Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge (PS4)

Have you ever heard of or played Solar Jetman on the NES? If you haven't it is a metroidvania space salvage game where you guide a ship pod, and an astronaut with a jet pack in zero gravity as you collect parts for your mothership. Your goal in that game was to find all the ship parts, and tow them back to the mothership piece by piece. Along the way you'd get ship upgrades, and find hidden treasures that would add to your overall score. All done in zero gravity inclusive planet environments with a maze-like design that harbored enemies, and hazards that must be avoided to succeed in your mission. Well, Willy Jetman takes that core premise, changes it enough to be different, and makes it more about metroidvania platforming and recycling instead of salvaging parts via a spaceship ...

At the beginning of the playthrough of "Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge" the story elements are laid out in two parts. In one part Astromonkey is caught with his pants down taking a poo in his own ship's bathroom as an asteroid heads in his direction. This results in his ships cargo falling down onto planet Gravos along with parts of the very same ship. Shortly after that intro we get Willy's entrance into the world of Gravos. There we guide him to save the alien residents from a dragon before stopping by a campfire to tell the tale of how Willy became the hero he is. This tale from Willy takes us back a few days earlier where he, and his "garbage" ship Gladys set out to clean-up the fallen ship debris. What ensues is a comical relationship between the AI ship Gladys, and Willy the Jetman. A relationship that unfolds as Willy goes about recycling the debris, and scavenging the planet for resources as well as gear to help him move forward.

As Willy you have a handful of abilities to help you navigate the planet environments before you. This includes the ability to jump, the ability to equip and fire two different weapons, and the ability to fly with your jet pack. A jet pack that runs on a meter that only refills when not in use. The jet packing along with jumping, and weapons is how you will not only survive your garbage collect-a-thon, but also how you will go about collecting said garbage. When it comes to getting weapons or gear in the game you must first collect a coupon for that weapon, and take it to the nearest Crush 'N Go vending machine to equip it in one of two slots. It is at these vending machines that you can also upgrade your arsenal as well as restock ammo using the credits that drop from the enemies, and destructible crystals/rocks that you encounter along the way. Each upgrade costing increasingly more while limited in the number of upgrades that can be upgraded. Aside from all that you will also be minding a health meter that reflects Willy's life. Getting hit by enemies or environmental hazards will deplete the life meter. Of course as you kill enemies Willy will level up in the RPG sense, and as a result he'll gain health, jetpack, and skill bonuses. Thus making it imperative to kill as many enemies as you can.

While Willy is carefully navigating the sectional maze-like environments of Gravos with your help he will need to pick up, and carry debris to recycle stations. Doing this requires carefully navigating labyrinthine interiors filled with enemies, and other hazards. Often times you will need to use your weapons, and gear to clear obstacles blocking paths, or flip switches to open shut passages among other things. Some puzzle solving required. You'll also be dealing with boss creatures in hidden cave rooms that are marked as such. Thankfully as you progress there are safe zones which will not only have a save hub that refills your life, and saves your progress, but also a Crush 'N Go vending machine for upgrades. Even better still is the fact that you have access to an "L1" activated map that shows you the location of every important item, and vending machine or cave location. something that you'll need to reference on occasion so you don't end up going the wrong way.

When it comes to the world of Gravos, and the environments that you'll be searching they are sectioned off into small areas, or sub-stages. Each named, and numbered accordingly. This makes the trek from Point A to Point B less than tedious. That being said the challenges before you will increase as will the threats to Willy's life the further you make it into the game. You will need to save frequently, and jet pack cautiously as you go about your garbage collecting business. While that business will be just between Willy, and Gladys at times you will also encounter the Gravos aliens, and eventually Astromonkey. Each of which have their own contributions to the gameplay and story at hand.

The Verdict ...

Going in I didn't know how much of the 'Solar Jetman' inspiration would be in this game, but I think they changed the formula up enough for Willy's adventures to be unique, and less gravitational. The game feels more metroidvania than Solar Jetman did, and is more interesting as well as accessible, because of it. The added boss fights, and comical conversations between characters brings this game to life more than it's obvious inspiration. The presentation, including the graphics and soundtrack, are really good for such an indie project as well. Even the challenge is well constructed, and paced. It's not too overbearing, but is challenging enough to make the end goal more appreciated once completed. I think for the price, and the product "Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge" is a game worth adding to an indie lover's library. It earns the price asked, and gives the players something worth playing. Something nostalgic, and something new.