Cho Aniki: Bakuretsu Rantou Hen

Overview

Cho Aniki: Bakuretsu Rantou Hen ("Super Big Brother: Exploding Brawl") is a fighter game for the Super Famicom and a spin-off of Cho Aniki, the surreal shoot 'em up series from Masaya. It features both the original and newer protagonists Idaten, Benten and Adon/Samson (who in this game are palette swaps of each other), as well as a few of their most memorable ancillary characters and bosses.

The game was developed by Bits Laboratory, rather than Masaya directly. Future Cho Aniki games would follow suit. Companies Two-Five and Cube also received credits for the music and sound in the game.

Gameplay

Cho Aniki uses an energy bar for special attacks along side the classic health bar, once the fighter's energy bar regenerates gradually but when used up he'll be stunned for a brief period.

The fighters hover freely in the arena, similar to a Dragon Ball Z fighter. Different attacks are performed depending on which of the eight directions is being held.

The game features a single-player vs. computer mode and a two-player mode.

Fighters

There are a total of 8 fighters from the Cho Aniki universe.

• Idaten: The male protagonist of the original Cho Aniki game, who stepped aside for the Adon/Samson brothers for future games.
• Benten: The female protagonist of the original Cho Aniki game. She is surrounded by "options" from the original game, who resemble cherubs who can hulk up.
• Adon/Samson: A pair of brothers who originally acted as "options" in the original game, as both additional firepower and as shields. They took on protagonist duties for future games. The two brothers fight identically and take up the same slot on the select screen: Adon is the tan 1P character and Samson is the gray 2P character.
• Sabu: A floating battleship with a pagoda structure on its deck and a metallic figurehead that resembles a delinquent with a pompadour. Was previously a boss.
• Mami-19: Another floating battleship, this time with three bodybuilders on deck and a figurehead that resembles a nude anime woman. The bodybuilders assist the figurehead with her attacks.
• Adam: A naked man riding in a half-moon structure that is meant to resemble the Michelangelo artwork The Creation of Adam, a portion of the fresco painting he produced for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Was also formerly a boss.
• Uminin: A hidden "option" from the original game, who resembles an ambivalent blue stickman and is made of a stretchy material akin to latex.