Dogurai (Nintendo Switch)

Dogurai is a new title, designed to look & feel exactly like a title from the Nintendo Gameboy. Does it celebrate the little portable that could or is the game a little ruff? 

Dogurai puts you in the paws of Bones, he is a dog samurai…..Dogurai!!!. Bones is tasked with bringing down the evil robot empire controlled by the robot master….leaders, grab your Katana and show the world that you’re not only a good boy but the best boi!. 

Dogurai as mentioned in the intro blurb is a gameboy game but not on the gameboy. The game isn’t meant to have an in depth story, mainly just a reason why a Dog Samurai is destroying a robot army that fell straight out of a Blue Bomber’s series, in which case we got what we needed here!. 

Visually Dogurai nails the GB look to a tea, small but effective sprites, the colour scheme making it look like its being run through a Super Game Boy (GB to SNES adapter for you younglings) and the various filter and aspect ratios you can have really enhance that classic Gameboy magic.

Audio side of things Dogurai keeps you going with catchy chip tune songs & classic 8bit sound effects, no voice acting, no licenced music just good old fashioned gaming sounds!.

Gameplay up next and Dogurai nails what it set out to do, doesn’t reinvent the wheel by any stretch of the imagination but what it does, it does well. 

Dogurai is a standard action platformer, much in the style of Ninja Gaiden Shadow, you run, double jump, slide, slash and occasionally activate a QTE attack across its levels of which you can choose what order you tackle them in. 

The stages playout in linear 2D action style, there is a motorbike section but for the most part your jumping, slashing and dying along the stages. As mentioned this game is old school, it does have difficulty settings including an infinite life option to help ease you into it which is a good option for first timers.

During the level you can find secret discs which unlock the good ending, there is also another character you can unlock which gives you another reason to try go through the game again and beat your best time. 

Bosses are a high point in this game, the old mix of pattern and skill based, really brings back memories of the old GB Mega Man games, often tough challenges but never unfair, word to the wise there is a boss rush here!. 

Depending on skill level, you’ll see the credits roll on Dogurai in around an hour and half, less if you have alot of experience with these kind of titles. Aside from the different difficulty settings and extra character there isn’t too much else in terms of additional content, fortunately the game is more than reasonably priced for what you get.

If Dogurai released on the original Gameboy it would have been hailed as one of the better titles on the system. While not exactly fresh in any aspect, it manages to create a fantastic throwback to simpler times in a tight and addictive platformer title.

If you have a fever for 2D Platformers & love the Gameboy, Dogurai is a title you cannot go wrong with. Despite its short run time, the game is a genuine joy to replay and is so pick up and play you’ll be flying round like a master Dogurai in no time. Finger crossed we see more from Dogurai in the future, preferably tackling some 16bit consoles with Blast Processing…..