TGS 2025 | "Cotton Rock with You: Oriental Night Dreams"
The 35th anniversary of the Cotton franchise is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than with a brand-new chapter in the series! Success was on the Tokyo Game Show floor this year, showcasing the latest adventure of the redheaded witch of mayhem. And if Cotton Rock with You: Oriental Night Dreams is anything to go by, that plucky magical girl may have plenty of reasons to celebrate.
This time, it appears that yokai are the main baddies for Cotton. The two levels showcased were not only a treat for the eyes, but also an exercise for one’s digits. Many types of kaiju filled the screen as Cotton and her fairy pal shoot and fly their way through the chaos. And for a cute-looking game, it puts the “Hell” in bullet hell.
Not only did I spend my time shooting my way through the enemies, but I constantly had to watch every inch of my screen to avoid being attacked. One hit, and I’m down for the count; three, and a “Continue” screen pops up to mock your poor skills! Thankfully, you’re just penalized with some points taken away.
Unlike last year’s Rainbow Cotton remaster, Oriental Night Dreams returns to its 2D shooter roots, and perhaps that’s for the best. Rainbow Cotton’s controls were a pain to figure out, whereas this new game is so much easier to master. Shooting, performing specials, and evading enemy fire felt a lot more simple to figure out. And when you’re able to unleash a very powerful “Happy” attack, it’s fun to watch all the enemies get wiped out in a flash.
Where the demo shined was in the boss battles. One battle involved a three-headed crane, whereas the second, a deer yokai that pooped out purple bullets, had me laughing as I had my ass handed to me. Success understood the assignment well with these boss fights: make them difficult, but also fun to watch unfold. And it makes me curious to see what they’ll pull out for future fights.
Thus far, Cotton Rock with You: Oriental Night Dreams is a huge improvement from Rainbow Cotton. The visuals are cute, the yokai are as imaginative as you’d see in Yo-Kai Watch, and the controls are easy and fluid. Although my knowledge of Cotton is limited to the earlier game mentioned, Oriental Night Dreams makes me want to dive more into the world of this silly magical girl. If this game manages to be a bullet hell slam dunk, perhaps the rest of the gaming world outside of Japan might start paying attention to her.
Cotton Rock with You: Oriental Night Dreams arrives on PC and consoles in 2026!
