Metamorphic Force

Short description: 1993 video game

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Metamorphic Force

U.S. arcade flyer of Metamorphic Force

Developer(s)| Konami
Publisher(s)| Konami
Producer(s)| Kazu Kouzuki
Y. Nishimura
Masahiro Inoue
Programmer(s)| Gen Suzuki
Tetsuya Wada
Naotaka Yoshikawa
Artist(s)| Yuji Asano
Satochan
Soichiro Kitai
Ricky
Composer(s)| Mutsuhiko Izumi
Mariko Egawa
Platform(s)| Arcade, PlayStation 4
Release| August 1993
Genre(s)| Beat 'em up
Mode(s)| Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system| Mystic Warriors-based hardware

Metamorphic Force (メタモルフィックフォース, Metamorufikku Fōsu) is an arcade beat 'em up video game released by Konami in August 1993.[1] It is one of Konami's last side-scrolling beat 'em up games to appear in arcades, along with Violent Storm.

The game mechanics are similar to those of Konami's earlier arcade hit, X-Men, and runs on the same hardware as their ninja-themed game, Mystic Warriors. On October 24, 2024, the game got ported as part of the Arcade Archives series.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Plot
* 2 Protagonists
* 3 Gameplay
* 4 Differences between the US and Japanese versions
* 5 Reception
* 6 Legacy
* 7 See also
* 8 References

## Plot

The year is 199X A.D. and the Evil King Death Shadow, ruler of the Empire of Horror, has arisen from the dead to rule the world once more. The Greek goddess Athena has summoned the souls of four ancient guardians and bestowed their power upon four heroes to stop the evil once again.[3] These guardians wield the ability to morph into anthropomorphic beasts to fight their enemies.

## Protagonists

Ban (蛮), a martial artist. His guardian soul is a Fighting Bull, hence his beast form is a Minotaur.

Claude, a swordsman who wields a rapier. His guardian soul is a White Wolf, and he transforms into a White Werewolf.

Max, a fighter with a boxing style. His guardian soul is a Black Panther, and so his beast form is a Werepanther.

Ivan (Иван), a hunter and wrestler who fights with a small log. His guardian soul is a Bear, so he transforms into a Werebear.

## Gameplay

Metamorphic Force features anthropomorphic animal enemies, and the player may shapeshift into an animal, as pictured here with Max (center) in the form of a werepanther.

The game's four main characters are able to morph into anthropomorphic "beasts" (referred to as Beast Mode) by collecting a Golden Statue power-up which drops from either a random chest that falls from the sky, or through an anthropomorphic rodent appearing at random times and supplying the player with either a Health Item, Score Item, or Gold Statue. The rodent will drop power-ups after a certain period of time, or if the player attacks him, similar to the elves in Golden Axe. When the players collect a Statue when already in Beast Mode, the character performs a "Screen Attack" destroying all on-screen enemies (if the Statue is collected during a boss fight, the boss is hit hard and usually twice).

The enemies are also anthropomorphic creatures such as frogmen, elephant men, lizardmen, hedgehog men, boar men, and others; and include bosses such as Cabrios the Ram-Man (similar to the pagan god Baphomet) armed with a Scythe, a Flaming Chicken-Man who wields a Sword, an Amazon Demoness, and the Dark Dragon.[4] At the end of Stages 2 and 4, players enter a bonus stage (destroy a statue or a string of regular enemies) which awards them extra points and health.

## Differences between the US and Japanese versions

The US version of Metamorphic Force uses a numeric lifepoint counter that doubles as the timer, going down by one lifepoint each tick (much like in Gauntlet), while the Japanese version uses a traditional health bar.[citation needed] The Fifth Stage in the US version consists of a boss rush where the player fights the previous bosses in pairs before facing the level's own boss, while in the Japanese version the player fights that level boss only.[citation needed] In addition, some sprites have been completely altered, such as the stained glass artwork seen during the elevator scene in the Final Stage.

## Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Metamorphic Force as the 17th most successful table arcade unit of September 1993.[5] In North America, RePlay listed the game as the 19th most popular arcade game of December 1993,[6] and Play Meter listed it as the 54th most popular arcade game of January 1994.[7] In Europe, the game was selling well through January 1994.[8]

## Legacy

* The complete soundtrack to Metamorphic Force is featured in the 2-disc CD album Konami Amusement Sounds '93: Autumn Edition, published on October 21, 1993 and distributed by King Records. Disc 2 contains all the tracks from the game.[9]

Track # | Track name | Time

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01 | AD 199x | 00:56
02 | Heroes of Legend | 00:21
03 | A New Journey | 00:12
04 | The Ruins of Bakyaros | 04:29
05 | Cabrios Appears - Goat and Giant | 02:49
06 | Time of Victory | 00:08
07 | Tower | 04:07
08 | Cave of Fire | 02:25
09 | Fanfare | 00:08
10 | Destruction! | 02:00
11 | Celebration | 00:07
12 | Freezing Ground | 04:12
13 | Evil Ground | 03:39
14 | Human Soldier | 02:43
15 | Ganoo Appears - Forest of the Fierce Battle | 03:38
16 | Hurry! | 01:18
17 | Coliseum of Revenge | 05:31
18 | She-devil of the Coliseum | 02:59
19 | Warrior of Death Shadow Castle | 03:10
20 | Chorus | 03:24
21 | Death Shadow | 04:16
22 | Dragon of Fear | 03:06
23 | The End of Death Shadow | 01:16
24 | The Accidental Wound's Glory | 00:12
25 | Into the Hopeful Sky | 01:33
26 | Stand Tall! | 00:38
27 | Finale | 00:07

* Model DD6 and Model DD7 of Konami's Bemani games originate from this game. Model DD6 is used on Stages 2 and 7's boss battles while Model DD7 is used specifically on Stage 5's boss battle.
* The game was released by Hamster Corporation (who obtained the rights to the catalog of games by Nichibutsu, UPL, Video System, etc.) for the Nintendo Switch[10] and PlayStation 4[11] as part of the Arcade Archives series on October 24, 2024.[12]

## See also

* Therianthropy

## References

1. ↑ Metamorphic Force at The Killer List Of Videogames
2. ↑ "Obscure Beat 'Em up 'Metamorphic Force' is This Week's Arcade Archives Release". 23 October 2024. https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/10/obscure-beat-em-up-metamorphic-force-is-this-weeks-arcade-archives-release.
3. ↑ Arcade Flyer, front
4. ↑ Arcade Flyer, back
5. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (457): 29. 15 September 1993.
6. ↑ "The Player's Choice - Top Games Now in Operation, Based on Earnings-Opinion Poll of Operators: Best Video Software". RePlay (RePlay Publishing, Inc.) 19 (3): 12. December 1993.
7. ↑ "Equipment Poll - Video & Pinball Combined". Play Meter (Skybird Publishing) 20 (1): 8. January 1994. https://archive.org/stream/play-meter-volume-20-number-1-january-1994/Play Meter - Volume 20, Number 1 - January 1994#page/8/mode/1up.
8. ↑ "International News: Japan". Play Meter 20 (1): 28. January 1994. https://archive.org/details/play-meter-volume-20-number-1-january-1994/Play Meter - Volume 20, Number 1 - January 1994/page/28.
9. ↑ Metamorphic Force Soundtrack - Konami Amusement Sounds '93: Autumn
10. ↑ "Arcade Archives METAMORPHIC FORCE for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site" (in en-US). https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/arcade-archives-metamorphic-force-switch/?srsltid=AfmBOorO82URa88_xQWc7yVR0Ug0-3LWZzq6EZVQxu10lfOK5eodBOVv.
11. ↑ "Arcade Archives METAMORPHIC FORCE". https://store.playstation.com/en-ae/product/EP8908-CUSA49578_00-HAMPRDC000000001/.
12. ↑ "Arcade Archives METAMORPHIC FORCE". March 21, 2025. https://www.arcadearchives.com/en/title/aca-331/.

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