Metal Slader Glory
Metal Slader Glory (メタルスレイダーグローリー?) is a science-fiction-themed graphic adventure game developed by HAL Laboratory that was released for the Family Computer exclusively in Japan on August 30, 1991. It was the final game released by HAL Laboratory as an independent third-party developer before their buy-out by Nintendo. The game's story and character designs were done by manga artist Yoshimiru Hoshi, who loosely based the game on his 1984 manga Akûtensô Fixallia (亜空転騒フィクサリア, Akūtensō Fikusaria?).
The game's development took more than four years to complete, with graphics and sounds that pushed the Family Computer's hardware to its limit, requiring the need for an 8-megabit cartridge (the largest for any Family Computer game) and the use of a specialized chip known as the MMC5 to render its graphics. However, by the time the game was released, the Super Famicom was already on the market and sales for the game were not enough to cover its advertising budget, which ended Hal Laboratory's business as an independent game publisher. It has since become a sought-after collector's item in the secondhand market due to its quality and its rarity.[1] The game was remade for the Super Famicom on November 29, 2000 under the title of Metal Slader Glory: Director's Cut, which featured improved graphics and sounds, as well as new scenes. The original Family Computer version was released for the Virtual Console in Japan on December 18, 2007.
Gameplay
Metal Slader Glory is a graphic adventure game where the player interacts with the protagonist's surrounding via a menu-based commands. The commands the player can choose varies between context, which usually ranges from talking to supporting characters to investigating the surrounding. The player must explore every possible option in order for new choices to appear. However, if the player makes a wrong selection, the game will end and the player must restart the game from where they left off. The player can quit at any point of the game and continue later via a password feature.
Story
The game takes place eight years after a great war was waged between colonies in outer space, and peace has finally settled back onto the Earth. The main character, a 17-year-old war orphan named Tadashi Hinata, purchases a used worker-mech in order to start a construction business with his girlfriend, Elina Furfa. However, when he first activates it, the worker-mech disguise falls away, revealing a combat model Metal Slader, which were all supposedly dismantled after the war, and an enigmatic message is displayed in the cockpit: "EARTH IN PERIL... SEEK THE CREATOR". Prompted by this warning, Tadashi, his sister Azusa, and Elina head out into space to find the answers behind it.
Characters
Main
- Tadashi Hinata (日向 忠, Hinata Tadashi?)
- Age 17. The protagonist. He manages his own manufacturing facility, specializing as an operator for heavy manufacturing equipment such as "Gearm" (a portmanteau of "gear" and "arm") that cannot be handle by most average people. He is overprotective and nervous of his younger sister Azusa, his only living relative since the deaths of their parents, having developed a so-called "sister complex". He is also a bit of a womanizer.
- Azusa Hinata (日向 あずさ, Hinata Azusa?)
- Age 12. Tadashi's sister. A cheerful young girl who is fond of her brother and his girlfriend Elina. Her school grades are above-average. She suffered a strong emotional shock at the age 4 when she witnessed her father's death in an accident, which caused her to subconsciously repressed the memory of the event. She carries a perfume pendant on her necklace as a keepsake from her late mother.
- Elina Furfa (エリナ・ファーファ?)
- Age 17. Tadashi's girlfriend, who assists him in his manufacturing facility. She has a judgmental, but gentle character. She has a spacecraft managing license and can operate most mechanisms excellently. Both of her parents live in New York State; her father being a businessman, while her mother is a former careerwoman-turned-housewife.
- Catty Vitlay (キャティ・ヴィトレイ?)
- Age 18. She is employed as a clerk at the MacBerryz fast food restaurant in the 35th residential district. This is actually a front for her true occupation as the chief of an independent organization called the "Private Army". She was orphaned at a young age and was raised by Vivache.
- Gi Enkai (技 燕改?)
- Age 16. A young boy who formed the "Private Army" alongside Catty, serving as her right-hand man. Like Catty, he was raised by Vivache after being orphaned at a young age. His knowledge in mechanism is abundant, working as both, a pilot and mechanic.
- Yayoi Kisaraki (如月 やよい, Kisaraki Yayoi?)
- Age 16. A young waitress employed at the lunar restaurant "Vivache". She is secretly a member of the "Private Army" as well.
Supporting
- Gen Lunkle (ゲン・ランクル?)
- Age 28. The owner of "Gen's Auto", a shop located next door to Tadashi's manufacturing plant, where he sells a variety of vehicles from used cars to giant robots. He transports his vehicles from earth to space using a transport spacecraft called the Moonface.
- Charmy Glint (チャーミー･グリント?)
- Age 21. Gen's assistant, who is employed as a clerk in his shop. She usually pays attention to the details and always tries to keep Gen's store spotless.
- Silkiene Marceau (シルキーヌ・マルソー?)
- The female chief of the 35th residential district. She acts as a mediator between the official Government and the "Private Army".
- Sayoko (小夜子?)
- Age 29. Silkiene's secretary. She is employed as a receptionist in the Central Office of the 35th Residential District, having earned Silkiene's full trust.
- Masatada Hinata (日向 政忠, Hinata Masatada?)
- Tadashi and Azusa's father, who died eight years prior to the beginning of the story. He was killed in action at the age of 36 while piloting the M.S. Glory. Before dying, he wrote several anecdotes concerning Glory.
- Amia Hinata (日向 エイミア, Hinata Eimia?)
- Tadashi and Azusa's mother. She passed away at the age of 29 while Azusa was still young. She used to make perfumes from flowers as a hobby.
- Jif Creimus (ジフ・クレイムス?)
- Age 32. The Chief in charge of Terminal Station. He knows details of the war where Masatada was killed, but refuses to reveal .
- Petrouchka Korsakov (ペトルーシュカ･コルサコフ?)
- Age 19. The receptionist in Terminal Station. As a result of her changing hairstyles, Azusa calls her the girl with the "strange hair".
- Shin Ichinose (シン・イチノセ?)
- Age 17. A mechanic in Terminal Station who manages his own repair shop known as "Shin's Mechnic" [sic].
- Luna Mirdlid (ルナ･ミルドリッド?)
- Age 17. A girl employed by Shin.
- Ai Branche (アイ･ブランシュ?)
- Age 16. Another girl who works alongside Luna.
- Kaoru Yuibana (結花 薫, Yuibana Kaoru?)
- Age 18. A receptionist in a moon colony who provides information to tourists and businessmen.
- Vivache (ヴィヴァーチェ?)
- The adoptive father of Catty and Enkai, a talented scientist involved in the development of the Metal Slader series of robots. He disappeared eight years before the events of the story.
Mechanics
Metal Sladers
At the beginning of the 2040s, the use of oil fuel was banned in favor of eco-friendly resources such as a solar energy and hydrogen. In order to solve the problem of occasional power downgrade, the development team of I.S.D.C. created a series of giant construction robots called "Gearm" (a portmanteau of "Gear" and "Arm"). A sub-series of robots were also created with the intention of serving as war machines called "Metal Sladers".
- Glory - A prototype robot once piloted by Masatada Hinata. Its designation code is V-MH. It boasts the best performance rate among all Metal Slades, but only a single unit was developed by Vivache in 2054. Years later, it reaches the possession of Masatada's son, Tadashi, camouflaged as a construction robot developed by the German company BMW.
- Nudia - Catty's robot. Its designation code is V-02. It is the successor to Glory and the only Metal Slader with a female body. Each of its parts has been made lightweight,
- Era - One of the early Metal Slader model developed, which is no longer in use. It had an incomplete form with a two legged walking manipulator and featured a tail which provides balance. After the Foun model was officially adopted, the Era model was used for border defense instead. It does not appear in the game.
- Foun - One of the early Metal Slader model developed, which is no longer in use. It was the primary Metal Slader used by government troops until the formal adoption of the Mum model. It also features Balance Operating System superior to the Era model. It was mass-produced during the war eight years prior to the events of the game. It does not appear in the game.
- Horn De Murm - A Metal Slader model adapted as the successor of the Foun model by the government forces. They're modified Horn models that are sent to the main spacecraft T. Stoke and given individual modifications. The designation code of Elina's unit is I-6001 (the 61st unit).
- Honeil Murm - An improved version of the Murm used by the Private Army. Each model is customized based on the pilot's preferences, making the best use of Vivache's technology in all areas as well. At least 14 units exists, with Enkai's designation code being V-800S.
Others
- Moonface - A small-sized freighter owned by Gen. Since it cannot endure long space trips, it is used primarily to transport other mechs instead.
- T. Stoke - A giant cylinder-shaped warship that is being constructed by the Private Army near the so-called "Dark Area".
- P.O.D. - A type of biological mecha used by the alien forces. It has excellent mobility and specializes with logistical support through guided missiles.
- E.P.F. - Another type of biological mecha which used by the alien forces. It has excellent offensive capabilities, with a two away attack system for nearby and faraway attacks.
- Giant Mobile Fortress - The mothership of the alien forces. It has a strange appearance.
Director's Cut
A remake of the game was released for the Super Famicom that was titled Metal Slader Glory: Director's Cut, which was released via the Nintendo Power downloadable service.
This game was also the final official Super Famicom release by Nintendo. After that, the Super Famicom was retired as a viable gaming platform. The Super Famicom release features improved graphics and audio over the original Family Computer release, including redrawn graphics by Yoshimiru Hoshi himself, additional scenes that were excluded from the original Family Computer release due to the lack of cartridge space, different background music (due to copyrights issues), and new artwork added to the ending. Players who pre-ordered the Super Famicom from Lawson convenience stores were given a set of five post-cards drawn by Yoshimiru.
Related media
Manga
Akûtensô Fixallia, a sci-fi manga by Yoshimiru Hoshi that served as the predecessor to Metal Slader Glory, was serialized in the Tokuma Shoten magazine Hobby Boy from January throughout October 1984. The collected edition was released eleven years later in 1993 by Tatsumi Publishing. The manga centers around a young man named Shin, a mechanic from the space colony Moonface, who is transported to an alien world along with his two friends, Luna and Ai, after receiving the remains of a strange robot.
In 1995, a manga spin-off was published by MediaWorks on Dengeki Comic Gao! titled Metal Slader Glory: Traces of Amia (最終機攻兵メタルスレイダーグローリー エイミアの面影, Saishū Kikōhei Metaru Sureida Gurōrī: Eimia no Omokage?), which was also authored by Yoshimiru Hoshi. The manga is set after the events of the game and further expands upon its back-story.
Drama CD
To coincide with the Virtual Console release of the original Famicom game, a Drama CD adaptation of Metal Slader Glory was released by Frontier Works on July 24, 2008. It featured the following voice cast.
References
External links