Astro Boy: Omega Factor is not just one of the best anime games, but also one of the best video games you’ll ever play regardless of system. Even if you’re not familiar with Osamu Tezuka’s iconic manga/anime franchise about the little boy robot, Omega Factor is still going to be a hell of a lot of fun to play.
History
For the uninitiated, Astro Boy (or Tetsuwan Atom, as it is called in Japan) focuses on a fictional future in which robots co-exist with humans not as servants or workers, but as equals. The titular Astro is a powerful robot created by the head of the Ministry of Science Doctor Tenma based on the image of his son Tobio, who died in a car accident. Astro’s adventure starts when Doctor Tenma sells him to a cruel circus owner, after being disappointed that the robot cannot replace his son (mainly because the robot cannot grow old nor express human feelings.)
The Game and the Story
Astro Boy: Omega Factor is VERY loosely based on the anime, but don’t take it to mean that the story is subpar. The basic premise is still the same, but it takes all of the characters that Osamu Tezuka has created – even outside of the Astro Boy franchise – and uses them to craft a single generation-spanning yarn that takes Astro from merely going on a quest to discover his own identity, to traveling through time back and forth in order to save reality itself from a near-omnipotent force of destruction.
The gameplay itself is equal parts beat ‘em up and shmup, with Astro having access to kicks, punches, laser beams, and 3 different screen filling super attacks. There’s also a very deep growth system where Astro’s abilities and stats – like HP, power, speed, etc – can be upgraded every time you fill his memory banks with memories of different people. A lot of these people will be encountered through normal play, but a certain number of them are hidden throughout the stages so you have to do a little bit of exploring and or backtracking if you want to upgrade Astro to the maximum allowed.
Buy or Not?
Buy. Definitely. It’s the kind of game that you have to experience on a real gameboy advance (or at least on a DS). And you can’t rely on rental either, as the game is both addictive and lengthy – it’s not something that you can rent and finish in a couple of days. You WILL be playing this for weeks and you won’t grow bored, not a single day.
