Developer: Intelligent Systems Publisher: Nintendo Released: October 1992 Genre: Action
Light gun video games at home have never been my specialty. Maybe it was the inaccuracy of the NES Zapper and the Master System Light Phaser. Or maybe it was the cheap quality of the games that supported them. For every Gumshoe and Operation Wolf there were numerous turkeys like Freedom Force. But the Super Scope grabbed me. Who doesn’t want a toy bazooka as a kid? The quality of the games was much better as well with Battle Clash being one of its best. I would love to see a revival of the series as this one is excellent.
Battle Clash combines two sci-fi staples, giant robots and anime. In the future the Battle Game is used to determine the ruler of the world. For many years Anubis has won every time and rules with an iron fist. Mike Anderson’s father was one of his many victims and is out for payback. As his gunner your job is to assist him in defeating the numerous Battle Chief’s on the way to Anubis.
The collection of Chief’s are one of the reasons Battle Clash stands out. Each mech varies in size, strength, speed, and weaponry. Alfred can be a problem if you don’t do anything about the floating orbs orbiting his mech. Eddie is incredibly fast and gives few opportunities to attack; you have to make them. Antonov and his giant crab mech is one of the first great tests you will encounter as it is heavily shielded and has limited vulnerability windows. It would have been easy to two or three enemies and only slightly vary them to fill out the roster. Kudos to the devs for making each feel unique.
Each battle is a one on one contest against a rival mech. Despite the limited buttons on the Super Scope the controls offer a surprising degree of freedom. By aiming toward the edge of the screen you can follow your target although the game does it to some extent automatically. Combat appears simple at first but has plenty of depth. You can rapid fire weaker shots or wait to let the charge meter fill. Once full you can release a more powerful energy bolt. Your main defense is to shoot down enemy shots and the Super Scope is very accurate. Targeting is absolutely critical as damage depends on the area hit. Every enemy has a weak point and finding it is key to ending the bouts as fast as possible.
There are only a few power-ups to help. You get one bomb per match which is slow and needs to be timed else it is wasted. The plasma bomb is the most powerful item but rare. Shields are self-explanatory although I found destroying rival bullets to be more effective. Toward the end you earn the V-System, a variation of the shield that also boosts your power and speed but drains health. The homing laser is also a late game item that I found can turn the tide of battle if used correctly. You can only hold four which sounds limiting but is not. Although you need to time each one correctly if you could more the game would be far too easy. I think the developers have struck a nice balance.
Strategy plays a big role in every battle. Each boss is unique although some look similar. They all have distinctive attacks and behaviors and analyzing them is half the fun. If you notice a particular attack is critically damaging or that a certain boss is too fast blowing off their arms or legs can turn the tide of battle. The risk/reward system of using energy bolts adds a lot of depth despite its simplicity. Energy bolts can not only destroy certain attack but also stagger bosses as well. Discovering their weak points can be tricky but makes a difference in some of the more grueling bouts. This isn’t so hard at first but the later Chief’s are incredibly aggressive and leave little room for mistakes.
Battle Clash has a nice difficulty curve that eases in players. The first bout against Garam is essentially a training match and does an excellent job of teaching you the mechanics. Each subsequent match features a steady rise in difficulty as new mechanics are introduced to create teachable moments. Once you reach Antonov and his mech Ivan it is a stopping point to test what you have learned and if you are prepared for what comes next. The final three bosses present a significant spike in challenge but it never feels unfair. You clearly can see what you are doing wrong and where to improve. They’ve done an awesome job with the balancing in this one; it could not have been easy.
In Closing
It is hard to call a game a killer app for a peripheral with limited appeal. Yet somehow Nintendo have done it. Battle Clash is one of the best reasons to own a Super Scope and a solid game overall.
