Cleared on October 11th, 2023
Spark the Electric Jester 1 is a 2D platformer that takes inspiration from the Sonic games of the Genesis era while putting its own set of mechanics, and while I wasn't a fan of its physics, I thought it was a well made game. Spark the Electric Jester 2 decides to take the franchise into a 3D direction inspired by the Sonic games of the Dreamcast era, and it's unironically better than all of the 3D Sonic games, but how?
The answer is simple. The developers had a vision of what makes a good Sonic game in general with high speed action, momentum, and precise platforming and translated it into 3D something that Sonic games hasn't been doing too hot with as of late, and while Sonic Frontiers is positively received, it's not quite at the full potential of what the series could do. Maybe that day will come, but until then, Spark the Electric Jester 2 fills in the gaps just fine.
Despite the title, it does not star Spark himself and he doesn't even make a physical appearance in the game, and the spotlight is taken over by his robot clone, Fark. So remember that Fark side story in Spark 1? Well, it's actually non-canon, and in its place is the story for Spark 2. Not that it's a big deal, even in Spark 1 the game warns you that this is the case, but it's something to point out.
Unlike the previous game, the game takes a more serious tone with a greater emphasis on story and makes attempts to be more dramatic with the villain having a more philosophical belief, plot twists, and a gritty atmosphere. However, I didn't really think it was anything that special to be honest. It's fine, but it's just there to be a reason why things happen in the game.
As for the game itself, it translates the Spark the Electric Jester gameplay style from the 2D games onto 3D while strangely having a better sense of momentum than the 2D games do. You have what you would expect from a Sonic style 3D platformer which includes high movement speed, homing attack, and a means to wind up speed and go faster, but here, not only can you wind up speed in the ground with Jester Dash, you can also do it in the air to propel yourself forward which gives you greater aerial mobility, but if you feel like you might overshoot it, you can just use the Dash button to get a short distance in an instant and in the ground, it's useful for dodging attacks.
One of the more interesting quirks of Spark the Electric Jester 2 is that it's more than just a 3D Sonic game where you move fast, homing attack your foes or maybe spin dash or boost into them and move on; it also acts as a Beat Em Up game where you can mash the light and heavy attack button repeatedly for damage although other than for the fun of it and for getting the high score, this isn't really something you'll find yourself doing often aside from boss battles (more on that later).
The Jester Powers make a return, but the benefits you reap are more subtle this time around and there aren't as many either. The good news is that you can carry 3 at a time + the default.
Electric is the standard and thus makes it seem the most underwhelming, but it does have the niche of allowing you to attack while moving as the others you force you to stop, so if there's a weak grounded enemy in your way and you need to keep moving, this would be the best power-up for that situation. It's 3x charge up attack is a hard hitting projectile.
Edgy makes a return and this time Fark is the one with the power. It's a great power-up for mobility as you can triple-jump by charging the heavy attack and dash three times while in the air which allows for great air control. It's 3x charge up attack is a screen nuke.
Plasma is based on the Sword power-up from the last game and allows its heavy attack to act as a projectile, and on top of that, charging the heavy attack lets you move faster and act as a third jump as well.
Hammer makes a return, but it doesn't offer any mobility benefits, but the damage output it has is quite impressive, making it a potent power-up in combat.
Biker is a new one and much like Plasma, the charge-up lets you move faster on a bike, but the speed boost is in burst and damages foes in its way. It's useful as another means to gain momentum without having to use the Jester Dash in the Ground.
Power Armor is another new one and it allows your dash to become a glide by holding the button.
The level design is really good. I don't know what the differences are between Very Hard (the difficulty I played) and the others, but I thought the levels had a reasonable challenge and when it counts, it knows how to test your ability to use the game's mechanics. Some parts are just a road with no obstacles for high speed action, but it doesn't feel automated and you have to actually steer Fark so he doesn't end up falling off. There are also speed boosters that act as a crutch for 3D Sonic games, but I didn't think they were overbearing here, and I remember one segment that used it to their advantage where it would force you in a circle and you need to jump at a perfect time just to get out of it while being able to advance forward.
The boss battles in this game are not too bad either although once you understand your parry window and their attack patterns, the boss fights can seem easy although in the difficulty I played, this could be seen as risky as they also deal a high amount of damage, so if you slip up, that's going to be really bad. That aside, it's not really a big deal if you lose, you just have to start the boss fight from the beginning.
It's also really cool that many of the boss fights have vocal themes with three of them being in the game. One of which was already in Spark 1, another used for 3 boss fights, and one more used for the ultimate final boss. It's no Crush 40 or anything, and maybe in comparison it may seem amateurish, but it's a good effort to match the Sonic Dreamcast style soundtrack the game was going for, and when you got epic level themes like Planetary Stripes to back you up, I say it was an effort well done.
And from what I'm told, Spark 3 is supposed to be even better, and to think I had such a blast with this game that I was willing to say it's better than any Sonic game I have played, and I'm not even a Sonic hater.
Spark the Electric Jester 1 is a 2D platformer that takes inspiration from the Sonic games of the Genesis era while putting its own set of mechanics, and while I wasn't a fan of its physics, I thought it was a well made game. Spark the Electric Jester 2 decides to take the franchise into a 3D direction inspired by the Sonic games of the Dreamcast era, and it's unironically better than all of the 3D Sonic games, but how?
The answer is simple. The developers had a vision of what makes a good Sonic game in general with high speed action, momentum, and precise platforming and translated it into 3D something that Sonic games hasn't been doing too hot with as of late, and while Sonic Frontiers is positively received, it's not quite at the full potential of what the series could do. Maybe that day will come, but until then, Spark the Electric Jester 2 fills in the gaps just fine.
Despite the title, it does not star Spark himself and he doesn't even make a physical appearance in the game, and the spotlight is taken over by his robot clone, Fark. So remember that Fark side story in Spark 1? Well, it's actually non-canon, and in its place is the story for Spark 2. Not that it's a big deal, even in Spark 1 the game warns you that this is the case, but it's something to point out.
Unlike the previous game, the game takes a more serious tone with a greater emphasis on story and makes attempts to be more dramatic with the villain having a more philosophical belief, plot twists, and a gritty atmosphere. However, I didn't really think it was anything that special to be honest. It's fine, but it's just there to be a reason why things happen in the game.
As for the game itself, it translates the Spark the Electric Jester gameplay style from the 2D games onto 3D while strangely having a better sense of momentum than the 2D games do. You have what you would expect from a Sonic style 3D platformer which includes high movement speed, homing attack, and a means to wind up speed and go faster, but here, not only can you wind up speed in the ground with Jester Dash, you can also do it in the air to propel yourself forward which gives you greater aerial mobility, but if you feel like you might overshoot it, you can just use the Dash button to get a short distance in an instant and in the ground, it's useful for dodging attacks.
One of the more interesting quirks of Spark the Electric Jester 2 is that it's more than just a 3D Sonic game where you move fast, homing attack your foes or maybe spin dash or boost into them and move on; it also acts as a Beat Em Up game where you can mash the light and heavy attack button repeatedly for damage although other than for the fun of it and for getting the high score, this isn't really something you'll find yourself doing often aside from boss battles (more on that later).
The Jester Powers make a return, but the benefits you reap are more subtle this time around and there aren't as many either. The good news is that you can carry 3 at a time + the default.
Electric is the standard and thus makes it seem the most underwhelming, but it does have the niche of allowing you to attack while moving as the others you force you to stop, so if there's a weak grounded enemy in your way and you need to keep moving, this would be the best power-up for that situation. It's 3x charge up attack is a hard hitting projectile.
Edgy makes a return and this time Fark is the one with the power. It's a great power-up for mobility as you can triple-jump by charging the heavy attack and dash three times while in the air which allows for great air control. It's 3x charge up attack is a screen nuke.
Plasma is based on the Sword power-up from the last game and allows its heavy attack to act as a projectile, and on top of that, charging the heavy attack lets you move faster and act as a third jump as well.
Hammer makes a return, but it doesn't offer any mobility benefits, but the damage output it has is quite impressive, making it a potent power-up in combat.
Biker is a new one and much like Plasma, the charge-up lets you move faster on a bike, but the speed boost is in burst and damages foes in its way. It's useful as another means to gain momentum without having to use the Jester Dash in the Ground.
Power Armor is another new one and it allows your dash to become a glide by holding the button.
The level design is really good. I don't know what the differences are between Very Hard (the difficulty I played) and the others, but I thought the levels had a reasonable challenge and when it counts, it knows how to test your ability to use the game's mechanics. Some parts are just a road with no obstacles for high speed action, but it doesn't feel automated and you have to actually steer Fark so he doesn't end up falling off. There are also speed boosters that act as a crutch for 3D Sonic games, but I didn't think they were overbearing here, and I remember one segment that used it to their advantage where it would force you in a circle and you need to jump at a perfect time just to get out of it while being able to advance forward.
The boss battles in this game are not too bad either although once you understand your parry window and their attack patterns, the boss fights can seem easy although in the difficulty I played, this could be seen as risky as they also deal a high amount of damage, so if you slip up, that's going to be really bad. That aside, it's not really a big deal if you lose, you just have to start the boss fight from the beginning.
It's also really cool that many of the boss fights have vocal themes with three of them being in the game. One of which was already in Spark 1, another used for 3 boss fights, and one more used for the ultimate final boss. It's no Crush 40 or anything, and maybe in comparison it may seem amateurish, but it's a good effort to match the Sonic Dreamcast style soundtrack the game was going for, and when you got epic level themes like Planetary Stripes to back you up, I say it was an effort well done.
And from what I'm told, Spark 3 is supposed to be even better, and to think I had such a blast with this game that I was willing to say it's better than any Sonic game I have played, and I'm not even a Sonic hater.