Kouchi Yotsui worked with Capcom to create Strider and the arcade smash was unlike anything else on the scene at that time. There weren’t a lot of action-platformers in arcades period as that was largely the domain of consoles, but Strider went beyond what consoles could do at that time and delivered stellar graphics, a rock-solid framerate, razor-sharp controls and a memorable soundtrack alongside its far-future version of Russia. When Yotsui’s time with Capcom ended, he created a game that played similarly to the original Strider and was far better than the game that Capcom licensed out called Strider Returns under the name Osman or Cannon Dancer. It’s similar in overall feel, but instead of a sword, your character Krin uses martial arts techniques to take out enemies.
There have been other Strider-likes, including the SNES-only Run Saber, that offered up a multiplayer-coop version of traditional Strider gameplay, but the control was stiffer than Strider’s was. Osman aimed to deliver an experience that was essentially a revamp of Strider and succeeded nicely both in its time and today thanks to so few games playing like Strider even after 30+ years of the original game’s release. The main character is Kirin (or Osman depending on the version) and his usage of hand-to-hand combat but with rapid movement and great agility makes him an easy character to get used to for those used to Hiryu.
Like the Capom classic, Cannon Dancer has an odd story – with the plot being weirder by going from Japanese to English and that changing a lot of the dialogue’s meaning. This is probably due to the era in which the translation was created, as that was a time when the goal was to just create something in the spirit of the original script in most cases – with script accuracy being secondary even for anime, let alone games. Kirin is fantastic fighter and possesses more speed and agility than even the greatest Cannon Films protagonists, but he’s used by Jack Layzon to create an alibi for Layzon to try and arrest a cult. Kirin’s skill has former allies jealous of him and there’s also the pesky cult and their god out to take out Kirin for trying to stop them. The story is odd, but goofy fun and told in beautiful and elaborate in-engine cinematics.
The core action is basically a bladeless version of Strider, with that game’s running, sliding, teleportation, cartwheel jumping and ability to leap up quickly through smaller platforms and also wall hang and monkey bar-climb across surfaces. In a more modern sense, this would very much be a Kickstarter “spiritual successor” to Strider in that regard and when viewed through that lens, it’s amazing what was done with Cannon Dancer. The action is faster than Strider’s was, with high-stakes speedy auto-running sections with vehicles coming towards Kirin quickly to create tension-filled moments. Those set pieces help set this game apart alongside varying combat conditions.
Kirin’s ability to create clones of himself and gain more power throughout the game thanks to power-ups allows him to fight bosses in ways that are completely unique to anything like a Strider game. There’s an added element of strategy to the combat since you want to place Kirin in an area to avoid damage, while having his clone(s) in a position to deal it out. The ability to combine this with a screen-clearing attack that’s wonderful for massive boss damage or just to take out smaller, annoying foes is a blessing and the combat as a whole feels fluid.
From a gameplay perspective, Cannon Dancer is a treat and it largely controls well on modern-day hardware. The default control setup is logical and can be adjusted, so if you would prefer to have the screen nuke mapped to a bumper, that’s doable. It’s odd to have a “start button” referenced in the game and not have that be referenced in the controls, but it’s just the usual start-position button on a modern controller. Save and load states alongside rewinding are offered up, but rewinding is weird because you can only resume after hitting what would be the select button’s pause menu and then resuming from there instead of just from when you stop pressing the button and press it again. Other than that, there are a ton of quality-of-life improvements alongside parts that could be done better for this first console release of the game in nearly three decades.
The player can go for an arcade-accurate difficult time with the challenge mode being a nice replication of the arcade, with unlimited continues but without things like invincibility or unlimited screen nukes available. The player can choose from things like a turbo mode or double jump in this mode to make things easier. Those just looking to play the game can do so with standard mode where you can basically do anything and endure anything and it’s a lot of fun to experiment with. The double jump completely changes how the game feels, as everything is created with a single jump in mind – but it’s interesting to use and effectively soar throughout stages until you get to either a set piece or a boss battle.
Quality-of-life improvements continue into the visual side of things with the inclusion of not only a 4:3 aspect ratio, but also the ability to have plain black pillarbox borders instead of more colorful art. That can be done too, but with a couple of recent compilations in both the IGS Arcade Classics and Mega Man Battle Network Collection not including 4:3 or black borders respectively, it stands out more now to have them included. It would be nice to have something like a digital art gallery, however, available given that a physical edition is coming out with high-res art available in it. The soundtrack is also killer and would be cool to listen to on its own in the game itself.
Smooth animation makes the game a joy to always look at as does the vibrant world. The adventure is set across many times of day and in many locales, resulting in things like night time areas looking more ominous while desert areas have a different sense of fear. The brightly-colored sea-faring level feels like something out of Shinobi III, but has a brisker pace to it and no matter how many things happen on-screen, there’s never any slowdown. Visually, it very much feels like a more evolved version of Strider without the hangups that mixing sprites and polygons caused the official Strider 2. Cannon Dancer’s soundtrack isn’t on par with Strider’s, but it’s not too far off. “Road Warning” is one of the best tracks in the game and holds up nicely thanks to its drum beats and ominous tone. “Beyond the Sands” fits the desert theme it’s used in well, while offering up a fast beat to keep the blood pumping. There isn’t a bad track in the bunch and hopefully the OST gets a full official release again down the road. From a sound effect perspective, the punches and kicks used to take foes out are satisfying and the boost in audio from the clones helps make their shots seem more impactful.
Closing Comments:
Cannon Dancer: Osman isn’t a perfect port due to some clunkiness, but it’s the definitive way to experience a long-forgotten classic that can finally get its just due. It never got a console port and would have been a nice fit on the Saturn, but having it come out now when the market is more open to spiritual successor-style games, it almost feels like the best possible timing. It’s a near-perfect Strider clone with more visual flash than anything that series ever had thanks to its stunning pixel art and lush animation. The soundtrack is also full of killer tracks and anyone who loved any Strider game should check out Cannon Dancer as soon as possible.
