Pocky & Rocky (video game)
Pocky and Rocky (known as KiKi KaiKai: Nazo no Kuro Manto in Japan) was an action/shoot'em up game released for the Super Nintendo in 1992. It is the succesor of an arcade game named Kiki Kaikai, developed and published by Taito in Japan only, and ported on the PC-Engine and Famicom Disk System. It was developed and published by Natsume for Taito.
The game is set in ancient Japan and stars the two title characters, Pocky (originally named Sayo-chan), a young miko, and Rocky (Manuke), her pet tanuki. Players can choose to control either Pocky or Rocky, both of whom have different attacks and magic spells. The game also has a two-player mode in which both characters can play simultaneously.
The game is noted for its high level of difficulty even though it features three difficulty modes (easy, medium and hard).
Localization
The game, which features numerous references to Japanese mythology (kappas, tanukis), culture and religion (shinto, o-fude), was localized and simplified when released in the US and Europe. E.g. in the localised versions Pocky is just a young girl (instead of a shrine maiden) whose weapon is cards (instead of o-fude) and Rocky is a raccoon who has the ability to transform into a statue.
In the European version all in-game story text was removed.
Sequels
A SNES-sequel, Pocky & Rocky 2 (KiKi KaiKai: Tukiyozoushi was released in 1994. In 2001 a third game entitled Pocky & Rocky with Becky (KiKi KaiKai Advance in Japan) was released in the US and Japan. Both games also were developed and published by Natsume.