A port of Jigoku Gokurakumaru
Kabuki: Quantum Fighter is a 2D action platformer released exclusively for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
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A fairly simple NES platformer in the vein of Ninja Gaiden. A little simpler and thankfully easier than said game, but still on the shorter side.
Just like Ninja Gaiden you have a limited supply of ranged weapon, but unlike Ninja Gaide, which cribbed its ideas from Castlevania, this game has enemy drops and end of level bonuses to your health and ammo: no lanterns here. The unfortunate downside of this system is that you only acquire new weapons after each level, so there's no strategy involved to keeping what you might need for later.
The enemies are fairly weak and easy, as well as programmed well, so they don't respawn every time you move a few milimeters, so the main challenge comes from platforming. Doing ninja moves such as jumps from walls and overhangs is a little weird, but it's the actual platforming that's your enemy. The momentum of conveyors and ice is wild. When pushed backwards you can barely jump, and when pushed forwards your jumps propel you like a missle. Of course devs knew that so the final level is a vertical shaft full of conveyors and barely any enemies.
The graphics and music are very good, and the main character design is hella cute. HAL worked on the game so I suppose it's no surprise that everything runs well. I'm a little surprised that delving into NES' later library reveals that developers were moving away from Mario's 30 stage adventures into tighter 5-6 stage games with bigger sprites and nicer graphics. Often those games end up being not memorable at all, but this one is weird enough and just challenging enough so it never gets boring, even if it can get frustrating.
Just like Ninja Gaiden you have a limited supply of ranged weapon, but unlike Ninja Gaide, which cribbed its ideas from Castlevania, this game has enemy drops and end of level bonuses to your health and ammo: no lanterns here. The unfortunate downside of this system is that you only acquire new weapons after each level, so there's no strategy involved to keeping what you might need for later.
The enemies are fairly weak and easy, as well as programmed well, so they don't respawn every time you move a few milimeters, so the main challenge comes from platforming. Doing ninja moves such as jumps from walls and overhangs is a little weird, but it's the actual platforming that's your enemy. The momentum of conveyors and ice is wild. When pushed backwards you can barely jump, and when pushed forwards your jumps propel you like a missle. Of course devs knew that so the final level is a vertical shaft full of conveyors and barely any enemies.
The graphics and music are very good, and the main character design is hella cute. HAL worked on the game so I suppose it's no surprise that everything runs well. I'm a little surprised that delving into NES' later library reveals that developers were moving away from Mario's 30 stage adventures into tighter 5-6 stage games with bigger sprites and nicer graphics. Often those games end up being not memorable at all, but this one is weird enough and just challenging enough so it never gets boring, even if it can get frustrating.
Okay, Kabuki: Quantum Fighter was bizarre. Like, fighting cyber ninjas as a digitized kabuki warrior inside a computer? It's got strange charm and decent action, but the controls are clunky and visuals are way out there. Nostalgia might carry this one, but it's a weird trip for sure.
When you crouch you don’t whip your hair back and forth, you do a punch with less range and I die a little inside each time.
Canje por DoriamHim
He whip his hair! He whip his backn fourth. Solid Game with an Alien Soundtrack. Has that Boards of Canada Track 3 Vibe that I feel like Megaman 10 also has in some of its Tracks. Anyways he's a great Kabuki
I always like seeing what kind of hidden, quality titles that the NES has to offer from time to time. There were so many games released for the system, and of course, it has its noteworthy titles that everybody knows about if they are familiar with the system, but of course, just like any system, there will always be a handful of games that simply go under the radar, and only a few people would know of these games’ existence. I have covered several of these hidden titles so far, like the Power Blade games, Metal Storm, and Shadow of the Ninja, and so far from playing through these games, I have had a pretty good time, and when it comes to titles like Metal Storm and Power Blade, I have found myself brand new favorites from the system that I do wanna replay at some point in the future. So, my journey to get through the hidden gems of the system continues with today’s game, Kabuki: Quantum Fighter.
I had barely known anything about this game before jumping into it. The only time I had ever seen the game in action was when I edited a segment of it for a video I made a long time ago, and at the time, I had thought that the game was just your typical NES platformer, with not much more going for it. Then again, that was only based on first impressions, so I decided to finally give it a shot, and yeah, past me is kinda right, as it is your typical NES platformer in many ways. With that being said though, that doesn’t make the game bad at all, because in actuality, it is a pretty sweet title. Sure, there isn’t anything really original going on here for the system, and it does have some issues that I will get into, but it is still a pretty good title that definitely should’ve gotten more recognition that it probably did.
The story is somewhat creative, about a virus infecting a main defense computer for Planet Earth, and it is up to you to transfer your consciousness into a computer program in order to take it out, which is a pretty neat concept for an NES game, except the virus part is a cliche plot for games on this system at this point, the graphics are pretty good, with some really well done animations sprinkled throughout, but visually, it doesn’t stand out as much, and it blends in with other titles on the system, the music is good enough, but it is your typical NES soundtrack, so no tracks are gonna be sticking with you afterwards, the control is pretty solid for the most part, but sometimes your traction does get fucked up when you walk on some types of surfaces, making it harder to initiate successful jumps at points, which is an issue, and the gameplay is standard for an NES game, but it still remains fun throughout.
The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of Colonel Scott O’Conner, run through a set of 6 main levels, or Rounds as they are known as in this game, use either your own hair to whip plenty of enemies right in the face (Shantae fucking stole this), or a set of weapons to obliterate your foes, gather plenty of hearts to heal yourself as well as plenty of ammo capsules to give you an advantage over your foes, and take on a set of bosses that are simple enough when it comes to NES bosses, but will still challenge your skills and reflexes. It is essentially everything that NES games of this era typically tend to be, so there isn’t much there to differentiate itself from other similar titles, but there are some admirable aspects it has going for it.
Since the game is all about stopping this virus from destroying all life, there is plenty of imagery that can be seen throughout relating to the virus, such as morphing blobs and nightmarish faces in the background, along with several levels being on the same level as something you would see in Contra. It isn’t that much, but not too many games on the system have this kind of style, so it is nice to see whenever it comes up. In addition to this, there are plenty of cutscenes that detail Scott’s journey throughout this computer program, while also having plenty of conversations with people outside of the computer, with dialogue that is actually not that bad for an NES title. And finally, there is a bit of a sense of progression in the game. After each level, with the exception of Round 5, you do gain a brand new weapon to use in the next stage, and these weapons can range from longer distance shots, bombs that will explode on impact, a shot that shoots in three directions, and a homing shot that will repeatedly damage enemies for some time. These aren’t original concepts for weapons at all, but they do help out a lot, especially against bosses.
Of course though, the game isn’t perfect. If you have played plenty of other NES titles, you will quickly notice that this title isn’t doing anything unique or special to make anyone want to go out of their way to play it. Sure, the gameplay is still solid enough to where that didn’t become an issue for me, but for those who have already played similar games like Ninja Gaiden, or even lesser known titles like Vice: Project Doom, you aren’t gonna be seeing anything new here. In terms of actual problems that the game has, there is that traction issue I mentioned earlier, and then there is, without a doubt, the worst stage in the game: Round 3. In this stage, you are traversing this vertical shaft, complete with many points to hang on to and flip up on, conveyor belts, bolts that are firing at you, and more. It may not sound like much of a big deal, but trust me, it is really difficult to get out of this thing completely unscathed, and that is mainly due to the fire jets. There will be points where these fire jets are mounted on the walls and will shoot out fire at times, and they are usually placed above a hanging point you need to vault over. This may not sound like a big deal, but the timing you need to get through some of these sections is way too precise, and more often then not, you will take damage simply because you have no choice but to get hit because the animation for vaulting upwards needs to play out. It is without a doubt the hardest stage in the game because of that, and I didn’t have fun going through it at all.
Overall, despite some issues with traction and Round 3 needing to burn in hell for all eternity, Kabuki: Quantum Fighter is still a pretty solid platformer from the NES, and one that is definitely worth checking out if you are curious enough to give it a shot. I would recommend it for those who want more games to play from the NES library, as well as those who are a big fan of old-school platformers, because while this one isn’t the most interesting, it will still be fun all the same. Also, one little thing I forgot to mention about the plot of this game was that it takes place in the year 2056. So, I am glad to know that in 33 years, we are gonna be dealing with a virus that can destroy the world. It’s just another day at the office at this point.
Game #404
I had barely known anything about this game before jumping into it. The only time I had ever seen the game in action was when I edited a segment of it for a video I made a long time ago, and at the time, I had thought that the game was just your typical NES platformer, with not much more going for it. Then again, that was only based on first impressions, so I decided to finally give it a shot, and yeah, past me is kinda right, as it is your typical NES platformer in many ways. With that being said though, that doesn’t make the game bad at all, because in actuality, it is a pretty sweet title. Sure, there isn’t anything really original going on here for the system, and it does have some issues that I will get into, but it is still a pretty good title that definitely should’ve gotten more recognition that it probably did.
The story is somewhat creative, about a virus infecting a main defense computer for Planet Earth, and it is up to you to transfer your consciousness into a computer program in order to take it out, which is a pretty neat concept for an NES game, except the virus part is a cliche plot for games on this system at this point, the graphics are pretty good, with some really well done animations sprinkled throughout, but visually, it doesn’t stand out as much, and it blends in with other titles on the system, the music is good enough, but it is your typical NES soundtrack, so no tracks are gonna be sticking with you afterwards, the control is pretty solid for the most part, but sometimes your traction does get fucked up when you walk on some types of surfaces, making it harder to initiate successful jumps at points, which is an issue, and the gameplay is standard for an NES game, but it still remains fun throughout.
The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of Colonel Scott O’Conner, run through a set of 6 main levels, or Rounds as they are known as in this game, use either your own hair to whip plenty of enemies right in the face (Shantae fucking stole this), or a set of weapons to obliterate your foes, gather plenty of hearts to heal yourself as well as plenty of ammo capsules to give you an advantage over your foes, and take on a set of bosses that are simple enough when it comes to NES bosses, but will still challenge your skills and reflexes. It is essentially everything that NES games of this era typically tend to be, so there isn’t much there to differentiate itself from other similar titles, but there are some admirable aspects it has going for it.
Since the game is all about stopping this virus from destroying all life, there is plenty of imagery that can be seen throughout relating to the virus, such as morphing blobs and nightmarish faces in the background, along with several levels being on the same level as something you would see in Contra. It isn’t that much, but not too many games on the system have this kind of style, so it is nice to see whenever it comes up. In addition to this, there are plenty of cutscenes that detail Scott’s journey throughout this computer program, while also having plenty of conversations with people outside of the computer, with dialogue that is actually not that bad for an NES title. And finally, there is a bit of a sense of progression in the game. After each level, with the exception of Round 5, you do gain a brand new weapon to use in the next stage, and these weapons can range from longer distance shots, bombs that will explode on impact, a shot that shoots in three directions, and a homing shot that will repeatedly damage enemies for some time. These aren’t original concepts for weapons at all, but they do help out a lot, especially against bosses.
Of course though, the game isn’t perfect. If you have played plenty of other NES titles, you will quickly notice that this title isn’t doing anything unique or special to make anyone want to go out of their way to play it. Sure, the gameplay is still solid enough to where that didn’t become an issue for me, but for those who have already played similar games like Ninja Gaiden, or even lesser known titles like Vice: Project Doom, you aren’t gonna be seeing anything new here. In terms of actual problems that the game has, there is that traction issue I mentioned earlier, and then there is, without a doubt, the worst stage in the game: Round 3. In this stage, you are traversing this vertical shaft, complete with many points to hang on to and flip up on, conveyor belts, bolts that are firing at you, and more. It may not sound like much of a big deal, but trust me, it is really difficult to get out of this thing completely unscathed, and that is mainly due to the fire jets. There will be points where these fire jets are mounted on the walls and will shoot out fire at times, and they are usually placed above a hanging point you need to vault over. This may not sound like a big deal, but the timing you need to get through some of these sections is way too precise, and more often then not, you will take damage simply because you have no choice but to get hit because the animation for vaulting upwards needs to play out. It is without a doubt the hardest stage in the game because of that, and I didn’t have fun going through it at all.
Overall, despite some issues with traction and Round 3 needing to burn in hell for all eternity, Kabuki: Quantum Fighter is still a pretty solid platformer from the NES, and one that is definitely worth checking out if you are curious enough to give it a shot. I would recommend it for those who want more games to play from the NES library, as well as those who are a big fan of old-school platformers, because while this one isn’t the most interesting, it will still be fun all the same. Also, one little thing I forgot to mention about the plot of this game was that it takes place in the year 2056. So, I am glad to know that in 33 years, we are gonna be dealing with a virus that can destroy the world. It’s just another day at the office at this point.
Game #404