Impressions based on a couple of hours of play, spent between a single credit-munching playthrough and trying out characters and understanding the scoring system.
First impressions aren't particularly kind to Cotton Rock'n'Roll: the graphics are barebone, there's only one game mode, options are basic, there are more guest characters than Cotton characters to choose from, the show hitbox option seems bugged, there's a general feeling of budget title, and the music on the title screen doesn't even loop.
However, the more I'm playing, the better the game gets. I'm still not torn on whether this is a good game or not, I'll have to stick with it for more time. I must also say I had some pretty high expectations after going through the game's limited package and my previous experience with Cotton ReBoot!.
The basic system will be familiar to anyone who played Cotton before: three buttons for autofire, special action, and single shot fire/magic charge. Enemies drop coloured crystals that change Cotton's weapon and magic; colours are changed by hitting the crystals, and after a few hits they will change into yellow crystals that will increase Cotton's experience instead. With enough experience (also gathered by killing enemies) Cotton will gain a level, thus increasing her firepower.
Cotton's special action allows her to capture enemies and throw them at other hostiles to build up a score multiplier that will slowly go down when not killing something.
The first stage is fixed, then you can choose which one to tackle next. The later you get to a stage the harder it will be, with enemies firing more bullets and bosses getting stronger, eventually getting a second phase with revised attack patterns. After clearing one stage you get a Tea Time sequence where you collect teacups. Every four or so stages you get a bonus level inspired by Rainbow Cotton (or Space Harrier if you wish) in which, again, you collect teacups for points.
Stages vary greatly in aesthetics, and all of them feature exclusive enemies; few also have some environmental hazards. Stage difficulty and quality is a bit all over the place, like bosses: some hard stages (like the Royal Tomb) will be fairly challenging and interesting but guarded by a mundane boss with uninteresting patterns even during its second form. The Blue Sky level has Cotton fly around a floating battleship, with good enemy and hazard placement, wave rhythm, and enemy variety; the boss on the other hand is very basic and there are moments, that feel like an eternity, when it's not even on screen. The last two stages are interesting and with interesting bosses, but they still feel like more could have been done...it's not like they are bad, but they feel somewhat rushed in execution.
Graphics don't really help, as all 3D models only have basic textures, even playable characters. This keeps the screen readable at all times and the framerate constant, but I think it's a step down compared to Cotton ReBoot! and many other shooters, even titles like Ginga Force that used relatively simple models to create their levels. Stages in Rock'n'Roll do feature some camera movement and a decent use of foreground and background objects, giving them some much need dynamism.
There's an option to show the character's hitbox, and for a while I thought it was bugged. It is not, it's "just" badly implemented: the hitbox is visualised as a hearth, and I was expecing something very visible, instead it's a white heart-shaped silhouette overimposed a character with minimal opacity. To see it you need to pay a lot of attention, and I could barely see it after turning the option on and off multiple times and squinting at the character model. It's basically invisible and useless during the game, no matter your screen size.
The tutorial section doesn't explain the multiplier system, and when you get it it's nowhere as evident as in ReBoot!, so for a while I thought Rock'n'Roll was devoid of any scoring hooks.
So...this seems pretty scathing, but that's how I felt during the first hour. After playing some more, I did start to appreciate Rock'n'Roll's main strength: the characters.
The game features only one game mode (plus a training mode), but has a large selection of characters that play completely different from each other and actually modify some aspects of stages, powerups, and scoring system.
Cotton and Appli play as you'd expect from veterans of the series; they are good characters to start with and get a good grip of the system. Clearing the game once with any character (including guests and with no limit on credits) unlocks the main bad girl of Rock'n'Roll. She uses the same crystal system as Cotton and Appli but instead of snatching enemies, her special action is to detach her staff and use it like an option, which modifies her weapons and magic.
Unfortunately this is where characters from the Cotton series end and the guest characters begin. I say "unfortunately" because even ReBoot! acknowledged Silk as playable...well, she technically is but she's behind the "Amazon preorder exlcusive" wall and I don't know if she's paid DLC for other users.
Anyway, the guest characters range from Kawase (from Umihara Kawase) to Rufee; Ruffee's from Dokidoki Poyacchio, I don't know her or her game. The other two characters are Ria and Fine, the mechamusume version of Psyvariar's and Sanvein's ships respectively.
Kawase plays similar to the Cotton girls, only that she uses her fishing rod to capture enemies and that is cast in the direction she's moving. Captured enemies are fired in the same way and build up multiplier.
Ruffee is the first character eschewing the crystal mechanic for a single weapon. Her special action slows her down and starts charging a powerful laser, that will be fired upon release and will last as long as the special button has been held down. Hitting enemies with this laser will build up multiplier.
Ria once again doesn't use crystal and has only one weapon, and gains experience by buzzing enemies and their bullets. Her special action will focus her other wise (very) wide weapon into a narrow beam. At each new level Ria deploys a barrier that will absorb bullets and damage enemies, and at the same time build up multiplier.
Fine can freely switch between three weapons and doesn't have lives, using a timer instead: it starts at 600second, at each hit detracts 100second. 10 or so seconds are added by collecting special crystals dropped -I think- after a certain number of enemies killed.
The characters are varied enough for them to be their own game mode, and I did start to enjoy the game after understanding the scoring system and testing out all characters.
This did highlight some balancing problems, though.
Ria is incredibly powerful, and to keep her multiplier going she gains levels very fast, and at times she's basically invincible. Her standard fire also covers the whole screen, making going through most levels a breeze. To avoid making her overpowered (or even more overpowered) enemies in the first stages barely fire a shot, and you don't get too many buzzing opportunities until later on. Enemy and bullet patterns aren't exactly tuned for buzzing either, and having a visible hitbox would help immensely with her.
Initial stages are a problem for Fine as well, as there will be times with no enemies on screen with the timer ticking down and you unable to do anything. She's a character with a very high technical requirement, but dying because a boss isn't on screen for you to shoot is just irritating.
Some of Rock'n'Roll drawbacks, like graphics, will never go away, but probably playing more of it will increase my enjoyment of it.
First impressions aren't particularly kind to Cotton Rock'n'Roll: the graphics are barebone, there's only one game mode, options are basic, there are more guest characters than Cotton characters to choose from, the show hitbox option seems bugged, there's a general feeling of budget title, and the music on the title screen doesn't even loop.
However, the more I'm playing, the better the game gets. I'm still not torn on whether this is a good game or not, I'll have to stick with it for more time. I must also say I had some pretty high expectations after going through the game's limited package and my previous experience with Cotton ReBoot!.
The basic system will be familiar to anyone who played Cotton before: three buttons for autofire, special action, and single shot fire/magic charge. Enemies drop coloured crystals that change Cotton's weapon and magic; colours are changed by hitting the crystals, and after a few hits they will change into yellow crystals that will increase Cotton's experience instead. With enough experience (also gathered by killing enemies) Cotton will gain a level, thus increasing her firepower.
Cotton's special action allows her to capture enemies and throw them at other hostiles to build up a score multiplier that will slowly go down when not killing something.
The first stage is fixed, then you can choose which one to tackle next. The later you get to a stage the harder it will be, with enemies firing more bullets and bosses getting stronger, eventually getting a second phase with revised attack patterns. After clearing one stage you get a Tea Time sequence where you collect teacups. Every four or so stages you get a bonus level inspired by Rainbow Cotton (or Space Harrier if you wish) in which, again, you collect teacups for points.
Stages vary greatly in aesthetics, and all of them feature exclusive enemies; few also have some environmental hazards. Stage difficulty and quality is a bit all over the place, like bosses: some hard stages (like the Royal Tomb) will be fairly challenging and interesting but guarded by a mundane boss with uninteresting patterns even during its second form. The Blue Sky level has Cotton fly around a floating battleship, with good enemy and hazard placement, wave rhythm, and enemy variety; the boss on the other hand is very basic and there are moments, that feel like an eternity, when it's not even on screen. The last two stages are interesting and with interesting bosses, but they still feel like more could have been done...it's not like they are bad, but they feel somewhat rushed in execution.
Graphics don't really help, as all 3D models only have basic textures, even playable characters. This keeps the screen readable at all times and the framerate constant, but I think it's a step down compared to Cotton ReBoot! and many other shooters, even titles like Ginga Force that used relatively simple models to create their levels. Stages in Rock'n'Roll do feature some camera movement and a decent use of foreground and background objects, giving them some much need dynamism.
There's an option to show the character's hitbox, and for a while I thought it was bugged. It is not, it's "just" badly implemented: the hitbox is visualised as a hearth, and I was expecing something very visible, instead it's a white heart-shaped silhouette overimposed a character with minimal opacity. To see it you need to pay a lot of attention, and I could barely see it after turning the option on and off multiple times and squinting at the character model. It's basically invisible and useless during the game, no matter your screen size.
The tutorial section doesn't explain the multiplier system, and when you get it it's nowhere as evident as in ReBoot!, so for a while I thought Rock'n'Roll was devoid of any scoring hooks.
So...this seems pretty scathing, but that's how I felt during the first hour. After playing some more, I did start to appreciate Rock'n'Roll's main strength: the characters.
The game features only one game mode (plus a training mode), but has a large selection of characters that play completely different from each other and actually modify some aspects of stages, powerups, and scoring system.
Cotton and Appli play as you'd expect from veterans of the series; they are good characters to start with and get a good grip of the system. Clearing the game once with any character (including guests and with no limit on credits) unlocks the main bad girl of Rock'n'Roll. She uses the same crystal system as Cotton and Appli but instead of snatching enemies, her special action is to detach her staff and use it like an option, which modifies her weapons and magic.
Unfortunately this is where characters from the Cotton series end and the guest characters begin. I say "unfortunately" because even ReBoot! acknowledged Silk as playable...well, she technically is but she's behind the "Amazon preorder exlcusive" wall and I don't know if she's paid DLC for other users.
Anyway, the guest characters range from Kawase (from Umihara Kawase) to Rufee; Ruffee's from Dokidoki Poyacchio, I don't know her or her game. The other two characters are Ria and Fine, the mechamusume version of Psyvariar's and Sanvein's ships respectively.
Kawase plays similar to the Cotton girls, only that she uses her fishing rod to capture enemies and that is cast in the direction she's moving. Captured enemies are fired in the same way and build up multiplier.
Ruffee is the first character eschewing the crystal mechanic for a single weapon. Her special action slows her down and starts charging a powerful laser, that will be fired upon release and will last as long as the special button has been held down. Hitting enemies with this laser will build up multiplier.
Ria once again doesn't use crystal and has only one weapon, and gains experience by buzzing enemies and their bullets. Her special action will focus her other wise (very) wide weapon into a narrow beam. At each new level Ria deploys a barrier that will absorb bullets and damage enemies, and at the same time build up multiplier.
Fine can freely switch between three weapons and doesn't have lives, using a timer instead: it starts at 600second, at each hit detracts 100second. 10 or so seconds are added by collecting special crystals dropped -I think- after a certain number of enemies killed.
The characters are varied enough for them to be their own game mode, and I did start to enjoy the game after understanding the scoring system and testing out all characters.
This did highlight some balancing problems, though.
Ria is incredibly powerful, and to keep her multiplier going she gains levels very fast, and at times she's basically invincible. Her standard fire also covers the whole screen, making going through most levels a breeze. To avoid making her overpowered (or even more overpowered) enemies in the first stages barely fire a shot, and you don't get too many buzzing opportunities until later on. Enemy and bullet patterns aren't exactly tuned for buzzing either, and having a visible hitbox would help immensely with her.
Initial stages are a problem for Fine as well, as there will be times with no enemies on screen with the timer ticking down and you unable to do anything. She's a character with a very high technical requirement, but dying because a boss isn't on screen for you to shoot is just irritating.
Some of Rock'n'Roll drawbacks, like graphics, will never go away, but probably playing more of it will increase my enjoyment of it.
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