The GEX game
begins with a cinema of Tetsuro Hoshino and his mother walking on a
frost covered plain as delicate blobs of snow waft down from the
sky. Mother and son are in a peaceful moment, speaking as they walk.
A mammoth train speeds overhead suspended in mid-air. Seasoned GEX
viewers know this is the scene from the beginning of the manga/anime
where they are walking to the Galaxy Expresss 999 train in order to
acquire mechanical bodies in bids for immortality. The peace is
broken when a targeting sight appears and Tetsuro's mother gets shot
from behind. Tetsuro hides and witnesses Count Mecha and a group of
peons gathering their prize, Tetsuro's mother. Later on in the long
intro, Tetsuro sneaks into the Count's castle seeking revenge. He
enters Mecha's chamber and sees his mother on a wall, rendered a
mere trophy, and challenges the Count. Tetsuro summarily gets shot
from behind. In the next scene, he awakes in a bed and meets Maetel
for the first time. After a brief discussion, Maetel offers Tetsuro
an unlimited pass to the Galaxy Express with the stipulation that
she accompany him on his travels. He agrees and the two new friends
board the galaxy spanning train. The cut sequence from Tetsuro's
getting shot and suddenly ending up safe in a bed may confuse anyone
who isn't Galaxy Express savvy but Banpresto assumes that anyone
buying the game knows the tale.
Galaxy Express 999 uses two methods to relay the story
of the anime in an edited and condensed form. There's an animation
to set up the story and a polygon rendered representation of key
scenes from the original animation. After the movie, you eventually
gain control of Tetsuro and bound about in action-adventure with
what appears to be over 40 sequential scenarios. An easy comparison
game in terms of style would be Megaman Legends. In the first
episode, a pilot of a small starship loses control of his vehicle
and crashes into the Galaxy Express. Both tumble down into a planet
which seems a strange amalgam of the wild west and a desert city.
Tetsuro's first adventure finds him entering the town with the pilot
of the starship to find help and necessary parts to repair the GEX.
An indication of how friendly the people are on the planet comes
from an old codger who shoots at Tetsuro when he nears the man's
ranch and a guard in the town who denies exit whenever Tetsuro tries
to leave.
A loose camera follows the action with free flowing
versatility and conversations with people are triggered with a
button press. Gameplay works nicely and relays the ambience of the
Galaxy Express very well. Fans of the series will likely be
deliriously happy to see Tetsuo and Maeter in an interactive
setting. Others may find a grand introduction to one of Leiji
Matsumoto's most endearing works. A promotional sheet included
inside the game details special offers on schedule related to the
Galaxy Express 999 game. | |
