''Metal Walker'', known as in Japan, is a

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

for the

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

, developed and published by

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

. Many critics likened the game to the ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' series, but praised the game's unique qualities. In Japan, the game inspired merchandise based on the Metal Walker robots. ''Metal Walker's'' battles are unique from other games in the genre due to their billiard-style nature. Players move their Metal Walkers across the battlefield by hitting them into items, walls, or enemy Metal Walkers. The 2013 mobile game ''

Monster Strike is a Mobile game, mobile Japanese role-playing game, Japanese role-playing physics game with elements of Puzzle video game, puzzle, strategy game, strategy and Cooperative video game, cooperative multiplayer. It is developed by Mixi, XFLAG for i ...

'' has a similar concept and gameplay mechanics but is otherwise unconnected to Metal Walker.

Gameplay

Although ''Metal Walker'' is a console RPG, battles are fought in a pinball or billiards-like atmosphere in a

top-down perspective A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...

arena. As each turn of the battle starts, players decide which direction a Metal Walker will move and how hard they will move. Players are encouraged to form strategies that allow Metal Walkers to hit a single enemy, bounce off a wall, and then hit another enemy, all in a single turn. On the battlefield, players can throw several different types of items onto the field. The items are used when a Metal Walker hits them. Capsules and healing items strengthen and heal Metal Walkers, whereas attack items, such as Napalm, are only useful when the enemy hits them. There also exist Analyzers, which provide the player with Scan Data for any Metal Walker that is bounced into them. Scrap metal won after the battle can then be used with the Scan Data to create new Metal Walkers or purchase items. When an enemy is destroyed, the player's Metal Walker will gain experience points and an item might be obtained. If the player's Metal Walker runs out of

Hit points Health is an attribute in a video game or tabletop game that determines the maximum amount of damage or loss of stamina that a character or object can take before dying or losing consciousness. In role-playing games, this typically takes the for ...

, the player will lose half of the carried scraps and have to start from the last save point. Outside of battle, players explore a top-down overworld where they can explore various towns and dungeons. Most battles occur as random encounters. The overworld has several interactable elements, such as water, which the player needs a certain number of Cores to cross. The player can only carry one Metal Walker at a time and it will follow the main character on the overworld. By defeating the game's bosses, players earn Core Units, which allow Metal Walkers to evolve into new, stronger forms.

Plot

''Metal Walker'' takes place late in the 21st Century when a valuable and evolving metal known as Core is discovered on an island. Military leaders sought to use Core to develop weapons, but an accident turned the island into a ruined wasteland. The Rusted Land, as it is called, is where the game takes place. Because of the research, the island is scattered with malicious robots known as Metal Busters. Fifty years after the accident, the main character and his father Tetsuo Kurama have devoted their lives to search for lost Core Units on the island, but the game opens as the father is separated from his son as a gang of Metal Busters attack. The main character and his Metal Walker, Meta Ball, must then search for his father on the island. Professor Hawk, Tetsuo's employer tells the main character that his father will be found where there are Core Units, so he then goes to seek them out.

Reception

''Metal Walker'' found praise among its critics, particularly for the game's unique "science fiction spin" on the ''

'' series.

Game Rankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

holds an aggregated review score of 83% based on 7 reviews. Gerald Valloria of GameSpot.com said of the game that "''Metal Walker'' is a more than worthwhile endeavor for anyone that is in between ''Pokémon'' games, and it can serve as an alternative for those fans of RPGs that might be too ashamed to look someone in the eye and say, "Yeah, I'm playing ''Pokémon'', what of it?" The game earned a three out of five in

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...

. Although calling the game "fun" and "engaging",

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

called the game a "shameless ''Pokémon'' rip-off." A review by Gamebits.net gave the game a lower than average score, calling it an RPG that's "more mathematical than magical."

References

External links

*{{MobyGames, id=/gameboy-color/metal-walker , name=Metal Walker
''Metal Walker'' at allgame.com
1999 video games Capcom games Game Boy Color games Role-playing video games Top-down video games Game Boy Color-only games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Japan