It seems like the wait for Pocky & Rocky Reshrined, the latest game in Natsume's Pocky & Rocky series, has been a long one. First announced for a Spring release, the game did come out within that time period - in Japan. Everybody else will soon have a chance to play too, though. ININ Games will publish Pocky & Rocky Reshrined for PlayStation and Switch on June 24. The game looks like a challenging and gorgeous sequel, so this is good news indeed. Let the celebratory wand waving begin!
Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is a top-down shooter with a Japanese mythological theme. The game features:
- Classic 16-bit style graphic & sound for a nostalgic retro feeling
- Five adventurous characters to choose from! Besides the beloved duo Pocky and Rocky, you can also play as: Ame no Uzume, Ikazuchi and Hotaru Gozen
- Master the stages in the single-player Story Mode or battle your enemies together with a friend in 2-player co-op Free Mode
- Collect coins to unlock the Easy Mode to reduce the difficulty and play more smoothly to the end
- Challenge yourself and master various unique stages with lots of different enemies
- Compare your scores with others and climb to the top of the Online Leaderboard
It's a very pretty game that honors the classic art style while adding lots of extra detail and graphical effects. We hear it's a challenging one, too, so unlocking Easy Mode will certainly be a good idea. Note that co-op mode must also be unlocked by beating the single-player Story Mode or collecting a lot of coins in said mode. Let's hope that the cooperative Free Mode is worth the effort!
While the digital PlayStation and Switch editions of Pocky & Rocky Reshrined will be launching on Friday, June 24, physical editions can still be preordered from Strictly Limited Games. The preorder prices are: $34.99 for the Standard Edition, $79.99 for the Collector's Edition, and $109.99 for the Collector's Edition and Plushie Bundle. See our previous story about the physical editions for more details. We'll be reviewing this one soon!