Cyber Troopers Virtual-On: Oratorio Tangram (Dreamcast) - Let's Play 1001 Games - Episode 109
12Watch me fail at Cyber Troopers! Seriously how do you control these damned mechas?!
If you liked this video consider supporting the series ► https://www.patreon.com/GamingJay1001
Follow me on Twitter ► https://twitter.com/GamingJay1001
Check out the website ► http://letsplay1001.com/
Check out the book ► http://www.amazon.com/1001-Video-Games-Must-Before/dp/0789320908
I'm Gaming Jay: Youtube gamer, let's player, fan of retro games, and determined optimist... Join me in this series while I try out EACH of the video games in the book 1001 VIDEO GAMES YOU MUST PLAY BEFORE YOU DIE, before I die. The game review for each game will focus on the question of whether you MUST play this game before you die. But to be honest, the game review parts are just for fun, and are not meant to be definitive, in depth reviews; this series is more about the YouTube gamer journey itself. From Mario games to the Halo series, from arcade games to Commodore 64, PC games to the NES and Sega Genesis, Playstation to the Xbox, let's play those classic retro games that we grew up with, have fond memories of, or heard of but never got a chance to try! And with that said, the game review for today is...
Cyber Troopers Virtual-On: Oratorio Tangram
Released 1998
Developer(s) Sega AM3
Platform(s) Arcade, Dreamcast
Genre(s) Action
Jay's Thoughts
Cyber Troopers Virtual-On is an ongoing series of mecha combat games from Sega. This particular version (Oratorio Tangram) is the second game in the series. The concept is pretty simple, you and an opponent each choose a Japanese-styled mecha and proceed to fight to the death. The mechas are agile and fast-paced in this game, in true Japanese anime style. The attacks range from missiles to lasers to swords to launching entire drills at your opponent. All in all, for any fans of mecha out there, stylistically this game is going to satisfy you.
In terms of the gameplay I have more mixed feelings. First off, I was trying out the Dreamcast version of this game, and oddly enough, this game required a special Dreamcast controller that had dual-analog sticks, not something that the Dreamcast had by default. Even with a dual-stick setup though, this game is quite hard to control. Moving felt a little imprecise and turning often felt too slow. As a result, it was hard to really combat enemy mechas properly. Often times the computer would be dashing around me, pelting me with attacks, and I could barely land a few hits. Now maybe some of this (or much of it) was due to my unfamiliarity with the game, but it was still unfortunate. I was looking forward to having a lot of fun with this one (as I personally am a mecha fan) but the controls made the game feel quite limited.
Another minor issue I had was with the difficulty of the single-player mode. The first opponent you fight is almost laughably easy. However, after that the game becomes quite hard. I feel like a more gradual progression in difficulty might have allowed me to better learn to deal with the controls and learn how to attack and defend in gradually more effective ways. To go from easy to just impossible discouraged me from wanting to actually learn how to play.
In the end, Cyber Troopers Virtual-On is an energetic and face paced mecha action game. This game has some control issues that may make it hard for new players to get into. In terms of single-player action, this game is challenging, which means I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. However, I suspect it might actually be a lot more fun with two players, as at least then, even if both players are novices, they'll be on equal footing. So maybe, if anything, give that a shot if you're less sure about this one.
➙ Must You Play It?
A mecha-based action combat game with a great Japanese style but some tricky and challenging controls. I can't say I'm a fan of the control scheme or the difficulty of the game, but for mecha fans out there, these are things that could be overcome. At the least, maybe this is one you want to try with a friend, as that way even if you're bad at it, at least you'll both be bad, and be on an equal playing field.