Shockman

Shockman appeared in 1991 for the PC Engine, sold in western markets as the TurboGrafx-16, with Masaya credited as publisher. The Shockman name belonged to the western release of a Japanese series about cyborg heroes; in Japan the line ran under a different title, which was common for games on this console.

It is a side-view action platformer with support for two players, so stages can be cleared as a pair. The core is shooting and jumping: the character advances to the right, clears enemies at range and picks up upgrades that change the strength and behaviour of the shot. Larger opponents with their own movement patterns wait at the end of sections.

The PC Engine was an unusual machine — an eight-bit processor paired with a capable graphics section, which let it handle large, colourful sprites and smooth scrolling. That suited this kind of game precisely: the characters are bigger and more legible than average and the scene moves without stutter.

In 1991 action platformers were the busiest genre on consoles, and standing out mostly came down to presentation. Shockman commits to an anime look, robotic opponents and the heightened colour palette the hardware allowed.

The TurboGrafx-16 never gained the western foothold the PC Engine enjoyed in Japan, where it sat near the top of the market. Many of its games are consequently less known than their craft warrants — not weak titles, but titles on a console with a small installed base outside Japan.

OldGame.cz starts this one directly in the browser, so the two-player mode and those oversized sprites are only a moment away.