I wonder if it's some trademark bollocks like with Marvel Land, still AWOL outside Japan iirc.
As some small commiseration, I had Thursday afternoon all set, and then I spent the rest of the day waiting on various electricians.
Having given it 24hrs, again without returning just yet, I think Finest Hour needed a few more mech accoutrements to truly shine. This raw coinop intensity, plus Gigantic Army's strafe, metered shield, and vicious melee (preferably metered - both an emergency breakout, as well as a hard target crusher). With only the moderately-powerful rifle at your disposal, offense can feel one-note; extended combat isn't the game's strong suit (though tearing headlong through zako is most definitely cathartic).
On the other hand, I love the minimalist purity of what it
does offer: a pairing of radar and extreme mobility to out-zone tougher enemies, and
a reliance on spacing and terrain to take them down cleanly. Slugging it out on flat ground with strong mechs will leave you overheated, and you can't afford to trade away too many seconds on cooldown. Entirely better to aggressively reposition yourself, so 90%+ of their fire sails over your head, before marching on with minimal heat swiftly dissipating. Your speed grants
huge scope to fight on your own terms; quicker foes will chase, but it's up to you where the battle is fought. Encountered on flat ground, or surrounded by mines? Haul ass out of there, make their day hell instead. Or find a nice ravine or shaft to vernier over as they tumble haplessly in, that works too!
Zako can (and in the interests of time, indeed should) be mowed through with calculated abandon, your targeting systems icily dispatching; the odd nick won't interrupt cooldown significantly. Mines will sink you, but that's what the radar is for.
It's also undeniably amusing, on the most visceral level, to just
flat-out leave slower bruisers in the dust Joseph Joestar style. I was hollering
NIGURUNDAYOOO frequently in the first couple stages.
This is war, bitch!
MERCENARY X DGAF, I'm in your camp wrecking all your shit! Not my fault your cardio sucks.
In true JoJo Part 2 fashion, this factors importantly into the endgame, though it must be used with utmost discretion on your plunge into ultra-fortified hell
I really dig this strategic bartering of heat vs time; an articulated push/pull, perfectly suiting the grueling "running tank vs hellish battlefield" aesthetic. Like Assault, despite their radically differing formats, it seems to be a speed game at heart; I've no doubt experienced players can do some rad things, piloting SYGNUS at perpetual redline.
While it's probably better-recommended as a cool game, moreso than a formally excellent one, the chassis is solid; its minimalism concealing an intriguingly speed-based tactical intensity. That previously-spoilered endboss fiasco aside - the archetypally shortsighted credit-grabber I've forgiven in plenty of favourites - I'm happy calling this the coinop Leynos Alpha I always wanted.
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This is the second mecha-themed title I've seen with stages named after a famous Western rock band's songs; Rush for Finest Hour, Joy Division for Cloudphobia.
Good taste, Nihonjin brothers in arms.
