Space Adventure Cobra was an anime series that started way back in 1982. It had a following back then, but has fallen off the popularity ladder pretty hardcore. I didn’t even know of its existence until I looked into it while playing Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening. I haven’t seen a single episode of the show, but the game does a pretty decent job of showing off its ’80s charm. You play as Cobra, a space adventurer who’s got a laser cannon where his arm should be. That’s pretty rad.
Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening plays like your typical 2D side-scrolling shooter. There are some light puzzle-solving sections throughout the game, and very little exploration to speak of. This is not a Metroidvania, but a much more linear experience. But in order to keep things interesting, you’re able to use a myriad of tools from Cobra’s kit. You’ve got access to a grappling hook, your trust laser gun, and even exploding cigars. You can also dash on the ground and air and go temporarily invincible during the dash to avoid enemy fire as well as obstacles in your path.
The level design and linearity of Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening are a pretty major detriment to the overall experience of the game, though. Most of the time, I felt things were a little too bland for my liking. I understand that there is source material they are directly pulling from, but I feel like the developers could have done a little more with environments, as well as level identity. Most sections just felt like reskins of previous sections I had already played. I would have liked the levels to feel a little less samey.
My other big issue is how the game actually feels to play. I dislike the way this game controls using a mouse and keyboard, which is how I played. You have to move the mouse up and down to aim, which feels very awkward on a 2D plane. Dashing is on the left shift button, and melee attacks are on E. My left hand winds up in this horrific claw amalgamation that just feels awful to do and ultimately causes me discomfort to play for too long. The very beginning of Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening does say that this game is best experienced with a controller, and I’ll just have to take the developer’s word on this one. It’s just a complete slog to play on a laptop, and I can’t imagine anybody really liking the way these controls make their hands feel.
When it comes to presentation, Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening is a knockout. The game will organically start cutscenes that are usually just ripped straight from the anime. The visuals don’t look too cleaned up, which honestly adds to the whole vibe of it all. I think it’s really cool to accentuate the show’s age and somehow still maintain a cool factor. Cobra is apparently a big cigar lover, and he’s always got a cigar that he’s chomping on. I think that is such a fun little detail, and I think it’s awesome that they are really leaning into the show’s campiness for longtime fans. I’m sure there are tons of details and visual references that I am not understanding that a diehard Cobra fan would freak at the sight of it. The voice acting isn’t anything special – not terrible – but not good either… but I think that’s the point.
I do think the game’s visuals are nice, but they don’t go above and beyond. If you showed me this game without any context, I’d never be able to tell you it was based on an old anime. The music is typical ’80s anime fare. Lots of brassy, jazzy over-the-topness that just isn’t done very often today. I spent some time going over the original show’s OST and was blown away. There was some insanely good music in that series – for real.
Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening is a mostly successful 2D side-scrolling shooter. Its awesome source material and OST kept my attention, but its frustrating controls and lacklustre level design kept pulling me away. It was like both sides of my brain were arguing about whether or not I should continue playing. I think if you’re a fan of the anime, then you absolutely need to get this. Maybe wait for a sale, or for some sort of patch that addresses the control issues. If you’re completely unaware that this show ever existed, I can’t really see why you’d get this over something else, if I’m being honest. It’s a cool little game, but it isn’t doing anything you haven’t seen before.
