DJ Boy
System: Genesis
Release Date: July 1990
Developer: Inter State
Publisher: Kaneko
Genre: Beat ‘em Up
Save your girl from the bad guys in DJ Boy! You are Donald J. Boy, world renowned Rollergame player. This mixture of roller skating and fighting has taken the country by storm. Not everyone is a fan of DJ Boy, however, and the Dark Knights have kidnapped your girlfriend Maria! It’s up to you to battle through 5 levels of action to save your babe.
Levels scroll to the right automatically. Enemies come on screen and you can punch them with the A Button, kick them with the B Button, or jump with the C Button. There are two special moves including a jump kick and a double punch that attack both sides when you press the A and B Buttons simultaneously. Your health bar increases as you beat levels, but if your life is drained, it’s game over.
At the end of each level, you visit a shop. Depending on how many enemies you killed and coins you picked up in the previous level, you can buy some powerups. Roller Skates make you move faster. The Super Punch increases your attacking speed. Power-Up increases the strength of your attack. The Helmet increases your defensive power. There’s no reason you shouldn’t have all of them by the end of the fourth round.
Bosses are generally easy. They just require you to learn the pattern. I did have some trouble with the boss of level two because of the dropping balls, and a bit in round three because I didn’t realize the clown robot was going to explode multiple times to kill me. Level five has you do a boss rush, which is much easier with all the extra health you’ve gained and the high likelihood of having purchased all the powerups and an extra life.
Graphics: 2.5
Sprites are big and animated well. Backgrounds look nice enough and there’s some parallax scrolling that can get in the way.
Sound: 2.0
Between the music and sound effects, I wasn’t impressed. The sound effects are mixed too loudly most of the time.
Gameplay: 3.0
It isn’t complicated. Punch and kick the bad guys until they drop coins to you.
Difficulty: 2.5
Until you buy a 1-up, if you die, it’s game over. The boss of round 2 was the hardest challenge.
Fun Factor: 2.5
I had an enjoyable time and it was quick.
Overall Rating: 2.5
DJ Boy earns a B-. If you’re looking for a short-lived distraction, you can’t go wrong with this one.