Metal Marines
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| Metal Marines | |
|---|---|
 European cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco (SNES) Mindscape (PC) |
| Platform(s) | Super Nintendo, Windows 3.1 |
| Release | December 1993
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| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Metal Marines is a real-time strategy video game developed by Namco for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Windows 3.1 PCs. It was originally released in Japan under the title Militia. The Super NES version was re-released on the Virtual Console in Japan on July 10, 2007 for the Wii and on March 4, 2015 for the Wii U, and in North America on October 15, 2007 for the Wii.
The game is set in the year 2117, two years after a cataclysmic Antimatter War. The player leads a military force whose main unit is the Metal Marine: a 16 meter (50 ft) high, 93-plus ton mecha.
Development
The PC and SNES versions of the game feature a number of minor gameplay differences, namely the plot. In the PC version the player controls a member of the "United Earth Empire" ("Empire" in short) a futuristic version of United Nations. The adversarial Zorgeuf's force is a dictatorial government. After conquering all space colonies, Zorgeuf sets his eyes on Earth and the player must take up arms to protect the planet. In the SNES version the player controls a member of the "Space Colonies Allied Forces", an alliance formed by the independent space colonies. The primary mission is to take the battle to the Earth, which is currently in the grip of Zorgeuf's empire. The goal is to save the humans living on Earth who are being oppressed by Zorgeuf while securing the future of Space Colonies.[citation needed]
A special "Master Edition" of the game was released by Namco and Mindscape for PCs in 1995. In the Master Edition the characters were given voices, the overall look of the GUI changed, and the game featured better sound and warning effects.[citation needed]