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Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge

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Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge
Cover art by Stephen Peringer
Developer(s)Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Toshitaka Muramatsu
Producer(s)Gunpei Yokoi
Programmer(s)Shinya Yamamoto
Toshihiro Nishii
Artist(s)Toshitaka Muramatsu
Composer(s)Yuka Tsujiyoko
Platform(s)Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
  • NA: December 1993
  • EU: May 1994
Genre(s)Light-gun shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge is a 1993 light gun shooter video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sequel to Battle Clash (1992) and one of several titles that require the Super Scope light gun. Taking place three years after the events of its predecessor, the player acts as the gunner of the Standing Tank (ST) Falcon piloted by Mike Anderson, fighting a group of chiefs in the Battle Game, the returning emperor Anubis, and the invading Eltorian alien race.

Metal Combat was created by Team Battle Clash, a group within Intelligent Systems made up of Nintendo R&D1 staff, which previously worked on Battle Clash. It was directed by chief graphic designer Toshitaka Muramatsu, who worked in the Fire Emblem and Paper Mario series, and produced by Gunpei Yokoi. The music was composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko, who also scored Battle Clash. The game garnered generally favorable reception from critics; praise was given to the refined gameplay, different strategies of each enemy, variety of modes, and overall improvements made over its predecessor. Some reviewers criticized the single-player campaign for its short duration, repetitive action, and difficulty.

Gameplay

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Internal view of the ST Falcon, battling against the ST Cobra on Saturn
See also: Battle Clash § Gameplay

Like its predecessor, Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge is a light-gun shooter game which requires the Super Scope light gun peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to be played.[1][2][3] The plot takes place three years after the events occurred in Battle Clash; the emperor Anubis suffered defeat at the hands of Mike Anderson and a new age of prosperity began to emerge on Earth. However, Anubis returned to resume his tyranny and an alien race called the Eltorians entered the solar system to conquer Earth.[3][4][5]

Gameplay consists of four different modes divided into single-player or multiplayer submenus: Battle, Time Trial, Training, and Combat.[6][7] Battle is a single-player scenario where the player acts as the gunner of the Standing Tank (ST) Falcon piloted by Anderson, fighting a group of chiefs in the Battle Game, the returning emperor Anubis, and the invading Eltorian alien race in one-on-one duels.[3][7][8] Time Trial is a mode where the player must defeat enemies to achieve the best time possible.[5][6][7] Training is a tutorial mode, in which an instructor named Rola helps beginners through a series of seven lessons.[2][3][7] Combat is a versus mode, where one player controls the ST Falcon using the Super Scope while the other player controls one of the enemy STs using a Super NES controller.[1][3][4]

The player attacks enemies using rapid fire by holding down the fire button, energy bolts, bombs, and an array of special items.[2][3][6] The ST Falcon charges energy bolts up to three times when the player is not firing and fires a treble shot once the power meters are filled.[3][4] The player counters enemy fire by intercepting their projectiles, though some enemy attacks can only be deflected by shooting energy bolts.[4][5] Each enemy ST has destructible weak points that the player must shoot to deal damage.[3][4][9] Completing the single-player mode unlocks the ST Tornado, piloted by Carol Eugene.[3][4][7] The ST Tornado can store up to ten energy beams and fire each one individually but has less defense compared to the ST Falcon.[3]

Development and release

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Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge was created by Team Battle Clash, a group within Intelligent Systems made up of Nintendo R&D1 staff that developed games for the Super Scope light gun, which had previously worked on Battle Clash (1992).[3][10][11] The game is one of several titles that requires the Super Scope.[12] It was directed by chief graphic designer Toshitaka Muramatsu, who worked in the Fire Emblem and Paper Mario series, and produced by Gunpei Yokoi.[3][13][14][15] Shinya Yamamoto and Toshihiro Nishii acted as two of the game's co-programmers, who later worked on Tetris Attack.[a][13][14] The music was scored by Yuka Tsujiyoko, who also composed Battle Clash.[13][16]

Nintendo first published Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in December 1993, followed by Europe in May 1994.[8][17] It was originally titled Battle Clash II, but the name was changed shortly before its North American launch.[18] The game was housed in a 16-megabit (2 MB) cartridge using the OBC-1, a sprite manipulation enhancement chip.[8][19] Metal Combat was only released in Western regions, as the Super Scope proved to be less popular in Japan.[3][4][10] The cover was illustrated by artist Stephen Peringer.[20]

Reception

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Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge received generally favorable reception from critics and retrospective commentators.[3][4][23][24][25] Nintendo Power considered it to be a much improved follow-up to Battle Clash and highlighted its multiplayer mode; however, they found the single-player campaign weak, pointing out the difficulty of seeing incoming enemy fire.[9] Electronic Gaming Monthly's reviewers celebrated the game for having colorful graphics and deeper gameplay than most Super Scope titles, and cited the two-player mode as the best feature, although they did not like its difficulty.[21] Game Players's Chris Slate lauded each of the game's enemies for their different strategies, as well as the soundscapes, variety of modes, and replay value.[1] GamePro's Captain Squideo described it as "much harder, faster, and ultimately better than any previous Super Scope game, including Battle Clash". Squideo praised the detailed graphics that allow the player to spot enemy weak points, but criticized the text between fights and low-quality voice samples.[2]

Hobby Consolas' Antonio Caravaca praised the game's visual quality, sound effects, difficulty, and two-player mode, but criticized the occasional flickering that occurs during explosions.[6] Nintendo Acción gave favorable remarks to the game's mech designs, audio, and various game modes, but criticized the story mode for its short duration.[7] Player One's Jean-Pierre Abidal found the action in the game to be fun but repetitive.[22] Hardcore Gaming 101's David DeRienzo lauded the game's improved audiovisual presentation, refined combat system, and modes of play, writing that "Metal Combat manages to surpass its predecessor in every imaginable way while still offering the same great core play experience".[3] Destructoid's Zoey Handley regarded it as one of the best light gun games ever developed.[4]

Notes

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  1. ^ Known in Japan as Panel de Pon (パネルでポン, Paneru de Pon)
  2. ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly's review was by four critics with different ratings out of 10: 9, 7, 8, and 7.[21]
  3. ^ GamePro provided scores of 4/5 for graphics, 3.5/5 for sound, and 4.5/5 twice for control and fun factor.[2]
  4. ^ Nintendo Power provided scores of 3.4 for graphics and sound, 3.6 twice for play control and challenge, and 3.5 for theme and fun.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Slate, Chris (April 1994). "Review: Metal Combat". Game Players. Vol. 7, no. 4. Signal Research. p. 48.
  2. ^ a b c d e Squideo, Captain (May 1994). "ProReview: Metal Combat — Falcon's Revenge". GamePro. No. 58. IDG. p. 64.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o DeRienzo, David (August 7, 2007). "Battle Clash / Metal Combat". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Handley, Zoey (March 3, 2023). "Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge for SNES was Nintendo's best use of their space bazooka". Destructoid. Gamurs Group. Archived from the original on 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  5. ^ a b c Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge (Instruction Booklet) (North American ed.). Nintendo. 1993.
  6. ^ a b c d e Caravaca, Antonio (May 1994). "Lo Más Nuevo: Metal Combat – La Caza Del Futuro". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). No. 32. Hobby Press. pp. 114–115.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Super Stars: Metal Combat — Un Nuevo Objetivo Para Tu Super Scope". Nintendo Acción (in Spanish). No. 18. Hobby Press. May 1994. pp. 48–49.
  8. ^ a b c "Preview: Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge — La nueva onda del "Scope"". Nintendo Acción (in Spanish). No. 17. Hobby Press. April 1994. pp. 38–39.
  9. ^ a b c "Super Scope Roundup; Now Playing: Metal Combat". Nintendo Power. Vol. 55. Nintendo of America. December 1993. pp. 42–47, 106–107.
  10. ^ a b "Developer Profile: Intelligent Systems — An indepth history and look at the often overlooked R&D; group of Nintendo's EAD division". IGN. Ziff Davis. January 10, 2001. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  11. ^ "Engaged Game Software". Intelligent Systems. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-11-30. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
    "作品紹介 - ゲーム" (in Japanese). Intelligent Systems. 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  12. ^ Dog, The Watch; Tangonan, Denver (November 1996). "Buyers Beware". GamePro. No. 98. IDG. p. 24.
  13. ^ a b c Intelligent Systems (December 1993). Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Nintendo. Level/area: Creative Staff. (Good Ending screens by VGMuseum [The Video Games Museum]. Archived 2004-06-16 at the Wayback Machine)
  14. ^ a b "「パネルでポン」ホームページ公開1周年記念特別企画 - 開発者インタビュー". 「パネルでポン」ホームページ (in Japanese). Intelligent Systems. August 19, 1997. Archived from the original on 1998-01-17. Retrieved 2024-01-28. (Translation by Graeme Howard. Archived 2020-05-23 at the Wayback Machine).
  15. ^ Szczepaniak, John (March 17, 2022). "Feature: 30 Years of the Super Scope". Retro Gamer. No. 231. Future Publishing. pp. 44–47.
  16. ^ "Interview with Yuka Tsujiyoko". RocketBaby. Hollow Light Media. 2001. Archived from the original on 2002-08-21. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  17. ^ "Super NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  18. ^ "Smygtittar: Metal Combat". Nintendo-Magasinet [sv] (in Swedish). Vol. 5, no. 37. Atlantic Förlags AB [sv]. March 1994. p. 12.
  19. ^ "Repasamos 10 juegos de SNES que necesitaron de cartuchos especiales". Univision (in Spanish). Univision Communications. August 18, 2016. Archived from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  20. ^ Peringer, Stephen. "Video Game Art". stephenperingerartwork. Archived from the original on 2024-07-22. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  21. ^ a b Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Williams, Ken (March 1994). "Review Crew: Metal Combat". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 56. Sendai Publishing. p. 50.
  22. ^ a b Abidal, Jean-Pierre (July–August 1994). "Vite Vu – Le Zone de Vite Vu: Metal Combat". Player One [fr] (in French). No. 44. Média Système Édition [fr]. p. 116.
  23. ^ Buret, Stéphane (May 1994). "Selection: Metal Combat". Nintendo Player [fr] (in French). No. 20. Média Système Édition [fr]. p. 28. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  24. ^ Bruinsma, Bjørn (June 1994). "Review: Metal Combat". Power Unlimited (in Dutch). No. 11. VNU Media. pp. 36–37.
  25. ^ "Super NES Review: Metal Combat". Nintendo Magazine System. No. 20. Trielle Corporation. November 1994. p. 52.
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