Romantic scrap-iron adventures

Guys, this is important so you need to listen up. Something huge is happening this week. Something that affects us all. So pay attention.

Steambot Chronicles is shipping.

You might know it better as Ponkotsu Roman Daikatsugeki BUMPY TROT, of course, but the meaning is the same regardless of the language. I’ve been looking forward to this one for ages, and I’m happy to say the entirety of the game more or less lives up to the promise of what I played of the import. It’s pretty much the closest thing we’ll ever see to a Mega Man Legends 3, as it features just about everything that was good about MML3 (except Servbots, but you can win them all) while adding major mech customization, a huge world and frequently open-ended gameplay to the mix. If you’re reading this page and own a PS2 and don’t buy a copy of Steambot Chronicles, I’m going to have to take that as a sign that you’ve launched some sort of vendetta against fun.

Really, it’s good. (My 1UP review will be up later this week if you’re the sort of person who prefers arbitrary numbers to heartfelt endorsements.)

Edit: A review approaches! Command?
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28 thoughts on “Romantic scrap-iron adventures”

  3. I’ll second Jeremy’s opionion. Steambot Chronicles really is great. Like a mix of The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, Katamari Damacy, and Animal Crossing. –Cary

  4. Pre-ordered it a couple weeks ago, got the completely useless but amazingly cute mini-harmonica bonus swag emblazoned with the words “BUMPY TROT”. Awesome. Hopefully the store will keep my copy until next week while I’m busy at a convention all weekend…

  7. Is the final game as unrelentingly boring and poorly-controlling as the demo on the Jampack?

  10. I’m very excited to play it! I’ve got it preordered and hopefully it should be in my mailbox at the end of the week. I hear that the guy who did the localization kicks ass, kind of like kids’ books about elephants.

  11. Yeah, but look at the pubs that have trashed the game. Do you take advice on whimsical import games from G4? Be honest now.

  12. I’ve heard a couple of trustworthy people say that it’s like the beautiful child of Dark Chronicle (aka Dark Cloud 2) with the very best of the GTA “sandbox” soul. Were they pulling my leg, or is there any truth to that statement?

  13. That certainly makes it sound more appealing, as the demo did little more than highlight the game’s weaknesses (the lame amnesiac angle, lousy controls, poor music, and extremely limited character interaction) while hiding any strengths.

  14. The glamrous big brother to Metal Saga, right? MS isn’t bad, but i get the feeling that it’s a ‘in-between game’ like when Squenix tossed out Drakengard to keep the fans quiet while they horked up the next FF game.

  15. Dark Cloud 2 never really struck me as anything more than an incredibly cheap dungeon crawler. However, Bumpy Trot sounds genuinely good, and Parish usually doesn’t go wild for terrible games, so I’m game. I will pick it up tomorrow!

  16. Metal Saga is a great game brought down by load times. It’s not SMT, but it’s good enough and different enough that it isn’t just filler. ): Poor Metal Saga doesn’t get any respect. I hope Bumpy Trot does better.

  17. I’ve been looking forward to this one for ages, but now that Parish recommends it I’m a bit frightened. As much as I love the guy (in a totally non-homosexual way ok) his views seem to come from a different universe entirely, where up is down and Xenogears’ battle arena wasn’t fun.

    I’ll buy it because the main character, Vanilla Beans, seems to be voiced by the same person who did Shinji Ikari. Shinji + Robots = hilarity? As long as the story doesn’t feature both figurative and literal wankery as did Evangelion, I think it might!

  18. Except for the fact that the English dub for Evangelion was totally awful, so your point is invalid. Eh, buy it anyways.

  19. Locit: To each their own, I suppose. I found Dark Cloud 2 enjoyable and charming enough to last me 120 hours, and then some, with only a fifth of that devoted to the actual dungeons (which I found surprisingly fun, but I suspect that’s because I loved the gorgeous locales, the soundtrack, and the carefully-crafted weapon combos.) My importer friends made the comparison between Steambot and DC2 because I spent so much time in the latter’s myriad minigames –customizing the Ridepod, playing Spheda, rearranging my Georamas, photography and so on– and they claim that Steambot is likely to satisfy me in a similar fashion.

  20. It’s cool and all… But can’t we have this AND MML3? Mecha and quirkiness should overlap more often.

  22. TheSL–HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAA….whew. No seriously, have you watched Evangelion dub beyond episode 4?

    Before I say this, I remind you I assisted in directing DDS, DDS2, Phantom Brave and, well, Steambot Chronicles…

    Eva has one of the better English dubs you’re likely to find. Anyway, sorry Parish, that’s the last time I’ll say something cocky and braggish on your blog (…today).
    Raroo–did you find the kid’s book? Did you read about the elephant?

  24. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAA….whew.”
    .
    I’ll say. Don’t do that. ò_ó

  25. “what has to be a bit of a blow to JP, Play.”
    .
    Why do I always hear negative things about Dave Halveson and Play from the web gaming press?

  27. “Raroo–did you find the kid’s book? Did you read about the elephant?
    ” — I don’t have the game yet, but I’ve heard “rumors”. hehe.

  28. Steambot Chronicles is a weird name for an excellent billiards simulator with a clunky, but charming robot minigame.

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