Drivel!
| Drivel! | |
|---|---|
| Original title | フ ァ ー ゼ ラ イ! |
| Studio | Sacnoth |
| Publisher | SNK |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1999 |
| platform | Neo Geo Pocket Color |
| genre | Turn-based strategy game |
| Game mode | Single player |
| medium | Cartridge |
| language | English, Japanese |
Drivel! (Original title: フ ァ ー ゼ ラ イ! ) Is a turn-based strategy game that was published in 1999 by Sacnoth for the Neo Geo Pocket Color .
Action and gameplay
In the game itself you play as a soldier in a small combat group of the army of your country, which is fighting for a positive future development after the successful assassination attempt on the king in a civil war. For this purpose, one controls a mechanized exoskeleton (also known as a mech ), a so-called toy soldier (or TS for short). The game scenarios are shown in small maps shown from a bird's eye view, in which you move around in rounds and deal with the confrontations with your opponents. The specialty of the game is the type of command, which is not given directly, but via a series of programming commands that are processed in the course of a round, and therefore have to take into account the actions of the opponent. In addition to the main missions, which are handled linearly and are partly divided into several phases, you have the opportunity to earn additional money and equipment in free missions.
Similar to Front Mission, there are extensive equipment options for the TS, both in the choice of the basic models themselves and in the weapons available, each with a different field of fire and variable ammunition supply. Sometimes the player is accompanied by additional units of his combat unit, which, however, act independently and are not controllable. Usable items such as repair kits and ammunition magazines, as well as the option to request external support, round off the strategic options.
technology
The game pretty much exhausts the technical possibilities of the NGPC. The extensive intro sequence was the first NGPC game to be accompanied by a digitized song, and you can also play against other players with the help of the link cable or the Wi-Fi adapter.
Release history
An English version was released in England in 2000 just weeks before the bankruptcy of SNK America and the associated recall of all NGPC hardware and software, so that only an estimated 3000-5000 English-language units of this game in its original form (with instructions and packaging) were sold could become. There was never an official US publication. After the market for the handheld no longer existed in Asia either, in 2003 the company began to sell old stocks in the form of game modules in a simple plastic cover without accessories, making larger quantities of the once highly sought-after title available for the English-speaking market.
Web links
- Review of drivel! (German)
- Drivel! at MobyGames (English)