Steambot Chronicles

Written by Byron Tsang  on August 25, 2006

Review: The artist formerly known as УBumpy TrotФ.

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When most people think Сmechs', their mental image likely resembles something from MechWarrior, Front Mission, or Gundam. Big bipedal machines capable of widespread destruction. Lots of guns, lots of action. How about a world where mechs, called Trotmobiles, are as commonplace as cars and your Average Joe uses them for everyday life? Irem made such a game and Atlus, publisher of all things bizarre and niche, brought it over. Steambot Chronicles!

You play as Vanilla, a boy as plain as the flavor. Washed up on a beach with a shipwreck behind you, you're found by a girl named Connie. Aside from remembering a few basic things, your memory is gone. How completely unexpected! Next thing you know, a blue machine fills your path out with rubble and you're trapped. Luckily, there's an abandoned Trotmobile nearby and you clear the way. Thanks to the hassle, Connie misses her bus and asks you for a lift. And then what happens nextЕis your choice.

Here's the reason why Vanilla's such a blank character: who he was and who he will be is completely up to you. Feel like telling Connie off on your first meeting? Go ahead if you want to. In fact, you can ditch her entirely at the beginning. Join the first gang you meet! Or don't. Be the knight in steampunk armor and stick with Connie. You'll get to meet her friends that way, find out she's the lead singer of the hot band the Garland Globetrotters, and discover your own musical talents. Didn't like those options given? Chances are there are others that may tickle your fancy. It's your story. But like many non-linear games, there is a main storyline, which is joining the Globetrotters themselves and eventually getting yourself caught up in an economic crisis. Ultimately it's nothing to be excited about, as the plot gives off the usual Сseen-it-before' feeling, but the atmosphere is charming. For all its light-heartedness throughout, Steambot Chronicles is peppered with moments of sobriety, which may give it a more realistic edge. This is especially evident at the end, when questions get answered and things get serious. Although I'm all for grit and gloom, as integral to the main story as it is, it does seem out of place. Perhaps Сout of place' isn't the right choice of words, but something does feel off.

Unfortunately, the primary supporting cast doesn't help out much either. Connie's your typical sweet, down-home love interest, Basil's a bassist carrying a torch for the out-of-his-league backup singer Savory (who you can also romance. Sorry Basil!), and Fennel's a guitarist who tires of acoustic. There are brothers who desire to make a Trotmobile that can fly, a man named Dudley who doesn't know the meaning of defeat, a gang known as the Killer Elephants with a hidden and humorous agenda, and more. It all sounds swell, doesn't it? It's too bad not enough is developed, even when actively interacting with them. While they all have certain attributes, few scream out, УI am definitive!Ф Not good when there's a rather large cast. There's also the problem of certain major characters that are more or less neglected. After so much build up of foreshadowing, you're inclined to believe these characters will have impact but there's no payoff. Maybe I just missed plot points?

The main storyline does seem to get diluted thanks to the free-form style of gameplay you're given. Once you have your Trotmobile, the world is yours to roam in real-time via the two analog sticks. Tilting them forward moves you forward, tilting them backwards moves you backwards, and different directions rotates you. Katamari anyone? Sadly the movement isn't tight, making it easy to fall off narrow bridges or even move the wrong direction as you struggle to get the hang of the controls. The shoulder buttons are for jumping, dashing, and attacking with your left and right arms. Pressing down on either of analog sticks also allows you to pick up objects to use clubs or projectile weapons. You'll want those projectile weapons since they appear to cause a much greater amount of damage compared to simply beating someone down with your metal fists. For a game that encourages playing like you'd want to play, it's a shame there's no option to not fight because it's more of an annoyance than actual challenge.

It's a good thing fighting is only a part of Steambot Chronicles. You can't escape certain arena matches or bosses, but the regular enemies wandering the land can be bypassed. Of course, you'll want to make sure you don't run out of gas. That's right; you'll need to maintain your gas and while it starts off cheap, things change later. Way to bring us back to reality. Depending on the customizations of your Trotmobile, gas consumption differs. Big Trots, more gas. Small Trots, less gas. This also affects the damage you can take, the weight of things you can pick up, amount of add-ons, etc. And there are a lot of add-ons. Gun arms, flatbeds, carriages, and umbrellas. You can change it up at any service station you find, so if you don't like your current Trotmobile, piece together another. Naturally, the best parts can't be bought, only acquired through hardship.

You'll want to customize that Trot well, because you'll be looking at it the entire game. Steambot Chronicles is disjointed in the visuals field since all the characters and effects are cel-shaded, helping the game keep that cheery tone. It's a weird mix of vivid and bland, since the backgrounds lack the brightness of everything else. The designs of the characters themselves aren't too distinctive either. Still, all of this isn't what drags it down. Oh no, it's the loading times, the bane of so many games. By Trot or by foot, getting anywhere takes a long time. Sandbox games shouldn't have loading times set up all over cities, kicking me out of any immersion I had. Not enough technical difficulties? How about framerate problems? Yeah, prepare to deal with a lot of those slow spots too. Again, this happens most often in cities since there'll be a lot of things moving at once. Not good, especially because you'll need to visit those cities frequently.

Good thing there's some decent tunes to pass the time. It's all throwaway, sure, but the background music is pleasant to hear and never really overwhelms the game. It doesn't make it stand out either, but maybe I'm asking for too much. However, the music by the Garland GlobetrottersЕthis will depend entirely on your tolerance for cheesy love ballads. Don't like that? Well this time there's no choice; that's all they play and all you will play, in order to progress the story. Personally, cheese always amuses me and the vocals aren't that bad (in fact, I kind of liked a few of the songs. Don't hate me.) I didn't have too much of a problem getting used to the music. It seemed more of the writing's fault, an issue that also pops up in the dialogue. Perhaps things got scrambled in translation? I do have to hand it to the voice actors for doing what they can to make the game sound good. My favorite part has to be the start-up menu. Play the game and find out why!

I know I've made it sound like there's not much going for Steambot Chronicles. Although the setting is whimsical, the story's drab, the controls are wonky, there are graphical problems, and the music may turn you off. Ouch. Don't leave yet though, the light just cut through the clouds.

Want things to do? Then play this game. I've heard comparisons of Steambot Chronicles to the likes of Grand Theft Auto or Morrowind. And rightfully so, as you can live another life driving your Trotmobile around and doing a great deal of things. Let's see: mastering an array of instruments from accordion to saxophone by playing them via DDR-like rhythm-games. Be the billiard king. Help a museum rebuild its fossil collection. Play the stock market. Become a reporter and pass on tips to the newspaper. Turn a town into a hot springs resort. There are tons of sidequests and tons of things to unlock as well. Rent an apartment and turn it luxurious. Buy clothing for yourself or the ladies. All the things you do and customize end up affecting the title you're given. One moment you're just ordinary Vanilla and then you're the Сsnobbish kid' for wearing a stylish, all-white ensemble. Beat the game as a good guy? Do it again, only as the opposite and see everyone's reactions. Here's a game with replay value.

However, there is a downside. Do you avoid games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon where the gameplay is almost tedious and work like? There's quite a bit of that in here, like transporting materials or people across the countryside. Then again, if you don't want to do that, don't do it. Ah, the magic of Steambot Chronicles! Also, as free-form as it is, there's one thing you can't do: walk your Trotmobile around cities on your own. You'll set a destination and it'll go off on its own while you watch. I believe this is to keep the player from running around and trying to trash the place or to prevent getting stuck in a technical error, but it's nevertheless jarring and takes forever. Might want to read a book whenever this happens. Or you could just get around on foot.