Ra Ra BOOM Review

Have you ever wanted to play a side-scrolling beat 'em up as a ninja cheerleader? Boy, do I have the game for you! Welcome to Ra Ra BOOM. Rogue AI have taken over future Earth, and four teenagers from space have come to save the people from this threat. Nothing is better than a beat ‘em up title with an interesting story and local four-player co-op, especially when everyone plays as a unique character, not reskins of the same one.

There are four characters to select from: Aris, the pink-haired leader of the team; Ren, who uses a katana and throwing stars; Yee, who carries a massive gun and shield; and Saida, who looks like a cyborg and reminds me of Robocop. It doesn't matter which girl you select, as you will play through the whole team. When the first character you select is defeated, you will come back as one of the other members until everyone is wiped out.

With the lead character selected, we are shown the mission that we will face. The pages that it is written on look like they were ripped out of a coil notebook, and the paper is covered with pencil sketches. Level I: Prologue is the first area to visit; there is a map drawn with pencil showing toxic mushrooms and what looks to be a code: Down, Down Right, Right, and the “S” that everyone draws in high school with straight lines. Located on the right side of the page, you will see what homework is assigned to you in that area. For the prologue, it's simple: beat the level.

 According to the story, it's been 5,018.75 days since the last attack. This group of girls have been selected to fight in the Special Forces, as they all have unique skills. The cheerleaders have various attacks that they can use against the robotic enemy, which is led by a rogue AI named Zoi. In battle, each cheerleader has both light and heavy melee attacks, a powerful ultimate move, a dodge, and a weapon to shoot. There is a special attack available when the lightning bolt meter is filled by defeating mechanical enemies. Besides filling that attack meter, destroying these foes will give you scrap metal pieces that are incredibly important, so be sure to pick them up before they disappear.

The metal pieces can be spent at the Scrap Shop to unlock four new moves in three categories. You can select from Stunts (which includes Dash, Dodge, Double Jump, and Air Dash), Melee (which includes PIstol Whip, Spike, Uppercut, Tag Team), and Ranged (which includes Hovershot, Poison Ammo, Explosion Ammo, and Ice Ammo).

Besides all these moves, you can also upgrade the characters’ stats up to 10 bars: Health, Luck, Run Speed, Attack Power, Speed, Knockback, Firepower, Rate of Fire, and Recoil Dampening. You can visit this shop at any time, as it is available in the pause menu. It was so satisfying to boost your stats whenever you picked up a large quantity of pieces.

Once your assignment is complete, you get a Report Card showing your Score, Time Bonus, Scrap Bonus, and Lives Bonus, giving you a Final Score and Team Grade. It also assigns awards for each player. Since I was on my own, I got Hammer Time, Soft Hands, and Chumbawamba. If you play local co-op, every player gets their own titles based on their performance during that mission.

Each of the nine stages ends with a boss fight, with the final one being Zoi's HQ. The cheerleaders fight in a variety of stages, like a swamp, an amusement park, the sewers, and even an Arcade. As you visit each locale, they are coloured in on the notebook page, which looks really cool. On the ground for each stage, it looks like there are multiple lanes you can move between. I found this very useful for lining up attacks based on where enemies were standing. It also helps to show you where an enemy's attack will go if they shoot or dive towards you.

When you die, you start off very close to where you were, as there are a lot of checkpoints, even in boss battles, which you don’t usually see. Most of the time, if you are defeated in battle, you start at the beginning of the fight.

Ra Ra BOOM has fun and vibrant visuals, with animated cutscenes between each area continuing the story. The look of the game is complemented by an upbeat soundtrack that matches the fast pace. It also has great voice acting, and each character has a unique-sounding voice, making it very easy to tell them apart. Sound-effect-wise, they are done very well; the attacks you use sound very satisfying when they connect.

I've had a fun time playing Ra Ra BOOM. It took me about six hours to complete the game, but it was definitely challenging at times, even with all the checkpoints. When I got stuck, I would grind and collect scrap metal to improve my stats and give myself a better chance of success or teach myself a cool-looking new attack to use!

Ra Ra BOOM is a title side-scrolling beat 'em up fans will want to check out. Playing as a deadly ninja cheerleader was a super fun experience!