Cybernator

About Cybernator

Cybernator (1992), Assault Suits Valken in Japan, is Masaya's SNES mecha action game in which soldier Jake Brain pilots an Assault Suit through a war over Earth's dwindling fuel, censored in its Western release.

Cybernator in Depth

Set in a future where Earth's fossil fuels are running out, the game follows a world war between the Axis and the Federation for the remaining resources and for territory on the Moon, fought with giant space stations and weapons of mass destruction. Jake, drafted into the Pacific States' Marine Corps, pilots a humanoid Federation Assault Suit with arms, legs, a torso and a head, a range of weapons and accessories, and full land and limited air capability. In the prologue he says he fights only because he is a soldier, not out of patriotism or politics.

From the warship Versis, Jake's platoon is tasked with destroying Bildvorg, the Axis's most powerful mech, piloted by Major Beldark, and the missions build towards that goal; in the fourth, the player saves an enemy suit entering the atmosphere while Beldark kills Jake's ally Apollo. The game has two endings. Failing any mission, such as not stopping the Arc Nova from falling or letting an enemy shuttle escape, leaves the Versis wrecked and Jake's partner Crea dead; succeeding in every mission ends the war with Jake and Crea reunited on the deck.

Making Cybernator

Toshiro Tsuchida produced the game before joining G-Craft to work on Front Mission, Masanao Akahori composed the soundtrack, and Satoshi Urushihara drew the Japanese artwork. Masaya released it for the Super Famicom on 12 December 1992, and Konami published it in North America as Cybernator in April 1993. It sold only 10,782 copies in Japan, according to Famitsu, but reviews were generally favourable: GameFan called it one of the best SNES games, and EGM's reviewers all praised its graphics, two saying they showed off the SNES hardware, while disagreeing about whether it was too easy or too hard. In 1996 Next Generation said it "introduced many U.S. gamers to classically Japanese design values", and Super Play ranked it the 19th best Super NES game. It was later released on the PlayStation 2, the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console, and on Switch in Declassified form.