Cyber Citizen Shockman Zero Review

Gameplay

Graphics

Audio

Value

Summary: Cyber Citizen Shockman Zero is a bright and breezy 2D beat 'em up that sees the side-scrolling series go out with a bang.

3.5

Wrecking Machine

Shockman Zero answers the immortal question that has plagued gaming scholars for centuries: What if Megaman ditched his megabuster and decked everyone instead?

The latest port to modern consoles of Masaya and Nippon Computer System’s Shockman series (The PC Engine’s answer to Mega Man), this final adventure skipped the PC Engine. Instead, it was released on the Super Nintendo’s Satellaview service in 1997 and never released outside Japan.

Now, 25 years later, us gaijin finally get a fully localized western port of this fun, breezy side-scrolling brawler, that doesn’t take itself too seriously, thanks to the folks at Ratalaika Games.

The final installment of the Kaizō Chōjin Schbibinman series features two new protagonists Azuki and Raita who are tasked with capturing the nefarious BB Gang who has stolen Doc’s prototype Gotokuji engine that can lift anything into the sky and are rampaging through the city.

It’s simple stuff to get you brawling as soon as possible, but some genuinely chucklesome moments and a light, campy, Saturday morning cartoon tone help keep you engaged throughout.

While previous entries in the series were fairly typical platform shooters action platformers ( here’s our Cyber Citizen Shockman 3 review if you’re interested), Zero has more in common with River City Rampage than Mega Man as our heroes punch, kick, and Dragon Punch their way through a series of linear levels on their quest to recover the Gotokuji drive and put the BB gang behind bars.

Though you’re essentially beating the stuffing out of anything that gets in your way, Raita and Azuki do so in slightly different ways, Raita is a skilled boxer and likes to use his fists to pummel punks into submission, while Azuki cuts down enemies with her sword. As well as the usual chain combos Raita and Azuki can also do a ranged attack by holding the attack button to fire their Schribbin Buster. Though the animation makes it look more like they’re channeling their chi (ala Ryu from Street Fighter) than firing a bloody great canon like Mega Man would.

But the comparisons with Street Fighter don’t end there, as both battling bots have special moves you can set off using the same quarter-circle inputs as Street Fighter, for very similar results. Dragon punching enemies from under a platform and then punching them til they explode, never gets old, trust me.

Combat is fast, yet weighty and incredibly satisfying as you slug legions of goons, by legions I mean the same two types of masked menaces for most of the game. It’s only in the final couple of stages that the enemy variety opens up and it’s a shame it doesn’t do it sooner.

Though the basic enemy types are limited, each of Shockman Zero’s eight end-level, and mid-level mini-bosses are varied, and a lot of fun to fight if a little bit of a cakewalk at times. The first two bosses can be polished off in seconds with a couple of quick combos before they can wind up a punch.

There are also repeat boss fights with additional attack patterns. The lack of variety though, not ideal does make sense considering the game was originally beamed to Super Nintendos via satellite.

Shockman Zero is also a fairly brief affair, and it’s possible to breeze through it in a couple of hours. That being said, it doesn’t outstay its welcome and remains a pleasure to play throughout, thanks to solid combat, and a surprisingly solid script, though it doesn’t have the animated cut scenes of Shockman 3 due to an essential downgrade in tech, the game’s 16bit dialogue scenes in between each level are a lot of fun.

It also has all the cheat modes, quality-of-life improvements, and rewind functions that smooth the rougher edges of many retro games and make them more palatable for a modern audience. But to be honest, Shockman Zero doesn’t need any of it, thanks to it being incredibly easy, I think I died once in my first playthrough.

The presentation is decent, for what it is, a late-stage SNES game. Each level is well drawn, and although their design is nothing special, each feels vibrant and well drawn while the sprites are all bright and well animated. Although, the character designs feel a little derivative of a certain Blue Bomber. But in this case, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Likewise, the soundtrack is pleasant and does a good job of keeping your excitement levels high as you battle your way through warehouses, museums, and top-secret labs in search of the missing tech.

Final Thoughts

Cyber Citizen Shockman Zero may not be the most memorable game in the world, but it’s certainly fun for the few hours it lasts. If you’re after a decent retro platformer, or have a thing for lost media and niche retro games that never left Japan, it’s well worth checking out.

About the Author

Gareth Newnham

Cyber Citizen Shockman Zero Review