RGR017 - Running the Gauntlet

After many, many deaths in the various elevators of stage four, I finally managed to make it to the end in one piece, only to find out that I was SO CLOSE to the end each time. The diagonal elevator path littered with green orbs and attack ships was the last leg of stage 4-2. But it gave me plenty of practice, which I'd quickly find out I needed.

Fourth Boss: Kridon & Zoniar

On the surface, Kridon & Zoniar aren't really a complicated set of bosses: the heart-like mech inside the elevator (probably Kridon) simply bounces around at 45-degree angles, while the ships that stick to the top and bottom (most likely Zoniar) fire an armor-piercing laser every so often. The difficulty of the battle stems from the fact that Zoniar's lasers are very long, and can be fired as Zoniar moves, effectively pushing you back and cornering you. This then allows Kridon to get uncomfortably close, and one of them ends up making contact. Luckily, the powered-up plasma gun can fire through the elevator frame, so Zoniar can be destroyed. With both parts gone, Kridon is a sitting (or rather, bouncing) duck. Still, I lost many, many lives in this battle, and continuing means dealing with stage 4-2 all over again.

Eww, I bet it's all squishy.

Can't say I'm a fan of that.

Now this is more like it.

This battle seemed so tough the first time.

It's like the eyes follow you...

and shoot lasers at you!

The little guy up there seems harmless...

The screen is actually full of enemy lasers.

Stage five returns to the traditional corridor layout, but introduces a new enemy: a pivoting dual-barreled laser cannon that can be positioned horizontally or vertically. It fires in spurts, so there are plenty of openings to take it out, but the horizontal ones can start firing before you realize they're there, so they often act as traps. The second part of the stage brings in yet another new enemy, this time a little tiny drone with a big surprise. Killing one of these drones causes it to launch a wide plasma wave directly forward, which can be difficult to dodge. And if a drone reaches the edge of the screen, it self-destructs, sending the same plasma wave backwards. So you have to watch out for the waves no matter what.

The first four bosses were explicitly named in the instruction manual, but from here on out, I'm basing names on a FAQ; they may not be official, but then again, they may.

Fifth Boss: Multatron

As obnoxiously difficult as it is cleverly designed, Multatron is a transforming defense mech with three separate forms. It first takes its blue form, firing lasers diagonally which bounce off the walls. After taking enough damage, Multatron switches to its red form, where it fires lasers horizontally that suddenly turn 90 degrees when they reach you. They alternate between moving upward and downward, just as the blue form's lasers were fired from alternate top and bottom positions. Again, after taking enough damage, Multatron switches to its third form, the green form, where it begins firing plasma waves. Once the green form takes enough damage, things get trickier, as Multatron starts rapidly switching from form to form, now firing two shots at once in each form, more quickly and much tougher to dodge. This one takes a lot of patience and quick reflexes to win.

Blue mode...

red mode...

green mode...

DEAD MODE!

I dare you to try to run through.

This stage sure has some ugly platforms.

WHEE!!!

Gravity's messing with my head now.

Stage six gets complicated; a series of smaller platforms slowly rises upward from the bottom of the screen, and though the screen doesn't scroll vertically, the stage still loops in both directions. Falling through the bottom of the screen causes you to reappear at the top, and vice versa, depending on the gravity. There are plenty of gun turrets and other enemies to keep you on your toes as you try to not only deal with the jumps (which sometimes include spikes), but also the necessary gravity switches (which also sometimes include spikes). As you can see above, there are several gravity-controlled fire wave cannons in tricky places. And there are no gun upgrades in 6-2; I'd have killed for a plasma gun power-up.

Sixth Boss: Triad Voltars

The Voltars are three large green block-like machines that slowly orbit the perimeter of the room. They don't attack, but both the floor and ceiling of the room contain conduits that will destroy you on contact, so moving around is just as good as attacking. Most of the Voltars' bodies are protected with armor, but each has a small hatch that opens after a certain amount of time; when this hatch is open, a Voltar is susceptible to a single shot, at which point the hatch closes. So it's a waiting game, but also a quickly moving around and adjusting gravity to avoid dying game. When a Voltar is one shot away from destruction, it turns red, making it somewhat easier to plan the order of attack.

They kind of look like crazy turtle heads.

There can be only one.

And eventually, there will be.

Right, there we go.

They left these here for me? How nice!

I get to continue partway through!

Stage seven, like many other final stages before it, is a nonstop series of battles against all the previous bosses. I won't go into much detail, since every fight is just as it was before, but at least Cyberg was kind enough to supply one of each weapon power-up, allowing you to choose how you want to fight. Continuing also brings you back to the weapon selection corridor, but doesn't force you to fight any of the bosses you've already beaten. This actually makes the final stage a bit disappointing in its simplicity.

Final Boss: Self-Destruct Device

The self-destruct device is sort of a lock and key mechanism, but there seem to be some pulsing wiry things of some sort holding it back. They're easy to destroy, and they don't fight back, so it's not much of a battle. Destroying each one causes the key to move closer to the lock, until all four have been defeated, at which point the device activates. The resulting explosion is impressive, and though it doesn't look like the M-308 Gunner made it out alive, the following ending text clearly states you've been granted immortality, so I think survival is pretty much in the bag.

The proper ending requires the game be completed in Expert mode, which I tried a little, and decided I had neither the skill nor the patience to make any progress. So if you really want to see the extra little bit of ending, look it up on YouTube.

All right, I think I see the problem...

Let's just get these wire things cleaned up.

Just a couple more...

I should probably run now.

Now that's what I call an epic explosion!

Hang tough? An NKOTB reference?

Yeah, no, thanks.

And with that, the world, and possibly the universe, is once again saved. We've really got to start keeping a closer eye on these AI-driven planet-destroying "defensive" battle stations from now on.

The next game will feature a certain super fighting robot, a bomber of the blue variety, but not on the system you'd expect. See you there!

RGR Game #017: Metal Storm

M-308 Gunner loves the Power Glove. It's so bad.
(Many thanks to Kari as always for this awesomeness!)

Don't forget your metal umbrella!

He should've looked up.

Happy New Year, and welcome to game #017: Metal Storm. This underrated little gem for the NES follows an unknown soldier on a mission to save Earth from a malfunctioning space battle station using a gravity-controlling suit of combat armor called the M-308 Storm Gunner. As a kid, I remember being blown away by the quality of the animation and the fluidity of the controls. Of course, being able to reverse gravity with a button press was pretty sweet too.

The story, according to the US manual for the game, is set in the year 2501, where mankind is at the mercy of Pluto's battle station Cyberg, which was originally built to protect humanity from hostile alien invasion. The station's powerful laser cannon ("LaserGun", according to the manual) has begun destroying entire planets in our solar system, most recently Neptune. Normally, it would be simple enough to activate Cyberg's self-destruct mechanism, but said mechanism has mysteriously jammed, and the station has selected Earth as its next target. So humanity's last hope lies with the M-308 Gunner and pilot as it fights through Cyberg's defenses, reaches the core, and activates the self-destruct mechanism manually.

The Japanese version differs in two ways: the year is 3521, and the battle station was actually constructed from Pluto itself (and was christened "Gigadeath" by its creators). If you want to nitpick, Gigadeath has become self-aware, and has decided the human race must be destroyed. Otherwise, though, the story is essentially the same, with the M-308 Gunner headed there to manually activate the self-destruct mechanism and all that.

Oh, what a feeling?

I've got this burning sensation...

This guy has no respect
for personal space.

That's a bit overdramatic.

As I mentioned before, the big draw of Metal Storm is its gravity control system, which allows the pilot to reverse gravity at the touch of a button. Specifically, pressing Up+A reverses gravity, and then Down+A reverts it to normal. This allows for some spectacular jumps, and also very creative level design. Stage one acts as a practice stage to let you get the hang of the controls, and the gravity. There are relatively few enemies, and they move slowly, though the walkers can be tricky if you forget that your gravity control affects them as well. Anything that isn't bolted down or already flying will rise or fall with you.

First Boss: Gorgoth

Gorgoth continues the gravity training exercises by having a single weak point in the form of a glowing purple dome that can appear in one of three places, only one of which is accessible from the floor. It periodically launches three purple rings at roughly 30-degree angles (I think), making them easy to avoid. It's entirely possible to destroy Gorgoth without reversing gravity, but it's not nearly as fun as standing on the ceiling to fire at the dome when it's protruding from one of the sides.

Cleans in hard-to-reach places!

Huh? I was there a frame ago...

Ooh, which path should I choose?

I sense danger.

You know what? I'm going for it.

Heh, no problem.

Ah, stage two. This is where things start getting interesting. The entire stage isn't very tall, but the whole thing loops vertically, giving the sensation of infinite depth. There are a few spike-lined platforms that you can only land on from above or below, depending on which side the spikes line. One section of the stage features gravity-controlled doors that you have to manipulate to progress, but the doors can kill you when they're in motion.

I should mention that the entire game features a neat little graphical trick that creates the illusion of multiple background layers. Each stage has a far background that is made of a simple tiled pattern, and that pattern is automatically redrawn every frame to make it look like a separate scrolling layer. It's really very impressive, especially when you consider the graphics hardware in the NES doesn't support multiple background layers at all.

Second Boss: Energizers

The Energizers are an array of five laser cannons, each of which fires a powerful beam at random. Their room, like the stage before it, loops vertically, making it difficult at first to understand how many cannons there actually are. Once one is destroyed, though, it becomes simple. The cannons fire quickly, but must open their armor shells to expose their cannon barrels before firing, giving you a chance to jump out of the way.

Jeez! A little more warning
next time, okay?

Looks like it doesn't keep going.

The background's much
awesomer in motion.

I'm a sniper-sniper.

Stage three is a supply line of some sort, with a track running through its entirety that is used by carts that appear every so often and make jumps a little trickier. There are more spikes in this stage than in the previous stage, so careful mastery of gravity is a must.

Third Boss: Gultzen

Gultzen's heavy armor protects it from all harm as it moves from panel to panel, trying to crush you. And if that weren't bad enough, slow-moving lasers make maneuvering difficult, giving you small windows in which to cross from one quadrant of the room to another. The only time Gultzen can be damaged is when it connects to a panel and opens its armor to look for you. So the battle turns into a chase, with Gultzen forcing you to quickly and carefully move through the room, taking potshots whenever you get a chance. One mistimed move spells doom, since the pods revolving around Gultzen are just as deadly as Gultzen itself.

This is more dangerous than it looks.

Well, it was.

Hey, watch it with those things!

Ow. Seriously.

Stage four... I hate stage four. The M-308 Gunner is forced to ride a series of cargo elevators to reach the inner core area of Cyberg, and the elevators' path is riddled with security drones and other threats. Some, like the green orbs above, do nothing but get in the way, but there are plenty of mounted guns and attack ships to make the trip a nightmare. With movement restricted by the relatively small elevator frame, survival is elusive.

Sub-Boss: The Galons

Compared to the stage before them, the Galons are refreshingly easy to deal with. The four machines cling to the walls of the elevator frame, circling you several times before stopping to fire one shot each, and then circling again in the opposite direction. They're easy to jump over, and fairly weak. I've read that this isn't the case in the game's expert mode, where they move so fast that they're essentially impossible to avoid.

The real trouble begins in stage 4-2, where a whole new slew of enemies appears to make things as difficult as possible. Ships appear that form entire walls, and must be destroyed in order to break down those walls. The elevator starts moving diagonally, with lots of green orbs to dance around. Everything just gets tougher. And when the going gets tough... apparently, I run out of lives. Good thing there are infinite continues.

The one on the left was flickering.

And now they all are.

You weren't so tough.

ACK! HELP!

What? It's a hard level.

Maybe tomorrow.

So I think I'll leave it at that for now while I take a little breather. Keep your eyes peeled for the next episode, coming very soon.

After all, Earth still needs saving, and there's not much time left!