”No, Gamma! You never!”
That's the opening of the game and surprisingly in English for a Japan only game. With all the other shooters ported here, I’m surprised this isn’t one of them.
Like I said, Toy Shop Boys is a shooter following three kids flying around in an overhead view. Each kid has a different method of attack: two shoots different types of beams while the other has a big sword that can deflect attacks.
There are six stages with a boss at the end for each. The problem is that neither of these stages are all that interesting. The first stage you are being attacked by tanks (pretty much every stage you’re attacked by tanks), over a race track of what I assume are toy cars. Then at the end of it you face two bigger toy cars as the first boss.
Then the next stage is a LEGO stage because you can’t have a game revolves around toys and not have LEGOs. Does anyone even remember tinker toys? At the end of here is some robot that is supposed to be like a transformer because it disassembles itself.
The rest of the stages are not that interesting with drab colors and such a lack of creativity. The bosses arrange from a doll with a big Medusa head, a robot dinosaur and that toy monkey with the cymbals. Near the end of the game is a boss rush to extend the length and then the final boss. I will see that it’s actually a pretty cool final boss. It’s a skull coming out of a static TV. It’s just getting there that’s a chore. The game simply isn’t that fun.
And is the ending worth getting to? Of course not. It’s just the three kids walking during the credits. It almost reminds me of Mega Man. Almost.
For a name like Toy Shop Boys, I honestly expected better. The title is actually better than the game itself. It’s a dull experience with a little creativity with the bosses but the stages just seem to be there. The music is alright but forgettable, and the sound effects is standard PC-Engine/Turbo-graphix fare. With the game already translated, I’m surprised this never got ported but maybe the dull experience hindered this game in seeing outside of Japan. You’re better off listening to Pet Shop Boys than playing this game.