The Japanese love big robots; you only have to look at series like Gundam, Macross and Patlabor to see this. However they seem to like strategy videogames a lot less, which is what makes Namco’s Metal Marines (Militia in Japan) all the more surprising.
Released at a time where real time strategy titles were only just beginning to emerge, Metal Marines was afforded a fair degree of exposure thanks to the pedigree of the developer, the lovely anime artwork and the fact that the strategy genre was not exactly well represented on the SNES.
The gameplay was probably a little too complex for console tastes but it nevertheless gained a cult following, rather like Herzog Zwei on the Megadrive/Genesis and Military Madness on the TG16/PC Engine.
Facing off against the forces of the malevolent Zorgeuf, it’s your duty to rise up and reclaim your beloved Earth from the clutches of this military madman. Your main weapon in this commendable struggle is the titular ‘Metal Marine’ – a massive, hulking war robot that packs a significant punch. These fiendish devices come in three different flavours, each suited to a particular style of combat.
In addition to controlling massive mechas, you also have the ability to build structures such as factories, mine fields, anti-aircraft guns and a hangar in which to store your precious Metal Marines. As is the case with countless other games of this type, you have a central HQ which must be defended at all costs – destruction means game over.
The strategy genre has evolved almost beyond measure over the past decade and it’s therefore unsurprising that Metal Marines has dated pretty badly. Compared to recent games of this type – Advance Wars, for example - it’s incredibly basic. However, there’s still enjoyment to be had here, and if you’re willing to invest a bit of time you’ll find that Metal Marines represents a worthwhile purchase.
The presentation is excellent, and although the plot isn’t exactly original it certainly makes a change to be fighting humans rather than aliens; the aforementioned anime illustrations are fantastic and really add to the appeal of the game, giving each enemy commander a distinct personality (Joan Rile is such a hottie you’ll actually feel bad about beating her).
Metal Marines isn’t for everyone, but if you liked Military Madness and have a penchant for commanding armies of death-dealing robots then this should appeal to you.
1. lavkian
09 Jul 2007, 17:30 GMT
Oh wow, THIS game. Despite the fact that I simply can never get into SRPGs nowadays, I used to play this on zSnes every freaking day as a kid.
I wonder what official rating it'll get here. I bank on 3 stars.
2. brian
10 Jul 2007, 10:21 GMT
if you liked the SNES version, try tracking down the windows 3.1 version. it absolutely rocks, especially comparatively. this looks like and plays like garbage compared to it. the windows version looks a lot more like advanced wars in its palette and art style. iirc, the player and the enemy are in two different windows and they fire at. that's pretty cool you gotta admit.
3. michinmuri
19 Jul 2007, 03:36 GMT
Love this game. It's not for everyone, but for those that like RTS type of games should enjoy it.
4. Kyle Siopiolosz
06 Oct 2007, 16:20 GMT
Thanks...I'm the one who posted this video on Youtube. I have the windows 3.1 version, however I prefer this one, (The graphics are better). Anyways, thanks for posting.
5. Mazgazine
15 Oct 2007, 20:47 GMT
"it’s therefore unsurprising that Metal Marines has dated pretty badly" - how is it dated at all? There is no game that plays like this to date (next to its windows counterpart)..Advanced Wars? This not even the same type of game. This is an RTS/artillary strike game 'thingy'. Yeah, I love this game.... I've played it way to much and I'm definitely going to buy it to further the cause.. There is alot of challenge involved and good chunk of levels to go through.
6. Damo
16 Oct 2007, 12:34 GMT
While I'll admit that it's not an exact match for the likes of Advance Wars, this is still basically a strategy title and should be compared to other games of the genre. It has some nice ideas but I don't think it's for everyone, as I stated in the review.
7. AlphaNerd01
16 Oct 2007, 18:58 GMT
I'd say that comparing this game to Advance Wars is pretty fair, seeing as how Damo was just trying to draw attention to the fact that this game has aged a bit.
Regardless, this game is totally rad. It's def. worth some attention if you're into the who SRPGs genre. I'd say this made a better port on the SNES than Sim City, too.
8. Kyle Siopiolosz
14 Nov 2007, 22:33 GMT
Here are all the cheats for the game..for anyone that doesn't have them:
Level Password
2 HBBT
3 PCRC
4 NWTN
5 LSMD
6 CLST
7 JPTR
8 NBLR
Level Password
9 PRSC
10 PHTN
11 TRNS
12 RNSN
13 ZDCP
14 FKDV
15 YSHM
Level Password
16 CLPD
17 LNVV
18 JFMR
19 JCRY
20 KNLB
10,000 $ and E: CSDV
9. TRON
05 Apr 2008, 19:50 GMT
This game seemed kinda random and I wasn't sure what was going on at first, but once you get it, it's a lot of fun. It's sort of an RTS, but seems a bit turn based once you get the hang of it. Not for everyone, as the review says, but if you like games like Military Madness then you'll probably like this. Good mix of attack and defense, as well as some resource managment. The only minus for me is that you can't skip the animations for the attacks. Not a big deal really, as the gameplay more than makes up for it.
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