Assault Suits Valken [Model SHVC-AV]

Assault Suits Valken © 1992 Masaya

Assault Suits Valken is an side-scolling action game by Masaya and published by Nippon Computer System (NCS). In 2101, the Colonies and the Earth Federation are at war - stocks of fossil oil are dwindling and reports of violent clashes between the two sides have ignited a brutal conflict. The player takes control of Jake, a first class pilot from the Assault Suit squadron. He operates the ASS-117A Valken, a large humanoid-mecha suit of armor, and undertakes various military missions of strategic values. Each level begins with a short briefing before putting the player in a combat situation. The Valken starts out with two main weapons - a rapid-fire machine gun with bouncing bullets and a close-range but powerful punch. Two other weapons are later available in the game - the piercing laser beam and the ammo-limited missiles. Power ups can be collected throughout the levels, power chips (icons with a P stamped on them) upgrade the active weapon a maximum of three times, energy chips (H) recovers health and the Weapon Chip (W) adds new weapons. A metal shield can be raised up at any time by holding the right shoulder button. This technique protects the mech against enemy fire and is at the core of the gameplay. Another important feature is the way how the player can lock the active weapon firing direction by holding the left shoulder button. Finally, the mech has the ability to hover for a short amount of time and to quickly dash in one direction. Assault Suits Valken features seven long stages and some bosses do escape if not defeated within a time limit - this doesn't immediately end the game but may lead to a different ending.