Developer: Kaneko Publisher: American Sammy Release: 04/90 Genre: Beat em up
One of the aspects of reviewing retro games everyone deals with is recognizing when a game you previously liked was not good to begin with. I loved DJ Boy in the arcade as it was a fresh take on the scrolling beat em up. But looking back on it now aside from the novelty of its premise it is not terribly interesting. The Sega Genesis version is a terrible game that barely works on a fundamental level. Even worse the flaws it introduces make an already difficult game harder. This one is best left forgotten I’m afraid.
The story of DJ Boy differs depending on the version. In the arcade Donald J. Boy (I bet you thought he was an actual DJ?) and his best friend Michael Jackson are break dancing to his hit single “Beat It” when a couple of jealous thugs steal their boom box. What ensues is a long, bloody chase that will leave the streets full of dead bodies, all to get back a radio they could easily replace.
What I just described may or may not be the actual plot but it sounds cool doesn’t it? The home version is a little different. DJ Boy is a roller fighter taking part in the ultimate fight race known as Rollergame. The Dark Knight gang want him out and kidnap his girlfriend Maria. DJ Boy follows in hot pursuit.
The story is the least of the changes in DJ Boy. I am still dumbfounded as to what went wrong here. DJ Boy is not a game that was pushing boundaries in the arcade. This should have been an easy near perfect arcade port. Instead we are left with not only one of the worst brawlers on the system, but one of its worst games as well.
DJ Boy differs from most brawlers in that you are on roller skates and always in motion. Positioning and getting around enemies is trickier since they have the same mobility as you. Its…different but does not work out all that well in practice. The enemy AI is dumb; most of the time they actively avoid you rather than punch your lights out. It is frustrating but the game also takes that into account. Unlike most games in the genre you do not have to kill everyone outside of certain points. You will want to for coins necessary to buy upgrades.
A brawler that does not force you to engage in combat is a god send considering the game’s issues. Mechanically this is an incredibly simple game. Most beat em ups tend to arm you with a limited move set. DJ Boy gives you the bare basics. Aside from a punch and kick you can jump kick enemies and perform a weird double punch. I suppose picking up and throwing someone while skating would look dumb and is not practical but come on. The hit detection is terrible and all over the place. Punches are useless due to their limited range yet still frequently miss. You will watch in terror as kicks that clearly connect visibly phase through enemies. This fuckery dials up to 11 during the annoying boss battles. Prepare to die frequently.
As bad as the fighting is DJ Boy does not completely focus on it. This version adds a little platforming in to the mix and tries to be inventive with its level design. But in some ways it turns out worse for it. Stage two’s subway battle is now a high-speed chase. It sounds cool in theory but takes place in the dark with a spotlight on your character, ruining it. The construction site had many cool interactive elements in the arcade but those have been removed. At least the arcade game’s more…..problematic elements have been changed. The offensive black stereotype that was the first boss is still stupid but less racist. The, ahem, “village people” inspired enemies have also been removed. At least someone was not asleep at the wheel.
With all of the game’s problem’s with simple combat it ruins the one addition that could have added depth. The shop between levels has a variety of much needed power-ups to spend your hard-earned change. You can increase movement speed and attack power, not that I noticed. Depending on difficulty level burgers will restore some or all health. Most importantly you have to buy an extra life to continue. The problem is you can only carry one at a time which is dumb. As if the game weren’t difficult enough already. I swear if it isn’t one thing its another with this game.
In Closing
I’m going to be completely honest. Even if this were a perfect arcade port it would only be slightly above average. The Genesis is not starving for brawlers, you can find plenty of quality titles in the genre and skip DJ Boy. You’ll thank me later.
