Cho Aniki Zero, literally translated as Super Big Brother Zero, is the second game from the series to see release in North America and one can only imagine why the game has not garnered more attention with Western audiences. The Cho Aniki series is part of a genre of games in Japan known as kuso-ge or “shit games” and part of the appeal for the series is the over-the-top and even camp presentation.

Let me put it another way, the goal of the game is to guide one of two half-dressed and extremely well-toned, albeit unrealistically so, characters with blue or green hair in their quest to collect protein, an extremely valuable natural resource on the BuilderPlanet (naturally). The one thing standing in your way? The Evil Emperor Balzac the Second who is determined to keep all the protein to himself. Have I mentioned that protein is an allusion to sperm? Icing on the cake: Your heroes are flanked by homosexual bodybuilders who fire their Men’s Beam out of a hole in their head or cherubs who transform into mini-bodybuilders.

In terms of aesthetic, Cho Aniki tosses out the spade and brings in a backhoe, but the rest of the gameplay is typical of most bullet-hell games (think Ikaruga and Gradius). One new thing the game brings to the table is the ability to use sidekicks as invulnerable human shields; if a character is too big to slip through two incoming shots, back up and let bodybuilders take the blow. The game has an average level of difficulty but there is a very steep initial learning curve. After mastering the basics, the game can be finished in a little over an hour providing that one can avoid too many setbacks in later stages. Fans of the series will be happy to hear that Kouji Hayama returns as composer for the game’s addictive soundtrack. There is one caveat though, wear headphones while playing the game as the PSP standard hardware does not do the music justice.

Cho Aniki Zero was published by Aksys Games who recently have worked to bring BlazBlue, the Bit.Trip series and Record of Agarest War to the shores of the New World. While the game may not measure up to their other published games, it certainly represents another step for Aksys in bringing more zany Japanese games into a hungry Western market. With a $20 price point and a culture that may not appeal to gamers in North America (yet), Cho Aniki Zero may feel like a bit of a misstep, though. If you enjoy side-scrolling shooters that keep you on your toes or if you enjoy camp and overtly suggestive and humorous gameplay, Cho Aniki may be a good purchase for you. And if you are not in either category, you may get on just fine without.