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»Biomotor Unitron
"The bastard love child of Pokémon and Cyborg Justice."
There’s a common stereotype when it comes to the
NGPC, that it’s got nothing good besides 2D fighters on it. That’s a
fair exaggeration in regards to the system’s library; at most, only
half of the Neo Geo Pocket’s games were fighting games. Of course,
several genres made appearances on SNK’s handheld: board games (King of Fighters: Battle de Paradise), shoot-‘em-ups (Cotton), even a few sports titles (Pocket Tennis, Neo Turf Masters, Baseball Stars),
but there are two in particular that could be called the NGPC’s unsung
genres: puzzle games and RPGs. Of course, the latter isn’t completely
forgotten; Card Fighters’ Clash is one of the two games most
commonly associated with the Neo Geo Pocket, but many of the NGPC’s
RPGs never left Japan. There were a few exceptions however, and
fortunately, this is one of them. Biomotor Unitron can be best described as a Pokémon clone, only with giant robots instead of super-powered mutant animals. All the same, BMU is hands down the second-best RPG for the NGPC.
The
game’s backstory isn’t exactly original, but it provides a decent
framework for the gameplay, and that’s all that really matters. Many
years ago, the planet Elscea was plagued with war. Kingdoms and castles
were decimated in many conflicts until a meteor, known as Unitice,
crashed into the continent of Tridiss. The meteor brings forth new
power sources, called Unitron crystals. Using these crystals, the
inhabitants of Elscea were able to create robots, dubbed Unitrons – not
an original name by any stretch, but I guess it fits. Initially, these
robots were used as peacekeepers between the various nations. Fast
forward 199 years: after almost two centuries of peace, the kingdom of
Rhafiace holds yearly gladiatorial-style tournaments between Unitrons
to determine who will be the “Master of Masters”.
At
the start of the game, players are given the choice between five races
of characters: humans, Foresters (stereotypical elves), Mariners
(merpeople that look like a cross between regular people and Rikuo from
Darkstalkers), Birdians (elves with angel wings) and Lizardmen
(exactly what they sound like). There’s also the matter of choosing
one’s character’s gender with the character of the same species and
opposite gender acting as the player’s assistant. Each race has their
own elemental affinity – humans have Fire, Lizardmen have Earth,
Foresters have Wood, Mariners have Water and Birdians have Wind – while
the character’s gender has no real effect on their abilities.
Players
take on the role of three characters: the Unitron Master, who is the
main character and controller of the Unitron in battle; the Engineer,
who is the auxiliary character and helps equip parts, form new parts
from materials and offers support; and a mechanized man-at-arms who
does all of the dirty work in battles. There are numerous similarities
to Pokémon – for example, there is so much emphasis on collecting
parts, it almost makes you want to catch ‘em all – but as opposed to moving from town-to-town, collecting gym badges and whatnot, Biomotor Unitron
focuses itself in one town, with numerous dungeons just waiting to be
explored. The town itself is basically just a menu, with the
characters’ Workshop; a Store that sells various items (including new
parts, status items and mateials); the Arena, where the ranking battles
are held; the town square, where various people hang out; and the World
Map, which allows players to move freely on the overworld.
While
both the Master and Engineer characters can level up – which simply
enhances their skills of controlling the Unitron and building new parts
– the Unitron itself does not. Instead, to bring one’s Unitron to its
highest potential, the player must find new parts. Sure, at the
beginning of each game, players are given a certain Unitron frame
depending on which race was chosen, but every other part – from limbs
to additional accessories – can be swapped out, allowing players to
customize it. While each part boosts certain stats, it’s up to the
player to determine what combinations they end up using – do you put
more emphasis in a certain area (like Hit Points or attack power) or
would you prefer a well-rounded warrior? At the start of the game,
players are only afforded the bare minimum of parts necessary to run
their Unitrons: two arms, a power core, a set of legs and a backpack.
There are two ways to increase one’s pool of supplies: either buying
them from the aforementioned store or creating your own. Yes, as I
mentioned earlier, that seemingly useless engineer can actually create
new parts to equip onto the Unitron. More specifically, he/she can
create new arms. By combining a pre-made arm with a certain material
(and possibly a tool, which increases the success rate), players can
create completely new parts with enhanced abilities to trounce their
enemies.
Now, there are two
separate (but equally important) circumstances which force players to
use their Unitrons in battle: the Arena battles and dungeon crawling.
Both have an impact on the storyline in their own unique way. Arena
battles are pretty much Gauntlet Matches, where players deal with a
succession of opponents, one-after-another, until they’ve defeated
their last opponent. There is no healing between matches, but Energy
Points are replenished at the end of each round. If one bests every
robot in the Rank battle, the player’s rank increases. What does this
do, you ask? Well, for each rank one gains, the store adds more
powerful items to their inventory, and better yet, it gives you a
snazzier title – while a lowly Rank E is dubbed a “Rookie”, a Rank D
Master is referred to as a “Viscount”, until the rank of “Master of
Masters” is achieved. Meanwhile, dungeon crawling helps the storyline
to progress. See, there are four dungeons, each with 7 areas and each
area’s map is randomly determined (out of a total set of 10 possible
rooms). At the end of each dungeon, there lies a powerful boss…and you
can pretty much tell where I’m going from here. There are also chests
filled with cash and items strewn all around the dungeons, so if you’re
low on cash, just make a quick trip and get all you need.
This
graphics have their good points and their bad points. The actual
imagery in the towns and on the introduction screens for the dungeons
look pretty nice. However, the in-battle graphics are kind of sparse.
There are no backgrounds in the battle area; the characters are
two-toned, like most fighting games are on the NGPC, and the attacks
are shown like the attacks in Card Fighters’ Clash – the
attacker moves next to its victim and a separate effect animation
appears on-screen. Likewise, the dungeons’ appearances have mixed
results: the fields generally end up looking fairly good, while the
character is represented by an oversimplified icon. The sound
is the only area of the game that isn’t stellar. In fact, it’s
downright generic, which is a shame, considering some of the good
soundtracks I’ve heard on the NGPC. The music’s not bad, but it’s not
very good either.
There is quite a lot of replay value to
this game, thanks to the customization element. I guess the only thing
holding this game down in terms of replay would have to be the
storyline. Not only because it’s generic, but because it lacks any
depth and, worse still, there’s really no impact on the storyline based
on which species of characters the player chooses. Again, the good
outweighs the bad here, but the fact that character choice only changes
a few small elements somewhat deters replay.
Overall, I’ve got to say: this is
definitely the best traditional-style RPG to hit the Neo Geo Pocket,
hands down. The customization aspects are a nice touch, the battle
system is solid and the reliance on both the arena battles and dungeon
crawling keeps the gameplay varied. I guess my only problem with the
game is that I don’t feel it really goes far enough. For example, why
only allow players to create new arms? Why not new legs? Better yet,
why not allow player to merge two sets of arms, as opposed to simply
adding an element to a set of premade arms? Another problem I have is
with the game’s random battles, but that’s personal preference on my
part, and honestly, I can live with it in this case. In the end though,
the good far outweighs the bad, and this NGPC RPG is second only to Card Fighters’ Clash.
Article by: Wolfdogg
Posted on: Sep. 24th, 2007 |
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Review Recap |
| Gameplay |
| Best traditional RPG for the NGPC…hands down. Hell, I’d say it even gives Pokémon a run for its money. |
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Graphics |
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Eh, the in-battle and dungeon-crawling graphics are a bit lame, but the scenery in the town looks pretty good. |
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Sound |
| Eh, the music’s passable and so are the sound effects.
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Replay Value |
| It’s an RPG with numerous customization possibilities. Need I say more? |
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