SParkfan77's Full Review: Tech Romancer for Dreamcast
The Sega Dreamcast has some of the best original titles. Virtual On was released earlier this year and it was considered the best mech fighter of all time. I think that Virtual On has some competition as Tech Romancer is riding up on its tail. Being made by Capcom I knew that this game was worth playing. But was it better than Virtual On? Was it even worth buying in the first place?
Tech Romancer
Capcom has made some of the best fighting games of all time. From Marvel vs. Capcom, to Powerstone, Capcom has had a nice resume so far on the Dreamcast. Tech Romancer was no different as I discovered that this anime/mech fighter features satisfying graphics, addictive gameplay and an enjoyable storyline that varies with each player.
To those of you that may not know, and don’t worry because I didn’t know either before playing this game, Tech Romancer was originally an anime movie in Japan. I later found out that I heard that Tech Romancer was a great anime and the stories within the game supported these speculations. I can’t say that I have beaten the game but don’t worry, even though I have not beaten it yet, it is still fun to lose. I find myself playing this game for hours with my friends and hours by myself because no matter if you win or lose, it is still fun. There are very few games that I can say this about.
Story Mode
This mode is for one player. When you play as one of the ten mechs, you have a different story to play through. I love how they did this because it is multiple stories in one. When you play through them, you will have decisions to make that will determine who you will fight next. The last boss is pretty hard but nevertheless capable of being defeated. You can also unlock music, cinemas and new fighters.
Hero Mode
This mode is for only one player as well. What you do here is you fight 12 consecutive guys to unlock fighters, cinemas and music. Each fighter gets harder and harder as you go on through the fighters.
Versus Mode
This is so much fun. You will be playing this game with your friends for weeks at a time. Especially the fact that you can choose the boards you play on, beating your friends with a 50-story robot is surprisingly fun. Even though you may have fun playing this game no matter what, it’s hard to look your friends in the eyes after you have lost badly to them.
Dr. Tatsumi’s Techno-Dome
It sounds weird right? Well this is the place in the game where you can view everything that you have unlocked in the game. Rather it be new fighters, music, cinemas of boards to fight on, you can find it here. What I also love is that you can unlock games on your VMU. These are mini-games that you can play when the game is off!
So how did Tech Romancer compare to Virtual On? Lets see how Tech Romancer stacked up. Ratings are from one to five stars.
Here’s The Breakdown
Graphics ****
Not the most impressive graphics I have ever seen but definitely what I was expecting when it came to a fighting game based on an anime. There were some nice graphical shots in some of the night stages. The lighting effects on the missiles and guns were nice to look at. They could have been better from what I think, but I know that they were above average.
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Gameplay *****
This game fulfills what you dream of when you dream of an anime/mech fighter. The arcade stick would obviously make this game easier to play but that is to be expected for any fighting game. Bash robots with various weapons, attack moves and final attacks. The final attacks are alerted when your opponent is close to dieing. At this point, press Y, X, A, and B, and then you will do your finishing move. They are all quite impressive to watch.
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Overall *****
I was shocked and amazed how great this game was. I held off buying this game until I had nothing else to buy. The only regret I have is that I didn’t buy this game a long time ago. It is not a new game; it came out almost a year ago. In my opinion, a sequel is needed because I can’t get enough robot smashing action. Call your mom, tell your friends (if any) and tell them that you will show them a great time with Tech Romancer.
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