Thunder Plays: Assault Suit Leynos

By: ThunderHeavyArmMecha. For many this word means nothing. For others, it brings back fond memories of anime heydays. Titles like Mobile Suit Gundam and Big O were amongst my favorite giant fighting robot shows. Although this new game isn't the first, it is one of the few that tickles my nostalgia for these old shows. I mean, my handle is taken after one of the five main mobile suits from Gundam Wing. This game originally came out back in 1990, but thanks to Rising Star Games, it's back! So after watching the promo video and seeing some of the screenshots, I knew I had to give this game a try.Assault Suit Leynos is a high action Run and Gun Platformer where the player takes on the role of a pilot. Similar to titles like Megaman or Mighty Number 9, save you pilot the robot instead of being a robot. The story is pretty in depth for an action title. Earth is under attack by disparate members of Earth that were thought lost to outer space. Attacking multiple locations at once to knock out Earth's fighting capabilities. Your character, designated as AS03 (Assault Suit 03), is immediately caught up in the action as you defend Ganymede from an attack. (Hey, it wasn't a trope back in the 90's.) Returning to Earth, Earth forces mount a counteroffensive to protect their home from the invaders. Leading up, as all games of this type do, to an epic throwdown with a final boss. There's no real variation between the missions besides different scrolling backdrops, but in fairness, for a game like this, there really doesn't need to be.Two audio elements really stood out to me in this title. First, the game has spoken dialogue. Which since I never played the original game I'm going to assume was cleverly added in. The coolest part is that the audio is Japanese. Really allowing you to sink into the game and experience it more as an anime movie than just as a game. Second is the sounds. While I'm not sure if it was intentional, but many of the sound effects sound exactly like those from Mobile Suit Gundam. The sound of your assault suit moving bears a striking resemblance to any Gundam from any of the shows. Everything I did brought back fond memories of heroes battling villains, and a smile to this old gamer's face.Before each level, you're given the option to customize your loadout. Go in with a shotgun to get those up close kills or a rocket launcher to smash an enemy across the screen. You can even hunker yourself down with a weapon in all six of your slots. You'll have a hard time, but with enough rampant destruction, you might be able to pull it off. For the saner of us, you'll want to always have the backpack, shield and machine gun equipped. The machine gun is the only weapon in your arsenal with infinite ammo, so if you're going kill happy with rockets make sure you make your targets count. The backpack is your primary mobility. While you'll be able to move without it, there are some sections where being able to dodge can save you from a defeat screen. Finally, the shield. While you have a regenerating heath bar, the shield is your strongest module. Anything short of an explosion is instantly stopped and some attacks are even deflected back at their target. Saving you the hassle of killing them and preserving your precious health bar.So the important question, how does this game transfer to the modern era. The answer is remarkably well for a 26-year-old game. Graphically, things have that slight retro effect, but that's really come into style. There are a few problems that the game has. The first being the problem with the controls. The game was made for a controller layout. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, I grew up on a controller myself. The problem that I had was it didn't have support in the game for my PS4 controller. So most of my game time was struggling to figure out what buttons did. There were a ton of frustrating moments, especially since the ESC key closes the game instead of whatever menu is open. Second, the lack of a reload for the machine gun. It doesn't break the game, but it does affect the current style of play which is to reload after every encounter. These took a time to adjust my style of play to them and learn the keys. But once I did, the game opened up, although I feel having a controller would have made the game easier to play.Overall, this game was incredibly fun. If you're nostalgic for Megaman X level graphics and gameplay, this is for you. If you're a fan of the old Mobile Suit or other mecha styles of anime, then this game is right up your alley for the story. But everyone should check out this game because it's too fun to be forgotten for another quarter of a century. Good luck and good hunting gamers![yasr_multiset setid=2]