As you may have seen earlier today, a livestream celebrating 30 years of Metal Max confirmed that Metal Max Xeno: Reborn is bringing its open-world tank JRPG gameplay to the West. There was another announcement, though, with publisher Success and developer 24Frame unveiling Metal Saga: Hangyaku No Rouka.
It's a new entry in the series and the first in the 'Saga' line - excluding a mobile spin-off - since the Japan-only Metal Saga: Hagane no Kisetsu way back in the days of the DS. As detailed by Gematsu, the 'bounty-hunting RPG' was confirmed for Switch and it will reportedly support "Japanese and more". That's encouraging language, suggesting that the publisher will look for avenues to roll it out globally, though no release window was given.
Below is a nice summary of gameplay details via Gematsu:
Symbol Encounters
Although previous entries in the series used a random encounters system, all monsters with a bounty on their head will appear as symbols in Metal Saga: Hangyaku no Rouka. Since monsters act within their own ecosystems and thoughts on the fields and in dungeons, players can enjoy an even more realistic post-apocalyptic world. You can also avoid unnecessary battles by averting monsters.
Live Battles
With the change to symbol encounters, the more realistic battles now unfold seamlessly on the field. Combat can be described as a seamless transition from the series’ traditional command-based battles, with improvements made to prop up systems that were not well received in previous games.
Strategy
By utilizing a “Strategy” that makes it possible to eliminate the labor of repeated command inputs that was tradition in the past, repetitive tasks such as leveling can be done more comfortably. Characters whose Strategy is set to ON will act according to pre-defined guidelines. You can also switch between Strategies in battle based on the situation, such as in bounty battles.
Build Your Own Villa
Expanding upon the gifts system of interiors and costumes that was popular in previous titles, Metal Saga: Hangyaku no Rouka will allow you to have your own “villa” on a small, uninhabited island that you can freely cultivate. You can customize interiors, as well as construct various facilities, set up your own garage car wash, and even invite your favorite characters to live in your villa to create your very own hideout.
It seems like this one is still some way off and here's hoping it eventually gets a global release; will you be keeping an eye on this one?
[source gematsu.com]
Comments 8
Sounds like fun, going to watch this one.
Misread this as Metal Slug and got excited
@Scapetti Thought this said metal wolf...
Haven't ever heard of this series. Any good?
It's nice to see the Metal Max series making a return, but we did have a game called Metal Saga here in the US so I don't think this is necessarily the first Metal Saga game. Prior to this we had Metal Saga: Sajin no Kusari and it's the only Metal Max besides Xeno we got in the west.
@ItsATM The snes rpg games are good, specially the "returns".The producers not sucessfully did good sequences that failed in many points. But are trying polish/recover some old good points of the series trying do it better executed. The feeling of discovering can be good, hunt criminals/dangerous creatures without be limited by a story barrier is a strong point of the series.
@Onion Yes, Metal Saga was merely a cautious rename of the series. When the original publisher of the franchise, Data East, was dissolved, the developer Success had to rename the series for a couple games (the PS2 game that got a US release, as well as original DS game) until the trademark rights were resolved.
@FlashBoomerang So awesome to hear, I'm glad that they aren't limited by the story barrier as that's important! Thanks for the response, and love the profile pic!
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