The topic of today's discussion is none other than the 1996 collaboration by Squaresoft, Omiya Soft, and Cobra Team. Front Mission: Gun Hazard is part of the oh-so-underrepresented subgenre known as the mecha shootemup. At first glance, its giant robots firing upon other giant robots, but there is more, much more to them than that. Think back to classic anime series such as Patlabor. Labors are large bipedal machines that weigh several tons. Their ability to walk and perform tasks are the result of a hundred thousand moving parts. Piloting a hefty tank that could trip over a car or collapse a building by brushing against it requires immense skill. Special Vehicles Division 2 knows that the instant they haul their Patlabors out of the garage, some shit is about to go down that could cost all of them their jobs. The cool robots suddenly become a lot less cool when one wrong step could result in a dozen lawsuits; not to mention the mental anguish that'd haunt the pilot for the rest of their days.
Of course, collateral damage and civilian casualties often go ignored in the war-ravaged world of Front Mission. Nevertheless, walking panzers aka wanzers are still considerably heavy weapons that rely on fusion-powered propulsion systems just to get around. Their size also makes them easy targets for the opposition's weaponry. Jumping, dashing, holding up a shield; all of these actions are noticeably delayed. In short, piloting a Wanzer is a far more involved process than putting one foot in front of the other and firing a large gun. Creating a mecha game that takes all of these factors into account requires an exceptionally talented dev-team. Square went with one of the best.
Gun Hazard follows the story of Albert Grabner: rebel, mercenary, hero. A coup d'etat in his homeland of Bergen leads the young pilot to assist the deposed president's escape. Not long afterwards, his talents are recognized by Richard, who offers him mercenary work. It's the best opportunity Albert has of taking Bergen back from the tyrant who seized it... provided he lives that long. Before going any further, I should establish how progression works in this game. All across the world, there are nations embroiled in conflicts that require a mercenary's assistance in resolve. Each nation contains several areas. These are where the story and action scenes play out. For convenience, areas are color-coded on the map. Red indicates an unresolved skirmish. Blue areas are either safe places to converse with NPCs or optional battles. If it's green, then it's a shop. Head there for new equipment, ammunition, or wanzer-repairing fuel. Breaking it down further; you complete missions and upgrade your stuff until the credits roll.
It's a little hard to believe that the developer best-known for Culdcept would harbor mecha game geniuses, I assure you that's exactly the case. Before the formation of Omiya Soft, programmers Hideo Suzuki and Yukihiro Higuchi worked on Assault Suits Valken, or what we know in the west as Cybernator. This 1992 game is a brilliant realization of 2D mecha action, an inspiration to many an indie developer (most notably ASTRO PORT). What makes it work so well is... something that I'll have to save for a future review. Originally, I had planned to cover Cybernator first and then Front Mission: Gun Hazard. Instead, I played through the latter twice in less than a year, which is quite the event for my "Has a stack of unfinished RPGs that rivals the Tower of Babel" ass! Point is, there's a noticeable and effective learning curve to both games that elevates them far beyond their peers. A shooter where the mecha controls as effortlessly as Bill Rizer or Lance Bean is pretty cool, but also not at all what I'm looking for.
What makes these games so special is how much work goes into movement. Let's start with the basics. How does several tons of machinery stop running without immediately toppling over? The simple answer is that it never runs. If there's a destination that must be reached in a hurry, or enemy fire to be dodged, then a mech must rely entirely on its dash unit. Propulsion systems placed in the front as well as the back allow the weapon to move quickly without risking its stability. In the case of Gun Hazard, however, there's an important rule to keep in mind: no collisions! Dashing is an essential tactic, but careless usage will be punished. Colliding with enemies or even walls will damage Albert's wanzer. A dangerous situation can be made worse if he's needlessly dashing and crashing into the opposition. One handy trick for all you players out there is to hold up on the controller. This allows the wanzer to maintain its current dash without all the clunky starts and stops. Rolling the d-pad between diagonally left and right is the closest one can get to "precision-dashing" and is a lot of fun to use.
In most other games, jumping is the go-to method for evading danger. That's not the case here, at least not usually. Like I said before, wanzers are large targets. One that's airborne is sacrificing both their superior ground maneuverability and projectile-deflecting shield. That said, there's still plenty of use-cases for jumping as well as the limited-flight capabilities provided by the Vernier system. It just demands a greater degree of player involvement. Your level of agency is far greater than the enemy's, especially when they give up basic functionality (like walking) for absurd weaponry. Learning the when and where of jumping as well as hovering is very satisfying. There's a great degree of control in steering a massive tank through the air and raining hellfire on everything below. It also significantly affects dealings with the few enemies that are capable of flight. Aiming in their general direction and pressing the fire button works... to an extent, but the real magic is in adaptation. I could've said that eventually you'll become one with the machine and effortlessly glide through the battlefield, but I still haven't mastered the controls myself. Somehow, two full playthroughs of a meaty Action-RPG aren't enough.
Twelve to fifteen hours spent in Front Mission: Gun Hazard will provide a lot of opportunities for player expression. Wanzers come equipped with a primary gun; unlimited ammo but prone to reloads. Secondary weapons can serve multiple purposes. Bazookas fire a single rocket for big damage. Wireless gun pods hunt down nearby foes and pelt them with bullets. Bounce Shot fires projectiles that bound across walls and ceilings, handy when storming enemy bases. There's a wide selection to choose from, and they become more effective with continued use. Basically, committing to a loadout confers multiple benefits. You can get by with a basic setup, but sticking with something a little more personalized makes the experience all the sweeter.
I highly recommend trying several different loadouts. Also, take the time to work with partners who'll join at various points in the story. Their specialized talents don't (usually) make-or-break a playthrough but take care of them and they'll serve you well. The level of difficulty tends to be pretty lax, unless you decide to skip every optional encounter, thus drastically limiting the funding necessary to keep Albert armed and healthy. In any case, experiment as often as possible. Take advantage of the wide variety of encounters. Get creative with the means to dismantle them.
Seriously, it's actually staggering just how much there is to see and destroy in this tightly designed game. Each nation has unique scenarios, often requiring more out of players than just shooting whatever moves. Wait, let me back up a second. I don't want to imply that there's anything obnoxious like a stealth mission. There are, however, extraordinarily large wanzers to tear apart, labyrinthian bases to navigate, a little escorting (nothing serious), and bosses that won't appear anywhere else. A ton of work was put towards creating an adventure that never gets repetitive or tiring. Excitement is quite literally everywhere.
 |
| Albert will have to leave his wanzer to complete some missions. |
I suppose the one aspect that doesn't quite land 100% is the endgame. By this point, the best weapons are limited to Napalm Shot and Spark Shot. The final dungeon is a series of elevators, and the opposition mostly consists of spherical drones. I'd almost call it an interactive epilogue if the final boss didn't do immense damage with every attack. Still, it is my sincere belief that this is an earned ending. Much like the rest of the game, it creates an interesting scenario that isn't seen anywhere else. Also, given enough time, I think I could recognize the value in not having a gigantic final dungeon with seemingly endless hallways and mid-bosses. Front Mission: Gun Hazard knew exactly when to end, and that means a lot.
If you've never experienced a 2D mecha game, then this is the perfect one to start with. It teaches players all of the essentials of controlling a weighty machine. Nobody is going to instantly master the controls, and that's fine. There is just as much forgiveness as there is friction. Every minute spent inside the wanzer is a joyous one, and the sense of satisfaction that comes from piloting one is something you won't find just anywhere. I suppose this being one of the best looking and sounding RPGs on the Super Famicom is also worth a mention.
My final rating: Required. Do not risk the possibility of leaving the world without playing this masterpiece.
No comments:
Post a Comment