Jett Rocket (Wii) Review

Upon first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Jett Rocket couldn’t possibly be a downloadable game, especially given a mere 40 Megabyte restriction. It is a testament to Shin'en’s technical prowess then, that this has been made to fit from what was originally over 400 of those Megabytes, and the result can easily match up to even the biggest visual heavy-hitters on the console, from Mario Galaxy to Monster Hunter 3. From the refection in metal platforms, to the calm lush waves lapping onto bright colourful beaches, to the gentle swaying on leaves in the Jungle tree branches, this game would make any HDTV very content to display it.

Jett Rocket is the main, astronaut-esque character you take control of, as he glides around above the clouds on his ship helping to preserve the harmony of the world. That is, until he gets knocked off and sent crashing to the earth far below by the evil Power Plant Posse organisation, or PPP for short, that wish to harness the world’s resources to pollute and contaminate it. As Jett, you are required to explore the levels before you, all grouped separately into three world themes of Beach, Snow Mountain, and Jungle, to re-activate generators, and find the three Canisters needed to fuel your ship and reach the head of PPP.

Jett Rocket makes good use of the Remote and Nunchuk, but thankfully not overuse. The Pointer is relegated to menu selection, and motion is only needed for a highly satisfying roll attack or jumping-homing strike; buttons are the ideal method of control for a platformer that demands careful, considerate and precise movement, and it is a relief to see that Shin'en are equally aware of that. Jumping and using the Jetpack for when you have fuel is left to the A button, and of course the analogue stick takes care of 360 degree movement. Camera control is left to the D-Pad; Up to position behind Jett, Left to rotate left, and vice versa. As a result of utilising so few features of the controllers, the game is easy to pick up and a complete joy to play, with level design providing a consistently challenging but fair path for you to take, even if death means an instant level restart unless you’re at a stage boss. Jett is given three hearts, four collectable in total, as a life meter, and to start with these will be very difficult to lose, so the game eases you in slowly, and provides hovering machine drones with small tutorial-like explanations along the way.

There are three worlds with around four to six levels in each, with a respectable variety of different layouts and challenges in each, but whilst movement and jumping control quickly becomes second nature for every one of these stages, there is an issue with the camera in the game. A good portion of the time it is easy to manoeuvre around, and be able to see where you are going, but other times it can become stuck in the environment of the levels, and lead to cheap hits and even deaths. This doesn’t happen too often, but it will more than likely lead you off a cliff or two in any playthrough.

Another area that Shin'en Multimedia has never been lax on, is the sound department. Jett Rocket is light on the Voicework, in that Jett only speaks at the beginning of the game aside from the grunts and squeals you’d expect during platforming, and the rest of the game carries a techno-vibe that meshes in surprisingly well with the later levels.

Aside from camera issues, Jett Rocket’s biggest mis-step is that the experience is over way too quick; scarcely a couple of hours after you start you’ll be done, and that’s just considering if you’re not very good at platformers in the first place.

There are decent attempts to extend the longevity of the game, such as the requirement of collecting enough Solar Cells dotted around the levels to open up the next world, but provided you explore the world thoroughly enough first time you come to them, there is no need to revisit. There is also an Achievement-like system, with goals like ‘defeat 10 of one enemy’ or ‘finish level with all four hearts remaining’, and a character gallery that opens up as you progress through the main game, but unless you wish to 100% the entire game, only the premise of having a quick run-around to appreciate the visual splendour of the levels will entice you back.

As it stands, Jett Rocket isn’t without its share of issues, but it more than makes up for them with its outstanding technical prowess and fun platforming gameplay, and provides a tantalising glimpse as to what Shin'en could possibly be capable of with the promised sequel. For 1,000 Nintendo Points, this is a serious consideration for all fans of the platformer genre.