Tech Romancer

Did You Know?

• Junpei Todoroki is voiced by Kōichi Tōchika.
• Nakato Farland is a 16-year-old former SHTO Space Military Academy cadet who deserted to join the Alliance Forces.
• G. Kaiser makes a cameo appearance in PTX-40A's ending in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.

Game modes

The game primarily offers Story Mode and Hero Challenge Mode. Each mecha has its own story that plays like an anime series, with battles separated by episode titles, eyecatches, and dialog scenes. Decisions in dialog and battle conditions can cause stories to branch into multiple paths and endings. Hero Challenge Mode is an arcade-style mode where the player fights all major mecha and bosses; hidden mecha and pilots are usable only here. In the Dreamcast version, points from Hero Challenge Mode and VMU minigames can purchase hidden characters and movies.

Gameplay

Battles occur on a flat 3D plane with destructible terrain that releases power-ups: three weapons (varying by mecha), armor or life power-ups, and Hero Mode, which boosts attack power and may unlock abilities. Matches are decided by two life meters per fighter; a mecha is destroyed when both are depleted. An armor gauge, when broken by brute attacks, lowers defense. Each mecha has at least two super attacks and a Final Attack that automatically destroys the opponent when the second life bar is at 50%.

Mecha

The protagonist mecha is Super Steel Chronicle Kikaoh (nickname Armor Knight G (Grand) Kaiser), piloted by Junpei Todoroki. It attacks with rocket punches, bombs, and a chest heat beam, and is based on classic super robots like Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger. Fight! Pulsion is an Ultraman-like hero who transforms into a mecha; its true identity is either Kai (male) or Kei (female). Pulsion was originally a servant of Goldibus with erased memory. In Hero Mode, Pulsion's fighting style resembles Evangelion Unit 1 in Berserk Mode. Special Troop Cavalry Dixen (nickname Super Defense Armour Dixen) is armed with a shoulder beam cannon, grenades, and three remote beam guns, and can switch between a beam rifle and bazooka. Piloted by Nakato Farland or Halma Frockheart, Dixen is based on Mobile Suit Gundam; its Final Attack directly homages the RX-78-2 Gundam's 'Final Shooting' scene.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed the arcade version as the fourth most-successful arcade game of the week in its November 15, 1998 issue. The Dreamcast version received favorable reviews. Famitsu gave it a score of 29 out of 40. Greg Orlando of NextGen noted the appeal of stepping into favorite anime but felt the fighting was less inspired than the plot. James Mielke of GameSpot described it as a combination of great graphics and solid fighting fun, with more replay value than JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Street Fighter III, and Plasma Sword combined. Anoop Gantayat of IGN called its single-player mode the greatest ever in a fighting game, citing the Power Stone-style rewards and branching story. BenT of PlanetDreamcast praised its anime stylings, character design, and addictive gameplay, but criticized simplistic gameplay and underwhelming graphics compared to Resident Evil – Code: Veronica and MDK2. Kilo Watt of GamePro advised pure fighting fans to pass, while Jake The Snake said it would appeal to serious fighting fans who like anime-style mech bashing. GameRevolution ranked Tech Romancer 44th on its list of the 50 Worst Game Names Ever.