Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Marz

Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Marz
Developer(s)	Hitmaker
Publisher(s)	Sega
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	JP 2003-05-29 NA 2003-10-14
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single player/ Multi-player
Rating(s)	ELSPA: 11+ ESRB: Teen
Media/distribution	DVD

Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Marz (電脳戦機バーチャロン マーズ, Dennō Senki Bācharon Māzu^?) was released exclusively on the PlayStation 2 in North America and Japan, with no European release. Marz is designed on the basic gameplay rules of Virtual-On Force, and uses most of the assets from Force, ranging from the stages down to the virtuaroids. It can be considered a spiritual home console version of the 4-player Force. Marz was not well received, bringing many negative responses from reviewers and players alike. Some stores in North America, expecting poor sales, only sold the game to those who reserved it.

Story

^{[clarification needed]}

Once the greedy corporate executives harnessed the extreme powers of their technological network, towering mechanized warriors known as Virtuaroids (VRs) quickly replaced the outdated warring methods of the past. The 49-foot destructive giants drew vast crowds and the conniving power hungry suits soon saw yet another way to exploit the mindless masses with industrialized combat performances known as Limited War. Mars was redeveloped as the battleground and hordes of people with an insatiable thirst for widespread destruction and carnage came from all over to gaze in awe as the battles commenced.

It wasn't long before the corporate climate disintegrated into rampant crime with heated battles over shares in this profitable new event. A Special Investigations Unit called "MARZ" was assembled in an attempt to restore order. Members of the elite team were given the very best machines available, rigged with lasers, rockets, and swords. The MARZ Virtuaroids came to rule the surface of Mars.

Gameplay

Virtual On Marz retains the Twin Stick control layout of the series, mapping the two stick to the analogue sticks on the Dualshock controller, and the turbo and weapon buttons to the four L and R buttons. A new Auto controller layout was provided, as well as several variants, for players who did not like the twin stick format.

The match rules follow that of Virtual On: Force, that is, two-on-two matches with a leader on each team. Fallen teammates can be given half the other's life gauge through the "rescue tag" maneuver, and the first pair to fall loses the round.

The "Challenge Mode" is a single match setup that is akin to a stage in Virtual On: Force, with the player tagged with a computer partner against two other computer opponents.

New to the PlayStation 2 Marz is the "Dramatic Mode", which is a linear sequence of missions with various objectives such as exploration, target destruction and boss battles. When certain requirements are met, such as passing certain stages, or destroying a number of certain virtuaroids, new virtuaroids are open for selection and play in the other modes.

A split-screen 2-player mode is available, with the choice of playing on the same team or against each other. The game does not feature any means to play with 4-players, and thus, falls short of making full use of the design behind the Virtual On: Force game system and rules.

Trivia

• Perhaps due to the phasing out of the Dreamcast and also Sega's withdrawal from producing game consoles, the V-converters on the virtuaroids's backs are no longer Dreamcasts, but simply a tray with an open top, with the spinning disc visible.

• The slower responses of all virtuaroids, made to balance the four-player matches of Force, was explained in the Japanese manual as a side-effect of the V-converters being less efficient on Mars.

• The VR's Fei-Yen Knight, Temjin, and Apharmd the Hatter also make appearances in the game Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 as playable characters. All three return in Super Robot Wars K accompanied with their storylines.

• Prior to the Xbox Live Arcade version of Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram, Marz was the only home console iteration of the series to not feature the Twin Sticks controller.

• The connection between Marz and Force's gameplay can be found on the back of the Japanese version's packaging, which states the game "follows the rules of the arcade Virtual On: Force".

• The game allows you to unlock many variations of certain types of Virtuoids, such as Raidens with beam rifles rather than bazookas or with slightly improved performance. A majority of the unlockable machines include many variations of the VR Temjin, although the only MBV-04 type is the "10/80 adv", a mass production variant of the MBV-04, and an advance of the systems used in the standard 10/80. Additionally, the unit with the highest performance statistics is an all white Temjin dubbed VR-747-a8, piloted by an NPC encountered on the moon, and obtainable by completing the game at its highest difficulty, Ultimate. Despite this however, most of the more-diverse virtuaroid variants introduced in Force were not included in the game, being replaced by recolored "commander" variants of several VRs in addition to the minorly-different Temjin models. Several Virtuaroid series, such as the VR Fei-Yen, VR Angelan and VR Specineff-13 only had their base models selectable. The VR Kagekiyo series was initially included in the game, but removed before the game was completed.

External links

• Sega's official Virtual-ON Marz Site
• Virtual-ON Series Official Site (Japanese)
• 1up.com Virtual On Marz review