Mega Man Gaiden?
Bot Gaiden is a vibrant 2D platformer built for speed. Take control of ninjabots Robyu and Bytron as they seek to recover the golden skulls from the hands of the mysterious Giorqio and his band of hench-bots. Race to the finish, because bosses get stronger with time. The faster you go, the easier the fight. However, going faster means putting yourself in harm’s way. You’ll break out in a cold sweat trying to figure out the most efficient path through each stage.
Bot Gaiden has a Mega Man feel to it with its levels that you can play in any order and the fact that there’s a tough boss at the end of each stage, although combat isn’t run and gun like Capcom’s classic but instead you get melee weapons and powerups. To make matters tougher, you get rewarded by going fast but doing so leaves you vulnerable if you don’t know what to expect the first time around and the game does have a good number of difficult moments as you try and rush through the stage.
In terms of control, its functional and responsive. The difficulty does take some getting used to, though you can add another player for co-op support if you wish. This does make things easier overall but it definitely makes it fairer in comparison to playing solo.
The visuals are simple but have a nice charm to them. It’s bright and colourful with a nice soundtrack to it and no performance issues.
The Verdict
Bot Gaiden is a responsive and enjoyable action platformer. It has some tough moments and it does make you want to get through it quicker to get easier boss fights but if you can find a friend to play with, then you’ll have twice the fun with a lot less frustration.