Originally released in 1991 in the arcade and various systems, Cotton saw a remastered edition released in 2021. Coming home to the PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, gamers were treated to one of the cutest shoot ’em ups available. Take control of the candy-loving witch, Cotton, as she helps her fairy friends restore light to this world. Don’t forget to take tea time in this Cotton Reboot review!
Cotton Reboot Plot:
The plot for Cotton Reboot is a simple and silly one. Cotton is a cute witch who loves candy! She’ll do just about anything for her sweet tooth. One day, the land turns dark the fairies of the world start to become unhappy with all this darkness caused by an evil fairy named Wool. The fairies beg Cotton for help and bribe her with tons of candy if she can defeat their enemies and restore light to the world. Cotton decides the candy is worth it and hops on her broomstick to save the world. Throughout her journey, she gets testy with the fairies as the candy isn’t always what she wants but in the end, she defeats the evil fairy. It turns out that the fairies lied to Cotton and they didn’t have a huge candy stash. Cotton gets so upset she turns to stone but the fairies quickly tell her a rumor of more candy in the next land that was stolen by thieves. Hearing this news she comes back to life and whisks her fairy friends away to the next land.
Cotton Reboot Gameplay:
My Cotton Reboot review started as soon as I got my hands on this game. I had heard that it was on the shorter side so I set aside some time that week to play it. Little did I know that I’d only need an hour to complete my Cotton Reboot review.
Cotton Reboot has all the charm of a silly and cute shoot ’em up. All the graphics have been magnificently upgraded and are full of color. I can’t speak highly enough of the backgrounds, enemies, and unique bosses. The story is presented in short slideshows between levels. It’s nothing impressive but it suits the game perfectly with the aesthetics. You’ll have the ability to play both the original game and the remastered version. I played the remastered version for my Cotton Reboot review. After I beat it, I played a small amount of the original but the remastered far surpassed it.
Most shoot ’em ups have an insane amount of action on the screen. Cotton Reboot is no different but instead of a ton of enemies, it’s numbers and gems. High score chasers will foam at the mouth with all the potential and complicated ways to increase your score. I just wanted to beat the game which is quite easy to do so as you can just keep continuing if you die. There’s a unique score system in Cotton Reboot. Cotton can shoot through gems that are littered throughout the level. Depending on the gem color, points are doubled. The more you shoot a gem, the more points you get as it changes colors until it is considered a “dead” gem. You pick up the gems and add them to your high score. It’s beneficial to shoot through the gems as they deal more damage too. Cotton Reboot was almost as much a gem collecting game as it was a shoot ’em up.
Unless you have insane reflexes or have memorized the enemy patterns and level layouts you’ll die quite a bit. It is an arcade game so the difficulty is still there but I was pleased that they allowed you to continue even if you die. It’s a great way for everyone to have a high score and play through some of the best parts.
One of the best things from my Cotton Reboot review was facing the insane bosses. I say insane because they are just so unique and weird. It’s a good thing and I liked facing these weird monsters. Most bosses are challenging but fair and you’ll always have that moment of anticipation when you see the boss life bar show up. You know you’re in for a wild ride.
The last thing that stood out in my Cotton Reboot review was “tea time”. It was a cute little bonus section after boss fights where Cotton must collect items to boost her score. It reminded me of Fantasy Zone the way they had Opa-Opa collect money after defeating a boss. It was a fun little mini-game that can make or break your high score. Honestly, my only real complaint about Cotton Reboot is that the game is so short and I’m simply not a score chaser. Other gamers who are will adore and love this.
Memories:
I don’t recall seeing any of the Cotton games as a kid but the character of Cotton seems familiar. When I saw the cover of the game and realized it was a shoot ’em up, I couldn’t pass it up. She was too cute and the price wasn’t terrible although I recall many Twitter friends saying it was a short game. Boy, they were right! When Cotton Reboot arrived I beat the game in about an hour. While there’s tons of replayability, I didn’t feel the need to do it. Some day I may want to replay it but I wouldn’t pay more than $20 for this game if you don’t have it in your collection.
Cotton Reboot Review Score:
Cotton Reboot is a wonderful remastered version of the original. This is a perfect game to play in the car or to have a high score challenge with a friend, but that’s it. You won’t find much replayability if you aren’t a high-score chaser. If you are, you may love this game but if not, there are plenty of other games to occupy your precious time.
Cotton Reboot scores a 6.5 out of 10.
What would you write in your Cotton Reboot review? Which version of the game did you prefer to play? What other cute shoot ’em ups exist? What’s your high score? Let me know your thoughts and comments on Cotton Reboot, I’d love to read them.
Tiger Chainsaw 