Developer: Mutech Publisher: Hudson Soft Released: April 6, 1990 Genre: Action
Let’s be honest, Keith Courage in the Alpha Zones was not a good game. As a showcase for the Turbo Grafx-16 it was not impressive. As a game it was middling at best. The only reason anyone tolerated it is because it was packed in with the system. Granzort aims to be that same game for the Supergrafx. While it may appear to be a sequel to Keith Courage it is not. What it is is a bland action game that does the bare minimum and is boring as all get out.
Although it has no relation to Keith Courage Granzort is similar in that it is a licensed tie-in. The game is loosely based on the anime Madou King Granzort in which an earthquake has created an atmosphere on the moon allowing humanity to colonize it. But they discover they are not alone and are accosted by aliens. In the show the heroes were children who could summon giant robots to fight for them. The game loses the kids and focuses on the mechs. If only that were enough to make the game interesting.
In Granzort you play as three separate robots that you can switch between at any time. Each has a different primary weapon and secondary power. The Red Granzort has a midrange sword that is the most powerful and can create earthquakes. Green Winzart has a bow that can fire in multiple directions and can fly. Blue Aquabeat has a spear that is weak and can create a force field. There are no additional weapons per each form so you have to make do. The only items in the game are a shield to soak one hit, invincibility, and extra lives.
The level design in Granzort is a mixed bag. The early levels are incredibly straightforward and offer little in the way of excitement. Since each robot can only attack and butt bounce enemies it is incredibly boring. By stage four the levels become more open with plenty of hidden areas and multiple paths. This is one of the game’s few good points. In almost any other game this would be used as an opportunity to explore each robot’s abilities. But they are so Spartan that they almost do not matter. The levels become repetitive in the second half, both in terms of their look and design. Any desire to explore each stage disappears quickly once you realize you will only find shields or extra lives, of which the game gives far too many.
While it is pretty cool that you can switch forms at will the game is heavily tilted toward Winzart. Sniping enemies from long range is far too convenient to bother with the other two. The ability to fire diagonally also makes it broken. In a game where a single hit means death long range attacks are simply better. I suppose the strength difference is supposed to encourage using the other two but with turbo fire it does not matter. If there were more to differentiate each robot and the gameplay was not so pedestrian maybe Granzort would be fun.
Next to its uninteresting design Granzort is very easy. Personally I do not like the lack of a life bar. Even a simple three hits would go a long way. It seems like someone on the design team agreed because the game showers you with extra lives. With a modicum of exploration you can find areas with five or six 1-ups clustered together. By the middle of stage two I had fifteen lives. Toward the end of the game I had over forty; that’s Mario numbers for a game that does not need it. There is only one boss that posed a slight threat and once the game is over you will never want to touch it again.
Nearly all of the few Supergrafx titles showed the hardware’s extra grunt. Granzort in comparison is weak and looks worse than most regular Hucard titles. The sprites are large but the animation is stiff. That is not a feat either; the base Turbo Grafx sold itself on just that. The art direction is very dark and the environments become repetitive in its second half. On top of that there is little enemy variety. About the only area that you could say is “impressive” is the single layer of parallax scrolling. Considering Rondo of Blood and Aero Blasters had as many as three or four this is disappointing. I question why this is a Supergrafx title but we all know the reason why.
In Closing
Mado King Granzort is a disappointing title all around. From its graphics to its barebones gameplay Granzort does the bare minimum as a video game. Supergrafx owners have few choices but even so you are better off playing something else. The game is expensive to boot, making it even easier to ignore its existence.
