Heavy Mechs
In fact, it is a bit inappropriate to use the term "Heavy Mech" to refer to the RPG (Metal Max) that mainland players are familiar with. Initially, pirates introduced the Chinese version of the game and named it after it, perhaps for commercial promotion reasons. In fact, "Heavy Robot" has another work, and it is quite famous - that is "Heavy Robot" produced by NCS (Nippon Computer Systems Corp.), the first game was released in 1990 Series - including two sub-series with the same world view, Heavy Suit Renaults (Japanese name: Heavy Suit (じゅうそうきへい)レイノス, English name: ASSAULT SUITS LEYNOS) and Heavy Suit Vulcan (Japanese name) : ASSAULT SUITS VALKEN (English name: ASSAULT SUITS VALKEN), this work can also be regarded as the predecessor of the famous Frontline Mission. The game types are ACT-SHT and SLG (Heavy Gear Robot 2, PS, released on February 21, 1997), which have nothing to do with the RPG of METAL MAX. But Fortune Makes People, a translation that seems to be selling dogs over sheep's heads, has become a very famous game in China. Compared with it, the real "heavy-armed mechs" pale in comparison, and no one cares about them.
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History
The birth of Metal Max
On November 21, 1990, the successor to the Famicom, the Super Famicom, came out. Although this is an announcement of the arrival of the glorious era of the Super Nintendo, it is actually the death knell of FC (at least in Japan). However, just half a year later, on May 24, 1991, an RPG full of unique colors came out on the FC platform - this was METAL MAX produced by Crea-Tech and published by DATA EAST.
Since the Japanese national game "Dragon Quest" in 1986, it has been difficult for any RPG to break out of the old path of DQ-style swords and magic, warriors and dragons. Although "Final Fantasy" appeared as the opponent of "Dragon Quest", in fact, at this time, it was just the beginning of the hero's quest to destroy and save the country. And in the twilight years of FC, MM appeared as a resolute rebel, shouting "I'm tired of fighting dragons!", "RPG of men and tanks, METAL MAX!", such a loud revolution The slogan has to be said to be a great innovation.
This kind of change is certainly not just talk on paper. Regardless of the background structure, system design or plot arrangement, MM can be said to be a subversion of the previous RPG genre. The era background is no longer a quasi-medieval fantasy style, but replaced by a desolate yet darkly humorous apocalyptic near future. The system uniquely adopts two combat systems, manned and tank, combined with the matching and upgrading of different weapons and equipment, allowing players to immerse themselves in the fun of transformation. The plot arrangement is even more unique. The ultra-high degree of freedom, the open-ended ending, and the simple yet profoundly sentimental plot are all things that players talk about.
Therefore, MM won the FAMI System Production Award in 1991 and ranked first in the FC original works in 1991. It is indeed well-deserved. However, as we mentioned at the beginning, it was already 1991, FC was already half-established in Japan, and its appeal was not as good as before. Although MM has received good reviews and won awards, its sales performance is actually not optimistic. Compared with the ambitions of game designer Hiroshi Miyaoka, the sales volume of only 120,000 is really unpalatable. But on the other hand, Crea-Tech, led by Miyaoka, immediately devoted its energy to the development of Metal Max 2, and the platform was positioned at the Super Famicom, which was at its peak at the time.
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Metal Max 2
After two years of development, Metal Max 2 was released on March 5, 1993. Compared with MM1, which was severely rushed in the later stage, MM2 has more ample development time, the game is very complete, and the post-production debugging is also done well. The game system inherits the man-vehicle dual combat system of the previous generation, and is strengthened and improved on this basis.
In the tank system, not only the chassis and engine can be modified like the previous generation, but also various weapons and equipment and C devices of the tank can be modified. The customization of tank openings has also been enhanced. Players can freely modify the hole types of "cannons/guns/special guns" and equip them with different types of equipment according to their own wishes.
As for the white soldier battle, the puppy warrior Perchi (ポチ) has been added. War dogs have their own special weapons and equipment. They cannot ride on chariots. They are not controlled by player instructions during battle and fight by their own instincts. Although it is troublesome sometimes, it adds a lot of variables and interest to the battle. Moreover, war dogs have a good growth rate, and if they are carefully cultivated, they will have quite strong combat power.
The menu commands of this game can also be customized in quite detail according to the needs of the player, which will be inherited in future games.
MM series advocates free and open role-playing, emphasizing the player's sense of substitution. However, in actual application, this concept can easily lead to the disadvantage of loose plot. This was more prominent in the first generation. Perhaps most players are still not able to adapt to this "free and loose" and somewhat unfinished game style. Looking at the reviews on major foreign game sites, there are many players who have objections to this. In China, countless rumors about the ending have sprung up, which is naturally a digression.
In MM2, the production team seems to be aware of this problem. While maintaining the tradition of high freedom, the main plot has been greatly highlighted. Compared with the relaxed and playful atmosphere of MM1, MM2 begins with brutal battles and killings. The main plot is the protagonist's revenge against the Raiders organization. Using this as a context, it shows the more grand and detailed world setting of MM2. In addition, although this game still has a multi-ending mode, after defeating the last Dr. Vlad, there is a clear ending - the hunters may still embark on the journey, but the revenge against the entire Raider organization is over.
Due to the move to a high-level platform, the audio and video effects of MM2 have made a qualitative leap compared to the first generation. If you look at it from today's perspective, you will naturally feel that the picture is crude. However, if you appreciate it carefully, you can still feel the experienced skills of the graphic point painter, and the style of the picture matches the desolate background of MM2 very well. The character setting is still that of Miyaoka's fellow artist Yamamoto Takatsugu. The rough and bold painting style complements the hardcore style of the MM series. The improvement of SFC function also allows composer Satoshi Kadokura to display his talents more freely. In addition to the repertoire of the series that existed in the first generation, Mr. Kadokura composed many popular new songs for MM2. A sad and sad song "forgetting to get the person" is even more of a swan song.
Because of the low penetration rate of SFC in mainland China and the language barrier, Metal Max 2 is not well-known in the country. Even among the group of players who are known as die-hard players who were cultivated through the first-generation Chinese version, there are very few who have played this game. Many people only came into contact with MM2 after the Internet developed and simulator technology matured. In Japan, the appearance of Metal Max 2 was a big topic at the time. The high quality of the work itself, the reputation accumulated by the high praise of the first generation, and the corresponding hot-selling console made MM2 gain praise from all parties. . To this day, it is still considered to be the highest quality game in the series. Moreover, MM2 also set the highest sales record in the series, with a total sales volume of about 280,000 copies.
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Metal Max Returns
The late development progress of MM1 was very tight. In order to rush to production, many ideas were unfortunately abandoned. Perhaps unwillingly, after the success of MM2, the producer turned to the development of the MM1 remake on SFC. Two years later, in 1995, a nearly perfect work was presented to players: Metal Max Returns.
Although it is a remake of the first generation, MMR is by no means a money-making game that simply transplants MM1 to a high-end platform. It goes without saying that the sound and light effects have been improved, and the system has also been greatly improved. In addition to inheriting the weapon modification system of the MM2 tank, special emphasis is placed on the function of the C device. The C device is not only a control device that affects the tank's attack and avoidance, but also adds practical functions such as "attack", "rescue", and automatic return. Not only does it make tactical applications in combat more flexible, but it also allows tractors, which were previously only used as mobile warehouses, to play a great role in combat.
In addition, the second-generation BS machine system has also been strengthened in this game. New software can be downloaded during the game, making the BS machine's functions more complete. Some of the system menus of the first generation have been integrated into the BS machine directory, and new functions such as tank recovery, tank rental, and monster tracking have been added. This not only enhances the fun of the game, but also makes the world view of MM more realistic and delicate. .
Metal Max Returns is a sincere remake, and its game quality is not far behind that of some famous masterpieces of the same period. It is a pity that the sales volume of the game did not hit a new high as expected, either because the publisher Data East had improper promotion strategies or because the game's own features were not accepted by most players. According to statistics from Famitsu Magazine, the total sales volume of MMR is around 170,000 copies. Originally, there was no need to worry about this, because we can see from the sincerity of the reproduction that both the producer Crea-Tech and the publisher Data East are committed to making the MM series a first-class RPG. However, people at the time could not have predicted the ten-year decline that followed, and MMR became the last work of the Data East series of heavy-duty mechs.
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Chinese version
First-generation commercial Chineseization
This may be an inappropriate assumption, but if MM had not been introduced and Chineseized by pirate merchants, Will it still cause such a big wave in the country at that time? Cultivate such a determined group of FANS? The answer may be no. MM is able to gain such a high support rate in mainland China not only because it lags behind Japan in occupying the domestic market, but also has a high FC penetration rate and a long lifespan; it also has the advantage of having a large number of domestic pirated cassettes with low prices; and it is also because of the Chinese version. Version, approachable people and advantages.
Which pirate dealer had the unique insight to introduce the Chinese version of MM? It can still be said to be a mystery. A more credible theory is that a company called "Pioneer Cartoon" completed most of the Chinese translation work, and then resold the work to a Shenzhen company due to its inability to distribute it. As a result, a cassette called "Heavy Robot" appeared on the market. The time is 1994. Later, due to the chaos in the domestic market, several versions appeared with little difference - including the relatively crudely produced "Mecha Warrior". (The names of Mecha Warriors and Heavy Mechas can also be regarded as having the same purpose, as they are both borrowed from other games)
◆Similarities and Differences between Mecha Warriors and Heavy Mechas
In addition to the different name of the title, the command prompt in the opening of MechaWarrior is spelled incorrectly - PUSH START is spelled PUSR START. A small number of items in the game have different translations. After defeating the wanted criminal in the heavy-duty mech version, the wanted poster will be marked with the word "ji" just like the original Japanese version. In the MechaWarrior version, it is simplified to a big cross.
The MechaWarrior cassette was dumped as ROM earlier, while the MechaWarrior cartridge was dumped as ROM as late as November 2003 (Provider: "Devil Baby", Dumpper: "tpu"). But what’s strange is that the rom shows that the Heavy Mecha was also produced in 1996 (the year of the title screen is the same as the Mecha Warrior), and according to the memories of some players (including the author), there should be a 1994 version of the Heavy Mech. . However, it was nothing new in China's chaotic market at that time for the original publisher to cheat money by re-publishing the game, or for other companies to steal a share of the second piracy. For example, in the next few years, the famous alien technology company also intervened in MM and released another version, which added a footnote to the matter.
◆The similarities and differences between the Chinese version and the Japanese original version
It is not just a simple difference in the language version. Due to some limitations of Chinese technology, it is impossible to be completely close to the original text in terms of translation. The most prominent manifestation is in the translation of nouns - from the current translation of place names, it is difficult to appreciate the Western style of the original work; and the translations of iron coat-silver coat-gold coat deviate from the original meaning. It is also incompatible with the near-future background of the game, and it naturally goes back to the old fantasy style.
It is also worth noting the functions of some items: after using the bugle in the Chinese version, it will greatly increase our combat power and reduce the enemy's hit rate. It can be said to be a nearly invincible item. The existence of this item has almost changed the entire strategy of the game. However, in the original Japanese version, the bugle does not have this function, so it is suspected that the pirates made changes during the Chinese version and existed as a debugging item.
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Chinese works of non-governmental organizations
In addition to MM1, which was Chineseized as a commercial activity in the early years, after the simulation technology matured, many domestic players also spontaneously produced Chinese versions of the MM series. .
◆Chinese version of Metal Max Returns
The first netizen with the ID name zhang3 completed the preliminary cracking of the font library and Chineseized the game menu and equipment items in the game, which is more convenient. Many players. The problem is that the original plot text has become garbled, but this cannot negate zhang3’s historical achievements as the pioneer of MMR Chineseization.
About the first half of 2003, the famous Chinese group Wolf Group revealed on its website that it planned to Chineseize MMR, and created a "list of pending Chineseization works" to ask netizens to vote to determine the order of Chineseization. This caused a stir at the time. There is quite a trend of brushing votes. (It was also revealed that the Brave Group wanted to Chineseize MM2, but unfortunately there was no further information.) After that, although MMR did not get the highest votes, it did start to be Chinese. A netizen with the online name "METORE" was responsible for cracking it, and the online name was "METORE". Netizens of "Aerial Carpenter" completed most of the text translation, and launched two test versions in 2003 and 2004 (the author participated in the test of the second version, which should have been in May 2004). The two test versions were not released to the outside world at that time, but a small number of netizens on the Heavy Machinery Special Station were asked to help test it. But after the test, there was another long period of silence. As the days go by, the Chinese version has been put on hold indefinitely, and the existing Chinese test version seems to be dying in the hands of a small number of people. Until 11:52 on March 6, 2006, a netizen with the ID "passerby vest" released the second version of the internal Chinese test on the EmuZone forum. (.ne.jp/~atsuji-ya/
CYBER@WOLF (Old MM special website)/
Tianhuan.com Heavy Machine 2 special topic/