A remaster of Target Earth
A classic reawakens – Assault Suit Leynos is back and in high definition! Get ready for all-out robotic war as the fan-favourite Mega Drive classic is reworked with all new HD visuals for the ultimate alien-blasting experience!
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So I managed to squeeze one final game in for 2022, Assault Suit Leynos. A remake of the 1990 Sega Megadrive game of the same name...in Japan. It was renamed Target Earth in the West for some reason. A remake 25 years later by Dracue co., a company that just vanished with the former owner now having a "software research" company and the rest merginging into a mobile game developer according to this Reddit post.
I've never played the original and with the developer gone it seems unlikely there will be more in the series at this point. I picked it up in a bargain bin PSN sale and it's not bad for an evenings entertainment but it does have some flaws I assume are a holdover from it's 1990 origins.
So it's a run(walk?) n' gun. You control an Assault Suit in a future civil war with humanity across space with the far spacers coming back for revenge. Kind of a plot to a Gundam series. There are two main level types which basically revolve around gravity. On a planet you can walk or boost and shoot mobile suits, I mean assault suits as they come at you. In zero G conditions you can fly and often have to stop waves of enemies coming at your base or ships etc.
The basic idea for the game is fine but the execution of the controls is just painful. Remakes shouldn't just be about visuals, but refining what is there mechanically and this (I assume) hasn't done that. You walk moving left and right and aim using up and down which you can also lock in place with L1. It's so...unwieldy. when not locking the aim in place and trying to free aim bullets go everywhere. This is especially bad in zero G when trying to move, aim and fire. I found it so aggregating I simply locked it straight ahead to complete those parts like a traditional shoot 'em up.
Fortunately the game is pretty short with only 8 stages so it doesn't quite outlive it's welcome but I'll be honest it comes close on the final level with more zero G waves coming in. You can choose your load out for each mission in limited slots to prepare for them but often you wouldn't know what you needed before starting. To make it weirder, armour, shield and your booster are optional and some of the weapons are very situational so they can be kinda useless wasting a slot but you don't know it heading in.
I dunno, this is a weird one. I didn't love it nor hate it, it was fine but overall the story behind the game's origins and Dev team were more interesting than the actual game and let's be honest, those weren't that interesting.
If you see it in a bargain bin for an evening, go for it but otherwise there are far better games of it's type.
I've never played the original and with the developer gone it seems unlikely there will be more in the series at this point. I picked it up in a bargain bin PSN sale and it's not bad for an evenings entertainment but it does have some flaws I assume are a holdover from it's 1990 origins.
So it's a run(walk?) n' gun. You control an Assault Suit in a future civil war with humanity across space with the far spacers coming back for revenge. Kind of a plot to a Gundam series. There are two main level types which basically revolve around gravity. On a planet you can walk or boost and shoot mobile suits, I mean assault suits as they come at you. In zero G conditions you can fly and often have to stop waves of enemies coming at your base or ships etc.
The basic idea for the game is fine but the execution of the controls is just painful. Remakes shouldn't just be about visuals, but refining what is there mechanically and this (I assume) hasn't done that. You walk moving left and right and aim using up and down which you can also lock in place with L1. It's so...unwieldy. when not locking the aim in place and trying to free aim bullets go everywhere. This is especially bad in zero G when trying to move, aim and fire. I found it so aggregating I simply locked it straight ahead to complete those parts like a traditional shoot 'em up.
Fortunately the game is pretty short with only 8 stages so it doesn't quite outlive it's welcome but I'll be honest it comes close on the final level with more zero G waves coming in. You can choose your load out for each mission in limited slots to prepare for them but often you wouldn't know what you needed before starting. To make it weirder, armour, shield and your booster are optional and some of the weapons are very situational so they can be kinda useless wasting a slot but you don't know it heading in.
I dunno, this is a weird one. I didn't love it nor hate it, it was fine but overall the story behind the game's origins and Dev team were more interesting than the actual game and let's be honest, those weren't that interesting.
If you see it in a bargain bin for an evening, go for it but otherwise there are far better games of it's type.
Chunky Robot Gaming (chunky robot gaming)
I was going to give Assault Suit Leynos a negative review because of how buggy my first playthrough was, but thankfully I decided to give it another chance. Making video games is hard and I'll try to think of this title in the future to avoid being excessively harsh when writing these reviews that nobody reads.
Assault Suit Leynos is a sidescroller, your AS can walk on land and fly in the vacuum of space, both methods of movement take a bit to get used to, but that's normal considering you are piloting a heavy tank on legs. There's an extensive selection of weapons to choose from, although the best ones are reserved as a reward for those who can beat levels with an S rank or accomplish side objectives.
The aesthetics and plot of the game are generally nice, but the music is the real star. There are only a few tracks, but they are all winners.
Overall, the game is very solid, despite being a bit buggy, so I would recommend it as long as it's on sale.
Assault Suit Leynos is a sidescroller, your AS can walk on land and fly in the vacuum of space, both methods of movement take a bit to get used to, but that's normal considering you are piloting a heavy tank on legs. There's an extensive selection of weapons to choose from, although the best ones are reserved as a reward for those who can beat levels with an S rank or accomplish side objectives.
The aesthetics and plot of the game are generally nice, but the music is the real star. There are only a few tracks, but they are all winners.
Overall, the game is very solid, despite being a bit buggy, so I would recommend it as long as it's on sale.
for many people this is gonna be a clear no-brainer over the genesis release
every stage has been completely overhauled to better flesh out its narrative, (unless you play almost-totally-faithful classic mode) and the controls are far snappier
if the slow mobility or fiddly aiming steered you away from target earth, then you're gonna be right at home here. it's a short ride, but all the unlockable goodies will prolly keep you coming back time and time again
want a hardcore challenge? then check out the original first. otherwise, feel free to jump in here. this is a very heartful remake, and you can't really go wrong either way
every stage has been completely overhauled to better flesh out its narrative, (unless you play almost-totally-faithful classic mode) and the controls are far snappier
if the slow mobility or fiddly aiming steered you away from target earth, then you're gonna be right at home here. it's a short ride, but all the unlockable goodies will prolly keep you coming back time and time again
want a hardcore challenge? then check out the original first. otherwise, feel free to jump in here. this is a very heartful remake, and you can't really go wrong either way