YEAR(S): 1996

HARDWARE: Data East 156

DEVELOPER: Mitchell Corp.

PUBLISHER: Data East

In the early 90's, many of Capcom's original design staff left the company, for various reasons. Isuke, head programmer of Strider, was among those who left. He went to Mitchell Corp., producer of such games as Party Time and the Pang! series.

While at Mitchell Corp., he produced one of the most legendary Strider tributes: Cannon-Dancer (or Osman, as it was called anywhere outside Japan). Besides being an unparalleled blend of Contra, Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden, and Strider, the game is so strikingly similar to the original Strider that many gamers began calling it "Strider 1.5". Others laud it as "the spiritual sequel to Strider".

Information on this game is scant and hard to come by. Read what is collected here, and judge for yourself whether this game is worthy of the Strider moniker.

You control a black-ops character named Kirin. Right off the bat, Isuke gave Cannon-Dancer ties to Japanese mythology, just like Strider had. A kirin is sort of a cross between a dragon and a unicorn. It protects the righteous and the just by bringing them good luck. Just to lay eyes upon a kirin is an omen of extremely good fortune, but only if one is virtuous.

Kirin has access to some serious energy, channeling it mainly into his feet to unleash Tong Pu-style attacks. Kicks are his primary attacks, but he can also unleash a powerfully lethal energy bomb attack, reminiscent of Shinobi or Run Saber. This bomb is powerful enough to cripple the early bosses down to about 20% of their total power.

However, the crux of Cannon-Dancer's gameplay lies in the fact that Kirin collects power-ups allowing him to set "after images" or "shadows" a la the Ninja Gaiden series. Collect a power-up and you will feel it. In your pants.

I'm not kidding. You collect a power-up and it changes the color of Kirin's pants. Different colors mean different numbers of after-images. Here's how it breaks down.

If Kirin is sufficiently powered-up, when he attacks an enemy, an after-image remains rooted in that spot for a few seconds, attacking from that position whenever Kirin does. It cannot take damage and does not transmit damage to Kirin, allowing him to jump in, position a double right on a boss's weak spot, and leap back to safety while continuing to lay the smackdown on that boss.

You have to be careful, though. The after-images can't be repositioned until after they disappear, so their initial placement is crucial to successful attacks.

Cannon-Dancer's plot is excessively dramatic and begins thusly:

"It is the late 21st century, and the world has come under the control of a single federal government. One day a new threat known as a "Slaver" appears, causing widespread terror and panic. The fear in men's hearts incites the abandonment of all economic activity. The federal government, which is the foundation of capitalism and modern civilization, has become nothing less than an insidious idea that corrupts the foundations of society itself. It destroys the idiosyncracies and variations between national viewpoints, stifling them in the name of "freedom" and its own internal ideals.

"Judicial Affairs Director Jack Reysson alone grasps the situation, fearing the worst. He summons the lone assassin who had mastered the 'secret style'..."

It's always JUST ONE guy who can save the world. Why is that? Anyways...

There are TONS of bosses in this game. Seems like every time you turn a corner, there's a new boss you've got to fight. Just like Contra. Also like Contra, there's tons of explosions and a couple annoying parts due to difficult-to-distinguish game sprites.

Until recently, if you were looking to play this game, you would've had a better chance of being abducted by aliens. There weren't many Cannon-Dancer cabinets (and hence, Cannon-Dancer boards) distributed. Those who did have them were loath to give them up. Supply and demand, you know. Eventually the MAME guys cracked the encryption on the CPU, allowing for complete, glorious emulation.

Go get this game. You NEED this game. But you'll have to find it for yourself, I'm not gonna help you out with that. Until you find it, you're just going to have to be content with this picture, drawn by Utata Kiyoshi, one of Cannon-Dancer's designers.

...and if you want a more in-depth review of Cannon-Dancer, check out Radd Spencer's Cannon Dancer Page. It's sure to please.