Developer: ITL Co, Ltd Publisher: Taito Released: 1992 Genre: Beat ’em up
I have lamented the death of the arcade in the US on many an occasion in this blog. While I miss the titles that really pushed technology forward I also miss the deluxe cabinets that created an experience that could not be replicated at home. I distinctly remember seeing the massive G-Loc cabinet in an arcade but never trying it for myself. The three-screen setup of Darius was amazing for its time. One of the most interesting was Sonic Blast Man. This Taito beast had a pad you punched to measure your strength, with numerous goofy scenarios that required you to hit it as hard as possible. I never got to try it; a lawsuit caused it to disappear from arcades before I ever saw it. The later Fist of the North Star was similar, and I got to live the experience from that.
The SNES Sonic Blast Man is not that title. Instead Taito has created a goofy super hero inspired side-scrolling beat em up instead. Obviously you couldn’t recreate the arcade experience on the SNES. While it may sound disappointing that the game is a Final Fight clone at least it’s a good one. Sonic Blast Man doesn’t bring anything new to the table but is a nice, well-paced adventure.
I can’t stress how corny Sonic Blast Man is. While he looks human Sonic Blast Man is an alien masquerading as a mild-mannered salary man by day. The game tries to show you how heroic he is in the intro when he destroys an incoming train to rescue a kidnapped woman. But it glosses over all the people he just killed on the train to accomplish this feat. Or maybe I am looking too deep into it. It drives home the silly tone with its comic book effects that accompany every hit.
Sonic Blast Man has one of the better fighting engines in a brawler from that period. It largely focuses on grappling throws and crowd control. By grabbing an enemy you have a variety of attacks at your disposal; a flurry of punches that looks cool but is pretty weak and a one handed throw. If you daze them first with a combo a few more options open up; you can unleash a burning uppercut that also sends a trail of fire in its wake, a power punch that sends enemies flying, and a behind the back throw. If you dizzy the enemy you can perform an airplane throw that is incredibly strong. The requisite special attack can knock everyone on their ass but leaves you dizzy for a few seconds rather than draining health. Lastly you can execute a Dynamite Punch, a 100-megaton punch that is limited in its use.
The pacing in Sonic Blast Man is probably its best asset. Although you only fight three enemies at once the game does not throw too many waves in a row. More importantly every level features a completely new set of enemies. For this genre that is practically unheard of. Learning new attack patterns and such on every new level keeps the game fresh in a way that most brawlers desperately need. That being said, when I say new enemies that basically means three each stage. The later levels are a bit long and fighting the same three robots repeatedly does grow old. That quibble aside Sonic Blast Man does a lot with a little and is better for it.
Although this is a side scrolling brawler the arcade game does sort of live on. In between stages you can choose from five bonus rounds that mirror the arcade game. You are not punching a pad though; here you use the D-pad to build up power within a time limit to unleash a massive punch. You get three chances to unleash the strongest punches possible to earn points. These scenarios are silly and escalate, from beating up a simple thug to destroying a building and finally stopping a meteor from destroying mankind. Sonic Blast Man is not a difficult game but every little bit helps. Although it isn’t the same as punching the pad I think its admirable that Taito included the content anyway.
Sonic Blast Man boasts some of the largest sprites in beat em up from that generation. Its impressive, although the animation is not particularly great. The game does suffer in a few ways for it though. You will never face more than three enemies simultaneously, with two of those being clones. It is very noticeable and jarring. Also there is some heavy slowdown in the late game when larger enemies are introduced. I like that they tried with the sprites but I don’t think the trade-off was worth it.
In Closing
Sonic Blast Man could have been a generic brawler using the arcade game’s name. Instead it is a solid if flawed game that is still pretty fun. The potential was there for it to be great but it doesn’t stick the landing.
