Armored Warriors, A Game I wanted to love, but couldn’t

The version of Armored Warriors I played is on Capcom’s Beat’em Up Bundle. It is an arcade rom, so it looks wonderful and has unlimited continues. This is my preferred way to play these games, but it isn’t for everyone. You can also get the game on MAME if you want.

This is a game that I should’ve loved! Armored Warriors is all about piloting a giant robot and fighting other robots. It should be awesome, but there are a few things I found a little annoying when I first started.

I loved the setting and some of the gameplay mechanics. This game has a lot of cool stuff, but it didn’t click with me, as I thought it would. This is one of the few beat’em ups I wish was an RPG instead of what it is.

TLDR: Great graphics, good gameplay, and a fun story.

Narrative

The story is a fairly standard science fiction narrative that wouldn’t be out of place in an anime or manga. It isn’t too far off from what you might’ve seen in Gundam or Macross. I didn’t find one, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there was an anime or manga tie-in.

The game takes place in 2281, where the United Earth Government and the Principalities of Raia have signed a ceasefire agreement. One year after this, an unknown enemy attacks and captures Raia, and this starts the game.

It is a cyborg army that is trying to assimilate the human race. This is similar to the Borg from Star Trek or the Cyberman from Dr. Who. I’m sure there are other examples of this.

I like the story. It gives the player a little mystery that gets solved the further you get in the game. Since Armored Warriors is only 30-60 minutes long depending on your skill level, you figure things out rather quickly. The ending is also pretty good, but the message isn’t something that could be explored in a short game like this.

Gameplay

There is a lot to like about Armored Warriors. It is a beat’em up where you pilot a giant robot and fight other giant robots. It also has a very cool mechanic where you can pick up new guns, arms, and legs for your mech.

Like many of the games in this genre, there are four playable characters:

• Rash — Balanced
• Justice — Balanced
• Gray — Strong
• Siren — Fast

Each of them pilots a unique mech. These reflect the tropes that appear in most beat’em ups. Trying out each one was a lot of fun! I love doing that in games like this.

When you defeat enemies, they may drop an arm, a gun, or legs. There is also a chance that they might rip one of your mech’s arms off. You can pick up replacements from the enemies you defeat.

Here is a list of the arms I found. I might have missed one or two:

• Drill
• Hydraulic claw
• Shock claw
• Laser Sword
• Shield

Here are the shoulder mounted guns I picked up:

• Vulcan gun
• Flamethrower
• Laser cannon
• Missiles

Here are the replacement legs I picked up:

• Regular legs
• Tank treads
• Four-legs
• Hover legs

These aren’t complete lists. I spent most of the game with a Drill arm or Laser sword. I did my best to avoid the leg replacements and tried to get the flamethrower or laser cannon. Each of the guns has limited ammo. I believe you can pick up more, just like finding health items and bonus points.

You can find health, ammo, and bonus points by breaking objects. These often are cargo crates that are the size of the mechs. There are other destructible objects you’ll find during the game.

The controls are very good. You can jump and there are two attack buttons, one for your gun and the other for whatever arm you have equipped. This, like other beat’em ups, is an easy game to play and difficult to master.

The bosses all have patterns. You can try to pick your spots when fighting them or try to muscle your way through the fight. The Capcom Beat’em Up Bundle gives you unlimited continues, so you don’t have to worry about losing the game.

Overall, the gameplay is wonderful! I only had a few issues when it came to accidentally picking up a weapon I didn’t want. I also think this setting would be better served in an RPG instead of a beat’em up.

Visuals

This is a beautiful game. The character sprites look awesome! I love the design of the playable mechs and I think the bosses look very cool.

I love how each playable mech looks different and is customized to the pilots. It feels like something out of an anime. The boss characters also look cool, but I wish there were more of them. They stand out as “ace” pilots or customized mechs. It adds some character to the game.

There isn’t a lot of variety in the enemies. This isn’t necessarily bad as it makes it easier to tell what arm, gun, or leg unit they will drop. Those items stand out and remain on the playfield to let the player know they can be picked up.

The level design isn’t all that impressive. They are basically straight lines through different environments. This is what you should expect from the beat’em up genre, and is similar to other games released in the early 1990s.

There aren’t too many enemies on the screen. From what I remember, it seems like it is limited to 6-10 enemies on the screen at a time. The enemy sprites are large and detailed, but you will see some regular-sized humans/cyborgs, which will give you a sense of how big the mechs are supposed to be.

The story is told through text boxes and a few cutscenes. These are very basic ways of telling the story. If you aren’t paying attention, then you can miss the story entirely.

Overall, this is a great looking game. It would’ve been interesting to see what would’ve happened if Capcom tried to bring this game to home consoles in 1994. The PS1, N64, and Sega Saturn could’ve handled it, but the SNES and Sega Genesis would’ve had inferior ports.  

7.5/10. Despite all the great things in this game, I didn’t like it as much as the other Capcom beat’em ups I’ve played. The idea of piloting a giant robot that can easily swap weapons sounds way cooler than it actually was.

Pros

• Beautiful Graphics
• Unique Gameplay
• Great Controls

Cons

• Easy to pick up something you don’t want
• Can’t get rid of guns when ammo runs out
• Short experience

Conclusion

I wish this game had been an RPG similar to Xenogears. In its current form, Armored Warriors is a very fun game, but I kept thinking about how much more fun it would be as an RPG. This probably sounds strange, but that was where my mind went while playing.

The graphics, gameplay, and story are very good. There are little things I don’t like about the game. Most of them have to deal with accidentally picking up something you don’t want, and it is annoying when you carry around an empty gun.

This is a good beat’em up, but I think it could’ve been a better RPG. The story is really cool. I don’t think this genre of game is the right one for Armored Warriors. When this game was released, Capcom had a hit-and-miss history with RPGs. Some were good, but had terrible localizations. Others didn’t do as well in North America as they were probably hoping.

If you liked this post, please check out my other reviews of beat’em ups, such as Warriors of Fate and Dynasty Wars.