Soukou Kihei Votoms: The Battling Road for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Soukou Kihei Votoms: The Battling Road

Mech fighting on ice

Genre: shooter - corridor

Publisher: Takara

Year: 1993

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 0

Gameplay Notes:

I tried to reserve a zero on gameplay for games that are have zero redeeming qualities. Games that no one should play. This is one of those games. It plays like Virtual On or Custom Robo - you and three other mechs maneuver within a small arena and shoot machine guns up one another. However, unlike those other games, there are no walls or other features. So it's just a big open area. More than anything it reminds me of Combat for the Atari 2600. Movement is extremely awkward where up and down give you forward momentum and left and right turn but only while you're moving. So you wind up just going forward or backward in a circle while holding down on the machine gun. Everyone has unlimited ammo and you can only hit what's directly ahead of you so you hope to either get behind your enemy or take the pain of heading straight towards them while they go straight towards you. The AI is merciless so they come at you just like you do them which leads to a whole bunch of spinning in circles endlessly. And I mean endlessly. And that's the entire game. You'll be sick of it after 60 seconds.

Level Design Score: 0

Level Design Notes:

It's one battle left to the next and they're all the same.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

This seems to be based on an anime, although I've never heard of it. Cut scenes between levels. Tell some sort of story but it's all in Japanese.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

The arenas are a mode 7 mess but the sprites are incredibly detailed. They have an interesting look to them, like a pudgy mech, but they're very well drawn and also animate well.

Audio Score: 1

Audio Notes:

I think there's music in the game but it's drown out by the incessant machine gun from you and opponents as well as the annoying conveyor belt like sound of your motor moving you forward or backward. It's just a whole bunch of game noise.

Overall Score: 13

Review ID: 1843