Assault Suits Valken

Released by NCS/Masaya in 1992 for the Super Famicom — and known in the West as Cybernator — Assault Suits Valken is a side-scrolling mech action shooter set in the near future. Players pilot the humanoid assault suit Valken across Earth-orbital and lunar battlefields, fighting for the United Nations against Axis forces. An arsenal of Vulcan cannons, lasers, missiles, and a close-range beam saber is at the player's disposal, while energy must be manually allocated between shields and thrusters. Mission briefings and in-combat radio dialogue drive a storyline that doesn't shy away from grim subject matter — including a prisoner massacre — earning the game an uncommon depth of narrative and political atmosphere within the mech-action genre.