Like Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III, Spica Adventure is another Taito game that’s been tucked away in Japan, away from the curious eyes of the Western public for years. A mobile title that was also in arcades, it stars Nico, a cheery little girl also armed with an umbrella, who fights cutesy enemies over the course of many stages.
Differently from Parasol Stars, however, Spica Adventure is much simpler in terms of mechanics. When you hit something with your weapon, it’s instantly defeated, with no need to bounce it off into other threats. There’s also a much more sizable platforming component to the game in comparison, requiring you leap over obstacles and hit things in the air on your way to the exit button.
As with other Taito games and this being a somewhat newer release, Spica Adventure is noticeably colorful, saturatedly so. It’s like a playable version of an old color candy ad from the 1980s, straight out of the sugared – or more powerful drug-induced – mind of a mad artist with a knack for breaking out their 120-color spray paint set. It’s simply adorable, perhaps TOO much so at times. After playing it initially, I had to drink a few cups of water to get all that sugar out of my blood stream.
All jokes aside, with the arrival of both of these games, and to a higher degree Spica Adventure, it’s clear that Inin Games is already pretty deep in rescuing the darkest reaches of Taito’s closet, leaving no hat box or dusty chest alone in the process. Nearly everything that the fabled developer has put out is seeing the light of day, which is important to highlight knowing how bad companies, especially Japanese ones, are with preserving their work throughout the years.
All that said and for how meaningful that re-releases like this are, there’s only so much to Spica Adventures when it comes to replayability. Unlike Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III, I didn’t find it to be quite as charming nor addictive in order to jump back and try to raise my scores or anything. Maybe it’s because of the simpler nature of its gameplay in comparison or the lack of the inherent nostalgia as it isn’t part of an established series, but it sadly didn’t grab me as much.
Still, it’s worth beating on the same drum as previous reviews for the many retro compilations over the last few years: they are absolutely welcome and clearly not everything that’s put out is an offering aimed straight at me. And that’s okay! You might find it to be compelling, so have at it now that it’s available.
Together with Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III, Spica Adventures is available digitally as part of Parasol Superstars package on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4|5, and Xbox and will be later released in physical form as well through Inin Games.
