Akira was a landmark anime film and one that really opened the Western world up to the market. With it’s popularity worldwide I always wondered why no developer had tried their hand at a video game adaptation of the story. Little did I know that someone did. Enter Akira for the Amiga CD32. Does this release live up to the legendary film on which it is based? No, not at all actually.
This Amiga CD32 game follows the plot of the film. It starts with the protagonist Kaneda as he’s riding his motorbike through the city. After this the perspective switches to Tetsuo, and then back to Kaneda again. The scenarios are not lifted straight from the film but are based on elements from the movie. Some of it is out of order but I’m no purist so let’s move on.
Let’s start with the motorbike scenes. This is one of the most memorably sequences from the movie and should translate nicely to a video game stage. Unfortunately it doesn’t, not here at least. You control Kaneda from a side view and can move the bike in all directions as it moves forward automatically. You can brake and speed up, and you’ll need to as some areas require you to change speeds. While driving you’ll be acosted by random enemies, pits, and must snag all the gas cans that are strewn throughout the stage.
It’s a real shame that this first level is so boring. Not only that but it’s tough as nails and incredibly unforgiving. Rather than testing your reflexes the level instead requires memorization. This means a lot of trial and error. You’ll have to slow down in order to break certain obstacles in order to proceed, and sometimes you’ll need to speed up to jump over holes. Make one mistake and it’s game over. Heck, if you miss even one of the gas cans you won’t have enough fuel.
Then we have the side scrolling stages. In the first few of these levels you play as Tetsuo who can use his psychic energy to shoot little wisps at the enemies. He can jump, shoot, and duck. That’s it. These are more forgiving than the awful motorbike sequences but are even more boring. The level designs leave a lot to be desired with areas that are too empty, and very generic obstacles and basic enemy patterns.
The platforming is very floaty and imprecise. To make matters worse these stages are just plain weird. You’ll be fighting clown heads, jumping bunny rabbits, bears, etc. Yes, these were in the movie but only in one scene. There’s no need to fill entire stages with these elements. The Tetsuo areas of the game are overly long, often feel empty, and even when populated feel very sloppily put together.
After getting past these sequences you once again take control of Kaneda in side scrolling areas of a similar vein. They’re less abstract with more realistic foes and environments, but make no mistake they’re just as boring. Kaneda uses his gun to shoot enemies, and honestly there’s little diversity between these levels and the ones before them. Switching characters feels rather pointless honestly.
Finally we have the hover ski stages. These play more like a scrolling shooter, a really slow one. Regardless this is the best part of Akira. The hover ski stages play from a side view as the screen scrolls automatically to the right. You can move up down and in all directions and can fire a twin gun laser using the action button. Various foes and environmental hazards get in your way, and these require far too many hits to destroy for my liking. If this were released as a standalone game it would be a very poor shooter. Think Gradius only awful. That’s why it’s especially sad that this is the high point in Akira.
Let’s talk about how poorly designed this game is. As I’ve already mentioned the stages are very boring, Akira has no personality, and everything is extra weird. The controls are far too floaty, and the precision this title requires just isn’t fair because of it. I actually got stuck on an impossible jump and had to look up a password to start from a later area because of it. I’m not sure they even bothered testing this one before release.
The animated sequences in between stages, which are lifted straight from the movie, look decent considering the era this game is from but they only last a few seconds apiece. They represent the pinnacle of this game’s graphics. Akira otherwise is a very bland and weird looking game and nothing makes visual sense. Characters and other elements lack any kind of outline which can cause them to blend in with the environment at times. Everything is just entirely too drab and the tiles are constantly re-used here.
What’s also very annoying is the fact that there’s no in-game music. We get a few low quality compositions during the animated sequences, but these aren’t even from the movie. Besides that you’re stuck with the sound effects which are also nothing to write home about. I actually find them pretty off-putting with the weird grunt your characters make when hit, and the constant effects from firing projectiles. The audio serves only to annoy players.
Akira is disappointing on so many levels. I didn’t do any research on this one before jumping in and just found out that it’s considered one of the worst games on the platform. It’s a mess and an awful use of the license. I was once a big fan of the film Akira, and to me this is extra disappointing. There’s so much potential for a good game set in this universe, but the Amiga CD32 is definitely not where you’re going to find it. Pass on this one and thank me later.
