Super Cyborg Review

Super Cyborg tells the story of an elite battle cyborg sent in to investigate a series of anomalies on a mysterious island. These anomalies were caused by a merciless and powerful alien known only as the Xirxul life form who has been awakened by unwitting scientists. It’s up to our hero to save humanity.

Super Cyborg is a 2D run n’ gun platformer which is basically an homage/copy of Contra/Probotector. The goal is to conquer every level by going to start to finish and eliminating a big bad nasty boss. But it won’t be easy. Similar to Konami’s flagship series, you’ll need to make use of quick reflexes by dodging bullets and killing enemies.

And yes, our nameless cyborg can use power-ups to have a leg up on the alien race. And if you’ve played Contra/Probotector, you’ll know exactly which power-up does what. They (lazily?) used the same patterns; S means Spreadgun, M gives you the machine gun, R allows rapid fire, L will equip you with the Lazer, B provides temporary invincibility and F is a Fire weapon; but this one’s instead of red. What is different is that no matter the weapon, you can charge up your attacks with the Y button.

Another aspect that distinguishes it from Konami’s franchise is also the fact that the game offers saves meaning you don’t always have to start from the start every time you boot up the game and this does make it easier for players to practice the level they are at; this is a Practice makes Perfect kind of game. While most levels will kick you back to the start of the level when you’re game over, others will allow you to restart mid-way through it after a mid-boss.

The game looks great as a whole. Each level has a distinct look and feel which provides an adequate, albeit sometimes cheap challenge. There’s a surprisingly decenty enemy variety and bosses are equally gross as well. Keen players will also notice that the nameless protagonist has the same movement, pixel for pixel, as the human and robot protagonists of the Contra and Probotector series respectively. The soundtrack as a whole is surprisingly good and fits well with the hectic action on screen. However, some sound bites from menu navigation will probably make your ears bleed.

While the game is mostly enjoyable, there are a few nuisances. First, the level 3 boss is one of the worst, most frustrating bosses I’ve encountered in recent memory. Additionally, sometimes, mostly in level 3 coincidentally, I’ve often got killed by a random enemy projectile… that seems to manifest out of nowhere from behind me as there were no enemies, let alone one that fires projectiles, behind me.

If you’re looking for a new challenge, Super Cyborg is a must-play. Despite its annoying flaws and quicks and blatant inspiration from Contra/Probotector, as Oscar Wilde said “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, Super Cyborg is another gem that is definitely worth your time and money. Although be prepared to die as you replay levels and learn from your mistakes.