Makeruna! Makendō (SFC) Review

Received: December 25th, 2016 / Written: October 28th-31st, 2018

Alternate Title: Kendo Rage

Year: 1993 | Developed by: Affect

Published by: Datam Polystar | [ ⬤ ]

Hello everyone, StarBoy91 here, passionate about video games, big retrophile, and taking a break from my walkthrough of Silicon & Synapse's The Lost Vikings to give you another review of a game from yesteryear, in particular I feel it would be appropriate to return to the realm of Japanese publisher Datam Polystar!  =D

Datam Polystar's video game publishing career began with the April 1992 Super Famicom release of Jorudan's average action-platformer Gōsō Jinrai Densetsu Musya which excelled with its creepy atmosphere and horror but ultimately faltered in execution due to its lack of polish and awkwardly sluggish pace which augmented such unneeded difficulty to the point that it made it feel more repetitive and frustrating than fun.  Then seven months later Datam Polystar released their second game for the Super Famicom with Cacoma Knight which was developer Affect's lightheartedly colorful and charming take on Taito's unpronounceable 1981 arcade classic Qix with a dash of Namco's obscure 1983 Japan-only coin-op Libble Rabble as it had secret chests scattered about; and while it isn't anything groundbreaking, it was a step in the right direction for the publisher.

Shortly after Cacoma Knight came out the Super Famicom received another Affect game in the form of Makeruna! Makendō (which translates to "Do Not Lose! Kendo Magic"), the second and final game by them that was published by Datam Polystar, on January 1993.  And of the seven Datam Polystar Super Famicom releases in Japan, the first three were the only ones to receive an American SNES distribution through Seta's USA division (Musya: The Classic Japanese Tale of Horror in December 1992, Cacoma Knight in Bizyland on June 1993, and Kendo Rage in October 1993 respectively).  So how fares this twenty-five year old game?

Makeruna! Makendō centers around a sixteen year old schoolgirl named Mai Tsurugino who is well-trained in the art of kendo.

During her trek in the forest she is approached by a mysterious man in a trench coat with blue skin and chartreuse hair who refers to himself as Doro.  He is a spirit detective who asks for Mai's help in defeating monsters, and as he goes over the dangers in her quest she can't contain her eagerness, so she agrees.

Doro soon gives Mai a golden magical trinket for her to use that will help her in her journey, a decision he initially regrets on account that Mai momentarily doesn't take it seriously as she can't get over how cute it is.  But she soon gets a grip and begins her adventure to defeat monsters for Doro--at four in the morning.

As she raises up the trinket in her hand she twirls around and magically transforms into a magical kendo warrior complete with a new outfit change... one with a ridiculously short skirt that even Sailor Moon would call shameless.

Mai Tsurugino's quest has just begun.

Ha ha, I love that!  XD

In the side-scrolling action-oriented platformer Makeruna! Makendō you take control of the kendo sword wielding Mai Tsurugino whose simple controls are intuitive and become second nature once you get accustomed to this game's structure.  The default controls are B to jump (with how much altitude you gain dependent on how lightly or hard you pressed the button), Y to attack with your kendo sword (in front of you while standing or jumping or ducking down, above you while on ground or midair, and downward in midair), and with the A button you can use the dash attack, but only use it if you feel you're left with no choice as each use will deplete a bit of your health.

Jumping above the trees

Some additional controls are sliding down certain platforms by holding down and B and swimming upward while repeatedly pressing and/or tapping B in the event that you're underwater.  Occasionally you'll stumble upon the Unkoro-Gashi creatures who have got orbs that change color after every two or three seconds, and depending on what color the orb is you'll be given a different power-up once you relieve it from the creature holding it with your kendo sword.  The yellow orb serves as a health supplement for whenever you have at least one whenever you take a hit then the kendo sword will act as a shield deflecting the enemy attack as opposed to letting you lose your health otherwise.

Uh oh!  Who is the real Mai?

Getting the blue orb, which is the default power-up you begin the game with, will have your kendo sword sprout three ends that occasionally fire off ghosts; with the green orb power-up in your possession any kendo sword attack will act like three jabs at once and is the most recommended of the orb power-ups in my opinion; and finally obtaining the red orb power-up will extend your weapon to give you some range.  There are two different gauges on the bottom left corner of the screen: the bottom one represents your health which can only be replenished with varying delicacy items while the top one represents your power gauge which refills itself gradually provided that you don't use your kendo sword, for doing so regardless how much it's filled will completely empty it.  The fuller the gauge, the more power capacity will be emanating from your weapon when you use it (i.e. using your red orb power-up will shoot a beam).

Yeah, this seems like a logical place to drop off

someone with an outfit like that

Moving at first will generally result in moving at a steady pace, but the longer you hold it the faster you'll go, but don't go too fast because there are a lot of enemies to contend with.  You'll notice that on the upper left corner there is a clock counter which goes up in minute, albeit not in real-time, anytime you take your time or whenever you struggle; sometimes you'll stumble across a clock item which will momentarily stop time.  What's the time for, you ask?  Well, I'll save that for later.  At the end of each round is a boss that you'll have to defeat in order to go on to the next one.  Whenever your health gets fully depleted and you lose a life you'll continue right on the spot, but if you lose all your lives and choose to use a continue (of which there are few and far between) then you'll begin from the beginning of the current round you lost your last life in.

Singers singing in the snow

The visuals in Makeruna! Makendō are colorful and a delight to look at.  Each setting location is drastically different in terms of design to make them distinguishable from each other.  The opening round has got a cool mountainous backdrop taking place in a starry sky, with the sunset on the horizon being bright blue, which is followed by the green foliage of the forest (including one made out of dithering effects to create some atmospheric depth).  The second round which transpires in the snow has got frozen and swirly waves set against a yellow and purple sky backdrop with basic clouds adorning the horizon line with some occasional snowfall in the air.

Sifting through the snow with your kendo sword

The fourth round takes place at a construction zone which then segues into a labyrinth, and during the train ride in the fifth round there's a nice sensation of going inside and out of tunnels as once in awhile the screen fades to black (except for Mai and any enemy onscreen) for a temporary time and then shortly after fades back from there.  There are some neat visual effects during the course of the game, such as the fluctuating underwater effects as you swim in color layering chartreuse water in the third round,

the way that the clouds form up from the ground in the penultimate round is interesting, and in the same round when you face off against the boss Makenro the environment changes to a single-colored background replete with wavy roses.

Dashing through the snow

Mai Tsurugino is decently designed in-game and displays solid animation through and through, from the moment she walks on-screen in her school uniform and twirls around to change into her magical outfit.  Her running and jumping animations are solid, and regardless of where she swings and lunges her kendo sword it's well-animated despite appearing basic in motion.  She also has a compromised pose as she holds her skirt down when she either flows down the water for a longer period of time and when she sustains some damage from certain enemies, but also thrown in the mix are some exaggeratedly over the top animations as she suddenly goes from normal sized to chibi whether it be her running down an incline or whenever she loses a life with an incredulous expression on her face.  I also like her victory pose whenever she clears a round, not to mention the way Doro just appears from above you any time a boss is defeated.

"Hey, what the hell, you creep?!?" "I'm sorry, please don't kill me!"

Mai spares Masakka with Mercy / You gained 0 EXP

If you were wondering about the compromised pose, here's one example.

"STOP!  SINGING!!!"

The enemy roster that Mai contends with throughout the course of the game are all varied and interesting, and many of their names begin with the prefix "Ma-".  Among them are ghost variants (with some wearing welding masks, some donning top hats, some wearing scuba goggles, et al), bears protruding from seemingly normal small bushes, male heartthrobs singing out in the snow that occasionally throw a punch behind them (Dotuki-Hiroshi), flying snowmen, crustaceans that can extend their arms, crabs that foam in the mouth when you take them out, cyclopic walls, bothersome monkeys, tiny chicks, and jesters who attack by kicking soccer balls to name several examples, and they all have incredulous reactions when you defeat them shortly before they vanish in thin air.

Thrusting downward

At the end of each round is a boss, and they are all amusingly designed despite largely being bigger than Mai, and they all have solid animation when it comes to their attacks against you, plus they have a funny reaction whenever their last bit of health is spent which adds an endearing quality to this platformer.  The first boss you encounter, Manenbo, is a hilarious-looking chibi-fied doppelgänger of Mai Tsurugino; in the underwater third round you face off against three giant fish (first comes the red Makaranchu, then after a bit emerges the green Ma-Bikkuri who attacks with his eyeball, until finally comes the blue shark-like Ma-Jozu, at which point you'll have to contend with all three at once) who go belly up after sustaining enough damage from your kendo sword; at the end of the fourth round there's Mashin Garekki who morphs into three different forms; and at the end of your journey there's the demonic-like Makenpo who's got three different phases to his battle.

So nice of that owl enemy from Cacoma Knight to step up as boss in this game (Makkuro in the fifth round)--okay, not really, but you get the drift.  Also, brownie points for having an owl in it.  =)

The character designs were done by Ano Shimizu who also did the character designs for Affect's last game Cacoma Knight.

Both games also have a monitor and a pad test in the options screen

It is pretty obvious if you've played both games that they share the same artist, and given that these two games weren't released that far apart from each other (Cacoma Knight in Novemer 1992 and this game in January 1993) they do share much of the same staff besides just the character designer, so I presume they must've been worked on around the same time.

Shimizu is also credited for the characters of Mai and Maririn who appear as playable characters in Datam Polystar's subsequent release in the form of the 1994 Super Famicom port of the 1993 Sharp X68000 Success block pushing puzzler Keeper.

Yes, Mai is a character you can choose to play as in that game's options screen, and she even reverts back to her school uniform if you remain idle long enough, which is amazing!  =)  Though I'm not sure why she's referred to as "Makendō" there, as that's not her name; unless they wanted a name that was at least six or seven letters long, which "Mai" is not.  =/

Not to mention she is tiny in Makeruna! Makendō

Also, interesting choice having Maririn be a tertiary character to choose from given she amounted to being an enemy in the penultimate round of today's game who occasionally fails to be swung at from Makenro's tennis racket thereby having her waddle towards you during the fight.

But either way, I love that I now know where these characters are from so I can enjoy playing as those two as well and not just as the adorably eponymous creature.  And all of that makes Keeper the greatest Success story to have come from Datam Polystar!  =D

It's a good thing Mai can breathe underwater

seemingly indefinitely, otherwise she would've

drowned by this point

Makeruna! Makendō's soundtrack was composed by Takahiro Wakuta whose prior credits for Human Entertainment involve Formation Soccer: Human Cup '90 for the NEC PC Engine, Jigoku Gokuraku Maru/Kabuki: Quantum Fighter on the Nintendo 8-bit console, Puroresu/HAL Wrestling for the Game Boy, and The Adventures of Gilligan's Island on the NES; Wakuta also did music for the BEC video game license for Ultraman and of course Affect's Cacoma Knight.  The music takes on a lighthearted flavor that sounds catchy and fun during the proceedings which is perfect for this game's tongue-in-cheek tone and atmosphere.  =)

Battling against Marimonetto

If you stay in the title screen for awhile it will switch to this game's attract mode which has got a cheerful theme that plays when you learn about Mai.  The theme for the opening round is pleasant and kicks your adventure off into high gear, the theme for the third round where you venture underwater fits well with the fish enemies you have to contend with, and the theme for the fifth round where you ride down the trolley and board the train is breezy and lighthearted.  But my favorite theme from this game happens during the final round which is essentially the equivalent of a mad dash to the finish where the composition is so ridiculous and yet there's an epic feel and sense of urgency to it at the same time which makes anytime I reach this point whenever I play the game so enjoyable!  XD

"That's for being a naughty fish!"

All the bosses have their own distinct themes (I like the one you hear when you face off against the fish trio of Makaranchu, Ma-Bikkuri, and Ma-Jozu and the one you hear when you battle Mashin Garekki as well as the one you hear when you compete against Makenro), which is always a plus whenever it happens in certain video games, and Makenpo has a cool battle theme when you face off against him in the end.  The sound effects are well chosen and appropriately goofy, especially whenever Mai's kendo sword touches an enemy and/or if it defeats it and when she gets the "Time Stop" clock item.  Mai, Doro, and Makenpo also have digitized voice clips during certain moments, with the former doing it whenever she swings her kendo sword and taking damage as well as when you clear a round (and when you boot the game she says the game's title), Doro saying "Ippon!" at the end of each round, and the latter shouting "YAH!" anytime he sends a fireball attack (and during his second phase the same shout is repeated in quick succession which adds some unintended hilarious effects).

WHY IS THERE A BUS UNDERWATER??  IT DOESN'T

DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!!  D8

There are three different difficulty settings in Makeruna! Makendō, and they all vary in terms of how many lives you start off with, whether there are health replenishing items, how much damage the enemies take, or how much challenge they throw your way.  Regardless, the game must be beaten in one sitting for you've got a limited amount of continues, and since there is no score in this game the only way to get any lives is if you look around the area for a Mai icon.

Following the release of Makeruna! Makendō in Japan there was an OVA series closely based on the game featuring Mai Tsurugino and her younger sister Hikaru.

Images from GameFAQs

The latter of whom would headline the Success-developed sequel Makeruna! Makendō 2: Kimero Youkai Souri (which translates to "Do Not Lose! Kendo Magic 2: Do it! Specter Prime Minister") which Datam Polystar released for the Super Famicom on March 1995 which would see a PlayStation One conversion by Fill-in-Cafe that November, but unlike its 1993 platforming predecessor it was a one-on-one tournament fighter.  Finally on March 1998 the series saw its third and final iteration Makeruna! Makendō Z for the NEC PC-FX computer, which would be one of the last games Fill-in-Cafe worked on before succumbing to bankruptcy that year, which was a turn-based RPG.  Oh dear, this video game series can not seem to make up its mind what it wants to be...  XD  Unlike the original Affect title that started it all, these follow-ups remained exclusively in Japan.

Construction underway

I remember first learning about this game, albeit the American version Kendo Rage, when I watched a Let's Play on it done on YouTube by Valis77, which must've been like a decade ago.  There was a quirk factor to it when I watched it that made it intriguing, but in the years since I watched those videos I kind of forgot about it until about two years ago I think when I was in a Datam Polystar kick after having imported Success' Keeper and Märchen Adventure Cotton 100% for the Super Famicom during the Summer of 2016, at which point I wanted to explore more of the publisher's games for the Super Famicom because I adored both titles so much, and this game was among them in native Japan.

My next Datam Polystar import purchase however would be their first game where they acted as publisher in the form of Jorudan's Gōsō Jinrai Densetsu Musya which I got to play early that December in 2016.  I actually managed to beat it in my first sitting that night, but it wasn't with any ease as I struggled playing it due to Jinrai's awkwardly slow pace with equally awkward slow jumps and severe lack of polish throughout which made for a cheaply unfair structure.  The creepy atmosphere was succinct across the board, but it was practically the only bright spot in the whole package; which is ironic given that the 1992 platformer was really dour and grim, and not for all the intended reasons I'm afraid.  Datam Polystar must've felt the same, because all their subsequent venues on the Super Famicom from Affect's Cacoma Knight onward were the exact opposite of that.

One of the games I asked for on Christmas 2016 was Makeruna! Makendō for the Super Famicom as my next game to play by Datam Polystar (to quench my curiosity I had for it since that Summer), of which I received it in CIB condition, and let me tell you: after having played through the grim and dour Gōsō Jinrai Densetsu Musya it felt so refreshing and cathartic to play this endearingly silly and lighthearted romp, as it was the second and final Super Famicom platformer published by Datam Polystar.  Not without its faults either, I found today's game to be more enjoyable in and out of comparison.  =)

Keep hitting Mapuresu so he doesn't make

one-eyed Machina wall enemies anymore

I liked the kendo sword-involved gameplay and the varying power-ups you use, and there is a bit of an open-ended quality to most of its rounds' area designs so it isn't just a straightforward affair; it's not overly complex in this regard but it's not facile and effortless either.  Each round has its own distinct moments and twists to keep things engaging and fresh: one example is the beginning of the fourth round where you must be pushed by a spring which propels you further ahead and after the midboss Mapuresu there is a teleporter, the fifth round begins by having you go down a trolley which then segues to having you run down the incline until you board the train, and one other example which exacerbates this platformer's fun ingenuity is the boss fight against Makenro at the end of the sixth round--where it consists of you swinging the spiked ball back and forth like in a game of tennis and the only way she sustains damage is if it flies through her because she failed to swing at it, which begins anew until her health has been fully depleted.

Fighting against a shapeshifting robot

All the bosses that you fight in this game have got patterns that are easy to follow once you've memorized them, but either way they do have their own way of challenging you.  The aforementioned fight against Makaranchu, Ma-Bikkuri, and Ma-Jozu initially begins with one fish until gradually you have to contend with all three in the same presence which gets a little easier once you get rid of a fish or two and they all have different abilities for you to keep in mind (Ma-Jozu charges towards you at an angle while Makaranchu swims forward, remains in place for a moment, goes back to his position, then either rises or lowers himself, rinse and repeat), the chibified Mai Tsurugino wannabe Manenbo spins towards you and occasionally fires off a laser beam as well as throw a spiked ball that bounces up and down on the floor, Mashin Garekki has three different forms that he morphs into during battle (among them a missile-launching jet carrier and a rocket that whizzes by), and the owl Makkuro's way of attacking you is by either shedding his feathers below him and tossing his head toward you.

What a pest

The final round comprises of a boss rehash where you have to face off against the bosses you previously fought in the six rounds before this one, which I'm sure might turn some people off, but there is a neat twist that makes it welcoming, especially as between each boss are two Unkoro-Gashi creatures with the power up orbs for you to get (and if you manage to not get hit, you can gather the yellow orbs to increase your health supplement and increase your chances of survival).  Makenpo might prove to be a challenge at first but he is manageable after several tries, as Makeruna! Makendō is one of those action games where if a large enemy charges towards you and you timed your attack juuuuust right, then you may have a chance at withstanding said enemy's affront without sustaining any damage (might take a bit of practice, though).  As a plus, except when the six bosses speak to you before fighting, the final round's theme keeps playing up until you fight Makenpo, which is great because I love that song.

Got a train to catch

So why the time clock?  The twist at the end?  You vanquished your foes left and right with kendo justice simply just to go to school.  I'm not offended, honestly, as there is a fun cleverness to this twist that is funny yet endearing at the same time.  Amazing!  =3  And because of the time clock there is a big sense of replay value where you get to try to see how quickly you can get to the end of each round, for the actual time it takes to beat the game itself is roughly around thirty to forty minutes at best which is highly dependent on your gameplay performance.  It also helps that this game is brimming with a lighthearted sense of humor as it doesn't take itself seriously.  Makeruna! Makendō is an unapologetically silly game, but it's aware of how silly it is which makes the proceedings enjoyably endearing as a result.  =)  Many of the enemies and bosses have incredulously funny expressions when they get defeated, Mai has a couple moments of occasional over-the-top anime silliness, there's randomness aplenty (like when you clear the third round and the bus comes to pick you up underwater), there's the bizarre shift in location, and any time you reach a boss they stop to say something to you before the fight commences; all of that gives this game a lot of character and personality.

Whoa, hey now, no need for you to lose your head

There's also the sense that this game is lightheartedly poking fun of and lampooning the conventions, structure, and formula of Telenet Japan's Mugen Senshi Valis platformers; we've got an ordinary schoolgirl who's been tasked to become a magically enhanced warrior for the greater good, there's a similar feel to certain area designs, there are differently varied power-ups for your weapon, there's a moment when you find yourself in a cold environment despite the protagonist not being well-dressed for the occasion, the bosses talk to you before they start battling you, and there's a story progression after each round has been cleared.  All these elements, and more, make this game the closest the Nintendo 16-bit console gets to having a proper Valis game.

There was a Valis game on the Super Famicom in the form of Telenet Japan's Super Valis: Akaki Tsuki no Otome in March 1992, which saw an American SNES distribution by Atlus eleven months after the fact as Super Valis IV, but that was more of a rearranged and heavily simplified arcade game (that takes roughly thirty minutes to beat) on 1991's NEC-only Valis IV (with much of the gameplay, backgrounds, sprites, animations, and stills from anime cutscenes regardless of context lifted from there) than a full-fledged port of that story-driven game.  Because the Japan-exclusive Valis IV was a game on an NEC platform Telenet Japan could not be permitted to port it as is on a Nintendo platform as they were not on friendly terms at the time so much of the same staff had to rearrange it to become a new game in order for Nintendo loyalists to get some taste of the series, with the ability to run by double-tapping either button and toggling between six items to choose from.  It didn't help that only NEC and Sega loyalists got to experience most of the series while their competitors didn't get anywhere near enough exposure to it.

An unintended side effect of the palette change is that anytime you're frozen instead of being encased in regular blue ice you're trapped in yellow ice; ewwwwwww  X{

But if you wanted to ease the pain a bit in this regard then you could always hold both shoulder buttons on your Nintendo 16-bit controller, boot up and start the game, and keep on holding those buttons until the game begins proper--that way you can pretend to take control of the blue-haired heroine of the Mugen Senshi Valis trilogy Yūko Asō instead of Rena Bland (even though this is still Rena Bland's adventure).  Telenet Japan must've sensed that Nintendo gamers felt left out regarding the series as a whole so they must've incorporated the code to augment the illusion even if the only change was of the main character's palette, but it is really nice and considerate of the developers to do that.  <=)  Found out about it recently on GameFAQs.

Jorudan.  You.  Are.  The.  Worst!  >=(

Speaking of stuff I recently found out on GameFAQs, if you press Select and Start simultaneously while the cursor is on "Continue" on the title screen for Jorudan's Gōsō Jinrai Densetsu Musya then you can access a menu where you can change the amount of lives from one to five and set the game level difficulty from one to three.  That's right: this highly unpolished game has got two extra difficulty settings, both more (1) and less (3) forgiving than the default one (2)!  It was strenuous enough going through this game's game level 2 two times, I can't imagine how awful game level 3 must be in this regard; I guess I'll find out one of these days.  -_-  And with that I proved that GameFAQs can simultaneously be the best and the worst place to look up codes for video games.

Oh no, blue excrement in the ceiling!  D=

Either that or the Dragon Quest slimes found themselves

in the wrong game again...

While the Valis series of games in general had you go at a deliberately steady pace, Makeruna! Makendō has got a bit more speed to it in Mai's movement controls which can be a benefit but also a detriment as well.  This is a game where it is possible to gain some traction by holding down either direction button, but because there are a lot of enemies to contend with you can't really afford to do that lest you wish to lose damage quickly.  I like that you can attack above you as well, but occasionally you have to stop any time there's a group of enemies in your way (like in the penultimate round with the ghost and Maririn enemies) and take your time, and you cannot attack while moving either which slightly dampens the experience.  It could've also benefited from some polish in areas (I slightly prefer Telenet Japan's Super Valis as it's a little better in that regard), but at least in the case of this game it's still enjoyable enough as it can be worked around and is not as harrowing as... that Jorudan platformer that shall not be referenced any further.  >_>

Quirky, old school fun

But on the whole, though, I like Affect's Makeruna! Makendō and find it to be solid fun to play every once in awhile, and its brevity and replay value as far as how quickly you can try to get through these rounds makes it easy to come back to it and replay it.  =)  I have yet to play the direct sequel by Success and Polystar's Yōchien Senki MADARA (the second and last Super Famicom game based on the Eiji Otsuka/Shōu Tajima manga series Mōryō Senki MADARA after Konami's aesthetically beautiful and surreal turn-based RPG Mōryō Senki MADARA 2), but of the five SFC Datam Polystar games I played I consider today's game to be my third favorite of the bunch.  Sure it's inherently silly and doesn't take itself seriously in any way, but I can't imagine it any other way, for the lighthearted charm and tone fits the package perfectly.  For all intents and purposes, this is a fun feel-good platformer, and if that's what you're looking for: then should you be forgiving of its blemishes, then this game is worth attending.

My Personal Score: 7.0/10

d(^-^)bTO EACH THEIR OWNd(^-^)b

P.S. And thus, with this review, the 2018 ".5" score curse is broken.  ...sort of.

P.S. 2 The perfectionist in me wishes I knew of that palette change code back when I talked about Super Valis in my review for it almost two years ago, then my review would've truly been well-rounded and informative (than it already was, or so I thought).  On the bright side, if I ever decide to start a new review site (something I've thought about doing but not really feeling like going through with that yet) and talk about that game again, at least I'll know of that secret code then.

P.S. 3 Sometime last year I considered reviewing it this January, but I'm glad I decided to talk about it now--otherwise I may have missed some things pertaining to this game's spiritual ties to Keeper...

Happy 25th Anniversary, Makeruna! Makendō!!!  =D

Thank you for reading my review, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think (neither spam nor NSFW comments are allowed); hope you have a great day, take care!  =)