them hold tokens), the part in the pyramid level where your swinging can randomly be interrupted by a flying enemy that can't be attacked without falling down and luring it to you+if you get past that part before having activated the sun pads you have to redo it+you don't even have to take that route into the room, the broken walls in the mines don't stay broken, some one-way elevators in the food fright level and if you die the two-way ones on floor 1 stop working!, the last magnet puzzle in that sometimes the metal boxes don't stick when it looks like they should, bomb throwing segments would've flowed better at times (and without reducing the challenge) if you just had a slow firing ammo-based weapon instead of having to go back to the bomb dispenser)
Uneven difficulty (tricky: race through rings against time in clown level, parts of bee house platforming segment in clown level, in the dinosaur segment, climbing the roman tower; easy - clown level race vs other car, most of the roman level, the colored gems segment in the mines level)
Throws don't feel snappy/forceful enough
Can't take out the thief enemies (they temporarily grab whatever you are carrying with the tractor beam)
Annoying how in level 1 the other car can suddenly abort the race because something is in the way even if it's not your doing
Kinda few movement upgrades (no wall jump, permanent hover jump or stomp (slam is never really used like a stomp) - mario series, no dash move)
Pretty generic story and music+some character designs
So-so draw distance on certain objects (dolphin vehicle in roman level, some machine parts in the arabian level, electric barrier around the snake head entrance in the pyramid level)
Kinda weak feedback from the slam move
Kinda short compared to BK and Mario 64 (7 levels and the last two are shorter than the others)
The clouds could've felt "fluffier" - basically flat surfaces with non-solid uneven surfaces on top
Sometimes lower framerate
Non-interactive jumps during the minecart segment
Using the boat vehicle might've been more fun if it could dodge, jump or shoot - have to take it slow in the indoors tunnel part
Kind of easy food fright level/level 6 (repeats the target throwing gimmick without added complexity or challenge for example)
No real bosses (the giant spider is sort of a boss but it's pretty lame)
Underused hookshot/upgraded grapple outside of the last three levels (arbitrarily can't use it to get to the higher part of the room (and into level 6) outside of the pyramid level until finishing that level? not 100% sure about this one)
Really lame ending if you didn't get 100%
Notes:
-The save file got wiped during the sixth level when playing the game in retroarch