Over the next few months, Mecha Damashii will begin to start on some more retro reviews for mecha games that have made a mark on the genre. Whilst we’ve already done a fair few features to this effect, as well as recently reviewed games like Metal Wolf Chaos, the plan is to review games that people think are worth the coverage. The first two of these reviews will be for the original arcade version of Virtual On as well as the epic Steel Battalion. Past that, we’re curious to know what you – the readers – would like to see covered. From Metal Warriors to Remote Control Dandy, what games do you think need the reviewing treatment? Naturally, feel free to comment below!
Get Tollmaster to review Sakura Wars: So Long My Love!
Remote Control Dandy sounds like a good choice, as well as that DS game Sandlot made.
Do you include shmups as well? Either way, looking forward to it!
I plan on doing so at some point; I’m still trying to decide how I feel about the game, because when I first started wanting the game way back in the mists of time when I was 13, the “talking to girls” aspect was more novel than “tactical mecha battles” was, where in my old age of 24 years old, my priorities are finally in the right places and the steampunk robots are more of the focus. It’s not just a game that I’ve wanted, it’s a game I’ve wanted for almost half my life, and there’s a lot of emotion there.
It’s kind of like how a lot of the people who wanted Duke Nukem Forever were kids when they first heard of the game, and now they have kids of their own, and are still waiting for the game to come out. So much has changed in our outlook on life that it’s not just a game anymore–it’s a reminder of who we once were rather than who we are now.
Trying to boil down a game that reflects all my teenage years is hard to pin down to a simple ratings score. Yeah, it’s that crazy!
Would be quite interesting of you reviewing Frame Gride on Dreamcast, courtesy of the Armored Core team. While it certainly went under in the wake of VOOT, I personally found it to be the better game of the two, with vast customization and upgrade options and way too much stuff to collect. Also, the Mechs and a few arenas were graphically quite impressive for that time.
Don’t know if that would qualify it for leaving a mark on the genre, but I guess it’s worth a suggestion.
I reviewed Frame Gride a fair few years ago and whilst it is an interesting game – I have to disagree about it being better than Oratan.
http://www.ntsc-uk.com/review.php?platform=sdc&game=FrameGride
In terms of the team that worked on the game, Kenichiro Tsukuda (the producer) went onto helm most of the PS2 Armored Core games.
That Frame Gride looks pretty cool.
Would have loved to play that back when I was younger and the DC was in it’s glory.
Enjoy this video then 😀
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvACsAYBeXU
Wow, yeah me and my friends would have loved this 10-11 years ago.
The first mecha game I ever played was Gundam Battle Assault 2…
I’d love to see a metal warriors review.
I still have my game cart for it actually.
One of the first mech games I ever played I believe.
I’d also love to see reviews for the old mech warriors games, shogo, heavy gear, etc.
And there was a plethora of obscure mecha titles on the ps1 I’d like to see some opinions on.
Most importantly I’d like to read about games you simply think need more well-known. Anything that didn’t get enough attention when it first came out or undeservedly is almost entirely forgotten now.
Generally I’m more interested in reading about good games rather than bad games — unless it’s one of those bad games that still had one ore more notable good elements nonetheless.
That being said, here are some more specific wishes:
– Phantom Crash, I know next to nothing about it, but it seems to be interesting (Kow Yokoyama designs for a start)
– MechWarrior (esp. 2 and 3), Heavy Gear, maybe even Earthsiege. I’d really be interested in what you think about them, and if you can find comparable games I didn’t know about.
– Front Mission. I have an irrational affection for this series and don’t really know why. Can you help me?
Really looking forward to this no matter what you end up reviewing : )
Another thing that would really interest me (probably even more than the previous ones) are the three (or more?) big online mech games that once were: Chromehounds, Tekki Taisen and Front Mission Online.
I wonder how many more years will have to pass before we’ll see the next game in this line (and how long it will last then before getting shut down again…)
I own S.L.A.I on the ps2 (Phantom Crash’s ps2 successor)
It’s a really fun arena mech game. has customization like armored core, great music, and a neat economic system. I picked it up out of a bargain bin about 3 or 4 years ago.
I’d be interested in oddball stuff that’s covered by MAME. There’s a lot of titles that stand out as having mecha content, like the Macross games or the Mazinger one, but there’s probably some obscure games that don’t sound like ROBOTS EVERYWHERE from the title, like Hyper Duel.
Oh, hey Dorkly. how’s /m/ treatin ya lately?
Same old, same old.
Toku fans still dominating the place?
Don’t drag that jibber-jabber here.
I’ll take that as a yes.
How about 70’s Robot Anime Geppy X on the Playstation?
I wouldn’t mind a retro review on Cybernator.
I’m surprised no one here has mentioned Gotcha Force for the Nintendo Gamecube, the ancestor to the Gundam VS series. Its a fast paced action game developed game developed my Capcom featuring dozens of collectible mechs.
Nice…looking forward to these.
As for what game to review…well, how about SHOGO, which was on the PC several years ago? It certainly had a great blend of FPS/giant robot action, and was pretty good…but very few seem to remember it.
That would be an interesting review, but it really felt mostly like an FPS with robot skin on occasion. It was a bit trope-tastic, though, with things like the mysterious mentor, evil megacorp, the loser villain/rival, and even some human vs. mech combat. A bit overshadowed by Half-Life at launch, but a fun game.
Agreed–while at times I thought, “Y’know, this is a tad too cheesy…” the overall experience was fun. I had completely forgotten that it was overshadowed by Half-Life (but honestly, so were a lot of PC games at the time, it seems….).
Mechwarrior for sure. With the 4th being re-released for free recently with all its expansions and newly functional multiplayer, you could review a retro game as if it were relatively new.
Would Ridegear Guybrave count? Or is it too far on the side of playing like a person instead of a machine?
Reviews of Tech Romancer, Cyberbots, Slave Zero, the original Ghost in the Shell game and Kinetica would be cool. If I think of some others I’ll let you know. I love the site, keep up the good work!
Great idea to dig up some of these games! Cyberbots, Metal Warriors, and a bunch of obscure games on PC Engine are all games I’d love to see. Maybe Herzog Zwei or Faselei! as well.
I’ve never been able to play any of the MMO’s either, Gundam Universe, SD Gundam Online or Front Mission Online.
How about taking a look at the Super Robot Wars spinoff titles such as Scramble Commander, Real Robot Regiment, Super Robot Shooting, etc?
I would be intrigued to see Cacophanus’ review both Phantom Crash and S.L.A.I.: Steel Lancer Arena International.
I’d be interested in seeing a review of the J-Phoenix series, and what the differences were between all the different versions on the PS2 and Xbox. From what I played of JP+ it’s a decent clone of Armored Core.