The scenarios you get pulled into are sometimes bizarre, like when you need to convince a factory full of flower lovers to give you a vehicle. Many of the enemies are amalgamations of animals and war machines. What makes Metal Max so enjoyable is the progression, but the icing on top is its bizarre sense of humor. Every so often, when it’s not beating you with the battle or overworld music, it throws in something new and interesting. However, there’s a decent amount of music. I mean, off the top of my head, I can probably hum Dragon Quest’s overworld theme, and it’s not because I like it. The soundtrack is excellent but also repetitive not really uncommon for a JRPG. Perhaps, that is the price of Metal Max’s polish. People don’t ask much of you, so they don’t really care about your successes. If anything, I wish the world was more reactive. It’s satisfying to line up your artillery against big bad monsters. It’s exciting to find new tanks and grab new equipment. I guess instead, I will say that Metal Max is compelling. It’s somewhat strange to call a turn-based RPG “fun.” Menu-based combat is not fun.
Wealth, money, a kick-ass tank? I’m definitely in it for the tanks. You’re given your humble beginnings, but you figure out the motivation. Character development mostly occurs in your head. I suppose it’s more accurate to say it’s an open-narrative game. There are some objectives you need to complete to get let through the gate, but these are largely in the early portions of the game. The progression from town to town is largely linear, but it doesn’t have any objections to backtracking or skipping ahead. There are more facets to the core gameplay: find better tanks, find better weapons, and solve the problems of the various towns you cross if you feel like it. But the Wanted Monsters are only a suggestion a great way to make loads of money really fast. You travel the world and hunt down Wanted Monsters. It’s entirely possible for you to overpower yourself, and grinding is an option, but in terms of gameplay loop, it got it down perfectly. If you like the Famicom RPG aesthetic, it fits the look perfectly. Characters are squat, backgrounds are sparse, and enemies are enormous. It’s obvious that, much like other RPGs of the era, it got a lot of influence from Dragon Quest.
I opted for the original, because its art-style is so classic for the system. I had the option of playing the Famicom version or the Super Famicom remake, Metal Max Returns. It’s also rather polished for a JRPG of this vintage. The monsters are ridiculous, and there’s this sly, dark sense of humor underlying all of it. The focus is mainly on finding vehicles and accumulating enough money to make them over-powered. The plot is light, instead getting out of your way so you can hunt monsters. It’s a post-apocalyptic JRPG that focuses on tanks. It helps that a lot of what I loved about Metal Max Xeno Reborn was already true on the Famicom. Regardless, I ate Metal Max without any discomfort.
A great era for PC RPGs, but console RPGs were kind of lopsided. It was kind of a crappy era for console RPGs. Famicom RPGs can be a struggle, whether or not they’re a Dragon Quest or a Mother. Metal Max is one I can communicate via Famicom Friday, so allow me to share it with you. There were many titles that flitted by without our anglophone notice, and I plan on delving through as many as I can get my nimble fingers on. Maybe we’ll get a re-release on PS5 now that Sony is doing that again. We got Metal Saga on PS2, but that went by without much notice. Metal Max has largely stayed in Japan, outside of Xeno and its Reborn cousin. Then I reminded myself that Metal Max: Wild West was canceled, and now I’m sad again. Then I found love again in Metal Max for the Famicom. I felt the heartbreak of Metal Max: Wild West getting canceled. I immediately jumped online and placed an order for some of the series’ early games. It was my first time with the series, which has been running in Japan since 1991. I fell hopelessly in love with Metal Max Xeno Reborn.