Overview – Originally developed by Aroma, with porting by Implicit Conversions and published by Bliss Brain, 70’s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X is a revival of the cult classic blending shooting and anime together. Play through the episodes of the fictional anime Geppy-X in challenging shooting action, with fully remastered hand drawn animation and audio. This title is for PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Steam, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank PR Hound for providing the copy of 70’s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. I will be referring to the game by the shortened name of Geppy-X for the sake of Brevity.
Story – it’s the year 197X, with the earth being suddenly attacked by an alien force called the Cosmic Demon Empire. This invading force commands an army of beast-like robots known as the Space Beasts. During the invasion, a top secret Space Robot Laboratory located in the far east scrambles to action, having prepared for a situation like this. They deploy the newly developed transforming combination robot Geppy-X, helmed by three ace pilots.
Gameplay – Geppy-X is an experimental title that mixes the concepts of an episodic anime series, with side scrolling shooting. Each of the episodes plays out in a manner similar to a traditional anime series, using the familiar format that is employed with shows of the time. Each stage will start with an introductory text and full vocal opening, then the first part of the “episode” plays before the action begins and the player enters the shooting.
During the shooting sections of the game, the player will control the Geppy-X mecha which is able to transform into three different forms. The initial form is dependent on the story with a preferred transformation, but it can freely changed during play. As the player challenges the main stages, they play out in classic horizontal shooting style, with enemies attacking the robot from the front and sometimes from behind.
To fight off the Cosmic Demon Empire, players will be able to use two basic attacks, with a main and sub weapon, which will change depending on the chosen form of the mech. The main attacks consist of a spread blaster, multi-beam lasers and power fist punches, with the sub weapons including powerful air slashes, bombs and missiles. If the attack button is held down, a super powered charge attack can be used, but be careful as it can be interrupted.
While traversing the different areas of a stage, the player will be able to turn and face the opposite direction to attack. This can be very useful as there will be enemies that appear behind the player, as well as players getting ahead of them to avoid attacks. If the player does take damage from an enemy, they will lose armor energy, reducing the defensive power that they have from varying amounts. If all of the energy is lost, the mech will be shot down.
Throughout the game, as the player shoots down the enemies or takes damage from enemies, the X Power bar will fill up on screen. If this bar is completely filled up, the player will be able to unleash a powerful ultimate attack. Each of the different forms of the Geppy-X robot has a unique special attack, which will fill the screen and wipe out all smaller enemies. In the event that the player is shot down, the player will lose all of their accumulated X Power.
By wiping out the enemy forces, there will be item drops that will support the player during battle. The main ones are the Main and Sub weapon upgrades, which will make the attacks more powerful as they level up. There will also be recovery items, which will restore the armor that has been lost in battle, as well as support items to pick up. When a support capsule is picked up, another mech will join the battle to aid the player for a limited time.
In some stages there will be Heat Signature warnings, which will herald the coming of a large powerful foe. These enemies are huge multi-phase combatants, where the player must damage several parts of the craft to bring them down. Players can also encounter named enemies, which are designated as more powerful than standard enemies. These are few and far between and often saved for key parts of specific episodes.
At the midway point of the stage, there will be a mid-boss that will appear to battle the player, being hailed by warning and occasionally a cutscene. The battles can be tense with the mecha beasts unleashing a hail of bullets, filling the screen with deadly projectiles. When the mid-boss is defeated by the player, there will be special attack animation that plays, showing off the finishing blow against the enemy. After this a classic style Eye Catch insert will appear.
After the Eye Catch, special mock commercials will play out, including advertisments for mechandise, food products and even parody film trailers. These can be a good way to ease the tension after a challenging mid boss battle. Once the commercial break is over, a second Eye Catch will appear and the second half of the Episode will begin. The action follows the same formula of the first part, where the player must battle the enemies to reach the end boss.
When the player reaches the end of the stage, they will be confronted by the main boss, with the same Giant Beast warning as the mid boss enemies. After the warning a cutscene will play to show off the full might of the boss that is appearing to battle the player. Just like the mid-boss battles, players will need to carefully avoid the attacks that the bosses use. These are often more chaotic with increasingly dense bullet patterns filling the screen.
Some of the bosses will have multiple forms, which will change after defeating them for the first time. There will also be bosses with multiple health bars, more deadly attacks and really pushing the player to their limits. If the player is able to defeat the boss, a special scene plays out showing the robot destroying the beast. After this the end of the episode plays out, with the effects of the battle, the ending theme and a preview of the next episode.
Between episodes, the player will be prompted to save the game to continue. This can be very useful as there are limited credits for the game, meaning if the player gets stuck during a battle and gets a game over, they can continue. Once all of the Episodes are completed, the player will get an ending before being taken to the score screen and the rankings. But there is more to the game that is hiding below the surface, just waiting to be discovered.
Geppy-X is more than just a single set of episodes, as there is a hidden secret that will alter the way the story progresses. Depending on the choice made during a key part of the game, the player will get put on a different route. There are three routes that players can experience, each offering a unique set of scenes and a unique ending. This expands the game significantly, as it will completely change interactions and events during the game.
Alongside the alternate routes and special endings, there are additional extras that players can unlock. The first is the Beast Guide, which is a compendium of all the enemies that have been encountered during the game. Then there are the extra stages, which are unique and special bonus game modes for players to challenge the game. These include the Boss Rush, called the Movie, which has the player battle all the bosses one after another.
Then there are the alternate stories, where the player will pilot a different robot for a special run through the game. But the most interesting of these alternate modes is the Star Geppys, which is a parody of American adaptations of Anime. This has all the names of characters changed, their personalities and the locations of the stages. Tokyo is changed to New York, Keiyo is switched to Detroit and all the characters speak in exaggerated English at points.
Since this is an HD remaster, all of the original crunched audio and video has been fully redone, with brand new transfers of the animations. There is also additional quality of life enhancements, with official translations of the game, a full manual and adjustable CRT filter settings to adjust the appearance of the game. Players can also use a rewind feature, allowing mistakes to be corrected, as well as quick save/load to stop and jump back in freely.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as Geppy-X is a console shooter the game makes full use of the inputs, with all buttons on the controller being used. The face buttons controlled the main action buttons, with the main and sub shots, the special attack and ability to turn. On the shoulders, players can switch their form of the robot craft, as well as use turbo fire during stages. There is also the option for Keyboard support, but it is recommended to play with a controller.
Difficulty – there is a rather well balanced difficulty curve for Geppy-X, with the action gradually escalating during play. The action of the game starts off easy and starts to ramp up, with the bosses being the toughest of enemies as they can verge on bullet hell at times. But this doesn’t mean the difficulty is punishing, as the player can get through the game with the limited credits. For those who may struggle, using the quick save/load and rewind can be a great help.
Presentation – from a visual perspective, Geppy-X is stunning, with restored animation from original master tapes and original compressed video options. This adds to the experience, with the cutscenes blending with the action sequences very well. Then we get into the gameplay itself, which flows perfectly with the use of rendered models and sprites. All of these look great against the stage backgrounds, with all of it coming together in a cohesive way.
Next is the sound, which is absolutely fantastic throughout the game, with clean and crisp audio that is balanced very well. The music that is used adds to the grandeur of the action on screen, with an exciting opening, melancholic ending and stage music with a lot of energy behind it. There is also extensive voice work, which features voice actors from across Anime, including Akira Kamiya, the voice of Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star.
Final Thoughts – I am a fan of old school anime, side scrolling shooters and games that go in a different direction, so Geppy-X really appeals to me. There is this unique and magical charm about the game, with the animated scenes and mock commercials really making it feel unique. The gameplay also has a lot of depth to it too, with the transforming robot gimmick, as well as the variety of weapon styles adding a lot of replay value to the action.
This release really feels like you are playing the episodes of an anime, with all of the elements coming together in a satisfying manner. The story of each episode is done well, the comedy doesn’t overstay its welcome and the alternate routes making worth going back to. All of this is wrapped in a challenging and satisfying horizontal shooter. For those who are fans of mecha anime, horizontal shooters or unusual games from the past, this is definitely for you.
In the end, I give 70’s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X a final score of 5/5. This is one of the most unique shooters I have played in a long time, with the episode gimmick and usage of the classic anime format, gameplay that is challenging and fun and a ton of bonus content that will keep you coming back for more. if you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
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