The Rocketeer (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Bandai's 1991 license-based platformer for the NES, The Rocketeer.

Following up on their 1990 release based on Dick Tracy, Realtime Associates and Bandai again combine forces in 1991 to bring a game related to a major Disney film release to the NES console.

No Jennifer Connely, though. You'll have to play Clock Tower for her.

The Rocketeer has you playing as Cliff, a Californian stunt pilot who is fleeing from the random street criminals, government agents, and Nazi soldiers that are each intent on stealing the rocket-powered jetpack for their own nefarious purposes.

Thankfully, it seems that the designers learned from most of their missteps from Dick Tracy. It's a far more straightforward game, ditching the open-world setup in favor of a more traditional, linear one, and this simplification makes it a lot more accessible of an experience.

There are several types of weapons that you have at your disposal (thankfully all drawing from the same ammo pool this time!) to give some range to your attacks. It also wouldn't be The Rocketeer without the jet-pack, and though its use is disappointingly limited to reaching tall platforms, the fleeting moments of freedom it provides for are fun.

The controls are fairly sharp, and even though the weapon selection is awkwardly tied to the Select button, it's nowhere near as problematic to the gameplay as it was in Dick Tracy. A few qualms with the flight controls aside, Cliff's platforming controls are solid and rarely frustrate.

The graphics are surprisingly stylish and attractive. Many of the stages feature a ton of background detail (check out the forest and club stages!), and the cutscenes are impressively illustrated. It looks a bit rough on a modern display, but the dithered tile patterns do give a good sense of depth for how few colors are actually being used - not something seen too often on the NES. It actually reminds me a lot of how Sierra's EGA PC games used to look! The music is pretty good too - it's energetic and jazzy, and it sounds a lot like George Sanger's other NES work. If you liked the soundtracks to Dick Tracy, Rad Gravity, or Total Recall, you'll find more of that same distinctive sound here.

The Rocketeer is a fun game that would've been a perfect weekend rental. It's too short and easy to hold your attention for an extended period, but it's an enjoyable way to pass a few hours.

If you're really into The Rocketeer, you might also be interested to learn that this game is actually the second NES game based on The Rocketeer. Though it's not an "official" connection, Kemco's NES port of Cinemaware's The Rocket Ranger is clearly "inspired" by the old comic. You can see it here:
   • Rocket Ranger (NES) Playthrough  

And here is The Rocketeer for the SNES:    • The Rocketeer (SNES) Playthrough - Nintend...  

(And I couldn't resist using that screenshot. Am I the only one that instantly did a double-take? If that image was a painting in a museum, I think I'd title it, "The Burgeoning of Virility Beheld." Gramps is totally leering there.)

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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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