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4 /5

The great bodybuilder Bo-tei Bill runs out of much-needed protein after having won ten consecutive titles in the Great Galaxy Bodybuilding contest. In order to gather more protein for his factories, he begins invading other planets. The heavens sends the god Idaten and the goddess Benten (the Japanese variants of the Hindu deities Skandha and Saraswati, respectively), to stop the bodybuilding army from conquering all known space.

Like other representatives of the genre, Chō Aniki puts the player in control of a flying avatar that must clear out several levels of enemies while avoiding their firing patterns and attacks, as well as collecting power-ups that increase firepower, life, etc. The unique aspect of the game (much like Konami's Parodius games) are its often bizarre and deliberately nonsensical thematics. Idaten and Benten are the playable characters with different firing modes; other characters can aid them as options. Said characters include flying babies and laser shooting bodybuilders Samson and Adon. Enemies include flying heads and gigantic bodybuilders, as well as other examples of (usually very muscular) men fused with all sorts of machinery. The game features single player-only gameplay with three difficulty levels to choose from.