As I’ve mentioned many times before, one of the reasons I like watching and keeping an eye on the Tokyo Game Show is to see all of the games that will see a release in Japan but not so in the West. Sometimes when games get announced for a Western release, its a bit surprising. One of those games is Gal Metal for the Nintendo Switch. Did XSEED and Marvelous sign on a Grammy winner or will be confined as a one hot wonder? Let’s get ready to rock with Gal Metal.
Let’s rock
A rockin’ story from outta this world- Gal Metal’s story is a tale of aliens and metal. One day two unsuspecting high school students, an unnamed boy and a girl named Rinko, are abducted by octopus like aliens, thinking that these two were representatives of Earth. These aliens declare war on Earth because the satellite Voyager was sent to space with a golden record. On that record happened to be some recorded music, metal music. The “noise” was so great that they bare it and though that this was a preemptive attack from Earth. So now they are here to conquer Earth and show them whose the mightiest beings of all. Before they boy and Rinko can say anything back to the aliens, they are transported back to Earth. But there’s a problem; the aliens accidentally merged the boy and Rinko together into Rinko’s body. Now together with Rinko’s band, K.G.M (Kichijoi Metal Girls) they must band together and use the power of metal to defeat the aliens and return to their original bodies. Girls playing metal, an alien invasion, what’s not to love about this story. Also to make it even more interesting, the story is told through manga panels and reads from right to left, just like a real manga. I thought that was a really nice touch.
Drummin’ up a storm- Now the main gimmick of Gal Metal is the drumming. See the main character Rinko is the drummer of her band. And in order to drum in the game, the Joy Cons are used. Yes motion controls are in this game, but are actually pretty simple. Now much like Rock Band, players drum up a rhythm for the song, but with the Joy Cons. The left Joy Con is the snare drum, the right is the kick drum and moving both has the player use the crash cymbals. Before each song, the game will give you a selection of beats to play for the song and its up to you to string them together. As the game progresses, more and more beats are unlocked, giving players more creative ways to integrate them it songs.
Beats named after songs- Even though most of the songs in Gal Metal are mostly either public domain songs or original pieces for the game, some of the beats are named after famous bands and songs. For example, the first beat you learn is called Harlot. This is named after the Avenged Sevenfold song, “The Beast and The Harlot”. Another example is EnterSand, which is named after Metallica’s Enter Sandman. I thought this was a really cool nod/Easter egg.
Other ways to jam out- Even though the main way to play Gal Metal is to use the Joy Cons, ther are two other ways to play the game. The first of the other ways to play is to use the game pad: Trigger buttons, shoulder buttons and the face buttons. Each of the buttons is mapped to a different part of the drum kit. The other way to play the game is using the touch screen. When using the touch screen, the different sections of the drum kit appear on screen. Personally I feel that playing Gal Metal using the touch screen controls is a bit easier to play. My sense of rhythm is a bit bad and I’m more of a visual cues kind of player. But that’s just me. I had someone who does have a better sense of rhythm than me and he did alright. So whether you want to jam out using the Joy Cons, a controller or the touch screen, anyone is able to pick up the game, play and jam out.
Behind the music; The Kichijoi Metal Girls story- The drumming is only half of the gameplay in Gal Metal. In between practicing and fighting the aliens, you manage your life as a student spending time with your friends after school. Hanging out with your friends and getting to know them better will improve your skills and unlock new beats to play. Sometimes hanging out with a specific friend will trigger a small cut scene event that focuses on you and that specific friend or group of friends.
DLC add on- The last song of the concert has finished. The cheers of the fans are starting to die down as the lead singer is giving a thank you speech. And the curtain closes. Then a faint chant starts to form: encore….encore….encore. It gets louder and louder: ENCORE…….ENCORE……..ENCORE. Then all of the sudden the crash of the drums rings out as the curtain flies open and the band start to jam one more time. While that doesn’t exactly happens in Gal Metal, after the game ends you feel like you want more. And more you shall get as the game has DLC. While some might see this as selling out, the DLC is actually pretty content rich. In the appropriately named “Encore Pack”, the game not only gives you five more songs to playthrough, it also introduces brand new beats and five new characters that can join your band.
Sell out
Feels awkward- While Gal Metal makes it fun to be playing air drums with the Joy Cons, it feels a bit awkward. This is mostly due to using the right Joy Con to activate the kick drum. It feels kind of weird because that’s usually either the tom or the snare drum. I thought somehow the Switch would pick up where the hands are positioned and correlate it to the position of the drum piece and output the sound. The game is still playable and fun, the drumming was not as I assumed it would be.
Drum battle- From the drum line of a marching band to the heavy hitters of metal, everyone enjoys a drum battle. Much like a guitar dual, drum battles are epic contests of skill and endurance. It’s kind of a shame that Gal Metal doesn’t have a drum battle mode where two people can compete to see who is the most metal drummer of all.
I am glad that I was wrong about Gal Metal never coming to the West when it was announced at last year’s Tokyo Game Show. The story of a boy and girl trapped in one body having to save the world from an alien invasion using the power of metal is pretty entertaining and fun. As well as getting to know your fellow band-mates. Being able to drum with the Joy Cons was pretty fun and it was super simple to follow the beat, if you have some rhythm that is. If you don’t then there are two other ways to play along and that was great having a option. Speaking of the beats I found it a musing that some of them were named after bands and real songs.
However the motion of using the right Joy Con to activate the kick drum did feel kind of awkward and I was sad that there wasn’t a drum battle mode so I could prove that I am truly the best drummer out of my friends. Regardless I’ve always been an ally to motion gaming when done right, and at the end of the day, while not a Grammy winning performance, Gal Metal places high on my top ten charts. If you’re looking for a new music rhythm game to jam out to, give Gal Metal a shot.
