Metal Black
Metal Black
I heard that the game has similarities with Darius series. I don't know if it will be a good purchase for me knowing that I did not enjoy playing Darius Gaiden. What is your thought? And how much does it cost these days? Thanks.
-
BulletMagnet
- Posts: 14159
- Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:05 am
- Location: Wherever.
- Contact:
"Technically" the thing is a sequel to Gun Frontier, although the two games have nearly nothing in common...I've only played the game briefly, but it's a side scroller, and (IIRC, from here on out) the only "regular" weapon you get is a regular ol' straight forward shot; however, as you collect a certain type of common item you fill up a gauge which powers it up, and you can also release it in a huge laser-ish blast...however, you have to use up the whole gauge every time, you can't save any for later on. Bosses can collect items too, during battles, and release a similar blast at you; then you can release yours at them and have the two beams battle it out, a la Border Down (which is supposedly a semi-sequel to this). I didn't get very far, but apparently the game throws some very cheap stuff at you, especially later on. I'm not sure how much it goes for these days, but I know that the game got both an initial release and a re-release on the Saturn (though it's still rather rare, in my experience), and I think it's also supposed to appear on the upcoming Taito collection on the PS2. Try it in MAME first if you want to see it for yourself.
It has insect/fishy enemies.
And thats about all it has in similarities with Darius.
The music is astounding, the gameplay is damn fun, and its just an overall enjoyable vert. Not really the best thing on the Saturn, but damn solid and one of my personal favorite games.
On Saturn I think it goes for $40-60. Though its coming out on that Taito Memories Vol. 1 for Xbox/PC/PS2... though I think it could be a smart move to just get the Saturn version, then even if the ports are the same you'd have the soundtrack.
And thats about all it has in similarities with Darius.
The music is astounding, the gameplay is damn fun, and its just an overall enjoyable vert. Not really the best thing on the Saturn, but damn solid and one of my personal favorite games.
On Saturn I think it goes for $40-60. Though its coming out on that Taito Memories Vol. 1 for Xbox/PC/PS2... though I think it could be a smart move to just get the Saturn version, then even if the ports are the same you'd have the soundtrack.
RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!!!!
Is a good game to be sure, at least i've always enjoyed it. The graphics are unlike most other shooters i've played or seen being a sort of acid-tinged mix of B-movie monsters fleshed-out in a palette of some of the most wonderfully garish colours ever to make it into a videogame. Jp's right about the music too, its amazing.
The gameplay's ok. My two main gripes have already been alluded to in that when you use your beam it sucks up all of your main weapon, unlike Border down which uses it up in stages. Secondly, you do lose some cheap lives with enemies making a habit of flying right in close to you and appearing from seemingly nowhere behind you right when the screen is at its busiest.
That said, you are'nt really gonna play many games that look quite as warped as this and it is a substantial challenge. Though, if you're not the biggest Darius fan, you may want to wait for the Taito pack to come out as its not the cheapest saturn shooter about. I think that theres a Saturn Collections version that might be a bit cheaper-have a look for that.
The gameplay's ok. My two main gripes have already been alluded to in that when you use your beam it sucks up all of your main weapon, unlike Border down which uses it up in stages. Secondly, you do lose some cheap lives with enemies making a habit of flying right in close to you and appearing from seemingly nowhere behind you right when the screen is at its busiest.
That said, you are'nt really gonna play many games that look quite as warped as this and it is a substantial challenge. Though, if you're not the biggest Darius fan, you may want to wait for the Taito pack to come out as its not the cheapest saturn shooter about. I think that theres a Saturn Collections version that might be a bit cheaper-have a look for that.
"What the hell kind of a two-bit operation are they running out of this treehouse, Cooper? I have seen some slip-shod, backwater burgs, but this place takes the cake."
.
.
Re: Metal Black
The only thing I liked in this game was the 1st desert level with the huge lobster, carrying part of an Aircraft Carrier on it's back. (Similar scene in Macross DYRL minus the lobster thing)JL wrote:I heard that the game has similarities with Darius series. I don't know if it will be a good purchase for me knowing that I did not enjoy playing Darius Gaiden. What is your thought? And how much does it cost these days? Thanks.
What G-Darius did borow from this game, was the tag when you shoot your charged up beam against the Boss Beam. The most charged up beam wins, killing the oponent.
The effect was more devastating in G-Darius though.
-
Guest
Sorry I'm not trying to correct you jp, but there's more than one similarity between Metal Black and the Darius series.
There's quite a shroud of mystery surrounding the origins of this neat little game, being supposedly related to Darius, Gun Frontier, AND Border Down. All of the similarities between Metal and Darius relates back to the rumor that Metal Black was originally developed as Darius 3, but then Taito changed their minds and finished it up and released it as a different game part way through production. Supposedly, in the ending to one version of Darius 2 it has some reference to Metal Black as the upcoming sequel. Here's some more similarities I count...
- The bosses in every level are proceeded by a siren, like in the Darius games.
- There are mini bosses. One of the mini bosses comes out underneath a ship. There was a similar boss in Darius 2.
- The bosses progressively fade to red as you damage them, just like in Darius 2.
- The music was done by Zuntata, who also did the soundtracks for all the Darius arcade games.
We had a similar discussion to this not too long ago. Also, any time I am not sure on whether or not I will like a game I download the rom and play it on MAME...which I delete after 24 hours(yeah right). You should definitely consider that before coughing up 50 bucks for the Saturn import version.
There's quite a shroud of mystery surrounding the origins of this neat little game, being supposedly related to Darius, Gun Frontier, AND Border Down. All of the similarities between Metal and Darius relates back to the rumor that Metal Black was originally developed as Darius 3, but then Taito changed their minds and finished it up and released it as a different game part way through production. Supposedly, in the ending to one version of Darius 2 it has some reference to Metal Black as the upcoming sequel. Here's some more similarities I count...
- The bosses in every level are proceeded by a siren, like in the Darius games.
- There are mini bosses. One of the mini bosses comes out underneath a ship. There was a similar boss in Darius 2.
- The bosses progressively fade to red as you damage them, just like in Darius 2.
- The music was done by Zuntata, who also did the soundtracks for all the Darius arcade games.
We had a similar discussion to this not too long ago. Also, any time I am not sure on whether or not I will like a game I download the rom and play it on MAME...which I delete after 24 hours(yeah right). You should definitely consider that before coughing up 50 bucks for the Saturn import version.
-
Shatterhand
- Posts: 4099
- Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 3:01 am
- Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
- Contact:
Zuntata is responsible for the music in basically all Taito games.Dark Saibot wrote: - The music was done by Zuntata, who also did the soundtracks for all the Darius arcade games.
Yasuhisa Watanabe did the soundtrack for Metal Black, and to my knowledge, he has never been involved in any Darius game ever (usually OGR writes the Darius music).
The other similarites you've mentioned feel a bit weak, those elements can be found in many shooters.
-
Guest
Is he the same person as Yoshio Watanabe? That name appears in the Music credits for Darius Force.Yasuhisa Watanabe did the soundtrack for Metal Black, and to my knowledge, he has never been involved in any Darius game ever (usually OGR writes the Darius music).
I know some of the similarities can be considered common or negligible, but they are still similarities. I think the warning siren is at least a dead giveaway, as it's one of the trademarks of the Darius games. Also, how many games have a crab boss that emerges with a battleship on its back for a shell...
Well now I have a good sense of the game, thanks to you guys. The one thing that I didn't like about Darius Gaiden was the shot power. It was kind of weak without turning on the ripid fire. I guess this is not the case for Metal Black.
Last edited by JL on Thu May 05, 2005 7:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The local review has a few infos (by yours truly) on the game and its history. At any case: Metal Black was planned to be Darius 3, but since the plot is too dark and apocalyptic, it was made as a single game.The "project gunfrontier 2" is a reference to the developing team, the same as gunfrontier.
"The only desire the Culture could not satisfy from within itself was one common to both the descendants of its original human stock and the machines [...]: the urge not to feel useless."
I.M. Banks, "Consider Phlebas" (1988: 43).
I.M. Banks, "Consider Phlebas" (1988: 43).