Developer: Lucas Arts Publisher: Konami Released: April 1995 Genre: Action
You can be forgiven for thinking Metal Warriors is part of the Assault Suit series. The look is not just reminiscent of that series, it is near identical. A quick glance and you could easily mistake it for Cybernator. Both games are even published by Konami. But while it drew, “ahem” inspiration from that title Metal Warriors was developed by Lucas Arts. They have absolutely nailed the look and gameplay and even improved it in a few key areas. While it is a bit shameless Metal Warriors is a fantastic title in its own right and a hidden gem in the SNES library.
In the year 2102 the United Earth Government is under siege by the forces of Dark Axis. Their leader, Venkar Amon has declared war on the planet and the only force standing in his way are the Metal Warriors, a mercenary group of mech pilots. The story unfolds between levels through beautiful cutscenes that set up each mission as well. While not on the same level as the game’s that inspired it gives the game a nice added flavor.
I’ve made the comparison to Konami’s game with good reason as Metal Warriors not only looks like it but plays like it too. The default Nitro Suit comes equipped with a plasma rifle, beam saber and two shields. The plasma shield can be deployed at any time and hovers in place for a few seconds. The manual shield is self-explanatory and can block most attacks but does not completely protect from damage. It does have its differences too. You can no longer dash but can hover indefinitely. Outside of special weapons you no longer have ammo as well. You can leave your suit at any time but are fragile. This is mostly to activate switches and to commandeer enemy mechs.
If your mech takes too much damage it will explode. But you can easily exit and hopefully find another to come back at full strength. Aside from the Nitro suit there are five more suits you can control with wildly different capabilities. The spider is the most maneuverable as it can climb walls. But is sacrifices defense for mobility. The Prometheus packs the most firepower but can’t jump or fly. The havoc is similar to the nitro suit but has a different set of weapons. Its defense is greater but it cannot hover very long. The Ballistic unit is incredibly fast and very strong. It can’t move while attacking but its weapons (especially the charge cannon) make up for it. The Drache is only available once and is pretty cool as a flying unit. But its wonky controls will make you thank god it isn’t required outside of one mission.
Metal Warriors packs a lot of variety in its nine missions. Each stage has a particular goal and more or less leaves it up to you to figure it out. Each map is massive, with multiple paths to your end goal usually. You can destroy parts of the environment to create your own path as well as find hidden items. While you can find at least one or two other suits in mission they are more of a bonus than a requirement. Objectives change frequently and make each level dynamic. Stage three asks you to secure the enemy base. But once that is complete you have to protect its core so the enemies do not blow it up instead in revenge. Mission four is essentially a tower defense as you have to defeat a set number of enemies before they destroy your base of operations.
The only thing holding Metal Warriors back from being an absolutely phenomenal game is its high difficulty. This is the one area I wish it did not follow the Assault Suit series and it can be off putting. Your mech is not terribly mobile and due to uneven terrain your shield is not very effective. The game does its best to sprinkle health packs throughout each map but it still does not feel like enough. The maps are too big for their own good and the vague map does not help. Some missions like Ship Defense are absolutely merciless and spike through the roof. The brutal difficulty would not be so bad if there passwords or battery back-up to save progress. This is a long game and having to finish in one sitting with limited continues is rough.
Lucas Arts have done an excellent job of mimicking the Assault Suit art style while also imbuing Metal Warriors with its own character. The color palette is far more varied and incredibly vibrant. Your missions take you to a variety of locales like a tropical forest, a hidden base inside a volcano and an arctic fortress. The sprites are not as large but feature incredibly minute details that are important as there is no HUD. The cutscenes are beautiful and animated as well. The anime influence is strong with this one and considering most anime licensed titles never left Japan help it stand out. I can’t say enough good things about the presentation but I will stop now.
In Closing
Don’t let the high challenge deter you. Metal Warriors is an excellent game and one of the better SNES action games. Lucas Arts knocked it out of the park and it deserves a higher profile.
