Overview – originally released by Winds and Masaya Games, with porting handed by Shinyuden and Ratalaika Games, Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace is a run ‘n gun platformer from the TurboGrafx and PC-Engine. Take on a new threat alone or with a friend in 3 versions of this title from the early 90s. This release is now available for all console platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank PR Hound for the copy of Cyber Citizen Shockman 2 that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please note I previously covered the first game in the Shockman series, which you can find my coverage of it (HERE).
Story – set after the events of the first Shockman adventure, the bionic heroes return to their lives, but suddenly a new threat arrives. An alien empire has arrived with plans to invade the earth and conquer it. During this invasion, the Doc has been kidnapped and two mysterious villains similar to our heroes appear. Now our heroes must save the world again, taking on this new threat as they run, jump, fly and blast their way through the invading alien menace.
Gameplay – unlike the previous entry, this title is a more of a run ‘n gun platformer, where the player must traverse the different stages in a linear pattern. During the course of the game, the player must blast enemies, dodge hazards and take on fearsome bosses. Before starting the game, the player must select their character between Tasuke (Arnold) and Kyapiko (Sonya), there is also the option for single or co-op play.
The Shockman heroes are armed with a blaster, this provides a ranged blast but can be charged up to unleash a powerful blast that will devastate enemies. There are no differences between the two characters in terms of gameplay, with the only thing separating them is their look. The core of the gameplay is to make it to the end of each of the stages, defeating the enemies in their way and fighting the boss of each zone.
The majority of the stages use the traditional scrolling platformer style, with players needing to jump between platforms, avoid deadly hazards and fight the alien hordes. However, that isn’t all that this game has to offer. At different points during the course of the adventure, there will be new challenges that the player will face. There are special scrolling shooter stages, where the gameplay will make a drastic turn into the style of games like Gradius.
Then we have the auto scrolling boss battle, where players must jump across rooftops, fighting the alien invader while buildings crumble below them. If the player falls off screen or fails to make the jump between the rooftops, they will rise up to continue. Throughout the game, the player has a health bar that will be depleted every time they take damage. There is knockback in this title, which will cause the player to get thrown back when damaged.
When the player chooses to play alone they will have a dedicated health bar, which can be filled by collecting health ups during stages. However, if the player chooses to play with another, the gameplay shifts dramatically. When playing through the game with a companion, both players share the same health bar, with damage to one being transferred to the other. This can add an element of tension to the gameplay experience and possible frustration.
If all of the health is lost, they will be defeated and must continue from the start of the current stage after being sent to the title screen. This type of penalty makes for a very tough experience, but there are ways to make it a little easier for players who have a rough time. There are quality of life improvements made for this title, consisting of rewind/fast forward, Save/Load states and cheats that can be used to alter the challenge.
In this release, there are three different versions of the game to play, with the original Japanese and English releases from the early 90s, along with a brand new translation for 2023. The original English version of Shockman 2 doesn’t have any ties to the first, as it is the only version released in English. But the new translation will include all of the details from the original Japanese, bridging the gap between the first and second game during the story scenes.
The last thing to discuss is the bonus content featured in this release. There are complete galleries for the manuals and special illustrations for the original release. These galleries are a nice addition as they are a time capsule of the time they came out, providing a nice feeling of nostalgia to be able to look through the manuals of these games.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as a PC-Engine/TurboGrafx game, there is a very simple control layout for the game itself, using only two buttons for attack and jump, which can be changed freely. The overall gameplay feel with the controls is pretty solid, but there can be a smidge of delay during jumps. Aside from the occasional hiccups with the inputs, the overall experience is comfortable with all controllers, but it appears single Joy-Con isn’t supported.
Difficulty – this is a very difficult title, which was the style at the time. Due to this, there is a brutal difficulty curve that will punish players for mistakes being made. This can be remedied by the use of the different quality of life features, like the save states and rewind feature. But to really make the game much easier, there are cheats that give the player invicibility, weakening bosses and selecting the stage that players can start at.
Presentation – visually, this title looks very good for the time it was released, using vibrant colors and character sprites that fit the screen well. The sprite work, backgrounds and sound are all emulated as close to original hardware as possible, which I applaud the emulation team for. There is also the ability to add a range of filters, color change systems and more to make the experience more unique during play.
Final Thoughts – back when I covered the first Shockman release, I was hopeful that the sequels would also be released, which I am happy that the second is now here. The overall experience was fun to play, but brutally difficult which may be off-putting to players, so I am unsure if I can recommend it to everyone. There is a lot of content for the modest price point and if you want a tough challenge, this is definitely for you.
In the end, I give Cyber Citizen Shockman 2 a final score of 4/5. This is a long forgotten run and gun platformer that is brutally difficult, but has a lot of the nostalgic charm at a relatively modest price, with quality of life improvements and visual effects that add to the value. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game is below.
Link to Nintendo switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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