"Battle City" - NES/Famicom

You don't know anything about this but it's been like two weeks since I've had time to write a review. So expect this one to be extra thick and meaty (it actually won't be any different but thanks for your faith in me).

In 1980, Namco made an arcade game called Tank Battalion. It's a top down tank-game where you drive a tank around and shoot other tanks and walls to create pathways to shoot more tanks. In 1984, that game was ported to the MSX computer.

And in 1985, Namco decided it was high-time Tank Battalion got its very own sequel (or perhaps more like remake), and that's what they developed for the Famicom: Battle City. Why not Tank Battle City, or just Tank Battle or something, I don't know-- to be honest it's not a very helpful title as far as describing what you're getting yourself into.

The game was produced by Ryoichi Oukubo, whom I really couldn't find anything else about... and the music was composed by Junko Ozawa, who we've just recently seen as the composer on Tower of Druaga and Warpman.

Anyway, let's play it and see how it goes:

I think personally I'd go around Battle City and head for Friendly Handshake City or something.

----- Playthrough -----

In Battle City you play as a tank who hates all other tanks because they are a different color. You also have an eagle thing that serves as, I guess, like, the symbol of your country or something, and you can't let anyone else blow it up. Your life is expendable-- you have three of those, but if they blow up your eagle statue, it's an instant game over, so don't let that happen.

Feel free to shout "PROTECT THE EAGLE" at the beginning of every life.

Going up against you will be the aforementioned tanks of another color (they're generally grey to your gold) who are secretly shouting "DESTROY THE EAGLE," at the beginning of every round, and then wandering down the screen in the most confused path possible, firing shots in a straight line occasionally, with a mind to do just that.

There are a few types of enemies, but mostly they all behave the same. The difference is that one of them is pretty fast, and one of them takes 4 shots to kill. Other than that, they all do the same general thing: head down the screen in a very indirect fashion and shoot.

'If Jerry ever gets out of the way, you'll get what's coming to you.'

Every once in awhile a tank will spawn in flashing red. Shooting this tank once (whether it dies or not) will cause a power-up to appear on the screen, which come in a few varieties as well. Grenades kill every enemy on screen, watches stop time for a few seconds, tanks give you an extra life, and then there are stars-- which power-up your tank across three or four transformations, making you and your shots faster. You still die in one hit though.

The only other thing worth mentioning are the various types of terrain. Bricks can be shot through/destroyed, grass simply obscures your vision, water can't be traversed at all, and metal(?) blocks are permanent structures that can't be destroyed. It's generally in your best interest to keep as many blocks between the enemies and your precious eagle as possible.

Noooooo, my national pride!

There are thirty-five levels in this game, and whenever you start the game, you'll be able to use A/B to pick whichever stage you want. So if you make it five stages in before eating a big one, you can always just move up to stage five and continue until you beat all thirty-five.

The observant will notice the presence of a "Construction Mode" which is exactly what it sounds like. Using the A/B buttons you can place any block in the game on the grid which makes up the stage. Head back to "1 Player" on the menu to give your glorious construction a try.

I made this level, incase you couldn't tell.

Once you've done that and beaten those thirty-five levels, I guess you can probably put this one back on the shelf.

----- Impressions -----

How long did I play?

35 minutes?

How much did I beat?
15 of 35 stages.

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Intuitive Design: 

How easy is it to intuitively understand the game?

For the most part all there is to do is move with the d-pad and shoot with A or B. I think that if you have a basic understanding of the word "Battle" in "Battle City," you'll probably be able to piece together what you're supposed to do. The images on the icons also give you a heads up as to their purpose, so you shouldn't really need much help here.

Gameplay: 

How rewarding does playing the game feel? Too difficult?

This game is actually surprisingly tough for what it is-- when you start each level as a small tank your shots are so slow compared to most of the enemies that it can be hard to get a drop on them. If you ever find yourself at a 90 degree angle to them, you may as well start crossing yourself and praying to God they don't turn and suddenly fire off a lightning speed shot, but they usually will.

Never think you can out quickdraw an AI with bullets that move 2x as fast yours.

Shooting stuff is pretty much always fine but the game really lacks much of a reward loop for incentive to keep one playing, hence why I just sorta dropped out after 15 stages. I wasn't really hating it, but I wasn't having the time of my life either.

Depth: 

How deep/long is the game?

I'd say you've pretty much seen everything there is to see in this game within the first few minutes barring some of the different map tiles, which don't really change much overall.

Presentation: 

How's the sound? How are the graphics?

The game looks pretty decent-- backgrounds are the same sprite-on-black we've seen in so many NES games, but the tanks look pretty nice and have decent sprites. It's hard to complain.

This guy is beautiful, though.

The game only has one piece of music, which plays when you start the game and lasts maybe three seconds. Other than that, the only thing you'll get is the hum of your tank and the occasional pew of a shot from your tank. Also the occasional kssh when you die or blow something up.

Personal Chord: 

Does the game have that undefinable "something" for me?

I actually had this game on a multi-cart when I was a kid, but not really. There's just not really anything here that distinguishes this game from anything else in a meaningful way. It's just a tank shooting game.

Should You Play: 

Is there a reason to even bother with this one?

Probably not. Battle City is the kind of generational filler content that you'd get for your Famicom the year it came out and enjoy it but probably not have an impression left on you unless it was one of your main games as a kid. I don't really feel like there's anything here to miss out on, but if you're just looking for an alright game to throw in your NES collection, sure, why not?

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