Atlus/Mitchell Corporation‘s 1996 arcade game, Osman, is something of a ‘tribute’ to Capcom‘s Strider. It features a lone protagonist who can clamber all over the landscape and has multiple attacks and abilities at his disposal.

Some of the development team on this worked on the Strider arcade game, so Osman could be seen as a spiritual successor to Strider.

The first thing you might notice about Osman is that the graphics are incredible. Detailed 2D pixel art that is beautifully well-drawn and animated throughout. Up there with some of the best 2D pixel art I’ve ever seen in a videogame. Seriously.

The gameplay is pretty good too, but it’s tough going. As are all arcade games from this period.

Osman can slide, jump, climb, and hang from platforms or the ceiling. His main attack is his kick, which is pretty lethal. Enemy attacks are relentless. Power-ups can be collected by breaking floating capsules, then jumping into whatever is produced by them. Boss battles are frequent and spectacular.

I’m surprised Osman was never converted to home computers and consoles. Or maybe it was, under a different name? I dunno. What I do know, though, is that playing this game shocked me. By how good it was.

Osman is another great arcade “hidden gem” to play now. A Strider-style game, written by members of the original Strider team…

(To be said in the voice of Salah from Raiders of the Lost Ark):

Now that is something to seek out my friends! 🙂

Note: there is some debate about the title of this game. Is it “Osman“, or is it “OSman“? Does it matter? Well, yes it does… If it’s a name (of the lead character, for example), then it’s “Osman“. If the first two letters mean something (like “Oxygen Sucker“, for example), then it’s “OSman“. So which is it then? This game is also known as “Cannon Dancer” in some regions.

More: Osman (video game) on Wikipedia