Ludography
Mech Platoon cover

2001 · Kemco · Real-time strategy · Strategy

Mech Platoon

Nintendo exclusive

The wise men say "there is no end to the truth." In this war-town place, there are two things without end - the universe and greed.

Released
30 November 2001
Platforms
Game Boy Advance
Genres
Real-time strategyStrategy
Developers
Kemco
Publishers
Kemco
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
Science fiction
Country
Japan
Age ratings
ESRB E

About

Mech Platoon, known in Japan as Kikaika Gunta - Mech Platoon (Japanese: 機械化軍隊 - メックプラトゥーン, Hepburn: Kikaika Gunta - Mekku Puratūn; lit. "Mechanical Army - Mech Platoon") is a real-time strategy video game developed and published by Kemco. It was the first real-time strategy game released on the Game Boy Advance platform, and was released in 2001.

Keywords

  • mech
  • robots
  • resource management
  • action-adventure
  • base building
  • leveling up
  • resource gathering

Media

Mech Platoon screenshot 1

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Mech Platoon follows real-time strategy gaming standards, and is in the vein of other games such as StarCraft and Command & Conquer. The player assumes the role of an army commander for one of three in-game nations, and must battle on five planets each with multiple missions. In a battle, the player utilizes resources on a battlefield to build a base and attempt to overrun their opponent with "Mechs", the units featured in the game. There are three different types of resources found in the game: Energy Sand, Material Rock, and Laser Crystal. Resources are used to purchase units, and lower-grade resources such as sand can be used to buy more expensive resources such as rock and crystal.

Due to Game Boy Advance hardware limitations, there is a 30-unit maximum per stage and no fog of war. There are twenty standard mechs that are unlocked throughout the game to use during battles, but each of these are customizable with different variants. Each mech also has its own attributes, ranging from differing hit points to varying levels of attacks.

Development

The game was first displayed to the public at E3 2001, where critics were impressed by the game's graphics but noted problems with unit path finding. A later build was shown at the European Computer Trade Show in September 2001.

Reception

Mech Platoon received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

GameSpot lauded Mech Platoon for its graphics and standard real-time strategy conventions on a portable system, writing, "Mech Platoon compromises nothing compared with stalwart veterans like Starcraft or Command & Conquer." GameSpy praised the game for its level selection and detailed graphics. GamePro noted, "[Mech Platoon] boasts lots of nifty features and a few annoying flaws that keep it from beating up on its bigger PC cousins."

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Game Boy Advance28 November 2001Europe · Japan 30 November 2001 · North America 20 December 2001

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.