Rocket Robot On Wheels

Long, long ago, in the mists of time, there was a console known as the Nintendo 64. And for that console, a small, fledgeling company known as Sucker Punch--yes, the same ones behind the Sly Cooper franchise and In Famous--made a brightly-colored, cheerful, 3D, physics-based (!) platformer called Rocket: Robot on Wheels.

And lo, it was good.

Rocket was Sucker Punch's first foray into the video game world. While not very successful commercially, it was critically well recieved, and is today considered one of the "hidden gems" of the Nintendo 64.

The "plot" takes place entirely within Whoopie World, an intergalactic theme park maintained by one kindly Dr. Gavin. The day before Whoopie World opens, the doctor leaves for a party. He puts his loyal robot Rocket in charge of the park's command center for the evening: He just has to keep an eye on the tickets and tokens, and make sure the park's mascots, Whoopie the walrus and Jojo the raccoon, get fed. It's a suitable task for little Rocket, who's only got one wheel and has to interact with the world by means of a head-mounted tractor beam.

However, Jojo is sick of playing second fiddle. He knocks out Rocket, kidnaps Whoopie, and sends the pristine park into total disarry by dismantling all the machinery, and scattering the tickets and tokens. Now Rocket has to fix the machines, reactivate the rides, gather up all the tokens, defeat Jojo, and make sure Whoopie gets fed (as soon as Rocket rescues him). Suddenly, Rocket's job doesn't look so cushy anymore...

The game is notable for being one of the earlier console games to use a dedicated universal physics engine, with all objects being affected by friction, gravity, and other factors. Since Rocket's main means of attack is a tractor beam, it sort of had to be. Also, it makes for some slick platforming.


 * All the Worlds Are a Stage: Jojo's World is a Multiple-Choice Final Exam Stage. The trope maker wishes to point out that seeing the page for this game is what made him start it.
 * An Ice Person: The only upgrade Rocket gets that isn't related to his tractor beam or his mobility is an ice beam. Useful both on enemies and for creating stepping stones in water.
 * Big Boo's Haunt: "Food Fright's" upper level is a massive swamp filled with ghoulies and creeps, while the lower levels are rather cute in their candy-themed...ness.
 * Bubbly Clouds: The fourth world, "Arabian Flights."
 * Build Like an Egyptian: The fifth world, Pyramid Scheme.
 * Death Course: At least one of the tickets in each level will be on the far side of one of these. The run-up to the final boss is a particularly long and brutal example.
 * Let this troper elaborate on that last part a little bit: You'll need every extra life, Heart Container, and ounce of patience you can get.
 * Down the Drain: The "Aqueduct" portion of the second world, "Paint Misbehavin'."
 * Evil Laugh: The clown guards get a particularly nasty one. Jojo has more of an evil cackle, though.
 * Family-Unfriendly Death:
 * Ground Pound: The only way to actually kill most enemies. Unfortunately, you don't start with it--but it's not hard to earn.
 * Hailfire Peaks: Just about every level is some combination of standard elements. The weirdest is probably "Food Fright," which combines exactly what you'd expect.
 * Happy Dance: Every time Rocket receives a ticket, booster pack, machine part, or new ability, Rocket will do a flip or spin.
 * Lethal Lava Land: The "Night" version of "Pyramid Scheme." Jojo deliberately created it to be messed up.
 * Let's Play: In progress, by Good Natured Filth and Dodd The Hammer.
 * Level Ate: Food Fright, as the name suggests. And boy, does it look tasty!
 * Mayincatec: "Pyramid Scheme." The "Day" portion of the level is a beautiful, South American-esque rainforest and pyramid. The Dark World "Night" portion, though, is a Lethal Lava Land.
 * Minecart Madness: Mine Blowing.
 * Monster Clown: Well, it's set at a theme park, so a couple creepy clowns were a given. Surprisingly, the ones in the first level, Clowny Island, aren't as bad as you'd expect. Well, unless you're a coulrophobe.
 * No OSHA Compliance: If Whoopie World is meant to be a theme park, certain parts of it seem very... unsafe. OK, so maybe that's Jojo's doing, but the parts that customers were definitely not supposed to enter are still totally unsafe; what about the workers?
 * The workers are ROBOTS, remember?
 * This starts out as the basis behind the Good Natured Filth's joke that Whoopie World isn't even really a theme park, just some ambiguously-defined For Science! shenanigan Gavin got up to. As the Let's Play progresses, this trope gets supplanted by the observation that the levels look more like levels in a video game than anything resembling a theme park attraction.
 * Pass Through the Rings
 * Plot Coupon: Tickets and tokens
 * Racing Mini Game
 * Tractor Beam: Rocket's main piece of equipment.
 * Wafer-Thin Mint: One task has you feeding candy to a troll. He gets fatter... and fatter... and fatter...