The original Space Adventure Cobra anime, which premiered in 1982, is a Japanese science fiction action series based on Buichi Terasawa’s manga, serialized from 1978 to 1984 in Weekly Shonen Jump. Spanning 31 episodes, it follows the roguish space pirate Cobra, a charismatic anti-hero with a devil-may-care attitude, a cybernetic arm hiding the deadly “Psychogun”, and a penchant for defying authority and scoring with ladies.
Once a legendary pirate thought dead, he lives incognito until a chance encounter reactivates his adventurous spirit. Joined by his loyal android companion, Lady Armaroid, he roams the galaxy in his ship, the Turtle, taking on the ruthless Pirate Guild, a criminal syndicate led by the menacing Crystal Bowie. It’s a perfect set-up for a video game, yet the few we got were visual novels or mediocre action games.
Almost 47 years since the original manga was published, could it be time for the proverbial good Cobra game? Or is it too late for our favorite space pirate? Find out in our Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening review!
Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening
Developer: Magic Pockets
Publisher: Microids
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: August 26, 2025
Price: $24.99
Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening had a lot of potential. The idea of a Mega Man X-style run and gun with dashing starring one of the most iconic 80s action anime heroes of all time should’ve been a slam dunk. They even cleverly recycled anime scenes from the show to function as cutscenes, which makes sense since it follows the show very closely.
The team behind The Awakening knew their Cobra. From the smoldering jazzy music, an appropriate voice cast, and utter faithfulness to the material without pandering to a modern audience, you’d think, how could this go wrong? By having uninspired run-and-gun action that almost makes Contra: Operation Galuga look experimental.
The first thing players will notice is just how off it feels controlling Cobra. His movement feels unwieldy and floaty, which is a bad mix when dodging bullets. I get that Cobra had a lot of weapons and punched guys in a very specific way, but it translates badly in this game because now the control scheme makes no sense.
Cobra has his psychogun, which is his signature hand cannon, mapped to the right trigger. It feels good enough and has a cool-looking charge shot.
The secondary shot mapped to the right shoulder bumper is the controlled shot that is the main gimmick of the game. It’s used for puzzles, targeting multiple enemies, boss’s weak point, and generally feels powerful. This is one of the better implemented mechanics in the game.
Things get complicated with juggling Cobra’s sidearm pistol, which can’t be aimed freely, and his ridiculous haymaker. The pistol is absurdly mapped to the triangle button. This weapon is very situational and is used to break red enemy shields. This shouldn’t be in the game and should have just been the same as a fully charged shot from the psychogun.
Punching is exactly what it sounds like, but it doesn’t feel like it connects. Why would anyone have Cobra punching guys when he’s already packing a lot of heat? Because punching is how he beats guys with the blue shields. The action gets very confusing when keeping all this in mind while trying to keep the action flowing, and it’s made worse with iffy playability.
Platforming and level design are somewhat bland. Everything feels sterile and lacks the energy of the gritty anime sequences used in cutscenes. The most interesting visuals are when the camera takes advantage of the 2.5D perspective and creates striking angles when playing on a 2D plane.
The Awakening wasn’t for a lack of trying. There was an attempt at making a deep run-and-gun action game. Levels are often full of hidden areas that Cobra won’t be able to reach the first time playing them. It may not be a metroidvania, but there are incentives to go back to prior stages for stat upgrades.
While the upgrade system is welcomed, it does highlight that the designers had to make Cobra control like crap at first to justify the upgrade system at all. Abilities like the wall-jump boots and grapple add some dynamism to the platforming… It’s just too bad the controls are sticky and delayed.
The levels themselves can look shoddy, but there are some amusing gimmicks throughout the game that prevent it from being a total bore. Sometimes you play as other characters. Other times, Cobra is on top of a flying car or a big tank. The worst moments are having to fight waves of enemies while wrestling with the control layouts because throwing bombs never feels natural.
The Awakening is surprisingly lengthy and drawn out for what it is, so it’s impressive how thin it gets spread. Expect each stage to last about 30-40 minutes, across 12 episodes, with many of them being 2 stages each. With a few stage replays for secrets, expect Cobra to last about 10 hours.
Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening is one of the biggest let-downs since Doom: The Dark Ages. It’s held back by a convoluted control scheme, dull level design, and poor playability.
The best aspects of The Awakening are the fact that it is, in fact, a genuine Cobra product. It looks like Cobra, smells like Cobra, tastes like Cobra, sounds like Cobra, but plays like a platformer that needed more time.
Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening was reviewed on PlayStation 5 using a code provided by Microids. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening is now available for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
