Kaettekita Cyborg Kuro-Chan (帰ってきた サイボーグクロちゃん)
Developer: Konami
Release Date: 2002
Platforms: PlayStation
Between its budget price, 2002 release, and licensed nature, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that Konami shoved this out the door with little regard for quality, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. As you’d expect from a game based on a popular anime about a cyborg cat with a machine gun arm and a penchant for destruction, Kaettekita Cyborg Kuro-Chan is a run and gun that takes full advantage of Konami’s experience with the genre.
Like with Kuro-Chan’s Game Boy Color adventures, this game tells an original story with new villains. A robot army from a different planet, led by the Big Boss, invades Earth out of disgust for the way that humans and machines coexist. The plot is little more than a premise to get you visiting various locales and fighting against themed bosses that include a sniper, a guitar-playing catfish, and a fiery robot that can only be defeated with the help of Megumi the firefighter, but they did make sure to get Chika Sakamoto, Chiharu Tezuka, and Makiko Omoto to reprise their roles as the three main cats. The new villains are also voiced by actors with significant experience in the anime industry, including Masami Iwasaki, Ryo Naito, and Hidefumi Takemoto.
Fittingly for the three playable cats, two of which can carry weapons inside their body, this game’s primary hook is its weapon system. You get access to six different weapons per character tha tcan be upgraded alongside your speed, ammo capacity, and durability. For example, Kuro and Mie have a flamethrower, whereas Matatabi gets a torch that can be upgraded into a massive bazooka. Kuro gets a revolver that evolves into a devastating shotgun, but Mie gets a laser gun instead. Upgrading is done by collecting capsules, but capsules are also used for healing, creating a strict but strategically engaging economy in which players have to decide whether to upgrade or focus on survival. This system only falters when it comes to the game’s controls, which make weapon switching far too slow to be safe to do in many situations.
Kaettekita Cyborg Kuro-Chan’s budget shows in both its presentation and content since it features brief, still-image cutscenes and only six levels with nothing else beyond the main game, but said game is well worth playing, especially with a second player. If you weren’t happy with the state of Contra on the PS1, this game is the closest you’ll get to an apology from Konami.
