Tech Romancer

"A 3D robotic brawl that doesn't have "Virtual" or "On" in the title."

What is it about SEGA consoles that seem to produce some of the best work from Capcom? Like the Saturn before it (with a slew of arcade-perfect ports ranging from Dungeons & Dragons to Street Fighter Alpha 3), the Dreamcast seems to be playing host to the next generation of Capcom goodness. However, unlike the ill-fated Saturn, these games are not content to remain import-only as even the most bizarre of Capcom's library is now making it to our shores. Enter Tech Romancer, not necessarily one of the afore mentioned bizarre entries, but a surprising release nonetheless.

Much like any other fighting game, there really is not central plot to follow. Instead, each pilot has his or her own reason for battling the other mechs, some heroic, some devious, and all a little off the wall. With ten different mechs, each with a very unique flavor, you're not likely to get bored easily. The cool thing is Capcom modeled many of these mechs after famous animes or games- G. Kaiser is the superhero mech, Dixen is a ringer for Gundam, Bolon looks for all the world to be a Robot Master from the Mega Man series, Refaco a variable fighter from Macross, Twinzam V a homage to Voltron, and Wise Duck looks like it stomped right out of MechWarrior. To round out the list there's Pulsion, Diana 17 and Gourai.

It amazes me even now how capable a machine the Dreamcast was, and nothing illustrates this more than Tech Romancer's graphics. Sure, on the surface it may seem like a simple, 3D engine, but underneath that there's a level of detail you can only appreciate when you take in the whole picture. Take in the backgrounds, with colorful mechs battling over a vast landscape, and the speeds at which they move, a wide-range of animation for each "character", the air filled with explosions, plus the sudden realization that the game somehow manages to process all this without chugging to a halt and then you'll grasp the point I'm try to make.

Probably about the only thing I find fault in Tech Romancer is the audio. Sound effects are dull and uninspired (save a few exceptions) that, while seemingly fitting the motif of the game, lack any oomph to really make anyone take notice. Likewise with the soundtrack- Uninspired, generic tracks that repeat ad nausea while the action fills the screen. I accept that not every Capcom game can have a noteworthy soundtrack, but I at least expect some effort be put forth. I've heard of others who praised Tech Romancer's audio presentation, and they are certainly entitled to their opinions, but my personal tastes and high expectations from my favorite company made this one a tough pill to swallow.

Controls are not what you'd expect from your typical Capcom fighting game- There are two attack buttons, a guard button and a jump button. This control scheme may come as a shock to long-time fans, but it's actually rather intuitive and works well within the confines of this particular game. Another noticeable difference is instead of chipping away at your opponent's life meter, you instead fill a damage meter. When that meter is full, the enemy mech ceases to function. Adding to that is another meter that represents the armor. If you do enough damage to your opponent's armor, it will break and allow you to do more damage to the mech itself. To further separate itself from other Capcom fighters, there are also items to pick up, which include healing, ability (boosting stats like attack, defense and speed) and weapons. Of the weapons, each mech can use three different types that add a dazzling array of special moves to each mech's arsenal. It's here that we finally see similarities between Tech Romancer and Street Fighter in that the special moves are performed in a similar manner, with a special gauge that fills up, putting even more devastating moves at your fingertips. There's even a Final Attack that can be performed when an opponent is damaged enough.

It's really hard for me to find fault in Tech Romancer's design- Capcom really did everything right for this game considering it's relative obscurity. Not content to simply port the game, the amount of content added to the Dreamcast release is staggering, not the least of which is the alterations made to the Arcade mode. When you enter Arcade mode, you are presented with the choice to either play the Story Mode or enter Hero's Challenge. The Hero's Challenge is where the game really gets interesting and really proves just how hardcore you are when it comes to your Tech Romancer skills. The overall presentation is slick, evoking images of actually being at the touch-screen controls of one of the mechs as you make your selections and enter different modes.

It may seem odd to want to so highly praise a game for it's bonuses, but Tech Romancer does it with such style I can't help but be impressed. You enter a mode called Dr. Tatsumi's Techno-Dome, in which you can peruse a list of all the unlockable goodies at your disposal. Some items can be bought while other are unlocked under certain conditions. That's where the Development Room comes in. Entering this mode allows you to spend cash you've earned in Hero Challenge or from the mini-games to unlock many of the game's secrets. Did I say mini-games? That's right, there are actually three VMU mini-games to play that helps you earn that money you need to get everything the game has to offer. At start, only one game (Love & Punch- an interesting game in which you must kiss one image while punching the other) is available, but I'm sure you've figured out by now how to unlock the other two...

So it's a little too late to really recommend this game given the long dead and buried status of the Dreamcast, but if you manage to find a copy of Tech Romancer, it is well worth your time and money. The unique fighting system and arcade-to-console enhancements make this one of the more unique (and fun) entries in the Dreamcast's library.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/07/09

Game Release: Tech Romancer (US, 03/31/00)