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Soooo... this one is a game based on a licensed manga and anime franchise... and there has "never" been a bad licensed tie-in right? "Cyborg 009" for Sega's Mega CD system was, strangely, the first video game based on the legendary franchise of the same name by Shotaro Ishinomori and draws parallels with Osamu Tezuka's early works (such as "Astro Boy") and Kazumasa Hirai / Jiro Kuwata's "8 Man". One could also be forgiven for mistaking C009 for one of Tezuka's works as he actually mentored Ishinori early on in his career... but the real question is: how well does Riot / Telenet's 1993 video game respect the 1964 source material and is it fun to play? It's... hmmm...

Well, the good news is that the game combines bits and pieces of the mangas and films from the 60s and 70s, mostly following the "Birth" arc with "Assassins", "Mythos", and "The Underground Empire of Yomi" portions but pulling visual designs, audio and actors from the 1960s, 70s and 80s animated works. The designs are distinct and expressive, particularly in the game's numerous cut-scenes (which make up roughly half the game's runtime) and Riot and co. did well in this regard which should please staunch C009 fans. The bad news is the game is incredibly rushed and, from a technical standpoint, is bland and far from Riot / Telenet's best work. This game can be forgiven in many regards as Riot was struggling financially at this point as a subsidiary (of Telenet) and it is, for all intents and purposes, the last game they would develop proper, but it is sad that they couldn't do themselves or the license the full justice that we know they were capable of. Telenet would go on to have a couple more good years before releasing the Japanese equivalent of shovelware (tons of digitized gambling games) but Riot essentially peaked with PC Engine CD's "Pop'n Magic" and Super Famicom's "Psycho Dream / Dream Probe".

The game's general plot runs through 009's encounter with 0012, his short-lived bond with Helena (a misguided spy working for the nefarious "Black Ghost" organization) which goes through 0010+,/- and a mechanized Trojan Horse, a battle with Apollo, his slightly more challenging encounter with Van Vogt and an eventual (proper) confrontation with Skull himself. Numerous other cyborgs appear as mid-bosses and enemies and the plot generally concludes where the original manga series was intended to end, with an open-ended escape of 009 and 002 plummeting through the Earth's atmosphere... while the game doesn't connect these events together in the most rational manner (again, the game is kinda rushed), the scenes are nonetheless depicted in a fashion befitting the source material. The most jarring story segment is actually after Helena's introduction... why do the players need to go to the mysterious mansion to face 0012? And there is no real reference after clearing this introductory level or any impact to Great Britain / 007 for doing so. The rest of the story is fairly abrupt but makes more sense and follows a tighter continuity while stringing the events together.

While the cutscenes are fairly nice, the rest of the game looks relatively subpar for the SCD/MCD which was already starved for quality side-scrolling action games. The first boss is easily the most impressive-looking one in the game and many enemies have little to no animation. Most levels are very short and the designs themselves are also bland and nothing to write home about, and the game actually experiences slowdown if more than a few things are on the screen with the player. The voices and soundtrack are nice and inline with the source, but the other effects are limited and generic. Perhaps, in a ironic bit of mercy, the player's super gun is also silent except when making contact with an enemy. But the biggest offender of all is not in the audio or the visuals, but in the gameplay.

Cyborg 009 for the SCD/MCD only allows you to play as 009 and the only ability he has at his disposal is his accelerator and to shoot his super gun (except during his battle with Apollo where he can punch and kick). While this might "sound" lore appropriate, they don't even capitalize on this limited concept by incorporating the Heat Ray, Stunner, Poison Gas or Tranquilizer Darts... you literally just shoot and grab pow icons to go from level 1 to level 3. The game is also comically easy for the most part as health pick-ups fully restore your health and most enemies outside of a few bosses pose a real threat (especially if your gun is at max power). There is a bit of a fun scoring mechanic as you can grab icons that continue to give you 10k points as long as you don't get hurt, but that alone isn't enough to make up for the dull gameplay. This one is strictly for the fans.

This is a video of about half the game. Enjoy.

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