Metal Storm (video game)

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Metal Storm
The boxart
Developer(s)	Irem
Publisher(s)	Irem Tamtex
Platform(s)	NES/Famicom
Release date	February 1991 April 1992
Genre(s)	Action / Platform
Mode(s)	Single-player
Media	Cartridge

Metal Storm (also known as Juuryoku Soukou Metal Storm in Japan) is a side-scrolling platforming video game for the NES/Famicom, developed by Irem. It was released in the US during February of 1991. Despite generally being well received by critics and reviewers, Metal Storm has remained a somewhat obscure release, as it was published by a lesser-known 3rd party company without much publicity and released late in the life of the NES/Famicom. However, issue #22 (March 1991) of Nintendo Power not only had Metal Storm on its cover, but also featured a 12 page article on the game including a lengthy strategy guide. The issue's "Power Meter" review scores of Metal Storm were 3.8 out of 5 for graphics and sound, 3.7 out of 5 for play control, 3.7 out of 5 for challenge and lasting interest, and 3.7 out of 5 for theme and fun. The game's most notable feature is the ability to switch gravitational pull between the top and bottom of the screen at any time, requiring some strategizing from the player to pass through certain areas. The game uses a password system for continuing games at a later time.

Lukewarm Power Meter score notwithstanding, Metal Storm has solid graphics for its age. Although the NES does not directly support parallax, programmers continuously redrew the tiles making up the game's backgrounds in order to animate them scrolling at a different rate than the foreground. This gives a convincing illusion of depth, particularly in the game's third and fifth stages where there is a second background layer that appears to scroll behind the first. The protagonist is very well-animated, and the game boasts some large, colorful bosses.

1 Regional Differences
2 Notes
3 Gallery
4 External links

[edit] Regional Differences

The Japanese version features an opening cutscene before the title screen with credits in English and storyline in Japanese. The entire sequence is not present in the English release.
Stage 6 of the Japanese version is significantly harder as the top and bottom of the screen are electrified. This prevents the player from wrapping around from top to bottom (or visa versa) without taking damage. In the English version, the barriers are not present, allowing the player to pass through the top or bottom of the screen without damage.
The Japanese version features dialog in Japanese during the very last battle at the end of stage 7 that isn't present in the English version.
The Japanese and English versions have differently-colored palettes for some of the game's graphics. The Japanese version is intensely brighter due to whiter backgrounds than the English version.
The Japanese version shows the word "WARNING!" before a boss fight whereas the English version shows the words "RED ALERT!".
The Japanese version refers to the player's lives as "PLAYER" whereas the English version refers to them as "M-308 GUNNERS".
Other, less noticeable changes possibly exist.

[edit] Notes

During Metal Storm's stage 6 boss fight, the battleship from stage 3 of the first R-Type (a game also developed by Irem) can be seen several times in the background.
The text at the end of the game in the Japanese version is in English, despite the game's opening cutscene's text being in Japanese.
The "Juuryoku Soukou" prefix in the Japanese version's title can be translated to "Gravity Armor" in English.