Astro Boy: Omega Factor

Lore & Background

The game follows Astro Boy, a robot built by Dr. Tenma after the death of his son Tobio. Astro travels through stages, punching, kicking, and using a laser to defeat enemies, filling an EX gauge for special attacks. Non-player characters are added to the Omega Factor, a representation of Astro's soul, granting points to improve stats like health and flight speed. The game includes three difficulty levels in the Japanese version (Easy, Normal, Hard) and four in the North American and European versions (Easy, Normal, Hard, and an unlockable 'Omega' difficulty).

Reader's Guide

The story is divided into two episodes: Birth and Rebirth. In Birth, Astro's adventures end with robots destroyed by the Death Mask device, allowing Sharaku to conquer Earth. In Rebirth, Astro is revived by the Phoenix and gains time-travel abilities to alter events. The plot incorporates elements from Tezuka's other works, such as a time travel plot from Marine Express and a journey to the lost continent of Mu. The game's development was led by director Tetsu Okano, who aimed to balance the art style of the 2003 TV series with Tezuka's original black-and-white aesthetic. The North American version received improvements during a six-month delay, including more enemies, different enemy attacks, reduced slowdown, and a third difficulty setting.

Did You Know?

• The game was co-developed by Treasure and Hitmaker, with director Tetsu Okano being a self-proclaimed Tezuka fanatic.
• The North American release was not delayed to coincide with the 2004 Astro Boy TV series; the game actually preceded the series, releasing in February 2004 while the show premiered later that year.
• The game includes 47 characters from Tezuka's other manga titles as an homage to his recurring character style.
• The developers added references to Treasure's earlier games Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier for fans.