Spark The Electric Jester 2
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Spark the Electric Jester 2'' (or simply ''Spark 2'') is a 2019
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
created by Brazilian
indie developer An indie video game or indie game (short for independent video game) is a video game created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A ...
Felipe Daneluz. It is a 3D sequel to Daneluz's previous 2D game '' Spark the Electric Jester'', released in 2017. The player controls Spark's robotic counterpart, Fark, on his quest to find Doctor Armstrong. Fark must be guided through various levels and may engage enemies in combat. While fast-paced platforming is emphasized, levels are approachable in multiple ways. Development of ''Spark 2'' began after the first game's release. Daneluz utilized his own unofficial 3D ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
''
game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games which generally includes relevant libraries and support programs such as a level editor. The "engine" terminology is akin to the term " software engine" u ...
in its creation. With the exception of music composition, the game was developed by him mostly alone. ''Spark 2'' was released in May 2019 for
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and in September 2020 for the
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
. Critics believed the game would appeal to players who enjoyed the ''
Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It was the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Pr ...
'' titles and complimented its controls and
level design In video games, a level (also referred to as a map, mission, stage, course, or round in some older games) is any space available to the player during the course of completion of an objective. Video game levels generally have progressively incre ...
. However, the combat elements and certain level sections were criticized. A third entry, ''Spark the Electric Jester 3'', was released in August 2022.


Gameplay

Departing from its 2D predecessor, ''Spark the Electric Jester 2'' is a 3D
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
. The player controls Spark's robotic counterpart, Fark, through 14 different levels. Fark is capable of running on walls, ceilings, and through vertical loops. The levels, while emphasizing fast-paced platforming, are approachable in multiple ways. They are populated by enemies of varying strength, of which engagement is typically optional. Fark is able to attack and bounce off of smaller enemies by homing in on them, but must deal multiple attacks to defeat larger ones. A shield can be activated for a few seconds to
parry Parry may refer to: People * Parry (surname) * Parry (given name) Fictional characters * Parry, protagonist of the movie ''The Fisher King'', played by Robin Williams * Parry in the series '' Incarnations of Immortality'' by Piers Anthony * ...
enemy attacks and protect Fark from level hazards. The player can also pick up
power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a Game mechanics, game mechanic. This is in contrast to an Item (game), item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that ca ...
s, altering Fark's design and giving him different combat abilities. Boss fights take place in arenas and revolve around parrying and reacting to attack cues. For each level, two different medals can be earned measuring the player's score and time respectively. The player can also collect pieces of
concept art Concept art is a form of visual art used to convey an idea for use in film, video games, animation, comic books, television shows, or other media before it is put into the final product. The term was used by the Walt Disney Animation Studios ...
in the levels.


Plot

After the defeat of Freom, Fark is in the care of Doctor Armstrong. Wanting to learn Fark's real name, Armstrong prepares to examine his code but is abruptly kidnapped by a grey look-alike of Fark. Fark encounters the look-alike, E.J, at the outskirts of F.M City. E.J reveals he has hidden Armstrong somewhere and has orders from Freom to kill Fark. After defeating a mech under E.J's command, Fark runs into a robotic mage named Romalo. At his advice, Fark sets off for Technoria City in pursuit of E.J, with Romalo and a formie named Astra intending to observe him. Elsewhere, E.J reconvenes with a group of robot renegades, Flint, Double, and Float, who are also working with Freom to kill Fark. Fark kills Float atop an abandoned castle and arrives at Technoria City. There, he is disrupted by a voice named Clarity. Introducing themselves as an
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
Armstrong created, Clarity pleads for Fark's help in stopping Freom. After defeating E.J, Fark encounters Flint, Double, and Freom. Freom reveals that Armstrong is dead and Fark's real name is Unit-2, being the creation of Freom (Unit-1). Fark subsequently defeats Double and later Flint, with the latter telling Fark not to trust Clarity. E.J encounters Fark aboard a fleet of spaceships and denies killing Armstrong. E.J is then impaled by Astra, who engages Fark in battle as she suspects he plans to replace Freom. As Astra dies, she reveals herself to be a robot and an agent of Clarity to Romalo. Fark then encounters Freom inside a spacecraft, who tells him that Armstrong built Megaraph to create Clarity. Despite her intended purpose of protecting all life, Clarity plans to exterminate both people and robots. Freom intends to direct the spacecraft into the planet, causing a
mass extinction An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction or biotic crisis) is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp fall in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. It occ ...
that destroys Clarity and all life. Afterwards, he plans to rebuild the world for robots alongside Fark. Fark rejects Freom's offer and fights a remote body of Freom's. After their battle, Fark is told he is a copy of Freom's fundamental data, as Freom was incapable of transferring his own consciousness to a different body. Freom provokes Fark into transforming into a more powerful body at will, an ability Freom lacks, and tests him in one final fight. Fark then obliterates Freom's host body while Flint and Armstrong watch from the surface below.


Development and release

Like the first '' Spark the Electric Jester'' game, ''Spark the Electric Jester 2'' was created by Brazilian
indie developer An indie video game or indie game (short for independent video game) is a video game created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A ...
Felipe Daneluz. Development began after the 2017 release of its predecessor using Hedge Physics, an unofficial 3D ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
''
game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games which generally includes relevant libraries and support programs such as a level editor. The "engine" terminology is akin to the term " software engine" u ...
made by Daneluz in
Unity Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpoo ...
. He had begun to dabble in the creation of a 3D ''Sonic'' engine as he familiarized himself with Unity in college, believing that there were no similar publicly released engines at the time. Hedge Physics' release, assisted by programmer Héctor Barreiro-Cabrera, gave Daneluz the motivation to produce an original title utilizing the technology. Although a sequel to ''Spark the Electric Jester'' had not been planned, he chose to develop a game about Fark due to positive reception of the character. Daneluz also felt that fast-paced 3D platformers were scarce, in demand, and a type of game he wanted to create. ''Spark 2'' was formally announced as ''Fark the Electric Jester'' on September 12, 2017, through a trailer published on Daneluz's
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel. He decided on the final name of ''Spark the Electric Jester 2'' because it was a direct sequel to the first game. Daneluz felt that a problem with ''Spark the Electric Jester'' was that enemies could easily be bypassed. While believing this issue was worse in ''Spark 2'', Daneluz tried to incentivize enemy engagement through various rewards and the scoring system, likening the latter to that of the ''
Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It was the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Pr ...
'' games. Besides ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Spark 2'' was influenced by the ''
Kirby Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Lofts, a building in Houston, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby Ho ...
'' and ''
Mega Man ''Mega Man'' (known as in Japan) is a video game franchise developed and published by Capcom, featuring the Mega Man (character), protagonist of the same name. The Mega Man (1987 video game), original game was released for the Nintendo Enter ...
'' series, as well as '' Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance''. Daneluz developed the game mostly alone, being responsible for its 3D models, textures, levels, and, with some assistance, programming. The soundtrack was composed by the same musicians as ''Spark the Electric Jester'': James Landino, Falk Au Yeong, Paul Bethers, Andy Tunstall, Funk Fiction (Pejman Roozbeh), and Michael Staple. Tunstall in particular also designed Astra and created artwork used in the game's menus. ''Spark 2'' was released for
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
via
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
on May 16, 2019, and for the
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
on September 7, 2020. It was published under Daneluz’s developer name, Feperd Games. Daneluz submitted the game to
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
for a
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
release but was turned down, which he speculated was because of his geographical location, Brazil.


Reception

''
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...
''s Dan Roemer and ''
Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper S ...
''s Dave Irwin believed that players who enjoyed the ''Sonic Adventure'' games would also find enjoyment in ''Spark 2''. However, in a different ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' article penned by Dominic Tarason, he felt ''Spark 2'' would elicit mixed reactions due to the divisive nature of 3D ''Sonic'' titles, and expressed hesitation in recommending it. Notwithstanding, he remarked that the controls were superior to those of the ''Adventure'' games, with Roemer also referring to them as "super tight and responsive". While Roemer believed the levels were open-ended and enabled experimentation, he found some of their layouts to be initially confusing, which he partially attributed to the camera system. Tarason thought of the levels as well-designed, making note of their large size and complex structures, but was occasionally confused. Regarding the boss fights, Tarason disliked their emphasis on parrying and Roemer described them as "a bit samey". Roemer considered the combat to be the game's weakest aspect and argued that attacks lacked impact. Critics also experienced difficulty navigating through certain high-speed and vertical loop sections. Roemer and Irwin felt that comparable sections in 3D ''Sonic'' titles were less frustrating due to their reliance on scripting. In comparison to ''Spark the Electric Jester'', Tarason thought ''Spark 2'' suffered from an identity crisis but regarded it as enjoyable. Roemer also summarized the game as "a solid experience overall" but felt it was less polished than its predecessor.


Sequel

Concurrent with ''Spark 2''s Xbox One release was the announcement of ''Spark the Electric Jester 3''. Similar to ''Spark 2'', ''Spark 3'' is a 3D platformer. The game was released on August 14, 2022, via Steam. Later that November, all of ''Spark 2''s levels were made playable in ''Spark 3'' through a free update. It was later released for the
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
on July 25, 2024, in North America, and in Europe and Australia on August 1.


References


External links

* {{Unofficial Sonic the Hedgehog media 2019 video games 3D platformers Indie games Single-player video games Video game sequels Video games about robots Video games developed in Brazil Windows games Xbox One games