My entire life I thought the people on the cover were firefighters, which is why I never wanted to play it as a kid. I can’t imagine how blown my mind woulda been thinking I was buying a firefighting game and getting this. I missed out.
One of your best videos yet Parish. Wonderful background (I immediately thoughts of King's Knight, too), engaging contextual information -- all really well done. I look forward to each week's release a little TOO much. Keep up the great work.
I remember the cover art for this one from when I was a kid. but I had totally forgotten what the game was like, I remember it being extremely hard though. and after watching this video it became clear to me why. Another great video thanks!
I remember this distinctly from the Nintendo power "game boy players guide". It seemed so bizarre, but it looks really interesting. Just snagged it on eBay after watching this so I'm excited to give it a spin.
Pedantic notes from a Japanese history major: guns were actually outlawed by the Tokugawa. It was really only at the end of the earlier Muromachi period - colloquially known as Sengoku - that firearms were used. That puts this game firmly in the mid-16th century. Also, Heiankyo Alien is set during the eponymous Heian period, which predates feudal Japan, an era which got underway with the diminution of Heian aristocratic authority (though many historians deny that Japan was ever properly feudal at all). On the positive side, congrats on being able to pronounce “Heiankyo.”
This game looks awesome. It really deserves a remake. I just started watching your channel. I'm loving all these hidden gems. The limits of the Game Boy really pushed developers to think creatively in how to fit the good gameplay and good visuals into a tiny monochromatic screen.
Great video. I've been looking forward to you covering this game since you started Game Boy World. There's a strange sequel to this on Game Boy as well - Tenjin Kaisen 2 - that was Japan only. It's some kind of visual novel. HardCoreGaming101 has a little write up of it.
In 1999/2000 i ordered a little yellow book about gameboy games from my schools bookfair. If you held it in your hands, it looked like you were holding a slightly larger than normal, yellow gameboy color. Anyway, Mercenary Force was one of the many games shown within it. There were 1, or 2 screen shots, and some codes i think... Well i thought it looked like the coolest little turn based rpg, and i really wanted to play it. About 7 years later i saw it for sale at a game store pretty cheap. Bought it, took it home and played it, and was dissapointed. It's a well made game, looks and sounds great. But i'm not a big fan of the R-type, Gradius-like scrolling shoot em' up gameplay. I prolly should've done a little research on the game. I'm glad i got to see what the game was like though. Also very good videos! I've been watching them for hours today, they're so dang good.
Yay! For your sake Jeremy I'm glad this one came when it did, mainly for your sanity with all those mediocre puzzle games. I love this one, an excellent and most certainly, a hidden gem on the Gameboy. Also one the most unique shmups on Gameboy or almost any other console/handheld I have owned. Really love this game and your work on this series, I'm excited to see more of this project!
I’ve wanted this game since childhood because of video game magazine ads. Still haven’t pulled the trigger on getting it, but I will soon enough. Great review!
KAZe had a number of releases hit the US after Mercenary Force, all of which were pinball titles. The most well-known to most probably would be Super Pinball: Behind the Mask for SNES. Digital Pinball: Last Gladiators for Sega Saturn was another and, like Super Pinball, is a real gem for that system. Really solid video pinball for its day.
I don't know what a KMFDM is, but I had never seen the US box art for this game. It looks a lot like a Judas Priest album jacket: Screaming for Vengeance.
More KAZe games than just Akira made it to the west (and even the Akira game didn't make it to the US). Super Pinball : Behind the Mask (SNES), Power Rangers Pinball (PS1), and Digital Pinball : Last Gladiators (Saturn, iOS) made it as well.
the first gameboy i got only included this game with it (i got it from a church sale), so obviously i played it a lot. And when I figured out the advance had backwards compatibility with it, i played with it on that as well. Its pretty fun, but also pretty hard. Servents are honestly the best tbh.
Thankfully this game isn't too expensive because it looks like this one is another sure buy for me but one I think I wouldn't want to play on anything but a TV.
I'm not surprised their cover art is this strong given if you dig into Meldac's discography you can find some truly incredible album covers. I'm sure they had someone on speed dial to produce this; it's very 90s to be sure, but that just means it was perfectly of its time and brilliantly done.
@@JeremyParish Wow, I guess I'm having an anachronism moment similar to how people now view the Master System covers as being weird and dated. Still exceptionally clean and clear design, though. Meldac knew what they were doing.
It wouldn't have been too surprising for this one to be retooled, there seems to be a trend with meldac games of retooling their games for non-japanese audiences. Zombie nation is a very good example. The Japanese version of that, Abarenbou Tengu, featured a flying Tengu mask having to save America. Some bosses, like the statue of liberty was replaced by a giant medusa head, still sporting a torch in hand very similar to the one Miss Liberty holds. This one, Mercenary Force, is one of the early good games of the system that I was lucky enough to play, though I never owned it, but it's not a very rare one to find, I have seen it pop up on many occasions in used and retro game shops for very low prices.
Saw this game advertised in my Gameboy players guide years ago and wanted to play it. Years later i randomly came across this video and it has rekindled my interest. Let's hope i can find a copy somewhere
Pretty sure you said KFMDM there Jeremy. That sounds like the company that sold those hits of the 60s compilations. KFMDM whisks you back to those hits of your past!
This is a game that desperately needs if not a true remake then at least a spiritual sequel of some sort. It probably wouldn't be too hard to make, even. [Interesting how a lot of Nintendo-platform games were more thoroughly 'localized' for American audiences despite the fact that I don't ever feel like Nintendo was actively courting American culture in their games at the time the way Sega was (OutRun? After Burner? Sonic?) -- whereas you'd get games like Kenseiden and Ninja Princess and Shinobi straight from Sega, with traditional Japanese environments unchanged. I mean, sure, they got rid of the *Princess* part when they ported that one to Master System, but that's a different matter.]
![Game Boy World #054: Gargoyle's Quest [Capcom, 1990]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yf_UZA3uuBs/mqdefault.jpg)
![Game Boy World #054: Gargoyle's Quest [Capcom, 1990]](/img/tr.png)
![Game Boy World #040: Space Invaders [Taito, 1990] & Space Invaders [Taito/Nintendo, 1994]](/img/n.gif)
My entire life I thought the people on the cover were firefighters, which is why I never wanted to play it as a kid. I can’t imagine how blown my mind woulda been thinking I was buying a firefighting game and getting this. I missed out.
Right!? I thought they were firefighters at first too!
One of your best videos yet Parish. Wonderful background (I immediately thoughts of King's Knight, too), engaging contextual information -- all really well done. I look forward to each week's release a little TOO much. Keep up the great work.
I remember the cover art for this one from when I was a kid. but I had totally forgotten what the game was like, I remember it being extremely hard though. and after watching this video it became clear to me why. Another great video thanks!
I remember this distinctly from the Nintendo power "game boy players guide". It seemed so bizarre, but it looks really interesting. Just snagged it on eBay after watching this so I'm excited to give it a spin.
I didn't know GameCenter CX the first time I saw that video.
*Now* I get it.
I inherited this game as a kid and didn’t have the manual so I had to figure it all out on my own. Was such a fun game.
I used to own Mercenary Force, loved it ! It was indeed quite hard but felt so rewarding to master formations. Love your videos :).
Thanks
Dude, love the KMFDM reference. I haven’t listened to them since I daily drove a game boy.
Pedantic notes from a Japanese history major: guns were actually outlawed by the Tokugawa. It was really only at the end of the earlier Muromachi period - colloquially known as Sengoku - that firearms were used. That puts this game firmly in the mid-16th century. Also, Heiankyo Alien is set during the eponymous Heian period, which predates feudal Japan, an era which got underway with the diminution of Heian aristocratic authority (though many historians deny that Japan was ever properly feudal at all). On the positive side, congrats on being able to pronounce “Heiankyo.”
This game looks awesome. It really deserves a remake. I just started watching your channel. I'm loving all these hidden gems. The limits of the Game Boy really pushed developers to think creatively in how to fit the good gameplay and good visuals into a tiny monochromatic screen.
I had this one back in the day. It was a lot of fun!
This was my JAM
Great video. I've been looking forward to you covering this game since you started Game Boy World.
There's a strange sequel to this on Game Boy as well - Tenjin Kaisen 2 - that was Japan only. It's some kind of visual novel. HardCoreGaming101 has a little write up of it.
+MrLeo34 Yeah, I thought about going into the sequel but decided the video was already long enough!
In 1999/2000 i ordered a little yellow book about gameboy games from my schools bookfair. If you held it in your hands, it looked like you were holding a slightly larger than normal, yellow gameboy color. Anyway, Mercenary Force was one of the many games shown within it. There were 1, or 2 screen shots, and some codes i think... Well i thought it looked like the coolest little turn based rpg, and i really wanted to play it. About 7 years later i saw it for sale at a game store pretty cheap. Bought it, took it home and played it, and was dissapointed.
It's a well made game, looks and sounds great. But i'm not a big fan of the R-type, Gradius-like scrolling shoot em' up gameplay. I prolly should've done a little research on the game. I'm glad i got to see what the game was like though. Also very good videos! I've been watching them for hours today, they're so dang good.
I had that book too!
@@trevorpomroy550 That's awesome! n_n
Yay! For your sake Jeremy I'm glad this one came when it did, mainly for your sanity with all those mediocre puzzle games. I love this one, an excellent and most certainly, a hidden gem on the Gameboy. Also one the most unique shmups on Gameboy or almost any other console/handheld I have owned. Really love this game and your work on this series, I'm excited to see more of this project!
I’ve wanted this game since childhood because of video game magazine ads. Still haven’t pulled the trigger on getting it, but I will soon enough. Great review!
Iused to have this game as a kid. it was a great game.loved it
KAZe had a number of releases hit the US after Mercenary Force, all of which were pinball titles. The most well-known to most probably would be Super Pinball: Behind the Mask for SNES. Digital Pinball: Last Gladiators for Sega Saturn was another and, like Super Pinball, is a real gem for that system. Really solid video pinball for its day.
One of the few gameboy games I refused to lend out to friends back in the days.
Had this game as a kid, no idea where it came from. Loved it to death though. The bosses were challenging.
Wow...the same people that made this made deadly towers? I guess if naughty dog made way of the warrior then it's entirely possible...
I don't know what a KMFDM is, but I had never seen the US box art for this game. It looks a lot like a Judas Priest album jacket: Screaming for Vengeance.
More KAZe games than just Akira made it to the west (and even the Akira game didn't make it to the US). Super Pinball : Behind the Mask (SNES), Power Rangers Pinball (PS1), and Digital Pinball : Last Gladiators (Saturn, iOS) made it as well.
the first gameboy i got only included this game with it (i got it from a church sale), so obviously i played it a lot. And when I figured out the advance had backwards compatibility with it, i played with it on that as well. Its pretty fun, but also pretty hard. Servents are honestly the best tbh.
I love this game.
Thankfully this game isn't too expensive because it looks like this one is another sure buy for me but one I think I wouldn't want to play on anything but a TV.
I'm not surprised their cover art is this strong given if you dig into Meldac's discography you can find some truly incredible album covers. I'm sure they had someone on speed dial to produce this; it's very 90s to be sure, but that just means it was perfectly of its time and brilliantly done.
Those are Emigre fonts, super cutting edge for 1990
@@JeremyParish Wow, I guess I'm having an anachronism moment similar to how people now view the Master System covers as being weird and dated.
Still exceptionally clean and clear design, though. Meldac knew what they were doing.
I thought this game looked like a fireman game due to the box art 😳
It wouldn't have been too surprising for this one to be retooled, there seems to be a trend with meldac games of retooling their games for non-japanese audiences. Zombie nation is a very good example. The Japanese version of that, Abarenbou Tengu, featured a flying Tengu mask having to save America. Some bosses, like the statue of liberty was replaced by a giant medusa head, still sporting a torch in hand very similar to the one Miss Liberty holds.
This one, Mercenary Force, is one of the early good games of the system that I was lucky enough to play, though I never owned it, but it's not a very rare one to find, I have seen it pop up on many occasions in used and retro game shops for very low prices.
The official cover of "Why are these firemen so angry?"
Saw this game advertised in my Gameboy players guide years ago and wanted to play it. Years later i randomly came across this video and it has rekindled my interest. Let's hope i can find a copy somewhere
Update: found it in the box with manual at the local pawn shop. One of the best Gameboy games made IMO ❤
loved this game
I don't know why but when I saw that Box art as a kid I thought this with a puzzle game.
Pretty sure you said KFMDM there Jeremy. That sounds like the company that sold those hits of the 60s compilations. KFMDM whisks you back to those hits of your past!
I'm going to have to find this game.
This is a game that desperately needs if not a true remake then at least a spiritual sequel of some sort. It probably wouldn't be too hard to make, even.
[Interesting how a lot of Nintendo-platform games were more thoroughly 'localized' for American audiences despite the fact that I don't ever feel like Nintendo was actively courting American culture in their games at the time the way Sega was (OutRun? After Burner? Sonic?) -- whereas you'd get games like Kenseiden and Ninja Princess and Shinobi straight from Sega, with traditional Japanese environments unchanged. I mean, sure, they got rid of the *Princess* part when they ported that one to Master System, but that's a different matter.]
I'm actually working on one. forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=16330
:D
Omg im drinking I'm drinking
About time :)
Totally looks like a firefighter game
Zombie Nation? That's Abarenbou Tengu isn't it?
Is it weird if I want your opinion on Megalit, and eagerly awaiting it? :)
Man, Pocky and Rocky is some good shit.
I will play mercenary force. 😀👍🎮
Why does the guy on the box look like a firefighter?
KFMDM?
Amazing game and equally amazing review. KMFDM sucks!
+icepickmessiah1010 I agree on two of those points ;)