I really like that avid gamers in 2025 get an adaptation of a comparatively obscure (to this dilettante, anyway) 1982 anime. I really like that it truly incorporates cutscenes from that anime. I don’t love the sport itself, however I like fairly a little bit of it, so let’s tune in to House Journey Cobra – Awakening.
House Journey Cobra started life as Cobra, a manga collection by Buichi Terasawa initially serialized in Weekly Shonen Bounce in 1978. The timeframe is essential, as a result of Awakening very a lot has the slick fashion of that period. The story, dialogue, visuals, and music all have the funky, extremely stylized vibe that you would solely discover on the cooler UHF channels again within the day.
The story follows Cobra, an area pirate in a lot bother with the House Pirate Guild that he alters his look and erases his reminiscence to flee them. How does that work, you ask? Nicely, it doesn’t. Cobra finally will get his reminiscence again, settles into his previous methods, and, in fact, is found and as soon as once more pursued by the Guild. It’s an area journey, in any case, so what extra do you want?
Nicely, you want a curvy android named Woman Armaroid, you want gadget-laden cigars, and also you want a left arm that may rework into the Psychogun. Cool sufficient for you? All of this follows the unique 12 episodes of the anime collection, we’re advised. I haven’t seen them (a problem I’d’ve already corrected if I subscribed to Philo), so I’ll take their phrase.
What this sometimes offers us all through the sport is an anime cutscene setup, 2D action-platforming gameplay primarily based on that setup, then an anime cutscene wrapup. It’s a really efficient method, inflicting you to really feel you’re a part of the anime regardless of the disconnect between the anime and gameplay visuals.
The gameplay itself is the place I used to be let down just a little, though that received’t be the identical with everybody. House Journey Cobra – Awakening performs out as a linear action-platformer. Our hero instantly finds himself operating, leaping, capturing, dodging, swimming, and grappling his means by means of enemy-infested areas, and that is earlier than he will get his cooler weapons and powers. There are lots of Pleasure-Con buttons to study right here. It’s manageable, however count on to spend loads of time dying and respawning earlier than you’re capable of work your means by means of.
There are three issue ranges to ease you in, however they don’t make the whole lot simpler. Why? Due to the platforming components. Cobra will rapidly should learn to grapple onto objects to be able to keep away from, say, lava pits, and that’s not simple to do. Fall in and also you die no matter issue. Fortunately, the respawn factors aren’t too far again.
Numerous the platforming is finished whereas trying to keep away from/get rid of enemies, and the controls aren’t essentially conducive to dealing with the whole lot directly. For instance, aiming and operating are each dealt with with the L stick, which means you progress to shoot in a sure course. You’ll be able to maintain the L button to lock your self in place whereas aiming/firing, however then you definately’re a stationary goal. It’s fairly irritating till you study to play the sport on its phrases.
There may be the Psychogun, nevertheless, to alleviate a few of that frustration. Hearth this, and time stops when you draw its line of fireplace. You’ll be able to bend it to take out a number of enemies, attain completely different ranges, and even curve round partitions.
Sadly, you may’t depend on it on a regular basis. You’ll must grasp your common weapons, melee assaults, and avoidance expertise to work by means of the sport. And I do imply “grasp,” as there are appreciable issue spikes and spongy enemies all through, to not the meniton the quite a few multi-stage boss battles. When you’re simply pissed off, House Journey Cobra – Awakening will not be the sport for you on any issue setting (two-player co-op can assist, although).
That stated, there’s greater than sufficient right here to drive you thru to completion. The story is sort of entertaining, and it zips alongside on the velocity of the motion itself. The battles are sometimes means excessive. The characters are cool, too, they usually work equally effectively in English and Japanese audio (different languages can be found). I level that out as a result of it’s fairly uncommon in video games of this kind. Additionally as a result of the subtitles are tiny, so English audio might be the way in which to go, particularly in handheld mode.
The visuals additionally carry their share of the load. The gameplay ranges are an honest mix of straightforward graphics with trendy results, they usually’re a suitable transition from ’80s anime cutscenes. Too retro or too trendy and it wouldn’t have labored.
I additionally like that the cutscenes haven’t been remastered in excessive def. They appear like they might have on the 19″ CRT in your loved ones’s den in 1982.
All of it provides as much as a title I loved extra for its fashion and story than gameplay. I believe that’s truly a praise, although; the builders seemingly have executed an amazing job of capturing the look and angle of the supply materials (not too onerous to do if you’re truly incorporating stated supply materials). It’ll definitely enchantment to followers of the present and of retro anime typically. If that’s not you, you’re going to want loads of persistence and action-platforming expertise to push your means by means of. As in your individual adventures, exploding cigars will solely get you to this point.
