Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge

Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge is a 1993 light gun shooter video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sequel to Battle Clash (1992) and one of several titles that require the Super Scope light gun. Taking place three years after the events of its predecessor, the player acts as the gunner of the Standing Tank (ST) Falcon piloted by Mike Anderson, fighting a group of chiefs in the Battle Game, the returning emperor Anubis, and the invading Eltorian alien race.

Metal Combat was created by Team Battle Clash, a group within Intelligent Systems made up of Nintendo R&D1 staff that developed games for the Super Scope light gun, which had previously worked on Battle Clash. It was directed by chief graphic designer Toshitaka Muramatsu, who worked in the Fire Emblem and Paper Mario series, and produced by Gunpei Yokoi. The music was composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko, who also scored Battle Clash. The game garnered generally favorable reception from critics; praise was given to the refined gameplay, different strategies of each enemy, variety of modes, and overall improvements made over its predecessor. Some reviewers criticized the single-player campaign for its short duration, repetitive action, and difficulty.

Gameplay


Like its predecessor, Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge is a light-gun shooter game which requires the Super Scope light gun peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to be played. The plot takes place three years after the events occurred in Battle Clash; the emperor Anubis suffered defeat at the hands of Mike Anderson and a new age of prosperity began to emerge on Earth. However, Anubis returned to resume his tyranny and an alien race called the Eltorians entered the solar system to conquer Earth.

Gameplay consists of four different modes divided into single-player or multiplayer submenus: Battle, Time Trial, Training, and Combat. Battle is a single-player scenario where the player acts as the gunner of the Standing Tank (ST) Falcon piloted by Anderson, fighting a group of chiefs in the Battle Game, the returning emperor Anubis, and the invading Eltorian alien race in one-on-one duels. Time Trial is a mode where the player must defeat enemies to achieve the best time possible. Training is a tutorial mode, in which an instructor named Rola helps beginners through a series of seven lessons. Combat is a versus mode, where one player controls the ST Falcon using the Super Scope while the other player controls one of the enemy STs using a Super NES controller.

The player attacks enemies using rapid fire by holding down the fire button, energy bolts, bombs, and an array of special items. The ST Falcon charges energy bolts up to three times when the player is not firing and fires a treble shot once the power meters are filled. The player counters enemy fire by intercepting their projectiles, though some enemy attacks can only be deflected by shooting energy bolts. Each enemy ST has destructible weak points that the player must shoot to deal damage. Completing the single-player mode unlocks the ST Tornado, piloted by Carol Eugene. The ST Tornado can store up to ten energy beams and fire each one individually but has less defense compared to the ST Falcon.

Development and release
Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge was created by Team Battle Clash, a group within Intelligent Systems made up of Nintendo R&D1 staff that developed games for the Super Scope light gun, which had previously worked on Battle Clash (1992). The game is one of several titles that requires the Super Scope. It was directed by chief graphic designer Toshitaka Muramatsu, who worked in the Fire Emblem and Paper Mario series, and produced by Gunpei Yokoi. Shinya Yamamoto and Toshihiro Nishii acted as two of the game's co-programmers, who later worked on Tetris Attack. The music was scored by Yuka Tsujiyoko, who also composed Battle Clash.

Nintendo first published Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America on December 1993, followed by Europe on May 1994. It was originally titled Battle Clash II, but the name was changed shortly before its North American launch. The game was housed in a 16-megabit (2 MB) cartridge using the OBC-1, a sprite manipulation enhancement chip. Metal Combat was only released in Western regions, as the Super Scope proved to be less popular in Japan.

Reception
Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge received generally favorable reception from critics and retrospective commentators. Nintendo Power considered it to be a much improved follow-up to Battle Clash and highlighted its multiplayer mode; however, they found the single-player campaign weak, pointing out the difficulty of seeing incoming enemy fire. Electronic Gaming Monthly's reviewers celebrated the game for having colorful graphics and deeper gameplay than most Super Scope titles, and cited the two-player mode as the best feature, although they did not like its difficulty. Game Players's Chris Slate lauded each of the game's enemies for their different strategies, as well as the soundscapes, variety of modes, and replay value. GamePro's Captain Squideo described it as "much harder, faster, and ultimately better than any previous Super Scope game, including Battle Clash". Squideo praised the detailed graphics that allow the player to spot enemy weak points, but criticized the text between fights and low-quality voice samples.

Hobby Consolas' Antonio Caravaca praised the game's visual quality, sound effects, difficulty, and two-player mode, but criticized the occasional flickering that occurs during explosions. Nintendo Acción gave favorable remarks to the game's mech designs, audio, and various game modes, but criticized the story mode for its short duration. Player One's Jean-Pierre Abidal found the action in the game to be fun but repetitive. Hardcore Gaming 101's David DeRienzo lauded the game's improved audiovisual presentation, refined combat system, and modes of play, writing that "Metal Combat manages to surpass its predecessor in every imaginable way while still offering the same great core play experience". Destructoid's Zoey Handley regarded it as one of the best light gun games ever developed.