Developer: Riot Publisher: Telenet Release: 07/30/93 Genre: Action
We are currently living in an anime license game renaissance as for the most part the titles are good. Now granted most of the time they are Musou style beat em ups but I will not knock a winning formula. But back in the day it was a roll of the dice. North America and Europe only saw a small fraction of what Japan received and even that was bad. Cyborg 009 is not bad so much as it is average in every category. Action games were not in ready supply on the Sega CD but you can still do better than this.
Cyborg 009 tells the story of nine individuals kidnapped by an evil organization named Black Ghost and transformed in to cyborgs. After escaping captivity they team up to bring the organization down. After watching Francoise’s (Cyborg 003) ballet performance Joe (Cyborg 009) accidentally strikes a woman with his car. This mysterious girl does not remember her past and is being sought by Black Ghost. The game’s story cribs bits from three separate arcs from the manga: Assassins, Mythos, and the Underground Empire of Yomi. Somehow the game makes these disparate story arcs form one cohesive whole. It also gives it a much larger pool of villains and variety, something that the game desperately needs.
Cyborg 009 is famous for its large, multicultural cast and their superhuman abilities. Unfortunately you only get to play as Cyborg 009 in this title unlike the Super Famicom game. Joe has an accelerator system that allows him to move at superhuman speed. This ability is mainly used in conjunction with the jump button for platforming and to find secrets. Otherwise this is as straightforward a run and gun action title as it gets. Literally. That is all you can do. This is probably the most disappointing aspect of the game.
The level design and their use of the game’s mechanics are the definition of standard fare. Because you can only run, shoot, and jump the gameplay is boring from the start and barely picks up. The enemy AI is dumb and aren’t the slightest bit interested in your presence. Because of this the game wastes its heavily varied setting and roster of enemies. Toward the end the accelerator is called on more often. However even this has its issues. The scrolling of the screen often cannot keep up with your speed forcing you to a dead stop or even worse taking hits in a spiked pit. If the game let you play as even one or two of the other cyborgs it could have been more interesting. Not good, but interesting. As it is there is nothing you have not seen before outside of its license.
Overall I found the game to be pretty easy. Your life bar is generously long and even the most annoying enemies deal little damage. Full health power-ups are common and the levels are short enough they do not become a slog. The platforming is relatively simple by genre standards and only becomes slightly complex later. The boss battles are the only points that pose a little challenge. But that is because they are damage sponges that can take a lot of punishment. Unfortunately they rob these encounters of their mechanical excitement as they drag on too long. Kudos to the developers for making the game accessible but it comes at the cost of any enjoyment.
I may have my problems with the game but its production cannot be denied. There are an extensive number of cutscenes detailing the plot. Animation is minimal however they are fully voiced giving the game the feel of a lost season of the anime. The sprites are large, detailed and well animated and full of variety. The game uses its source material well as almost every level has a new set of enemies. While most of the backgrounds are a bit stale the boss battles take place in elaborate set pieces and probably the game’s second biggest highlight outside of its cutscenes. It is just too bad they do not come with a better game.
In Closing
Cyborg 009 is not outright awful so much as it is middling. It is thoroughly average in everything but its production values and provides no reason why you should buy it unless you are a diehard fan of the series or looking for a cheap action title for your Sega CD. If that is the case there are better options.
