| Graphics: |   4 |
| SFX: | 4 |
| Music: | 4 |
| Gameplay: |  3.5 |
| Challenge: | 4 |
| Replay: | 4 |
| Overall: | 4 |
| Genre: | Shmup |
| Reading ability: | Not Required |
| Company: | Success |
Background:
Eat your heart out, Harry Potter! Ever since the success of Miyazaki's movie Kiki's Delivery Service, cute girls riding brooms have appeared in shooters. The three that come to mind are Marion from Gunbird, Load Ran from Twinkle Star Sprites, Fumiko from Shikigami No Shiro, the witch girl in Magical Chase (don't know her name) and of course Cotton from the Cotton series. (Can anyone think of any other titles? There's also a homebrew shmup called Perfect Cherry Blossom for the Japanese PC that stars a witch too.)) Yes, Cotton is a cute little witch who is crazy about eating candy. Especially the willow candy in particular, because it has the power to grant wishes. She flies around on her broom and fights her enemies using her magic, with the help of her scantily clad faerie friend Silk. My first Cotton game was the sequel on the Sega Saturn. Then I bought the original game which was released on the Neo Geo Pocket and Playstation. I'm not sure, but I believe the original Cotton was released for the PC Engine system. I picked up Cotton 100% at Super Potato in Den Den Town thinking that it was another re-release of the original game, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is a unique game of its own. Oh and by the way, don't bother picking up Rainbow Cotton for the Dreamcast because I've heard from everyone that it's horrible. It would have been great if Success had made it a beautiful 2D shooter for the Dreamcast, but instead they chose to make it a seriously flawed Space Harrier clone. Oh, if only we otaku gamers would have been blessed with a 2D Cotton shooter on the Dreamcast! Hopefully Success will someday produce a 2D Cotton 3 game...
The Game:
You are Cotton on her neverending search for the willow candy. When you start out the game, you can choose your combination of powerup and weapon capability system very similar to Gradius III. This is the first time I've seen this sort of system in a Cotton game. One button controls your normal shot (which is automatically rapid fire, so your thumb will thank you!), one button is for your bomb (which you can charge up to unleash your faerie friend Silk at the bad guys), and another one controls your super attack. Your super attack varies from a fire dragon, lightning bolt, or a really cool star storm depending on the color of crystals you pick up along your way.
The Good:
Cotton 100% is not your typical shooter. Whereas most shooters take on a science fiction theme, Cotton games are fantasy. The atmosphere of the game is colorful and lighthearted and altogether very cute. At first the game seems a bit easy and the bosses on the first level or two can be taken out with one super attack, but the game's challenge level gradually builds up and provides a challenge.
The Bad:
The sprites are big in Cotton 100%. Although the sprites look great in the game, they also make your character Cotton a little large and it makes dodging enemy fire a bit difficult. This seems to be a problem with every Cotton game I've played. Because of this, I did not award four stars for gameplay as I usually do for well-made shooters. However, eventually you get used to this issue and it's a fun game to play.
Overall:
Cotton 100% is a great game, as with most of the other Cotton games available on various game platforms (except the one for the Dreamcast). I recommend this game for shooter fans with an appetite for "cute" like myself. (Heck, I'd buy a Hello Kitty shooter if they had one.) This is a fairly rare game to find, but if you have the means, buy it if you have the chance!
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