METAL WOLF CHAOS XD Speedrunner Achievement Trophy Guide PS4 XBOX ONE. Minecraft Cubecraft Bug I Earn My Achievement XD.
Stay on target.In 2016 I argued that cult classic Japan-only mech game Metal Wolf Chaos, a game where the president fights back for America’s freedom in a robot suit, was the perfect game for a time when America’s slide into fascism wasn’t quite so confirmed. And the feisty indie publisher Devolver Digital must have agreed because they soon picked up international publishing rights for an HD remaster for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.I finally got to play the game and like many underground niche hits it turns out Metal Wolf Chaos is entertaining because it’s so weird, not because it’s especially good.
It’s not quite on the rock-bottom level of Night Trap, which also got a loving modern restoration, but maybe it’s the mechs, not America, that need to be made great again. While there’s some nice (for the time) environmental destruction and nifty weapon variety, the sheer tedium of joylessly blasting through every level before a bullet sponge boss fight reminds me how these people eventually made the insufferable Souls games. Imagine, America. It’s a time of great technological progress but also stark inequality. The people are so divided another Civil War might be imminent, and law enforcement has never been more militarized.
To top it all off, the White House, the highest office in the land, may soon fall into the clutches of a fascist maniac.For those of you playing at home, you’re right, I did just describe the actual state of America today. However, I was also describing the plot of the wonderfully gonzo and shockingly prescient original Xbox shooter Metal Wolf Chaos. With America winding down its final season, now seemed like the perfect time to revisit this tale of politics and rocket launchers.
These are literally the things that happen in Metal Wolf Chaos. President Woodrow Wilson’s descendant Michael Wilson and his old war buddy Richard Hawk become president and vice president, respectively. The other Vice President Dick who shoots people in the face then hops in a mech suit, exiles Wilson, and institutes martial law across the United States. Don’t blame me, I voted for Kodos. To save liberty, Punished “Venom” President Wilson acquires his own mech suit and fights his way across the country to “Take America Back,” to make it great again if you will. The President and the Vice President of the United States of America have space robot battle to the death and freedom wins.I think I might cry.Metal Wolf Chaos was published in 2004 by FromSoftware, the creators of the Souls series.
Its political parallels were already creepy enough during the George W. Bush era but in the age of Trump they’re downright bone-chilling.
The game only came out in Japan, perhaps because America wasn’t ready for it, but only on the original Xbox, a western console virtually ignored in Japan. That hilarious contradiction is the perfect metaphor for the game itself. If you manage to track down a copy of Metal Wolf Chaos, since it’s quite the collector’s item now, don’t get your hopes too high. Yes the plot is ludicrously entertaining schlock, but the gameplay it’s married to consists of fairly unremarkable third-person shooting of a disturbing amount of American soldiers.But now that FromSoftware is riding high on Dark Souls love, there’s never been a better time to revisit this franchise. Imagine reclaiming the country in glorious. Hunt down every threat to America with fun and varied mech combat options.
Explore a lovingly detailed recreation of the White House and reflect on your political legacy before the bombs drop and a single bald eagle flies. With the right gameplay, FromSoftware could beat Platinum at their own game with this premise. This could be the Evangelion meets The West Wing of video games.
It’s Anime Force One. Even if we never get a proper Metal Wolf Chaos sequel, since 2004 other games have picked up its absurd political torch. Who can forget Raiden’s nemesis Senator Armstrong in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
He even says “Make America Great Again.” In Saints Row IV you play as the president running around the city like the open-world sandbox it is protecting the country from aliens. And while Final Fight predates Metal Wolf Chaos, Mayor Mike Haggar redefines the idea of a political ground game by beating up criminals in city streets with his bare hands. For more check out this article on on our sister site PCMag.However, as the actual America slides further into farce, Metal Wolf Chaos soon might not even qualify as parody any more.
In the future, long after Emperor Trump has been betrayed by his followers and cast into the Sun, we will wonder how anyone thought mech-riding presidents were a joke. So let’s celebrate our innocence while we still can.