I had this game (it was originally called Cybernator in the west) when I was like 5 or 6 & could only get up to the second level but now thanks to the Declassified version I managed to beat it after all these years. This game is hard especially during the zero gravity & air combat sections & in the original version you only had a set number of lives which made it that much tough to beat. You can lose health very quickly by the amount of enemies & projectiles on screen requiring a lot of patience. The shield is your friend as it can block projectiles. Thankfully this version has the option to play with unlimited continues & save states.

The controls need to get some use to at first but it feels good when you get the hand of it. The game rewards you for exploration as you gain access to new weapons & upgrades for your new weapons. The bosses also have secondary missions that can change the ending too. The soundtrack is nostalgic & it visually looks nice. M2 did a marvelous job with this port & even includes interviews, artwork, arrange music, etc. A fun yet difficult time.

The 1992 original SNES side scrolling Mech action game with some new visual options, customizable controls, the full manual translated into English that tells the backstory of the world, the full guidebook translated into English, subtitled interviews with the creators, and sections to listen to the music tracks and to look at artwork and mech designs. While the first game in the series, the Genesis/Mega Drive title Assault Suits Leynos (Target Earth), got a visual update with it's remake on the PS4/PC this Switch release is the base game translated into English again with all of its scenes intact and extras for fans of the series. The only real update to the game is the ability to open a pause menu to create and load save states and to start with guns earlier. Still a fun game that takes place over seven stages with an alternate ending and some different endings a few of the stages depending on if you completed or failed an objective. It is a short game and the lack of real updates or new features does make it a high asking price, would have been nice if the Saturn title Assault Suit Leynos 2 could have been included and translated for the first time giving the price more of a reason for being that high.

Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1662995095619264514

A strangely agreeable game for something about people chewed up by the never-ending war machine- it’s outpaced in so many particular ways by other titles but everything here comes together remarkably well. The weapon upgrade system tests your routing just to enough to make the early stages interesting on repeat and the story adds just enough gravitas to the action, so that there’s some catharsis by the time the credits roll (though the most forward-looking part of the game might the unskippable radio chatter- very prescient design!)

Probably limited in its long-term appeal thanks to the relative simplicity of the scenarios; by the time you get deeper into the game and get some of the better weapon upgrades, the level and enemy design has basically regressed to the point being a straight line where you just hold the down fire button and walk to the right. The fundamentals here are strong enough that you could be tested on something that required more precision and positioning on your part, something that the couple of rival fights should fulfill, but that end up being a little trite in their execution.

Pacing is real standout here though and the saving grace for the game’s shortcomings; early on I wanted to say that it was too easy to play defensively thanks to your invincible shield, and while you can play that way part of the time, most of the game’s biggest fights force you to play very aggressively, with countdown timers ticking away in the background and aerials skirmishes where you’re unable to use your shield. They're somewhat removed from the core appeal of the weighty feel of piloting a mech, but ultimately, I think the game finds a nice rhythm over its short runtime.

Like, you can’t rent this- but that’s exactly the kind of niche that this fits into. Great for someone who wants a retro title to dive into for a weekend.

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(And for the sake of clarity, I played the JP translated SNES version, not the “Declassified” release- but I will always defer to the better box art.)