Boy,
they sure did a lot of Macross games. I’ve lost track of the
total number, and if there were more shmups or simulations. But
no other shoot em up Macross game comes close to M2 in originality.
I’ve never seen a game quite like this one, in fact its a rarity.
I’ll explain what makes M2 so unique in a second or two, but
let me first say that I have a love/hate relationship with this
game. The special setup that Banpresto used makes this one challenging
shooter, forcing the gamer to change playing style and even the
goal of the shooter (like a manic shmup). Quality is very high for
this game, in graphics and presentation, but I wrestle with the
scoring system each time I play.
What
is he talking about, you might ask? Well, Macross II is entirely
based on score. You must reach a target score to move on to the
next level. You could beat the boss, and still be denied access
to the rest of the game. THAT takes a lot of getting used to. I
mean, you don’t even have a limited number of ships! You could
die 100 times and only lose some precious seconds off the clock.
The levels are also timed, which is frustrating, because again,
you could survive the entire time but not have enough points to
continue. All enemies leave bonus medallions behind, but they disappear
quickly. What you need to do is aim for special bonuses, like destroying
all of a certain enemy for a quick 20,000 points, or hidden MinMei
dolls for a quick 5,000 points. If you do beat the boss of a level,
and have time left over, your ship is invincible, and enemy waves
continue, so this also is a good way to rack digits.
Your
ship has two modes, fighter and gerwalk. Fighter is quicker and
more powerful, but the gerwalk has a spread shot, which is extremely
helpful. You also have secondary missiles, regular or homing. Powerups
switch from “F” to “G” for the ship, and “M”
to “H” for missiles, and collecting several of the same
letter in a row increases the point value. And these powerup icons
don’t leave the screen if you miss them, they float back toward
the player, which is a cool feature. Special bombs are in the form
of those crazy zillions of missiles that Macross ships fire off,
and do some major damage.
M2
has other cool features, such as choosing the path the player takes.
Beginner, Medium, and Expert all offer three levels, then each path
ends with the same final section. There are also great 2 player
options, where you can play cooperatively or against each other,
trying to outscore the opponent. What all this boils down to is
a great game that stands out among other shooters. I think to myself
the same thing as with the Kingdom Grandprix series: I’d love
to play the game without the score element, because it’s a
quality stand alone shooter. But then again, the score factor is
what makes it different, so hold on to it. Like I said, love/hate
relationship.
Macross
II - Banpresto
