- Metamorphic Force
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Metamorphic Force 
U.S. arcade flyer of Metamorphic Force.Developer(s) Konami Publisher(s) Konami Platform(s) Arcade Release date(s) 1993 Genre(s) Beat 'em up Mode(s) Single player
Multi player (2-4)
Arcade system Mystic Warriors Based Hardware Metamorphic Force (メタモルフィックフォース) is an arcade game released by Konami in 1993.[1] It is one of Konami's last side-scrolling Beat 'em up games to appear in the arcades along Violent Storm.
The game uses the same engine from the X-Men arcade game.
Contents
Plot
The Evil King has risen from the dead to rule the world once more. The Greek goddess Athena has summoned the souls of four ancient guardians and bestowed their power upon four heroes to stop the evil once again.[2] These guardians wield the ability to shift into anthropomorphic beasts to fight their enemies.
Characters
Ban (蛮), a Martial Artist. His guardian soul is a Fighting Bull, hence his beast form is a Minotaur.
Claude, a Swordsman who wields a Sabre. His guardian soul is a White Wolf, and he transforms into a White Werewolf.
Max, a Fighter with a Boxing style. His guardian soul is a Black Panther, and so his beast form is a Werepanther.
Ivan (Иван), a Hunter with a Wrestling style who fights with a small log. His guardian soul is a Bear, so he transforms into a Werebear.
Gameplay
The game's four main characters are able to morph into anthropomorphic "beasts" (referred to as Beast Mode) by collecting a Golden Statue Power-up which drops from either a random chest that falls from the sky, or through an anthropomorphic mouse appearing at random times and supplying the player with either a Health Item, Score Item, or Gold Statue. The mouse will drop Power-ups after a certain period of time, or if the player attacks him, similar to the elves in Golden Axe. When the players collect a Statue when already in Beast Mode, the character performs a "Screen Attack" destroying all on-screen enemies (if the Statue is collected during a boss fight, the boss is hit hard and usually twice, but they can survive). In two-player games, players can choose from a selection of the main characters. In four-player games, each main character is applied to his respective player position. The enemies are also anthropomorphic creatures such as frogs, elephants, lizards, hedgehogs, boars, and others; and include bosses such as a Ram-Man (similar to the pagan god Baphomet) armed with a Scythe, a Flaming Chicken-Man who wields a Sword and an Amazon Demoness.[3] At the end of Stages 2 and 4, players enter a Bonus Stage (destroy a statue or a string of regular enemies) which awards them extra points and health.
Differences between the US and Japanese versions
The US version of Metamorphic Force uses a numeric lifepoint counter which constantly takes damage, even when the player isn't being attacked, while the Japanese version uses a traditional health bar.[4] The Fifth Stage in the US version consists of a boss rush where the player fights the previous bosses in pairs before facing the level's own boss, while in the Japanese version the player fights that level boss only.[5] In addition, some sprites have been completely altered, such as the stained glass artwork seen during the elevator scene in the Final Stage.
Legacy
- The complete soundtrack to Metamorphic Force is featured in the 2-disc CD album Konami Amusement Sounds '93: Autumn Edition, published on October 21, 1993 and distributed by King Records. Disc 2 contains all the tracks from the game.[6]
Track # Track name Time 01 AD 199x 00:56 02 Heroes of Legend 00:21 03 A New Journey 00:12 04 The Ruins of Bakyaros 04:29 05 Cabrios Appears - Goat and Giant 02:49 06 Time of Victory 00:08 07 Tower 04:07 08 Cave of Fire 02:25 09 Fanfare 00:08 10 Destruction! 02:00 11 Celebration 00:07 12 Freezing Ground 04:12 13 Evil Ground 03:39 14 Human Soldier 02:43 15 Ganoo Appears - Forest of the Fierce Battle 03:38 16 Hurry! 01:18 17 Coliseum of Revenge 05:31 18 She-devil of the Coliseum 02:59 19 Warrior of Death Shadow Castle 03:10 20 Chorus 03:24 21 Death Shadow 04:16 22 Dragon of Fear 03:06 23 The End of Death Shadow 01:16 24 The Accidental Wound's Glory 00:12 25 Into the Hopeful Sky 01:33 26 Stand Tall! 00:38 27 Finale 00:07 - Model DD6 and Model DD7 of Konami's Bemani games originate from this game. Model DD6 is used on Stages 2 and 7's boss battles while Model DD7 is used specifically on Stage 5's boss battle.
- The game also exists in ROM form, and can be emulated on MAME.
References
- ^ Metamorphic Force at The Killer List Of Videogames
- ^ Arcade Flyer, front
- ^ Arcade Flyer, back
- ^ Metamorphic Force playthrough (Japan)
- ^ Metamorphic Force playthrough (US)
- ^ Metamorphic Force Soundtrack - Konami Amusement Sounds '93: Autumn
See also
Categories:- 1993 video games
- Arcade games
- Konami games
- Beat 'em ups
- Cooperative video games
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