Locked On

 Sitting on entries of turn-based tactical games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Disgaea and of course Fire Emblem, I've found the basic formula of SRPG's with limited movesets and customization to be more engaging than current titles with their quality of life improvements.  Keeping it simple, in other words.  I figured as much playing several SRPG's for the Game Boy Advance, starting with . . .

Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars

A spinoff of Konami's Zone of the Enders series of mecha action games, Fist of Mars dials it down for the Game Boy Advance.  I got interested in the series after watching the limited anime Zone of the Enders 2167: IDOLO.  Though owning the original game for the Playstation 2, this was the only title I had immediate access to without half the fun of downloading ROMs and emulators.

On to the game, the player and the computer take turns moving icons across an grid-based map while attacking, using items, etc.  Standard SRPG fare, right?  But what makes Fist of Mars stand out is when facing the enemy, a targeting system pops up (above) where you have a limited time to lock on to said enemy before attacking.  The player can use this system to whittle the HP of enemy units or land that oh-so-sweet critical blow.  The in-game story wasn't worth writing home about, but most of the missions were straightforward and I beat the whole thing in a few weeks.

Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation

Another spinoff of another gaming franchise, Super Robot Taisen was developed by the good folks at Banpresto, responsible for Super Robot Wars.  Whereas the latter games squeezed in your favorite giant robot anime in a convoluted plot, Super Robot Taisen squeezes in original characters and mecha in a convoluted plot.  The gameplay's basically the same as in Fist of Mars but instead of a targeting system, the player is treated to a cutscene of their mecha dispatching the enemy in an over-the-top fashion (assuming the player doesn't just skip the cutscene altogether).  Having been exposed to the Super Robot games through merchandising, the original mecha designs like the Alteisen (above) are growing on me.  Even if I'm basically playing Fist of Mars over again, I'm eager to see how this title plays out.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files--Tournament Tactics

Probably the worst of the tactical games I've played for the GBA, this is a cash-grab title for the Yu Yu Hakusho anime, adapting the show's "Dark Tournament" arc.  Though not having watched the show since it aired on Cartoon Network in the early 2000's, this showed up on my R36S' list of favorites so I gave it a try.  Attempting the isometric gameplay found in games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre, Tournament Tactics lacks the complexity of both and works as an introductory SRPG at best.  Besides getting repetitive after a while, one other problem is that once you fail a mission, you start over from the beginning.  Even though the game has save files.  I don't know if it's an issue with the ROM or what, but thankfully the R36S has saves of its own.

Let's end it here.  For the next blog, I'm already trying out my new and improved Game Boy Color console, and maybe some new downloads.  Hope to see you then as I keep gaming my way to the Top of the Heap.