The “P” gives you powered up gunshots that do more damage and go through certain surfaces. The “S” is a shield that can repel lighter attacks but heavier projectiles go through it. There are also 3 additional ones that enhance the Gunner’s abilities for a limited time.
A “B”icon gives you extra bonus points, T gives you 100 seconds extra time (yes you can actually run out of time) “C” is a smartbomb that obliterates every enemy on screen as well. Snagging an “A”icon gives you armour which grants you an extra hit before you lose a life Ghosts N Goblins style. It helps though that there are a few useful power ups to aid you in your quest. The game isn’t too difficult at least at first, most seasoned platform action players will pass the first three or four levels fine but the last few have some very challenging moments indeed.
One direct hit from any obstacle or enemy results in it exploding dramatically. It doesn’t help that your mecha is more fragile than a Scopedog from Votoms. Not only do you need to use this ability to avoid hazards but it also factors into jumping and combat with some particularly tricky areas requiring you to flip at a specific time during a jump or to fight in reverse gravity. This factors heavily into the level design meaning you’re constantly switching back and forth between regular and reverse gravity by pressing down and A or up and A respectively. In addition to basic movement, jumping and shooting (forwards and upwards) you have another trick up your sleeve.
Metal Storm is a platform shooter but one with a unique game mechanic. As the Gunner you must traverse six levels with two stages each to reach the laser cannon and activate its self destruct mechanism. You’re sent to Pluto to destroy the base from the inside. That’s where you come in: you play as a small bipedal mecha called the “M308 Gunner” the most advanced weapon available on Earth. Until recently it protected the Earth but as you may have guessed something went wrong and now its ultimate weapon: a huge laser cannon is aimed at the Earth ready to obliterate us all. It concerns a technologically transformed Pluto that is home to a devastating weapons platform capable of destroying the entire solar system named amusingly……”GigaDeath”. The game: The plot of the game like many games of the time is fairly simple. I’m going to take a look at the latter because I was fortunate enough to snag the CE at the price of the standard one. More recently In 2019 Retro-Bit partnered with Irem the game’s developers to bring it back on physical cartridge in both a standard edition and a collector’s edition. It was a Japan and North America only title which also added to its status as a desirable game for many collectors. The thing is, we never got Metal Storm in the UK/Europe. The game has since turned up in a number of lists of little known NES games worth checking out on several gaming websites and original copies have often sold for a high price on the second hand market.
In fact US games magazine Nintendo Power cited themselves as the largest piece of promotion it ever received (it got a cover and strategy guide in one of their issues at the time of its release). Metal Storm is a game that many NES enthusiasts believe deserved a bigger audience when it was first released in North America way back in 1991. This time we’re taking a look at an authentic retro game that has been re-released by Retro-Bit, known more for their clone consoles and controllers for legacy systems. Last time I reviewed a game I took a look at a faux retro title with my review of Tribute Games Panzer Paladdin.
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