Cotton Fantasy

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
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  1. Noisy Pixel
    May 16, 2022
    85
    It’s honestly great to see a series that was once an expensive import hobby reach such a wide audience. Cotton Fantasy is a culmination of gameplay ideas into one generous package that is feature and content-heavy. If you’re going to buy one game from this cute-’em-up series, make it this one.
  2. Video Chums
    May 17, 2022
    83
    After over 20 years, Cotton Fantasy was worth the wait as it's bursting with enjoyable shmup gameplay set in a bubbly and very silly world. Plus, the fact that it features such a diverse-playing cast of characters is sweeter than a bowl full of Willow.
  3. PLAY
    Jun 29, 2022
    80
    Cotton’s magical adventure is as twitchy and satisfying a shoot-’em-up as any. A successful 8 retro throwback, but it doesn’t offer much to win fresh fans. [Issue#16, p.153]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. PSX Brasil
    May 20, 2022
    80
    Cotton Fantasy is a typical shmup at its core and follows the good old "shoot first, ask questions later" rule. It does not reinvent anything, it uses the best models of everything that came before in the genre and adds it all to the instant charisma of its protagonist and all the characters that surround her in a simple story about sweets.
  6. PlayStation Country
    May 19, 2022
    80
    This modern installment of the classic Cotton series of shoot 'em ups treats the series with respect and does a great job of bringing it up to date whilst also adding some welcome variation.
  7. GameSpew
    May 19, 2022
    80
    If you’re after a shoot ’em up that’s bold, colourful and offers plenty of replayability, you can’t really go wrong with Cotton Fantasy. For those new to the genre it will simply be fun working your way through its stages, doing your best to survive. But for veterans out there, there’s a high skill ceiling and a robust scoring system, presenting hours of fun to be had.
  8. Push Square
    May 24, 2022
    70
    The game's best design choice is how its variety of playable characters significantly alters the gameplay mechanics. Cotton Fantasy's Producer, Shinya Nagatomo, told Issue 231 of Retro Gamer magazine that "It's an all-star game with not only characters from other games, but also new systems from other Success games". This means controlling Ria incorporates the risk/reward Buzz System from Psyvariar, and you can unlock playing as the final boss character, Tacoot, with wand flinging abilities. It's these deeper systems, and unlockable stages that make Cotton Fantasy an intricate cute-'em-up that core shoot-'em-up fans will relish mastering and replaying.