Metal Max is a traditional JRPG series developed by Crea-Tech and known for it's vehicular combat, over-the-top enemies, catchy boss theme, and open world story progression. Set in the dystopian wasteland of the not-so-distant future, the series relies heavily on inspiration from George Miller's Mad Max films, employing a cast of interesting and bizarre characters to meet throughout your journey.
While each game in the series is connected by it's world, every entry is an independent, standalone story, with some standard recurring characters and enemies.
The core gameplay of the Metal Max series remains similar between each release, with the player assembling a party for traditional turn based combat. Where Metal Max is able to carve itself out from other JRPG's is by adding vehicles into the mix, such as tanks and armoured motorcycles.
Throughout the game, you'll come across many vehicles, each with their own set of traits and proficiencies. An armoured tank may be able to have multiple heavy guns, but a modified ambulance can heal the party, despite it's lack of offensive capabilities. Vehicles are also given their own unique equipment, such as engines, cannons, and the chassis. Additionally, the weight of this equipment has to be managed so your vehicle won't become overburdened and immobile. Will you utilize more armour plating for a good defence, or go in guns blazing with a gigantic, heavy cannon?
Another staple of the series is taking on the role of a hunter. Making your way across the wasteland, you'll find WANTED posters in each city with rewards offered for the takedown of numerous villains and monsters. These serve as the optional bosses in the game, and are used to develop the world and it's often subtle lore. Defeating these enemies is also great for earning large sums of money when you need it most, allowing you to rack up more cash in a single outing, instead of grinding on smaller enemies. At each hunter office, you'll also learn about the Weekly Target, timed events where defeating specific common monsters will earn you extra money if they're claimed within a certain timeframe. Ultimately, this feature is less important and only serves as an unexpected bonus when making your routine visits to these offices.
As you defeat more strong enemies, your name in the world will grow, and you'll soon find yourself going from a fledgling hunter who gets laughed out of the local bar, to seasoned veteran who is respected and actively talked about in each town.
The original Metal Max was released late into the Famicom's life cycle on May 24, 1991. It follows the adventure of a young boy who is disowned by his father for recklessly wanting to become a hunter. Metal Max saw a remake for the Super Famicom and released as Metal Max Returns on September 29, 1995.
Metal Max 2 would follow-up the first game and was released for the Super Famicom on March 5, 1993. This time, you set out for revenge against the gang that brutally slaughtered your friends. It was later ported to the Game Boy Advance as Metal Max 2 Kai, but would see a true remake for the Nintendo DS as Metal Max 2 ReLoaded on December 8, 2011. New to this entry was the ability to choose a class, similar to Dragon Quest III, as well as the ability to recruit a dog to your team.
Metal Max 3 was a long awaited follow-up to the previous game, and would be the first mainline entry to the series in nearly 20 years, releasing for the Nintendo DS on July 29, 2010. You take on the role of a young man trying to piece together his past after suffering from amnesia when he's revived from the brink of death. This game would also be the first time that character transformations were used.
Metal Max 4: Moonlight Diva is the game most people will recognize for it's ridiculous cover. It was released for the Nintendo 3DS on November 7, 2013 and follows the story of a boy trying to rescue his kidnapped sister and their foster father.
A spin-off series was also released under the Metal Saga moniker. For the most part, it's identical to the mainline series, but that's a can of worms for another day.
The vagabond guitarman, that's me
A roving bird, burdened with a guitar
Should you ever long to hear my song
Cross the desert and come here to me
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
Stalwart, dashing Rodriguez
Shocking, damn fine Rodriguez
My baggy boots are full of holes
Don't fall in love with me, baby
My fragmented heart is weeping
I'm the fast-drawing guitarman
I've kicked hunter asses from east to west
Look at me funny and I'll tear out your throat
Me and my fire-breathing guitar
Oh, Oh, Oh
