Developer: Aicom Publisher: Vik Tokai Released: June 1990 Genre: Action
Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode was an ambitious game that tried to combine many different styles of gameplay to create an all-encompassing adventure worthy of the character. It almost succeeded but buckled under lackluster controls and first person mazes that were a nightmare. For the sequel, The Mafat Conspiracy, Vik Tokai almost completely redesigned the game, keeping the bits that worked and improving the controls. The Mafat Conspiracy is a better game than its predecessor and one I consider a hidden gem. It is still a bit frustrating at times but still worth spending a day or two with one of the coolest assassins this side of James Bond.
A weapons satellite falls from orbit in Russia unexpectedly. A terrorist organization known as the Mafat Conspiracy takes credit for the act. With their stolen satellite capture system they plan to extort both America and Russia with the threat of taking their satellites as well. Behind the scenes both countries blame each other, with the world on the brink of nuclear war. The US takes the initiative, hiring Golgo 13 to stop Mafat, destroy the satellite capture system, and if possible rescue its creator Dr. Barrows.
The Mafat Conspiracy heavily streamlines the gameplay of the first game. As I mentioned before Top Secret Episode was ambitious as it combined side-scrolling action with first person shooting in a semi open world. It wound up being a confusing mess that was most often annoying getting from point A to B. Now it is a straightforward action platformer with none of the RPG style random battles. Design wise it has more in common with Rolling Thunder, which is excellent company to be in. The controls have been fixed so that A jumps and B attacks. This was my biggest issue with Golgo 13 and I am over the moon they corrected it.
The action portion of the game is far better but I will admit I do somewhat miss the back and forth of roaming around the city. Sure it was fluff but it added character. Meeting up with NPCs and slowly unraveling the story was pretty cool for the time. But if I am going to reminisce on the good parts I have to remember the bad. Ducking in to every unnamed building was tedious, to say nothing of the repetitive first person shootouts. I will take tight platforming among well designed levels any day of the week.
Even though each chapter mostly focuses on action and platforming there is still variety. At certain points Golgo 13 gets behind the wheels of a corvette to chase a target. It’s a race against time as you have to deal with manual shifting, enemy cars, and sadly subpar vehicle physics. Thankfully there are only two of these. Sniping targets returns but is not as obtuse this time. You have indicators for wind speed and target movement but now these sections are under a time limit.
The one feature that I am sure no one asked for is the mazes. First person mazes were the bane of my childhood during the 8-bit era. On top of their return the mazes in the Mafat Conspiracy scroll slower than the previous game, possibly due to the higher graphical fidelity. Yet it isn’t as bad as in Top Secret Episode. For one the mazes never go beyond four floors. Two, the trap floors that would force you to retrace your steps are no more. Most importantly the instruction manual contains maps for every maze in the game. Once you see them laid out you quickly realize the correct path is incredibly simple to follow. That does not mean they are not annoying; you have to backtrack through every maze which is padding and sucks. But compared to its predecessor they are tolerable.
The Mafat Conspiracy covers six chapters. To see all it has to offer you will have to work for it. This is a tough one for a variety of reasons. While I poo poo’d the random encounters of Top Secret Episode you at least regained health for every enemy killed. The Mafat Conspiracy is incredibly stingy with its health power-ups and does not refill health between levels. It is pretty sad that you are better off committing suicide sometimes than to hope you get at least one med kit. The later chapters go overboard with enemies and are absolutely insane. And the mazes. If you happen to get lost good luck finding your bearings.
In Closing
Even in the face of a high challenge the Mafat Conspiracy is still great. It does everything a sequel should; fix the first game’s flaws while creating a compelling new adventure. Add this mature adventure to your library, you won’t regret it.
