Beast Warriors in GB Missions

Look, I don't know if my fondness for Beast Wars has been noticed or not. But uh... I really like Beast Wars. I also like video games. There was a few Beast Wars video games that came out during the beast era. I'm apparently in the mood for Gameboy games this week so I've got a great BW game to talk about. Duel Fight! Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle was released for the Gameboy Color in 1999. Developed by Gaibrain and published by Takara only in Japan.

As the name would imply, the game takes place during the Beast Wars, but features casts of Beast Wars, Beast Wars 2, and Beast Wars Neo. Beast Machines wasn't released in Japan until a few years later, I'm not sure why the Transmetal/Metals versions of characters were excluded. I presume it's so everybody matches thematically, but I don't know. Maybe. The game is a pretty decent 2D fighter, probably not up to snuff for hardcore fighting game players, but solid enough to have a good time. There's a few game modes and a pretty large cast of characters. I've always been impressed by that, you'd think a cartoon tie in game for kids would be basic shovel ware. But no, this is a pretty solid effort. Moon and Artemis are secret characters, and I'm always up for Moon.

Quest for Power

Power Quest/Gekitō Power Modeler was a hybrid RPG/fighting game for the Gameboy Color developed by Japan System Supply. Published by Capcom in Japan and Sunsoft in North America in 1998 (1999 in Europe). The game flew under the radar of most folks, I myself was unaware of it until lucking up upon it on sale. At the time I was rarely seen without my Gameboy and Power Quest turned out to be just the game I didn't know I needed. You play as a kid who's summer break from school is just starting. Summer break is about to be spent playing in the modeler tournament.

Players build model robots that they battle against each other. Models can be upgraded with parts allowing for new abilities. Of course models and parts cost money... which a kid usually doesn't have. By battling models, you're able to acquire money and parts for your model. You'll spend the game getting into various scenarios and tournaments with other kids and the villainous Hyena Gang culminating in the big tournament to win the National Championship. Game play is what you'd expect from a JRPG, but the game switches over to a 2D fighting game for battles. There's even a vs. mode if you just want to duke it out with the models. The game is a multiplayer fighting game if you had a link cable handy.

You've probably noticed I like the game. The battle robot models RPG is a game type I've been a fan of. Gundam Breaker on my tablet or Custom Robo on Gamecube and DS are all similar games that I've enjoyed quite a lot. I think it wasn't until Power Quest that I discovered the genre. Is it a genre? Maybe not, but definitely something I like. I played Power Quest for quite some time after getting it. It kept me busy a lot of nights. It's a shame it doesn't have a bigger legacy, I'd love to play a new one.