Battle Clash

Overview

Battle Clash (known in Japan as Space Bazooka) is a sci-fi light-gun on-rails shooter developed by Nintendo's R&D1 division (along with Intelligent Systems) and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America on October 1992, in Europe on March 18, 1993, and in Japan on June 21, 1993.

Set in a dystopian future, players control the gunner of a type of mech known as the "Standing Tank" (or "ST") as they fight other STs in one-on-one combat. As the gunner for the ST Falcon (piloted by Mike Anderson), players must defeat the world's six Battle Chiefs before taking on their tyrannical ruler Anubis.

The game requires use of Nintendo's Super Scope peripheral, as players must aim and shoot laser blasts to intercept enemy attacks and damage the enemy STs' vulnerable spots. While rapid-fire shots are commonly used for both offense and defense, some enemy attacks and weak spots require the shot to be charged up into powerful Energy Bolts.

The game later received a sequel the following year, titled Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge, and is the only game developed for the Super Scope to receive one.

Gameplay

The STs fight one-on-one, and with only the most basic of rules: the object is to destroy the other ST before it destroys the player's. This is accomplished by shooting the other ST (with the Super Scope peripheral), while at the same time shooting its projectiles before they hit the player.

The gun works in a rapid-fire mode, where the player can simply hold down the first button, or it can be charged to shoot energy bolts. These energy bolts can only be fired when the energy bar has been filled up, and the bar is drained after each shot. The bar charges whenever the player is not shooting, so going for an energy bolt can be a risky maneuver. However, it is important to note that some of the opponents' attacks can only be deflected by an energy bolt.

Because Mike Anderson is the ST's driver, every battle in this game is like most boss battles in on-rails shooters. Damage done depends on where the shot lands, with each ST having some sort of weak point. Energy bolts do more damage, but as noted above, are riskier propositions. Also, it is important to realize that there is a 10-minute time limit on each battle at which point the player loses, regardless of the respective health bars of the STs.

As a point of strategy, it is worth noting that the STs take localized damage. If the player destroys one of the opponents weapons, it won't be able to fire, or if the rocket boosters are destroyed, it won't be able to fly. This allows for a good bit of strategic variety in how the player approaches any given battle.

The game also supplies minor power-ups, of which the player may have four at any given time. These include things like increased accuracy, a variety of bombs, and a variety of shield upgrades.

As the gunner in the ST, the player is freed from most details about movement. To go left or right, they simply need to aim the Super Scope at the left or right side of the screen.

Characters

Despite being a Japanese game, Mike is the generic All-American Hero. His ST is The Falcon, with the player as the gunner. The Falcon is a bit of a character itself, periodically dispensing advice.

Guido is stereotypical Appalachian mountain man, and the Chief of North America. His ST, Garam is a huge gorilla-esque beast of a machine, and his ego and temper both match the size of his ST.

Continuing on with the stereotypes, Ikhnaton is the Chief of Africa. He is a fat and wealthy arms dealer, who also happens to be an oil tycoon. His insect-like ST, Scarab, is heavily armored.

The Chief of Europe is an androgynous (and creepy) pilot named Lorca. Extremely vain, he refers to himself as the "Bard of Battle," and pilots an ST known also as Lorca.

The only woman in the game is Tasha, the Chief of South America. She eventually falls in love with Mike after being defeated, and she joins him later on. Her ST, Artemis, carries a heavy payload of very strong missiles.

The Chief of Asia is Alfred, a brilliant but cowardly engineer. His ST flies via an anti-gravity device, and has protective orbs that circle it and deflect attacks.

Antonov is the Chief of Oceania, and his ST is a giant armored crab name Ivan. He secretly longs to defeat Anubis.

Eddie is not actually a Battle Chief, but rather a brainwashed general in the space military. His job is to guard the Tower of Babel, which leads to space. Valius is his ST, a ninja-like mech whose main strength is its agility.

Another general in the space military, Carlos was corrupted by Anubis due to his own questionable ambitions. He guards the Moonbase Luna using a more advanced version of Mike's Falcon, known as the Baron. He and Mike form a lasting rivalry.

Anubis is the current ruler of the world, an evil tyrant, and doesn't quite appear to be human. His ST, Thanatos, is extremely powerful, almost bordering on supernatural. It has many biomechanical upgrades, and can transform into a creature out of a B-grade horror film.