Monday, September 22, 2025

Cyborg 009 for MD CD


Image: MobyGames

Cyborg 009


Genre: action - gun

Publisher: Riot

Year: 1993

System: MD CD


Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

Plays nothing like the SFC version. Whereas that game was painfully slow and laggy, this one is shockingly fast and hard to control. That's mostly due to a difficult-to-manage dash mechanic. You can dash left, right, up, or diagonal, but the timing of inputs is a mess. You have to press C to dash while holding a direction. Seems easy enough, but for a diagonal or upward dash you also have to hit jump at the same time, otherwise you'll do a horizontal dash. And you can change direction mid-dash, which leads to weird unwanted shifts. Even worse, the camera doesn't keep up with you and takes several seconds to catch up, leaving you with zero draw distance and a period of severe vulnerability. It's a shame because it hampers what is otherwise a fun run n gun. If the dhas were improved even slightly I'd bump this up to a 4.


Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

There's a lot to like here. Stages switch between straight-forward platforming and autoscroller running. Bosses and mini-bosses abound, but unfortunately they're the only truly interesting elements in most stages. Tons of potential, but largely squandered.


Theme Score: 4

Theme Notes:

Massive language barrier, but the anime cutscenes are plentiful and fun.


Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

Just like the SFC version, the sprites look nice but the stages look bland and uninteresting. Nice cutscenes.


Audio Score: 3

Audio Notes:

Quality music, but sound effects are either non-existent or don't playover the music.


Overall Score: 61

Review ID: 12501



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