Hammerin' Hero Game Sample - PSP
0Hey! It's none other than our high-spirited Edo-boy, Genzo Tamura! Some of you might be saying "WHO?" or "WHAT?", so here's a brief history of the game. Way back in 1990 when I was just a lad, Irem developed a quirky side-scrolling action game by the name of "Daiku no Gen-san" in Japanese Arcades, which was popular and seemed as though it would remain a marketable franchise for the company for years to come. In the game, you played as a young carpenter who comes from a long line of great carpenters known as Gen, who does only the finest work and looks down on those who only construct for profit or who do shoddy work with his swift hammer of justice. His home is wrecked by rival construction workers and he goes on a quest to get revenge and to put a stop to under-qualified workers. With its initial success, the game would spawn several cute but vanilla follow-ups and spin-offs, which would explain why Gen hasn't done much after the mid 90s (mainly appearing in various Pachinko games) with the exception of the great Game Boy Color game, "Daiku no Gen-san: Kachikachi no Tonkachi ga Kachi" which was basically "Samurai Kid" with Gen, made in 2000.
It would appear that GBC-Gen would be Gen's swansong, but, either out of nostalgia to see an old intellectual property rise again or foolishness, Irem decided Gen needed to come out of retirement. While successful in Japan, the series had limited success overseas (with only the Arcade game in the US prior and only a few appearing in Europe under "Hammerin' Harry", which are hot collectors items more out of curiosity than anything) and Irem along with Atlus and DHM Interactive decided to publish "Ikuze! Gen-San: Yuuyake Daiku Monogatari" in 2008 (JPN), "Hammerin' Hero" in 2009 (US), and "GenSan" in 2010 (EU) for the PSP. This is the first game to be released in the U.S. and Europe and is a quaint little compilation of many of the old titles while presenting new material and compiles some of the best aspects of the series. A brief anime series based on the PSP game was also produced. But those with a scintilla of doubt may ask "Is it any good?"
Good question. The game combines various aspects of all the main games, such as bringing back characters like Dan (aka Dynamite Red-Headed Dan aka Gen's rival) from the FC game "Daiku no Gen-san 2: Akage no Dan no Gyakushuu", the chainsaw-wielding babe Mika Hawatari (aka Chainsaw Mika) from the SFC game "Ganbare! Daiku no Gensan", Gen's childhood cutie Kanna Kirishima (third-year high school student and heiress to the construction company "Kirishima-gumi", which Gen and his family have worked for) from the GBC game "Daiku no Gen-san: Kachikachi no Tonkachi ga Kachi", as well as the return of the antagonistic "Kuromoku-gumi" construction company lead by Hyosuke Kuromoku (also from the GBC game) as well as various new characters. This game's plot deals with Gen catching Hyosuke suspiciously coaxing people into selling their properties to make room in Beranme Town to set forth an evil, "sublime plan". In typical old-school fashion, it doesn't take much before you're assaulted by Hyosuke's underlings who try to keep you busy while he works out the details of his great scheme.
The game is a old-school but charming 2.5D action game which harkens to a time when one-hit deaths were normal and where you use different strategies to defeat enemies. Foes launch various attacks (which are usually outlined in red so you know what is/not dangerous) that can be dodged, repelled, or reflected using Gen's strikes (the main of which are light and fierce). New to the game is that Gen can gain many collectibles, defeat foes to net food ingredients (which Kanna can create different bento dishes from), get detailed information on characters and foes you meet, play four difficulty settings which cater to beginners and pros alike (with the easiest setting playing like some prior games, where it requires multiple hits by default to defeat you), and Gen can now change "Jobs". Different Jobs alter Gen's two basic attacks and special attack, allowing him to attack faster, alter his range, charge-up attacks, etc., giving Gen more diversity than in past games.
The game features colorful, simple graphics and a decent framerate (30-ish, but sometimes higher or lower) and an OK soundtrack appropriate for the game. The gameplay works well and the game brings back Gen's ability to crouch and attack, which is useful for certain situations. It's nice that you also don't automatically get hurt just by touching a foe. The initial playthrough only takes about an hour or two even with several deaths, which is great for the purpose of a handheld, but you can get a few more hours out of the game if you're a completionist. Hammerin' Hero is one of the most inspired titles in the series and a good throwback to classic gaming, and it's a pretty good game for the PSP. Enjoy.
Format Recorded: UMD
Media/Distribution: UMD