As appeared in DNA, Bangalore on Apr 12
Hanuman: Boy Warrior, the first console game to be fully developed in India, is a great concept with poor graphics and average gameplay. Yet, it’s poised to be a runaway hit in the market, says NT Balanarayan
Screenshot from Hanuman Boy Warrior
There are good ideas and then there are bad ideas, but not all good ideas necessarily turn into good videogames. Hanuman: Boy Warrior is an ideal example of a brilliant idea gone horribly wrong. It promises the world, but delivers little. The game narrates the story of Hanuman as he
grows up from a vanarabala to a strong God.
The game opens with Hanuman angering a sage and being forced to live the life of a simple boy in a jungle. He’s taken in by a kind villager. Just when he gets used to the village life, asuras attack and turn the world into stone. Hanuman’s adventure begins from this point. He reveals his identity and sets out to stop Shirkasur, a rakshasa who has command over all five elements — air, water, wind, fire and ether; he is armed with a gada and the ability to restore life to creatures turned to stone.
Along the way, you (the player) will encounter rakshasas of various sizes and temperaments. Some will just circle you with swords; others will treat you like a pest who needs to be squashed. But luckily, Hanuman has a gada and the asuras are not too smart. Unless you are playing in hard mode, fighting these minions is just a cakewalk. The level of difficulty keeps rising as you progress, but the fights against the bosses (super villains), although lengthy as they are meant to be, are a little too easy.
The developers have drawn inspiration from God of War 2, one of the biggest successes on PS2. The similarities range from melee combat to storyline. But in terms of quality of gameplay, Hanuman is just the opposite of God of War which is dark, gripping, entertaining and pretty tough at stages. Ironically, the thing Hanuman was so good at doing — jumping great distances — is the toughest part of the game. There are certain sections of the game where you will wrack your brains trying to get that perfect jump. And when you fail, you might end up cursing the very God you are supposed to be worshipping!
The game might also provoke a few thoughts on the depiction of Indian mythology. Here, it turns out that Hanuman, who is chiranjeevi (immortal), can’t swim, and drowns just like lead in water! Maybe it’s the weight of his gada that pulls him down. This game might be enlightening for those who do not know about this stage of the God’s life. The graphics are nothing to boast about. The developers should hang their heads in shame for they are poor, even by PS2 standards. Agreed, the console has been around for ten years, but we have seen the levels of rendering it can produce. The semi-pixel shaded graphics look like the result of poor, hurried development. It seems like a desperate attempt at creating an Indian style of animation.
Hanuman looks good in the cover image but in the game, he isn’t as interesting. The environment is too bland and the low-poly makes it look like a PC game developed back in the ‘90s.
However poor it may be, it just might sell well in India because it appeals to the Indian mindset. We don’t want the next generation to be totally ignorant about our mythology. But surprisingly, it is not preachy at all — no sermons on time and maya. Having said that, on the whole, Hanuman: Boy Warrior is disappointing.
Rating: 2/5
Balu is tech-Gaming reporter @DNA, Bangalore. He started Game Bashing as a personal blog, a few years back. He writes on PC gaming, Gaming scene in India apart from doing game reviews. Feel free to 
I don’t know how well will this go with purists and Ram bhakts.. I thought they would have raked up a controversy… A God losing to asuras and to see one who is chiranjeevi, dying and drowning may not go well with the Bajrang Dal..
Interesting concept nevertheless, just that in India we take our Gods too seriously..
[...] post by | Balu | [...]
By the way my review of Hanuman Boy Warrior: http://is.gd/swoH
LOL ya even I expected such reactions.. thankfully nothing of that sort till now =D
Hahaha… I see from your recent post that my prediction was right..
Bang on! Can I borrow the time machine for a while
When I saw how they were promoting the game on TV and as soon as I saw some footage I knew this would happen. It seems the team boasted of having completed the game in just 10 months. Sounds like a hurried project. Bad game. I won’t even touch this. This gives Lord Hanuman a bad image. I hope they don’t release the game worldwide. There is nothing original in the game like that little champs brat claimed. The game rips off elements from games like Onimusha, God of War and Prince of Persia.
Again, the game has nothing offensive.. the game lacks depth you can say that
I am playing this game & got stuck at the place where we need to save moon, Need help on move to be done.
Please tell i can see 2 things which we need to move but whats the sequence i don;t know..
Hey
r u able to clear the satge? Kindly let me know also how to save moon?
@Jeez
I don’t remember the sequence either.. Just go to those star signs and keep trying combination till the statues change colour. That’s all I remember!
Dear Babu,
I seem to have been stuck at the same position, that is when you need to save the moon, but which is the statue you are referring to here. As I am talking about the place which has grand pillars and has the fire sign(where you save by pressing ‘R2′) in the center of these pillars. What do we do next or how do we reach the moon god.
hi
can u elaborate further as still not able to succeed.
Dear Mr. Balu,
I amd my 8 year old son are not able to get past the first stage in the Hanuman game itself. The game opens with child hanuman in aforested valley sorrounded by high mountain walls on all sides. we both are very new to gaming and all we have been able to do is to climb trees and occassionally eat fruits. In our game, there is no scene of boy getting cursed. This was the promotional DVD which came with PS2
My question – how do we get out of the valley, and go to the village where Hanuman will battle with demons? we must be missing something as all our attempted jumps to go out of the valley have failed. what are the controls needed? I will be very grateful for your guidance.
When you start the game, you are on one side.. run towards the other end and climb one of the last trees there and jump on to the top of the wall straight ahead while on top of the tree. The game is not the most easiest game to play and jumping is really difficult, so it’s not the most easiest game to play for an 8 year old. But there is no harm in letting him try if he really like it =) .
sir
we have just purchased the game
we are also stuck up in the initial part of the game
though we are trying to cross the river through with the vines it is not possible as the either the jump is short or what
please help us how to get out of it to further level
thanks
yashvant
Not the vines, climb the trees
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i just completed the initial stage from valley then converting stones to life
then we are sent to cut some trees by using om how to do that with beetals coming .give me an idea?????????
Cool!!!!! u managed to reached back to village after collecting fruites but I am stuck there…..not getting the path to reach village back…please help