And their hazardous guns!
SNES music playlists are all over YouTube. I've listened to approximately all of them. But one DJ, in particular, really likes Front Mission: Gun Hazard. They had several songs from it's OST on the jukebox, and they sucked me in. I needed to know if the music held up with these songs! Since I thought Dragon Quest VII sucked, I decided to play a new game in its place.
Gun Hazard is a Japanese only game released by my old friend, Squaresoft. It may have the Front Mission moniker on it, but it exists in a separate universe from all the others. It also plays substantially different, too. It's not a strategy RPG, but it's a side scrolling shooter. I want to call it a run-and-gun, but something about that seems wrong. It feels more Contra than Gradius, though. Either way, it's a lot of fun! The robots and multiple weapons are here, but that's about it.
You take the role of Albert from Bergen, Norway. His homeland has been couped, but he's fighting to keep his country safe. He does this by escorting the current president to safety. This ends up going as you'd expect, which leads him to a global conspiracy, taking him all around the world. He meets interesting people to fight beside him, each with their own unique wanzer. A forgotten space elevator/solar farm is a central figure in all this.
Albert can equip one of four primary weapons and (up to) six secondary armaments. All of those are wildly different and fun to explore and grow with. Each of his friends can join him for the missions, and they all fight slightly differently. One can orbital bomb, shield us from damage, and repair us, but most are just a secondary wanzer. If you know how, that backup can be a second player, so the game has co-op!
Gameplay is traveling to a location and traveling from dot to dot, mostly killing enemy robots. Each of these sub stories are exciting, but the levels feel too similar. It's just going right and shooting stuff.
And the arts hold up. Both musically and visually! The OST that sucked me in kept me in, and the visual backgrounds are phenomenal. And then there are SNES cutscenes that try to look like a PlayStation. They succeed. I can't believe this game came out in 1996!
There were the basics, so let's get to the numbers!
Story: almost there. Albert is a perfectly fine MC, but he's a bit plain. As is the final boss. But the story ticks so many boxes I dig, and it enhances the game. 8/10
Gameplay: all about fun. Shooting things gets repetitive, but I had so much fun this week. I went into overtime almost nightly! I really wish dungeons were more varied. There are a few late game, but it's too little too late by then. 8/10
Sound: the hook worked. For an action game, there's plenty of stuff here, especially if you're into bass based jazz. That's not shocking since Nobuo Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda composed the OST. They were joined by future FFXIII composer Mashashi Hamauzu and journeyman Junya Nakano. 10/10
Art: gritty Sega. Those town backgrounds are absolutely beautiful. I want to stare at them all day. The ruined cityscapes, cathedrals, and landscapes could make a hedgehog jealous. I did get lost in the foreground a few too many times, though. 8/10
Charm: surprising. The world is interconnected, and there's a lot to explore and backtrack to if you know where to look. There's a secret companion and shop! The NPCs are fun, but the game drags slightly too long. But I had fun, and the last few missions are short, so it's fine. I don't think a replay will reward much, though. 8/10
The only terrible thing is that the final boss sucks. Gun Hazard's control scheme is kinda...iffy, and the climax really showcases that. I managed to overlook the targeting issues most of the game, but I couldn't here. -2
Total: 40/50
I don't know why Square's never localized Gun Hazard for the rest of the world. It's such a great experience with a riveting story. I suggest it to anyone who wants a different experience from anything else out there. The mix of run-and-gun and RPG mechanics was a riot. It's another I wish I would have live blogged, as the mission interface works well for a few hours a night.
No comments:
Post a Comment