Oh hell yes.
The partnership between Konami and LucasArts was relatively brief – they made just two games together – but both were absolute classics. The one you’re likely to know is probably Zombies Ate My Neighbors, a weird and delightful B-movie send-up where you have to rescue your neighbors from, well, you know. This week’s game is the other of their collaborations, and I’m here to tell you it’s the better of the two.
It’s shocking, I know. The story behind Metal Warriors is your typical “future alien invasion” deal – in fact, I’ll just let the game explain it:
The main game involves navigating a series of labyrinthine levels in a big mechanical suit, which can fly and has a bunch of cool guns and access to power-ups like missiles, . You’ll encounter a lot of other big mechs, turrets, and other obstacles while trying to reach the level’s end. In some instances, you’ll need to use your firepower to destroy the environment around to to get there. It’s a lot of fun, and can be quite the challenge by the end.
What really makes Metal Warriors a total gem, however, is its split-screen multiplayer. You and opponent each choose from 6 possible mechs in a series of destructible arenas filled with health pickups, weapons, and so forth. This mode is incredibly fun – I could spend hours on this, and while I wouldn’t say that the characters are entirely balanced, there aren’t enough issues to take away from just how enjoyable it is. The levels are well designed, the action is frantic, and it’s flat-out addictive. Each mech has its own set of unique abilities – for instance, one of them is ‘Spider’ who can climb walls:
Another great, subtle thing about the game’s multiplayer mode is that it has a ‘Shuffle’ option and the end of each match. This randomizes each player’s mech and what level you’re playing on and puts you right back in the game, and it makes the experience completely seamless. It’s not unlike how you can just jump back into a game of Fortnite as soon as you die – that “just one more game” feeling is extremely present here, and it’s amazing. Just keep hitting that scramble button.
In both game modes, you can also exit your suit and fly around in a jet pack. This lets you move much faster, but greatly reduces your health and firepower. it’s not always a great idea to go this route, but it can be the right move at times. You can use this to quickly escape from a jam, make it through a tight corridor, or to steal a different mech. That’s always fun.
The biggest downside to Metal Warriors, as you may already know if you’re a collector, is that it’s very hard to find. Its release came after the PlayStation had taken the gaming world by storm, which led to it getting a pretty unsung release with an unusually small print run. Due to the combination of quality and rarity, it’s, uh…not cheap:
You don’t even want to know what it costs to get with the box and manual. While there are certainly much, much worse things you could spend $200 on, this is still easily one of the pricier titles in the SNES library. It’s arguably worth it, but…yikes. There is a fairly similar (but unrelated) SNES game called Cybernator that’s at least 90% cheaper, but is a decent substitute.
If you’re a serious SNES enthusiast, though, Metal Warriors really is a must-have – it is the pinnacle of a ‘hidden gem,’ and it offers one of the best multiplayer experiences on the console (or any retro console, for that matter), and if you happen to come across an affordable copy, you should absolutely go for it. Otherwise, you’re welcome to just come hang at my place.
Next week’s game is not as good as Metal Warriors, and it’s considerably more famous. Join me next week for what should be a prehistorically good time.