Battle Clash

Did You Know?

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

Gameplay

Battle Clash is a light gun shooter that requires the Super Scope. The player acts as the gunner of the ST Falcon piloted by Mike Anderson, who participates in the Battle Game to avenge his father's death. The objective is to defeat Anubis and his subordinate chiefs in nine one-on-one fights. The player can attack with rapid fire, energy bolts, bombs, and limited-use special items. Energy bolts charge when not firing and are released once the power meter fills, but only one shot is allowed. Enemy projectiles can be countered by intercepting them; some attacks require energy bolts to deflect. Each enemy ST has unique attack patterns and destructible weak points. The player wins by depleting the enemy's energy first, but loses if their own energy is depleted or if ten minutes pass. Completing the game provides a cheat code for multiple difficulty levels. The game also includes a time trial mode and a two-player mode.

Development and release

Battle Clash was developed by Team Battle Clash, an Intelligent Systems subgroup formed from Nintendo R&D1 staff who had previously worked on light gun games like Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley. The game requires the Super Scope accessory. Makoto Kano and Masao Yamamoto co-directed it and founded the team, with Gunpei Yokoi producing. The programming team included Kouichi Abe, Osamu Yamauchi, Tadashi Inui, Toru Narihiro, and Toshihiro Nishii. Naotaka Onishi and Toshitaka Muramatsu handled graphics, while Yuka Tsujiyoko, known for Fire Emblem and Paper Mario, composed the music. Nintendo released it in North America in October 1992, in Europe from January to February 1993, and in Japan as Space Bazooka on June 21, 1993. Stephen Peringer illustrated the Western cover.

Reception

Battle Clash received average reception from critics and retrospective commentators. It scored 20.8 out of 30 in a public poll by Family Computer Magazine. Nintendo Power's three reviewers found the game fun, highlighting the enemy mechs and sound effects, but noted its lack of depth. Super Pro's Mark Wynne considered it a decent attempt at a Super Scope game, praising the large enemy sprites but finding 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 the graphics, smooth gameplay, lack of slowdown, and variety of modes, but found the audio unremarkable and the difficulty too easy. GameFan's five reviewers commended the colorful graphics, sound, and screen-filling bosses, but criticized the gameplay for lack of diversity and felt it did not take advantage of the Super Scope. Joypad's Nini Nourdine gave favorable remarks for its immersive action, fast parallax scrolling, and music, but saw a lack of originality. Joystick expressed disappointment, finding it boring. Power Play's Michael Hengst pointed out the lack of variety, writing that the primitive shooting offered no long-lasting motivation. Super Play's Jonathan Davies found it more exciting than previous Super Scope titles but ultimately limited and repetitive. GamesMaster's Andy Lowe gave positive remarks to the audiovisual presentation but faulted limited playability, dialogues, and low difficulty. Player One's Olivier Scamps called it very playable, praising varied bosses and action, but noted easy difficulty. Consoles +'s Sami Souibgui and Marc Lacombe celebrated overall production values but criticized repetitive action. Super Gamer labelled it a nice-looking but shallow shooter. Retro Gamer considered it a great showcase for the Super Scope, while Destructoid's Zoey Handley regarded it as one of the few games worth playing for the peripheral.