Mazinger Z for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Mazinger Z

Ultraman the Platformer

Genre: action - beat em up

Publisher: Bandai

Year: 1993

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

Plays a lot like Ultraman or any of the other "big guy" fighting games. The difference is that there's some platforming and slopes to deal with. Youv've got the standard punch and kick attacks plus a set of 5 or 6 projectile weapons to toggle through. Those have limited ammo which can be recouped by waiting for a meter to fill. This takes forever, especially after using the best and only worthwhile weapon - the crotch rocket. And I mean that literally; a rocket is launched from your crotch. It's a devastating attack that can kill most enemies with one hit. But it uses your entire weapon meter. After using it you have to wait for a good couple of minutes before you can use it again. Yeah. Let's move on, shall we? The game is a series of fights with a variety of kaiju enemies - some organic but mostly fellow big robots. It's one fight after the next, kind of like a discount Alien Soldier. The controls mostly work ok but are extremely laggy. Once you jump you're committed. Enemies move way faster than you. Platforming is very tough. And you only get one life. Good luck.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

Pretty standard, boring stuff. There's way more platforming than this game should have, given the stiff controls. But at least there's some variety.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

No idea what this manga/anime is about, but it looks like a pre-Voltron, pre-Power Rangers setting. There's some great Engrish, like the title screen telling you to "Push Start to Beginning". I'll give it props for trying.

Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

The character models are mostly goofy 70s Japanese sci-fi. This was the men in a rubber suit era and it shows. But there are some nice mode 7 effects, like sprite scaling. And the color pallete is nice as well. Not great, but decent.

Audio Score: 3

Audio Notes:

Again, not great, but decent sounds.

Overall Score: 60

Review ID: 1751