63. Sukeban Deka II: Shoujo Tekkamen Densetsu (Mark III)The Sega Master System (Mark III in its native Japan) is a funny thing. Sales-wise, it was thoroughly trounced in both its homeland and North America. However, it was a success in Europe and Brazil, and saw many exclusive releases in those regions. Japanese exclusives were kept to an extreme minimum -- less than twenty, from my count (compare this to the hundreds of games that graced the Famicom but not the NES).
One title that remained marooned in Japan was Sukeban Deka II: Shoujo Tekkamen Densetsu. This is a licensed game, based on a media franchise that began with a manga series and later branched out to anime and live action television. There is a also a Sukeban Deka III, on the Famicom. Try as I might, I was unable to find a "part one." Turns out the II in the title refers to the fact that this particular game is based upon the second series of the TV show (likewise, III is based on the third series). That first season was apparently ignored by game developers, thus making Sukeban Deka II "part one" of an 8-bit gaming duo. This is a text heavy Mark III game, and one of the very few to receive a Japanese-to-English fan translation.
Sukeban Deka II is a Japanese adventure game. These generally have a distinct feel to them. They tend to be heavily menu-driven, with the first-person "action" relegated to a small window. Trial-and-error progress is typical. One is required to speak to everyone, search every inch of every onscreen environment, and test every item acquired. Success in this genre is predicated on the plot being captivating and not entirely obtuse. Unfortunately, this particular experience tends to be bland and cryptic. Now, I'm not familiar with the source material, and have no interest in becoming familiar after finishing this one. The lead heroine is a "delinquent" girl named Saki, not her real name but a government code name, tasked with infiltrating high schools to assist in taking down their internal crime syndicates. She carries a weapon, a lethal metal yo-yo. There are a couple of delinquent buddies of Saki's who appear as NPCs, Okyo and Yukino, though they make only brief occasional appearances. Yeah, the whole thing is comically preposterous, but never gets particularly interesting.
So, the bulk of the game is spent roaming around high school classrooms, searching for objects and then subsequently placing them in the correct spots. It's immediately apparent how bland the graphics are. The Master System had a great robust color palette, though it isn't utilized effectively here and the copy-and-paste locales get tiresome quickly. In contrast, the music is great - too great for this game - with a strong Phantasy Star vibe. Turns out the great Tokuhiko Uwabo served as composer here as well.
While looting the seemingly infinite number of desks and chalkboards, Saki will come across a string of bizarre references. The fourth wall is broken consistently, as copies of the Sukeban Deka manga appear in-game, and characters from Alex Kidd, Teddy Boy, and Fantasy Zone make cameo appearances, not to mention the string of "Sega rules!" sentiments. I'd call these things "Easter eggs" but they appear conspicuously and constantly; it's almost as if the game is loaded with advertisements. As for the actual obtainable items: finding and placing them is a colossal pain due to the game's overly picky "hit detection." For instance, an object behind a chalkboard can only be unveiled if the player clicks in one specific corner, rather than the logical dead-center area. At one point in the game something must be moved to a pedestal -- again, this is done by clicking on a single certain corner, though when the item actually appears it goes to the pedestal's center. More frustrating are the switches required to open off-screen doors and passageways. These offer zero audiovisual cues when properly activated so the player must loop around a given school to check if anything in the scenery has changed.
To give the game some credit, the developers of Sukeban Deka II attempted to shake things up a bit. While the "adventure" stretches comprise the majority of the game's playtime, there are also first-person dungeons and even combat sections. The dungeon visuals appear to be lifted straight from Yuji Horii's Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken. Gray, vapid, and dull. Dungeons serve little purpose, most contain no items or NPCs; they just exist to connect point A to point B with a few dead ends along the way. Hard pass.
As for the brawling segments, they're a welcome change of pace whilst also woefully inadequate. Combat is presented in a sort of 3/4th view, with a nice full view Saki in her hilarious schoolgirl outfit. Combat appears in two varieties. There are brawls that pit Saki against a group of male delinquents, as well as the (generally) one-on-one boss fights. The difficulty level of these skirmishes is paradoxically very hard and yet very easy. At first it seems like Saki is hopelessly unable to defeat her foes, as choppy movement and janky hit detection take center stage. After some experimentation, it soon becomes apparent that every enemy, from the first random thug to the final boss, can be taken out by unceasingly moving around the screen in a figure eight pattern, stopping short occasionally to get a single hit in. It's a chore, and takes a toll on the fingers. Saki can move in eight directions, but her yo-yo can only be fired in six. Most enemies need to be hit on a diagonal, which is easier said than done. Exacerbating the issue is the fact that every villain has a massive health bar (though, so does Saki).
All told, Sukeban Deka II takes about forty-five minutes to complete -- well, that's assuming one has a walkthrough handy. Expect a long and exasperating road otherwise. There are indeed plenty of retro Japanese "detective" video games that are true hidden gems, worthy of a second (or first) look. Despise lofty ambitions, this isn't one of them. It's tiresome, and the plot and aesthetics do little to lighten the load of constant object-clicking and arbitrarily-added fluff. Sukeban Deka II is a somewhat intriguing look into the old and forgotten Mark III scene, but little more.