When I came across Geppy-X, I had no idea of its history. While browsing games to cover, this one caught my attention. For starters, the game’s full title is “70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X”. After that, I was curious to try its gameplay. For a game that was exclusive to Japan to finally reach Western audiences is a nice treat. However, outside of the fantastic nostalgia, this is another run-of-the-mill shooter.
Parodying 70s and 80s Japanese anime
It’s easy to describe Geppy-X. It’s your standard horizontal shooter. Here, you control Geppy-X, a special robot capable of transforming into different forms. While that isn’t unique, what makes the game stand out is the packaging. The game is an homage to the Robot-centric anime of the late 1970s. I didn’t grow up with Japanese anime, but you can see where this takes a lot of its charm from. For me, it brings up memories of 80s cartoons.
They designed each stage to mimic an episode of a TV series. You get everything. From an opening title sequence to bumpers, and even previews for the next episode. They even recreate the clock indicator ticking towards the 7 pm start time. While this might not be common for kids in North America, I remember seeing the analog clock as a kid in Yugoslavia. It’s a great touch.
As mentioned, each episode follows the same design. When you’re not watching the animated cutscenes, you’re thrown into combat. Each episode contains two combat sequences. You will move around a horizontal environment before encountering a boss fight. After the first boss fight, you’ll get a cutscene. From there, you get to watch an advertisement before returning to the show and the next sequence. After the second fight, you’ll get a few more cutscenes. This time it’s the epilogue to the episode, before getting a sneak peek of what to expect on the next one.
Nostalgia at full display
Geppy-X was notable for its original 1999 release because the game spanned four discs. This was at the time of CG-heavy games like Final Fantasy VIII, which also came on four PlayStation One discs. A large part of what makes Geppy-X big is because of the animated content, which there is a lot of.
The gameplay sequences are short, each taking about 5-10 minutes to complete. With the cutscenes, each episode is no more than 15-20 minutes. After the first two or three episodes, I tended to skip the repeated content because they don’t change.
The devs did a great job of replicating the 70s aesthetics. For a game developed almost 30 years ago, which is an homage to anime from a further 20 years is commendable. My gripe with the rerelease is that they don’t make it possible to watch any of the animated content. There is no movie mode where unlock videos are available to watch again. At least I haven’t unlocked this option if it does exist.
A sign of the times
Because of the original 1999 release, this does lack stuff we now take for granted in gaming. For starters, there is no tutorial. You start playing, and there is nothing explained to you. Because of that, you must go through the game’s manual. It’s the only way to understand the controls and to learn about each Geppy-X’s form.
Since I didn’t start by reading the manual, I screwed up some of the early parts. I didn’t quite understand the different forms Geppy-X can transform into. Each has its own pros and cons. Using one form over another in some boss fights is important. Also, the controls do take a bit of time to get the hang of. Special attacks, including your X-Factor attack, are on the face buttons. So, moving from your standard attacks on the triggers to activate a special attack takes time to get used to.
Another thing that I missed is that there is a point in the game where the story hits a branching point. Because of that, there are at least three potential paths the story can go. They spoil this in the achievements, but I wasn’t paying attention. So, I didn’t create a dedicated save file for that. But, from what I can tell, the game wants you to clear the game again on the same save file.
Quality of Life Requirements
There are more things I wish this game had. There is no level select option. So, if you die and use up your three credits, the game is over. This release does include a rewind feature, which is helpful. But I wish there was a way to replay past levels. There are no level-ups, only health recovery. Because your lives don’t reset between episodes, you only have three credits to last the entire game. If you’re uncomfortable with the normal difficulty, I would recommend dropping it to easy.
The manual says that there is extra content when you finish the game, but when I did, nothing unlocked. I’m assuming I have to finish the game three times and get all the endings for the game to count as complete. The bonus modes don’t seem like anything remarkable. The runtime isn’t that long, so if you want to clear the game three or more times, you can.
One last thing to note is the game’s price. Full disclosure, I got the game for free, but this is a $48 game in Canada. At that price point, this is too expensive. Sure, this first time non-Japanese players get to play the game. But with little bonus content and a game that is not long, there are cheaper and better games out there. At 40 dollars, I would reconsider. At 30 dollars, then this becomes an easier recommendation.
Fun to try out
Considering the high asking price of 70s Robot Anime Geppy-X on eBay, it’s nice that it has a wider release. The nostalgic factor is the game’s best point. But I wish they packaged it better, with more emphasis on highlighting what made the game unique. At its current price point, I would wait for a sale. But once it’s discounted 50%, then this is a must-try.
