Angry boy with an unfortunate past picks fights until heās chosen to help save the world. Iād say weāve seen this setup perhaps too many times, except that it gets a bit more complicated in Megaton Musashi W: Wired, a recent action RPG from Level-5.
Yes, that Level-5. Professor Layton Level-5. Yo Kai Watch Level-5. That should give you an indication of what to expect here; Megaton Musashi W: Wired is a story-heavy game that takes the narrative in some directions you may not expect. It does so with the gameplay, too, but perhaps to its detriment.
Our angry young man, Yamato Ichidaiji (Yamato? Musashi? This isnāt a WWII naval combat sim?), actually has quite a bit to be angry about, he just doesnāt know it right away. The Earth has been taken over by aliens called Draktors. The 1% of humanity who survived the attack are living in fortified shelters, their memories of the invasion wiped clean toā¦help them not be sad, I guess? I suppose I get it. I couldāve used the same treatment after Super Bowl XL.
But, thereās an initiative to take the Earth back from the Draktors, and thatās where Yamato comes in. Heās provided with his own mech (or Rogue), is given some perfunctory training, and joins the resistance.
Itās never fully clear to me why such resistances are always helmed by socially diverse and uniquely troubled teenagers. Maybe thatās just whoās playing the games. Or, maybe theyāre more willing to explore the morally gray areas when they find out their oppressors may not be entirely evil.
If youāve watched any anime with a group of kids forced to get along with one another while attempting to save humanity, youāll feel quite comfortable here. Megaton Musashi W: Wired gives you a big main story to dig into with plenty of side missions to help you get to know your teammates. The game very much feels like a visual novel in this regard, with some quality cutscenes to locate and trigger as you run about town. I didnāt find the narrative to be terribly compelling compared to current competition, but itās presented well, the characters are fun, and it all moves along at a decent clip.
There are even some wonderful cameos, of sorts.
I canāt say the same about the combat component, however, for a couple of reasons. Those reasons, however, could very well be selling points for many players.
Obviously, the combat gameplay is entirely mech-based. And as youād expect when taking giant robots into battle, thereās quite a bit of customization to do. The battle controls can be quite complex, but that complexity arises from attack and combo button memorization more so than from overpowered opponents. On the contrary, the enemies are typically quite easy to take outā¦provided youāve adequately prepared your robot. Megaton Musashi W: Wired is definitely aimed squarely at the gamer who likes to fiddle with customizations before combat, and then fiddle with them again when the next battle completely changes up what works and what doesnāt.
And customization isnāt relegated to hardware. Thereās also a skill tree to navigate, and optimizing this with the materials youāve acquired is almost a mini puzzle game of its own. The whole system is akin to a racing game where you want to spend more time in the garage than on the track. If thatās your thing, then this game will keep you gleefully busy for dozens of hours.
If itās not, then it may just be something more to slow you down between the somewhat repetitive combat. Itās a matter of depth over arcade-style action, and I wasnāt really expecting that coming into the game.
Further proof of this is the online component which pits you against cross-platform players in 3v3 matches. Here, youāll either show off the efficiency of your mech customizations, or youāll get mercilessly crushed like I did. I expected that, sure, but I also expected the game would find opponents closer to my build/skill level. Not so. Maybe thatās because there were never enough opponents from whom to choose.
Thankfully, the single-player story mode is more than enough to keep builders busy. Mech combat certainly has its appeal, and itās all presented with the appropriate sense of awe. The game looks great, and thereās a thrill thatās carried from the characters through to the player. The challenge may be a bit slight for some, but in a game thatās more about the preparation than the execution, maybe thatās just a reward.
