Game #1206: Ganryu 2 - Hakuma Kyojiro

 Donkey Kong Ninja.

 I came across Ganryu 2: Hakuma Kyojiro while browsing through Play-Asia, and I came across this 2-D retro-styled new game. I didn't even know what a Ganryu was, but the screenshots looked neat, and at that point, nothing else mattered. Well, this is a 2-D action/platforming game that is very reminiscent of the latter Shinobi games on the Genesis, such as Blade Dancer. It's also, quite probably, even harder.

 The game has 5 stages, as far as I could see, divided into two acts each. There might be a sixth stage, but I wouldn't know since I couldn't get past 4-1. This is probably one of the hardest games I've played in recent memory. Every stage has two bosses, one per act, and if you run out of lives it's back to act 1. At least you don't go back to level 1! What I'll grant the game is that it has a ton of variety. Act 1-2 has a section with mine-carts, similar to Donkey Kong Country. Act 2-2 ends on a shoot'em up stage. Stage 3's bosses are fought while constantly running forward, and act 4-1 has you platforming upward through falling platforms. All these variety makes it reminiscent of oldschool games, which is pretty cool. Stage 5 probably has some sort of neat gimmick at some point, but I wouldn't know... yet. Maybe?

 Musashi is armed with a sword, Kunai and some magic. You have about 5 spells or so, but let's be honest, the only spell that really matters is the healing spell. You must fill your magic gauge, by finding pick ups, either from objects or slain enemies, and only when full can you use your magic. Kunai are limited, but it's usually the most common pick up. You can also dash, which can kill enemies on your way forward, as well as break tougher enemies' guards so that you can wail on them with your sword. Hidden throughout every level you can come across hidden walls that are filled with goodies and power ups.

 Enemy placement is kinda nasty, as they just pop all over the place out of thin air, catching you offguard. Musashi can run pretty fast, and the offensive dash might encourage you to keep on the move, but that would be a mistake. I was stuck on Stage 2 for the longest time, most of the time I couldn't make it out of 2-1, because I kept running forward. That was the wrong approach. If you play it slow you'll have a much better time and a much better chance at making any progress.

 But unfair enemy placement is the least of the game's problems. Level design is kinda garbage at times. Sometimes it's hard, not to say impossible, to see what's beneath you, feeling like you must make a gamble and hope not to fall on a bottomless pit. There are also a ton of performance issues, which is baffling on a 2-D game, but what was even MORE shocking was that stage 2 became almost unplayable when I tried it out with the Switch docked. Stage 4 has this weird bug that causes Musashi to grow an extra pair of legs. It's unsightly. Something about the game itself feels a bit wonky, one time, all my controls stopped working except dashing.

 I heard people praise the animations, but I disagree. Some animations feel kinda stiff, and the art-direction is a bit amateurish at times. Heck, the spinning slash has some sort of weird transition that makes it look as if your character flickers. Maybe it does flicker. I'm not sure, but it made me think I got hit a couple of times.

 The controls are a another issue, the Katana slash is mapped to the X button, which is above the B button, the one you use to jump, which is very awkward. There's a Controls option on the main menu... but it does nothing but show you the controls. Lame!

 And then, despite all these issues, despite the unfair enemy placement, the sometimes questionable level design, the poor control layout... the game is very punishing. Checkpoints are nice, but your Kunai drop down to 10 and your magic gauge goes back to 0. Magic is useful for bosses, so respawning before a boss with no magic is incredibly punishing. Losing your stock of Kunai also sucks, and what's worse, you can find items that increase your maximum hit points by one.... but it's lost as soon as you lose a single life. This game hates you.

 While I'm not big on the overall art direction, I love having new sprite-based games. I also love the amount of variety in the action.... that said, the game feels very unfair, and it has many questionable design choices, including a rather poor control layout. I think the game has its heart in the right place, but it simply didn't deliver.

 5.5