If you’re anything like me – and as old as me – you’d have ploughed coin after coin into the arcades as a teenager, and one game took more than most – Strider. Also if you’re anything like me, you’d have never heard of its spiritual successor either – Cannon Dancer, or Osman if you were in North America.
The game was developed by ex-Capcom folk and released back in 1996, and now all these years later, Ratalaika Games has brought us an arcade conversion for consoles. Both releases are included within this package and include various modes, filters, and the helpful ability to rewind.
You play a martial artist as you battle your way to defeat Jack Layzon across six stages. The stages look beautiful – and absolutely bonkers mad at the same time. From cyberpunk machinery to desert scenes, floating on platforms above the ocean to trucks in the sky.
Controls are tight as you acrobatically cling and climb every surface imaginable, there’s a useful sliding tackle, and a special move that can severely damage most bosses if you time it right. The game is also hard so expect to use some cheats, at least to start with.
This is an underground cult classic, but there are only about 30 minutes of gameplay here. The hefty £25 price tag for the download also stops me short of recommending it until it ultimately hits the sales. Plus it’s not quite as good as Strider, in my opinion at least.
Cannon Dancer is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
