Gyrozetter is part racing game and part robot-paper-scissors. After putting in 100 yen for a play you get a machine card. Mine was the Prius alpha, which transformed into a teal robot with a humongous flashing sword.
Before any mecha on mecha battles begin, Gyrozetter has a short driving course to complete. Square Enix couldn’t have made driving any simpler. You steer the wheel to turn and pull a switch to brake. Not having pedals was awkward at first, but since Gyrozetter is designed as a kids game it doesn’t have to be realistic. You can drift by pulling the shifter down and turning at the same time. Energy items are scattered on the course, collect these and you can activate boost mode for a burst of speed.
After I won the race the machine started blinking, which meant the arcade console was ready to transform. I slid the steering wheel up and the console opened to reveal four triggers. It’s pretty showy especially in contrast to the simplistic combat system.
Two other robots joined my Prius alpha for the battle. When a round started I could select either normal attack, boost attack or counterattack depending on which trigger I pulled. Enemy mechs, controlled by the computer, have the same options. Boost attacks are stronger than regular attacks, but are vulnerable to counterattacks. When you’re in a pinch and your burst gauge is full you can activate a final burst.
Gyrozetter is basically like other card battling games such as Sega’s Dinosaur King and Animal Kaiser from Namco Bandai. The transforming arcade console is neat to see and it will be interesting to see how Square Enix morphs the IP into that Nintendo 3DS game they announced.
