Video Game Review - Arcade Archives: Cybattler

Rob reviews Arcade Archives: Cybattler on Nintendo Switch...

Cybattler is the latest arcade titled released under the Arcade Archives banner from developer Hamster.  

Originally developed by Jaleco back in 1993, Cybattler is a shmup that features tonnes of anime-styled mechs, with a pretty unique control system. More interesting is that up until now, Cybattler never received a port to a home console. And as such, the sci-fi shooter is one arcade title that probably deserves the 'niche' title. 

From the get-go, Cybattler is a pretty solid shmup experience. The gameplay is very much in the same style as other stumps from the same era. Yet rather than piloting a plane, we're strapped into a Gundam style mech - with full 360⁰ movement. This style of moving and attacking not only opens up more ways to play, but it's also pretty intuitive considering Cybattler's original 1993 release. 

Much like arcade titles of the time, Cybattler doesn't give too much exposition into its story. However, we do get quite a bit of background for our mech - "Blanche". Standing at seven feet tall "Blanche" is a true weapon of war. With a modular design, we're able to outfit the mech with various weapons throughout the campaign. Unlike other arcade shmups, Cybattler switches our load out up between each mission. We'll always have a ranged weapon and an energy blade at our disposal, yet they offer various degrees of inabilities. On occasion "Blanche" will also be equipped with various rocket pods which mainly serve to "beef-up" your attacking power in a somewhat minimalist way. 

This is my only real issue with Cybattler. Each weapon loadout is pre-selected which means we're stuck with what the game chooses for us. However, the choices seem a little hit and miss. Our first weapon the "beam launcher" is far more powerful than the "beam Gatling gun" we receive in the second stage. It's bewildering at times as this seems to continue through the titles 6-stages. Each of the guns has an automatic fire mode, and opening shots can be charged for a more powerful salvo. What makes Cybattler more interesting is the inclusion of a melee weapon. At times I utilised the melee attack more than I probably should have. It's a great edition that coupled with the degree of movement allows for some Ninja styled moves. I never got tired of seeing the pixilated enemies being sliced in half, and it drives the sci-fi setting home. 

While Cybattler does away with the conventional shump power-up. There are a few extra weapons that we can use during the campaign. Much like our primary weapon, these special weapons can be a little hit and miss which meant I mainly ignored the prompt to pick them up. I would have liked to see more variety to these, yet considering Cybattler is a game from 1993 I can't grumble.

As I touched upon earlier the controls for Cybattler are pretty unique for a game of its age. Unlike most shooters Cybattler allows you to fire in one of eight directions. This not only opens up for plenty of strategies, but it also gives the player a somewhat degree of freedom in how they play. What's more interesting is that the game also allows you to dodge as well as shoot. This allows the mech to maintain its firing arc whilst avoiding damage. Again considering the year of the titles original release, these controls are quite intuitive and surprisingly work incredibly well even in 2021! 

It's hard to talk about the difficulty of arcade games without making obvious comparisons.

I don't proclaim to be some arcade God, but I like to think that I'm pretty good at the arcade titles of old. Completing Afterburner II is arguably my greatest conquest, with Operation Wolf being my 'Moby Dick'. Cybattler is somewhat set in between the two. Levels don't offer much in the way of checkpoints so each death sadly results in a staged restart. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially in the latter stages as both enemies and bosses become more extreme. The game is far easier for two players, and almost seems designed for a single player. Funny enough the game doesn't seem to account for difficulty based on player amount. During my gameplay I found that the bosses had the same health in multiplayer as they do in singleplayer, and as such two mechs are arguably better than one. Add in the fact that you can also spawn on top of the surviving player - and Cybattler becomes a walk in the park. 

Graphics-wise, the game is particularly bland in its design. Most of the stages take place within a space setting. And while some definition has been made to distinguish between each setting it still feels incredibly bland. I did however enjoy a couple of stages, mainly the opening stage which sees the two sides confront each other in the vicinity of an asteroid base. And the closing stage consists of a single fight during atmospheric re-entry. Enemy types are also few and far between. Come to the end of stage-2 and you'll have seen everything the game had to offer (aside from boss fights). Even with the repetitiveness the enemy mechs are well designed and they look and feel just as powerful as the players own. Naturally, the boss characters are a bit over the top and some even defy the laws of both nature and physics. Yet, this is a sci-fi shump...it's not made to make sense. 

Overall Cybattler is a fun arcade game. I've been a big fan of Hamster's Arcade Archives series and it's great to see the publisher bring these niche titles to a newer audience. It's hard to bash the game considering it's 28-years old. However if your after a classic romp to that arcade heyday of the early '90s then Cybattler is for you. But if you after a more modern shop - you won't find that here. 

Rating 9/10 

A code was kindly provided for this review 

Arcade Archives: Cybattler is available now, and can be purchased via the Nintendo Switch eShop by clicking here. 

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev