This has been known about and anticipated for a while, but there was no thread for it on this reboot of Talking Time. We must rectify.
Cotton Reboot! revives a series that once stood tall as a codifying example of the cute 'em up shooter concept and aesthetic, for its better and less great aspects. For the better, the series's thematics have always been interwoven in an expression of the whimsically macabre and ghoulish; a true Halloween season or year-round spooktacular in the friendliest and most approachable way possible, reflecting in the impetuous eponymous witch's screen presence as well as in her friends, foes and world. For the worse, the series was also informed from the start by a sort of unfortunate tonal matching of parodic elements and cheeky sexualization that contemporaries like Parodius also fashioned themselves after, usually manifested through Cotton's constant fairy companion Silk, a pin-up figure clad in little more than a thong, and a fixture of the games' marketing and interstitial splash screens. It's comparatively tame, but persistent and surely emblematic of what later successors went on to do with their own takes on the elements in play, like Cave's Deathsmiles. Personally it's made it harder to commit to a series that otherwise has wonderful aesthetics and compelling-in-their-absurdity narrative premises, as Cotton is usually mostly concerned with securing her next fix of magical sweets and candy, and so she must fight on. The passing of years probably shift these perceptions some, if only through the added contrast of other, worse examples, and maybe the side-eyeings of old become the kitschy resignation or appreciation of today. To its credit, I don't think Cotton has ever attempted or suggested the sexualization of its young protagonist or her peers--only her mostly-nude familiar. I'll leave it to each individual to decide whether any of this has an effect on potential explorations of the series at large.
For Reboot! in particular, it remakes the inaugural game in the series, Fantastic Night Dreams, and specifically patterns itself after the 1993 Sharp X68000 home port, credited with being the most faithful of its time. Cotton showed up on quite a few systems in its day, so the chance to play a 16:9 aspect ratio, totally redrawn remake, alongside an accurate conversion of the most authentic home port unreleased outside of Japan until now is a big treat even if you happen to be familiar with the overall game. Slated for a February 25th 2021 Japanese release for Windows, PS4 and Switch (and a later Q1 release worldwide), Reboot! launches on the exact day as the just-revealed Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection, for what I presume is entirely coincidental but pleasingly apt synergy, as they represent the long-awaited returns of beloved stalwarts of their respective genres, and ensure February is in the running for the spookiest month of all.
Please use this thread for talking about anything Cotton if you'd like--it damn certain has earned it with remarkable entries like Panorama and 2/Boomerang.
Cotton Reboot! revives a series that once stood tall as a codifying example of the cute 'em up shooter concept and aesthetic, for its better and less great aspects. For the better, the series's thematics have always been interwoven in an expression of the whimsically macabre and ghoulish; a true Halloween season or year-round spooktacular in the friendliest and most approachable way possible, reflecting in the impetuous eponymous witch's screen presence as well as in her friends, foes and world. For the worse, the series was also informed from the start by a sort of unfortunate tonal matching of parodic elements and cheeky sexualization that contemporaries like Parodius also fashioned themselves after, usually manifested through Cotton's constant fairy companion Silk, a pin-up figure clad in little more than a thong, and a fixture of the games' marketing and interstitial splash screens. It's comparatively tame, but persistent and surely emblematic of what later successors went on to do with their own takes on the elements in play, like Cave's Deathsmiles. Personally it's made it harder to commit to a series that otherwise has wonderful aesthetics and compelling-in-their-absurdity narrative premises, as Cotton is usually mostly concerned with securing her next fix of magical sweets and candy, and so she must fight on. The passing of years probably shift these perceptions some, if only through the added contrast of other, worse examples, and maybe the side-eyeings of old become the kitschy resignation or appreciation of today. To its credit, I don't think Cotton has ever attempted or suggested the sexualization of its young protagonist or her peers--only her mostly-nude familiar. I'll leave it to each individual to decide whether any of this has an effect on potential explorations of the series at large.
For Reboot! in particular, it remakes the inaugural game in the series, Fantastic Night Dreams, and specifically patterns itself after the 1993 Sharp X68000 home port, credited with being the most faithful of its time. Cotton showed up on quite a few systems in its day, so the chance to play a 16:9 aspect ratio, totally redrawn remake, alongside an accurate conversion of the most authentic home port unreleased outside of Japan until now is a big treat even if you happen to be familiar with the overall game. Slated for a February 25th 2021 Japanese release for Windows, PS4 and Switch (and a later Q1 release worldwide), Reboot! launches on the exact day as the just-revealed Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection, for what I presume is entirely coincidental but pleasingly apt synergy, as they represent the long-awaited returns of beloved stalwarts of their respective genres, and ensure February is in the running for the spookiest month of all.
Please use this thread for talking about anything Cotton if you'd like--it damn certain has earned it with remarkable entries like Panorama and 2/Boomerang.
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