Rob reviews Cyber Citizen Shockman on Nintendo Switch…
With modern gaming being more accessible than ever, there’s a growing trend with publishers re-releasing those niche titles that may have never seen a main line release . For argument sake, this past year we’ve seen ININ Games bring Cotton to Western markets, and Square Enix have followed suit with Live A Live.
Now it’s the turn of indie publisher Ratalika Games, and developer Shinyuden to bring us Western gamers another quintessential slice of that niche pie.
Enter, Cyber Citizen Shockman a 2D side scroller that originally made its debut back in 1989. Released primarily in Japan on the PC Engine, Cyber Citizen Shockman never saw a Western release. While we would see it’s sequel, the original stayed localised to Japanese markets. Now, Ratalika Games and Shinyuden have teamed up to bring the franchise into the 21st century, with all the bells and whistles of a modern video game.
However is this a retro delight that even needs modernisation? And more importantly what does it tell us about video game history?
Well the answer to this is actually quite a lot. While Cyber Citizen Shockman probably didn’t need a standalone release, its still an interesting game. Taking the role of either Tasuke or Kyapiko you stand as the last bastion of hope against an overwhelming horde of cybernetic foes. Working with their eccentric creator - Doc, the siblings find themselves battling Dark Skull - one of Doc’s earlier creations. To make matters worse, Dark Skull’s forces have raided the city and have trapped many of it citizens within their homes and workplaces. As such the siblings will have to call on their latent powers to transform into “Shockman” to save the day.
While the narrative clearly has some influences of Mega-Man, the two games couldn’t be any more different. Across its multiple stages you’ll guide either Tasuke or Kyapiko as they battle Dark Skulls forces. These range from simple cybernetic enemies that’ll either spam you with rockets, or simply walk into you. Away from this and you’ll also have to preform various platforming challenges, all under the threat of unexplained larva pits, and other spiky hazards. Once you’ve navigated across these pitfalls, you’re then forced against the stages boss character. Coming in the form of either a multi-headed dragon (complete with various colour variations), or a giant mech suit (again with different colours), you’ll simply whack them a few times with your sword, and then it’s off to repeat. There’s nothing fancy to these stages, and after the third area - you’ve pretty much seen everything that the game has to offer.
What does make Cyber Citizen Shockman interesting is that you’re not placed onto a linear path. In what I can only describe as a map that’s similar to that seen within Star Fox, you’re presented with a branching path of multiple stages to conquer on your way to the final confrontation with Dark Skull. While it’s entirely optional in what path you take, wether you complete every stage, or simply race straight to the end, you are rewarded if you do take your time. Often rescued citizens will reward you with power ups that’ll help you in the journey, and to an extent will make the perilous platforming that little bit easier. While some of these upgrades are pretty standard such as upgrades health, and a hover ability, others are a little more passive and somewhat obscure. For example rescuing the towns policeman grants you the ability to use a blast move, however you’re never told what this move is, yet alone how to actually perform it. Likewise, some defeated enemies dropped a pick up that looked much like the generic video game bomb - yet there’s no explanation as to what it actually does.
Away from gameplay and presentation is actually pretty good. While the game does obviously show its age, the pixelated sprites all have a degree of detail to them, and surprisingly hold up well on a large television screen. Stage designs are also well thought out with a good amount of elements thrown in. While there are the odd stages that have an over abundance of platforms hovering over larva pits, these do seem to feature less enemies hoping to throw you off them. Wether this is intentional, or just something I’ve picked up on is another thing. Musical score is also pretty generic, but does highlight the chirpy tunes us 80s gamers grew up with.
With this being the first time that Cyber Citizen Shockman has had a Western localisation, the team over at Shinyuden have done a good job. Everything has been translated well, with each character delivering their lines with clarity, even if a little cliche. What’s also included is the raw 1989 version of the game, if you fancy that extra retro kick. While the games localisation has come across well, there are the odd inconsistencies. This is mainly seen within the games final title crawl as the epilogue text displays. In what I would assume is part of the original games code, the various different text seems to pop into place as they appear on the screen. Look close enough and you’ll make out sentence variations that hint to alternate endings, both good and bad. While this did intrigue me, it didn’t make me want to experience the game again to hunt these ending down.
As with any other retro re-release by Ratalika Games, they do come with a set of simple modifications that bring them up to modern standards. With Cyber Citizen Shockman these mods are the same as what we’ve seen before, such as save states, various cheats, and the ability to rewind time. Of course these are nothing to really shout home about, but if you are looking for an easier time, the option is there. And yes, I did play with infinite health…
In keeping with tradition there’s also the addition of various concept art that shows off the character designs, as well as a look at the games original cartridge sleeve. Again, nothing too fancy, but does enough to preserve the elements that made the game what it is.
All in all, Cyber Citizen Shockman offers a look at a part of gamings past that probably didn’t need to be seen. While it’s great that these hidden titles are now finding their way into the hands of new audiences, some of them don’t really need to be seen. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the experience of playing this title, but to me it didn’t warrant a standalone release. With talk of Shinyuden releasing the whole series in the coming months, surely it would of been better to bundle everything into a single collection?
Either way, what we do have is a bare bones port of an original 1989 release in all of its glory. It’s a nice but niche title that offers a punishing look into the foibles of gamings past, albeit with a few modern touches. With a very low entry price off £5.99 it’s worth buying to add to a retro collection. Even if it does end up gathering digital dust.
Rating: 4.5/10
A code was kindly provided for this review
You can check out my blind first impressions of Cyber Citizen Shockman by checking out Geek Culture Reviews on YouTube by clicking here.
Cyber Citizen Shockman is available now and can be purchased via the Nintendo Switch eShop.
Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on Twitter/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, and TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews.
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