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