GOTD 4/29/2016: Cyber Lip (Neo Geo)
When I bought Cyber Lip for the Neo Geo AES some 13 years ago, the guy who sold it to me referred to it as "Metal Slug's grand daddy." I was pretty good on beat 'em ups and fighters, so that sounded great to me. I have to say, as much as Gunforce II is typically noted as the forefather of Nazca's Slugs, that description is still pretty darn accurate.
In typical run 'n gun style, up to two players can simultaneously run, jump, and blast their way through hordes of malfunctioning robots as Rick and Brook, respectively. These two commandos start off with the typical semi-automatic pea shooter, but quickly gain access to a nice little arsenal, such as fully-automatic fire, a wide spread shot, bazooka, fire thrower, and grenades, as well as helpful shield bots to circle and protect their little sprites. These weapons do not replace one another as in Metal Slug or Contra, though, but rather can be cycled through at the press of a button. Picking up more of the same icon will refill the corresponding gun's ammo, and there are also refill rooms sporadically that refill you completely. Like Metal Slug, though, you can only fire in cardinal directions, so screen position is as important as reflexes here, especially during the frequent auto-scrolling segments.
Cyber Lip's graphics are pretty average by early Neo Geo standards, and a bit less fluid animation is used than the norm. Still, the backgrounds look great and some are even pretty inventive, and the bosses are huge if a tad easy. The music is also pretty good, and the ending theme that accompanies the bizarre and interesting finale is quite appropriate for the game's dystopian sci-fi setting. Hell, the game even makes good on its name, which I had at first assumed was just nonsense words some Japanese marketing guy thought sounded cool, but damned if there isn't a giant pair of cybernetic lips to fight.
The common complaint about Cyber Lip is that with unlimited credits, it's a short, easy finish. Really, though, anyone who just credit feeds these kinds of games is missing the point. As a game, it's every bit as long as Contra or Metal Slug, and the challenge lies in beating it on one credit (or at least limited if that's not your thing), and played as such it succeeds as a quality run 'n gun that, while a bit unambitious, is still a fun playthrough with an amusing payoff at the end... even if it is best known as the centerpiece of a Neo Geo print ad where the first boss is made to look like a dude's erection while he ignores a blonde in lingerie to play it.
Played this one?
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Originally Posted by Emperor Megas
