Robotech Battlecry is BETTER Than It SHOULD Be.
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
- Robotech Battlecry is BETTER Than It SHOULD Be. Following up the mech sensation that is Armored Core 6 (in terms of popularity), I have decided to discuss one of my favorite mech games that I have played way more than I should, Robotech Battlecry. Battlecry is a mildly popular PS2/Gamecube era action game from a now dead American Developer. And while I do NOT think this game is a MASTERPIECE (if only), I do think that it has a surprisingly cool amount of overlooked strengths that I think are interesting to highlight when it comes to game discussion. Some of these strengths are its limited (in a good way) camera system. The way you can use mech animation to track enemy movement. The controls (when properly re-binded), and the secret sauce of completely unrestrained transformations and movement, both of which are very fast. And then, funny enough, the ability to turn off weapon cooldowns with a cheat code. This all combines to make a fun core combat moveset. Many of these decisions, I am quite sure, are a combination of enthusiasm and beginner's luck. This is a case that I mentioned to BogHog in our Game Critique is Dead discussion. That being said, this game is not without some serious weaknesses, that I don't think have been properly explained in the past. So, in addition to talking about what I think makes the game fun to play, I dig into core issues that I hope other promising action games in the future can hopefully avoid. Funny enough, even though Battlecry is not taken that seriously as an action game, many action games that are supposedly also perfect share these same issues, which I look forward to getting into in future vids.
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00:00 Beginner's Luck Can Happen in Game Design
03:50 Limited Camera Systems CAN BE GOOD Folks!
07:30 The Transforming Controls ARE DMC Style Switcher!
12:30 Manual Aim being Restricted to Fighter Mode is GENUIS (And Probably Luck)
14:00 Cheat Codes CAN REMOVE Design Issues
15:20 Controls ARE GOOD (Just Need to be Rebound)
16:40 The Biggest Issue of All Character ACTION Games
19:00 The Boss Design is Surprisingly Clever At Times
20:00 The Level Pace is Generally Fast (Though Backtracking is Lame)
22:30 A Bloody Palace Mode is the Missing Ingredient
23:27 Final Thoughts
#robotech, #macross, #armoredcore6 - Hry
"Before I learned the art, a punch was just a punch, and a kick, just a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick." Bruce lee
Exactly, great quote! That's a great summary of what I'm trying to communicate ha. I think movement in gaming is like that too. A newb will give a game unrestricted movement because that just makes sense as a beginner. Then the avg dev will learn more (sort of) and see oh man balancing around unrestricted movement is hard, so lets restrict it. And then the master dev will say, balancing around unrestricted movement is hard, but it's important and worthwhile.
I’ve been an Armored Core fan since the PS1 days, so that’s how I first got into the Robotech game, and you are so right. When you’re fighting a Zentraedi ace in a city and you’re dodging between buildings in jet mode trying to land your most powerful shots, then turning around in robot mode to adjust your POV or shoot down enemy missiles, and taking off for another strafing run, all these pieces come together to make something unlike any other game.
Absolutely!! It s such a cool core game design, I ve been looking for a game with a similar feel over the years and haven't found anything quiet like it
I had this game when I was in highschool, super interesting entry to the mecha genre.
Absolutely! I love how much heart the game has too, it s got issues that I outline, but I do think it s strengths are unique and cool
such a fun little game. I wish we could get a good open world game based on Genesis Climber MOSPEADA/ Robotech the New Generation. It would be epic to ride around on a Mospeada/Cyclone and recruit freedom fighters like Stick/Scott Bernard did in the show. As you can tell I LOVE MOSPEADA.
I d love to see another game just like battlecry, but just with more enemy types, less backtracking in missions, and higher difficulty. This game leaves so many great ideas on the table
Same. Honestly, I kinda prefer the Alpha Fighter/Legioss because of how much of a unit it is
There's Robotech Invasion, which I personally enjoy, but most people probably wouldn't. Just a straightforward Halo-ish shooter that happens to incorporate the Cyclone.
I actually remember buying this game for $8 at gamestop all those years ago. I remember really liking the first level, and then hating the rest of the game. I also remember being blown away that you could use all the different versions of the mech whenever you want. I might just go re-live that memory. Thanks man.
I don't think there will be renewed interest in mech by general audience. AC6 got attention because of FROM general audience already talking about next big thing and this week its Starfield
You're completely right, sadly :-(
about how buggy it is? basically bethesda as usual
If you liked this you should try out the PSP Macross games too. Even if you don't understand a lick of Japanese they're still easy to play and they've got the whole transforming mechanic as a core gameplay gimmick too, but since they have the entire Macross legacy to draw from, there's a lot more variety in enemy and player ship design.
Yeah I need to start digging into those more, they could have a lot of cool games tucked away in these smaller releases no one talks about ha
I loved all of those games. Just kind of wished that the responsiveness of those games matched Battlecry. I may prefer Macross as a series but there's no way I can replicate the way I fly in Battecry in those games. It does simplify a lot of things which makes it easier to start out and it works really well but only up to a certain point. Once you want to do more advanced and complex maneuvers, you simply can't replicate what's possible in RTBC when played at an advanced level. I think the devs accidently created the best 'Macross' controls that really brings out the game in such a way that you can make it look like you're replicating the animated series.
@@yohanzeta Yeah, I'd probably have to give RTBC a chance at some point, despite my grievances in touching anything Harmony Gold has had their hands in tampering.
Honestly, I think my biggest criticism of the Macross games is that GERWALK mode is way too strong and that you end up not really being incentivized to change modes a much as you probably should.
@@Emarrel Understandable. HG’s greed has been a bane on Macross overall.
I can see how the Guardian mode dominates those games. I used the same idea of fighter + batteloid switching to get S ranks in the game like I did in Battlecry but that’s play style is not necessarily since the Guardian mode can do much more in this games than this one.
At this point I just want them to make something like Macross 30 that’s designed for modern consoles and PCs
I played the hell out of this on the Gamecube (superior version I might add). I unlocked absolutely everything there was because it just kept feeding you unlocks. I remember working my ass off for that Black/Yellow/White recolor. Such a good game and very underrated I felt even at the time. Looking forward to Macross Shooting Insight here in a few months as well.
Why is the gamecube version superior? I would have thought the Xbox version would be the one to go for.
Yeah the skin unlocks are a lot of fun! Though I do wish you could unlock a zentrani mech, those look awesome
@@ScottX68000the Xbox version is wast better don’t listen to this guy plus imagine playing this game with the GameCube controller 😂😂😂😂
@@TheElectricUndergroundthere is a cheat code that lets you play as the mech that the enemy female ace uses in the game if I remember correctly
Yea the GC version looks so much better imo. No outline. I also thought that the gamecube controller's MASSIVE A button complimented the game mechanics heavily. Sure a lot of my best speedruns were done with a 360 controller these days. But getting used to the game with a modernized controller it only makes me miss the GC controller for certain maneuvers specifically the when I need to consistently do specific strafing maneuvers while firing the gun pod and timing missile launches all simultaneously.
@15:02 This is quite an interesting perspective. In a way you are almost creating an "arrange" mode like you might see in a cave shooter. Increase your weapon output, but make the game harder at the time, thereby changing the way the game plays rather significantly. And often times changing it for the better.
Exactly!! You get it! Cheat codes were arrange modes for mainstream games ha. And they could even be used to reverse some more lame design ideas (like heavy weapon cooldown)
7:30 Oh, my gosh!! YES!! YESS!!! I LOVED that about this game. You HAD to master switching transformation in order to progress in this game. It's about mobility. I thought that was the most BRILLIANT mechanic about this game. I LOVE THIS!! THANK YOU!! 😆😆😆
Glad you enjoyed the vid! 😊One thing that has annoyed me about reviews for the game over the years is how much the transformation meta has been ignored or not mentioned when people say the controls are "clunky"
It nails it own really well IMO. I've played several of the Macross games and none of them come close to how smooth Battlecry is. It especially became clear when I started speedrunning the game. I think the game's biggest weakness for newer players and people who aren't invested in the series is organically training the player to become proficient at switching rapidly between each of the forms to maximize output and mobility.
Spotlighting more flawed but interesting games is always good. Robotech Battlecry was really impressive because at the time I don't think there were any good 3D Macross games out of Japan. Shortly afterwards this changed as SEGA did a Do You Remember Love game before Artdink took over and made their PSP games and eventually Macross 30 and those are quite good.
Macross 30 is especially wild because it's this 30th anniversary cross-over game in a free roaming open world where you literally transform freely between flight sim, Virtual-On, and 3rd person shooter because of how different each mode is. It also did not restrict you so even though it has caves you're SUPPOSED to explore in 3rd person shooter Batteroid mode, you can just turn into an airplane and fly through the dungeon. You'll take damage from hitting walls, but you CAN and I appreciate that because it would be some obvious and hilarious speed run tech. Really wish THAT had a VS mode.
Really we need more games with transforming vehicles that can be played competitively. In the back of my mind I'm thinking about the 360/PS3/PC version of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in multiplayer. It was made by Luxoflux, the Vigilante 8 people, and they had to cobble it together in only a few months so they built the multiplayer first then made missions by flooding multiplayer stages with swarms of mindless enemies. Anyway it used every button on the controller three times for three modes. Normally you have a free camera, melee combo, and the ability to grab on to and climb buildings. Hold LT and the camera locks to the back and it becomes a third person shooter. Hold RT and you control like whatever vehicle you are, so Bumblebee becomes a car and is constantly driving forwards, the further you press down on RT the faster you go and you can press LT to drift and it has Mario Kart drift boosts. The wild thing is it had cross transformation moves, like with Bumblebee you could turn into a car, hit the nitro, then release RT to turn back into a robot and you get this long distance flying leap.
Oh man yeah it s sounding like I need to start checking out these psp Macross games :-)
I actually asked a senior AAA developer many years ago about cheat codes and what happened to them.
I'm paraphrasing a multiple year old response so forgive me if I possibly misspeak.
He said the reason cheat codes went the way of the dinosaur is because they were far easier to implement back when games and budgets were much smaller even relative to their own time period. He stated that they were generally fun, cheeky side things developers could either sneak in due to how much smaller general game scope and team sizes were or could ask higher ups to have allocated time to make sure they could be successfully implemented.
Cheat codes aren't necessary to the overall core design pillars and end goals of a game. So as video games became much huger projects, the time required to thoroughly test and make sure cheats worked in these multi million dollar budget, 80-200+ man games just became less feasible. And, according to him, depending on the game, cheats require a lot more work to implement cleanly than their simple toggles would suggest. Like weeks worth in some cases.
So for things that *aren't* necessary to the success of a product shipping and also need to not break any one thing 80+ other people are working on, the value of their inclusion is just not there. Cheat codes in a game by 30 people is fine but when games today are being made by upwards to 120+ devs, that's a lot more required work and communication for "big head mode" that can be put into other pressing areas of the development.
I hope I didn't misrepresent his words too much.
I imagine that cheats also increase the risk of failing certification which I hear is a nightmare of a process for AAA games these days. But that's my own uninitiated extrapolation.
what an insightful comment. That makes total sense. I also think that guy is leaving out another obvious reason why cheats are gone ... because they mess with DLC. If you have a cheat code for unlimited stamina, then the dlc packs to upgrade your stamina (or whatever) are gonna be rendered useless. So yes I think it's a combo of not wanting to put the dev time in to test them, the devs not knowing what madness a cheat might inflict since they don't know the core mechanics of their own games as well, and also because cheats mess with dlc.
You weren't kidding. I'm currently trying out your custom control setup for this game on Dolphin, and for me, someone who's had this game for almost 20 years, it took the gameplay from slightly tedious to shockingly fluent. All I felt was necessary to change was to flip L2 and R2 around. Thanks!
As always really well done video. Giving me nostalgia for this 2v2 mech game Gotcha Force(basically a reskinned Gundam Vs )for GameCube.
Also, a new indie fighting game called Pocket Bravery recently dropped. Wanted to bring it to your attention since it’s rare we get new arcade beat em ups and fighting games.
Keep up the great work man!
Yo thank you so much for the heads up on pocket fighting game, I may actually pick it up and try it out, as I think it cool be fun to review a new fighting game fresh franchise
Battlecry was a game I frequented in my childhood. Splitscreen mode was really fun, and using cheat codes to play through different sections of the game. Very solid game, and honestly, I've been wanting to get into the anime it's based on because of that.
Haven't finished the vid yet but really interesting discussion about the camera so far. If you have a camera system that allows the player to be omnipresent, this can make the player all but omniscient and if the player is omniscient this in turn brings them much closer to being omnipotent which unsurprisingly can cause huge gameplay problems! Having imperfect vision can really add to a game because it a whole gameplay element that needs to be taken into account with regards to strategy positioning etc which just becomes eliminated entirely with modern camera systems. Games such as shmups and beat em ups circumvent this because even if you can see everything on screen, you still don't necessarily have perfect information, but if the games have simple enemy patterns the player does basically have perfect information which can lead to very bland gameplay. Right mini essay done, keep fighting the good fight dude great stuff!
Loved this game when I was younger, so much nostalgia. Thanks for making this video, it was a good watch!
Learning some useful stuff for game design here. A lot of these things are easy to build, but hard to home in and refine to fine tune. Its honestly fantastic that you review the way you do because it helps validate my better instincts as a game designer, and seriously reassess the more questionable ones. Thank-you for making solid critical reviews, rather than the braindead types we usually see.
I m glad you appreciate the game design discussions on the channel, because right now it s surprisingly limited other than supposed immersive design which I think is much more of a step backwards
@@TheElectricUnderground Agreed. I think immersive design is a supremely well understood thing at this point, and its eating into very basic game design principles which evolve from matchup, movesets, mechanics, functional and statistical capabilities.
I will say, I think there's an unconquered void between arcadey responsiveness and cancels, combos, crispness and denseness of action, cost and outcome and simulatory gamefeel like physics or control sensation of a vehicle, where the performance ranges are more arcadey, but the fine feel is more stimulatory -- so fast snappy action is absolutely possible, but it requires finer skill.
That said, I often worry if this gulf is crossed, there may be more strategic gameplay design options which become harder for players to focus on when they are lost in the sauce of juggling their tactics.
I'm curious as to your feelings on this topic in particular, should you have any -- does one defeat the other, or do you personally consider one more important than the other? Or maybe there's some way to combine them to improve eachother. I'm curious.
As always, keep up the great work, and I appreciate you salvaging these "unexpectedly shiny but not quite gem" games from the depths.
Take care.
PS:
Battlecry has still influenced developers.
Look into "Tiny Starfighter" by @xewlupus. Its "learning to walk" as a game right now as they home in on the fun that'll define it, but its an attempt to merge Battlecry's mechanics with keyboard/mouse controls for snappier faster gameplay. The moment their game "clicked" for me was looking at their work was a video experimenting with a turretted boss and realizing how precise and slick it could get in the more stressful engagements.
horseshoe theory - the expert designer wraps back around and ends up closer to the amateur than the medium-skill designer. very true
Oh snap you win the prize!!! That was the idea i was thinking of, horseshoe theory, by damn you figured it out ha.
I had this on the gamecube as a kid and I loved it! You nailed the feeling of the transformations being the best part. I distinctly remember it just feeling good to move around with the character. I also remember the game's somber tone sticking out to me as a kid.
Also, in case no one has mentioned it, you could play as the Zentradi in PVP, or at least you could play as Kiyora (the level 5-1 boss). She had crazy high mobility and better missiles than the fighter mode. It was really fun, shame there was no survival/challenge mode where you could use the PvP ships.
20k sub celebration plans? 🎉😀
I'd love to see a co-op play through of some cool shmup. That must be doable online right? You and shmup junkie or Jaimers perhaps.
Medium-high difficulty to allow for interesting conversation during the playthrough?
Old robotech fan here. Really enjoyed this nostalgic throwback to the 2002 game. I remember being so hyped for it. I’d been a robotech fan since the late eighties. Great viseo , really enjoyed it. The video presentation gave me early CZcams vibes (in a good way😊) which I also really enjoyed.
10:59 Also it's right there in the tagline: Change or die :D Fantastic analysis in this video. Also never realized it was the dev's first game.
Mate of mine, that doesn't game much played this such a long time ago on pc. He was amazed I found his game after so long. Interesting how you go so in depth on it too, never expected it to be "special" on a first glance.
yeah this bad boy is one that has a lot more going on with it than people typically give it credit for ha.
Dude, I just wish I could buy you a beer and talk intricate game mechanics while we eat an order of nachos in between talking points!! Excellent observations made with this title, especially the comparison to DMC and style switching. Would be interesting to see you cover Astral Chain if you haven’t already given its complex combat system and dual-character control system.
That sounds fun! We got to do that a bit during shmup slam 6! So if you come to the galloping ghost meet up next summer I ll be there and hanging out :-) also yes astral chain would be really interesting to compare to bayo
Awesome video, really glad someone is giving this game some props (even though I agree that it isn't a perfect game by any means). I remember being really hyped for this back around 2002 when it came out and I actually recall being pretty happy with it. It really nailed the cell shaded looks along with good artwork and some nice (for the time) environments. Plus it was really killer that they brought original voice actors back for this. What I don't think I realized at the time was just how inexperienced the dev team behind this was so it is probably a miracle that it ended up as good as it actually did.
I also agree that it would be nice to see more games with a fixed camera. I feel like there is a lot of untapped potential there since modern AAA design seems obsessed with making me play camera man while also trying to play the game in question. I'm actually not wild about it outside of the 1st person shooter genre.
Yes I remember picking it up around that time and having a ton of fun with it, it has always been in my cube/PS2 action game rotation :-) it s a shame the dev didn't follow up on it with a direct sequel in game design, but at the same time the sequel could have just been a step backwards anyway ha. Also agee on the camera system, the reason why it works in fps is because you are restricted to pov in an fps :-) vs 3rd person shooters where you can see all around you
This game is a GEM!!!!!!!!! its so freaking amazing I put so many hours into it and even into the multiplayer! My brother and I got super competitive and extremely good!! I can remember all the calculated flare bombs and sick transition combos from jet to either form. Such a fun game! 💯
Oh and the mech paint/head customizations were siiiiiiiiccckkkkk!!!!!!! I was always super excited to get a new paint job from one of the enemies I defeated
Yes it is a fun time ha! My bro and I played pvp in it too
Robotech Battlecry is awesome! I love this game and I have it on my original Xbox and Gamecube. Thanks for showing it some love.
Thanks for helping push me along my gamer journey, i've been open to many games compared to othee people my age but since i didn't play a lot of these different camera work games growing up i had a bit of a harder time getting used to it. Now i almost hate anything modern because i love everything unique from retro games that modern games often dismiss as being old, like 4:3 aspect ratio, arcade game mechanics/difficulty, and restricted camera systems. I noticed how restricted camera work actually allows great character movement once you learn a game
17:49 I remember that level. There's a trick, though, that I thought was kinda brilliant. The jet's special ability is Flare/Chaff where you drop flares that attract homing missiles. So, you would speed towards/past the radar ship and drop your Flares/Chaff near it to draw away the missile fire, while you haul ass towards your next target. It was a lot of fun once I learned this. 😁😁
Dude, thank you! I got hard stuck at that stage as a kid and never finished the game, even though it was one of my favorites back then. The memory of never beating that level always kept me from going back to the game lol. Time to see if I still have my old copy.
Oh yes great tip! I started doing that by the end ha, because otherwise that poor cat eye just gets blasted so fast, it's pretty crazy.
After years of playing the game, that's really the only way to consistently beat that stage. Even if you know what you are doing, it can still be a pretty challenging stage. Cat's eye is one of the few stage where I go 'full gamer focus' when doing a no-fail complete playthrough of the game.
Battlecry had an excellent exploit that allowed the Super Valkyrie to be used pretty much anywhere. It was glorious and totally broken and I loved it lol
Ha yes the super armor no death run lol. It s actually a lot like the miriya cheat, but I like the miriya cheat a bit more because super armor allows you to tank your way through the stages ha. Though it does look fantastic
I totally agree that developers should go back to experimenting with camera systems again! Personally, I think Kingdom Hearts 1 works better with the original camera controls (using the shoulder buttons rotate the camera) because it makes you feel the weight of the Keyblade. Sora's swing and recoil animations convey a sense of weight, and damage wise the Keyblade hits really hard, so the slower shoulder button camera controls make since.
I think the discussion around camera design was cut short by the game Too Human. That game tried some fixed camera stuff, and the journalist hated it, and I don't think many AAA games tried unique camera design after that.
3:08 The idea of going full circle on a path to mastery by appearing as a beginner to others once it's achieved is the Fool card in the tarot. The tarot deck begins and ends with the Fool, representing the journey of life.
Oh that's really cool! I just looked it up, that is a good comparison of what i'm talking about :-)
Wow, my younger brother has this game on the PS2 around the time it launched and he really enjoyed that game lol.
Ha yes a lot of people really enjoyed it, because it s essential combat is so solid and fun, just needed that extra step with the level and enemy design
@@TheElectricUnderground after watching your video, now I understand why my brother loved this game so much.
A big smile appeared on my face when the Custom Robo music started playing.
Viewing the first 3 minutes of your video I found the visuals and observation of the combat appealing.
Oh yes the graphics hold up really well :-)
3:03 are you maybe talking about the dunning kruger curve?
I used to love MechWarrior games way back in the mid 90s PC days. I never explored more mech games after that, but I do love some of the comics. Just picked up this game based on this video. Thanks.
Considering how you feel about cheat codes, you should give Sifu another look; they've added in a super robust modifier system that, as of the last update, can be used in both the arenas (which have been massively expanded) and the story. They go so far as to let you change your moveset piece by piece, increase your hitbox sizes, remove the enemy limiter that causes them to take turns attacking, require you to deal environmental damage before health damage, etc. The game was neat at release, but they've turned it into a really cool and unique martial arts sandbox that far surpasses the original story content. Also, I know you thought it was too restrictive in its combat mechanics, so i think you should pay special attention to avoid cancelling; a quick up/downwards dodge after an attack takes nearly no time and wildly opens up your combo pathing, you can essentially do anything into anything into anything with ducks between. It reminds me quite a bit of guard cancelling in NG.
Oh that's really interesting. a bit of a symptom of modern game development where on launch and a year later the game is like significantly different ha. That's great to know though! What I'll do is keep an eye on sifu for some kind of update version (definitive or whatever) and then check that out as a fresh game :-)
@@TheElectricUnderground it's all in the current version, none of these additions were additional charges! It's already the definitive version. Luckily they avoided modern trends in that way.
3:10 you're thinking of the Bell Curve meme
Just in case it wasn’t mentioned. I remember the Zentradei Female Power armor was playable via cheat code on PvP mode on the PS2. It was excellent since it definitely played like a mech that was the most advanced in the game.
I wish a developer could take the existing code base and create a sequel with existing gaming processing power:
-update the campaign with the suggestions here e.g. add more and more background friendlies and enemies tangos much like watching the show.
-growing the multiplayer mode for team based combat eg 6v6
-add a Battle Royale and BR-Mini!
There's so much on the PS2 its easy for cool stuff like this to fly under the radar.
Yes absolutely!!!! One of my goals this year is to sort through them and find some more that really have been overlooked or I've never seen before.
I played this so much as a kid, super fun game
Me too :-)
tbh its one of the few games I still play today. I think ironically the odd limitations that they imposed in stage designed indirectly lead to interesting and challenging map designs once you get used to the game mechanics. For example, the short ceiling in Countdown makes maneuvering around the concrete jungle at high speeds much more interesting than it otherwise would if there were free movement vertically in the stage.
Speaking of mech games, would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the 2nd Zone of the Enders.
Hey mark, did you ever play serious sam? It's basically the danmaku of retro shooters
I like Serious Sam first encounter. Brutally difficult too. Painkiller is another good one.
I didn't, but I have heard about it :-) Yeah stuff like that is on my list to cover in the future, these ps2 action game gems that time has sort of looked over.
thank you for showing this game. I loved the video.
I still have this game ever since I bought back when it came out. I recommend it any chance I get when some of friends are looking for good games from that PS2/GC/Xbox era.
Really cool video! I'm the same, most of my favorite games aren't "masterpices" (some of them are), but rather flawed games with great ideas/feeling. Kingdom Come is a prime example, so many problems you could write an essai about them, and yet, there's just nothing like it, nothing.
Interesting. I was always curious about this game, but heard that it was subpar and got middling reviews. Guess I should check it out finally.
Off topic but I can't find anything about Einhander on your channel. I'm curious to know what your (and the overall community's) opinion of it is.
As for Battlecry, it was ok. As a fan of the Robotech series since I was a kid, something about It didn't feel authentic but it was a decent enough game. I'm dying to play Macross Frontier (Japanese Robotech) on PS3, it looks amazing but it never came out in the States so I have to figure that out.
This is one of my favorite PS2 games. The game handled the source material and the combat really well. Glad to see you giving the game some modern eyeballs. It'd be a shame that this would be lost to time. To your point about the controls and form-switching being a "happy accident" in a sense; I do think it was intentional by the devs to give the player that freedom. The 3 forms are all balanced against each other, and the player's essentially required to switch between them to maximize their movement and damage output. This remains, in my opinion, the best Macross/Robotech game.
Not too long ago, I made an hd texture pack for a dolphin emulator for this game, and I'm working on a PS2 pcsx2 version.
Very cool, gotta check this one out. Surprisingly, considering how much I like mecha anime and manga, I have not played that many mecha games. I guess because I haven't played 3D games regularly in years, for various reasons, like my PS2 having some issues, and my 2 dollar PS2 pad (which is also the only 3D pad that I use on PC as well) being made of some pretty horrible Chinesium.
Doesn't help that getting one nice pad that works for everything and using it forever is not very realistic, because they're made to be disposable.
Yeah these days maybe just get the cube iso and fire it up in dolphin, it runs super well on dolphin :-) 🐬
i had this game when i was a kid but i couldn't remember the name of it for the life of me but luckily i found your video on it. to be honest i dont even remember how far i got or anything but the only reason why i remember this game is because i got it for my birthday and i was so excited to play it and i ran into the kitchen to get something to open the plastic wrapping and the seal on the side off of it and when i tried ripping the seal off i got a papercut 😂 i only remember this game because of a paper cut 😂😂
Dear Mark, I really enjoy watching your videos and think highly of your ability to disseminate niche games by examining things like mechanics in a way that I've seen no other CZcamsr or critic come near to equating.
You are peerless in a way. Jaimers is amazing, but I don't want to watch his stuff (it's just playing), Gamesack is ace for his brand of retro gaming, shmupjunkie isn't as technical or adept at shmups (or any game with interesting mechanics you turn your attention to), bullet heaven has an unfortunately dry and wiki feeling churning out of shmup meta that makes me click out mid vid every time. It goes on.
I think it's a shame you have to consider 'what is the point of me even making this video' if you have an idea, because it may not get enough traction or views to make your effort worthwhile.
If there were any sense left in companies like IGN they would snap you up for your honest hot takes on games (that can often be described totally differently in the mainstream, like the new resident evil 4). When you broke down the flaws in moonrider, counting the seconds of dead air on that bike level, double tap to dash, the missed opportunity wall jumping etc, or recognizing wanted deads gun/sword mechanic as being akin to DMCIII's royal guard; moments of true brilliance. I used fairly obscure examples there but the point is you are able to reliably identify positive and negatives in games that people like me, who want complicated game mechanics, action dense, narrative light titles and don't want to wander around an open world, or shoot whoever the west is politically fantasizing about shooting this year on COD (I'd put money on being able to shoot a Ruski in the next iteration of COD), love.
Good luck man, don't let the bastard's bring you down, make the vids YOU like making, fuck what you think we want to watch! I predict great things in your future.
Phil
Oh man what an awesome comment, I sincerely mean that. I was moved reading it. I'm very happy to hear you do appreciate my approach because, in this vid for example, I'm really happy with how the vid turned out and do think it is a pretty unique approach to talking about the game, but i do get a bit bummed at times because I know a vid on a niche property like this isn't going to be super popular, and I just want the vid to be popular so that people will watch it really (a funny paradox of youtubing). That being said though, I also remind myself that these days the vid will probably get around 4k views which is still a massive leap forward in viewership compared to just two years ago, and that from time to time people will go through and binge watch older vids, so there is that ha. Still though, the channel is moving upward so I'm happy about that. I really do appreciate awesome comments like this though, because it is hard to tell at times if people enjoy what I'm up to or if i'm just crazy.
I still have my Limited Edition I got for the Game Cube . Did anyone get the Hyper Sentinel Elite on Switch this week?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but you can unlocked the female Miyra mech to play on PvP. I remember playing this game on repeat on GameCube, and I remember (I think) unlocking her zentrade mech.
Robotech Battlecry is such a good game! I'm glad someone is talking about it
Thanks for tuning in for it ha! I have been wanting to talk about the game but there basically never an opportunity that has natural alg overlap ha, so thanks for tuning in and hopefully giving the vid a bit of a boost
I played this game when I was like 3 bro I only remembered being able to switch to a jet and bein in space I found it after 17 years my nostalgia is goin crazy
I played it on the ps2 and honestly I don't think I've seen a game with a transforming mecha handle transformations as well as this. and it's a feature that matches up with the lore.
to this day "That's not love, that's psychosis" remains one of my favorite lines
Second comment because OH MY GOD I forgot about that CATSCAN level. It had me stuck for so long :(
Yeah ha, the cats eye is so mean but such a good level, you actually have to learn the enemy spawns and stuff
the level I hate is the helicopter escort mission level...ugh... hate escort misson/ quests soooo much
My friends and I really enjoyed this game back in 02-03.
Hey Mark, you ever play the japan exclusive 2003 PS2 Macross game? In my opinion one the best looking PS2 games. It's a lot like this game but better in pretty much every way.
I actually haven't! But now I def need to, I had no idea it even existed ha
@@TheElectricUnderground I only discovered it recently myself. It's well worth a play!
Hope you talk about Mobile Suit Gundam Encounters In Space some day!
What do you think about Zone of the Enders Mark?
Surprisingly I haven't played it. Boghog played it recently and enjoyed it though, so I'm tempted to give it a try myself.
The sniper laser enemies like the heavy guys and the boss your circle strafe (and normal enemies based off him) can be beat by hovering over them since they can't aim and shoot above you.
You can use the female power armor in pvp.
And yeah the ground cat's eye mission is lack luster compared to the other 2 space ones, but after the torment they gave me it was welcome lol.
Oh yeah there is a tech you can use on sniper guys that I call the guardian shuffle, where you fly back and forth diagonally and you ll evade their shots really effectively
@@TheElectricUnderground I haven't seen many people use that strategy but it's a pretty good one. They fire their shoulder cannon every 4 seconds so if you aren't close enough to engage and you're forced to use guardian due to constraints of the operational area you'll be able to exploit that timing to line of sight and time on target as to not cause missiles to go astray and hit nearby obstacles while strafing. This situation is probably the most common in Zen City.
I'm sad I sold this game back in the day. I had a PS2 copy.
No worries man I bet you can still get it for like a few bucks ha, it hasn't gotten that collector inflation or anything. Though emu on dolphin is the best way to play
Have you tried zone of the enders 2,
I remember that quite fondly 🙃
Its also a fire mech game. High speed mecha action!
I like the first game too just very sad that its so short.
boghog has been playing it lately and he seemed to enjoy it, so I should check it out soon.
Battlecry is a Good Game, actually.
And here is why: It realy nails the important aspects of any Adaptation game.
1. The Game Looks right.
The visuals of the game are fantastic, but not only that, they are a fantastic representation of the brand that is its backbone.
2. The game Feels right.
Being a massive Robotech/macross nerd, i have played quite a few games tied to the francises. But few makes you Feel like you are piloting a Veritech like Battlecry. You can do things, easily do them even, that just Feels like its from the anime. The ease of switching configurations, the satisfaction of firing a cluster of missiles, the ammount of HP the enemies have and the damage your weapons do etc. All just hits the right spot.
3. The game Sounds right.
We are of course talking about some Iconic music here, so just using that music kinda checks this box. But it goes deeper. Every sound effect, the voicelines and voice actors, the way dialogue is written, everything makes it just Feel like its right out of the show.
4. The game is Simple in design but complex in its execution.
There are some nail-biting hard bosses in the game. Some might be slightly too hard. Its not perfect by any means. But, and this is the important part, its not a complex game to get into, and knowledge of the world/setting realy pays of. You fight a couple of Battlepods, not a problem. Suddenly a Officers Pod appear, and the situation changes drasticly. If you know what you are facing, you know whats coming. If you dont then you dont. But you will learn quickly.
5. The mission and world design are realy good.
Some maps were rather large, especially for the time. That made it important tu utilize the differenc configurations and adapt to the situation. you cant just Run as a mech-config just because you like robots with legs. You cant just keep flying just because you like planes (And i do love me some planes). You have to adapt to the surroundings and circumstances, and the maps and misson design makes that happen.
6. Its the best Robotech-Macross game out there. By far.
I had some realy good time with Robotech: Invasion, and the Cyclone might be my second favorite mech design ever (After the Veritech. Who would have thought it). I also like both the setting and characters of The New Generation. So i was hella exited when i first got my hands on Invasion.
But that games basicly fails at all the point where Battlecry succeeds.
You can squeeze out some pure, undiluted Robotech feeling from the game, but it is a chore. You have to Work for it to Feel right. And that just aint right.
And that´s a shame.
I was always drawn to thee game’s visuals. I remember playing very briefly, not sure if it was a rental or when I was at GameStop. I guess it never got its hooks in me.
Did you record this from the toilet?
Just kidding. great video. Big fan of the game.
Anyone know how to make the PAL GameCube version display in 60hz mode? Online lists have it as a 60hz title but I cannot get the option for it to appear.
Ever play Macross on PSP? How does it compare? Those were fun and looked a lot like this one.
awesome review
Hey Mark did you try Downwell? Its kind of a upside down vertical shmup.
Instead of being a ship on the bottom of the screen shooting up, you're a dude falling down shooting down with your "gun-boots"
Creative and unique, i think you'll like it!
Just like Shmups and Hyper Demon I'd say Downwell is a game with high gameplay density 😀👌
Oh I did!! That s a really cool game, I was gonna make a vid on it at one point even, I should def revisit it
@@TheElectricUnderground Trying to get a high combo without ever touching the ground is really fun! The best I got was 50 if I remember correctly =)
The game is perhaps a bit basic, but unique and I hope a similar game will get developed with new cool mechanics added to the "upside down vertical shmup" concept =D
With tech today. This would be an amazing remake.
It would especially because there is such a CLEAR roadmap for how to improve the game. That's the proper use of a remake (as I mention in the Resident evil 4 remake vid). Remakes are most valid when there is something that can be added to the game to outright improve it, and in this case if they went in, added more enemies, add more difficulty, and added in a battle arena mode, that would be amazing.
I think of the things you describe in the first half, manual aim in fighter mode is the least likely to be blind luck. It's a pretty standard element of arcadey flight sim controls from Star Fox to X-Wing, and in fighter mode the game feels a LOT like the Rogue Squadron games. It's also just logical - in jet mode you're relying on forward-facing guns, you don't have arms carrying a rifle that you can swing about willy-nilly so you HAVE to point yourself at where you want to aim.
Is it possible to play this game without using the original console? I tried searching for it on Steam but couldn't find it.
Great show. Thanks
Thank you very much my dude!!!
I always loved this game for the very ressons you describe. Flying at an enemy at top speed unloading missles into them and then shooting at them as they fly by in robot form, then pursuing after them in jet form. I always thought the new veritech models you unlock were lame because every single one of them is just less armor, stronger firepower.
robotech battlecry would be awesome in 3d VR - imagine having to turn ur head around physically just to see enemies behind u
Cat's Eye is pretty easy if you realize there's a dedicated button to just shoot at missiles in B-mode.
I'm going to disagree that the Transformations being tactically important was an accident. If you read the Robotech novels they talked at length about these strategies when piloting these kinds of Mechs, it also comes up briefly in the shoe and other iterations of Macross. Like I didn't have to be told any of this by the game I already knew as a long time fan.
MAKURO no sora o tsuranuite
Chikyuu o utta ikazuchi wa
Warera osanai jinrui ni
Mezamete kure to hanatareta
MAKUROSU MAKUROSU
Ooshiku tatta wakamono wa
Ai suru hito o kabaitsutsu
Tabidatsu hibi o tatakai hiraku
Will you love me tomorrow
Yami o kirisaki tobi yuku saki wa
Tooku kagayaku aoi hoshi
MAKUROSU MAKUROSU MAKUROSU
Uchuu no ko ra o hikitsurete
Hoshi no kanata no yami no naka
Banko ni tsuzuku tatakai o
Mezashite tonda sadame no ya
MAKUROSU MAKUROSU
Awai hizashi to komoriuta
Akako no nemuri haha no mune
Ai suru hibi o tatakai mamoru
Will you love me tomorrow
Yami o kirisaki nobi yuku hikari
Kagayaki michiru hi wa itsuka
MAKUROSU MAKUROSU MAKUROSU
I would love to play it again.
I agree that developers take things like unrestricted cameras too much as a given. In reality, limitations on certain game systems (or just the way they're designed) can put players in a certain state of mind or way of thinking that contributes to making the gameplay interesting.
Hell, I even think that Super Mario 64 has a great camera system - the "notched" camera steps can alter the way the player does certain platforming maneuvers in a way a fluid camera doesn't.
We need more games like this.
That's a BIIIIIIG tuna fish!
EDIT: The middle mode is called Gerwalk (gur-wawk, stands for "Ground Effective Reinforcement of Winged Armament with Locomotive Knee-Joint"). As for the chart that you mentioned, I don't know if there's concise name for it, but explains the concept of midwittery. Uneducated individuals follow patterns (whether established by religious rituals, cultural traditions, or inherited wisdom) that lead to positive outcomes, but they are rarely able to explain why that is. On the other end of the spectrum, a genuine intellectual will follow the same behavioral patterns (child-rearing, group preferences, economic behaviors) but fully understands the causal relation between those behaviors and the outcomes. In the gap between these are "midwits".
Double EDIT: I should have known you would put the tuna fish quote in the video. I thought it was going to be a clever reference, but you got there first :P
Ha great minds think alike, both in terms of understanding the concepts of midwitts (the greatest enemy of the electric underground lol), and big tuna references in robotech XD On the midwitt point though, that is exactly how I feel as well. The reviews and discussion about games that drives me up the wall are not actually the scrubby people, i have a soft spot for scrubs because, like i mention in my vid, they are sometimes surprisingly insightful about things. But the midwhitts, man, they are the army I spend my days battling and arguing with ha. And then i lay in bed at night in fear that I am a midwitt myself, and just too dumb to not realize it lol.
@@TheElectricUnderground Being incorrect is of secondary importance, the true crime of the midwit is hubris. As long as you are humble enough to be receptive to new information you won't fall prey to midwittery, even if you technically are one. Remember, that's the point of the Belle curve graph: most people are midwits. This is exacerbated by the information age, because they can sort of feed on each other in a vicious cycle of confirmation bias. Anybody can make youtube videos full of declarative statements about topics with snappy editing, and there's a lot more of them than people looking to do substantive analysis.
5:08 What game is that?
Cool, got this game a little while ago for Xbox OG.
If you ignore the rest of the Robotech series, I’d say this game could fit neatly with the rest of the Japan only Macross games tbh.
Yes for sure ha, and I do ignore the rest of robotech ha. I just stick with the Macross saga basically
The BIGGEST drawback for me is that the game skips A LOT of lore, story, and content from the Robotech/Macross series. The majority of the game takes place AFTER the First Robotech War/Space War I, which is where 90% of the anime series focuses on in the first place, and focuses more on the reconstruction period. We could jave had missions in space, on/in the Macross, AND on Earth covering the war and even afterwards. The game is still good, but I think it would have been much better if it added in the war as well
I must pick this one up along with PS2 Gunbuster.....there were a couple of similiar Robotech games on the Ps1....i own the superb MACROSS Scrambled Valkirye (SFC), the decent MACROSS 2036 (PCE CD) and the so so MACROSS Famicom game..i plan to buy MACROSS DYRL..either the PS1 or SS version....i look forward to a video about the MACROSS arcade game...and Mazinger z (i treated that one on my channel, btw)
Oh man I wanna look into this era of games more, and see if I can uncover some more PS2 action hidden gems
@@TheElectricUnderground then go check Gunbuster...it deserves it eheh
now you made it. You made me buy this game it was 30 bucks
really?! I'm surprised there aren't cheap copies of it on ebay for like 10 bucks or something ha. I guess all retro games are getting to be fairly expensive these days, even ones that collectors have no interest in.
@@TheElectricUnderground im on spain but yes the story is the same as in US, almost any gamecube game is 30-50 unless it is complete trash man. Luckily I have most of my gamecube games from childhood
The way you describe the transformations reminds me of Bulk Slash. That seems like it might be the "better version" of this game you are looking for.
Also, to answer your question about cheat codes, it's because they can sell that to you as DLC now. That I think the original purpose was kind of an advertising vehicle for games after their initial sale window was over to get them to show up in game magazines again and that's kind of irrelevant to today's game market.
Oh man bulk slash looks so cool, I do need to try it out, especially if it has a similar flow as battlecry
@@TheElectricUndergroundThere's a translation patch for Bulk Slash... They went the extra mile and hired a full English voice cast for the entire game as well... It's a pretty amazing patch...
i have this game on gamecube and i had fun doing it.
I wouldn’t mind a simple HD port while they make a sequel/reboot. Wouldn’t mind=would love it.
Love this game. I still play it on my laptop.
Mark, if you liked this then you should try Gun Metal; the overarching similarities between it and Battlecry are uncanny (especially considering how close together the release dates are)
Granted, Battlecry is probably the better game of the two though.
One of my favorite childhood games. Never had a memory card, so I had to learn to speedrun this everytime I played.