Arcade Archives Metal Hawk

Genre: Top-Down Action

Players: 1, Online Leaderboards

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Review:

Metal Hawk is a Top-Down Action game released in Arcades in 1989 and ported to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in 2022. The original Arcade game was released in limited quantities due to its expensive arcade cabinet, which would tilt and move in reaction to the gameplay, and with this being the first home release of the game, this will be many players’ first opportunity to try it out.

Metal Hawk takes a bit of getting used to. Players can rotate their helicopter to face any direction, move forward and backward, and rise and lower their aircraft, as well as firing both air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. The controls here aren’t very intuitive, and it really would have helped if the game allowed players to assign your vertical controls to the right analog stick instead of a pair of buttons. It never quite feels natural, but it works.

In each of the game’s levels, you’ll basically be tasked with doing as much damage in enemy territory as possible, trying to hit a certain score before time runs out or enemies take you out. Often they’ll do this by ramming their aircraft into you, something made more likely by the awkward controls and the game’s inexplicable vertical screen.

In the end, I think the gameplay here is fairly unique, and it’s worth a try, though it’s awkward enough that this isn’t likely to be seen as a “lost classic”, especially since there’s no way to replicate the original arcade cabinet in a home port.

This release of the game includes a new “Hi-Score Mode” that challenges players to get as far as they can in one run. There is also a new “Caravan Mode” that does much the same, but with the limit being five minutes. Also, this release gives players the option of playing the Japanese or English versions of the game. In addition, this release of the game gives players a decent array of options, including various display options, sound options, challenge modifiers, button mapping, and online leaderboards.

At $8, the Arcade Archives release of Metal Hawk seems a bit pricey, but players looking to collect rare oddities may still find it worthwhile – the game is rare and unique enough to be worth a try, though I do think the odd controls and other issues make this a game most players aren’t likely to stick with for long. A niche title, to be sure, but one it’s nice to see live on in some form.

tl;dr – Metal Hawk is a Top-Down Action game that’s fairly unique, though it’s limited by awkward controls and limited view area, and it lacks the novelty of the original Arcade cabinet. Players curious to try out an obscure oddity may find this worth a look, but the game’s flaws likely mean that most won’t be playing this game for too long.

Grade: C+

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