Developer: Yutaka Publisher: Yutaka Released: 01/25/1993 Genre: Action
In the US Nintendo gained a reputation for being kiddy at a time when Sega were pushing the envelope. It is a reputation they gladly paraded around back in the day but would haunt them for years to come. In Japan that wasn’t the case. While the Genesis became the place for darker themed content in the US those titles mostly stayed in Japan for the SNES. Some of those games were true gems: King of Demons is fantastic as well as titles such as Dark Law and Jaki Crush. Ushio to Tora almost joins that list but is let down by its brevity and gameplay flaws.
Although it isn’t a retelling of the manga (as it was still ongoing) Ushio to Tora does mine it for content. Ushio unwittingly releases the demon Tora from his slumber when he pulled the Beast Spear from its tomb. While the two don’t like each other they are forced to team up. Tora’s awakening begins to attract wandering demons and Ushio & Tora must work together to drive them back.
You have the choice of either Ushio or Tora as playable characters, with each having their quirks. Ushio has longer range with the Beast Spear and perform a number of attacks. Unfortunately the exact method of these attacks such as the spear rush and wave attack is spotty. As awesome as Tora looks he is at a severe disadvantage due to his short range. His claw attack is melee range only and his charge lightning bolt suffers from the same. He is stronger but you’ll have a hard time making the most of his abilities due to their range and bad hit detection.
The overall hit detection has problems regardless of character. Both Ushio and Tora have a wide arc to some of their attacks that should hit anything in reach. But you will frequently see them miss when it clearly connects. Even smaller enemies can tear your life bar to shreds as a result. Ushio’s overhead slash fares the best but is not ideal in every situation. Tora has to essentially trade hits with enemies to be useful. You can work around it but you shouldn’t have to compensate for a game’s flaws to enjoy it.
As the manga was in the middle of its run Ushio to Tora does not tell a definitive story. Most notably the main antagonist Hakumen is not present. Instead it mines the manga to create its content. Ushio to Tora is more of an extended boss rush rather than a traditional action platformer. Most levels consist of a single boss fight that might consist of two or three phases. Like Treasure’s Alien Soldier what little action exists outside of that is merely to build up supplies or for variety. The game follows the events of the manga in terms of its encounters but offers little else. Usually games that consist of only boss battles offer a huge variety to make up for it. Ushio to Tora is very short, which is disappointing.
At the very least the encounters the game does have are interesting. Each of the boss battles is taken from a specific moment in the manga. Fusuma is a giant green demon atop an aircraft carrier trying to make it crash. Oni is a jealous spirit who inhabits a picture of his dead wife to prevent anyone from getting close to her. How’s that? Not every encounter is against demons. Hyou is eventually an ally but first you must fight him in an intense battle. Even the monks who assist you will test your might. Even though activating some of the more advanced spear techniques can be frustrating the boss battles are still fun. I just wish there were more of them.
Even with the spotty hit detection Ushio to Tora is not a challenging game. The main cause is the instant respawning. Rather than sending you back to a checkpoint you continue the battle right where you left off. This allows you to brute force the tougher boss encounters. Some bosses spawn lesser demons that can be destroyed for rice buns and even extra lives. If you time your attacks right you can even knock these items off the bosses themselves repeatedly. For a game that is already brief the lacking difficulty makes it even shorter. Ushio to Tora could have really used a bump in difficulty, not just to stretch its content but also to make the fights more engaging.
In Closing
Trying to sum this one up is hard. Ushio to Tora has its flaws but I still liked it even though the time I spent with it was short. But it can’t be denied that it could have used more content. Fun while it lasts but that time is all too brief.
