Youtube: The Shubibinman (Shock Man) Series

[kazekirifx]

I did a review of the 3 Shubibinman games for PCE for our Youtube Channel "Basement Brothers". We'll have a second video up eventually covering Shubibinman Zero for Super Famicom.

If any of you would be kind enough to give it a view, I'd love to hear feedback from my fellow turbo addicts!

[esteban]

I will be lame and just paste my TubeYou comments below:

Shubi-BEAM!

My twins (age 5) have been playing these games (I don't have many 2-player co-op) and they find the first few stages of Shubibinman surprisingly enjoyable. They die frequently , but I was surprised they liked it at all!

Sadly, their souls were crushed by the sequel, and I have yet to show them the third game (I don't want them swapping discs...they are not nearly as kid-proof as HiCARDs).

NOW: I know your suggestion that Capcom's Mega Man X and Rockman 7 were "inspired" by Shubibinman 2 was tongue-in-cheek... but I have a similarly brash proposition: some DNA from Shubibinman 3 is inextricably linked to the venerable Gunstar Heroes.

Am I simply an instigator?
Are the connections merely superficial?
Or should Shubibinman 3 be part of the larger discussion of Treasure's delightful Gunstar Heroes?

I know it sounds crazy, but I have always felt these games shared some cosmic link.... don't mock me.

Thank you. MORE VIDEOS, STAT!

[Michirin9801]

Nice video mate!
I already said this in my YouTube comment, but I'll elaborate a little more in here:
I think the first Shubibinman game is terrible, its controls are awful, it's barely even playable! It doesn't help that the graphics are bleh and the music didn't stick with me even a little bit...

The 2nd game I think is WAY better than the first one, but that's not a very hard thing to accomplish... The controls are okay, the game is at least playable now, but the game's design is kinda crap, both in the level design as well as the game's structure, I mean, is there anything more annoying than having to watch the same unskippable cutscene Every Single Time you die? And you will die often! The game is way too hard, and not for the right reasons...
It at least makes up for that with some really nice graphics and music, I'd say the 2nd game is worth it for the presentation alone, and I do mean for that and that only...

The 3rd game I think is a fun and playable Tech Demo, but not much more than that... It's WAY too easy for its own good... It's certainly worth experiencing because holy crap is it impressive! I mean, look at how many scrolling layers they've squeezed out of the system! It's amazing! But of course, that comes at a cost of Level Design, which is pretty much non-existent in the 3rd game... It has a lot of fun set-pieces that show off what the system can do, and the cutscenes are pretty too, if way too long, but yeah, it's all just a glorified Tech Demo...

I haven't played the SFC game at all, so I can't comment on that one...

[seieienbu]

That's a pretty good review of the series and I'll look forward to the next one. 

I didn't play Shockman until I emulated it about 10 years ago.  After I finally did I spent a while hunting down a copy; it's one of my favorite US games.  After I got the US one I later got the first and third for PC Engine.  All told, I think it's definitely one of the better franchises on the PC Engine.  There isn't exactly a ton of action platformers on the system and playing Shockman co-op is a real treat.  I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't played them yet.

[Michirin9801]

All told, I think it's definitely one of the better franchises on the PC Engine.  There isn't exactly a ton of action platformers on the system and playing Shockman co-op is a real treat.

Are you sure about that? I mean, what about Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu? Ninja Spirit? The Bonk series? Legendary Axe 2? The Wonder Boy Hudson remakes? New Adventure Island? The Valis series?
Personally, I find all of those (and then some) to be better than the Shubibinman games, but then again, it's all a matter of taste, if you think it's one of the better franchises on the PCE more power to you!
But it's not like there isn't a lot to pick from on the system in the genre, there absolutely is, and you don't even have to reach to find it...

[kitkit.com]

I used to own all 3 games + Shockman.  Out of all 3, I enjoy 2 the most and I would only recommend that game to newbie.  I agree that co-op in Shockman is a plus, but there are better action platformers out there as mentioned by Michirin9801. I prefer Dracula X, Splatterhouse, Ninja Spirits etc over the Shubibinman series.

All told, I think it's definitely one of the better franchises on the PC Engine.  There isn't exactly a ton of action platformers on the system and playing Shockman co-op is a real treat.  I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't played them yet.

[kazekirifx]

Thanks for watching, you guys. I replied to some of your individual comments on youtube (for those who left them there). I already stated my personal opinions on the games in the video, but it's nice to see some love for Shubibinman 2 from some of you. I stand by my opinion that 3 is the best.

Zero for SFC is a pretty good game too. Those who haven't checked it out yet should give it a go. We should have our video about it up in the near future, so I hope you'll watch that one too once it's done.

[ccovell]

Thanks for the video!  I have to admit that 3 is one of my favourite PCE CDs, primarily because it's a glorious amusement park ride, and that music is one of my faves on the whole system.

I'd say my top 4 head-bangin' soundtracks would in fact be:
1) Lords of Thunder
2) Ys I-II (boss fights)
3) Shubibinman 3
4) Gate of Thunder