Co-op requires beating the game?

[Sawtaytoes]

Hey! I'd love to play this game with my 4 year old, but I don't want to sit there and beat it, then play it _again_ just so it can be co-op with my son.

I don't have time to play this by myself. It's either with my kids or not at all.

I get there might be gameplay reasons, but I don't take this game seriously. All I want is a fun local co-op game (which this is). I could care less about score or anything else.

Is it possible to add an option to allow playing co-op without first beating the game?

[JCB]

I remember complaints about this when the Switch version was released, and the developer added a "cheat code" to unlock the mode right away.

A quick search shows me, for example, this:

https://www.destructoid.com/how-to-unlock-pocky-rocky-reshrined-multiplayer-cheat-code-free/

To quote the article at the link:

«While players heaped praise on the franchise’s authentic return, many were left understandably frustrated by Natsume’s baffling decision to lock the game’s multiplayer modes, only accessible once the player has completed Story Mode and bagged themselves 10,000 in-game coins. A bizarre choice, frankly, given Pocky & Rocky’s natural propensity for co-op action and its fun cast of new characters. To this day, critics and players have been rendered utterly confuddled by the user-unfriendly decision.

Perhaps realizing the error of its ways, Natsume has released a new cheat code that will allow you to jump into the co-op action with your buddies immediately, (spotted by Japanese video game fan Gosokkyu/GSK).

All you need do is arrive at the Pocky & Rocky Reshrined main menu and enter the following inputs:

Left, Left, Left, Left
Right, Right, Right, Right
Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right

Once you complete this sequence, the auto-save symbol should appear. Now you can access the Free Mode, giving you access to the full roster of characters, and two-player co-op.»


While I haven't personally tried it, I'm sure it works on the PC version as well.

[Sawtaytoes]

Awesome thanks! I'll try the PC version tomorrow and see what happens.

Personally, I wish it didn't have to be in Free Mode for me to play it this way. I really like campaign progression, but I hate playing by myself especially if it takes time away from my wife and kids.

[lazyoldman]

Have fun but be aware that this is a moderately difficult game :) I hope your kid has fun with you.

[Sawtaytoes]

The cheat-code worked.

Holy crap the game's hard. We couldn't even beat the first level and tried 4 times (I got to the big goomba boss at the end but died). Is it harder on co-op?

I can't imagine why they don't let you do co-op from the start. The game's impossible. I dunno how many times I have to play to figure this out. There's no dual-analog stick either, so I can't carry if my son's having trouble.

At this point, I might just return the game :(. He really liked it too, but he'll eventually get bored of playing the first level over and over again.

[JCB]

Originally posted by Sawtaytoes:

Holy crap the game's hard. We couldn't even beat the first level and tried 4 times (I got to the big goomba boss at the end but died).

Yeah, it's a hard one. I only spent a very short period with it, and... died in the first level as well (without continuing).

The game has a very easy mode, that is supposed to be quite accessible, but to unlock it, I believe you need to collect 3000 coins. And sadly, I'm not aware of a code to unlock it straight away.
I know it's not the ideal solution, but if you already played a few times you should be on your way there already, maybe with a couple more you'll unlock this mode, and be able to (finally) have fun with your son.

[Sawtaytoes]

Awesome thanks for the info! I'll play more with him this weekend.

[Dr. MPQC]

Is it local multiplayer or online coop?

[Sawtaytoes]

Only local.

I ended up returning it. I did beat the first level on my own, but the Easy mode isn't available for co-op.