Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first hour has a simple, pleasingly rowdy hook: ride beside Shocker soldiers and punch them off their motorcycles, cars, and other vehicles before they can ram or shoot you. There is no mystery about what the game wants. You are constantly trying to line up alongside a target while keeping enough space to avoid taking the same treatment yourself, and that road-level tussle fits Kamen Rider better than a slower, more cautious action format would.

Episodes are built around a consistent seven-stage rhythm. Six levels of combat lead into a boss battle, giving each Rider a compact campaign rather than a huge sprawl. The Riders do not all feel interchangeable on paper, since each stars in an Episode with a unique special move. That variety is important because the basic punch-while-riding routine is asked to carry a lot of the game.

The breaks after levels two and five are the main relief valve. Your Rider repairs damage, then selects one of four limited power-ups, including invincibility, super speed, and a machine gun. Choosing when to lean on a temporary advantage gives the repeated combat some welcome texture. Still, if the core act of pacing vehicles and exchanging close-range attacks does not grab you, the recurring stage structure will start to feel narrow rather than satisfying.

This is most compelling when you treat it as a brisk series of motorcycle brawls, not a deep vehicle-combat game. The action is immediately legible, and the power-up choices offer just enough variation to keep a run from becoming completely automatic. Fans willing to meet its repetition halfway will get more out of it than anyone hoping every stage transforms the formula.

Graphics

The side-view action keeps the focus on Riders, Shocker soldiers, and their vehicles sharing the road. Motorcycle, car, and other vehicle opponents give the battles a more animated look than a plain one-on-one fight, while the SD framing suits a game built around compact, punchy encounters.

Story

The story is delivered in the broad, episode-by-episode language you would expect from a Kamen Rider crossover. All ten Showa-era Kamen Riders are assembled against an army of Shocker soldiers, with each Episode handing the spotlight to a different Rider.

“Oyassan” Tachibana opens each Episode with an introduction, which gives the changing cast a bit of ceremony before the road fighting begins. It is a useful touch: rather than treating the Riders as anonymous palette swaps, the game presents each one as the lead for that stretch of action.

Do not come expecting an elaborate narrative between races and fights. The conflict is straightforward—Riders versus Shocker—and the payoff is in seeing the full Showa lineup cycle through Episodes and special moves. For a licensed game built around short action stages, that directness is appropriate, even if it leaves the story doing more framing than dramatic heavy lifting.

Overall Experience

Kamen Rider SD: Shutsugeki!! Rider Machine has a clear identity: a compact side-view action game where motorcycle positioning and close-range punches are the whole point. It earns marks for committing to that premise rather than burying it under unnecessary complication. When you are weaving around hostile vehicles to get beside one cleanly, the game’s central idea makes immediate sense.

Its limits are equally clear. Six combat levels followed by a boss, repeated across Rider-led Episodes, can become a grind if you need constant new situations. Repairs and limited power-ups help, and the changing Riders bring some flavor, but they do not fundamentally replace the central ride-up-and-punch routine.

Give it a chance if you have affection for the Showa Riders and want a concise, unusual way to see them together. The ten-Rider roster, Tachibana’s episode introductions, and the vehicle-heavy Shocker opposition give it crossover charm. Anyone without that fondness should decide based on the combat alone: if roadside brawling at motorcycle speed sounds fun, there is a solid arcade-minded diversion here; if not, the repetition will arrive quickly.

Retro Replay Score

6.4/10