Metal Saga

By Alex Arbizo . May 16, 2006 . 1:25pm

Metal Saga is an RPG about a boy who wants to enter the profession of his father, Eddy, and be a Hunter. Essentially, a Hunter fights monsters and outlaws terrorizing the communities formed in the wake of the Great Destruction. Why would one choose this you ask? For the excitement, adventure and above all, the money! It is obtained from enemies and by completing missions found at each town. Our story begins with Eddy Jr. venturing out against his mother’s wishes, to make a name for himself among the Hunter community.

Purchase at Play-Asia

In the not to distant future, humanity builds a supercomputer in an attempt to save their dying planet, this creation would be given the name Noah. It was thought that Noah would find a way to remedy the pollution that would soon end all life on earth. But Noah’s idea was different from the vision sought by its creators, and its solution was to exterminate all life. Legions of monsters, strange creations of walking gas cans, giant revolvers on unicycles and artillery batteries on fishnet wearing legs, brought about an almost complete annihilation of life. This event would be known as the Great Destruction.

Initially, it is difficult to determine what to expect from Metal Saga. The trailer seems to advertise a lot of different things you can do in the game. When you first start up, a scene is shown where you and your mother are discussing your future. You find out your father is a Hunter, an exciting profession of adventure and danger. Your mother, however, played it safe and chose to be mechanic, a tamer, more conservative profession. You are presented with a choice; to follow in your father’s footsteps, live life as a rebel and become a Hunter, or take after your mother and inherit the family business. Now, to most people the answer is obvious (though I do wonder what a game about life in a garage would be like), so trying to uncover different aspects of the game I chose mechanic. A brief synopsis of the events to follow read on the bottom of the screen. I grew up to safely as a mechanic, had a few kids and died peacefully in my bed… roll credits. I had a good laugh. Fastest clear time ever! Now onto life as a Hunter….

Playtime is split between roaming around on foot and driving a tank. Battles can randomly occur at either time, though it goes without saying they are far easier when driving a tank. The level of depth at which you are able to customize your vehicle is far too detailed to cover completely, so remember that some new additions you have yet to discover is only one town away.

The basis for your tank is the engine, which determines how much weight you are able to carry. You are given the option to use any of your 3 guns in the battle menu. The main gun is the most powerful, with a limited supply of ammo that can replenished at most garages. The sub gun has unlimited ammo and is used the most, and therefore is the most frequently upgraded/replaced. Some vehicles come with an available 3rd mounting for an SE weapon. These are used to take down special enemies (in the air, etc…) the main gun cannot. After adding all the custom parts, the remaining available weight will automatically be allocated to plating for more health. This is good reason not to overload the tank.

There are many means by which upgrades can be obtained for your tank. Parts can be found in chests or salvaged from enemies and assembled into something useful. Garages in each town offer upgrades to your existing setup at the cost of money and weight. Camps are scattered throughout the map where you can purchase rare and unique weapons. There is also a detail shop to customize colors and choose how to paint your vehicle. And if this is not where you want to focus our time, just hit the item shop and buy something new.

In Metal Saga, battle is the relatively easy part. More health and damage wins more fights. Despite the very steep rise in strength of enemies from area to area, the strategy involved is limited. Advance your weapons and armor, and level your characters to be successful. What sets Metal Saga apart from others is the number of methods one can choose from to achieve these ends.

The best feature of Metal Saga is not something that can be rated or categorized. It is the scope of creativity the game allows. It is non-linear, with people telling you where you can go as opposed to where you have to go. There is a myriad of distractions along the way as well. Mini-games can be downloaded from arcade machines in each town, as well as new music from jukeboxes. Once downloaded, these can be accessed from your Satcom, a mobile device for exchanging in-game e-mail and viewing info on enemies/vehicles/quests. There are no 20 minute dialog exchanges or pretty FMV’s. There is not a lot of story behind the characters or depth to the plot. There is just a whole lot to do in this open-ended RPG.

Import Friendly? Literacy Level: 0

This playtest checked out the USA version Metal Saga, which was localized by Atlus.

US Bound?

Atlus released Metal Saga on 04.25.06

+ Pros: Fights are challenging if you are not well prepared, moves at a good pace. Very creative enemies and diversity in NPC personalities. The non-linearity and vehicle upgrade methods are the high points.

- Cons: Because there is so much to do, it can feel overwhelming at times. The graphics are sharp but nothing to impressive. Load times are noticeable and the menu interface can feel awkward and cumbersome at times.

Overall: While it may not win game of the year, ATLUS’ Metal Saga is an innovative RPG, and definitely offers gamers an angle they will not often find among other titles in the genre.

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