Cotton Reboot! Reviews
While Cotton Reboot! may not make much sense for those that aren’t appreciative of shoot-em-ups, it’s a good blast from the past when it comes to revisiting the series. The new Arrange mode is awesome and really shows off some great detail; the bonus goodies are worth unlocking; and the presentation is pretty cool for a game of this type. Even if you’ve never heard of Cotton before, you owe it to yourself to give it a look. Who knows, she just might win you over. Or maybe Silk will. Or maybe they both will…?
If you've never heard of Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams, that's no reason to ignore Cotton Reboot! You need not be a retro gamer to appreciate this shoot 'em up's excellent arcade/action gameplay, you just need to be a fan of cute, upbeat fun.
Cotton Reboot! is a fantastic re-imagining of a classic side-scrolling shooter.
Cotton Reboot! isn't just a new way to play a stellar old-school shoot 'em up; it's also essentially a modern sequel to this dormant shooter series thanks to the gorgeous new Arrange mode. Classic Cotton is cute and easy to pick up, but Arrange is a fast and wild experience that is definitely hard to master. There's some on-screen messiness in Arrange mode and the lack of gallery-style bonuses is a bummer, but this is still a must-play shoot 'em up for any fans of the genre.
Bewitching in both incarnations, Cotton's Reboot! is a fanfare of zany ghouls and ghosts, inventive and inimitable bosses, and a superbly catchy soundtrack in both original and remixed forms. Never being released in the west and prohibitively expensive today, it's something of a blessing for retro gamers to be able to dip their toes in Cotton's enduringly impressive X68000 outing. Of all the "cute 'em ups" out there, it remains one of the best, while the new Arrange mode – with its impressive overhauls and remixed ideas – has cast a rare spell of resurrection.
Pleasingly, developer Rocket Engine also included the 1993 X68000 Japanese computer port of the original 1991 Cotton coin-op for retro and pixel art fans who want to return to the classic game by Success. The spellbinding arranged soundtrack is also a truly Fantastic Night Dreams collection of talented all-star Japanese composers, and you can unlock listening to the altered tunes and a demo of the story in the Visual & Sound menu option. Even if Fantasy Zone was released earlier than Cotton, and if Parodius is arguably better known in the cute-'em-up subgenre, Cotton Reboot! is a Success-ful retro remake to bewitch you into being sweet on the Cotton series.
Cotton Reboot provides an incredible experience for shmup fans with its expertly-crafted arrange mode that modernizes the classic to new heights. In fact, it does such a good job with this that it could be used as a template for any shoot 'em up remake.
Cotton Reboot keeps the basic fundamentals of the classic arcade shoot-‘em-up intact while boosting its visuals, soundtrack, and gameplay for a well-rounded upgrade. Although more features could be added to increase replayability, this remastered title is still the best version of the original. Hopefully, additional Cotton games will make the jump to today’s consoles.
Just like the name of the title suggests, this is a successful ‘Reboot’ of the classic rail shooter series, ‘Cotton’. Other than the fact that this is the latest iteration of the Cotton series, it’s a decent time-killing genre when you want to have a go at your bullet dodging reactions or it can be another level of challenge to those who want to be the next high-scorer within the extension of difficulties to choose from. This action packed rail shooter has variable modes to choose from and is affordably priced in comparison to those fully priced packaged games out there.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Cotton Reboot is a fantastic Shmup that is perfect for anyone new to the genre. It also has more than enough customization to make this a kickass title for genre veterans. A mixture of interesting mechanics, beautiful sprite work, tight controls, and bombastic, screen-filling chaos makes this game an absolute corker. It would have been nice to see an extra mode or two to add a bit of girth to the package, but there is plenty of high octane madness to go around in its current state.
Cotton Reboot is an updated, remastered version of the classic and iconic side-scrolling “cute ’em up” Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams which was first released in April 1991 as the first entry in the series. The game tells the story of a hot-headed, immature young witch named Nata de Cotton who always overreacts and rides on a broomstick, with her fairy friend, Silk. Cotton is crazy about candies called “Willows” and she won’t let anything or anyone get in her way to get them.
The only flaws are the length of the game and price. It’s short, but perfectly short. Cotton Reboot! features 6 stages and one final boss which is the normal length for an arcade game, especially from the early 90’s. I couldn’t put this game down for hours after I started playing.
I absolutely loved this game, it's not just a great remake of a great shooter, but it's genuinely one of the best shooters that I've played on a current-gen system. Beep has done a great job in making the series feel both fresh and nostalgic at the same time. It's still a very short game, but if you like a good shooter and you'll get replay value from chasing a high score then you absolutely must get this.
Cotton Reboot! is an absolute treat for arcade fans and a title that shows this genre certainly still holds up years later. If you never got a chance to appreciate Cotton this is a great opportunity to see why this was so beloved in Japan. A brilliant title to enjoy if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands and want to rack up a high score. Cotton has her chance to finally shine in the West, let’s hope we see more games get their chance in the future as well.