Written: 10.17.06
Acquired: 5.27.06
Status: Cart only
Price: $12.99

Today we look at a platforming trilogy based on the 1993 manga by Akira Toriyama. The GO GO ACKMAN games definitely have some good things going for them. You control Ackman, supposedly Satan's lackey, and as you slay enemies your winged companion captures their souls in a little jar (100 granting you an extra life). It's all quite bizarre; from the sense of humor to the bosses, Go Go Ackman does nothing new but does it well

The original is my favorite of the 3. It hooked me and I finished it the very same day. Punch, kick, run, jump, slide, climb, you even have bombs -- all the quintessential platforming features. What's really nice is Ackman can jump on an angel's head and send it sliding across the screen taking out others (a la the koopa shells)

And of course what hero,
or in this case, anti-hero,
would be complete without
the powerup shot?

                             Making the game extra fun
                             is the ability to pick up three
                             weapons along the way:

                             Sword

Boomerang

                                 







                                                                                And my favorite, the gun

The weapon is forfeited upon 1st hit, but on the upside a health bar is not deducted (the sequels you start with a sword, and weapons collected will remain even after receiving damage)

LEVEL 1 is your standard,
plain, easy stage, but I really
like its look and early on I
could tell this was going to
be a nice little game

                                The 2nd level introduces
                                a darker brown tone with
                                lots of hills to jump from,
                                and plenty of instant death
                                pitfalls

Like DoReMi, there's even
the force-scroller thrown in
for good measure. This one
being a car ride. Of course,
Ackman has his own special
advertising splashed on the
vehicle

                              BOSS 1 is really simple.
                              Just a big fancy suit-and-tie
                              corporate fiend

BOSS 2 -- my what big teeth you have...

                                 On to STAGE 2 we move
                                 toward a more tropical
                                 setting. As my man
                                 Flavor Flav once said,
                                 "PEACE IN BELIZE!"

Keep an eye out for 'hidden'
passages that may appear
on first glance to be a pitfall,
but actually leads to a
plethora of goodness

                                          BOSS 3 is a karate
                                          bully on steroids

The next level sends Ackman
on another force-scroller, this
time he hits the high seas

                              BOSS 4 has bombs of his
                              own but no worries; like the
                              others he's a push-over

The next level has sections of water with sharks and other nasties

The mermaids can give Ackman one big ole headache

                                       BOSS 5 is sort of the
                                       epitome of the game:
                                       funky and goofy. Love
                                       the goggles

And that's stage 2. Onto 3,
which has a pyramid sand
theme. Here the game takes
on an extra graphical punch,
with scrolls that stretch on...
pretty amazing in a simple
kind of way

                           The 1st mid-boss of this world
                           (BOSS 6 for those keeping
                           count at home) is ridiculously
                           easy. And way bizarre-o

Now you enter a pyramid where new obstacles come to the fore front... including...

This big son-of-a-gun takes 2 hits to vanquish

                                         







                                                                                      NO NO ACKMAN!!

GO GO ACKMAN!!

                                      






                                                                                     BOSS 7 burrows a lot

BOSS 8 was the first to give
me some fits, thanks in part
to the quicksand. Remind
anyone of MUMM-RA from
THUNDERCATS fame?

CLOSING THOUGHTS

While the levels and boss battles are short in comparison to others of this genre, the game is a blast while it lasts. More levels await but I'll let you discover the rest

Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Gameplay: 8
Longevity: 6

Overall: 8.0

Silver Award

Now let's look at the sequels. Worthy... or no?

GO GO ACKMAN 2

Written: 10.17.06
Acquired: 8.22.06
Status: CIB
Price: $10

I couldn't get into this. After enjoying, pardon the pun, the hell out of the original, the sequel did disappoint as it felt like a cheap cash-in. It didn't have the sweet feel or look of the original, and although old faces return (like some of the mid-bosses) the game just never came together for me. It is, however, the hardest of the trilogy by far

Maybe you'll like it, in fact I know some who prefer this out of the three, but I didn't dig it too much. Not to say it's a bad game, it just doesn't compare to the original, in my humble opinion

GO GO ACKMAN 3

Written: 10.17.06
Acquired: 5.27.06
Status: Cart only
Price: $12.99

If you noticed, this game was released less than FIVE MONTHS after part two came out. Hmmmm... *rubs chin*

Were they cashing in, or making up?  Personally, I say the latter

GGA 3 to me is the classic "Oh wow we really messed up the last sequel didn't we. Let's make another and get back to basics" kind of sequel. Playing this you really feel like it's part 1 in terms of spirit. It had some ace layouts like the booby trap-filled prison. New features are thrown in the mix like shops within levels. Heck the game even has a nice prelude battle where you duke it out with your infamous angel rival... and his incompetence offsets the end boss so much, the angel is banished to your side. Thus, in certain levels you play as the angel rather than Ackman. With his propensity for flight it only further enhances the game playing experience. As Borat would say... NIIICE

Here's a quick glance at some of the happenings:

Firing the game up, level one made me feel right back at home

The 1st boss is (again) a return of old faces from the original. You joust with the trio in succession and the time lapse between each is handled brilliantly

Now that's good stuff

After you knock these re-tread
bozos off their high horses, you
have the choice of picking any
one of their vehicles -- the next
section, depending on what you
chose, is a shooter or action
racer. Pretty dope

The 2nd boss packs a mean punch, and you know I love good ole school boss flashing whenever they take a hit. GGA 3 does "boss flashing" fans everywhere justice!  Check it out

My favorite boss-flash of all time?  Rocksteady from NES TMNT 2, but this one is up there

Bear in mind this trilogy can be very off-beat. Look no further than this freakish cutscene...

                                     Mode 7 zooms into his
                                     mouth... how delightful

This next level is one of my
favorite in the entire series.
I just love the different booby
traps and elevator-riding to
eventually reach the top floor.
The backdrops where you can
see far into the background is
an EXCELLENT touch

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Some folks I'm sure (and know) prefer part 3 to 1 and 2. In my opinion, if you want to try Ackman, go with the original first, and then try part 3. If you only try one game however, my advice is play the 1st one.

Finally, there's a smattering of JP dialogue after each level in all 3 games, but it doesn't really affect your enjoyment. Though I hear the text is quite amusing for those who can follow it

I give kudos to Aspect for making this enjoyable, albeit derivative trilogy