1 million horsepower.
So to continue on with this quarantine series, I figured I’d mix it up a bit. Lord knows I can drone on about boring-ass JRPGs ’til the cows come home. So instead, I went with an incredible curveball.
A licensed anime game: Astro Boy: Omega Factor.
Before I even get to the game, I kind of have to give a bit of an explanation for Astro Boy/Mighty Atom. Because regardless of whether or not you’re into anime, chances are you’re not familiar with it. Astro Boy is probably the best known work of Dr. Osamu Tezuka, who in Japan is generally known as the God of Manga. To put it bluntly, he’s considered to manga what Miguel de Cervantes was to the modern novel; sure, it existed before, but he made it into what it is now, functionally.
Tezuka was a surgical doctor who never actually practiced; that said, he often illustrated Japanese medical textbooks long after he was established as a mangaka. While Astro Boy is probably the most well known of his works outside Japan, other big names of his to make it across the pond are Black Jack and Dororo. That is nothing, however; in his lifetime, he authored and drew well over 700 manga volumes. More than that, he was influential in the real start of the anime industry; it’s safe to say that, despite his relative obscurity among fans of anime and manga today, much of what they enjoy might not exist without his work in television animation.
Tezuka is also particularly notable for his “Star System”. He wouldn’t create a new character design unless it was absolutely necessary. He treated many of his characters as one might movie stars; they would show up and play a role, and sometimes they would even be typecast (Lamp, for example, frequently played various types of villains or antagonists). While this practice tapered off in relation to the number of higher-profile characters he had, they still sometimes got recast; Astro/Atom famously only wound up recast in a different role twice: in a single Black Jack chapter, and in Undersea Super Train: Marine Express.
Oh, and also, as a side note, Mega Man was originally going to be an Astro Boy game, before Capcom lost the license. Make of that what you will.
This is all important to this game, however, because Omega Factor is very loosely based on the 2003 anime adaptation for Astro Boy, which was something of an important, anniversary-like series for the character. And, to follow suit, the game is something of a celebration of Tezuka’s work, crossing over a massive number of his characters into the game as cameos to some degree or another. Meeting them, as a matter of fact, is important, as it fills out their spot on the titular omega factor, granting you a customization point.
As for the game itself, it’s a 2D beat-’em up, of sorts. You’ve got the ability to punch and kick, dash around using Astro’s iconic rockets for temporary invincibility, fire finger lasers and an arm cannon special, and use his “rear-mounted” machine guns as a full screen interrupt. That said, there are also side-scrolling shooter levels. And the boss fights are suitably tense. The game, despite it’s otherwise kid-friendly appearance, is fairly difficult, especially in the second half.
Pretty much everyone that played the game back when it came out loved it; it managed to avert the licensed game curse. It regularly makes it into fairly high positions on various “best of” lists. Unfortunately, almost no one played it due to that aforementioned obscurity. Which is a shame, as the game is phenominal, regardless of whether or not you’re familiar with the source material, and it’s easily among the best licensed games ever made. And why wouldn’t it be? It was developed by Treasure (whose bonafides should be acknowledged by gamers practically on instinct) and published by Sega.
So, here’s where things get a bit tricky. Since this was a licensed game, it’s never seen a reprint or port. And probably never will. It also didn’t have the largest print run, either. Moreover, it’s a 2004 Game Boy Advance game, which means that you’ll need the proper hardware to play it if you don’t already have it. That said, the relative obscurity can work in your favor, here; depending on condition and completeness, it can be found for as little as $5 on certain sites, though it generally goes on ebay for anywhere between $40-$100. And for several hundred dollars in mint condition. I have, however, seen is sold off in small lots for under $10, though all of those games are usually cart only. That said, we here at GAMbIT do not condone piracy, so if you’re considering hoisting the Jolly Roger, you should feel bad for even thinking of committing such an immoral act, even if it’s for a licensed game that’s been out of print for a decade-and-a-half.
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