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»Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams
"It’s the best [and only] NGPC shoot-‘em-up ever!"
There’s one thing you could say about the Neo Geo
Pocket: it had a decent portable incarnation of the console/arcade
board’s vast library. Sure, it had several 2D fighters (many of which
were good) and a few puzzlers (some ports and a few originals), but
this leaves me with one question: where in the hell are all the
shoot-‘em-ups? I mean, the Neo Geo had such shmup hits as Aero Fighters 2 & 3, Pulstar, Alpha Mission II, Burning Star and Last Resort.
Meanwhile, the NGPC had practically nothing to show in regards to the
genre. Of course, when I say practically nothing, I mean there is a
single exception to the rule - Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams.
A
port of a 1991 arcade “cute-‘em-up” that saw numerous sequels and ports
on consoles of the same era, calling Cotton the best shooter the NGPC
had to offer would be like saying Match of the Millennium was
the best “cross-company crossover 2D fighting game involving both SNK
and Capcom the NGPC had to offer". It’s worthy of the title, but
there’s nothing else to compete for it.
One
day, a dark wave interfered with a mystical object, the Prism of
Brightness, and absorbed light from throughout the world. Eventually,
the world was plunged into darkness and anxiety filled the once
peaceful land. In the panic, a single fairy decides to look for a hero
to end the everlasting night, by defeating the evil monsters that
brought forth this dire darkness. What she found was Cotton, a young
witch, who didn’t mind the lack of daylight, and instead focused her
attention toward obtaining a “Willow” - a magical candy. Thinking
quickly, the fairy states that in return for ending the endless dusk,
the denizens of Fairy World would be willing to reward Cotton with a
Willow if she succeeds. So, with newfound determination - albeit for
selfish reasons - Cotton flies into action on her trusty broomstick and
that fairy in tow.
As I
said earlier, Cotton is a shoot-‘em-up and it’s pretty much standard
fare for the genre. It’s a horizontal shooter, much like Aero Blasters or Gradius. In fact, this game is almost a Gradius
clone. It’s got the missiles (in the form of potions), Option (that
fairy) and a weapon level-up system. There is at least one major
difference: as opposed to respawning at the beginning of the current
stage after death, Cotton reemerges at the point where she died, even
when using a continue. Ah well, it doesn’t really matter.
Okay,
I lied. That’s not the only major difference in the gameplay – the
weapon leveling system is nothing like the one found in Gradius.
While Gradius had a completely unique leveling system that dealt out
power-ups based on player interaction, Cotton opts for one that’s a
little more generic. Basically, the leveling method only effects
Cotton’s main bullet attack and it levels based on how many enemies
she’s destroyed or on how many yellow crystals (items dropped by
enemies at certain points) she has collected. Once the gauge has been
filled, Cotton’s attack power is enhanced - offering either a boost in
attack power or multi-directional firing - while the gauge extends and
resets. Nothing revolutionary, mind you, but it’s a nice addition that
adds a little bit of depth to the game.
Visually,
I’d have to say that Cotton stands out as one of the best-looking games
for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Unlike the majority of its games, Cotton
uses the NGPC’s palette to its fullest, offering some of the most
vibrant cutscenes I’ve seen on the console. Of course, that isn’t to
say that the in-game graphics aren’t impressive: everything’s clear and
properly colored. In fact, it almost looks kind of like a game for the
Master System. I guess the only qualm I have with the game’s look would
be its flat palette during gameplay.
The
sound is decent, but not a stand-out among NGPC games like its visuals
are. The game has a few good songs in it, but the majority of the
soundtrack is fairly generic. Oh well, at least the game’s music
complements its look. The same goes for the sound effects, which are
nothing too spectacular, but at least they are average considering the
system’s limited capabilities.
Cotton's
replay value isn’t exactly anything special either. Sure, there are
seven whole stages to the game, but that’s it. No difficulty levels, no
two-player, no Dreamcast link-up, which is a little disappointing
considering the fact that there was actually a Cotton game on the
Dreamcast. I guess the only thing that Cotton has going for it would be
its fun factor and the fact that it’s the only shmup for the NGPC.
In the end, Cotton’s not a bad game
per se. It’s got solid controls, a good engine and seven awesome stages
of shoot-‘em-up action. There is only one major problem that I have
with the game: it’s fairly generic. I mean, think of it this way, it’s
a slightly more mundane version of Gradius with a cutesy anime style and a comedic storyline - can you say Parodius?
Article by: Wolfdogg
Posted on: Sep. 24th, 2007 |
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Review Recap |
| Gameplay |
| It’s pretty fun, but the gameplay’s a little shallow. |
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Graphics |
| Some of the best the NGPC has to offer. |
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Sound |
| The music has its moments and the sound effects are standard for the system. |
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Replay Value |
| There are only seven stages in the game, that’s it. No extra modes, no multiplayer, no nothing. |
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