izigame.me

It's 1986 or something. My slightly older cousin and I just had breakfast, instant oatmeal and chocolate milk. It's Saturday, so we're watching the cartoons. Our absolute favorite is Goldorak, which was quite popular here at the time. Later we're going to play with his Sega Master and then of course with our GI Joes and many, many Legos... Good times.
Fast forward almost 40 years later, to tonight, Nov. 14 2023. Imagine my surprise when I saw this title on my Steam discovery queue. I couldn't quite believe my eyes at first. Am I dreaming?? A freaking Goldorak game? I can finally be Actarus? Blast some devious Vegans (this works well on so many levels), while humming that kick-ass theme? Localisation in French too? I didn't even finish the Steam queue and bought the title right there and then... I'm still a little bit giddy.
Anyway, on to some game-related thoughts... The game is pretty darn good. There are flaws, and some things annoy me a bit, but overall, if you're a Grendizer, Goldorak, or whatever the heck it was called in your country at the time, this game is going to make you happy, I think.
A few points:
1- Graphics and sounds are perfect. It's like I'm IN the freaking cartoon...
2- The French localisation is pretty darn good. The voices are very, very close to what I remember them being for the various characters. Procyon and Actarus seem really close to an exact match. I'm impressed.
3- Gameplay is very good overall. 2.5 hours in most of my time was spent in Goldorak mode. There was a short sequence where I was in the carrier. When in robot mode, you have access to several attacks, with each attack filling a specific purpose, like stunning, long range damage, power bar charging, close range damage, etc. The axe attack can be charged for really high damage, and you can chain attacks up to a point. Enemies will sometimes have prompts indicating which attack must be used to go through their defenses. Overall, it's very satisfying, with most attacks being 'called out' by Duke/Actarus, because darn it, that's how it's done on the show. It's a really nice touch, and makes the game very immersive.
4- There is a map with 5-6 areas, with each area having side missions, discoverables, and the main missions, along with mini-bosses, with a real boss at the end.
5- You can level up Goldorak's abilities which enable additional effects (longer stuns, more damage, etc.).
6- The boss fights are fairly tough. It's really pattern recognition and patience. I wish these were a bit easier, honestly, because they can feel a bit cheap.
7- You can dodge attacks, and sprint, but sometimes Goldorak just feels somewhat slugish in the heat of combat. The dodge works weirdly for some reason, seemingly wanting to dodge 'forward' all the time. Maybe I just need to get used to it more.
8- There's no in-game map (like, indicating where you are, and there the interest points are). The in-game map is just very high level "here are the 5 regions, and you're in this region". There's a legend that tells you what you've discovered so far, but it's just icons. I figured some out, but others are still a mystery.
9- Saves and save points. There's no manual save that I could find. The game saves for you when it feels like it, probably after every side or main mission. Thankfully, dying at a boss has you restarting at the boss. I died on the main map and was sent back, and at first I was thinking 'oh crap do I need to redo everything???'. But it appeared that my previous progress was still valid... i.e. didn't lose the 'loot' and the side-missions I had completed were apparently still completed.
10- There is loot, or materials that need to be obtained to level up the abilities...
So there you have it, my Goldorak review... I'm enjoying it. It's something I actually never thought I'd see. The game is not perfect, but it's still pretty darn good, and for fans it's a treat I think. I get the feeling the devs were fans as well, this one seems to have been done with love.