Strap in, space cowboys, because Space Adventure Cobra – The Awakening doesn’t just re-enter orbit, it tears through the cosmos with a Psychogun-powered vengeance. This side-scrolling space opera plunges you into a neon-lit galaxy of danger, charm, and retro swagger, where every planet hides a trap and every villain wants a piece of Cobra. From grappling hook acrobatics to Colt Python shootouts, this in-depth exploration of Cobra’s return is a wild ride through pulpy sci-fi nostalgia and pixel-perfect peril.

Space Adventure Cobra – The Awakening Review Pros

• Beautiful cartoon graphics. 
• 3.5GB download size. 
• FREE playable demo. 
• Official product of the Cobra Anime series, following the first 12 episodes of said Anime. 
• Awesome cartoon cutscenes and intro movie. 
• 3 game difficulties – Johnson, Space Pirate, and Most Wanted. 
• Game settings – aim assist, vibration, inserts, and streamskip. 
• Video setting – luminosity slider. 
• Three controller layouts. 
• Local two-player support. 
• Three voice choices – English, French, and Japanese. 
• Subtitles can be turned on and off. 
• Great soundtrack and the main song is much like a James Bond theme. 
• Action shooter platformer gameplay. 
• Opening the tutorial section and ongoing pop-ups. 
• Find treasures that show up in your ship. 
• Full eight-way shooting, and you can charge shots. 
• Shoot enemy projectiles to nullify them or make them just drop out of the sky like a lonely tear. You have to unlock this after the initial level. 
• Animated character avatar interactions, which you can skip or click through. 
• Fantastic voice work.
• 2D game world with 3D backdrops and a ton of detail. 
• The game uses a health bar system, and enemies can drop hearts. 
• Actions initially available to you are shooting, jumping, high jump, sliding, punching, and air dash.  You can grapple hook pods and use magnetic boots on metal walls. 
• The pause screen shows found treasures and how many are left, the timer, and memory fragments found. 
• It is honestly like playing in a cartoon; the writing and humour are spot on, along with gameplay. 
• The right stick can move the camera around to help with the platforming and shooting. 
• You can grab ledges and pull yourself up. 
• Hidden rooms and routes to find. 
• I really like the vibe of it all. 
• Luckily, you have a button that can hold you still, so aiming and shooting can be easier. 
• You have this really cool laser that you fire, then control and can mark enemies, allowing you to take a load out in one go. The camera and action slow down to help with aiming. 
• Cutscenes and interactions transition into and out of gameplay segments. 
• Puzzle elements throughout, pretty simple, but they are a thing. 
• They like to pepper in a lot of run-and-gun sections that help break up the gameplay. 
• Big boss encounters, but also a few mid-level boss encounters. 
• Mission and level selector that shows your earned rank and clear time, along with collectables progress. 
• Earn super charges and unleash a massive, awesome clear the screen ability that triggers a cool cutscene activation. 
• The opening level is the typical here is all the powers now start level 2 with nothing and build it back up. 
• Find and collect heart fragments to increase your maximum health. 
• Find power fragments to increase your firepower. 
• Self-contained rooms with puzzles or fight sequences. 
• Has a more Metroidvania feel, the more you get into the game, as new abilities unlock, more routes and possibilities. 
• Shields on enemies require either a revolver shot or a punch to deplete them. 
• At times, the camera will change, and it makes you look like you are in a 3D game. 
• Each episode has an overall completion percentage. 
• Replay levels to mop up missed pickups and collectables. 

Space Adventure Cobra – The Awakening Review Cons

• Never sure when you have hit a checkpoint, so dying feels like a gamble. 
• No in-game achievements or anything. 
• You cannot remap the controls. 
• I kept instinctively going for the right stick to aim my gun; it’s a game that seems to encourage me. 
• The jumping and movement feel a tiny bit off; precise jumping doesn’t feel good. 
• The performance can get a bit spotty in places in both handheld and docked. 
• There are a lot of devious platforming sections, and with the movement issues, it makes it all very frustrating. 
• Some of your abilities or actions don’t get told to you early enough. 
• The levels are quite long and not that suited to out-and-about play. Doing shooting only sections can be a real pain, as you have to juggle jumping and holding down the button to stay still so you can shoot effectively. 
• So many times, the cutscenes or level ends can just abruptly end. 

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Space Adventure Cobra – The Awakening

Official Website: 

Developer: Magic Pockets

Publisher: Microids

Store Link:

Nintendo