Heavy Metal Thunder (video game)

Infobox VG


aspect ratio =
resolution =
developer = Media.Vision
publisher = Square Enix
designer = Harold Sakuishi (character designer)
released = vgrelease|JP=September 1, 2005cite web | url=http://www.gamekult.com/tout/jeux/fiches/J000075061.html | title=Heavy Metal Thunder | accessdate=2008-07-10 | publisher=Gamekult | language=French]
genre = Action game
modes = Single-player
ratings = vgratings|CERO=12+
platforms = PlayStation 2
media = DVD-ROM
requirements =
input = Dual Shock 2 controllernihongo|"Heavy Metal Thunder"|ヘビーメタルサンダー|Hebī Metaru Sandā is an action game developed by Media.Vision and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 console. It was released in Japan exclusively. Production company How Full's participated in the creation of the game.

Gameplay

The game pits futuristic robots against one another in wrestling matches. The player controls a robot during battles using an four-icon menu. Three actions—strike, guard and grapple—can be executed at any time and augments the player's "beat meter". The fourth action, called "beat attack", can be performed once the beat meter is filled and inflicts special damage according to how hard the button is pressed.cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/heavymetalthunder/news.html?sid=6130155 | title=Heavy Metal Thunder Hands-On | accessdate=2008-07-10 | publisher=GameSpot | author=Hirohiko Niizumi | date=2005-08-01] Icons sometime shake to indicate that they are recommended, but the player must react quickly as each turn is timed. A rock-paper-scissors set of rules determined the winner of each pair of actions.cite web | url=http://uk.ps2.ign.com/articles/638/638020p1.html | title=Square Enix 2005: Heavy Metal Thunder Playtest | accessdate=2008-07-10 | publisher=IGN | author=Anoop Gantayat | date=2005-07-31]

Anime cut scenes and fictional sponsor information are displayed before the start of each match. The player's robot can be customized to alter its appearance.

Plot

The game is set in a fictional Japan in the year 2980, in which competitive fights between radio-controlled robots has become a popular sport called "Robot-ress". The player takes on the role of Denki Akihabara, a high-school student whose family runs a butcher shop. Denki decides to become a Robot-ress master after learning about Heavy Metal Thunder, the world's strongest robot. At the beginning of the game, he receives a robot and an invitation to the Titan Fight tournament from his father, who is actually the world champion and owner of Heavy Metal Thunder. The Titan Fight is a competition in which losing robots are destroyed and their owners buried on Death Island. The plot spans roughly thirty years in total, with Denki over forty years old at the end of the game. [cite web | url=http://uk.ps2.ign.com/articles/614/614255p1.html | title=Heavy Metal Thunder Revealed | accessdate=2008-07-10 | publisher=IGN | author=Anoop Gantayat | date=2005-05-14]

Development

"Heavy Metal Thunder" was announced at a special event held by Square Enix in Shibuya, Tokyo on March 2, 2005, with the presence of Japanese band Sex Machineguns.cite web | url=http://uk.ps2.ign.com/articles/592/592634p1.html | title=New From Square Enix: Heavy Metal Thunder | accessdate=2008-07-10 | publisher=IGN | author=Anoop Gantayat | date=2005-03-02] It is loosely adapted from "Heavy Meta-san", a metal/hard rock show broadcast on TV Tokyo, hosted by gravure idol Yoko Kumada and sponsored by Square Enix. [cite web | url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=58106 | title=Square Enix launches 'variety' show | accessdate=2008-07-11 | publisher=Eurogamer | author=Rob Fahey | date=2005-03-02] The characters of the game were designed by Harold Sakuishi, creator of the "" manga series.

The game was showcased in playable form at the Square Enix Party 2005 in Japan. [cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/heavymetalthunder/news.html?sid=6126772 | title=Square Enix to showcase FFXII this summer | accessdate=2008-07-10 | publisher=GameSpot | author=Hirohiko Niizumi | date=2005-06-01]

Music

The music of "Heavy Metal Thunder" was composed by various heavy metal bands and musicians, including Michael Schenker and former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman. The eponymous song "Heavy Metal Thunder" written by the Sex Machineguns serves as the theme song of both the game and the "Heavy Meta-san" TV show. The soundtrack of the game was published in Japan by Toshiba EMI on September 7, 2005. [cite web | url=http://www.chudahs-corner.com/soundtracks/index.php?catalog=TOCT-25765 | title=Heavy Metal Thunder -The Recordings- | accessdate=2008-07-10 | publisher=Chudah's Corner]

tracklist
collapsed = yes
headline = "Heavy Metal Thunder: The Recordings" tracklist
total_length = 45:25
music_credits = yes

title1 = Heavy Metal Thunder
music1 = Sex Machineguns feat. Michael Schenker
length1 = 5:22

title2 = Robot's Ballad
note2 = #ロボットのバラード
music2 = Garlic Boys
length2 = 4:03

title3 = The Beauty Power
music3 = Rolly & Komikurimo Pichnskey
length3 = 3:58

title4 = Wandering the Byways
note4 = 流離い裏街道
music4 = Saburo Tokito with Marcy & Shara from Earthshaker
length4 = 4:21

title5 = We are...
music5 = Delta Throb
length5 = 5:10

title6 = A Straight Shot to the Caterer's
note6 = 出前道一直線
music6 = Sex Machineguns
length6 = 4:12

title7 = Madness
note7 = 狂気
music7 = Kō Ōtani & Hiroko Shigezumi from Smooth Ace
length7 = 4:31

title8 = Love Terrorist
music8 = Nanase Aikawa with Marty Friedman
length8 = 3:48

title9 = Mask of Glory
note9 = 栄光のマスク
music9 = Michael Schenker with Hiroyuki Nanba
length9 = 5:36

title10 = Riding a Dolphin
note10 = イルカに乗って
music10 = Sex Machineguns
length10 = 4:24

Reception

The game received a score of 30 out of 40 by the Japanese gaming magazine "Famitsu". American multimedia website IGN considered the gameplay simple, but praised the amount of animation used and called the theme song "catchy". American website GameSpot echoed the comments, stating that the game relies on its atmosphere and cut scenes more than gameplay. IGN noted that the game would appeal to fans of "Heavy Meta-san" and hard rock in general.

References

External links

* [http://www.square-enix.co.jp/hmt/ Official website] ja icon
* [http://www.media-vision.co.jp/soft/hmt.php Official page] at Media.Vision ja icon