Bikkuriman World

~ BIKKURIMAN WORLD ~

Hudson Soft

HuCard

1987

Well, thank goodness things got better, a hell of a lot better, with Dragon's Curse. That's what I was thinking a few levels into Bikkuriman World--a very early PC Engine release, an aged, decrepit chip title that showed its revolting wrinkles at every "cartoonish" turn and starred a dopey-looking, poorly dressed Chubby Cherub wannabe.

I expected the predecessor to Dragon's Curse and Dynastic Hero to let me do some exploring. But aside from the damnable labyrinth that is the final board, Bikkuriman's rounds are pretty straightforward. Maybe we should be "thankful" for that, as the game imposes time limits and urges us to race from checkpoint to checkpoint (an unnecessary leftover arcade element). Yes, I suppose there are secrets to uncover, but they mostly involve jumping and fiddling around to find hidden coins and shop entrances.

And without the element of adventuring, Bikkuriman is left to rely heavily on its "hack-and-slash" gameplay, which was never the series's forte, even when it hit its stride with DC. There's no such thing as "attack range" in these titles, and the goofy hero here starts off as a slow, feeble pushover. You'll definitely wonder early on how you'll ever avoid severe thrashings from certain bosses when you're charged with guiding such an incompetent "warrior."

Funny thing is, even with all my early head shaking and skepticism, I eventually started enjoying the game. Finding and memorizing the locations of the hidden loot stashes becomes a lot of fun because it's so important that you earn cash quickly. And even after you earn that dough, you can't just empty out your pockets without putting some thought into the purchases; you've gotta spend your money wisely in order to keep the poor Cherub-like fellow healthy and strong.

Once you figure out how to make good cash (and allocate it well), you can have a lot more fun with the action itself. Acquire some good equipment, and the formerly meek lad evolves into a speedy, fearless powerhouse! ...Well, I'm exaggerating there, but you'll find that he sure does become a better fighter as you yourself get better at money and equipment management. He even almost starts to resemble a TRUE VIDEO GAME HERO after a while!

Bosses that seemed horribly unfair the first few times you faced them are suddenly no match for your skills and the naked-no-more warrior's might!

And so Bikkuriman World ends up being not only playable, but fun and rewarding as well. Would you believe me if I told you I prefer it to Dynastic Hero? Well, I sure do.