Released less than a year ago, Ratalaika Games surprisingly re-released Cyber Citizen Shockman onto modern platforms, a forgotten PC Engine action platformer with an insanely high difficulty factor. Now its sequel has also been ported to modern consoles, outfitted with the same thoughtful quality of life features.
Fully acknowledging the first title’s original steep difficulty factory, optional cheats were installed on the main menu. Something as simple as adding invincibility drastically increased the playable and fun factor of the game. Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace also contains a high difficulty factor, so much so that these welcomed cheats were once again made available right from the start, but at least this sequel isn’t as brutally unfair.
The first game focused on melee swordplay but this sequel changes everything. Outfitted with an arm cannon, the gameplay is much more Mega Man in feel, tone, and plot, minus the boss absorbing powers. Even the story is a little more serious, made noticeable by the quality translation in the dialog bubbles. All around, this sequel is a more polished experienced through and through. The intro stage is especially well done, fully merging story with gameplay, all with quality dialog. Seriously, it makes you feel like a robot badass.
In addition to run-n-gun platforming segments, there are times when gameplays transitions to a shooter. These are nice, short-burst distractions from the challenging gunplay. But make no mistake, you will die a lot and be thankful for that built in invincibility cheat. Like the original, there are many screen options too, a feature any retro fan will enjoy. And without a doubt, the soundtrack is easily a main highlight.
Without the built-in optional cheats, I would fear this sequel would be immediately dismissed for having such cheap difficulty. But with invincibly mode activated, this is an enjoyable 1 hour retro romp, just like the many other titles Rataliaka has re-released over the last couple years.
SCORE: 7/10
Also Try: The Legend of Dark Witch games (3DS)
Better Than: Mighty No.9
Fairer Difficulty Than: the original
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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