Cotton Reboot!, a remake of the original from the Japanese home computer X68000 and published by ININ, takes players back to 1991 with the original Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams being ported over to the PS4 and Switch. The best part though it has also been remade with new features that were added and visuals that are more in tune with the times.
Now going into playing Cotton Reboot! I had no idea how impactful this title was as an arcade game in Japan. This game demonstrates the impacts it has had with the shoot ‘em genre with games that have taken some inspiration from the classic. Learning about the history of this franchise I was intrigued with jumping into this game as this is a genre, I have enjoyed so playing a classic of it brought excitement.
The story of Cotton Reboot! is based around a witch, Cotton, that must save the planet of a space fairy. This space fairy, Silk, lives on a planet that is filled with Cotton’s favorite candy that is called “willows”. So, with the motivation that Cotton gains for the love of this candy the journey begins with a quest to get the candies through the seven stages of the game to achieve her goal of having the candies and in turn saving the planet.
With the basic premise out of the way, you jump into the horizontally scrolling experience as you shoot your way through the stage. The stage puts the player in the way of different creatures and mid-level and end-level bosses. Like any shoot ‘em ups or arcade title, the game for many is to achieve the highest score they can in each stage. To do this you have to figure out the mechanics of the jewel and magic systems of the game.
Cotton Reboot! goes like this – you kill the enemies as you move through the stage as the enemies are defeated, they possibly will drop a jewel. This is what you want as once you see the jewel and proceed to shoot it the power of your shots will be upgraded. As the jewels give the shots extra power from more damage and more shoots being dispersed with each shot. This will help immensely as the levels will get quite frantic, so the jewels are important for you as the player. The jewels even go more in-depth from there as one will notice as the jewels are shot at the color of them will change. The colors range from yellow or orange, which in turn give the player experience and the power of your shots will increase. To other colors ranging from red, blue, green, or purple that will each give you the magic that you can save up within the character to help you in the later stages of the level. When you repeatedly shoot a crystal, it will turn the color black, which for high score junkies this is what you want, this will help you boost your score immensely through multipliers. This game effectively adds strategy in obtaining the best score for yourself with deciding to use each crystal, when to maintain the black jewel multiplier, and moving through the stage. This can bring that love of beating a high score while adding strategy to every stage with the desire to master every stage which adds replayability.
This title can be played in the original version of the game, which was based on the X68000 computer, which will bring your right back to the time. While this version is dated at this point it can be a nice blast to the past for someone that wants to experience the game like it was in the early 90s. However, the game also has been remade for the modern consoles with the visuals are upgraded which is needed to bring the title a new life in 2021. Even with the upgraded cutscenes that many will fall in love with and in addition to the re-recorded dialogues that add much to the characters in bringing them some extra flair. While these upgrades are more than welcomed, they have led to some issues when it comes to the gameplay. At times the screen truly has too much going on that one can get confused about what’s happening on screen. This became a negative for me as I had to take some time off from the game as I couldn’t handle what was on the screen at times which ruined the experience for me.
The modes that have been added to Cotton Reboot! are the Arrange mode, the upgraded version of the game for this age, and the original X68000 version that is playable. Also, a quick mode of two and five-minute attack modes where it is filled with intense action for a player that just wants to jump into the action quickly and jump off. Lastly, in bringing the true arcade feel for the game an online leaderboard has been added to challenge the best of players to keep grinding to try and move their way up the board which is perfect for this title.
I did not know what to expect when delving into Cotton Reboot!, however, learning of its importance with its history and the strategic aspects of obtaining high scores I enjoyed my time with the game. I enjoyed playing this game that was brought back from the past and had new life breathed into it as a title I would have never played I’m glad have experienced it about 30 years later. Other than the visuals becoming distracting at times the game gave me a good time which at the end of the day is all you can ask from it. Through the interesting mechanics of the gameplay, the upgraded visuals, and a charming experience this title is definitely worth a try for shoot ‘em up fans.
Score: 8/10
Check Out the Cotton Reboot Trailer:
For more information, visit: https://www.iningames.com/games/cotton-reboot/
PlayStation Review
Gaming has always been an outlet for me to interact with different people and explore all kinds of possibilities. I play a wide variety of games always willing to try different mechanics and storylines that developers are trying to create for their games. I grew up delving into MW2 and World of Warcraft, I miss the Wrath of The Lich King days, and as I have gotten older I have found a love for RPGs and strategy games, my favorites being The Witcher 3 and Total War. Always looking forward to the next great game.
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