What do you get when you combine Halo’s number one star and a Zaku II? You get the custom job you see above, built upon a Master Grade Gundam Zaku II Ver. 1.0 kit. Via Figure.fm.

Then Metal Wolf Chaos was announced and it was apparent that the Otogi production was supposedly behind this, well at least on paper. In reality, many of the Armored Core team were apparently “getting involved” in the game’s creation and the final result is something truly surprising and quite functionally invigorating.

The premise of Metal Wolf Chaos is quite unusual; the President of the United States of America has been subject to a coup d’etat by his very own Vice President. Michael Wilson, the usurped Pesident, isn’t going down without a fight though and so he dons his custom power armor and tries to go on a cross-country campaign to re-take the White House. Each mission is contained within a specific environment, much of which can be blown to pieces along with whatever else stands in his way.

The game is very much a third person shooter with a very standardised dual analogue control setup. The only elements that really categorise the game within the mecha genre are its use of weight coupled with boosting. Admittedly, your power armor is equipped with a suitably ludicrous amount of weaponry (that inexplicably fits into the two large shoulder pods at the rear) but the weapons are not that far off human scale so the subsequent action feels more grounded as a consequence.

On first impressions though the game is a bit of a con. As the opening and subsequent in-game cutscenes, many of which were used to promote the game at launch, show Michael Wilson’s “Metal Wolf” power armor flying through the sky and boosting around in a far more carefree manner than the game allows. Along with a selection of weaponry and abilities that are remarkably potent, such as landing on a tank from a height effectively crushing it, the cutscenes display a level of functional potency absent in-game. So when you finally enter into the game, the amount and speed at which you can boost around is hugely reduced. Couple that with the somewhat underpowered starting weapons and you do feel as though you’ve been partially duped.

This was something that took a while to shake off, as the sheer amount of functional restriction was hugely irritating especially after playing the far more free form Armored Core games. That said this “tsundere” approach is very much a From Software calling card. After pouring more time into the game it gradually became apparent, through subsequent weapon acquisitions, that Metal Wolf Chaos was a fiendishly well crafted shooter. The boosting that initially drive me somewhat spare, was actually quite nuanced; as the initial acceleration on a boost could be used to travel faster and more precisely if carefully chained together. In some ways it was almost akin to fathoming the depth in GunValkyrie’s approach to boosting, though arguably this was far more straightforward. In any case, it was becoming very obvious that the game was incredibly good.

Then there’s the story and this was probably why the game engenders such a cult following. The voice acting was entirely in English and hugely hammed up with it. Many initially thought that the narrative was actually delivered straight and that’s what a Japanese developer, such as From Software, actually thought about the American Presidency. In truth, it was actually quite clever satire as much of the game purposefully exaggerates the selfish arrogance and insecurity of those in power, as Michael Wilson ultimately destroys half the nation he is trying to take back, including a memorable section where you attack an armored version of the White House (shrewdly called the “Fight House”). As far as he is concerned, Wilson still thinks it’s “his” country and screw the Republic. It’s just that the way Japanese satire displays this obvious hypocrisy as being overtly silly, rather than through acerbic wit, meant that many took the whole setup literally.

The really interesting aspect to the narrative though was how it displayed the fickle nature of the American media and especially the news networks. As the moment Michael Wilson is ousted, he’s labelled as a terrorist and even the fictional “DNN” network openly approve of the fascist mindset that the nation has descended into. The parallels with networks like Fox News are subsequently quite unnerving and you get the feeling that this was entirely intended.

Apparently this satire hit too close to home and the game was held back from a Western release. The fickle portrayal of the American media was something most Western publishers were very much wary of (as the media was responsible for promoting their gaming output). However, From Software had unwittingly used an unsanctioned version of the Presidential Seal, which gave many American publishers a way out. Ultimately, the lack of a European release belies the real issue here as there is no reason why the Presidential Seal couldn’t be used abroad (after all game was successfully published in Japan without any problems).

Satire aside, Metal Wolf Chaos is very much a well wrought game. From the large selection of disparate weapons, to the intricate environments it’s a game that has to be thoroughly investigated. Despite the somewhat ostentatious presentation the game is actually quite nuanced and, to fully appreciate its functional scope, a similar level of insight is required as with From Software’s other games. It is more approachable in terms of its controls compared to something like Armored Core, which has a level of notoriety in that department, but it still expects the player to invest their time and skill to master the Metal Wolf. Once you reach this threshold, the game opens up into a playground of unbridled destruction.

Overall, Metal Wolf Chaos is a game many could initially play but not necessarily master. Couple that with its very Japanese satire and you have a game that’s probably quite misunderstood but has weathered that in a uniquely positive manner. There’s a lot more to this game than many may appreciate but if you persevere there’s something rather wonderful in store.

Tamashii: 9/10

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Specifically, the four Gungriffon games that have graced multiple consoles over the years. These games pre-date From Software’s perennial Armored Core series but due to a number of factors, both cultural and financial, the games have never quite garnered the appreciation they so sorely deserved.

This is not to say that the Gungriffon games haven’t been critically lauded over the years but they haven’t reached the broader appeal that something like Heavy Gear did for instance, despite both series sharing similar base rulesets for the mecha. Amusingly, the design of mecha themselves has often been mistakenly attributed to be Western in origin, despite the obvious linkages to Ryosuke Takahashi’s VOTOMS series, something that again Heavy Gear shares. As such, we’ll delve into the series as a whole and examine what has made these games remain such a cult hit.

Gungriffon (Saturn)

In March of 1996, a new kind of mecha game was released to the world. Set in the first person, the player worked within the cockpit of an Armored Walking Gun System (or AWGS) mecha as they traversed massive battle fields also teeming with similar enemy units. As Saturn games went Gungriffon was graphically particularly advanced for the time and, despite a moderate learning curve with the controls, quite tactile too. Heavily inspired by the functional parameters seen in VOTOMS, the AWGS mecha in Gungriffon utilised rollers in their feet but unlike the AT’s in VOTOMS could also fly for a short period as well.

Unlike Virtual On, which was then 6 months away from a console release, Gungriffon was a very straightforward and direct mecha game. Where the player basically just had to point and shoot for the most part. However, unlike a standard approach to an FPS, the mecha retained their mass and subsequent momentum. Managing the additional roller and flight elements also added an extra layer of depth as well.

On paper, this sounds like an instant gaming hit and it had also gotten the drop on the first Armored Core by a good 18 months. In addition, it received a swift release across the world. So what went wrong?

The main issue with the original Gungriffon’s lack of sales was mostly down to the console it was released on. Despite all of its graphical veneer and functional prowess, the Saturn’s lack of popularity left the first Gungriffon almost dead on arrival. It garnered a selection of very positive reviews though and the Western press, for once, actually appreciated what the game was trying to achieve. However, the more mainstream gamers failed to take stock of the game’s existence. This was especially true outside of Japan.

Gungriffon II (Saturn)

Released two years later, Gungriffon II had a long list of improvements in the form of additional control features as well as 4 player multiplayer (if you linked your Saturn’s together). From the optional usage of Virtual On’s twinsticks to the ability for two players to control one AWGS. GameArts added a fair amount to the already existing game. Unfortunately, the game hadn’t moved on graphically at all and some even thought the game had regressed visually. This significantly harmed the game in terms of sales in Japan, though it still retained a favourable critical response in light of its functional improvements.

Ultimately though, the game remained as taut as its previous offering but unlike the previous game this iteration wasn’t published by GameArts. Instead ESP stepped in and covered off the financial backing. This might explain why it was rushed to release, as ESP probably wanted to make good on their investment before the Dreamcast was released later in the year. This would have explained the obvious lack of visual polish prior to release. This wouldn’t be the first time that a separate publisher sullied the Gungriffon series either.

Gungriffon Blaze (PlayStation 2)

After the lacklustre sales of the Saturn games, GameArts obviously decided to put Gungriffon on a console that had a greater number of units in the marketplace. Gungriffon Blaze was the game that followed this thinking and was launched on the PlayStation 2 very near to the console’s release. Admittedly, they took a gamble but the reasoning that the PlayStation 2 would follow on from the success of the original PlayStation was suitably sound at the time. They’d also put more development time into this sequel and the subsequent polish was self evident.

Consequently, Blaze did very well and not only garnered further critical acclaim but also reached gamers the prior two Saturn efforts had wholly failed to. Unfortunately, Armored Core 2 was released literally a week before Blaze in Japan so this was the first and only time the two series battled it out on the same platform. Despite it’s quality Blaze was pretty much eclipsed by Armored Core 2 on launch, which is obviously unfortunate but Armored Core had greater momentum as it had secured a bigger and more loyal fanbase in the years earlier.

That said, Blaze is possibly the finest iteration in the Gungriffon series. As its speed and responsive controls made it a truly visceral arcade experience, though some argue this was down to Capcom’s input as they published the game in Japan. It’s also one of the most accessible iterations as the controls, compared to the Saturn games at least, used dual analogue inputs. This was something that Armored Core, the Gungriffon series’ main rival, wouldn’t match for another four years until Armored Core Nexus was released.

It’s hard to fault Blaze on functional level, though there were a few annoying control issues these were mostly irrelevant after a very brief learning curve. A learning curve considerably less foreboding when compared to Armored Core 2. Yet in spite of all these obviously accessible features, Blaze still couldn’t quite make a dent in its competition.

Gungriffon Allied Strike (Xbox)

On paper, Allied Strike offered considerably more than Blaze could have ever hoped to. Online multiplayer was one major element but the player could finally utilise both a first and third person camera now too. However, Allied Strike was a completely travesty for the series.

Functionally whilst quite precise, the overall game ran very slowly. This is not to say its framerate was in any way lacking but that the AWGS’s themselves moved at a slower pace. In addition the flight controls from Blaze were quite noticeably directionally limited, as was the rolling functionality. So you were locked in more in terms of your basic movement. A lot of this may have stemmed from the new online multiplayer focus, so as to keep multiplayer matches more tactical and balanced, but the singleplayer game suffered quite noticeably as a consequence.

The most bizarre fault of Allied Strike though was how badly it looked. Considering that this was released four years after Blaze and on more potent hardware, you would expect a bit of a visual facelift. At the very least a much greater level area and draw distance, things that would actually functionally matter.

Unbelievably, Allied Strike looked worse than Blaze did for the most part and had a far shorter draw distance to boot. Again, fingers have been pointed at Tecmo as they acted as the Japanese publisher for the game and that they actively encouraged feature creep to keep the game competitive with successful Western FPS games at the time. Though in typical fashion they probably still expected GameArts to hit their release date, so again the developer focused on making the game work at the expense of the visual polish.

Allied Strike was critically panned on release, mostly down to how painfully dated it was and that the immediacy seen in Blaze was long gone. In some ways, Allied Strike tried to emulate a simulation type of approach, which didn’t really fit the series’ lineage.

It’s a sad footnote for a series that has, despite its best intentions and innate quality, been undermined by factors like the host hardware and shortsighted publishers. That said, there’s still an opportunity here for GameArts to make something more considered for this generation of consoles, as Blaze is evidence enough that the Gungriffon series can deliver. Whether they’ll seize that remains to be seen though.

This happened a few months back but a shrewd VJ by the name of Bonsajo re-purposed an old Steel Battalion controller for his VJing. It’s impressively done and makes a lot of sense considering how many buttons the device had, so you could pre-bake multiple inputs off that for quick access. Plus, it also looks pretty cool when all the buttons light up. In any case, Bonsajo uploaded some videos of the kit in action.

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