Developer: Sun L Publisher: Banpresto Release: 12/17/94 Genre: Action
I have to give Banpresto credit, they certainly cannot be accused of resting on their laurels when it came to the Compati Hero series. Where the first game was a middling overhead action title the following two games were brawlers, and pretty good ones at that. Especially the third game where the series seemed to find its footing. But rather than build off of that great game they’ve switched genres once again. The Great Battle IV is a side scrolling action game which puts it in competition with some of the greatest action games made. How does it fare?
Pretty good actually. There’s no denying that the Great Battle IV borrows heavily from Mega Man X yet it still manages to incorporate a few cool ideas off its own. Mechanically the Great Battle IV has flaws that place it below the game it apes but this is still a solid B-tier import friendly title.
All four heroes return and probably more so than any game in the series they are distinctly unique. Gundam is incredibly versatile, equipped with a grenade launcher and the ability to hover for a few seconds. Fighter Roa plays almost exactly like Mega Man with a double jump. If he could slide and kick off walls the similarities would be even more blatant. That particular ability belongs to Kamen Rider. Unfortunately that is his only useful power as his flame thrower sucks. Last but not least is Ultraman, the heavy hitter of the crew. His bazooka is the weapon of choice as it is the most powerful. Plus he can roll into a ball to find power-ups and squeeze into tight passages. To nerf him a bit his leaping prowess is the weakest.
My major gripe with the game would be the weapons. At the default level they are fine if a bit weak. But as you collect capsules and level them up their functionality changes, and not for the better. In the case of Gundam the splash damage from his grenades is excellent. I don’t like that Ultraman’s bazooka shots pass through enemies. Kamen Rider suffers the most as even at full power the flamethrower is worthless. Fighter Roa’s shots rebound off walls which is useful in tight spaces but is useless in open areas and lacks power. The weapons lack stopping power which is frustrating. Enemies power through your attacks like nothing. Enemies gain a moment of invulnerability when hit so you can’t spam attacks. This is the main source of frustration with the game but luckily it is not a deal breaker.
The level design is strong and consistent throughout. There are plenty of wide-open spaces and secret areas that will require switching characters to discover. Everyone gets at least one area tailored to their abilities aside from the introductory stage. There’s a great deal of variety among the planets you’ll visit with many extremely cool set pieces. The intro stage sees you infiltrating a space station from the outside as the ship you’re on crashes into it in a fiery explosion. There’s a hectic showdown in the jungle as an infinite number of enemies are dropped throughout the level. You’ll even visit a Wild West themed world which is at odds with the giant robots that make up the Compati world. Despite all of this spectacle the boss battles are more down to earth affairs although you shouldn’t mistake that for them being easy.
About half of the bosses will come back in a giant mech when defeated. The quartet then summon their own giant robots and combine like Voltron for some Godzilla sized action. These battles aren’t simple games of rock em sock em robots. In fact that will result in a quick death. The computer is very aggressive and knows how to turtle up. There is some nuance as your robot has a suite of offensive and defensive moves activated by street fighter style combinations but that’s only if you want to explore it. Honestly you can cheese your way through these encounters by spamming the reflective shield as reversed projectiles are incredibly damaging. I’m not the biggest fan of this mode but I can appreciate that some work was put into it.
Weapons issues aside you’ll find that The Great Battle IV is not an incredibly difficult game. At times it does become pretty crowded and slowdown kicks in. Damage is unavoidable but the designers have done a good job of spacing out health packs. Mostly it all comes down to using the appropriate character at any given moment. That usually means Kamen Rider is out as the flame thrower is too weak even at full power. There is a noticeable spike when it comes to the bosses where having a level three weapon is almost mandatory. The fact that your power is dropped back to the default upon death further makes it worse. That type of mechanic is usually the province of shooters. Yet in the end I found this no more challenging than your average Mega Man title.
In Closing
Even with my misgivings I still enjoyed The Great Battle IV a lot. Making a mega man style action game with multiple protagonists could not have been easy and the game does a great job making each hero worthwhile. I still prefer part three as the medieval setting is more cohesive but you cannot go wrong with either title.
