Metamorphic Force (Arcade) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Konami's 1993 arcade beat 'em up game, Metamorphic Force.

Played through as Claude on the machine's default difficulty level.

Though Konami's early 90s arcade presence was largely dominated by its well-known licensed-based beat 'em ups, they also produced a fair number of games based on original IPs. Many of these, like Lethal Enforcers and Sunset Riders, are still well known today thanks to Konami's own in-house produced ports for the SNES and the Sega Genesis. Others, however, were left in the arcades, and lacking the popularity and support of their more popular, more accessible contemporaries, have been relegated to relative obscurity.

Metamorphic Force is one such game. Dammit, Konami! Why was this never ported to the 16 or 32-bit machines?

While it doesn't have the star power of any Saturday morning cartoons backing it, make no mistake - Metamporphic Force was one of the finest beat 'em ups that the company ever created.

It plays a great deal like Turtles in Time or X-Men (with a heavy shot of Sega's Altered Beast thrown in for good measure), but - here comes the bombshell - it absolutely flattens those other games in just about every respect. The experience that was gained from the years creating those fan favorites is clear in every aspect of MF's production, and unhindered by the constraints of a pre-existing property, it's clear that the development team went all out in making this.

The fighting feels as good as it ever has in a 2D, belt-scrolling brawler. You get a wide range of attacks - all the standard punches, kicks, jump attacks, and life-bar draining special techniques are here, but once you've powered up, you fight in "beast mode." Beast mode transforms your character into his unique animal form, complete with a whole new set of attacks and throws. The game system has a fair amount of depth, but the simplicity of the two-button layout makes it all easy to digest.

The challenge level is also typically stiff, but it feels much fairer than earlier beat 'em ups thanks to the smooth, responsive controls and the enemies' tendency to clearly telegraph moves. You won't find yourself being bashed into a corner again and again thanks to a merciless AI. As long as you know handle your moveset, pretty much anything can be overcome with practice.

The real attraction, as it tended to be in Konami's coin op games, is the graphics and sound. The game runs on the same kit as Mystic Warriors did, but for as awesome as that game was, this puts the hardware to much better use. Be ready to pick up your jaw the first time you play this one. The sprite work is a absolutely gorgeous, and there is an insane number of animation frames for just out anything going in on-screen. The sheer level of detail is mind-blowing, and there are some fairly amazing special effects being pulled of in some of the background graphics. Despite how low of a resolution the game runs at, this is one of those games that, between its overall style and level of quality, can legitimately be called "art." The sound design is right up there too.

The PCM-sample based music sounds good enough at times that you might find yourself wondering if the game isn't actually just streaming a prerecorded audio track. Those screaming guitars are unbelievably cool sounding, and they carry through the din of constant thwacks, booms, and rumbles nicely. The voice acting isn't half-bad either, nor is the surprisingly decent English translation - there are a few awkward lines here and there, but nobody yells "welcome to die."

If you have fond memories of old Konami classics but haven't tried this one before, do yourself a favor and give it a go. Just don't be surprised if you suddenly find it taking its place on your list of favorites.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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[whiskeyrichards]

I've been trying to figure out the name of this game for well over 25 years. I played it once in my hometown's local bowling alley arcade and was so caught up in it I must have dropped 20 bucks worth of quarters into that cabinet. I recall returning to the bowling alley a short time later, excited to play again but was disappointed to learn the game had been removed from the arcade. Reminded me a lot of Altered Beast which I also was very fond of as a kid.

[animatrix]

The danger notification above the character says "Dead SOON!" and I am absolutely here for it

[NintendoComplete]

If you loved Turtles in Time and X-Men, just wait until you try this one. It may not have a big-name license attached to it, but Metamorphic Force is one of the finest beat 'em ups Konami ever produced.

[DavideGendo]

This is one of those arcades I had the luck to play when they were new and it really etched into my mind. The music is incredible, especially the second and third stage.

[malega]

i wish they would bring these type of game back out either as reissues or a whole game. I love side-scrolling/smash'em up game like this and X-men.

[Nediablo]

In the tiny middle of no where village I grew up in, was this local shop. It was tiny and down the middle of no where. I used to go there every weekend as they had this arcade cabinet! No idea why, it was just there! So many good memories and only 20p a credit! Good times ❤️

[zedzilla]

Damn this looks better than 99.9% of sprite based graphics in the last 25 years

[Raaamiah]

Love this game!! Played the living day lights out of this...underrated gem in my opinion....same engine as Konami's X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ect...final boss is awesome and the ending sequence is epic!!

[supernintendosp]

This game is still gorgeous and a fine game to this day. The developer should release this game on all platforms, expand the aspect ratio and make it four players. Even if this game only gets released on Johnny Turbo's Arcade series it will have justice though.

[jackmcslay]

That's a way to make sure the villain doesn't return - beat the crap out of his soul leaving his body

[senhorobscuro]

It took me a while to find this video, thank you very much 😅

[therealseanw.stewart]

God, this looks amazing. Everything about _Metamorphic Force_ just screams quality! *METAMORPHIC FORCE!!* Yeah, baby, just hear that on the title screen, and the beautiful 90s arcade graphics and you're all set to go, we got some Animorphs stuff happening, and some crazy bosses and combat; Yep, this is yet another true-blue Konami classic, for sure.

[elultimoquecierre.]

When I was a child I played this videogame in a recreational machine that was in a bar in my neighborhood .... Thank you for uploading the video, I returned to childhood for a moment.

[shawnswint]

That's One Thing I Love about the Classic Konami Beat-em-up Arcade Games. You know your on the verge of Victory, When the Boss Begins to glow Orange-Red!!!

[agnineko]

Golden axe, altered beast, mutant fighter, tmnt, final fight... todo en uno

[vgaoct]

That's a pretty good game there!
And that Skeleton Boss... He's got that same laugh that Metalhead used in the GI Joe arcade game!

[NinjakX]

The most epic Konami beat em up game. The music is awesome

[cack]

this game is spectacular great job dude

[auron]

Lol this is some power metal stuff xD love the colorful sprites and it looks like the controls are very responsive.

[TheHareedo]

For years I thought I imagined this game, because I only saw it once. This game is rad as hell.