Review for Ganryu 2, the sequel to a game that remembers no one

Several possible game sequels have appeared in the last few years that few remember, including the classic shooter Andro Dunos 2, the gym based on Frisbee Windjammers 2, and now Ganryu 2, the son of a Shinobi-like hybrid action platformer. To Strider, released for the Neo Geo in 1999, aka at a time when SNK’s hardware was already on sunset street.

It is interesting that in all the cases mentioned it was chosen to create new episodes that are as close as possible to the originals, so all 2D games that reflect the mechanics and style of the previous ones avoid focusing on a more modern feel to try to please everyone. . when it comes to the title Story Bird Studio however, as you can read something went well and something went wrong Ganryu review 2.

from 1999 to 2022

The original Ganryu saw us take on the role. Miyamoto Musashi in his fight against a resurrected Sasaki Kojirō who was inevitably defeated at the end of the adventure (it took a little over twenty minutes, but it was a really tough twenty minutes). Even though it was reinterpreted in a video game key, the game set out to build a fantasy story based on a well-known and beloved event in Japanese history. In Ganryu 2 we see Musashi retiring from the state of Hokkaido to devote himself to art and culture. Unfortunately, Kojirō somehow managed to get back and decided to take revenge and challenged him to join him on the island of Ganryū-jima on the other side of Japan.

After the short introduction, Musashi begins his difficult journey… and here we can see a significant difference compared to the first episode: Suzume, the second selectable character, is no longer there. When we consider the controller, we also notice other differences: hybridization with Strider is gone, and our hero is much less agile than in the past, despite having more moves at his disposal.

So not only can he attack with a sword and different types of kunai, he can also dash forward, double jump and use special abilities that can be activated after collecting enough kami, soul essences dropped or killed by enemies when killed. found in containers scattered around the game. However, it only takes a few seconds to realize that we are dealing with a problem. hack’n’slash pure, where you jump between platforms and eliminate the enemies that suddenly appear, trying to protect the energy bar as much as possible.

In short, we notice one more detail: very difficult. The developers took such a good look at the arcade model from this point of view, choosing to make the player sweat at every level, especially between challenging passages, sections that require great precision like riding in mining carts. others that take lending dynamics from other genres, such as side-scrolling shooters.

gameplay

This gameplay he then sees us progress through five linear levels broken down into stages in order, trying to anticipate opponents as much as possible, both by hitting them as quickly as possible and examining the best ways to avoid their blow without any consequences. trap. The enemies are mostly different types of demons, including ninjas equipped with swords and kunai, and some really tough bosses whose attack patterns need to be learned by heart if you want to have any hope of gaining the upper hand.

So far, we have described a game that basically fulfills its mission and tries to please the players. nostalgic Those who appreciate arcade games and still a good arcade, some problems didn’t bother us much. Most annoying are the missing inputs: In some cases, even though we pressed the attack button with the sword or the jump button, we were hurt because our good samurai decided to sit around doing nothing. It didn’t happen very often, but in a game where you can pay for every mistake with life or loss of valuable energy, it was still too much. Another problem is that it is purely technical: Ganryu 2 is presented with a fluctuating pixel art, meaning the developers are doing some elements really well, while others are decidedly poor.

In principle, we can be pleased, because some things are really impressive, such as animations of Musashi’s sword strokes or some landscapes, if the others hadn’t taken you by surprise. For example, keyframes are missing in some cases, such as when jumping from wall to wall or entering train cars, while others have an obsessive reference to reuse of the same elements. A third, more mechanical flaw in this case is the impossibility of observing Musashi’s surroundings, perhaps using the right analog stick. This problem that way, you literally have to throw yourself into the void without knowing what’s underneath. We ran into enemies or traps a few times as we didn’t have the opportunity to look around like in most 2D platform games.

Of course, experience guards against the most dangerous situations in that you can easily make up for the lack of visual information once you know the alignment of the levels, including the enemies. No matter, a certain feeling frustration This is inevitable when you first hit a dead end.

Results

Having said that, we certainly don’t want to upset you. Ganryu 2 is nothing but a masterpiece. It is even inferior to its predecessor in some respects. However, at the same time, it is not a bad game and is appreciated for its highly respectful nature to its intended audience. Since the problems encountered were solvable, some additional improvements would need more time and possibly more resources. It should also be said that titles of this genre are not so frequent anymore, so fans can easily close their eyes and enjoy the rest. good classic experience.