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Screenshots from the 2023 release of the classic arcade from Mitchell Corporation:

Cannon Dancer / Osman

You can watch our playthrough video here: https://youtu.be/mJcvd8b496Y

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#Cannon Dancer #Osman Arcade #inin games #strictly limited games #1996 #2023 #Mitchell Corporation #Kouichi “Isuke” Yotsui #game key provided to randomised gaming #Nintendo Switch #PlayStation4 #Xbox #PlayStation5 #arcade

Promotional key artwork for the 2023 release of the game from Mitchell Corporation and published by United Games Entertainment.

Cannon Dancer / Osman

Watch our playthrough here: https://youtu.be/mJcvd8b496Y

Cannon Dancer Osman - Not so random review - Vol.3

Format: PlayStation 4 (Reviewed) Also on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X/S Publisher: United Games Entertainment (ININ Games / Strictly Limited Games) Developer: Mitchell Corporation (Port by Ratalaika Games S.L.) Release year: 2023 (1996 Original Arcade Release) Genre: Platformer Official Website: https://www.iningames.com/games/cannon-dancer-en

Randomised Gaming reviewed the PlayStation 4 digital download version of Cannon Dancer, the code was provided to us by PR Hound to cover the game.

Over the last few years we've had a real renaissance in older games from the 80s, 90s and 00s getting long overdue re-releases. Mitchell Corporation was one such company whose games have largely remained lost to time, best remembered for the PANG series of games they did with Capcom. In 1996 the designer of the Capcom arcade platformer Strider, Kouichi “Isuke” Yotsui decided it was time to make a sequel to the game and so set about at Mitchell to make his version of Strider 2.

With Capcom owning the rights to Strider, there had to be a few changes, but aside from the look of the hero and the name of the game. This really is a true sequel to Strider in all but name. Unfortunately this was a 2D game released in 1996 when 3D was becoming all the rage in arcades and that's not mentioning the fact its 2D visuals look very dated compared to rival arcade games like Marvel Super Heroes and Metal Slug which came out around the same time period.

Cannon Dancer as it was called in Japan and Osman in the rest of the world, didn't do that well. Selling okay in Japan and flopping overseas, the arcade is rare to say the least and to date I have never seen the raw PCB board in action. For most people emulators like MAME are most likely the place where they played this first, which is true of myself.

I always had a soft spot for Capcom's Strider even if the game was somewhat messy in places. So finally in 2023 United Games Entertainment have teamed up once again with Ratalaika Games to bring you a near perfect version of Cannon Dancer and its first ever home release. I say near perfect as Ratalaika Games have made an error in not allowing users to access the game's dipswitch / options menu at present hidden in the service test mode . Which massively reduces the replay value of the game as it means you can't set the difficulty, change the number of lives, set the size of your starting life bar or change the extend settings or even turn the gore on or off. Certain enemy attack moves only appear on the harder settings as well.

That major issue over, which hopefully United Games Entertainment and Ratalaika Games will patch fairly quickly in the future and I'll be sure to update this review as and when they do, if they do. Is the only issue I really have with the port as the emulation here is the best to date of the game.

The missing options as shown in the arcade's service test mode via MAME.

As you would expect from former Capcom staff Cannon Dancer is a superbly crafted action platformer, if somewhat unforgiving. The first few times you play Cannon Dancer you will lose a credit on the first stage and even more on the later stages. It does take awhile to learn the stage layout and design, but once you spend some time practising you can really master each stage and your opponents. The starting level of difficulty certainly would have put off arcade players in the 90s, many players would have likely turned their back on it after one go, but give it a chance and there is a true gem here.

Osman kicks and climbs his way through each stage and has a decent selection of moves in his arsenal, even if the air suplex, rolling throw and running from slide moves aren't detailed in the game and a moves list would have been very welcome. There's also the super bomb attack which is limited to 3 uses per life and acts a a screen clearing move and deal heavy damage to bosses.

Gameplay wise the controls are spot on with Osman using his kicks to attack. Each time you grab a power up orb you get a shadow Osman that will appear and remain in place for a few seconds. Up to a maximum of four with the last upgrade also giving you a kick limited super long range kick that deals out heavy damage. What makes this game tough is any damage you take, reduces your attack by one level and the super kick only lasts for 20 kick attacks, this limit increases each time you collect the super kick, so long as you don't ever take damage.

The 2D pixel visuals are first class, but they look more on par with arcade games from 1993 not 1996. Each stage has a very different visual theme and look. The city feel of the first stage, which clearly homages Strider is very different to the sunken desert of stage three and the submarine of the sea on the forth. The bosses are also a vibrant cast of characters, from machines made of trash and metals, a flaming man, huge monsters, rival assassins and a dark goddess that wants to enslave the world.

The plot is just bonkers and doesn't make much sense, most of the English text in Osman is best described as Engrish at best and a better translation of the text would have been welcome. Not that the plot in the game matters, as you are trying to take down all the enemies around you. The only real average area of the game is the music and sound effects, which don't really standout from the crowd.

This home port comes with both revisions of the arcade that's Cannon Dancer and Osman. It also features a standard mode, which lets you play with any number of all new extras and bonus features turned on or off, to help make the game easier. These extras included a much needed double jump, various invulnerable moves and attacks along with auto fire. Many of them help give Cannon Dancer a new lease of life and improve the quality of the game.

Sadly one extra I would have liked to have seen, would have been to allow the player to remain in the final super kick upgrade state until they take a hit, as the fact it runs out so quickly after you obtain it, is really annoying. Also the fact the super attack (Bomb) uses don't reset after you clear a stage is another downer and one a perk to address this issue would have been most welcome also.

Adding to the gameplay is the new challenge mode, which allows players to take up to two of the extra perks to try and beat the game with and unlock the included trophies and achievements. As the game will take you to the cleaner the first time you play it you will have to get in some practice in order to overcome slaver and her forces. It took me a good couple of hours of practise and I ended up using the invulnerable attack and 4 credits perk to beat the game. The challenge mode adds in a lot of fun and the perks help to make it a far better game. Common place features like rewind and save state which you expect with these types of modern emulation releases are also included.

While overall the game is very well designed there are a few bits that are just insanely hard. The sudden introduction of reset points on the last stage is one. Forcing you to restart various boss fights on death results in a few frustrating moments and one that will cause you just to spam your super attack lots. While I can clear the last stage without issue now, I still end up using multiple lives clearing the last five bosses back to back. The fake Osman fight is very hard to avoid damage on. As are the three assassins together as Cannon's robot makes it impossible in some parts to avoid hits from the other two, making that fight more luck than skill.

Finally the lack of bonus content is somewhat disappointing, there isn't anything like an art gallery, sprite viewers, moves list or sound test in sight. Considering I was able to find the original arcade flyers and instruction manual detailing all the moves on the internet, it would have been nice to see this content included in this release.

Arcade flyer and instructions taken from the arcade-museum and arcade flyers websites.

In the end Cannon Dancer is a challenging cult arcade game from 1996 that perfectly captures the spirit and gameplay of its predecessor. This is everything you would expect from an arcade title developed by a seasoned veteran of the industry. This version is only hampered by the lack of extra content and the missing dipswitch options, which needs patching in. The emulation has improvements over what is seen in MAME right now, making this the best way to play the game.

Pros + First home release since 1996 + Superb 90s arcade gameplay + Responsive and tight controls + Great stage design and enemy visuals + Strider 2 in all bar name

Cons - Dipswitches are all missing - No extra content, arcade flyers, sound test, moves list, etc.. - Music and audio is very average

Review by Random Gamer Riven. Twitter: RDGamerRiven Email: [email protected]