Metal Max

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>>2997624
You bet son.
>although I'm not sure which ones since I've been playing the games in Japanese.
The Aeon Genesis patch is strangely decent besides the excessive swearing in some parts, but it's rather accurate overall, not that it's a problem if you know moonrunes.

Where are you at friend?

>>2997624
I just started Metal Max Returns one hour ago.

One piece of info for you Metal Max newfriends, the boss battle theme is actually Metal Max 2's random battle theme, another nice thing of the remake since there were only three battle themes in the NES original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37wPszNCeaI

>>2997713
Also any advice should be well received.

This game introduced me to the series and I even ended up buying the ps2 game for $15 cib. Good series and I hope the games eventually make it here

>>2997861
Explore

Explore

Get the Lock Hacker once you get in the abandoned harbour buildings

Get a Metal Detector as soon as possible

Upgrade you tanks

Explore

Bounties are your main source of income until you get near the hell's gate where you might find a special rare enemy

MC has the best innate pilot skills so give him your best tank all the time

Mechanic isn't meant for battle on feet and he's super frail

Soldier Girl is actually the worse pilot so give her something with lots of ammo to make up for her low piloting skills, eventually she'll catch up

Golden Ants are a good source of extra income early on in the game and can be one shotted with a certain item and a few special weapon, I'll let you find out what's that item though.

Explore

Certain Bounty monsters will be forced encounters on feet, like OP's pic, be sure to have good equipment on you.

Protectors should be saved for the aforementioned Bounty monsters that you have to fight without tanks

If you find a certain route to be too hard just explore some more, the world is completely open once you destroy the two cannons.

The Tank Loan service isn't actually too bad, but be careful since your income will be halved as long as the service is active.

Mod your tanks often, it's better than buying new parts sometimes.

Explore some more

The plot is there but you need to explore to unravel it

ALWAYS have a repair kit or two with you

MC's dad can raise REPAIR skills by one on all characters each level up, it's pretty good to keep doing it for a while in the early game

Being a swell dude is fun, even though there's no reward besides people's gratitude

You can use weapons equipped on your character in the Buggy, which is a pretty good choice for the Soldier Girl early on

Rodriguez is VERY strong

Search for Traders camp, they're not explicitly visible on the map but certain trees give them out their camps

There are some VERY good parts in the world map AND dungeons, use your Metal Detector.

>>2998265
wow, add a few spoilers next time. Some people browsing the thread are just interested in the game, not a destructive walkthrough

>>2997624
>tragically underrated
It's fucking not. People that know about it, do praise it. It's just not very well known. Why do you idiots have such a hard time understanding the English language.

>>2998273
My bad, I might have overdid it a bit.
And I even wanted to add other tips, well, there's tons of stuff in the game anyway, I only covered real basic stuff so there's still a lot of things for you to find out.

>>2998265
Well thank you, that's a lot of advice.
I've been playing for 3 hours and seems a pretty easy game. The only things i don't get, i guess because i don't have the manual, are some option in the menu and some items i don't know what they suppose to do.

Also the encounter rate it's too high but everything else seems fine.

>>2998279
The tips are likely useful, I got no problems with that. I'm just a bit picky when it comes to revealing progression and underlying mechanics. Half the joy is in figuring out these things on your own, especially in a game like this.

>>2998280
Yeah, the first MM is pretty easy, you can finish the game at a very low level too so you don't have to worry about grinding unless you want to fight tough monsters without tanks.
Some items do have a use though, other don't, I'll let you discover what does what, you won't know until you use them.
Also, the game has a real huge amount of secrets so you'll spend a lot of time exploring, finding new buildings, new NPCs, new cities and so on, the game has top tier exploration and if you like that I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
>>2998282
>I'm just a bit picky when it comes to revealing progression and underlying mechanics
Ah, I'm sorry about it then, but rest assured I haven't even covered half of the basic stuff in the game, you'll still have fun figuring out how to mod tanks efficiently and which part is the best for which fight, not to mention treasure hunting, which opens a new whole world, Bounty monsters are all pretty fun fights too.

Really hope you guys enjoy the game, it's a bit too easy compared to other titles in the series but it has a great post-apocalyptic world, great atmosphere and tons of charm and style.

>>2998274
We understood the meaning, if not the anal hemorrhaging, of those words.

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This franchise had like two or three cancelled games right?

>>2998698
Yeah.
Problem is Metal Max passed through a lot of different hands due to the death of the publishers and/or original developers.

Metal Max, Metal Max 2 and Metal Max Returns involved Data East and Crea-Tech, after Data East declared bankruptcy there were the usual issues with copyrights and so on, that's why the PS2 Metal Max was called Metal Saga and was released by Success & co. if I'm not mistaken, then Enterbrain bought the rights to the Metal Max franchise for the DS and 3DS games, which also marked the return of many people who worked on the original series.

I don't actually know much about the cancelled games but the series had a rough time until very recently.

>>2999806
I would have loved a Metal Max for Dreamcast.
It's seems the cursed franchise typical in developers like Irem.

>>2999809
>It's seems the cursed franchise typical in developers like Irem.

Yeah, which is unfortunate since it's a series that really stands out for a lot of things, considering the setting and gameplay it would also be appreciated in the west, if only they bothered making some commercials or something, I've yet to meet a person who disliked Metal Saga but there's not a lot of people who played it in the first place.

>>2999813
Actually the most open JRPG's are not particularly well liked in the west, see SaGa. And Metal Saga received poor reviews too.
I guess some things are just too good for the vast majority.

>>2999819
Well, the GB SaGa were pretty much one of the most successful handheld games ever, if they actually called them with their real name I'm sure the series would be in a much better state right now, even on /vr/ a lot of anons were surprised to find out that FFL was actually SaGa.
I'd bet Metal Max would do good if marketed well enough, there's a lot of people that like post-apocalyptic stuff and Metal Max isn't nearly as obscure in terms of mechanic compared to SaGa.

I fucked up and my tank chassis get destroyed near some bridge. I guess i need that repair kit and enough reparation skill to make it work again, right?

Also i still don't get what that "chime" option do.

>>3000019
>I guess i need that repair kit and enough reparation skill to make it work again, right?
Yeah, a pretty high one if your chassis gets fucked.
>Also i still don't get what that "chime" option do.
Nothing, it's fun

>>2997879
Same here.

I played MMR after seeing it get translated a couple of years back, and I loved it.

I started trying to find a copy of Metal Saga for the PS2, and eventually tracked down the PS2 disc in a cd sleeve for $3. Hard to find (especially with case and booklet), but incredibly cheap for as rare a game as it seems to be. I still prefer MMR to MS, but it's still a great game with tons of replayability.

>>3000042
>I still prefer MMR to MS
Always thought MS kind of loses a bit of the charm of the original series, especially when it comes to characters, still a good game but I can see why many think it's the weakest entry in the series.

After playing a little more it seems incredible how a game like that could have been possible in a NES.
Maybe there's stuff that was added for the remake, but it's still surprising.

>>3000089
>Maybe there's stuff that was added for the remake, but it's still surprising.

The remake is basically a graphical update with some few extra minigames, features like Juke Box and quality of life enhancements, the core game, with its tank mechanics and exploration, is precisely the same.
Pretty damn amazing for a game that originally came out in 1991.

>>2998273
That's actually not that bad.
If you think that's to revealing then you might need help.

Something dawned on me a few minutes ago, for those of you who are playing at some point in the game you'll come across two particular events related to two certain very useful things I won't spoiler to ruin your fun, but when you do get to those, and again, explore, you should keep insisting till you win.

I didn't the first time around and only found out after I beat the game, it can be a bit cryptic.

>>2997624
I think i'm having some problem with OP's pic enemy. It easily appeared to me the first time, but the bitch flee and now doesn't appear anymore, doesn't matter how much i search in the bog.
I'm doing something wrong?

>>3000760
Keep searching, Wanted monsters don't disappear until you kill them so you can keep trying as much as you want.
Keep in mind that Rafflesia needs to be killed swiftly before it cures itself.

I don't even know if it has some use or not but i found fascinating how you can buy Picasso and Dali paintings in a postapocalyptic game about tanks.

>>3002273
They look good in your room when you go back home though, buying a Juke Box wouldn't be a bad idea either.

>>3002282
You can decorate your room? In your parents home?
That's so nice.

>>3002341
It's kinda fun, it helps that you can buy quite a lot of stuff, looks neat when you go back to visit your sister.
I was also surprised to see that they give MC's sister various routines and even sprites when you come back home, it's pretty cute to see her with an apron and a vacuum cleaner cleaning stuff, it's not something you see often in games from that time.

>>3002352
Talking about rutines, sometimes the NPC's tend to block the doors because they're always moving.
That's a thing it have in common with Fallout, and it's not the only one, the BSCon it's basically a proto-Pipboy, you can learn stuff from computers and the general setting it's similar.
I doubt there was some influence since it was a totally unknown game in the west at that time but the similarities are there.

I like to wait until I have all 3 party members to go hunting for the Outlaws. That way, they all get the credit and titles which accompany you throughout the game's progression.

Also, don't try to beat Brass Banshee while inside Corona Tower. He cannot be beaten. I bypassed that stage using the subway and returned after obtaining all the best equipment, as well as enough supplies to go almost 200 rounds with him. I was dealing thousands of damage each round, and he couldn't affect my status or really hurt my characters much at all. It's the Balio and Sunder fight of MMR; unwinnable.

He died to a single shell when I fought him outside the tower. Fucker.

>>3002365
>sometimes the NPC's tend to block the doors because they're always moving.
Yeah, a real hassle, I was a bit disappointed that they didn't write a script for them to make them move if you push them in a direction like other RPGs.
But yeah, Metal Max is basically japanese Fallout for most things and a lot of the similarities are pretty uncanny.
>>3002448
I actually beat Brass Banshee inside the Corona building, but I was at level 26, it was my first run and I thought that I would not get a chance to get the bounty if I destroyed the building, but again, I was packing Bazookas, Rocket punches and the Optical Laser cannon and it STILL put up a fight, it's not impossible but it's very hard, same with Zeppelin in the Devil's Towers.

>>3002465
Do you have to do a certain amount of damage in s single round, or something? Like you got lucky with 3 crits from each character in a single round?

I did well over a million damage to him, and still could not beat him in the tower. There must be something I am overlooking here.

>>3002468
>Like you got lucky with 3 crits from each character in a single round?

Yeah, I don't know about the particulars but I suspect that certain bounties have innate HP regen or something, outside of those that explicitly heal like Rafflesia, I think it's either that or they simply work on HP thresholds like the Algernon fight in Romancing SaGa 3.
I think that most biomonsters are like that as mechanical enemies like Beetla or Rommel Ghost seem to have a defined amount of HP, but than again I haven't checked any JP wiki to see whether this is the case.

Then again, I've seen a guy fighting and beating Noah without tanks, though he did grind to level 99 and he still almost died on a few turns because Noah can be pretty bullshit.
Later MM games are more explicit when it comes to HP regen on enemies, MMR and MM2 are more obscure, even Rafflesia doesn't show anything but a message when it cures itself and that can be misleading since there's a lot of messages about enemy actions that mean nothing, like Grapplers taunting you in MM2 or Politanks hopping around.

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I just finally killed the bastard. Nou i guess i have nothing to do but destroy those two big cannons but it doesn't seem an easy task.

>>3005289
Noice, Rafflesia is your first bounty you're forced to fight without tanks and can be pretty tough, though spamming grenades makes it very easy.

The two cannons are a bit difficult if you don't know how to use your tanks, but the key is wise shell use, they're there to teach you how to manage tanks VS tanks battle. Everything after the two cannons takes off the training gloves though so be warned.

>>2997657
I'm confused, something about you (the reader) becoming a hunter?

>>2997624
i actually have metal saga case booklet and all i played a bit of it but just never got too into it. I should try it again sometime seems like it has a lot of weird stuff going on.

>>3005552
It says more or less "So, you wanna be a Hunter?" which is a recurrent phrase in the franchise since most protagonists choose to become Hunters at the beginning of the game.

I destroyed the two cannons and god the world is big. I like how you can mod parts of the tank and the name changes, like Chonov to Chonov-T to Chonov-TS.

>>3005709
>I destroyed the two cannons
Check the ground where the cannons were for extra goodies.
>god the world is big.
Enjoy exploring, the real fun starts now!

God, I loved these games. I played and beaten both Metal Max Returns and Metal Saga. I even have a HDD for the PS2 which has significantly improved the experience.

Not retro, but I would love to play the DS sequels that came out in recent years. I should pick up Kanji again...

>>2998274
/vr/ doesn't even use "retro" correctly, this is clearly not a place that understands the difference between "not well-known" and "underrated"

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It's Metal Max 2 playable if you know little moon?
I think i'm gonna buy it, at least i want to have some MM original. I think i'm falling in love with this franchise.

>>3006923
>Not retro, but I would love to play the DS sequels that came out in recent years.
You definitely should.

The MM2 remake is amazing and improves the SNES original in literally every possible way, which is a rare feat, but I can safely say there's no reason at all to go back to the original, visuals are great, rearranged OST is great, tons of new content and flows even faster which is great.

MM3 is mindblowing if you think about all the content they pushed in a DS game, you can easily pour in 200 hours of your time and still have something to do, lots of quests lots of endings, great vehicle choice and customization, I have seriously nothing but praise for that game.

Haven't played MM4 yet but some japanese aquaintances told me that it's kind of bizarre as it lets go of some conventions of the series like having named characters instead of generics like MS and it's much more fanservicey in terms of content, there's a lot of DLC about previous games and tons of cameos and boss battles from the previous ones, they told me that it's not as good as 3 but it's still a great game.
>>3007976
It's kinda hard and as you might have noticed MM tends to become a bit plot heavy in its simplicity, MM2 especially has many references and in a way expands the plot of the first one, so exploring, talking to people and doing the "main quest" actually gives you some lore about the first MM happenings in relation to the Grapplers in MM2 and it's kind of important too.
I'd say play the DS remake because it's much more readable and has the same exact script anyway, no big changes besides adding another form to the big boss of the game, avoid the GBA port like the plague because it's almost literally unreadable due to ridiculously tiny resolution, so a lot of Kanji become pixel messes, usual problems with music and colours too.

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Not retro, but someone know why they did this for a cover of MM4?

>>3008556
>Ordinary Japanese Game Cover Art

Is Metal Max Returns a good starting point for this series, then? This thread has gotten me kind of pumped to try it, I'll probably dig in once I've finished Valkyrie Profile. I'm really glad we have a resident anon who seems to be extremely knowledgeable about the series.

>>3008556
I don't know as I haven't looked too much into it but it seems the same artist did a short MM related manga, I'll see what I can find.
>>3008623
It's a great starting point, also because the games are connected as they all take place in the same world but in different regions.
the chronology is more or less MM/MMR>MS=MM2/MM2R>MM3>MM4.
Returns is the best because while it has the same sandbox structure it's designed in a way that it gives a minimum guidance and explanation of mechanics through planned battles to the player while Metal Saga is much more open and doesn't really hold your hand, which makes it feel even more "pointless" than a SaGa game in some ways, since at least SaGa games usually have a defined main quest, MS literally starts with "Hey son! You wanna become a hunter? Okay, that's the door, come visit me sometime okay?", which is great if you know how the series works because it has the shortest intro and really goes straight into gameplay in seconds but there's little guidance and "purpose" until a lot later when you put pieces of the puzzle together after a whole lot of exploration.
So yeah, start with Returns, if you like it play MS since it's a direct sequel, even more than MM2, then play the others, If you want to play MM2R I strongly suggest you play MM3 first because it uses the same system but it rebalances some things out, MM3 is also kind of self contained so it can be played in any order you want, MM2 is also directly connected to MM and as I said before it sheds light on a very major plot point of the original MM lore which I can't really spoiler for obvious reasons.

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I was looking for what other games Crea-Tech did, and at least there was three more for the SFC.
One of them it's a puzzle game, the other an Itadaki Street clone and the most interesting one it's a tactics game called Genjuu Ryodan.
Apparently it's really obscure because it was released only for Satellaview in 1998, but seems to be pretty good and even playable with little japanese. Anybody knows it?

>>3009035
>Apparently it's really obscure because it was released only for Satellaview in 1998
Uh, that's obscure alright.
I'm afraid I can't help you on that, I've never played anything besides MM games when it comes to Crea-Tech, also, didn't they actually work on an Itadaki Street game?

>>3010408
Yes, for the Ps2. They didn't have too much interesting production except for Metal Max and that tactics. I guess Metal Max must have been really important in Japan.

>>3010452
>I guess Metal Max must have been really important in Japan.
As far as I know it's a cult series there, niche, but with a stable enough fanbase to let the devs pay their bills, which isn't a bad thing at all.