Well, I fought through the game in Free Play mode. It took about two hours to complete all told, and it was a lot of fun! It remains to be seen if I can do this in Arcade Mode or not - that final boss is a doozy. Even when you know what you're supposed to do, he's tricky. The boss fights are a highlight of the game. Though they aren't as numerous as in the original games, they made each one count.

It's not a long game, but it's not like the original Rocket Knight games were either. It does seem equally replayable, however. There's a ton of stuff to find in every stage, three difficulty levels, and a myriad of Achievements to unlock, including the ability to play as Axle Gear.

Perhaps what makes the game feel short is that it seems like there are enough enemies and moves for a game twice as long. Every stage brings some new twist or enemy into the gameplay and keeps you on your toes, and every stage utilizes Sparkster's abilities to their fullest. It's also difficult without being cheap. There's virtually nothing in the world that causes instant death and there are always health power-ups if you search for them. Now, of course, if you want to be a masochist, there's always the Hard and Very Hard modes for you. Normal mode should be a decent challenge for everyone.

So what's wrong with the game, other than its shortness? Well, two things. The first? The price. Now, I got it on Steam with the pre-order discount, so it ended up being around $10. That seems like a fair price, considering what other games you can find at that rate. But the actual price is $15, which is a bit steep for something this short-lived and it makes it difficult to recommend to friends who aren't fans of the series. That said, you know, I'm not terribly down on $15 as a price point. Heck, if people will spend that kind of money on a bunch of second-tier Call of Duty maps, it doesn't seem unreasonable to charge that for a full-on game, but your mileage may vary.

The second is the music. Yes, they remixed the first level theme, but everything else is instantly forgettable. They could have stood to at least bring over one of the boss tunes, because every game like this needs memorable boss music. Nothing has the sheer energy of the space shooter level in the SNES game. Konami should have sprung to get someone from the original series to help out with the music.

All-in-all, it's about as good a sequel as you could ever hope it to be. So if you liked the original Rocket Knight or Sparkster games, you're going to enjoy this too!