The sequel to Pocky & Rocky (known as Kiki Kaikai in Japan) was developed by Natsume and published by Ocean Software in Europe (by Natsume themselves in Japan and North America). Pocky & Rocky 2 was first released in 1994 and is a similar scrolling shooter to its predecessor, but with multiple companions, instead of just one.

You play as Pocky (the Shinto priestess), and are this time joined by Rocky (her raccoon companion), Little Ninja, and Bomber Bob, on a mission to rescue Princess Luna from the evil “Dynagon“.

Pocky & Rocky 2 can be played by one person – controlling one character, and with a computer-controlled companion – or by two players simultaneously (each with a computer-controlled companion).

The aim of the game is to fight your way through nine scrolling levels (ten if you count the initial practise level), throwing magical cards at mythical Japanese enemies, or by using a magic wand to sweep them away up close (also useful for knocking away enemy projectiles). Each level has multiple routes and a boss fight at the end.

You can also recruit a number of other unique characters who you meet on your travels. The companion mechanic is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, when you perform magic (by pressing the ‘A’ button during play), Pocky ‘fuses’ with her companion and you gain a special combat move (used by pressing ‘B’ when fused). What that special combat move does depends on who you are fused with. This is a key feature to understand as it can give you an edge in combat. You can even throw your companion at enemies by pressing the ‘R’ button. The manual says that this doesn’t hurt them… The chaos it can unleash during boss battles makes it well worth trying!

Companions can be changed by collecting a ‘partner item’ card, which are often dropped by shot fireballs. These partner cards cycle through portraits of the characters at your disposal and you simply wait and pick up the card when the portrait shows the one you want. This means that you can’t switch companions whenever you want, and must do it outside boss battles. Changing companions can help in some circumstances, though.

The magical cards that Pocky throws can be powered-up by collecting orbs; special clothing items give Pocky extra hit protection; keys open locked chests, and books give information about bosses and how to defeat them. Baskets contain power-ups and other goodies. There are also shops that you can enter to buy power-ups and extra lives with the gold you collect during combat.

Some sections of a level have special gates that will close when you approach them, and the gates must be destroyed to progress. As you’re shooting the gate you are assailed by cute, miniature cyclops who climb over the wall and drop down onto you, to distract you from your task.

While I enjoyed playing Pocky & Rocky 2 there were a couple of things about it that bugged me. Firstly the on-screen text sometimes disappeared before I could read it, which was frustrating. The text formatting and positioning I thought was poor and there were also some spelling mistakes too. It just seems to me that the localization of Pocky & Rocky 2 was rushed and not properly polished. And unfortunately there’s no fan translation (that I could find) to save the day… Oh well.

Pocky & Rocky 2 is still worth playing nowadays. Maybe some day a good ROM-hacker will give it the polish it truly deserves…

Pocky & Rocky 2 was followed by Pocky & Rocky with Becky on the Game Boy Advance in 2001, then Pocky & Rocky Reshrined for the PC in 2022.

More: Pocky & Rocky 2 on Wikipedia
Steam: Pocky & Rocky Reshrined on Steam