Developer: ITL Co. Publisher: Taito Release: 11/94 Genre: Beat em up
Sonic Blast Man is an underrated brawler in the SNES library. Since it was impossible to convert the gimmicky arcade to the home Taito instead crafted an enjoyable beat em up that was better than a lot of its peers. For the sequel they have not strayed far from what made the first game great. Instead they built on it to make a title that is just as good if not better in certain areas. Sonic Blast Man II will not win any points for originality. But it will entertain you while it lasts.
Much like the first game Sonic Blast Man II is an original title disconnected from its arcade big brother, in this case Real Puncher. The nonsensical plot sees rival character Heavy Blast Man teaming up with an alien race called the Yafu to take over the world. No one cares about all that, what matters is that the game expands on its predecessor in almost every way with two-player coop, more characters, and just as many moves.
The playable heroes neatly fall into the brawler holy trinity. Sonia is the fast but weak one, Captain Choyear is the slow strong man and Sonic Blast Man is the average every man. There are further distinctions between them gameplay wise beyond their trope. Sonic Blast Man has the most combo finishers out of the three while Captain Choyear’s attacks focus on brutal take downs. Sonia has the longest combo strings and oddly enough some of the most powerful special attacks.
Mechanically this is a different game than the SNES original. Sonic Blast Man had a heavy emphasis on a large variety of grappling throws. The sequel does away with most of that. There are two attack buttons this time, one for light and heavy attacks. Depending on the character you can weave them together to form different combos. While the variety of throws is not the same everyone still has a few. All characters can perform defensive rolls to dodge attacks and also dash. Dashing attacks differ based on the button as well. Although I miss the cool grappling moves I have to admit the variety they have managed to pack into the simple control scheme makes up for it. Sonic Blast Man is the clear favorite as he has the most moves but the others are still viable provided you put in the work.
One of the best aspects of the series is its pacing compared to other brawlers. The game paces its enemy waves better than most and so it does not become a chore to play over time. They tend to be a little resilient but if you plum the depths of the game’s combat system that it makes little difference. As much as I do like it one area that it has regressed is in enemy variety. I liked that in the first game every level featured a new set of exclusive enemies. This game takes a step back in that regard. While at least one new enemy is introduced per level you still the vast majority of time facing the same two or three grunts. You know things are bad when bosses are reintroduced as regular grunts to spice things up. Its disappointing but does not ruin the game.
For the most part players will not find Sonic Blast Man II that difficult. Because your combat options are so varied most regular enemies will drop easily. You might need to use a little finesse with Captain Choyear due to his low speed but that is part of the game. Extra lives do not come easily and health power-ups are not common. The game does become excessively cheap toward the end as the bosses deal ridiculous damage and have insane priority over your attacks. And I am not a fan of boss rushes and this one in particular is bad. While I wish it were better about this it is still a minor complaint overall.
Sonic Blast Man was distinct because of its large sprites, even bigger than in Final Fight. For the sequel the sprites are slightly smaller more than likely to accommodate two players. The tradeoff is worth it as you also face more enemies simultaneously as well. As I said previously the enemy variety is lacking which is too bad as there are some cool designs present. Damn shame too as the game looks good otherwise. It isn’t big on flashy special effects but has solid artwork otherwise. And it does this one next to no slowdown as well.
In Closing
Sonic Blast Man II is a good game that does not break new ground but is enjoyable nonetheless. I really enjoyed this one even though it does not have an original bone in its body. Sometimes nailing the basics is good enough. I would still recommend Undercover Cops or Denjin Makai first however this makes a good second or third tier choice.
