IndieGo #33: Rocket Panda

Challenging industry trend, Mega Cat Studios creates new games for old systems. Sure, efforts like The Meating, Kudzu, and Coffee Crisis can be played on contemporary hardware like the Nintendo Switch. But the Pittsburg-based developer designs their titles to be played on consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. You can even purchase their retro cartridges with an optional box and manual.

Given these comforts, the release of Mega Cat’s Rocket Panda feels like a tranquil trip back to 1990. Following the publisher’s slash screen, an intro familiarizes players with the panda protagonist, complete with quaint song lyrics (“Rocket Panda. Watch His Chubby Feet Fly”) and a bouncing ball that indicates the rhythm of the song. Undoubtedly, it’s a cool preface, and I couldn’t help but wonder if a Sega CD version with a vocal performance is in the works.

Each of Rocket Panda’s 60 stages challenges you with maneuvering the game’s jetpack-wearing bear, gathering biscuits and any jailed badgers before leaving through an exit portal. But like many cartridges of the era, variation is found in the game’s level design.

Early stages will test your navigational prowess as you struggle with the constant pull of gravity and the inertia associated with guiding a panda bear with a rocket strapped to his back. But the game is also a bit of a puzzler, as you scour the environment to lean against an object that can help straighten the panda’s flight path. Soon, you’ll also discover cups of tea that propel Rocket Panda through breakaway walls.

Had the game offered a linear campaign Rocket Panda would have offered mild enjoyment. Instead, the trek is split across seven themed worlds and bolstered by four different levels of challenge. Pleasingly, the difficulty feels organic. Instead of merely adding more roving enemies, Rocket Panda’s tougher settings adjust the intricacy involved with gliding around the scrolling stages and possibly require you to grab all the badgers before exiting

Similarly, I appreciate Mega Cat’s score-based approach, where you’ll earn a point total after the boss battle that punctuates each world. Time, collected biscuits, concealed icons, and not dying provide bonuses, offering a healthy amount of incentive for replay. Typically, when reviewing a game, I attempt to whiz right to the ending. But Rocket Panda coaxed me into improving my performance.

While the Asteroids-style mini-game won’t pull me away from the Atari original, it’s a pleasant perk within an already agreeable package. While the $49.99 price tag might seem a bit inflated for retro game, that’s the same price we once paid for Genesis/Mega Drive games. Had Rocket Panda materialized in the 1990s, it would have definitely earned a spot in my top twenty favorite games.