{"id":331472,"date":"2022-07-04T06:00:46","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T11:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/?p=331472"},"modified":"2022-07-04T06:53:25","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T11:53:25","slug":"famicom-friday-metal-max-rpg-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/famicom-friday-metal-max-rpg-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Metal Max deserved so much better"},"content":{"rendered":"

The protagonist is not named Max<\/h2>

I fell hopelessly in love<\/a> with Metal Max Xeno Reborn<\/i>. It was my first time with the series, which has been running in Japan since 1991. It was quite the roller coaster for me. I immediately jumped online and placed an order for some of the series\u2019 early games. I felt the heartbreak of Metal Max: Wild West <\/i>getting canceled. Then I found love again in Metal Max<\/i> for the Famicom. Then I reminded myself that Metal Max: Wild West<\/i> was canceled, and now I\u2019m sad again.<\/p>

Metal Max<\/i> has largely stayed in Japan, outside of Xeno <\/i>and its Reborn<\/i> cousin. We got Metal Saga<\/i> on PS2, but that went by without much notice. Maybe we\u2019ll get a re-release on PS5 now that Sony is doing that again. There were many titles that flitted by without our anglophone notice, and I plan on delving through as many as I can get my nimble fingers on. Metal Max<\/i> is one I can communicate via Famicom Friday, so allow me to share it with you.<\/p>

\"Metal<\/p>

Get a real job<\/h2>

I love Metal Max<\/i>. Famicom RPGs can be a struggle, whether or not they\u2019re a Dragon Quest<\/i> or a Mother<\/i>. It was kind of a crappy era for console RPGs. No, maybe that\u2019s inaccurate. It was an awkward<\/i> era for console RPGs. A great era for PC RPGs, but console RPGs were kind of lopsided. Regardless, I ate Metal Max<\/i> without any discomfort. Without any boredom.<\/p>

It helps that a lot of what I loved about Metal Max Xeno Reborn<\/i> was already true on the Famicom. It\u2019s a post-apocalyptic JRPG that focuses on tanks. The plot is light, instead getting out of your way so you can hunt monsters. The focus is mainly on finding vehicles and accumulating enough money to make them over-powered. The monsters are ridiculous, and there\u2019s this sly, dark sense of humor underlying all of it.<\/p>

It\u2019s also rather polished for a JRPG of this vintage. I had the option of playing the Famicom version or the Super Famicom remake, Metal Max Returns<\/i>. I opted for the original, because its art-style is so classic for the system. It\u2019s obvious that, much like other RPGs of the era, it got a lot of influence from Dragon Quest<\/i>. Characters are squat, backgrounds are sparse, and enemies are enormous. If you like the Famicom RPG aesthetic, it fits the look perfectly.<\/p>

\"Metal<\/p>

Mad Muscle<\/h2>

The gameplay reveals a similar shine. It\u2019s entirely possible for you to overpower yourself, and grinding is an option, but in terms of gameplay loop, it got it down perfectly. You travel the world and hunt down Wanted Monsters. But the Wanted Monsters are only a suggestion; a great way to make loads of money really fast. There are more facets to the core gameplay: find better tanks, find better weapons, and solve the problems of the various towns you cross if you feel like it.<\/p>

It\u2019s almost open-world. The progression from town to town is largely linear, but it doesn\u2019t have any objections to backtracking or skipping ahead. The Wanted Monsters aren\u2019t bosses. You can proceed without killing them. There are some objectives you need to complete to get let through the gate, but these are largely in the early portions of the game. I suppose it\u2019s more accurate to say it\u2019s an open-narrative game. Character development mostly occurs in your head. You\u2019re given your humble beginnings, but you figure out the motivation. Wealth, money, a kick-ass tank? I\u2019m definitely in it for the tanks.<\/p>

\"Metal<\/p>

Mammoth Tank<\/h2>

It\u2019s somewhat strange to call a turn-based RPG \u201cfun.\u201d Menu-based combat is not fun. I guess instead, I will say that Metal Max <\/i>is compelling. It\u2019s exciting to find new tanks and grab new equipment. It\u2019s satisfying to line up your artillery against big bad monsters. If anything, I wish the world was more reactive. People don\u2019t ask much of you, so they don\u2019t really care about your successes. Towns are largely unchanging and static. Perhaps, that is the price of Metal Max\u2019s<\/i> polish.<\/p>

The soundtrack is excellent but also repetitive; not really uncommon for a JRPG. I mean, off the top of my head, I can probably hum Dragon Quest\u2019s<\/i> overworld theme, and it\u2019s not because I like it. However, there\u2019s a decent amount of music. Every so often, when it\u2019s not beating you with the battle or overworld music, it throws in something new and interesting.<\/p>

\"The<\/p>

The power of electricity<\/h2>

What makes Metal Max<\/i> so enjoyable is the progression, but the icing on top is its bizarre sense of humor. Many of the enemies are amalgamations of animals and war machines. The scenarios you get pulled into are sometimes bizarre, like when you need to convince a factory full of flower lovers to give you a vehicle. But a lot of the mechanics are pretty strange to begin with.<\/p>

You heal at the inn, you resupply your tank at the tank supply place, and when you die, you\u2019re resurrected by a mad scientist. Seriously, whenever a character gets capped, they become a corpse that gets dragged behind the other characters. You deliver their \u201cfresh corpse\u201d to the doctor and he zaps them back to life. So, really, by the end of the game, all the party members are just zombies denied the peaceful embrace of death. If all your characters get wiped, your father begrudgingly revives you, and then you have to round up your dead teammates. It is absolutely the most morbid revival system I have yet to encounter.<\/p>

One of the things that has really drawn me to the series is its sparse narrative. Not that heavy narrative was really that prevalent in the 8-bit days of the JRPG, but Metal Max <\/i>amuses me in the fact that you don\u2019t really know who the central antagonist is until you basically trip over them. Then, when it\u2019s all over, no one realizes you saved the world because they never knew it was imperiled in the first place. James Bond probably knows how that feels, but the protagonist here doesn\u2019t even get any congratulatory sex.<\/p>

\"Early<\/p>

Save the world while you\u2019re at it<\/h2>

Metal Max <\/i>is, without hyperbole, the best RPG I\u2019ve played on the Famicom. Yes, I\u2019d rate it above the Dragon Quest <\/i>tetralogy, Final Fantasy<\/i>, and even Mother<\/i>. It has Mother\u2019s<\/i> weirdness and the tightness of Dragon Quest<\/i>. I can safely say that I have never gotten this much enjoyment from an 8-bit RPG.<\/p>

We didn\u2019t get it over here, though. Most of the series passed us by. To date, we\u2019ve received Metal Saga <\/i>on PS2 and Metal Max Xeno<\/i> and its remake\/remaster. Why we never got the DS titles, I will never understand. Unless I can convince a few million people to climb aboard the Metal Max Xeno Reborn<\/i> wagon, I doubt we\u2019ll ever really see them. I\u2019m not confident we\u2019ll ever even see the series again after Metal Max: Wild West\u2019s<\/i> cancellation<\/a>.<\/p>

Fortunately, there\u2019s a fan translation of Metal Max<\/i>, which you\u2019ll see I used here, as there\u2019s just too much Japanese text for me. I could have maybe pushed through, but I don\u2019t think I would have enjoyed it as much. As I mentioned earlier, Metal Max<\/i> got a 1996 remake on the SNES called Metal Max Returns<\/i>, and it also has a fan translation. It\u2019s your call which you want to play. I\u2019ll probably get to the remake sooner rather than later, but I have a whole series that I now need to dig my treads into.<\/p>

Check out previous Famicom Fridays right here.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":331481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"article_type":"","gamurs_wordpress_blocks_hide_tags":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[104,193],"tags":[468,1815,19236,1025,1312,19168,172],"internal-label":[],"invoiceable_action":[],"article_type":[],"coauthors":[{"id":17,"display_name":"Zoey Handley","user_login":"Adzuken","user_nicename":"adzuken"}],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMetal Max deserved so much better – Destructoid<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If I had a time machine, I'd probably go back and make sure all the Metal Max games were localized in North America. 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She got her start blogging with the community in 2018 and hit the front page soon after. Normally found exploring indie experiments and retro libraries, she does her best to remain chronically uncool.","url":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/author\/adzuken\/"}]}},"apple_news_notices":[],"raw_content":"The protagonist is not named Max I fell hopelessly in love with Metal Max Xeno Reborn. It was my first time with the series, which has been running in Japan since 1991. It was quite the roller coaster for me. I immediately jumped online and placed an order for some of the series\u2019 early games. I felt the heartbreak of Metal Max: Wild West getting canceled. Then I found love again in Metal Max for the Famicom. Then I reminded myself that Metal Max: Wild West was canceled, and now I\u2019m sad again. Metal Max has largely stayed in Japan, outside of Xeno and its Reborn cousin. We got Metal Saga on PS2, but that went by without much notice. Maybe we\u2019ll get a re-release on PS5 now that Sony is doing that again. There were many titles that flitted by without our anglophone notice, and I plan on delving through as many as I can get my nimble fingers on. Metal Max is one I can communicate via Famicom Friday, so allow me to share it with you. Get a real job I love Metal Max. Famicom RPGs can be a struggle, whether or not they\u2019re a Dragon Quest or a Mother. It was kind of a crappy era for console RPGs. No, maybe that\u2019s inaccurate. It was an awkward era for console RPGs. A great era for PC RPGs, but console RPGs were kind of lopsided. Regardless, I ate Metal Max without any discomfort. Without any boredom. It helps that a lot of what I loved about Metal Max Xeno Reborn was already true on the Famicom. It\u2019s a post-apocalyptic JRPG that focuses on tanks. The plot is light, instead getting out of your way so you can hunt monsters. The focus is mainly on finding vehicles and accumulating enough money to make them over-powered. The monsters are ridiculous, and there\u2019s this sly, dark sense of humor underlying all of it. It\u2019s also rather polished for a JRPG of this vintage. I had the option of playing the Famicom version or the Super Famicom remake, Metal Max Returns. I opted for the original, because its art-style is so classic for the system. It\u2019s obvious that, much like other RPGs of the era, it got a lot of influence from Dragon Quest. Characters are squat, backgrounds are sparse, and enemies are enormous. If you like the Famicom RPG aesthetic, it fits the look perfectly. Mad Muscle The gameplay reveals a similar shine. It\u2019s entirely possible for you to overpower yourself, and grinding is an option, but in terms of gameplay loop, it got it down perfectly. You travel the world and hunt down Wanted Monsters. But the Wanted Monsters are only a suggestion; a great way to make loads of money really fast. There are more facets to the core gameplay: find better tanks, find better weapons, and solve the problems of the various towns you cross if you feel like it. It\u2019s almost open-world. The progression from town to town is largely linear, but it doesn\u2019t have any objections to backtracking or skipping ahead. The Wanted Monsters aren\u2019t bosses. You can proceed without killing them. There are some objectives you need to complete to get let through the gate, but these are largely in the early portions of the game. I suppose it\u2019s more accurate to say it\u2019s an open-narrative game. Character development mostly occurs in your head. You\u2019re given your humble beginnings, but you figure out the motivation. Wealth, money, a kick-ass tank? I\u2019m definitely in it for the tanks. Mammoth Tank It\u2019s somewhat strange to call a turn-based RPG \u201cfun.\u201d Menu-based combat is not fun. I guess instead, I will say that Metal Max is compelling. It\u2019s exciting to find new tanks and grab new equipment. It\u2019s satisfying to line up your artillery against big bad monsters. If anything, I wish the world was more reactive. People don\u2019t ask much of you, so they don\u2019t really care about your successes. Towns are largely unchanging and static. Perhaps, that is the price of Metal Max\u2019s polish. The soundtrack is excellent but also repetitive; not really uncommon for a JRPG. I mean, off the top of my head, I can probably hum Dragon Quest\u2019s overworld theme, and it\u2019s not because I like it. However, there\u2019s a decent amount of music. Every so often, when it\u2019s not beating you with the battle or overworld music, it throws in something new and interesting. The power of electricity What makes Metal Max so enjoyable is the progression, but the icing on top is its bizarre sense of humor. Many of the enemies are amalgamations of animals and war machines. The scenarios you get pulled into are sometimes bizarre, like when you need to convince a factory full of flower lovers to give you a vehicle. But a lot of the mechanics are pretty strange to begin with. You heal at the inn, you resupply your tank at the tank supply place, and when you die, you\u2019re resurrected by a mad scientist. Seriously, whenever a character gets capped, they become a corpse that gets dragged behind the other characters. You deliver their \u201cfresh corpse\u201d to the doctor and he zaps them back to life. So, really, by the end of the game, all the party members are just zombies denied the peaceful embrace of death. If all your characters get wiped, your father begrudgingly revives you, and then you have to round up your dead teammates. It is absolutely the most morbid revival system I have yet to encounter. One of the things that has really drawn me to the series is its sparse narrative. Not that heavy narrative was really that prevalent in the 8-bit days of the JRPG, but Metal Max amuses me in the fact that you don\u2019t really know who the central antagonist is until you basically trip over them. Then, when it\u2019s all over, no one realizes you saved the world because they never knew it was imperiled in the first place. James Bond probably knows how that feels, but the protagonist here doesn\u2019t even get any congratulatory sex. Save the world while you\u2019re at it Metal Max is, without hyperbole, the best RPG I\u2019ve played on the Famicom. Yes, I\u2019d rate it above the Dragon Quest tetralogy, Final Fantasy, and even Mother. It has Mother\u2019s weirdness and the tightness of Dragon Quest. I can safely say that I have never gotten this much enjoyment from an 8-bit RPG. We didn\u2019t get it over here, though. Most of the series passed us by. To date, we\u2019ve received Metal Saga on PS2 and Metal Max Xeno and its remake\/remaster. Why we never got the DS titles, I will never understand. Unless I can convince a few million people to climb aboard the Metal Max Xeno Reborn wagon, I doubt we\u2019ll ever really see them. I\u2019m not confident we\u2019ll ever even see the series again after Metal Max: Wild West\u2019s cancellation. Fortunately, there\u2019s a fan translation of Metal Max, which you\u2019ll see I used here, as there\u2019s just too much Japanese text for me. I could have maybe pushed through, but I don\u2019t think I would have enjoyed it as much. As I mentioned earlier, Metal Max got a 1996 remake on the SNES called Metal Max Returns, and it also has a fan translation. It\u2019s your call which you want to play. I\u2019ll probably get to the remake sooner rather than later, but I have a whole series that I now need to dig my treads into. Check out previous Famicom Fridays right here.","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Header_MetalMax.jpg?fit=2106%2C1185","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331472"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331472"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":331492,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331472\/revisions\/331492"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331472"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=331472"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=331472"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=331472"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=331472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}