Developer: Kadokawa Corporation, Cattle Call, 24Frame
Publisher: NIS America, Inc.
Genre: RPG, Adventure, Strategy
Format: PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
Released: Japan on 19 April 2018, North America on 25 September, 2018
Find the game here: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/metal-max-xeno-ps4/
Hello everybody and welcome to the Vivify review of Metal Max Xeno.
Whilst I’ve always been a fan of role-playing games, for some reason or another I have never really tested the waters of JRPGs. With the heavy influence of my Japanophile friends, I was set the task of playing a game called Metal Max Xeno, a game developed by Kadokawa which released in Japan on PlayStation 4 and PS Vita back in April 2018 and will be released in the closing days of September in North America and the Europe.
Metal Max Xeno is the sixth instalment in the original Metal Max Series. I wasn’t surprised to see that the game had a post-apocalyptic setting in which humans are on the brink of extinction as this has unfortunately become a go-to theme for a lot of developers. Although saying that, it can be interpreted in a variety of ways and luckily Kadokawa Games have taken a unique approach to this oversaturated theme.
The game is set in Tokio… Apparently changing one letter was clearly enough! You’ll explore the Tokyo knock-off as Talis, a dual katana wielding man with a hecking cyborg arm and spikey red hair. Yeah, you heard me, RED HAIR! All joking aside, you never actually get to use the dual katanas… I’m absolutely gutted, apparently, they’re just a fashion statement. As much as I love the character design and artwork in the game, I never really felt attached to Talis, it may be because I can’t understand a word of Japanese and the subs were, well, subpar.
Although saying that, I didn’t have quite the same issue with the other characters. You meet a few characters early on in the playthrough, one called Po-M. She has an engaging and intriguing story and what sounded like excellent voice acting. With this, I began to focus into the game and start enjoying it more.
The artwork is unfortunately a mixed bag, and in my opinion, one of the biggest let downs of this game. I had heard such great things about JRPGs, the bright and colourful environments and incredibly unique buildings and characters. The 2D character models were exactly what I expected, clean, unique and colourful, they are incredibly high-quality digital artworks that were the sole work of hentai artist Non Oda. Kind of sounds like an Air Freshener… Anyway.
However, what on earth went wrong in the 3D department? It’s such an incredible contrast between 2D and 3D that I was struggling to concentrate on the game itself. The 3D models appear blurry and unappealing, making the game hard to play for long periods. I’m a little worried about critiquing this one as it may be the style of JRPGs? And as it’s my first real playthrough of one I’m just not used to it. Anyway, to me it looks like a PlayStation 2 game that I picked out of a reduced items bin for 2 quid. Ouch.
How on earth have I made it this far without the mention of tanks? Let me give you your daily dose of Tank. Tanks are the main form of attack. Tanks handle very well, I’m impressed. Tanks are customisable. There are lots of tanks to choose from. Tanks can be equipped with a cool variety of weapons. Tanks make you feel safe. I want a tank.
The story itself is fairly weak. It kind of builds up to be this really exciting and fascinating journey about saving the human race and rebuilding the world’s population, whereas it turns out to be blown way out of proportion and feels pretty melodramatic. The character building also felt fairly poor due to the voice acting being Japanese, and as I mentioned previously, the subs weren’t really up too much. Although I did find it quite funny at times, especially ‘Your mother was killed. She’s dead!’. Which by the way, I was told every damn minute… Thanks for reminding me.
Combat and variety of the enemies basically saves this game from being rated extremely poorly. I absolutely love the unique twist the developers put on the turn-based combat system. It is very fluid and most noticeably, fast-paced. To strong for an enemy? Bam, dead, no waiting for battle loading screens or attacks. You can quickly move on to the next challenge, and a challenge it was, even on the lower difficulties I was getting destroyed by an array of fascinating robotic and living enemies. You have to very carefully upgrade your tanks and abilities with skill points to stand a chance as you progress further into the game.
I think that brings me to the end of the review. It’s honestly a decent game, it just feels like it has fallen behind it’s competition in a saturated RPG market. But I am glad I got the chance to play and experience what is my first JRPG playthrough (aside from Pokémon) even though it’s rough, or should I say, blurry around the edges. Unless you’re a Metal Max fanatic or JRPG lover then maybe this one isn’t for you.
Metal Max Xeno – 6.5 out of 10
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