Neo Nectaris

[Lord Thag]

I've loved Military Madness since I was a kid, so I finally decided to take the plunge and pick up Neo Nectaris for the PCE. Got it complete for $20, so I was pretty happy. I'm hoping it'll get here by the weekend.

Can anyone tell me the difference between this title and the original? From what I've heard, there are several new units that have less than obvious purposes, and that the game is the only true evolution of the series, as opposed to re-hashed clones that mimic, but do not advance, the premise (like the PS1 version). That's about all I know. The big fansite for the game is half down.

Anyone here play it much? I don't read Japanese, alas, so I just wondered if there was anything I should be aware of, gameplay-wise, before I dive in?

Anyone else a fan of this game, I haven't heard much about it.

[Black Tiger]

If you're a fan of the original, then you'll love Neo Nectaris. The entire game has a new art style, with everything looking darker and more evil. Just wait until the first time you capture a base. The soundtrack is entirely epic CD orchestral. It plays the same, but the levels are pretty much all completely new. There's a healthy number of Moon-based maps, during which one or two new units might stand out (including one little used unit I still haven't figured out). Then the game freaking jumps to Mars where you face all kinds of crazy alien monster looking mecha (1 giant unit = 8 regular units) and new terrain elements. No japanese is needed and everything is as straight forward as Military Madness. It even includs the original game on the same disc. It's one of the very best PC Engine games.

[hoobs88]

Black Tiger beat me to the response. If you like the original Military Madness, you will like this one as well. If you go to Base Nectaris you can get info on the 8 new units that are unique to this game. I remember feeling an incredible sense of accomplishment when defeating the Bio Heiki unit in an epic battle...especially when the whole screen turns white and you hear an explosion!The disc contains the original Nectaris game as well so you get 2 games for th price of one!I believe there is a music selection screen on the options menu. The only things that I didn't like about the game were: the battle sequences took place on the diagonals rather than left/right and I found it confusing to distinguish who was who and when taking over a factory, the cut scene was different and I like the old one better.

[Black Tiger]

I forgot to mention the battle scenes. I was also disappointed at first that it uses a different perspective, but it works out better when you begin facing large enemies and it gives a better sense of scale. In the end, it's one more little bit of variety to distance itself from just being a rehash like the PSX and 360 versions.

[Lord Thag]

Awesome. That's what I wanted to hear. I can't wait to play it. On an even nicer note, my researching this led me to discover the japanese-only gameboy version, which I then found for for cheap on evilbay in new condition. Portable Nectaris! 

I tried the base Nectaris site, but all of the links of the main FAQ are broken, so I can't get the skinny on the 'Bio Hicky'  thingumies are. Giant and screen-filling sound very awesome though.

Hopefully the new Wii/XBLA one will be as good!

[Black Tiger]

Awesome. That's what I wanted to hear. I can't wait to play it. On an even nicer note, my researching this led me to discover the japanese-only gameboy version, which I then found for for cheap on evilbay in new condition. Portable Nectaris! 

I tried the base Nectaris site, but all of the links of the main FAQ are broken, so I can't get the skinny on the 'Bio Hicky'  thingumies are. Giant and screen-filling sound very awesome though.

Hopefully the new Wii/XBLA one will be as good!

Nectaris GB or whatever it's called is pretty crude and broken. Instead of hexagons, it uses staggered squares. Also, the graphics look simpler than Famicom Wars. Some of the music ported well. Still, the only good portable Nectaris is the original on a GT/TE.

[Lord Thag]

Nectaris GB or whatever it's called is pretty crude and broken. Instead of hexagons, it uses staggered squares. Also, the graphics look simpler than Famicom Wars. Some of the music ported well. Still, the only good portable Nectaris is the original on a GT/TE

Yeah, but my TE doesn't have a power adaptor, and those babies eat batteries like a fat tweaker eats moon pies. Got to get a power adaptor for mine.

The gameboy one does look hokey, but I hear it plays well, even if it's uglier than a bag of boiled toad sphincters. I'm such a Nectaris fan, I'll probably play it anyway. Military Madness was the game that truly made me love strategy games as a kid. That and Desert Commander on the NES, though the AI on that one is really poor.