Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening

First things first. If you like sci-fi, or anime, or both, and haven't watched the 31 episodes of Space Adventure Cobra (aka "Space Cobra" in Japan) anime from 1982 (preferably in Japanese language & English subtitles since no good full English dub is available), then do yourself a big favor and watch it. It's a neat mix of the original versions of Star Wars, Blade Runner, and James Bond with little to no restrictions, and the timeless art style and animations still holds up today, with incredibly memorable music and sound effects. This game is quite the golden gem for long time Cobra fans who also are long time gamers (it covers the first 12 episodes of the 1982 anime). And for gamers who like classic 2D shooters, it's a well made double A game with great action, fun and rewarding exploring, and pretty challenging, but fun platform jumping. Also, some crazy facts. This game is the first Cobra game ever for PC outside of Japan. This game came out in 2025. And the latest Cobra game before this one, came out in 1996 for PS1 (and it sucked bad). However. As a long time gamer, and big Cobra fan (I go by the name "MrAuthentic" on YouTube), I was unfortunately not satisfied with the d…

Space Adventure Cobra doesn't have many games, but this one stands out, with an entire 12 episodes of the anime being playable (plus bonus content). It's a rather niche anime, but I learned about it when I was commissioned to make mods for this game by someone who goes by "MrAuthentic" on YouTube. The anime and by extension the game is certainly interesting and unique. The gameplay isn't anything groundbreaking, but it really is fun, and the difficulty isn't a joke. Definitely play with a controller if you can. The voice acting and art is surprisingly good, depending on the language. The only part that got repetitive to me is the platforming, but most levels are fine. One of the main issues with the game is that the sounds are rather generic and not very accurate to the anime, which is a large part of why we are still working on a massive mod project to address those problem.

Cobra came to life! The game every Cobra fan was waiting for! Awesome cinematics (extracted from the very anime) and fun gameplay make this a must for all fans.

Good game

It's okay, not great. I'm glad to see this IP live on in a new form, tho. Now I just want to watch the animes again.

The Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening was a pleasant surprise. I used to watch the anime as a kid, and although it was definitely not age appropriate, the series was one of my first experiences with anime and something very different from the traditional American cartoons of the 1980s. The video game does a great job of telling Cobra's story while still managing to surprise the player. You can tell that the developers knew the franchise very well. The graphics are beautiful, and the music is fantastic, faithfully following the jazzy soundtrack of the original anime. The bosses are all familiar faces from the series, and the developers somehow managed to make each battle reflect the fighting style and personality of the respective character. The encounters are engaging and, at times, infuriating. Some of the puzzles can be frustrating, but in a strange way, that feels appropriate for the setting. Cobra is known for constantly getting himself into situations far beyond his abilities, then escaping by the skin of his teeth while making funny faces. I definitely found myself doing the same while playing. The player somehow feels both incredibly powerful and not quite powerf…