Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
Those familiar with SEGA’s history should be familiar with Yuji Naka. Although his industry debut occurred through 1984’s obnubilate Girl’s Garden, the programmer rose to stardom seven years later upon the launch of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic Team subsequently became a pivotal studio within the company’s ensemble, where Naka remained a driving force even after SEGA’s departure from the hardware market. However, in 2006 – the fifteenth anniversary of the mascot Naka helped nurture into a global icon – the man made a shocking announcement: he was leaving Sonic Team to form Prope, his own indie studio. Prope went on to produce a litany of games, though none of them attained the accolades or financial success of Naka’s SEGA output. We’re aiming our sights today towards the most compelling game hailing from Naka’s indie stint, a Wii rail shooter called Rodea the Sky Soldier.
Sky Soldier notoriously underwent frequent delays, finally hitting North American shores in November 2015, courtesy of NIS America. (Image: Prope/Kadokawa Games)
Prope’s magnum opus was formally announced in 2011 alongside its Nintendo 3DS counterpart, which Rodea publisher Kadokawa Games helmed. That September, Naka confirmed Prope completed development of Rodea’s Wii version and were waiting on Kadokawa to carry out its publishing duty. He also mentioned Prope had “no plans” to bring it to the then-upcoming Wii U, a sentiment Naka echoed in 2012. Kadokawa president Yoshimi Yasuda insisted the Wii Rodea was still forthcoming in 2013, however. The following year, Kadokawa confirmed Sky Soldier was Wii U-bound, and its first production would include the original Wii release as a bonus. The 3DS Rodea, which Kadokawa haphazardly tossed onto the Wii U, borrows the basic premise of Naka’s vision but suffers from an array of gameplay and graphical changes, resulting in a lesser game. Naka even asked people to play his Rodea over Kadokawa’s.
Protagonists in rail shooters generally utilize a gun of some sort as their weapon, a genre cliché Rodea sidesteps; though capable of wielding a laser, Rodea himself is his go-to projectile. This doubles as his primary means of transversing his world, as flying is faster and more intuitive than walking with the D-pad. There’s always a crosshair on-screen that corresponds to your Wii Remote, and pressing the B button on anyone or anything flings the robot in that direction. Holding the A button while Rodea’s healthy increases his speed, allowing him to tackle enemies and obstacles, bringing to mind the Homing Attack that’s propelled SEGA’s figurehead forward since Sonic Adventure. The biggest blemish in Rodea’s unorthodox but generally functional control setup is its camera, which also follows the Remote’s motion controls. Sky Soldier struggles if you try to move the crosshair past the edges of your television screen, causing problems when you’re asked to quickly lock on to something outside your immediate line of sight. Rodea does not use the Wii Remote’s Nunchuk accessory, though it should have – doing so could’ve offset this issue. Nevertheless, Rodea boasts fairly relaxed pacing and wide, open areas, mostly (but not entirely) accommodating its controls.
Whereas NiGHTS, Naka’s first airborne adventurer, is a graceful being who could clear stages without striking most foes, Rodea readily plows through and guns his down. (Image: Prope/Kadokawa Games)
Sky Soldier’s thought of as a spiritual successor to NiGHTS into Dreams…, one of Naka’s artistic triumphs. Beyond the superficial similarity of flying and inheriting a ranking system, they’re not alike. If anything, it hews closer to Sonic; aside from Rodea’s homing capabilities, one power-up equips him with sneakers that let him charge through speed boosters, and he can quickly maneuver though lines of Graviton orbs à la the hedgehog’s Light Dash. Even Rodea’s reputation as a machine with a “heart” recalls territory Sonic’s explored. Along with cribbing Naka’s roots, Sky Soldier channels elements from other works, too. Ion, a plucky mechanic reminiscent of Mega Man Legends’ Roll Caskett, accompanies Rodea throughout his journey. Some transitions from one stage section to another are handled similarly to Super Mario Galaxy, where a Launch Star-esque mechanism shoots Rodea through the air. Should Rodea be armed with his laser, he can even collect Gravitons as Mario could Star Bits.
Rodea‘s writing is serviceable, never devolving into the narrative nightmares that characterize some of Sonic Team’s modern works. Ion and the titular hero share a fun dynamic, they’re memorable (unlike their supporting cast, regrettably), and you’re allowed to skip the cutscenes if you desire to. Sky Soldier‘s campaign is split into twenty-six chapters and a brief prologue, where the basics are taught. Save for the prologue, the chapters are divided among different regions, with each getting six; the first five are linear levels that take roughly ten to twenty minutes to finish while the final mission is a fight against a Guardian. Set within the colorful domain of Garuda, all the territories Rodea soars across sport standard video game aesthetics and they’re usually just for cosmetics. On rare occasions they influence the level design, such as how Rodea cannot touch the scorching volcano he travels through in Chapter 14. Going off the beaten path rewards players with hidden medals and doors that lead to secret rooms; opening the hatches requires the player to have gathered a specific amount of Gravitons, and they house more Gravitons and rarer medals. Ultimately, the biggest issue with the stages are how repetitive their objectives become; you’ll collect items, deactivate machines, and destroy herds of enemies with regularity. Still, Sky Soldier‘s core mechanic carries the game through its more mundane segments – chaining across enemies without touching the ground is satisfying and fun.
Power-ups are plentiful and let Rodea tank up to three hits. Guardians are significantly more durable, taking several to go down. (Image: Prope/Kadokawa Games)
Some stages feature short scuffles against Rodea’s mass produced siblings, whereas the Guardians are more complex affairs similar in scale to Shadow of the Colossus‘ deities. Unfortunately, all of Rodea‘s momentum comes to a screeching halt in the last chapter, where players are pitted against one of the most tedious final bosses I’ve had the misfortune of fighting. Overgrown overlord Geardo brings every weakness Sky Soldier‘s gameplay has to the forefront, pressuring players to move quickly through tight, claustrophobic corridors. Moreover, there’s an enormous spike in difficulty; the giant spans several phases and takes thirty hits, something that has to be achieved without the security of a checkpoint. It took me an hour to best the apocalyptic android, and an associate informed me it took him four. Capping things off is a glitch that might freeze Rodea after you neutralize Geardo, preventing you from seeing the ending.
Sadly, Rodea’s niche nature and delays doomed it to obscurity, unlikely to be given a second chance. While Prope still exists, it’s been reduced to a one-man enterprise, and Naka’s now on Square Enix’s payroll. Nevertheless, Rodea the Sky Soldier isn’t his apex, nor is it the best rail shooter on its platform. But despite Sky Soldier’s imperfections and sour closing note, it’s an enjoyable game and an engaging use of the Wii Remote’s pointer controls. Naka was instrumental in creating some of the best games SEGA published in the Nineties, and anyone who’s a fan of them should give Rodea a shot.
There are other details I could discuss, but let’s close on this point: I’m glad Rodea’s story properly concluded, a luxury other games don’t have. (Image: Prope/Kadokawa Games)
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