18/05/2026
Zone of The Enders - The Fist of Mars
(Japanese version: Z.O.E 2173 Testament)
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This is a turn-based strategy game from the Zone of The Enders series by Konami; and this series was also developed by Hideo Kojima.
Even though it’s not a particularly well-known GBA title, I honestly think this is one of the most unique mecha strategy games compared to franchises like Gundam or Super Robot Wars.
The story itself is fairly straightforward, but still enjoyable, with both bad and happy endings. Since the game also has visual novel elements, there’s a lot of dialogue (which is very similar to SRW), and of course the main character has plot armor, so the game is not too difficult to finish.
What really makes the game stand out is its combat system. Instead of simply selecting commands and watching attack animations, the game lets you directly control your mech from a cockpit view to aim at enemies. Your damage output and critical hit rate depend on how accurately you aim and which parts of the enemy mech you manage to hit.
This is both the game’s biggest strength and its biggest weakness. The enemy AI is not smart, so aside from boss fights, most regular enemies are fairly easy to take down. Playing on an actual GBA can still feel somewhat challenging, but on an emulator or a PSP with an analog stick, it becomes super easy to clear the game without losing a single mech 🤣
If you still own a cartridge of this game, you can always grab a cassette case to display it nicely on your shelf.
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