Cotton Fantasy | PS4 Review

Cotton's adventures have become a shmup sensation here in the West. Leading to several releases not formerly known to the Western audience. On it's 30th anniversary the powers that be saw it fit to also release "Cotton Fantasy". Formerly known as "Cotton Rock 'N Roll". This updated, and modernized HD port is everything Cotton fans have dreamed of, and then some. A culmination of mechanics and features bringing the franchise to it's peak state. By reintroducing Cotton, and her fairy partner Silk in the company of six new playable characters from other series the developer has effectively improved upon the game's otherwise basic offerings. Creating new ways to play.

This time around Cotton finds herself once again dragged into the pursuit of her beloved treats, willows. It seems that the fairy kingdom's willows have been vanishing, and that Cotton plays into their prophecy of a robed savior who would restore that supply. Reluctantly Cotton once again follows Silk's lead in hopes of scoring the ultimate willow meal ticket ...

As Cotton or one of the other six playable characters you'll find the adventure is still all about flight and fight. Using different shot types and unique gameplay gimmicks according to the character selected you will be tasked with clearing waves of monsters. Monsters that have stolen the willows, and that also hold captive fairies which will double as orbiting shot satellites. Characters like Cotton have the ability to shoot, and change the color of crystals dropped by downed enemies. Collecting the crystals at a certain color while controlling Cotton will change both the basic shot type, and offer up a charged elemental skill which plays into her scoring and combo system. By using the charged attack as Cotton on enemies you'll find that they will drop special items that grow in size, and award higher bonus points the bigger they get in tandem with the score multiplier. Maxing out at x99. The multiplier being wholly dependent upon not getting hit as a single hit results in the loss of one life. Also at Cotton's disposal are limited use bombs which will clear the screen of enemies, and bullet hell. Something that's useful in a pinch.

Other characters in the game, each hailing from their own indie or retro worlds, have unique gimmicks that make them vastly different from one another, and functionally so. Adding things like infinite bombs, or a timer mechanic. That or the ability to capture, and utilize monsters, among other things. At base level each character does have their own unique shot type, but beyond that their gimmicks set them apart. Figuring out which character best suits your favored playstyle is part of the fun.

When it comes to gameplay Cotton Fantasy offers up both a Story and Training mode. Each with their own features. The story mode is several stages long with each stage having their own dynamically transitional routes, waves of lesser enemies, fairy holding enemies, and a final boss. How you deal with the threats in front of you is up to you but maintaining a combo through the elemental charge shots will offer up more points. In addition to the enemy threats what difficulty you choose initially will determine how much bullet hell is onscreen. There is a Normal, Hard, and Extra mode with increased bullet hell presence, respectively. Also worth noting are the varied routes you can take in each given playthrough which will also determine the challenge at hand. These routes are alphabetically named, and linked. Once you clear a stage, and defeat the boss it's "Tea Time!!!". Tea Time is a returning mini-game from the Cotton series in which you have limited time to collect as many cups of white and black tea for bonus points in the end score tally.

For those of you looking for practice training mode parameters or options can be set to account for things like lives, difficulty, number of fairies, the preferred character, stage, time, and other things needed to help the player hone their skills. The stage select feature in this mode only offers stages you've currently played through in story mode though. It goes without saying that you can continue in story mode after all lives are lost, but at the expense of your currently earned score. It's something to weigh if you are shooting for a high score on the game's global leaderboards. 

In the way of plot and story in either mode you can opt to turn on or off the cutscenes. Turning the game into either a story mode or arcade mode style of experience. Cutscenes can also be manually skipped if you so desire. Additionally you can also map the controls to your liking. Making it a more personalized experience. Various volume toggles also exist, but English voice overs are not a thing.

The Verdict ...

In HD, and updated for modern consoles 'Cotton Fantasy' is a sight to behold. A spectacular spectacle of colors. A flashy fun filled experience with a collective of cute female characters that will put a smile on anyone's face. Cotton, and Silk's antics at center stage are once again the adorable adventure quirks we've all come to know and love. Inviting, and comical in the most lighthearted way. Also to note is the fact that Silk is not censored, and her bikini clad self does bare cleavage for all those cleavage fans out there. If you fancy getting in on the best Cotton game yet do not miss out on 'Cotton Fantasy'!!! It's very much worth the $40, considering great shump pricing.