Nankoku Shōnen Papuwa-kun for SFC
Review #2243
Nankoku Shonen Papuwa-kun
Mega Man, with only kicks
Gameplay
Movement feels great, although the jump is rather short. Your offensive capabilities include a standing punch, a jump kick, and slides to the right or left using R and L. Unfortunately the reach is short and enemy hit boxes are quite small, so it's hard to make your attacks connect. Enemies hit extremely hard, although most die with a single hit.
Overall it feels really nice.
It's 1994 and this game has no pause button!
Level Design
Great variety in the levels, with a good amount of vertical and horizontal movement. Exploration is encouraged and often required, as you must find a key, beat a mini boss, and then backtrack to find the exit. I never felt lost, although maybe the later levels are more labyrinthine. I enjoyed the designs, although some didn't make sense, like entering a door going left, but then appearing in a room that moves to the right.
Theme
Tons of Japanese dialogue, and not just between levels. Frequent long conversations break up the action. I've got no idea what the story is, other than you're some sort of black haired kung fu guy fighting against a blonde guy and another guy who looks almost identically to you.
Art Style
The sprites are teeny tiny, but look good and animate well. The backgrounds are intersting and each level has a distinct look. This isn't a game that looks the same everywhere. Most sprites have a lot of shading, almost making them look pre-rendered, but others look out of place due to having far less shading.
Audio
Bad music. The first level's track makes heavy use of a steel drum which makes it sound more like something from Adventure Island. I was expecting something far more Japanese. The boss theme and 2-1 tracks sound like a circus theme, and then 2-2 is a straight up 90s rap mix. It's truly bizarre and feels out of place with the game's setting and the angry, Dragon Ball Z-esque avatars which narrate the dialogue.
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