Robotech Battlecry

[Prime]

I did a search but didn't find it, but wasn't there a long thread here about Robotech Battlecry? I just picked the game up, and wanted to peruse that thread. Is it still around?

Or am I just going crazy?

[ewilen]

Since it's RT, not Macross, it would have gone in the Other Animation section. If there's nothing there now, it may be because all the discussion predated the switch to new board software.

[Gaijin]

It was on the old one I think.

[Impreszive]

Enjoy the frustration by the way.

[Jolly Rogers]

More like the horror of the character "art" that looks worse than Anime Friend's renditions.

[Graham]

Battlecry has inaccurate mecha models. The Valks are missing wings in battroid mode. In fighter mode during the intro movie, the feet look like they are open when they should be closed and the plane nose look too stubby IMO.

Sound effects are also horrible. The gunpod firing sound is completely wrong and when flying the Valk sounds like it's powered by a sowing machine engine rather than a nuclear turbine.

Game play is not to bad, tho fairly repetative. However, there are certain moves that you can't do in fighter mode and I also found moving in Gerwalk mode to be very poorly done and not really accurate to the anime.

I never completed the game, I got bored with it. On the otherhand I couldn't stop playing the Japanese P2 Macross game.

I'd definitely recommend the Japanese PS2 Macross game to Battlecry. It has superior, graphics, gameplay, SFX, music and controls. the only area where Battlecry beats the Japanese game is that Battlecry has far more missions.

Graham

[Impreszive]

::sigh::

I want Macross for my PS2!

[Ido]

Battlecry has inaccurate mecha models. The Valks are missing wings in battroid mode. In fighter mode during the intro movie, the feet look like they are open when they should be closed and the plane nose look too stubby IMO.

Ehi, don't forget things like the sniper mode for the GU-11, the wonderful VF-1R and the infamous single seat VF-1D.

Edited July 9, 2004 by Ido

[Prime]

Thanks fellas.

I don't have a PS2, so alas I will have to stick with Battlecry. I enjoy it well enough so far, especially since I had been deprived of a half decent Macross game as a kid. I play VF-X2 on ePSXe on a rare occasion, but that is about all I have had access to. So in that context, Battlecry has been fun for me, dispite its flaws.

I do like the cell-shaded look, and I think the animations are pretty good. At least I don't have a VF-19 with one leg sticking in a wierd direction, or too many popup buildings.

[ewilen]

Battlecry has inaccurate mecha models. The Valks are missing wings in battroid mode.

I think that was a conscious design decision to improve visibility of the battroid. They should probably be thought of as invisible, not missing.

Game play is not to bad, tho fairly repetative. However, there are certain moves that you can't do in fighter mode and I also found moving in Gerwalk mode to be very poorly done and not really accurate to the anime.

The game is frustrating. There are several places where you have to do something exactly right or you'll fail. This makes it feel almost more like Pacman or Mario Bros than an immersive semi-simulation. Not to mention, in some places, beating the mission isn't hard, but it requires you do something that's boring either repeatedly or continuously for a long time. And furthermore, many of the missions consist of an easy-but-long-and-boring part, followed by a short-and-incredibly-hard part. So after you fail the hard part, you have to go back and go through all the drudgery again.

As a representation of Macross, Ido has pointed out some additional flaws. In general, the battroid and the gerwalk aren't maneuverable enough, and the fighter is often hampered by ceilings. I find I spend most of my time in gerwalk due to the availability of missiles and auto-targeting of the gun. Fighter is useful in the air/space, also at moments where you need to get somewhere fast, and sometimes where I need to do a lot of missile damage even though I'd prefer to be moving at gerwalk speed. (Which reminds me--there's another artificiality.) I think battroid is pretty useless due to lack of missiles and slow movement. I only choose it when I want to walk/boost backwards or if I have a sniping opportunity.

In spite of the frustrations, though, I'm still playing the game because it has entertainment value, combined with the "I'll be damned if I'm going to let this stupid game beat me" factor.

[Gaijin]

The game was alright...better than I had expected it to be. Plus, it's usually like $10 anywhere now, so not too shabby.

[Cyclone]

Battlecry has inaccurate mecha models. The Valks are missing wings in battroid mode.

I think that was a conscious design decision to improve visibility of the battroid. They should probably be thought of as invisible, not missing.

IIRC that was the official answer aka to avoid clipping and graphics corruption with the point of the legs passing through the wings when ever you walked

Cyc

[Max Jenius]

Battlecry has inaccurate mecha models. The Valks are missing wings in battroid mode.

I think that was a conscious design decision to improve visibility of the battroid. They should probably be thought of as invisible, not missing.

IIRC that was the official answer aka to avoid clipping and graphics corruption with the point of the legs passing through the wings when ever you walked

Cyc

Makes sense to me. It doesn't really ruin the game for me at all. Though, it has room for improvement I think its the 2nd best 3d Macross related game out there... well ... til I play the new arcade shooter coming out...

[wolfx]

For me, Battlecry had a more interesting gameplay than the PS2 macross game. PS2 macross felt more like a shooting gallery and very easy to finish. Lock missles, let them rip....if someone gets too close, battroid mode, auto target them and then as they fly pass...watch them eat gunpod sprinkle. The controls were pretty clunky especially in "ground-based" missions I felt. It didn't feel like you were controlling a valk.

Battlecry on the other hand had cool boss fights, IMHO better transformation representations (except that the gerwalk can't fly backwards...annoyed at that) and although not the best but better than macross ps2's shooting gallery style gameplay. It also has nice controls. It does get frustrating at some missions and the missions that do not tie in with each other are another minus. I actually finished it ....the story sucks ass.

[Max Jenius]

For me, Battlecry had a more interesting gameplay than the PS2 macross game. PS2 macross felt more like a shooting gallery and very easy to finish. Lock missles, let them rip....if someone gets too close, battroid mode, auto target them and then as they fly pass...watch them eat gunpod sprinkle. The controls were pretty clunky especially in "ground-based" missions I felt. It didn't feel like you were controlling a valk.

Battlecry on the other hand had cool boss fights, IMHO better transformation representations (except that the gerwalk can't fly backwards...annoyed at that) and although not the best but better than macross ps2's shooting gallery style gameplay. It also has nice controls. It does get frustrating at some missions and the missions that do not tie in with each other are another minus. I actually finished it ....the story sucks ass.

Yeah, one of the major pluses of VFX2 was that it had essentially every important Valkyrie represented. They could totally make a Macross game work today and nobody seems to have a clue.

a) FAST!!!!!!

b) Intuitive controls(one of the BIGGEST problems with all but the 2d games)

c) Thrust Vectoring accompanying the turning in space(done reasonably well in VO IIRC)

The problem with VO for me was that it only had the VF-1 basically and the capital ships were pretty wimpy sized. But I did like the controls somewhat.

Hell. . . my friends that aren't even into Macross came up with better ideas than that anything that's been out so far. Not to say that they're terrible ideas, but they're just not implemented well enough. I think maybe if EA got a hold of the Macross license we'd see a bit more quality. (I discovered that the reason I was annoyed at the intro "EA GAMES, <challenge everything>" was because it was the first thing I saw in many games I enjoy.

But here's the idea my friend had- a 4 Swords/Crystal Chronicles style 4 player game where you each can turn into different modes and perform different actions. 4 Players? Skull Squadron!!! (Kakizaki gets some love even).

As for me? I just want a game that makes me feel like I'm controlling the action, action that looks like a Macross battle game. I mean, you gotta be able to fly down under a bridge chasing a buddy in fighter mode... he whips around transforms to gerwalk... flys backwards shooting at you... while you turn into Battroid and roll behind a pillar... stuff like that.

Plus there's the simple stuff(maneuvers) like what we see in the beginning of DYRL.

But yeah... they never do get the controls right. Battlecry was close... but still there's a few control issues. The main thing that killed Battlecry for me was the fact that I was always the ONLY valkyrie around and I had to protect a slow-moving(or immobile) target against endless waves of foes. Where's my damn squadron at, you know!?

[CoryHolmes]

I was always the ONLY valkyrie around and I had to protect a slow-moving(or immobile) target against endless waves of foes. Where's my damn squadron at, you know!?

Protecting their own slow-moving and immobile targets against other waves of hordes and hordes of Zentradi

EDIT:

Now that I've had some time to think about it, I actually enjoyed the solo slant to the missions. To me, it showed just how outnumbered the humans were against the surviving Zentradi, and nowhere near ALL of them were humanized and pacified. It also showed just how rare the VF-1 was on the planet. There were not that many VF-1s (or Destroids, for that matter) to help guard and rebuild the entire planet, so it's only natual that they'd be outnumbered more often than naught.

Edited July 10, 2004 by CoryHolmes

[Max Jenius]

I was always the ONLY valkyrie around and I had to protect a slow-moving(or immobile) target against endless waves of foes. Where's my damn squadron at, you know!?

Protecting their own slow-moving and immobile targets against other waves of hordes and hordes of Zentradi

EDIT:

Now that I've had some time to think about it, I actually enjoyed the solo slant to the missions. To me, it showed just how outnumbered the humans were against the surviving Zentradi, and nowhere near ALL of them were humanized and pacified. It also showed just how rare the VF-1 was on the planet. There were not that many VF-1s (or Destroids, for that matter) to help guard and rebuild the entire planet, so it's only natual that they'd be outnumbered more often than naught.

Uh...true... but its kind of stupid to send only one valkyrie to protect something that's supposedly so important that they gotta end the whole game over...

[wolfx]

As for me? I just want a game that makes me feel like I'm controlling the action, action that looks like a Macross battle game. I mean, you gotta be able to fly down under a bridge chasing a buddy in fighter mode... he whips around transforms to gerwalk... flys backwards shooting at you... while you turn into Battroid and roll behind a pillar... stuff like that.

Plus there's the simple stuff(maneuvers) like what we see in the beginning of DYRL.

But yeah... they never do get the controls right. Battlecry was close... but still there's a few control issues. The main thing that killed Battlecry for me was the fact that I was always the ONLY valkyrie around and I had to protect a slow-moving(or immobile) target against endless waves of foes. Where's my damn squadron at, you know!?

Maybe an idea would be to mimic the game style of one those old 3D polygon arcade coin op games . I can't remember the name...Air somehting or Sky something. There were 2 modes of play with 1 on 1 VS option. You can choose from a few planes like the Harrier, Lightning etc. The 1st mode, you have limited freedom. The map scrolls by in a linear "go straight only" fashion and there are 2 phases. The attack phase and defend phase. During the attack phase, its the other player's defence phase. Attacking player gets to fire missles and machine guns at the defender's tail...and the defender does its best with "smoke" countermeasures, barrel rolls and using the terrain to their advantage. After a few seconds, the roles switch. The other mode is more 360 degrees freedom melee. I loved that game. Maybe just maybe if Macross adopted that sort of gameplay, it could be a fun arcade style game.

Yeah...only valk in the whole game was kinda crappy. I felt like I was better than Roy or Max ever was...taking down so many zents and protecting catseye bullshit......

[Bloodcat]

I thought it was decent, though a little too hard at the end. The cheat to keep Fast Packs on the Earth missions helped a lot though.

Probably the best transforming robot game out there is that Transformers game that just got released. Its pretty damned awesome, even if Megatron is a cheating bastid...

[Sturmvogel]

Yeah, the cheat codes are great if you want to try out all the levels and all the mecha without having to work through the horrendous story line.

[lebhead]

Battlecry was fun, and i still pop it in once in a while. however, it was pretty easy since a non-gamer like myself was able to pass it without any cheats. i'm just waiting for Invasion now ... although to play it i need to buy either an Xbox or PS2.

[Wes]

Battlecry has inaccurate mecha models. The Valks are missing wings in battroid mode.

I think that was a conscious design decision to improve visibility of the battroid. They should probably be thought of as invisible, not missing.

IIRC that was the official answer aka to avoid clipping and graphics corruption with the point of the legs passing through the wings when ever you walked

Cyc

Makes sense to me. It doesn't really ruin the game for me at all. Though, it has room for improvement I think its the 2nd best 3d Macross related game out there... well ... til I play the new arcade shooter coming out...

??? What's the deal with that?

[Druna Skass]

I found Battlecry's controls to be much better than VFX-2's, and unlike VFX-2 I could actualy shoot something down with the gunpod in Fighter mode. I just wish the controls were more Ace Combat-ish and there were more VFs. They could have thrown in the Legioss or the AJAX as secret units. I wish it hand more bonuses if it was going to be that short, not much replay value.

[Uxi]

I like Battlecry for the multiplayer, if for nothing else...

VO had great potential but gets monotonous. Maybe if there was a full english release and greater potential for multiplayer (I can just envision if we could create full servers for MW! I'd be fragging a whole bunch of ya! )...

More Valkyries would be nice but I woudln't be disapointed if they were add-on's or other games.