Pocky & Rocky Reshrined

A game by NatsumeAtari for Switch and PS4, originally released in 2022.

The Pocky & Rocky series got its start in Japanese arcades in 1986 with Kiki Kaikai (奇々怪界), a top-down fantasy-themed shooter starring a priestess named Sayo on a mission to rescue seven gods from the demons who kidnapped them. The priestess swings her wand, tosses projectiles in the form of paper ofuda talismans, and uses powerups to defeat enemies as she travels across multiple colorful environments, with each level ending in a boss fight against one of the demons. Players control the scrolling as they advance through the environment, and they are able to aim in eight directions, but they can only attack in the direction they're facing, operating similarly to Taito’s own Front Line (1982). A variation of this game was released on Famicom as Kiki Kaikai: Dotō Hen (奇々怪界 怒濤編) in 1987.

With development changing hands to Natsume, the series made its way to the Super Famicom in 1992 with Kiki Kaikai: Nazo no Kuro Manto (奇々怪界 謎の黒マント), which was released as Pocky & Rocky on SNES in 1993. The game once again stars Sayo, now joined by a tanuki companion named Manuke, who was actually the final boss in the original game. Sayo and Manuke the tanuki are named Pocky and Rocky the Raccoon in the western release. An introductory cutscene explains that Rocky has been attacked by his former companions, and he enlists Pocky’s assistance.

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 2022, ININ Games, Natsume, NatsumeAtari, PS4, Switch

River City: Tokyo Rumble

A game by Natsume for 3DS, originally released in Japan in 2013, and released in the US in 2016.

River City: Tokyo Rumble is a proper entry in the Kunio-kun series, which dates back more than 30 years. The first entry in the series was an arcade game entitled Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (Hot Blooded Tough Guy Kunio), which came to Western arcades as Renegade, with some changes to the setting and storyline. The game was also ported to a number of home computers and consoles, notably an NES port which was Technōs Japan’s first home console release.

The next entry in the series was a spinoff, which arrived the form of Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu, otherwise known as the cult classic Super Dodge Ball, which sees Kunio and pals facing off against a number of dodgeball champions from around the world. This game also got its start in the arcade before being ported to consoles and computers. Next up was Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, the first Kunio-kun game developed specifically for a home console release, which was known in the US as River City Ransom.

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 2013, 2016, 3DS, Arc System Works, Natsume

Shatterhand

A game by Natsume for NES, originally released in 1991.

CONTEXT
In the NES era, before they started extracting ore from the seemingly bottomless Harvest Moon and River King mines, Natsume was a somewhat more adventurous company. They released games in several genres, including a number of noteworthy action games: Abadox, Shadow of the Ninja, S.C.A.T., and Shatterhand. None of them really took the world by storm, but they were each interesting in their own way.

Shatterhand was developed by much of the same team as Shadow of the Ninja. The game was originally released on the Famicom in Japan as Solbrain. It was a licensed title based on a TV show called Tokkyuu Shirei Solbrain, and it featured a storyline and main character from that show.

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 1991, Heritage, Jaleco, Natsume, NES