Piloting armored insects in Drone Tactics

By Jeriaska . May 22, 2008 . 12:20pm

Atlus's DS strategy RPG Drone Tactics opens with insect-loving Yamato and Tsubasa at their hang-out, a grassy hill located behind their elementary school. The leafy spot overlooking the suburban sprawl is where the two seek refuge in the natural landscape and engage in their favorite pastime, bug watching. Tsubasa even sports a butterfly-shaped ribbon in her hair. So ardent is their interest in the tiny creatures burrowing through the soil at their feet that their activities attract the attention of an extraterrestrial race of mechanized insects, which recruit the kids in a battle raging over their home planet, Cimexus.

The bugs from another planet are a steel-plated rhino beetle and butterfly named K-Buto and Y-Ite. They speak in the formal, stilted speech characteristic of many alien beings seeking the aid of generous earthlings. Two-dimensional portraits of the young heroes and insect beings appear on the touch screen with facial expressions to match the dialog, as the beetle and butterfly explain that an insidious army called the Black Swarm has invaded Cimexus. The only ones who can defend the planet are the young bug aficionados. Though the insects can offer no promises of a safe return, Yamato is psyched for the opportunity to escape his mundane everyday existence. Tsubasa is reluctant to trust the strange creatures, but her rapport with insectkind wins out, and she agrees to accompany adventure-seeking Yamato and ensure his safety.

The two are whisked away to distant Cimexus, whose lush green landscape is more in keeping with Yamato's fascination with the wild. However, the school students soon discover that in their change of scenery they may have encountered too much of a good thing. K-Buto has mistakenly transported the kids onto enemy insect territory. The Black Swarm emerges from the foliage in the form of giant industrial gray ants, large enough to crush the human visitors underfoot. Luckily, K-Buto and Y-Ite possess special cards, which they can use to transform into towering, armed vehicles.

Your characters take to piloting the armored Drones, appearing on the battlefield as bright red icons. They can encounter the enemy initially using gun or melee attacks. Turn-based battle involves moving the insects around the jungle and targeting the foes within range. Choosing to fight, a three-dimensional polygonal model of your mechanized bug will exchange blows with the antagonists on the top screen. The rhino beetle starts out with a powerful ground attack, thrusting the oversized can opener attached to its tusk.

Tsubasa's butterfly can do less damage with its rifle rounds, but the winged creature covers more ground. A couple mosquitos hanging out by a pool of marsh water will buzz over and target your vehicles. Evading their attacks, the rhino beetle can deplete their hitpoints by charging them head on. Upon winning the battle, your party is treated to ore, the standard currency for the game world. Both of your Drones will receive enough experience to level up, and you can use the round's earnings to purchase new weapons for your units.

The school kids are guided to the insects' village, located beneath a smattering of palm trees. You are introduced to the Elder rhino beetle, the chief of the village, who thanks the "heroic children of humans" for coming to their aid. As it turns out, all the creatures of the planet Cimexus once lived in harmony with humans. One day the humans all disappeared mysteriously, and not long after, the Black Swarm arrived and began colonizing the planet in a "campaign of terror" that continues to this day. The Drones require humans to transform into giant mechs, so their sudden disappearance proved very inconvenient for the inhabitants of Cimexus. Facing extinction, K-Buto and Y-Ite used a "Dimension card" to visit earth, and Tsubasa and Yamato were chosen as pilots, due to their strong empathy for bugs. Seeing as there are no longer any dimension cards left, the kids cannot hope to get back home without clearing out the Black Swarm first.

No sooner has the game's backstory concluded than the enemy suddenly appears outside the village. Prior to the second round of battle, the bugs explain some of the pros and cons of fighting over various terrains. Only flying units can hover over lakes, while entering the rocky inclines offer some defense advantages, and stopping on a repair factory square will heal some hitpoints each turn. While at first you will face only a few ant enemies, the Swarm will call in a number of reinforcements in the form of spiders with cylindrical metal legs. Your characters are just starting out, so now might be a good time to play conservatively by clearing the enemies around the Repair factory and taking turns healing.

Before long an armored snail shows up and begins taking out the Swarm with a cannon mounted on its shell. As luck would have it, the robot is piloted by Tsubasa's lost uncle Sakuma, an etymologist in a white lab coat. The scientist is not controllable at this point, but will provide cover fire while his heavily fortified Drone lumbers behind you. After completing the battle, the kids are shown around Sakuma's ride. While not a living being like K-Buto and Y-Ite, the snail can act as a giant docking station where the Drones can receive equipment upgrades. In the hangar, you can customize your insects by choosing the color of your Drones' shells, their outline and eyes. You can also paint a 2D sprite for your emblem, which will go on the side of the Drones. Using the ore, you can buy new gun and melee attacks as well.

The third battle begins as soon as your party has customized its mechs and taken advantage of its newly acquired items. You start out by deploying units from the massive shell of your snail base. If one of the units finds itself in trouble, the injured insect can retreat from battle and seek shelter in the mobile base. New to this round is a scorpion enemy with pincer claws and tank treads, which has targeted two friendly Drones visible on the battlefield. These allies turn out to be Shoya and his sister Yui, your friends from the hill behind the school.

Already there appears to be a rivalry between Yamato and Shoya, and they soon set off to prove who can defeat more of the Swarm. Shoya targets a monster truck-shaped beetle and taunts the enemy by saying, "I'm going to mess you up!" Yui gets around in a small firefly with a powerful laser attack and has a tendency to scream when she is attacked. Once the enemies are cleared out, a boss in the form of a gray rhino beetle resembling Yamato's appears. Defeating the enemy, the party is treated to several new cards for use in battle. Having recruited your two friends and their vehicles, the third mission in the battle for Cimexus comes to a close.

Images courtesy of Atlus.