Tanzer

About

Tanzer is a 2D platformer with beat-em-up combat that lets you mix acrobatics and swordplay. You play as a ballet dancer hit by a cosmic glow, transforming them into a warrior fighting through time-warped levels. Each stage shifts settings from Wild West saloons to Roman coliseums, with fluid movement that lets you double and triple jump by timing button presses. Slice enemies with diagonal swipes, hold attacks for automatic combos, and chain jumps by hitting foes midair to keep your momentum. Gold dropped by defeated enemies fuels transmutation abilities like energy blasts or shields, selected from a pause menu. Between levels you restock at a sci-fi home base where you upgrade skills and unlock new weapons. The game stands out for its tight controls and creative level design. Destroying scenery reveals hidden paths and bonus chests stocked with health or gold. Forging abilities adds depth, each has multiple upgrades that change how you approach fights. While the Mega Drive version has limited save functionality, the core loop of exploring, battling, and customizing keeps things engaging. Fans of retro action games with a focus on fluid movement and combat depth will find it rewarding.

Storyline

In this 2D side-scrolling platformer the character can freely run left or right, jump and crouch. The jumping height is affected by how long the button is held down and jumping again provides a double and then a triple jump. Expert jumping can lead to an infinite amount of jumps because when an enemy is attacked while in the air, the counter is decreased so an additional jump can be performed. Enemies are engaged using six way fire with horizontal, vertical and diagonal slashes, and the attack button can be held for auto fire. Levels contain treasure chests with more gold, extra energy and other items. By destroying parts of the scenery secret pick-up items and stages can be discovered. Defeated enemies leave behind gold that can be forged into a transmutation ability, allowing for special attacks. The top right side of the screen shows the selected ability and how much the meter needed to perform it contains. In the pause menu a different ability can be selected. Forging abilities is done at the home base between levels, a space and time ship used to travel between time periods. Energy can also be replenished there through body repair. There are four abilities and they can be upgraded to make them more effective. At the home base it is also possible to forge a projectile weapon and the ability to save (but only while the game is active, the save disappears when the console is turned off).