Let me start out by
saying that this game's biggest turnoff for me is its maturity level. It's at the level of
say Barney turning into an anime and then making a game out of it. I also can't figure out
how Japan enjoys this stuff either. The storyline is Joe(sephine) the heroine moved to Japan to train in the ways of Kendo. She is approached by Bob who asks her to learn the ways of Kendo and become a master. Joe replies "but I just ate!" "The world can't wait, with crime and pollution," replies Bob. It only gets cheesier from there, but Joe is only six hours from school. He gives her the mission of walking to school and killing all of the enemies on her way, which range from ghosts, bears, and other animals. You'll then fight a very stupid boss at the end of each stage. The first boss is an evil Joe who looks like she was made out of a balloon. She says "I'll defeat you and train under Bob, and he'll never know the difference."
Graphics aren't the worst I've seen, but for a game that came out in 1993, they are very washed and lacking any detail. They are about as good as a very early Genesis release. There are however cut scenes at the start of the game and between stages glorifying the awful B grade dialogue. Nonetheless, they are good for the time and aren't used in many games. The in game graphics are just lacking color and excitement. Most games had more color even then. The bosses are fairly well drawn though.
Music and sound are a big O.K. not good but annoying, there are a few voice samples when Joe attacks, but they are just "yah" and "wah." These get really annoying with her constantly attacking. The music is very Japanese and didn't stand out at all but didn't kill the game either.
The gameplay is just flat out old and the engine is tired. It does nothing innovative at all, just jump and slash and let your meter charge up for a power slash. Then there's a Johnny Cage style shadow charge that drains some of your life when you attack (can you spell cliché?) The control is stiff since you walk for a period of time and then you will start to run. You'll be able to jump a little farther with the speed boost. When you're not running you move too slow and don't maneuver well. Jumps are sluggish.
All around gameplay is boring. This game is also very hard I get to the last stage and (lets say cliché once again) you get to fight all six bosses all over again. Wow Seta, even in the Mega Man games that got old. This game has no saving grace. Everything is sub par. The cheesiness and lack of innovation actually started giving us a headache a few stages into game. Fellow gamers move along; better games await.
