2019 NEO-TOKYO IS ABOUT TO
E.X.P.L.O.D.E.
30 years after World War 3, Kiyoko, a mutant child, tells of the approaching
cataclysm. The colonel stored capsule 7 which contains mutation 29, better known
as Akira, deep below the Olympic stadium at a temperature close to absolute
zero. Take the role of Kaneda- leader of the capsule gang and Tetsuo - childhood
friend of Kaneda and member of the gang in this incredible game based on AKIRA.
1.Introduction
Released on the CD32 in April 1995 this is an action game by UK developers ICE
Software based on the manga and anime Akira. The box declares that the game was
made with the cooperation of the Akira Committee, I wonder if they ever saw the
finished result? The game was reviewed poorly across the board by contemporary
magazines;
Amiga Games 49%
Amiga Computer 36%
Amiga Joker 34%
Amiga Format 18%
CU Amiga Magazine 18%
Amiga Power 16%
Computer and Video Games (CVG) 6%
The One 6%
In Andy Nuttall's review of the game in The One he alleged that ICE sent them a
letter asking them not to print a review of Akira unless they gave it at least
80%. He summed up the game by saying "Any words of praise turn to turds in my
mouth." In his review for Amiga Power Jonathan Davies wrote that ICE ignored his
requests for a review copy of the game. After buying his own copy from WH Smiths
and discovering the first level was incredibly hard, ICE were more than happy to
send him passwords to bypass the level. Clearly they knew that he was going to
review the game whether they liked it or not.
The only magazines who dared give the game good reviews were Amiga User
International (75%) and Amiga CD32 Gamer (60%), which tells you everything you
need to know about those magazines. I think the other magazines were too kind,
because the game is clearly unfinished and is actually unbeatable. The lowest
scoring game in Amiga Power was Dangerous Streets at 3% but even that game is
beatable.
Level 1 resembles the infamous turbo tunnel in Battletoads, but it is so
difficult that no reviewer was able to beat it without cheat codes from the ICE.
In level 4 some of the platforms are placed so far away that they are impossible
to jump to, rendering the game unbeatable. That's if you can even get to that
point in the game, because the enemies are so strong and landing on the edge of
most platforms causes you fall off them.
The back of the box was clearly made by someone who loved the movie but it is a
complete mess. It spoils the entire story, but the paragraphs are seemingly
placed randomly, meaning unless you know the story it will make no sense. Kaneda
is called both Kenada and Keneda but never Kaneda which is actually how his name
is spelt. The manual is also full of obvious spelling mistakes.
The CD32 version of the game features some animated cutscenes but the intro is
only about 8 seconds long, hardly taking advantage of the CD format that
Commodore was trying to push. Released as it was in 1995, it was one of the last
few games to be released for the console.
In 2017 John Sczepaniak of Hardcore Gaming 101 tried to interview everyone who
was credited in the game. Clearly embarrassed about their involvement, very few
people wished to speak to him about a game they worked on over 20 years ago.
Only the lead tester Martin Blackmore had anything interesting to say about the
development. “I worked on Akira way back. I remember very little of the dev.
Other than creating the cut scenes and photocopying a pic of a bug 100 times and
sticking them all over studio. Each bug that got fixed, we pulled one down and
crushed it. All-nighters eh?! Two AM madness!” Mr Blackmore now works for
Microsoft, so Akira clearly did not affect his career too badly. You can find
the full article here;
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/akira-amiga/
Three attempts have been made to turn Akira into a video game but none of them
have been successful;
Akira for the Famicom (1998 by Taito)
Akira for the Amiga CD32 (1994 by ICE Software)
Akira Psycho Ball for Playstation 2 (2002 by Bandai) - A pinball game
THQ was reportedly working on Akira games for the Game Boy, SNES, Sega CD, Sega
Genesis, and Game Gear. A prototype version of the gameboy game was discovered
by youtuber Patrick Scott Patterson, it resembles the Amiga CD32 game. The
Genesis version was shown off at the 1994 Consumer Electronics Show, it
resembled the CD32 in design but had Doom style 3D sections.
2.Walkthrough
The status panel at the bottom of the screen shows your lives, health, fuel,
time, score, items and “Aura”. Aura is some bollocks mcguffin that you get from
killing enemies. Some stages will not let you leave until you have filled your
aura bar. You can go back to the title screen by holding down both the L and R
buttons.
Here are some items that you come across in the 7 levels
Grenades - allows you to attack in the driving levels.
Fuel
Fast forward symbol - speed up
Rewind symbol - slow down
Pause symbol - pauses the timer
Squares - shield up
Jars - Energy / extra life
Capsules - bonus points
Energy ball - increases your attack power as Tetsuo
Clouds - Allow Tetsuo to fly
Gun - Collect all 4 pieces to increase Kaneda's attack power.
Level 1 Street Racing
“Kaneda, head of the Capsule gang, leads the fight against their rivals, the
Clowns. In these road levels you will play the part of Keneda on his bike. You
must make your way through the streets of Neo Tokyo within the given time.”
Controls
Coloured buttons – Throw grenades if you have them.
D Pad – Move the bike
You need to get to the end before the time runs out, jumping over broken bits of
road, avoiding potholes and blowing up barricades with grenades. Make sure you
stop early to destroy the barricades, your grenades will just sail right over
them if you are too close. You will also need to pick up every bit of fuel you
see to stand a chance of getting to the end. Sometimes you will need to pick up
the speed up items to make the jumps, but other times this will only result in
crashing into enemies. You really need to play around with using save states on
this level because it is incredibly hard. If you aren't able to beat it, don't
worry, just use the passwords at the end of this guide to skip the level.
Level 2 Military Hospital
"Tetsuo, Kaneda's friend, loses control of his bike and just misses one of the
escaping mutant children. Tetsuo is taken by the authorities and experimented
upon by the scientists of the Akira project. Now you play the part of Tetsuo you
must escape the Hospital filled with doctors, guards and other subjects of the
Akira project which appear as toy cars, teddy bears and rabbits."
Controls
Coloured buttons – Attack
D Pad – Move, duck and jump
Now you have entered platforming hell. To run you need to push diagonally down,
but to jump you have to push diagonally up. To get enough speed to jump to
platforms you need to run first... I think you can see the problem, so why
didn't ICE notice? The CD32 controller has 4 face buttons and all of the are
attack!
You need to unlock the lifts by finding pass keys. Although you can get to the
end without all of the keys the game will not let you leave so make sure you
find them all. Press up to enter lifts. Some enemies will give you Aura if you
kill them, once you have enough Aura the game will let you exit. Only attack
when you need to because your power will slowly decrease the more you attack.
You can find an energy ball item in this level that increases your attack power.
The enemy soldiers cannot hit you if you are ducking so take advantage of that.
There are also some invisible enemies on this stage.
Level 3 Toyland
"Tetsuo enters Toyland with growing powers. You will come across huge Rabbits,
Teddy bears, Cars and Zepplins on this level."
The control are the same as the last level. The perspective on these levels is
just totally strange, it looks like you can move in 3D but you cannot. There are
many places where it seems like you could just walk around an obstacle or giant
hole in the floor, but you cannot. Just like the last stage there are more
invisible enemies to avoid.
Level 4 Castle
"Tetsuo finds a castle within the Toyland and now believes he has unlimited
powers. However the guards and the other subjects will try to stop Tetsuo from
finding Akira."
As I mentioned in the intro this level is unbeatable because the moving
platforms were placed incorrectly. Once you have had enough of the level feel
free to use the passwords at the end of the guide to skip this level. The
controls and gameplay are the same as the last two.
Level 5 Sewers on foot
"Kaneda, in search of Tetsuo, makes his way through the sewers where he is under
constant attack by the military. You now play the part of Kaneda again and must
find your way through the sewers in search of Tetsuo."
The controls are the same as the last three levels. While climbing ladders you
can shoot using the DPad and the fire button. To jump or drop off ladders you
need to push diagonally up or down. To increase your attack power to fend off
all of these rats you will need to find all 4 pieces of your gun.
Level 6 Flying through the sewers
"Kaneda manages to take a military hover ski, flying away with Kei, a member of
the resistance. Kaneda and Kei make their way guided by Kiyoko, who has
possessed Kei to help the children in the fight against Tetsuo."
The controls are the same as the first level. When you reach the section with
the walls you have to shoot the lighter bricks to make holes you can pass
through. There are several weapon items you can find on this level, shot power
ups, spread shots, and missiles.
Level 7 Kaneda faces Tetsuo
"Tetsuo makes his way to the stadium where the Akira project is hidden. Tetsuo
releases Akira, unaware of the power he is unleashing. The children beg Akira to
stop Tetsuo's madness. Inside the Akira vortex Kaneda battles against Tetsuo,
who has become mutated by his own powers. You now play the part of Keneda and
must battle with Tetsuo in the vortex and destroy him before he destroys you."
This is the last level, well done for making it this far. The controls are the
same as the other platforming levels. The walls in this level will hurt you, so
make sure you avoid them. The radar will show you where Tetsuo is. Make the most
of your save states to beat this blasted game.
3.Passcodes
“SKIPLEVELS” - Allows you to skip levels with right mouse button.
“LIVES” - Gives you infinite lives.
“SHIELD” - Gives you infinite shield.
“FUEL” - Gives you infinite fuel.
“COLLISION” - Makes you invincible.
“ALL CHEATS” - Turns all the previous cheats on.
“CREDITS” - Displays the credits.
On Amiga fansites these cheats are also listed but I do not know what they do.
“GASTON”
“SPLATT!“
Level select codes
1 - “LETS RIDE”
2 - “CAPTURED”
3 - “TEDDYBEAR”
4 - “CASTLES”
5 - “IT STINKS” - A concise review of the entire game.
6 - “FLYINGBIKE”
7 - “ESCAPE”
Last Boss - “BIG BLOB”
CREDITS
PROGRAMMING
ANDERS JOHANSSON
PAUL ATKINSON
GRAPHIC ARTWORK
RUPERT JONES
ANIMATIONS
RUPERT JONES
MARTIN BLACKMORE
MUSIC
TIM BARTLETT
QUALITY ASSURANCE
MARTIN BLACKMORE
TARA LEWIS
