The new release live-action Cowboy Bebop reminds me how much I love the show and how hard it is to find anything that likes it from afar. I think it’s just because of how eclectic the show is. It has a lot of influences ranging from Chinese action movies to space operas and even Western ones. It’s rare to see something of the same tone, given how many things make up its DNA.
Lately, I’ve been playing They are always runningand I think, right now, it’s actually doing a pretty good job of filling that void for me. It doesn’t reach such heights, but it appeals to the part where I want a great Space Western, where I can get into the role of an aloof, mysterious guy. You play as a galactic bounty hunter named Aiden, who, with his teammate Jonathan, jumps between planets trying to chase these bounties. Unlike Spike, Cowboy Bebop’s charismatic bounty hunter, Aiden is given a third arm that helps manage the dozens of enemies you encounter throughout the game.
They Always Run does a pretty good job of the game-ifying Spike’s versatility from the anime, as the player is always sliding around, jumping over objects, or climbing a truss. It’s no secret that Spike’s martial arts were heavily inspired by Bruce Lee, but until a game manages to capture that level of precision and technique, I think his third arm Aiden is a pretty good compromise. It’s a powerful attack and you always have to move Aiden’s third arm with the right stick, so it makes you feel like you’re putting all your weight on the enemy. Plus, it’s a finite resource, balancing its power and feeling like you’re heavily committed every time you throw it away.
Keeping track of resources is another big part of the fight in They Always Run. The management you have to do in your head is to keep an eye on your health, the charge on your arm and your ammo, recording what it feels like to me to see Spike automatically turn the object closest to him into a makeshift weapon. time. It targets perception in the same way. Considering Aiden’s arm along with his basic attack and counter attack, it makes for this rock-paper-scissors combat system where there’s always a correct pick for everything. Just like the battles in Bebop, it becomes a dance. You always have to respond to your enemies in the correct way to keep the momentum going, and it feels terrible when you’re messed up.
The whole game is based on the same kind of rhythm as Bebop. It is designed in episodes and all levels are self-contained adventures on alien planets. You have to get used to new cultures and characters on every level, and it’ll hit that fish out of the water that Spike usually has. The odds are always meant to work against you.
Linking these “episodes” in They Always Run are frequent visits back to Aiden’s ship between levels. It’s a bit underdeveloped, but I really enjoy the little familiar flavors you get, before having to plunge straight into another long stretch. It gives you that comforting feeling you get when you see Bebop’s crew relaxing together while picking their next bounty.
Similar to Spike, Aiden is an incredibly talented bounty hunter who is unstoppable in his own right. There will come a time when he has a genius idea, such as activating a giant drill to pierce a wall, but he won’t plan it far enough to think about how to stop the drill when it’s done. start up. Suddenly, the very drill that helped you, is now chasing you. It’s that particular blend of planning and improvisation (when the plan inevitably goes wrong) that really makes me think of Cowboy Bebop every time I play They Always Run. I like that it randomly ramps up the pressure with something set up earlier, and also blames my player character for doing it. The wrong characters are more interesting!
They always run did a great job of capturing what Cowboy Bebop does right and trying to convert it into a playable format. It’s devoid of existentialism and fury, though, but I’m not sure any game can do it justice, as it exploits so much visual media. You know, the actual Cowboy Bebop games, though.
