ROCKETRON, Astro Port's new title

[Gespenst]

Looks like a sort of prequel to Steel Strider.
http://www.interq.or.jp/saturn/takuhama/rr.html

[Ghegs]

Oohh, nice. Thanks for the heads-up.

[Durandal]

Looks very Turricanesque, I'm keeping my eyes on it.

[GSK]

Astro Port put out a demo for this game a few days ago, FYI. It's an action-y metroidvania, nothing out of the ordinary.

[Ghegs]

Played through the demo just now.

It's kind of like a run 'n gun Metroidvania, with a map, savepoints, areas where you can't go to until you have the correct weapon/item/etc. Looks to have maybe seven or eight weapons you can switch between at will, though the change takes a good 2-3 seconds so it's not something you want to do in the middle of a firefight. There's also a jetpack like booster at your disposal, which allows for speedy movement and to reach higher ground, and it's pretty fun to use it to zip around enemies and fire at their asses.

As per usual, Insane difficulty's where it's at for Astro Port games. This time the difference didn't feel as drastic as it is in, say, Satazius, but the enemies were certainly more numerous, fired more and even the scenery was changed to have more spike traps.

I never really could get into Steel Strider, but this felt more up my alley. Will buy.

[Durandal]

It's out on DLsite.

[Aleksei]

Just finished Rocketron on Insane Mode and I still got a normal ending. The map was 90% explored and item count was in the 80s, so I'm thinking it has to do with this.

Anyone have maps and item locations, or know what are the requirements for another ending?

[Aleksei]

I went to normal mode and finished it with 100% maps and 96% item, I think I'm missing two red crystals....maps anyone?

[Ghegs]

I got a 500 yen discount coupon from DLSite so I thought I might as well put it to good use.

Finished the Normal mode under three hours, with 99% map and 93% items. Got "Good End" whatever that was. Since the game keeps track of your time, I'd wager that also factors in to the ending, though I can't be sure. EDIT: Found an image on Astro Port's twitter where somebody got a Perfect End on Normal difficulty. 100% map, 100% items, time was 1:18:53.

It was an alright, average experience, no real highs or lows to it. The map felt a bit sparse and I pretty much ignored all but three weapons, but that might change once I try out Insane somewhere down the line.

It was very cool to see characters (well, vehicles) from the previous Astro Port games making an appearance. I think all their most recent games (this one, Gigantic Army, Satazius, Steel Strider, Zangeki Warp...maybe Wolflame, haven't played it) are all meant to take place in the same universe or even the same war, which is kind of neat.