Gone from the last iteration are the ability to slide and the ability to cast magic to defeat a large slew of enemies in the same screen. The main characters can still fire an endless supply of projectiles as they move in any of the eight directions, and any time they have to deflect projectiles they can still do so by repeatedly tapping the B button (Pocky uses her staff to do so). The gameplay has been left mostly intact since the last game. Oh, but they didn't just make a sequel, they made some substantial changes in the process so without further ado, let's talk about Pocky & Rocky 2, the least known of the two titles. Unlike said competition, it didn't really get well-known by a lot of gamers at the time but despite that, Natsume figured that perhaps a sequel wouldn't be a bad idea, which we all got in 1994 (and for some reason it was released in Europe by Ocean). =) Some gamers compare it to Konami's vastly overrated (in my opinion) The Legend of the Mystical Ninja, which is understandable considering some of both titles' similar themes, cultural settings, and levels of quirkiness. Pocky & Rocky's strengths were its charm, its intuitive gameplay, its surprisingly arcade-like quality, its difficulty which gradually increased the farther you progressed, two very likable and endearing main characters, a good amount of atmosphere, its nonstop quirkiness, a great sense of fun, and a really good soundtrack. The original Pocky & Rocky, which itself was a sequel to Taito's arcade game KiKi KaiKai ( Knight Boy), was an obscure shoot'em up on foot in a Japanese setting that has since gotten a bit of a cult following since its release, and honestly I think it's a bit of an underrated game.

Pocky and rocky 2