Metaloid Origin takes inspiration from classic 16-bit run-and-gun games, especially Mega Man X.  Play as one of three android catgirls (kind of reminds me of Samurai Pizza Cats) and blast robots in more than half a dozen 2-D platform stages.  It’s available on PS4 and Switch, but reviewed on PS4 here.

To start you’ll pick from one of three characters.  Each has different firepower styles, but otherwise there’s not much to distinguish them.  You’ll tackle each 2-D stage in order, with various horizontally and vertically scrolling areas.  There is a midboss in the middle and a final boss at the end.  Defeated enemies may leave behind energy containers and crystals.  These items can also be scattered about the levels as well.  Crystals are very important to collect because you’ll purchase new weapons in the subscreens that you can use.  And if you lose all your energy and explode, you’ll have to use crystals to continue.  While the stages are mostly linear, sometimes they’ll sprawl into multiple paths where you can find hidden giant crystals and new weapons and abilities.

I had a few problems with the game, though.  While there are some tutorial text boards at the beginning to explain the basic controls, they don’t explain very well how purchasing and using weapons work in the submenus.  And since downloadable only games don’t have instruction booklets, it was kind of hard for me to figure out.  Text is also kind of hard to read.  Most of the time, the controls are great.  You can shoot, switch weapons, jump, and climb certain walls.  But dashing took a little getting used to because you have to hold the button down the entire time to do a full dash.  And finally, the game gets too hard too quickly.  But while this game isn’t as good as the titles it imitates, it’s still a pretty decent classic throwback and probably the best Eastasiasoft game I’ve reviewed so far.  Definitely would’ve been one I might have rented back in the day if it were on 16-bit systems.

Kid Factor:

Metaloid Origin is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Fantasy Violence.  You just shoot robots that explode when defeated, and that’s about as violent as it gets.  No worse than Mega Man.  Reading skill is helpful for the text, and younger gamers may find it too difficult.

Tags: Game Reviews