You are DJ Boy, dancer extraordinaire who must get your boom box from prudish punks that stole it from you while dancing to some gnarly tunes by DJ Wolfman Jack. So begins the trek through urban grounds and exotic locales as you punch, kick, and dance your way through waves of enemies who are not shy in knocking you off your feet, nor are afraid to use anything to do so, such as explosives. That must be one expensive boom box.
Credit: KanekoBreak those moves DJ Boy
The game play is pretty loose in this game, as you try to beat up any other enemy that tries to stop you from your quest but more often than not end up hitting air as the hit detection can be faulty, and enemies take advantage of its more than perfect AI in devastating you. DJ Boy has plenty of moves which can be used with its three buttons featured. The most useful is a sweep that allows you to hit enemies left and right in tandem to keep them at bay. There are no grab moves here, something that would had been handy to amp the chances of success. Rather than a health bar or anything of the sort, DJ Boy takes a number of falls before you end up wit the continue screen, something peculiar and at the same time, frustrating. Each life you have in stock flies by the moment you fall on the ground after a few hits received, and the sole way to gain any more is by capturing cats that are scattered around stages, some even hiding behind objects, another way in acquiring extra lives is by ranking up on stars after collecting musical notes when defeating bosses. Other than this, there are no health recovering items either. After losing all lives you may continue by adding another credit or forget all about it.
Credit: KanekoBreak those kicks DJ Boy
The music and sounds do not age well with this game, although some of its tunes are pretty campy and make you tap your foot while you fight your way through. The constant cheer in the background gives you an extra boost in confidence to continue your trek of rollerblading justice. Characters range from kid-oriented to racially offensive, the first boss being one prime example. An overweight black woman with thick red lips who farts as means of attack for instance. Other questionable characters include homosexual men dressed in leather and even homeless people as enemies. Indeed, DJ Boy has quite the variety of themes going for it.
Credit: KanekoRacial undertones abound
The theme of the setting is mostly urban. Going through streets and construction sites, then underground in the subway, coming out to fight over in casinos and musical stages. All of this ending in a deserted town out in the desert, which is completely out of place with the entire thing. While you fight your way through thuggish brats and bosses, there really isn't any big bad end boss waiting for in the end, culminating in a fight against a pair of the first boss you fought at the beginning. All of this besides the fact that the game starts pretty weird to begin with. In all due honesty, I had thought the demon-like KISS lookalike band member presenting the game may had been said last boss. It would have been pretty interesting if this had been the case.
Credit: KanekoFeaturing DJ Wolfman Jack
All in all, DJ Boy is a pretty cool cult title; the game play is fun despite being highly difficult and with all the discriminating implications that are present. This sort of thing seemed to be more vivid in late 80s and 90s; a time when not many would have paid attention to what type of videogames were stored back in the room of an arcade building. It is still entertaining and it shines with its own unique vibe where the protagonist rollerbladers kick butt with their bright attires and cool set of wheels.
