The drawing style of Akira Toriyama, creator of the legendary Dragon Ball, is one of the most recognizable in the manga/anime world. Over the years, this mangaka has forged his status to the point of being known as the creator of one of the most representative works and one of the most paid homage to around the world. That's why when I saw some of the images of this game, I immediately recognized Akira Toriyama's drawing style, and besides being able to see such a characteristic and striking style, I also discovered a very fun platform game, with many of the typical features of manga/anime Dragon Ball or even Dr.Slump. And it is for that reason that I set out to play this peculiar video game.
I'll be very honest from the beginning, I didn't pay much attention to this game, because besides the fact that the game is in Japanese and that I only found a version translated into English, but of very poor quality, I was also lazy to investigate the central story of this game. But what you can intuit quite easily, is that the main protagonist is called Ackman and is a rather long-lived demon, despite having the appearance of a child, in fact, he looks like Trunks from the Dragon Ball saga, but after 45 exorcisms. Ackman's job is to accumulate souls to give them to his boss. So simple, but within this simplicity, there is the purest humor so characteristic of Akira Toriyama, many situations are typical that we can find in Dragon Ball or Dr.Slump, dumb humor, to say the least, but that at certain times, even gives quite a laugh.
Logically, being a game whose designs were made by Akira Toriyama, one of the most recognized mangakas worldwide, the style of Go! Go! Ackman is very anime. All the main characteristics of Akira Toriyama's works are captured in this videogame, that is why as we advance we will be able to find certain elements that just by seeing them we will automatically associate them with Dragon Ball, due to the recognizable form that this artist has.
Go! Go! Ackman is a very colorful game and is an important part of the personality of this game, as it makes a good contrast with the main character, which is a demon. It is not a game that stands out too much for its graphic quality, in fact, the backgrounds of the scenarios are quite repeated and have designs, in most situations, very simple. But undoubtedly, what stands out most in this game, although it is not something of high graphic quality, are its characters, many of these characters, being a direct creation of Toriyama, are very well presented in this game and fit very well with the universe created in this game. We will see quite obvious references to Dragon Ball and a few to Dr.Slump, something that is quite funny and very much in keeping with the humor of this game, as the characters do certain types of animations that add even more humor to this game, which in itself, there are quite a few moments of comedy.
The soundtrack of Go! Go! Ackman is very typical of a comedy anime, as this game is. The music itself is very good and fits very well with all the events that will happen throughout the adventure of our protagonist Ackman. It has 27 very varied melodies, from melodies with faster musical tones and action, and other melodies that serve to accompany the many moments of comedy that this game has.
Go! Go! Ackman is a side scrolling platform game too conventional and classic, it does not innovate in any aspect and keeps the basic characteristics of games of this style, although it is not a boring game despite the above mentioned, because despite being very simple game mechanics, they are very well implemented in its gameplay. Also, the humor that is presented in this game, plays a very important role in the gaming experience that the player will have throughout this adventure.
We will advance through different scenarios, full of enemies, mainly angels, since the main character is a demon, his main enemies are the angels. After overcoming certain stages, we must confront a final boss, most of which don't present a very difficult challenge. Ackman can attack with his fists, but we can also get weapons that will help us to eliminate our enemies more easily, they are quite useful in this game, from firearms and a sword that Ackman always has, will be the equipment that our protagonist will use to get rid of his enemies. In itself, it is a game of short duration, if we wanted to complete it 100%, I think it would be enough with 1 hour of gameplay. It is not a spectacular game, but it is quite fun and having designs by Akira Toriyama, it certainly adds more value.
Go! Go! Ackman, as I said, is not a spectacular game, in terms of mechanics, as it is quite simple and with very classic elements of this game, but it is still a game that, due to its aesthetics and its handling of humor, makes it an interesting title to try and analyze.
