The graphics are reminiscent of a very popular Famicom series: Rock Man. From the beginning to the end, there's a lot about SD Hero Soukessen that'll remind you of Rock Man, from the similar short caricature of the samurai to the level selection page, where instead of the bosses being highlighted in squares, the eight samurai (all four doubled) are show free-floating in a black sky next to an image symbolizing that level. And so, the comparisons to Rock Man continue...each level is set up much like a Rock Man level, where the samurai make their way either by side scrolling or falling through holes in the floor.

Just like in Rock Man, the graphics are very clean and orderly. The only problem with the SD Hero Soukessen's graphics is that on at least one level it is difficult to distinguish what's a platform you can jump on and what's just background. I fell to my death several times by trying to jump on top of something in the background.

SD Hero Soukessen has some really awesome music -- similar in pace to Rock Man. For the most part it's really upbeat and exciting. The best music comes during the intro to every level. When you click to enter a level, a short scene takes place where one of the samurai will fly from a balcony on their headquarters through a black sky with colorful stars, all while intense music plays in the background, pumping you up for the fight to come. When the level does come, the music turns adventurous, for the most part fitting well with the look of each level.

Some great sound effects include the laser's rip and the sword's swoosh. The sound made when you pause and unpause is also kind of cool.

The game doesn't take very long to get through -- that is, once you've had a couple of tries at each level to figure out where the enemies are placed. There is, however, a lot of overlap between the enemies of each level. The ones that kick or hit are really easy to kill; the ones that shoot something are much harder. Expect to get hurt -- these enemies are relentless. They are all programmed to follow the samurais' every move, and some of them have homing missiles. One very alien-like enemy with  flailing antennae sticks particularly close to the samurai and is a pain to avoid or kill.

Provides temporary invincibility. One downside is that when invincible a samurai cannot pick up any power or weapon disks.

Like you might expect, pressing B will cause the samurai to chop, kick, swing or shoot. Pushing A allows the samurai to jump. Down on the directional pad allows the samurai to lay on his belly (for those few tight spots), and Start pauses and unpauses the game.