Robot Alchemic Drive (Some images from Impress Watch)
Dave Anderson
System: Playstation 2
Developer: Enix

Introduction

If you’re a Japan Hero regular, chances are you grew up wishing you could have your own giant robot. Well, RAD is about as realistic a simulation of that as any you could hope to find.

The Game

You play as either Ryo, Naoto or Yui Tsukioka, the heir of a bankrupt weapons manufacturer that went broke building some kind of secret weapon. In the first level, however, when a giant alien robot called Volgara drops into the heart of your hometown (Senjo, meaning battlefield, apparently an inside joke on the part of the script writers), you find out just what this secret weapon is and how the world is doomed if you don’t learn how to use it….

Which brings us to the big draw of the game, the giant robots, or Meganites: Vavel, Laguoile and Gllang. You pick one to start with and get the other two as the game progresses. Vavel is a humanoid mecha that has well-balanced attributes and the strongest weapons of any Meganite (including a Mazinger Z-esque flying fist attack called Assault Knuckle), and if things get tough he can change to Volcanic Mode for three minutes of enhanced power (but don’t go past that or he burns out). Laguoile is fast and agile, lacking Vavel’s power but making up for it by being able to change into a plane. Gllang is slow but heavily armored and bristling with weapons, and changes into a tank. (Editors note: Seems like they drew inspiration from Getta Robo too)

The game plays as if it’s a Super Robot show from the 70’s, with 53 episodes to play through and scores and scores of bad 70’s-style voice dubbing (apparently it was done that way on purpose, although there are some classic lines like, “Robots kill people, a robot killed Grandma!” and my favorite, “Um, don’t you dare die.”). Different things happen depending on how you play, mainly in that you get reward money to upgrade your Meganites and personal gear for minimizing damage and making sure certain buildings like the hospital and local anti-Volgara weapon factory survive the battle. What you do can also affect your character’s relationships with the game’s other characters, though, like school friend Nanao Motto, the lovely Ellen Bulnose, and the mysterious Souya, who has a Meganite of his own.

Control-wise, it’s important to master both the Meganite and Hero modes, as your Meganite is a remote-controlled machine, and positioning your Hero in a good (and safe) place to observe the action from is an important part of the game. The Volgara can smash up your Meganite pretty good if you give them a chance, just imagine what they’d do to you. As for controlling the Meganite, do yourself a favor and play the game in Easy Mode. Normal Mode is for masochists only.

Positve Aspects of the Game

The battles between the giant mecha feel like you actually are at the controls of a gigantic walking weapon, with the screen (and your controller) shaking every time one of the behemoths takes a step. People, cars and buildings are crushed underfoot, and the entire city can be razed to the ground if things start getting really out of hand.

Each Meganite is armed to the gills with fancy weapons that making beating up Volgara a blast. Most of the cooler (and more powerful) ones force you to wait until you have an almost full energy bar, though. You can even buy new, fancier ones as you get more money.

There’s a vs. mode that allows you to bash up a friend and his Meganite, and even play as Volgara and other giant troublemakers after you beat the levels in which they appear in regular mode. There’s also a mode that lets you play a completed level over again in case you forgot how to use your Meganite’s ultimate weapon or want to hear one of Nanao’s classic lines again.

With three giant robots at your control, there’s one to suit every taste. You aren’t stuck with just one robot you may not like.

It’s got giant robots. When has that ever been a bad thing?

Negative Aspects of the Game

There are, unfortunately, some dark spots on RAD’s resume, as follows. The camera work during fights can be a little bad. When you or the Volgara you’re fighting shoots a missile (or, even worse, a rocket-propelled fist), the camera likes to show you exactly where it goes. Unfortunately, this means you don’t get to see where your Meganite and the Volgara are, and the Volgara aren’t polite enough to wait for the camera to get back to your view of the battle to start whacking at your robot.

More pressing, though, is how hard it is to find this game. I raided every Game Stop in my area and only one had it (and only one copy). But if you love videogames and giant mecha, spare no expense to track this down.

Conclusion

Anyone who loved shows like Voltes V or the Mazinger series owes it to themselves to get themselves a copy of this game. You always wanted to be the one saving the world with your awesome giant robot, this is your chance.

Dave Anderson