Spark the Electric Jester

[Joosp]

So LakeFepard's own Sonic inspired platformer was released a good while ago and I was surprised that there wasn't even a thread here for it much like Freedom Planet had. It offers a hybrid of Sonic and Kirby together where Spark can find different powers in stages and use them not only to defeat enemies but to potentially gain an extra edge in progressing through the stages themselves. Every power is varied in use and some are much more useful to have in certain stages than others are, leading to a lot of fun experimentation. Spark is also capable of some fancy footwork by himself, able to wall jump and perform dashes along the ground that can immediately turn you around and even grant you invincibility frames when timed right, which is almost critical for some of the game's hardest bosses.

I've already poured quite a bit of time into it to say that I very much love the crud out of it, enough so that I think it personally edges out Freedom Planet by a smidge just from how many options the player has in movement and from good it feels to play alone. There's definitely a couple of flaws and it lacks the same production value (especially in the story and writing), but I've really enjoyed my time with it so far and hope you guys try it out at some point.

also the music is so ridiculously good that i had to buy the ost immediately when it was released

 

[FuriousDragonZ]

Looks like a good game, i need to check it out right now.

 

[MellowJacket]

I've played through this game a few times now, bought it on release day. It's pretty good! Despite the technical difficulties (last time I checked, the time attack records weren't working correctly :V)

I've had a huge amount of fun playing through the main game though, and that's the important thing.

Also, soundtrack is fantastic. Although I'm more partial to Turbulence Plains than the Smog City you linked ;p

 

[Joosp]

I mean I love the OST so much that I really can't say there was a single song I felt was weaker than the rest of them; makes me glad the Kickstarter pulled through for it all! Definitely one of the best things about the game undeniably for sure. I'm almost done getting all the achievements for it, but even after that I'm sure I'll sit down and enjoy another session through Spark's Challenge here and there.

Also some more personal favorites from the OST.

 

[Larz T]

Haven't played the full game yet since money has been tight but I did play a demo of Spark back in 2015 and I was impressed. I did buy the soundtrack however as I want to support everyone who contributed to the game because this game's soundtrack is A1 like most of Lake's games. Personal favorite has to be Sunset Heights. I've always been a big fan of Funk Fiction ever since his first tracks in BTS way back in 2012 and this just screams Technology Tree Zone from ATS which was my favorite zone in ATS. Mare Desert is also another favorite of mine as well.

Other than that, still looks like a solid game to play. When I get some more money, I'll definitely be down to play this.

 

[ProtoBlur]

I fell in LOVE with this game. The visuals, music, and gameplay are all outstanding IMHO. While the story wasn't the greatest, it never hindered my experience with the game as a whole.


I LOVED the Kirby/Sonic gameplay and the amount of abilities are great (im not sure why I find mage to be my all-time favorite ability even though I know other abilities like edge and wind suit my playstyle a ton more :P).


The music is phenomenal and I love the variety. From Techno, Rock, FM, ect. its all there! My favorites would be Sunset Heights and Lunar Base.


The level design is also outstanding with interesting level themes and neat little references within the stages themselves (im looking at you smog city).


My only real complaint is the slight technical things and the bosses, not because there bad or anything I just find that a majority of them are kinda forgettable imo. The only ones I really remember are the fight against super fark and the final boss (there were a few more but I don't remember them off hand ^^').


All in all, Spark is a truly fantastic game that I couldn't recommend enough. 10/10

 

[Legendary Emerald]

Been playing this game a lot recently, and its overall enjoyable. I like its mechanics, soundtrack, and most of its graphics. Where it falls short is in its boss designs, lack of a sense of progression, and sometimes crippling framerate issues. Lake has tried to be helpful in regards to that last point, recommending people turn off compatability mode and only use usb controllers that are recognized as Xbox pads (which is a thing that effects framerate in the game; I'm not even joking), but the limits of the Fusion game creation tools and the (heavily modified) Sonic Worlds engine mean that even with a magnificent gaming machine, frames are still going to drop during somewhat large stretches of the gameplay.

My greatest hope is that Lake does the same thing Freedom Planet's developers did, and port the game over into a new engine now that it has been completed in Fusion. Doing so will make performance skyrocket and open up the possibility of being ported to consoles in the future. As it stands, Spark is a charming and fun little game held back by the restraints of its engine and a developer that doesn't quite know how to release something that isn't a fan game.

 

[64bitmodels]

Im at Stage 14 with fark. I'm almost done with fark's story, thing that prevents me is THE LAG