Even though the 30th anniversary of the Cotton series ended last year, the celebration keeps on going with a brand new game. Yes the willow candy loving witch and her fairy friend are back again in Cotton Fantasy for the Nintendo Switch. With a new coat of paint and a few mechanics, are Cotton and friends ready to join the HD generation or should they have been left in the past? Let’s take a look. 

The story for COTTON Fantasy is pretty much a variation of the story from other Cotton games: the candy Willow gets stolen, Fairyland is in danger and its up to Silk and Cotton to save the game. In this game, Silk reports to the fairy queen that the Willows have been stolen, to which the queen wonders if this has anything to do with the recent dangers that the kingdom is facing. Oh-baba, the castles seer, mentions that when Willows go missing, the one clad in azure will show up to find them all once again and save the kingdom. The queen asks Silk doesn’t she have a friend that fits this description. Silk thinks about it and realizes that they are talking about Cotton, a witch who is obsessed with the Willow candy. Hesitantly Silk goes out and seeks Cotton’s help and together they travel across the kingdom to find out who has caused this. There isn’t much to the story, like with most Cotton games, however its still a fun tale that shows Cotton’s and Silk’s “friendship” and Cotton’s love for Willow.   

One of the first things you will notice about COTTON Fantasy is the new HD art style that it has adopted. The games have always had an anime aesthetic to them but with Fantasy, at least with the character designs, it is pushed even further and actually looks really good. Each of the playable characters (more on them in a bit) look really cute and the cutscenes look even more like an anime that you would see. As for the levels and enemies themselves, they are  rendered in 3D and actually look great. At first I thought that the HD 2D character sprites would clash with the 3D backgrounds and enemies but when in motion, the 3D backgrounds really make the 2D character models pop out more.

For the most part COTTON Fantasy plays just like the other games in the series: dodge enemy bullets, level up shots and magic by collecting different colored crystals and of course rescue that sweet, sweet Willow. And while yes it can get repetitive, the gameplay is fun and frantic. But that’s just the base of the gameplay, as COTTON Fantasy also has new elements that have been added in to expand the gameplay experience. One of those elements is the addition of an auto fire, which really helps when playing on the higher difficulties. There’s also a new charge shot that players can use. The way that the charge shot works is that you hold down the shot button, charge it up and let it go for a powerful blast that doesn’t waste magic. The type of charge shot changes depending on the type of magic that Cotton currently has equipped. 

Now the biggest and most noticeable gameplay element in Cotton Fantasy is the addition of five other playable characters: Appli, Kawase, Ria, Fine, and Luffe. While Appli is from the Cotton series, the other four are from games that Success have made: Kawase is from the platformer Umihara Kawase, Ria is moe-ifcation of the ship from Psyvariar, Fine is also a moe-ifcation of the ship from Sanvein and Luffe is from Doki Doki Poyacchio. Each of these gust characters have their own unique gimmick that changes up gameplay: for example Kawase is able to use her fishing lure to hook enemies and use them as ammo for her bazooka, Ria is able to level up her shot power by ‘buzzing’ enemy shots ie getting really close to the shots barely missing them, Luffe has the ability to charge her main laser and has screen clearing bombs. Then there’s Fine who is completely different from the rest as instead of having lives she has a timer and whenever she gets hit she loses time. She can collect medals in order to regain back time.

 

Cotton Fantasy is pretty light on the extra modes, however having the four extra playable characters does make up for it a bit. While the story doesn’t really change when playing as the other characters, playing through the whole game with each of them will unlock an extra level for each of them that is specifically designed around that character. Cotton Fantasy is a great starting point for those who are new to the series and fun for those who have followed the series since the beginning. The game is out, both digital and physical. right now and there is a collector’s edition being provided by Limited Run Games in the US and GamesRocket in the EU that includes the following:

 

• Premium Collector’s Edition box with magnetic clasp
• Colourful game manual
• Numbered certificate of authenticity 
• Nata de Cotton Nendoroid figure (approx. 10cm)
• Yunomi ceramic Japanese tea cup (230ml)
• Hardcover art book (Din A5)
• Large, 2-sided poster (Din A2)
• 8 character cards (Din A7)
• Original soundtrack on CD
• Metal collector’s coin
• Rubber keychain in willow-shape 
• 2 stickers

 

If you’re looking for a new shmup fix this summer, Cotton Fantasy is a pretty solid pick.

 

8/10