Metal Stoker: Neo Hardboiled Shooting - Hardcore Gaming 101

[Gentlegamer]

Face is a mostly unknown publisher even in Japan, and even more unknown is Sankido, the developer name under which most of their games were made. Their only games of note to be released outside of Japan are the cult titles Money Idol Exchanger and Time Cruise II. This is just as well as most of their work ranges from average like Nostradamus and Fushigi no Yume no Alice to absolute trash like Cyber Cross. The final title to use the Face name was the unreleased Diggerman for the Neo Geo in 2000. Metal Stoker: Neo Hardboiled Shooting, however, stands out as a colorful, fun and fast paced action game against its contemporaries on the PC Engine.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/metalstoker/metalstoker.htm

[VenomMacbeth]

Jeez, is it really that spectacular? I've watched gameplay & it doesn't look all that special.  Maybe you actually have to play it...

[bob]

For Sale:  Metal Stoker: Neo Hardboiled Shooting

$25 paypal gift, shipped anywhere in USA 48

[esteban]

Looks pretty fun. I had no idea it was fully english. Makes you wonder what NEC/TTI were thinking... titles like this would have been super easy to bring to NA and appear to be better than some of the crap they localized.

This game would not have had wide appeal...at least, I don't think it would have.

Of course, with some good marketing, NEC/TTi could have made the game seem much more desirable to the TG-16 faithful, but it would have required the sort of creativity that we rarely saw back then.

I think Metal Stoker is OK, but it never became a fave.

Mesopotamia, for example, I found much more intriguing.

[A Black Falcon]

Metal Stoker is definitely good, yeah.  It reminds me of Granada on the Genesis; anyone who likes that game should like this one as well.  The graphics are a bit plain sometimes, and of course I wish it had full twin-stick shooting controls, but still, it's a good game which plays great.  I got it complete for a bit over $20 so it's not the cheapest game, but it's not really expensive either.  I don't regret it, it's good if you like this kind of game, as I do.

[Necromancer]

Hardcoregaming fails again: no mention of Hani.     

But Metal Stoker is pretty cool, so at least they got something right.

[esteban]

The game has a fair amount of polish to it.  It is distinctly "face"... the tunes and graphics remind me a lot of Time Cruise, which is a good thing.  My only gripe is the controls... while dual d-pad would be ideal, things would be much better if the aim was "locked" only while holding the I button.  It is kind of cumbersome to hit I to toggle lock off and on, especially considering how often you have to do it.

It's at these times I wish older games offered many different options for controls. Some games really benefit from different control schemes.

Now I want to play this damn game.

[Gredler]

Metal Stoker is definitely good, yeah.  It reminds me of Granada on the Genesis; anyone who likes that game should like this one as well.  The graphics are a bit plain sometimes, and of course I wish it had full twin-stick shooting controls, but still, it's a good game which plays great.  I got it complete for a bit over $20 so it's not the cheapest game, but it's not really expensive either.  I don't regret it, it's good if you like this kind of game, as I do.

I was going to mention that it looks like Granada. A very fun and unique game that is rarely talked about, I think. Both remind me of Thunder Force 2's topdown levels, but with more varied and interesting level design. This looks cool, thanks for noting it Adding it to the list of games to check out for the system.

[esteban]

Metal Stoker is definitely good, yeah.  It reminds me of Granada on the Genesis; anyone who likes that game should like this one as well.  The graphics are a bit plain sometimes, and of course I wish it had full twin-stick shooting controls, but still, it's a good game which plays great.  I got it complete for a bit over $20 so it's not the cheapest game, but it's not really expensive either.  I don't regret it, it's good if you like this kind of game, as I do.

I was going to mention that it looks like Granada. A very fun and unique game that is rarely talked about, I think. Both remind me of Thunder Force 2's topdown levels, but with more varied and interesting level design. This looks cool, thanks for noting it Adding it to the list of games to check out for the system.

I found Granada and Metal Stoker to be a less-jarring  experience than the top-down levels in Thunderforce II. Switching directions in TFII always felt goofy (unpolished) compared to other top-down games.

Anyway, maybe Metal Stoker will be mentioned more often in the "underappreciated" or "unknown" threads that occasionally pop up.

[A Black Falcon]

The game has a fair amount of polish to it.  It is distinctly "face"... the tunes and graphics remind me a lot of Time Cruise, which is a good thing.  My only gripe is the controls... while dual d-pad would be ideal, things would be much better if the aim was "locked" only while holding the I button.  It is kind of cumbersome to hit I to toggle lock off and on, especially considering how often you have to do it.

That's a good point, I also wish that the game had an option for hold-to-strafe instead of on/off as it has.  On/off strafing is a bit slower and clumsier to use than hold-to-strafe is.  It works well as it is once you play the game a bit, but it would be a bit better with that other control option.

I was going to mention that it looks like Granada. A very fun and unique game that is rarely talked about, I think. Both remind me of Thunder Force 2's topdown levels, but with more varied and interesting level design. This looks cool, thanks for noting it Adding it to the list of games to check out for the system.

Thunder Force II... that feels different to me, it doesn't have strafing and you move much faster.  They are both topdown action games though, sure.  And I actually like the topdown levels in Thunder Force II also, they're fun.  The level designs are certainly a lot more varied in Metal Stoker, but Thunder Force II kind of reminds me of a predecessor to a PC game I played back in the mid '90s, Zone 66.  I liked that game, it's good.