Battle Clash

A Super Scope light gun shooter featuring mech duels.

Battle Clash is a 1992 light gun shooter video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It requires the Super Scope peripheral and is set in a futuristic post-apocalyptic Earth where mechs called Standing Tanks battle for control. The player, as gunner of the ST Falcon piloted by Mike Anderson, fights to defeat the champion Anubis.

Quick Facts

Developer

Intelligent Systems

Publisher

Nintendo

Director

Makoto Kano; Masao Yamamoto

Producer

Gunpei Yokoi

Programmer

Kouichi Abe
Osamu Yamauchi
Toru Narihiro
Toshihiro Nishii

Artist

Naotaka Onishi; Toshitaka Muramatsu

Composer

Yuka Tsujiyoko

Platforms

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Facts from the source article.

Did You Know?

The ST Falcon appears as a Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
A sequel, Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge, was released only in Western regions.

Development and release

Battle Clash was developed by Team Battle Clash, a division of Intelligent Systems formed by Nintendo R&D1 veterans who had previously created light gun games like Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley. The project was co-directed by Makoto Kano and Masao Yamamoto, with Gunpei Yokoi serving as producer. A team of five programmers—Kouichi Abe, Osamu Yamauchi, Tadashi Inui, Toru Narihiro, and Toshihiro Nishii—handled the coding, while Naotaka Onishi and Toshitaka Muramatsu designed the graphics. Yuka Tsujiyoko, later renowned for her scores in the Fire Emblem and Paper Mario series, composed the soundtrack. Nintendo released the game in North America in October 1992, in Europe from January to February 1993, and in Japan as Space Bazooka on June 21, 1993. The Western box art was created by illustrator Stephen Peringer.

Reception

Battle Clash received average reception from critics and retrospective commentators. A public poll by Family Computer Magazine gave it a 20.8 out of 30 score. Nintendo Power's three reviewers found it fun, highlighting enemy mechs and sound effects, but noted a lack of depth. Super Pro's Mark Wynne considered it a decent Super Scope attempt, praising the plot and enemy sprites but calling the sound weak.

Total!'s Chris Buxton commended the visuals but criticized the forgettable soundtrack, simple gameplay, and low difficulty. Electronic Games' Marc Camron praised graphics, smooth gameplay, and mode variety, but found audio unremarkable and difficulty easy. GameFan's five reviewers commended graphics, sound, and bosses, but criticized gameplay diversity and Super Scope use. Joypad's Nini Nourdine gave favorable remarks for action, parallax scrolling, and music, but noted a lack of originality.

Joystick expressed disappointment, finding it boring. Power Play's Michael Hengst pointed out lack of variety, stating the primitive shooting offered no long-lasting motivation. Super Play's Jonathan Davies found it more exciting than earlier Super Scope titles but ultimately limited and repetitive. GamesMaster's Andy Lowe praised audiovisual presentation but faulted limited playability, dialogues, and low difficulty.

Player One's Olivier Scamps called it very playable with varied bosses and action, but noted easy difficulty. Consoles +'s Sami Souibgui and Marc Lacombe celebrated production values but criticized repetitive action. Super Gamer labelled it a nice-looking but shallow shooter. Retro Gamer considered it a great Super Scope showcase, while Destructoid's Zoey Handley regarded it as one of the few games worth playing for the peripheral.