Game:

Metajo (1996)

Duration: 14:50

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We've introduced PC-98 into our channel with a decent amount of videos, so we're lilkely going to shift our focus to other things soon (probably when we reach a dozen different titles, or one or two more). Zai Metajo is interesting just by the name alone. It's sometimes also labeled Zwei/ツヴァイ Metajo/メタ女, although "Zai" doesn't really mean much on its own, but could be an abbreviation for Zei, or Zeitgeist (which is the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era). However, Zai here is most likely a reference to the main character of the game, who uses multiple "Sai" for weapons (more than one is called "Zai"). Should Zai also be pronounced and spelled Zwei, it would share a double meaning, as Zwei is German for "2", and this is the sequel to the original "Metajo".

Meta is the prefix for various topics, though in this case it's paired with a "Jo" kanji (for girl, woman, etc.), so it's sometimes read as Meta-Girl or Meta-Woman. When you break it all down, it's basically the sum of its parts like many Japanese game names or terms converted into English. Anyway, it's a very good, largely all-girl strategy game for the PC-98 by Anjin, and it doesn't appear to bombard you with nudity either, which is just a "little" surprising.

In the game you, play as Yurika, the leader of a band of special high school / university students who is unwittingly apart of a war and chain of events that were in place hundreds of years before she was born. The game takes place in what is considered a scientifically advanced era where technology caused a divide in the world and where students trained for battle.

The concept behind the schools originally came into being over 1200 years ago (in the original Metajo, as this is the sequel) due to the actions of Emperor Kounen, who devoted their life to the belief of reconstructing society, the government, and principals as they had known them but others with power did not share the same sentiments. Over time, Kounen's voice grew more powerful and was able to attract followers and the attention of buddhist monks but his hardships grew more intense as opposition mounted, eventually leading to death, but Kounen's words did not die that day.

Time passed and new emperors succeeded Kounen, such as Emperor Sakiyo and Emperor Kanmu, who were isolated from the others and drifted to Awaji Island. It was there that they welcomed a brilliant scientist and believer of paraphysics, Dr.Topology, who eventually became the chief advisor to the then-in-power Emperor. Dr.T knew that they could not use normal humans to fight against the physical, mental and spiritual powers of their enemies, so Dr.T suggested the drastic measure for them to look to the future and advance the studies of super science.

Fast forward some assassination attempt and various other things I don't care to mention later, and you discover that this game is built quite heavily on some buddhists beliefs and given that, the beliefs of structure and peace led to the creation of a special girls high school (Typically called Huritsu Daigaku Joshikou or "Meta-Prefectural College University" or "The Prefectural Girl's School Attached to a Meta-Topology University"), which this world feels is the best way to create a new world order due to a woman's purity and wisdom.

The game is relatively simple to understand if you've ever played a strategy game with an easy to understand interface and a number of configurations. You move characters in turns and fighting is based on your basic parameters, terrain, and your enemies' abilities. One thing that makes this game interesting is the story, which (while a bit spiritual) is rather humorous and has many branching pathes. Another aspect is likely derived from Japanese Shingon Buddhism, where you must uphold the law and spare certain sentient beings. Some enemies in the game beg for mercy and you can spare them when it's your turn to attack by cancelling the command before defeating an enemy. You can learn moves by continous fighting and by using technique points characters earn.

Battles take place using the simple map graphics or through a more flashy combat sequence, where the action is sorta reminiscent to "Langrisser", where enemies exchange jabs. The game has nice animations and looks good in and of itself. The music is also great, though some of the sound effect quality was compromised to fit an impressive amount of spoken bits, though the soundtrack is great in general. As this is getting long-winded, I'd say this game is highly recommended.

Note: The music in the intro does tend to drown the spoken bits sadly. I turned the BGM down to try and bring it up as much as possible, but it didn't do much for the intro.