Review by: Denny471@aol.com

Well, it took almost 3 years to see this game stateside, but here it is, in your home and on your Sega Saturn. When Cyberbots was released in 1995 in Japan , it was met with public favor, but because the Street Fighter craze was in it's 5th or 6th generation (circa May 1995), it was overlooked and eventually ignored. But this game, while retaining a similar gameplay engine and theme (fighting), presented some fresh ideas I would love to see implemented in more fighting games today.

Basically, Cyberbots is a one on one fighting game with robots. But, this is no Rise of the Robots or Zero Divide; this is fighting done Capcom style! That means awesome moves with multi-hit combos, spectacular character design, and a comprehensible storyline associated with all the characters. The robots do all the fighting in this game, but the storyline is purely influenced by the pilots, human or otherwise, and that's what made the difference for me. One other thing I liked about Cyberbots was the interaction the characters have with each other. I never really get the feeling that characters in most fighting games connect with each other. Everyone just happens to be at the same place at the same time and just start fighting. Only SNK and admittedly, Namco, have successfully convinced me that all the characters in their games really know each other. In the case of Ryu/Sagat or Vega/Gouki, I can see how and why constant battles are fought. But what does Birdy have to do with Ken? How did Edmund Honda and Blanka meet? Why are they fighting? See my point? But in Cyberbots, all the characters are well-meshed by a real storyline, not some cockamamee tournament. The focus on the pilots, as opposed to the robots, is something I'd like to see more of in games that involve robots. After all, robots are tools, a means to an end, not actual characters (unless they're Transformers).

The cast of pilots consist of a very diverse group of people including Ryu look-a-like Jin Saotome, dredlocked Santana Laurence, the Cham Cham look-a-like brother and sister team of Bao and Mao and the prophetic (and major downer) Arieta among others. The mid-bosses are an interesting bunch also, including the ultra cool but tragic Shade, young but brash Chiyamoto and (huge) companion Tessan, and finally, my new favorite Capcom female, Devilotte.

There are four Body Types (Classes) of robots to choose from, named after the leader of that particular Type: Brodia, Reptos, Fordy and Guldin. Although some may seem rather outlandish in design, ALL can be devastating. I was especially caught off-guard by the treaded mechs...they specialize in grab moves, and are very powerful. Several mechs have variations on the Dragon Punch including Brodia's Heaven Bound Body Comet Attack, Fordy's Skyward Round Attack, and Killer Bee's Ground/Air Drill. The mid boss Mechs Gaits, Super-8 and Helion are deceptively hard to beat, at first. They don't contain many moves, but they always seem to know when to use them. Gaits is sort of a mini-Ryu, with only three specials - an electric field which temporarily stuns the opponent, teleportation and Rocket (Dragon) Punch. Believe me, that's all he needs to frustrate you on the harder difficulty. Helion is a transforming mech, able to change into a compact attack copter. Helion is a quick and powerful robot, with a devastating strafing attack, a huge energy sword (using one of his aircraft wings), and an air-to-ground missile launcher, which explodes in a triple "power geyser". My favorite, however, is Devilotte (I love that name!) and her Super-8 (love that name, too!) mech. The Super-8 is a wonderfully animated mechanical octopus. Each tentacle flails about as if instilled with a life of its own, and you can actually hear each tentacle as it moves across the ground. Super-8 contains the most moves in the game. I especially like the "grab" attack: Super-8 climbs over the opponent and envelops him/her in an energy-draining field, sets them afire, then climbs back off.

Of course, there is a main boss, that being the menacing Warlock, piloted by an alien brain called G.O.D. Warlock is easily one of the best looking mechs I've seen in a video game. Sleek and Ebon-hued, Warlock is even faster than Helion, and his attacks do mega-damage. In addition to a multitude of air attacks, Warlock can grab and suck almost half the energy out of your mech, even from mid-way across the screen! By now, everyone that cares about this game at all knows that the secret mech, Zero Gouki , is here as well. As you might expect, Z-Gouki looks and acts just like his super-human counterpart, complete with air fireballs, hurricane kicks and even the feared Raging Demon attack!

The graphics in Cyberbots are very crisp. All the robots flaunt great detail and the color scheme is perfect. However, what I enjoyed most about the graphics in Cyberbots were the backgrounds. Many of the BG's are incredibly detailed and a couple are even interactive! When battling in the Metropolis, the combatants actually destroy buildings in the backgrounds and rip the terrain! Best of all, if you look closely, you'll see an emergency squad coming from the distant background to put out a fire going on in a mangled office building, and a news helicopter circling another torn high-rise! One other memorable BG has two mechs battling on a falling space station, and as the fight progresses, the sky, the station, and even the mechs start to burn upon re-entry!

Sound effects were also handled with exceptional flair. The sounds of two giant robots going at it never sounded better, and the bombs, lasers, and assorted weapons have their own distinct sounds as well. While we're on the subject of audio, the between-fight full speech is flawless, clearly outlining the different personalities each pilot has. Again, this is a feature not seen in many fighting games. It is here you will probably pick a favorite pilot (as I did with Devilotte). On a down note, the music is noticeably dated. It's not bad, but it's not very memorable, either.

Controlling the Cyberbots is almost second nature, since the fighting engine is similar to SF, and of course Capcom's precision control is present. The only major difference in this area compared to other Capcom brawlers is the control layout. Instead of the usual Weak, Strong, Fierce config we've been weaned on for over 5 years, Cyberbots contains a four button scheme - Attack 1 (Weak), Attack 2 (Fierce), Weapon (a weak accessory, but fitting for a robot game, I guess) and Boost (Dash). While not conventional, this layout works well and it should take you no time at all to get used to it.

Cyberbots presents a well-rounded package, familiar but different, new but old. From the opening to the endings (which are also very good, especially Shade's), Capcom gives you a complete game. It didn't spawn countless sequels nor did it generate a new phenomena, but it came from out of the shadow of the immortal Street Fighter and gave you characters, storyline, graphics, sound, and control that is better than most of the wares we're seeing today. Capcom once again proves it's ability to make a high quality, stand out title, and the Saturn once again proves that 2-D gaming is king!

Till next time....Denise.