Cotton Rock and Roll: SUPERLATIVE NIGHT DREAMS Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

Cotton Rock and Roll: SUPERLATIVE NIGHT DREAMS Switch NSP Free Download Candy-loving scamp takes to the skies once again Wow, you wait decades for a new Cotton title, then several, (as well as a remake), come along at once. Developer Success has announced that it is working on all-new sequel Cotton Rock ‘n’ Roll, which is currently in development for PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. As a quick refresher, Cotton is an old-school shmup series that stars the titular candy-chomping witch and her intergalactic fairy friend, Silk. The first title, Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams, launched into arcades and on home computers in 1991, and was followed by a string of sequels on platforms. ROMSLAB.COM  Best Switch Games

Cotton Rock and Roll SUPERLATIVE NIGHT DREAMS Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

Most recently, the original game was remade as Cotton Reboot! to celebrate the series 30th anniversary. In related news, a localization of Cotton Reboot! will launch in the west on PS4 and Nintendo Switch July 20.Cotton Rock ‘n’ Roll: Superlative Night Dreams will retain the colorful world and characters of the Cotton franchise, including Cotton, Silk, and the spooky Appli-Ke Pumpkin. The new title will also utilize some of the mechanics Success has brought to its other shmup titles, including Psyvariar‘s “Buzz” system and Sanvien‘s “Time Attack” mechanic. The new game is expected to launch in Japan at some point during winter 2021-2022 season. I hope we get a localization.

Cotton is a fairly aloof

Witch who doesn’t care much for anything other than “Willow”, a fictional brand of sweet that our heroine goes nuts for. So much so that when the forces of evil take over the Fairy Kingdom and Cotton is determined to be the only person who can save them, she’s not interested until they tell her that she gets a giant Willow if she can defeat all the bosses. This story is told in both the original and the reboot through anime style cutscenes, with Silk the fairy trying her hardest to stop Cotton from eating her Willow as soon as she gets it, in favour of saving them until she has all seven colours to make the giant one. This is done by riding her broomstick through waves of enemies. Vitamin Connection Switch NSP

Cotton Rock and Roll SUPERLATIVE NIGHT DREAMS Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

Shooting the games changes their colour too, giving access to bonus attacks or shields when enough are collected. Cotton Reboot! is based on the Sharp X68000 version of the first title, Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams. This was one of the first home ports of the game, and is generally regarded as one of the best versions thanks to a number of graphical and gameplay enhancements. That original is presented as one of the options to play the game and it’s just as fun as it was back in the 90’s, but it’s the Arrange mode that makes this a reboot rather than a plain old remake.

The most obvious change to the gameplay is the number of projectiles.

It’s not quite a bullet hell, but there are a lot more bullets on the screen at all times now, both from enemies and Cotton herself. The gems now serve multiple purposes, as Cotton’s bullets are now refracted by them and fork into multiple directions, giving you both more power, and a method of killing more enemies at once. They still change colour to give bonuses, but there are a few additional colours to give even more power to our favourite Witch. Landslides of rocks, screens full of explosions, and super high points from the rare black gems that help rack up a high score are all present. Vivid Knight Switch NSP

Cotton Rock and Roll SUPERLATIVE NIGHT DREAMS Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

There are new arrangements of the original soundtrack, presented in a fully orchestrated form, including a really nice electric guitar rendition of the level three theme. There are a few tunes that have been added, such as background music to some of the cutscenes that were previously silent in parts. Those cutscenes themselves have been redrawn, and the rather poor English of the original western translations has been replaced. I kind of liked the cute Engrish of the ‘91 version, it was charming, but its absence isn’t a downer as the new text is supplanted with a tonne of new voice-acting from Nami Miyaki, Kaede Horikawa, Tsubasa Himeno, and Natsu Aikawa.

The screen space has been upgraded to 2021 standards for Cotton Reboot! too,

With full widescreen being utilised. To make more use of this space, there are enemies on the left in some of the areas. This frustrated me initially, as I assumed that you couldn’t kill them, but if you level up high enough then Cotton shoots bullets to the left as well as right and you can indeed kill them. It’s all about chasing those gems! The bosses have a few new mechanics, and some have been adjusted visually. Remembering this is based on the X68000 version as well, so there are some bosses that are totally different from the arcade originals, including the cool Cleopatra-like one from level four. Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars Switch NSP

Cotton Rock and Roll SUPERLATIVE NIGHT DREAMS Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

The original Sharp version is here as well, in an entirely unadulterated form. It’s just as good as it was back in the day, and is the more serene version presented, with fewer enemies and bullets, and a more tactical style than the twitch-heavy Arrange mode. Both are great, and both keep the same spirit of the original, but the Arrange version was the nicer for me as it gave a different dimension to an already brilliant shmup. In addition, there’s a brand-new stage created for a time attack mode, which is a nice touch rather than just reusing existing stages.

Add-ons (DLC): Cotton Rock and Roll: SUPERLATIVE NIGHT DREAMS Switch NSP