[TAS] SNES Cyborg 009 by FractalFusion in

This is a tool-assisted speedrun. For more information, see tasvideos.org/...
TAS originally published on 2009-11-07
Cyborg 009 (en.wikipedia.or...) is based on the manga and anime of the same name, which began a long time ago. There are eight characters that you can use, but one of them is set and you can only choose two others for each mission.
The run uses 008 (Pyunma) and 005 (Geronimo) most of the time. 008 can jump forward quickly and swim in water, while 005 does heavy damage to bosses. Various power-ups are collected to level-up 009 (Joe) due to an event near the end of the game.
The run uses the easiest difficulty due to the final boss taking less time to beat.
If you play this game, it is recommended to level-up 009 first, and a lot.

[@rollanddev]

Currently playing this game...
- The visuals are pretty good. I've seen reviews claiming all of the characters look the same but, no? They all wear the same suit, but they're very diverse in appearance.
- Lots of variety! Every character has their own thing going, which means you can use a lot of different approaches to clearing a level. One flies, one sees in the dark, one can break boulders... And you can take three of them along for the ride (one being chosen by the stage automatically)!
- ...A level up system? Oh, that's pretty cool! :D XP collected will be used to level up your characters after the stage ends. This allows you to boost their stats and make them more efficient.
- There's some cool cinematic bits. Rather than just ending a stage, some brief little animation generally involving the stage character getting your other 2 allies out of harm's way after the boss explodes or whatnot plays out. It's a nice little touch of polish!
...but...
- The stages are long, circuitous, and very maze-like. I got stuck wandering in circles in the submarine stage for a while and was finding myself getting frustrated with my lack of progress. There are so many dead ends in every stage and exploration feels unrewarding...
- Jumping is clunky. It's one of those games where you lose control of yourself in midair. You can either do a long jump, or a short 1-tile-forward-but-super-high hop. It can make mild platforming areas or quick reflexive dodges frustrating.
- Bosses have no life bars, don't always indicate they're taking damage (underwater stage boss had me confused as to what I was supposed to hit because of this, once the tentacle-thingies were broken), and can be crazy bullet sponges if you don't have a damage-heavy character. The stupid arena boss is taking *forever*... (Edit: HA! FINALLY GOT HIM!)
- The game provides no heads up as to what obstacles you'll encounter when you're asked to pick your team. This can often result in picking someone useless (ex, the see-in-the-dark girl when there are no dark areas in the stage - in fact past stage 2 I don't remember there being any anymore, so characters and their powers can have very limited use).
- Building on the above, it's easy to invest your XP into the wrong characters, making the level up screen feel increasingly frustrating as you struggle to decide who should get the boost. Seems you're better off picking a favorite character and sticking with only them...? Outside of ability usage to bypass a stage obstacle, this now makes having 3 characters feel sorta pointless... (Edit: The last stage only gives you one character (009 I think?), so I guess, level him up?)
Good, but not great. I could see myself enjoying this as a kid. Now, as an adult, I'm upset by these bosses taking so many hits and the stages leading me on a wild goose chase down dead end after dead end as I have other things to do today (and don't feel like I'd pick it up again tomorrow if I set it down before beating it - the story is very episodic and not strongly engaging). :P I suppose it's worth checking out though.
Side note: ...Is the order of the stages randomized? I seem to be doing them in a different order than in the video...

[@AlmightyRager95]

I remember catching an episode or two of the 2001 anime for this series, didn't know there was a game for it.

[@HyperSonicXtreme]

Well the English dub of it aired on Toonami back in 2003.

[@rollanddev]

@@HyperSonicXtreme I don't mean to be "that guy" but... the Toonami dub of 2003 was still the dub for the *2001 anime* no? ;)

[@HyperSonicXtreme]

@@rollanddev Yes it is

[@rafaelemiliano911]

Fantástico. Parabéns 😃

[@rafterscott]

Bet that ending pissed off a bunch of kids back in the day.

[@HyperSonicXtreme]

I think the Japanese text at the end tells that they’re victorious and it then shows 8 out of the 9 cyborgs with just the word END.

[@ReiGaiden]

Super jeu 👍

[@user-mf7qy8en6w]

Fleas?