Cho Aniki Zero (PSP)

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
3 Difficulty levels
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Extreme
Published by GungHo Works in 2009

Even though Masaya wasn't really behind the design of Cho Aniki Zero (also known as Rei Cho Aniki), it's interesting to see how new copyright holders Extreme and GungHo tried to reuse and merge some of the assets from recent chapters of the franchise, with an approach that harkens back to the very first game released for the PC Engine CD in 1992. It sort of makes sense, after all this is a prequel to the whole series. In terms of gameplay, however, it certainly tries to offer a little more than the straightforward shooting with bizarre graphical elements, as was the case with prior entry Cho Aniki - Seinaru Protein Densetsu, previously released for the Playstation 2.

While Cho Aniki Zero preserves the wacky visuals with homossexual undertones, it doesn't really push the boldness envelope, at least not as the 32-bit entries did. With the exception of the animated introduction and a few panels here and there, there's not much in the way of creepy designs. Infamous bodybuilders Adon and Samson are all over the place here, but they take the back seat and serve as sidekicks to warrior Idaten, lady Benten and a third new character called Shoten, a contender for the best bodybuilder of the galaxy. Initially Shoten cannot be selected though, there are certain criteria that must be met.

Cho Aniki Zero is remarkable for being the first game in the series released out of the Japan, in a digital version with full English translation for the Playstation Store named Cho Aniki Zero - Muscle Brothers. The Japanese language in the PSP retail release isn't much of a problem though. Upon selecting the difficulty/course, you'll then choose the main character. In the case of Idaten, you can also select between secondary characters Adon and Samson. Benten is stuck with cherubs Mika & El, whereas Shoten is accompanied by Balan, a green version of Adon/Samson who's actually their older brother. Note that the Easy course only allows you to play three stages, so if you want to experience the whole game you'd better go straight to the Normal route.

Watermelon boss

By default, basic inputs in the gameplay consist of shot (□), bomb (×), fixed/free movement of the auxiliary character (○), special attack (∆), turn left (L) and turn right (R). All of them can be reamapped in the options and are self explanatory, expect for the special attack. Once ∆ is pressed, the screen freezes so that you can select which attack level you'll unleash, based on the meter on the top of the screen. This special attack depends on the secondary character you have chosen, and varies between two (Samsom) or three power levels (Adon, Balan, Mika & El). In order to replenish the special attack gauge it's necessary to collect blue pills labeled as M (men's protein) that are left behind by defeated enemies.

Besides the blue M, items released by enemies can also be a yellow P (protein, power-up for the regular shot), a red B (extra bomb) or a pink L (extra life). It takes many Ps to get through all five upgrade levels of the main shot, and for each death you're downgraded by one level. Finally, tiny men, labeled in the instruction booklet as 'machos', also appear in four different colors and point values. Releasing the shot button briefly makes them get sucked into the character automatically. All items are also automatically sucked into the character when the last form of a boss is defeated. In every other occasion the player needs to be wary where to move since some items will randomly drift to the right.

Beneath the seemingly straightforward gameplay lies a series of intricacies that are very important for survival and scoring. It all starts with the choice of characters. Idaten's shot is stronger but lacks coverage, which is the opposite of Benten's. Shoten incorporates the strengths of both of them though. All secondary characters are able to absorb and protect the player from small bullets, but you need to position them well in order to not let any stray bullets get by. This is why Benten's cherubs are the best choices for frontal protection. On the other hand, Benten's special attack is the weakest. Also of note is the fact that no special attack makes you invulnerable, so you can never rely on them to get out of hairy situations. Only the bomb can save you! There's no real impact of dying with bombs and special attacks in stock though, after all they're independent from the number of lives. 

The single most important element of the scoring system is the amount of times you're able to 'guard' or absorb bullets. It doesn't appear anywhere during the level itself, but after the boss is beaten it will be used as a multiplier for the stage score. Deaths do not interfere with this guard count. On a final note, collecting as many tiny machos as possible is also important because they're worth much more than regular enemies.

Idaten is lost in the first stage already!
(courtesy of YouTube user Tio Jugon)

Despite being fully devoid of obstacles, which is unusual for a methodical horizontal shmup, the bidirectional nature of Cho Aniki Zero is refreshing, as are the great amount of bosses. Each stage has at least three sections and three bosses. The only exception to this is the final level, which makes you fight all previous bosses prior to facing the final enemy. The challenge slope is reasonably steady and it's possible to exploit a good number of safe spots against bosses, at least prior to the ones you fight on the 4th level, which serves as a great homage to the creepy design of 16-bit shmup classic Wings of Wor / Gynoug. There are a few problems with the use of color in the game though. At certain points it incurs in bad bullet visibility, as in the garden area of the 3rd level. The confusing background makes those black bees really hard to see.

Option menu translation for Cho Aniki Zero on the Japanese PSP

Cho Aniki Zero is engaging and fun for most of the run, and not overly hard if you're able to manage the extra life offerings given out during boss encounters. I think it preserves the legacy of the series with decent results, on top of offering good variety in the scoring system. It's a much better job than what was done in Sengoku Cannon, for example, which continued another famous franchise in a similar fashion on the PSP.

The requirements to unlock a few extra features, such as extra character Shoten and a sound test, seem to be related to at least reaching the last form of the final boss (as denoted by a golden badge shown in the high score table). However, only when I beat the game I unlocked the Hard mode/difficulty. My final 1CC result in the Normal course playing with Benten is below. Somehow I suspect this inflated score can be broken if the final boss is properly milked for bullet guarding, but I'll leave this check for a future opportunity.