Metal Warriors 

is a side-scrolling action-platform run and gun video game developed

by LucasArts and published by Konami exclusively for the Super Nintendo Entertainment
System in North America in April 1995. It is often confused by many to be a direct sequel
to Cybernator, which was created by NCS Corporation and released earlier in 1992 on
the console. Set in the year 2102 where dictator Venkar Amon has waged a war against
the United Earth Government for three years, players assume the role of lieutenant Stone
from the titular freedom-fighting group taking control of several mecha suits in a last-ditch
effort to overthrow the Dark Axis military force on Earth. Its gameplay mainly consists of
action and shooting mixed with mission-based exploration using a main seven-button
configuration.

Metal Warriors was created by most of the same team who previously worked on Zombies
Ate My Neighbors at LucasArts, including designer Mike Ebert and programmer Dean
Sharpe, and uses an improved version of the same game engine that was previously
implemented in the latter. Development on the project was immediately approved by Kelly
Flock after release of Zombies Ate My Neighbors in 1993 to positive reviews and took
influence from various mecha anime series and video games, most notably Cybernator. It
was originally intended to be published by Nintendo as a first-party title during Christmas
amid the 3D era before publishing duties were ultimately handled by Konami instead, who
produced a limited run of copies in total as a result.

Metal Warriors garnered positive reception upon its release from critics, who praised
various aspects of the title such as its presentation, visuals, gameplay and multiplayer but
some of the reviewers felt divided in regards to the difficulty, sound design and lack
of passwords for game saves, while many also drew comparison with Cybernator due to its
similar mechanics. Nevertheless, it has since gained a cult following, in addition of being
referred by publications like IGN as one of the best titles for the Super Nintendo.

Gameplay[edit]

Gameplay screenshot of the first campaign level.

Metal Warriors is a side-scrolling action-platform game with run and gun elements similar
to Cybernator, Front Mission: Gun Hazard and Metal Mech, where players assume the role
of lieutenant Stone from the titular freedom-fighting group in order to complete a series of
nine missions as attempts to overthrow the Dark Axis forces led by dictator Venkar Amon
and end the three-year war against Earth.[1][2] During gameplay, the players are able to pilot
six different types of assault suits, each one having their own melee weapons and featuring
a distinctive mechanic from another, and can also use more than one suit in the same
stage.[3]

The six different suit types are the Nitro, Havoc, Prometheus, Spider, Ballistic and Drache.
Each unit is equipped with a backpack mount that allows collecting and using side power-
ups for their advantage. These backpack power-ups are the rocket launcher, the grenade
launcher, the mine layer and a gravity inverter. Players can also collect various upgrades
for the suit's primary gun that alters their shot as well as health power-ups, which instantly
restore a damaged suit to full health. Both the powered-up ranged gun and the backpack
items may be disabled if the suit suffers a significant amount of damage.

At any given time or when it is almost completely destroyed, players can abandon their suit
and scramble around the stage to find a new one, allowing to remain in the game even if
their assault suit was destroyed. [3] While ejected from the suit, players take control of Stone,
who is armed with a pistol that is useless against all mechanical enemies with the
exception of soldiers and scientists lacking armor, in addition to a jetpack that enables him
to fly in a similar manner to the Nitro but slower. During certain points in the game, the
players would be required to eject from their suit to switch between units and activate
switches to open doors. Stone can also fit into smaller spaces and scout ahead without
attracting the attention of most enemies, as some of them ignore unsuited marines.
However, being outside of a mech suit is an extremely risky proposition, as Stone can be
instantly killed by a powerful enemy fire and enemy soldiers can also steal the player's
current mech suit to use it in their favor.[3]

A notable feature of the game is the lack of GUI, as every action is visually represented;
[4]
 All of the mech suits show progressive battle damage when they take on enemy fire,
while Stone displays how many hit points he has remaining after taking shots from enemy
soldiers.[3] The players have a limited number of continues to keep playing before the game
is over. Prior to starting a playthrough, players can choose to adjust a number of default
settings at the options menu such as the main character's name, control for each mech suit
and disable cutscenes.[5] In addition to the regular single-player campaign, there is a two-
player split-screen deathmatch mode, where two human players battle against each other
in order to emerge as victor of the match.[6][2]
Plot[edit]
Metal Warriors takes place in the year 2102, where the United Earth Government is under
siege from the Dark Axis military force led by the dictator Venkar Amon, who has waged a
war against them for three years on Earth, however the titular freedom-fighting group
equipped with robotic combat suits are the few remaining people defending the planet.
Assuming the role of lieutenant Stone,[7] players control him through a variety of missions
that initially are set in space and completing objectives such as rescuing agent Marissa
from Axis 5 and capturing both an enemy supply ship and a heavily guarded asteroid base
in order to obtain vital resources for the group, with the latter proving to be successful
enough to promote Stone from lieutenant to captain of his crew.[5] However their recent
success quickly attracts the attention of the Axis army, who engage in attacking the group's
main ship with threatening enemy fire that Stone and his crew must defend with the stolen
Prometheus units.[5]

After the recent event, the group is tasked with disabling an anti-spacecraft cannon located
in Alaska to ensure safe landing for air operations that would eventually lead to the removal
of Axis forces on Earth. After stealing the experimental flying Drache machine from a jungle
facility on Chile, fighting through the bombed-out Dorado city, capturing subterranean
mining Axis installations and obtaining a command key from an enemy communication
tower, the group finally reaches the Axis command center where a super weapon is
rumored to be in construction, with Stone and his crew leading the final assault. [5][8][9][10] Once
Stone reaches the depths of the center, he confronts Venkar Amon and defeats his super
weapon in a battle between fully mobile flying armored suits, however Amon tries to escape
with a hijacked Nitro suit but he dies incinerated alongside the base. Stone safely escapes
from the explosion but his Nitro suit is wrecked after landing on the ground, marking an end
for both Dark Axis and the war.

Development and release[edit]

Metal Warriors was developed exclusively for the Super NES by most of the original Zombies Ate My
Neighbors team and both titles share the same game engine.

Metal Warriors was developed by most of the same team headed by Mike Ebert and Dean
Sharpe who previously worked on Zombies Ate My Neighbors at the American studio
LucasArts.[11][12][13] Ebert had been a fan of mecha anime series like Gundam and Armored
Trooper Votoms, whose fascination with said genre would eventually lead him to form the
anime-focused magazine Animag: The Magazine of Japanese Animation before venturing
into the video game industry and influenced his decision to create a mecha-themed game
project.[13] LucasArts' Kelly Flock immediately greenlighted work on the project after
development process of Zombies Ate My Neighbors went smoothly without major issues
and the positive critical reception it garnered, with Ebert himself claiming to be surprised at
the company's decision.[11][13]

Metal Warriors shares the same game engine written by former Sega of America technical

director Toshiyasu Morita as with Zombies Ate My Neighbors, albeit modified and improved
upon its previous iteration, which allowed its creation process to go fast and smoothly.[11][12][13]
[14]
 Artist Harrison Fong, who previously worked on Dark Horse Comics' limited
series Mecha, was responsible for designing many of the mechs and cutscenes in the
game, while Sharpe and Tony Hsieh were also responsible for the programming work in the
project as well, in addition to composers David Warhol and Eric Swanson co-writing the
soundtrack, among other people collaborating in its development.[11][12][13] It was also
influenced by several games such as Blaster Master, Super Mario World and most
notably Cybernator.[13] Ebert has explained in recent years that the team had originally
desired to implement a split-screen two-player co-op mode in Zombies Ate My
Neighbors but it was not possible due to the engine not being fast enough at the time,
however they were able to do so on the project.[11][13]

The game originally was previewed by Nintendo Power in their July 1994 issue under the
title Battledroids, which proved to be difficult to obtain due to being an official terminology
from George Lucas' Star Wars.[13][15] It was initially intended to be published by Nintendo,
who requested the team several features to be implemented before release but Ebert
stated that due to the arrival of the PlayStation and subsequent decrease in the 16-
bit market for Super Nintendo titles led to the former terminating all upcoming Christmas
releases under their brand, including the game and some of its requested features were
later scrapped, however there were rumors of Nintendo dropping the deal due to similarities
with the aforementioned Cybernator.[11][13] Its development was quickly rushed to completion
and publishing duties were instead handled by Konami, who requested the game to be
renamed as Metal Warriors and produced an estimated run of 50,000 copies in total,
although Sharpe has stated the team was happy in getting the game on store shelves
regardless of the events