A gem from Japan, Cyber Citizen Shockman has never been released in the west, but thanks to Indie publisher Ratalaika Games and Shinyuden, this 1989 PC Engine adventure platformer is out now on Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
‘Cyber Citizen Shockman marks the beginning of the release of the entire Shockman’s titles that will be presented to retro game fans over the year for the first time which will be available for home consoles (except Shockman 2), which is the only one that was ever officially released’.
But what is Cyber Citizen Shockman? Originally Cyber City Oedo 808: Kemono no Zokusei, this is a side-scrolling action game developed by Alfa System and published by NCS Corporation for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 in 1992. The game was later released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan in 2008 and in North America in 2009.
The game is set in a futuristic version of Tokyo called Oedo City in the year 2808. The player controls a character named Shockman, a cyborg police officer tasked with stopping the evil Dr. B.K. Chimideshi and his army of robot monsters.
The gameplay consists of running and jumping through levels while fighting off enemies with Shockman’s various attacks. The game features power-ups that can upgrade Shockman’s attacks and health, as well as mini-games that can be accessed by collecting certain items.
Cyber City Oedo 808: Kemono no Zokusei was well received for its graphics and gameplay, and is considered one of the better action games on the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16.
While PC Engine gets a welcome revival in the shape of the Analogue Duo later this year, this release represents a rare chance to play a classic Japanese game on any current gen console.
What to expect in PC Engine classic Cyber Citizen Shockman
The following features and enhancements can be found in this release of Cyber Citizen Shockman:
- 2 playable characters (boy and girl)
- 18 exciting platforming stages (with multiple routes)
- A plethora of upgrades to unlock.
- Fun and challenging.
- Added image gallery from hand-made scans.
- Rewind/FF functions.
- Brand new english translation, plus old JP Original.
- Complete EN and JP user interface!
- Save states.
- CRT Filter
- Character design and main illustrations by famous mangaka, Suu Urabe
This release features the type of improvements you’d find on current gen games, and better still, Cyber Citizen Shockman costs just £5.99. Find out more at Ratalaika Games.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.