Hagane: The Final Conflict

Hagane (pronounced ha-gah-nay) is a good-looking, average-playing game that will remind players of the days of yore. Newcomers who have been recently dazzled by better games will want more from Hagane.

He Shoots, He Soars!

Hagane is a postapocalyptic fighter with a variety of weapons on hand. He shoots darts, throws bombs, and tosses a grappling hook, to name a few. As he travels through several nicely illustrated levels, he fights off all creatures great and small, which can be anything from morphing slime men to samurai robots with attitude. Most enemies, however, are your garden-variety leaping ninjas.

Hagane's war chest of awkward special moves sets it apart from other side scrollers. Not just any ordinary run-n-jumper, Hagane can also leap down on an opponent's head with a fiery foot flash, hang from the ceiling, bounce into walls (a la Super Metroid), and slide away from danger. And those are just a few of his special moves.

Here Today, Hagane Tomorrow

The graphics in Hagane look cool, and they fill the screen with amazingly large enemy sprites, but in the end, their imaginative flair is overshadowed by their repetitiveness. The backgrounds are all impressive as well, but they follow the usual postapocalyptic, industrial-complex theme.

The sounds aren't as stunning as the graphics. The eerie but unimpressive music is techno Japanese rock at its most mundane. Dismal grunts and groans round out the soundtrack.

Performing Hagane's moves is simple. The effective controls are intuitive, and easy to master. Although some stages require Iightning-fast reflexes" the controls respond instantly.

Hagane with The Wind?

In a feeble 16-bit market, Hagane will appeal to gamers looking for old-fashioned gaming. By no means a classic run-n-jumper, Hagane holds its own with classic side scrollers like Batman Returns and Run Saber (which have somewhat similar gameplay). Although Donkey Kong won't have to give up his bananas just yet, Hagane is certainly worth renting for a few nights.

Great backgrounds, easy and accurate controls, and plenty of fast and furious gameplay should guarantee a place in any gamer's library for this intense Ninja action game. The only bad parts are the repetitive levels. Oh well, give it a shot.

Great backgrounds, easy and accurate controls, and plenty of fast and furious gameplay shoed guarantee a place in any gamer's library for this intense Ninja action game. The only bad parts are the repetitive levels. Oh well, give it a shot.

Hagane is a nasty, futuristic ninja warrior with a bad attitude! If you want a game with plenty of action that will make you sweat while playing it, here's a good choice. Hagane is fully equipped with a heavy arsenal and will not quit until an enemy stops him. You don't have to worry about any boring moves, either. Flipping, sliding, ducking, downward kicks and even bouncing off walls are all a part of his capabilities. The only task you, as Hagane, have to do is retrieve the sacred weapon that has the power to blow up the world from the evil hands of the Fuuma Clan. But take heed, the Clan is huge and will try to stop you no matter what. Think of this game as a Japanese version of RoboCop. If you like RPGs and plenty of action, Hagane has got it!

THE GOOD

Plenty of action! Move at fast speeds and with all the firepower provided, this game is alive!

THE BAD

The only bad thing I can think of is that you can get drained from all the excitement.

THE UGLY

Definitely a challenging game that surpasses boredom a hundred times over!

At first glance, Hagane looks to be atypical Ninja fighting cart and in many ways it is. What saves Hagane from being just another mediocre action game in a list of many is the sheer frantic pace of the action. From the very first level you are thrown into an intense battle with an impressive arsenal of weapons and special moves at your disposal.

The real to this game is the challenge level, which is set on full throttle from the opening gun. However, frustration starts to set in when you good find out that continue points are extremely few and far between. The graphics, while not exactly original in style, are rich and deep with texture. The enemy characters are nicely designed and present a variety of troubles. The special moves were another nice surprise, combining elements of a one-on-one fighting game with side scrolling action.

Hagane manages to end up near the top of the action game list because of a great overall attention to detail. With gameplay like this, it would have been easy to overlook elements such as graphics and sound, but there's not much missing here. Hagane is a fine effort. GP

Great backgrounds, easy and accurate controls, and plenty of fast and furious gameplay shoed guarantee a place in any gamer's library for this intense Ninja action game. The only bad parts are the repetitive levels. Oh well, give it a shot.

Samurai meets Contra. You take control of the last ninja (how come it's always the last ninja?) and run him from side to side slashing and blowing your way through five intense levels. Along the way several weapons await to help you get through; weapons like shuriken throwing knives, grappling hooks, grenades, smart bombs, and more. Hagane is more than another side-scroller, because of unique moves that depend on whether you've flipped once, twice, or three times and the intense gaming challenge.

Hagane doesn't push the envelope of technology or even bring much original gameplay to the table, but what Hagane does, it does well. It plays very solid and it's darn fun. An American release of this game is possible, but not very likely. So if you're itchin' for the shuriken throwin', grenade tossin' action of Hagane, you need the import version.

Hagane: The Final Conflict is a side-scrolling platform game, featuring five stages, divided into several sub-stages, filled with lots of enemies, jumping puzzles, mid- and endbosses. The game was published by Hudson Soft and developed by CAProduction/Red Entertainment for the Super Nintendo in June 1994.

The Fuma clan protects the Holy Grail which is said to possess the power to destroy the world. When the Koma clan attacks and steals the Holy Grail, only one ninja transformed into a cyborg survives.