Cyber Citizen Shockman - Game Review
0Cyber Citizen Shockman - Game Review
Hello everyone, welcome back to Veteran Game! Today we're setting our sights on a blast from the past, "Cyber Citizen Shockman". This isn't your usual nostalgic tribute, though - it's a brand-new translation of the original 1989 Shubibinman game. But does it live up to its legacy, or does it get lost in translation? Let's find out.
"Cyber Citizen Shockman" throws you into a map overworld, offering a multitude of paths each leading to a brief platforming stage teeming with enemies and hazards. At the end of each path, you're met with bosses, ranging from cool mecha-styled creatures to well-rendered monsters. Early on, you can get away with just mashing buttons, but as the game progresses, you'll need to employ more strategic tactics, especially when your health is low.
The game incorporates a rewarding system where you can heal yourself or upgrade your weapons using gold acquired during the stages. Deaths result in a slight decrease in your gold bounty, but fear not - rescuing hostages rewards you with transient bonuses, health-ups, and occasionally new permanent map fixtures. The ultimate goal? Boost your weapon power, leading up to the acquisition of the formidable Shockbeam, which dramatically changes your enemy negotiations.
But alas, "Cyber Citizen Shockman" stumbles with sluggish controls. Your character's walking speed is painfully slow and doesn't improve much at full speed. And what’s more infuriating than inertia in 2D gaming? It’s like ice-skating on a 2D platform. The short stages appear to be designed around this control scheme, which unfortunately feels like a lazy way to extend the game’s lifespan, with a lot of structural repetition until the grand finale.
On a brighter note, the game does offer some interesting design features. You can choose between male and female characters, and there's a two-player simultaneous mode. The shop and upgrade pursuits provide decent objectives, but it’s hard to overlook the laborious movement and frustrating jump mechanics. In terms of aesthetics, the game looks and sounds decent for an early PC Engine title and has a charming quality.
As with other Ratalaika Game retro revamps, the presentation is simple, with a good set of options to adjust image settings, screen curvature, scanline density, and gamma. The fast-forward and rewind features help make things a little more bearable, and the gallery is a nice diversion if you want to explore clean scans of the manual details, original case, and media.
However, despite these features, "Cyber Citizen Shockman" comes off as a little underwhelming. Yes, there's some fun to be had if you're dedicated to mastering the game, but it's still the lesser of its series, and has not aged gracefully. This game is probably best suited for diehard retro enthusiasts who appreciate owning a piece of gaming history on a modern format.
That wraps up our review of "Cyber Citizen Shockman". If you've played it, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe for more retro gaming reviews. Until next time, happy gaming!