Rocky Rodent / Nitro Punks: Might Heads (SNES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Irem's 1993 action platforming game for the Super Nintendo, Rocky Rodent.

Rocky Rodent is a product of Irem's legendary in-house development team (best known for R-Type, and responsible for other classics such as Kung Fu, Kickle Cubicle, and the Hammerin' Harry series), many of whom would later go on to form Nazca (Neo Turf Masters, Metal Slug) and to work on Shenmue for the Sega Dreamcast.

Irem's SNES record was a bit hit-and-miss, though. R-Type III, Ganbare Daiku no Gensan, Irem Skins Game, Dino City, and Undercover Cops were all fantastic games, while others like GunForce and Street Combat were both complete garbage. So where does Rocky Rodent stand in the line-up?

Well, contrary to what this oddball platformer's poor North American sales might imply, Rocky Rodent (or Nitropunks Might Heads, if you prefer the Japanese title) is a thoroughly excellent platformer that sits comfortably in the upper-tier of SNES hop-and-bop action titles.

You play as the titular Rocky, an endlessly hungry creature that resembles a cross between a dog and Taz, trying to save a local restaurant owner's daughter after being promised a free all-you-can-eat meal. In order to do this, Rocky can don four different hairstyles that all give him different abilities. The hairspray gives him a pink spiky punk do that allows him to stab enemies and hang from ceilings; an electric razor gives him a purple mohawk that can be thrown like a boomerang or used like a trampoline; a 50s hair dryer gives him a big curly mop that can be used like a spring to jump on; and a sunflower will draw a butterfly to Rocky, providing him a green (?) Pollyanna braid that can whip enemies and be used to swing from hooks. There's no denying there is a lot of creativity at work here, no matter how dumb it might it might sound.

The graphics are quite impressively detailed and carry a good number of tell-tale signs of Irem's arcade work - the scrolling city backgrounds in particular look great, as does that highway chase set piece with the sun setting in the background. The music is also a high point, with some exceedingly catchy tunes, and for fans of Super R-Type's soundtrack, those orchestra hit samples make a return here with some unexpectedly cool results.

For as good as the presentation is, though, the real star is the gameplay. It's quite difficult, as you'd expect from Irem, but the whole thing is extremely smooth and controls well. The hair abilities add a lot to the typical platformer style and often give you multiple ways to get through each stage. For me, though, the real success in this game is the level design - there are few 2D platformers that I have played that have had layouts that were this well designed. There are several paths through each stage, but unlike most games with such large and open stages, there isn't ever one direct path to the end - you can take whichever path you want, and you won't find yourself running into dead-ends that require five minutes of backtracking to get back from. There's no mindlessly running around getting lost. Every path naturally and organically leads to the end, one way or another, and it's hard to overstate the impact this has one the game play. I really dislike many of the less linear platformers because of this issue, and there are few that I've ever played that handled it as elegantly and as effectively as Rocky Rodent. It feels open and free without ever making you feel that you're running in circles. When you add this to the sense of speed the game carries, you could rightfully draw quite a few parallels between it and the Sonic games. If only all 16-bit games had this attention and care lavished upon their designs!

Rocky Rodent is truly one of those "hidden gem" type games that few seem to know about, and even fewer seem to like. Is it the odd main character? The difficulty level? I really don't know how it goes so underappreciated, but I will say that it's among my favorite platformers of its generation. Even if the Japanese name is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.