 There's a staggering number of manga and anime based games on Super Famicom that never made it out of Japan. Just a few weeks ago I took a look at a game based on Ghost Sweeper Mikami, so let's keep heading down that path. This time with Cyborg 009, a game based on the manga of the same name that dates back to the early 60s. You may have heard of this one, since the 2001 anime TV series aired on Toonami and many of the films also got released all around the world. The Super Famicom game however remains kind of a mystery, there isn't a lot of information on this one out there, and it's one of those in-between games where this game is perfectly playable even without knowing Japanese, but there's plenty of stuff here you gotta skip over if you go that route. There is an English patch available from the good folks at Aeon Genesis if you'd rather play it that way. Otherwise, this is just a 2D side-scrolling action platformer, but the structure here is interesting because for each level you pick three out of a selection of eight different characters, those being Cyborg's 002 through 009. What's cool is that each of those characters all have their own unique ability, 002 can fly for a brief period, 003 can see in the dark, 004 has a rocket launcher, 005 can break through walls, what is he, Chris Jericho? 006 can breathe fire, 007 is not James Bond sadly, but he can take the form of certain enemies, 008 is the only character that can swim without dying, and 009 can run really fast and outrun certain obstacles. Like I said, you pick three characters per level and it's up to you to choose the right three, which means, yeah, there's some trial and error here, but it also gives the game some replay value. For example, in the first level you're automatically given 009 as your lead, but you're also going to want to pick 003 to see in the dark and 005 to break through some walls so you can progress with the level. The game can be kind of rigid like that, but the later levels allow for a little more freedom with your picks. You can switch between your three characters at will using the L and R buttons, and it's B to jump, Y to fire your weapon, and X or A to use your special ability, which is tethered to an energy meter up top that automatically recharges. Unfortunately, the health meter is shared between all three of your party members and you only get three lives and three continues to get through four missions with no password system or battery save. There's also a leveling system of sorts here. You pick up these EX icons laying around, and you can apply them to whichever character you want at the end of each level. Now, this game was developed by BEC, and the only Super Nintendo game they made that actually made it out of Japan was Ultraman, one of the most dreadful games on the system. But don't let that dissuade you since they also made the Slayers RPG, as well as the SD Gundam X games, and all of those are perfectly decent games. And I guess that's how I describe this one. It's perfectly decent, but it's got some big time flaws. Sure, the ideas here are strong. I mean, it's an action platformer with all sorts of different characters with different abilities. That sounds awesome. But as I mentioned earlier, there's a lot of trial and error here with who to choose for which level. And in addition to that, these levels are huge, and they go on seemingly forever in all directions. Seriously, you can just wander around this game for hours if you'd like. It's crazy. I would guess the idea here is to find as much experience as you can so you can level up your party. And there's quite a bit to find, and some people will dig that, but it can be a bit frustrating without any sort of map to go by. Also, the controls here aren't for everyone either. The jump is just weird. You hang in the air for like a second before you're sucked back to the ground as if by a magnet, and every character is like that. Plus, you can't shoot up in this game, only left and right, just like in Turrican. This game is also on the difficult side, but only because health replenishments are so hard to come by. So yeah, Cyborg009 for Super Famicom has a pick-up-and-play element to it, but action games that have a trial and error factor like this are always going to be hit or miss with people. Either this is your bag and you get used to the controls quickly, or it's just not your thing. This game is a bit like a cross between a Turrican game, Phantom 2040 and GI Joe for NES, but that's probably giving it too much credit, and it's definitely not as polished as any of those games. But if you're a fan of the Cyborg009 franchise, you'd probably enjoy this one a lot more with an English patch. I have it linked in the description. Fans should also know that there is a Sega CD game that never left Japan as well, so you might want to check that one out. As for this one, it's certainly interesting. The structure is cool, but the level design and the strategy behind picking characters could have been a lot better. This is one I'd recommend just as a curiosity. Alright, I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.