• ACTION PACKED GAME

Fans of the series will relish the fact that TDK has created a storyline that is original but at the same time allows you to experience some of the events seen in the TV episodes. Another welcome feature is the return of the voice actors for Roy, Rick, Lisa, and Mynmei to reprise their roles (as well as Max's actor, although he's playing the lead role Jack Archer). Hearing Lisa's voice telling me to go rip it up with the Zentraedi made me feel like a kid again.

But it's not just fanboy appeal that makes this a great game. The cel-shaded graphics look awesome and really enhance the anime atmosphere. Dogfights and ground combat are amazing, with dozens of friendlies and Zentraedi (and scads of missiles) making for a lot of furious and jaw-dropping furballs. The controls are also great and make the transformations into the three modes easy and seamless.

The game is not without faults however. The missions are very creative in design, variety, and execution but can sometimes be frustratingly confusing when it comes to knowing where to go or what to do to complete them successfully. The escort/defense and occasional rescue missions can be maddening as well. And as I said the controls are great but the Guardian and especially the Battloid mode don't really give you the sense of moving in 3-D especially with the camera angle generally staying behind your Veritech and therefore not allowing you to see targets almost directly below or above you (even though you have the gun aimed and firing at them).

Both of these problems - and a few more niggling ones which I'll omit for brevity - are more than outweighed by the overall quality of this game. Admittedly it will most likely appeal to fans, but license aside it's still a great action game that will appeal even to gamers with no knowledge of the anime.

On a side note: True fanboys might be interested in the limited edition version which is exactly the same game but has a bunch of nice swag (such as a soundtrack CD and t-shirt) packaged with it.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:


It's about time!  Oct 25, 2002 By Justin Ratcliff "egovirus"
Once I saw this game, I could not resist buying it. I grew up watching the cartoons, and I even own 4 of the box sets; so to say I am a geek would be entirely superfluous. The game it's self is a lot of fun, and there looks to be a good deal of replayability. The controls are pretty straight forward, although the superimposed physics can be annoying, they too seem pretty realistic. The game follows the first chapter of the Robotech saga faithfully, and all the units look like the cartoon. The Veritech fighter can be easily changed to the 3 different modes simply by pushing the directional pad up, left, or right. There seem to be approx. 25-30 missions, all of which can be replayed, and several of which you have to replay to get the Medal, and thus unlock goodies. There is a multiplayer feature as well, but I've not yet checked it out. Overall this game is pretty good, and I would definitely suggest it to all Robotech fans. Those who don't know the Robotech saga may not enjoy it as much, especially if you weren't like 9 or so back in 1985. Good game.

12 of 13 found the following review helpful:


A Review for Newcomers to Mecha Games  Oct 05, 2002 By James M. Stafford III
I remember first seeing parts of the Robotech series when it aired originally in the States in the mid-1980s. I was too young then to know or even care that it was Japanese - I just liked how it was very different from other cartoons at the time and really presented a true ongoing story. When I had the chance a few years ago to acquire the entire series on videotape, I jumped at the chance, and finally saw everything from start to finish (all 85 episodes), truly relishing for the first time the storytelling ability of the series and its impressive mecha.

Robotech: Battlecry is indeed as close as us average Humans will ever come to piloting any of the mecha in the Robotech series. Generally, I stay away from mecha games, but given how much I deeply enjoy the Robotech series (of the 100+ videotapes and DVDs in my collection, it is the anime series I watch most often), I simply could not resist :-)

For those with even a minor interest in the Robotech series, this is a must-have game! However, for those new to mecha games, this could get rather confusing initially, because virtually EVERY button of the PlayStation2 controller is used. There are three Training scenarios to teach the basics of piloting a Veritech (one scenario for each of its three configurations), but given that there is really no danger or time limit in which the Training objectives must be accomplished, about the best that these Training scenarios will do is give the player some familiarity with movement and changes in configurations. Beyond this, the only way to truly come to know the Veritech's capabilities is to go out on actual missions.

As for the missions themselves, they more or less wrap themselves in a storyline which itself uses the Robotech series as a starting point (for example, the earliest missions provide a different viewpoint on the opening events of the Robotech series) and moves on from there, with appearances by characters originally appearing in the anime series. However, there is no need to really know anything about the Robotech anime series itself - but for those (diehard fans) familiar (perhaps intimately) with the series, the storyline of Robotech: Battlecry is all the more involving.

Those new to mecha games will also likely have trouble with the opening missions. I am only on Chapter II as I write this review and am having extreme trouble with one particular mission, thus preventing access to Chapter III. In some cases, familiarity with the Robotech anime series will provide some clues, but this is not generally true. Part of the initial "trouble" comes from not necessarily knowing when to change from one configuration to another, as each configuration has its strengths and weaknesses; even if a newcomer to the genre knows which configuration to use, the button layout is initally so complex that time will be required to determine which button performs which function. Once the configuration changes and button assignments have been learned, however, the main consideration is how to complete each mission - this is often fairly straightforward, but there are times when there is little assistance provided to show the right path to mission completion (despite hints shown as each mission is loaded).

One important note: Some missions have multiple sections. Sometimes, these sections are essentially standalone mini-stories within themselves, allowing the player to enter any mini-story at will. However, some missions MUST be completed in order, with no chance to enter in the middle. Therefore, unless a player is CERTAIN that a mission section is a standalone mini-story, players should NOT quit after a mission unless they also save their game progress.

One of the strong points of the game is the frame rate. There is virtually NO slowdown in game action, even with multiple missiles, numerous targets, and massive amounts of smoke and flying debris all being rendered on-screen at once. Another strong point is that the music from the Robotech series has been presented (in a more orchestral form) and used in such a way that players will feel as if they are truly inside the Robotech anime series itself :-)

For those genre newcomers unfamiliar with the Robotech anime series, this game will probably rate only a 4. For those with strong familiarity with the series, Robotech: Battlecry will definitely rate a 5.

14 of 16 found the following review helpful:


A Good Game.. But Not the Ultimate Game For Robotech Fans  Sep 29, 2002 By Ron Cole
Robotech: Battlecry is an action game inspired by the Robotech: Macross Saga cartoon series. In it, you play Jack Archer: ace pilot and mercenary. Jack is selected by old friend Roy Fokker to be a member of a new elite squadron of Veritech pilots - pilots that control jets that can transform into robots. That's where the game begins...

It is important to remember that R:BC is an action game and NOT an RPG or a simulator. Missions usually only have two possible outcomes - victory and defeat - and the only "role-playing" involved is how well you can pretend to be a great pilot. The game is also not a simulator; play typically happens in the third-person view from behind the veritech ala Armored Core 2's standard play mode (though who knows what "easter egg" codes will unlock..). Walking and flying are unrealistically smooth (NOT like the old PC game Mechwarrior 2), and most targetting is done automatically. Yes, there IS a story line and combat does take skill - but those buying Battlecry looking for an RPG or Simulator will be very, very disappointed.

During play, various game modes and options are unlocked after completing specific missions and objectives. Some of these bonuses are very minor, like being able to use a new paintjob for your Veritech; others, however, are huge.. and include activing a two-player "versus" mode and new mecha such as the armored veritech.

As to the actual missions, they tend to be either too easy or too hard. Only a few meet the "just right" level of not being win-able on the first try, but also not being so hard that it takes a miracle to win. Still, there are enough of these missions that I've enjoyed myself so far, and believe the money spent on the game to be worth it.

While I would have MUCH preferred this game to have been a simulator, it is still a very nice PS2 game. The cartoon-style graphics (which are still 3D) look very nice, and will suck old-school Robotech fans right in. Still, non-Robotech fans aren't going to enjoy the game as much - to them, the rating would probably only be "three stars" rather than four. I'd still recommend buying it, though. :)

Note: The game's storyline brings players into some of the "major" events from the cartoon series; much of the game's story, however, is different. Don't expect the character of Jack Archer to be following Roy Fokker and Rick Hunter around all the time, because he doesn't. ;)

8 of 9 found the following review helpful:


Excellent, definitely will not disappoint Robotech fans  Sep 26, 2002
The short of this review: if you don't know anything about Robotech or are not a fan of Japanese animation, this would probably rate as a very good flight sim/space shooter game (probably 4 stars). I am pretty sure people not familiar with Robotech would still enjoy it, but they might get impatient with the cut scene/story exposition segments (I doubt that, though. They are very well done, the voice acting is very good, and the new artwork is lively and beautifully done). Much MUCH better than Zone of the Enders- better control of the mech with controls that are easy to understand, challenging enemies, and they gave the 3 transforamtion modes of the mech their own unique characteristics. I've only played it for about an hour but I can tell that some modes will be better than others in certain situations (ie using the fighter mode to catch up to an enemy, then transforming to battloid mode for precision fighting). For Anime and especially Macross and Robotech fans, this game is OUTSTANDING and warrants 5 stars.

The longer review:
For those who know the series, this takes place right at the start of the Macross saga. You're character is a new one, so you don't get to be Rick Hunter. But actually that's a good thing-- it expands on the Macross story and you get to experience it from a different perspective. The cel shaded style fits very well with the cartoon style of the TV series, an excellent choice in my opinion. The missions that I've seen so far (I've only gotten through three) are taken from the series-- ie the first mission is to defend the SDF1 on the ground when the Zentraedi first attack, then flush them out of Macross city in Battloid mode. I took quite a bit of damage but got through the missions initially and was starting to think that the game was going to be too easy.

Boy, was I wrong. The next mission took me to outer space to defend the SDF1 after it returns to Earth (the game character was not caught in the space fold which took the SDF1 to Mars). Midway though the battle I encountered the enemy ace pilot who was decimating the squad and the mission became to take her out(yes, it must be Myria). Ouch. Suffice it to say, I changed my mind and didn't think the game was going to all that easy. She beat me soundly and I am anxiously waiting to get home to try again.

There is more to the game, including a versus mode where you can battle another player but I haven't gotten to the extras yet. Even without them, this is the best game that I've played in a long time. A must buy for anime fans and a very good buy for non-fans.

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