Renting games was an occasional treat. Demos and the odd borrowing from a friend were the usual means by which additional gaming was achieved, but renting was an option. When my nan moved to a warden assisted flat, she conveniently chose a place less than a minute walk from a shop called Teknophobia. It was small computer repair centre and DVD, video, and game hire place. It wasn’t particularly well stocked, but it was always fantastic to visit. One pound could get you a game for one night, and for four, for a week… not too bad really. A quid got me a game for a night (rarely had the four), and through this, I managed to play more than I otherwise would have. Browsing the shelves, I’d find the usual line up of contemporary releases. There would be an abundance of unwanted sports titles, a load of licenced games, a load of odd platformers, and whatever else they could get their hands on. Most of the good stuff I had managed to play already, or was lucky enough to own, but there was a massive gap in my library, and that was import games. One of the boxes caught my eye on one my regular visits, and I reached out curiously for the Ghost in the Shell… what turned out to be the PAL version, luckily.
I hadn’t seen the film at the time and was totally unaware of it, even after briefly playing the game. It was a few years after that I eventually watched it – great film… I don’t think I had the game longer than a day, and as such my memories of the actual gameplay are vague. I recall jumping about in a big round red robot spider thing, and as it turns out, that is largely the entirety of the experience. Anyway, that all was many years ago, the game is gone, along with the rental shop, which has since become one of those retail units which changes its purpose every year or so. A nail bar, cash for clothes, a soap shop, and parcel delivery place. Games are no longer part of that little road, and quite a shame it is. Anyway, obviously I can’t go back there without a time machine, so it’s eBay again for me. I was hesitant to even look for this one, assuming, as it is associated with the anime, that it would be one of those annoying games which demands hundreds of pounds. None for sale locally, but I found one in Japan for about twenty-five quid, not too bad actually! In the basket it goes, and the wait begins. Said wait was a little longer than I had anticipated, and as I continued to browse eBay (as I often do), I found a companion to the game - the art book. Not always in for these things, but I thought, as it was dirt cheap, I’d grab it to sustain me as I continued to wait for the delivery. Book and game came about the same time in the end… The book is quite a lovely artefact as it happens and features beautifully rendered concept art of the game, as well as details on the characters, the missions and just about every aspect of the title - a PDF version of this can be viewed on the Internet Archive if you are interested. After briefly browsing through the pages, I put the book aside, saving it for after the game.
While awaiting the arrival of the game and between browsing, I decided to watch the film again (the animated version). It had been quite a few years since I last saw it, and man, it’s still fantastic. A timeless piece of cyberpunk animation, and it really did increase my anticipation for the game. I think I was probably too young to appreciate the game back then, and I became eager to fully explore what it had to offer, and how it linked to the pre-existing story. Looking this up in my curiosity, I find the ties to the 1995 film, utilising the same voice cast as the English dub, and both the art design and story were led by Misamune Shirow, who authored the original manga. It’s well established how fantastic the manga and the film are, so we’re in safe hands in this regard. And delightfully, the same voice cast is used in the game, creating a rather cohesive experience. As well as the cast being the same, they deliver an equally excellent performance with the voice acting being on par with the film. The soundtrack, while not produced by Kenji Kawai (who did the original soundtrack for the 1995 film), is it itself a techno triumph, created by Takkyu Ishino with music from various other artists.
While the cast of characters from the film are involved, the story focuses on a new recruit (you), as you pilot a Fuchikoma, which is essentially a spider-like tank with legs. You are the newest addition to the roster of Public Security Section 9, and you and your fellows go about investigating and fighting the Human Liberation Front. Getting to the game then, and it opens with a fantastic cinematic, illustrated as I mentioned, by Masamune Shirow and after a brief introduction to some of the cast of characters, we’re given a briefing on what we’re to do. Mission 1 has us acquiring codes to break into a secure warehouse in the pursuit of terrorists. Pesky bastards. Anyway, after the briefing, we’re chucked straight into the gameplay, and find ourselves in control of the mech and being shot at. Some quick testing with the controls and we gun him down before exploring the game’s most unique aspect – its wall climbing. Almost any surface can be traversed with the mech, and along with a generous jump ability and left and right dashing, you’ll find yourself well equipped to navigate your way around the virtual space.
The controls (unlike the likes of ReBoot) hold up incredibly well, and movement feels rather contemporary for the style of gameplay. It is quick and fun and simple. Weapons are equally simple, and perhaps a little too much. You have a pair of mounted machine guns as the standard attack, and this can be held down to charge for a burst of rockets. Targeting is automated for the most part, and while this works well for the most part, sometimes it can be a bit annoying when you attack a lesser threat first. It’s not a deal breaker though, as apart from the bosses, most enemies die pretty quick. These weapons are your mainstay, and you better hope you enjoy using the combo, because the only alternative you have is the occasional grenade. These are particularly good, especially for taking a good chunk of a boss’s health off, but the roster of weapons is somewhat restrictive. The same can’t be said for the variety of things you can shoot, however. Other biped mechs, turret emplacements, tanks, gunships, bomber planes, soldiers… Quite a variety. And the environments are just as varied too, although some of the areas do feel a little recycled looking back. After bounding around outside the warehouse, shooting, and climbing, we eventually find all the codes and we enter the structure only to be confronted with our first boss. This guy is pretty standard (as will we the way for the majority of these fights), but the big tank thing has a decent variety of attacks. Its here there we find that the combat is not all that difficult, and it doesn’t take long to clock the boss’s attack pattern.
Once the big lad blows up, we’re given our score, and the next briefing begins a moment later. Rather disappointingly, the second level has us delving into the sewers. The openness and the joy of larking about on rooftops is snatched from us, replaced with incredibly cramped tunnels… The game shines when you’ve got freedom of movement, I don’t understand why it shifted so quickly. Anyway, as luck would have it, manoeuvring in tight spaces isn’t as bad as it sounds, although it is quite easy to lose your sense of direction, especially if you scamper onto the ceiling and the camera spins about. Luckily this mission isn’t too long, but it is quite dark. So dark in face that there is a night vision mechanic. This only shows up twice in the whole game. Anyway, on we go, shooting lots of turrets and mines along the way. The music in this level reminds me of the first few beats of Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust, just the intro, and forever. Eventually we get to a big hole, and after jumping in, we’re met with our second boss. Another mech, of course, but this one is a four limbed thing spanning the width of a massive pipe. It spins about, shoots lasers and is generally a bit annoying. On our first encounter I used the exact same tactics as with the first boss. I died, but I still think I was doing the right thing (ish) - got it on the second go.
Another briefing after this, and these are incredibly compelling. They aren’t quite as good as the animated cinematics, but the wireframe visuals which detail the next phase of the mission are really interesting, and the aesthetic is both simple and timeless. Hearing the cast discuss what’s happening is fantastic too, and it really feels as though you’re listening in to a proper conversation. In my opinion these sections along with the cutscenes are impeccable and elevate the game above it’s fun but basic gameplay. Mission three has us back out in the open and this time we’re defusing bombs. Or rather we’re bellowing them up (but in a safer way). We’re also timed here, and while this adds to the challenge, it’s not irritating, as I thought it might be. Boss here is similar to the first, but it does have some help in the form of floating… things. Either way, it goes boom.
Mission 4 is where things change up a little, and I’m not sure if it’s for the best. I don’t not like it, but again the game seems to be shying away from what its good at, which is letting you jump around open spaces. Here we’re affixed to a boat as we chase the next boss across the sea. We can look left and right, strafe a little, and jump, but we’re locked in on our heading and we’re constantly moving. It is a chase though, so perhaps that’s ok – it’s certainly nice to see some variety to the scenery. Flying mechs, bombers, laser barriers, and jet skiers are amongst those who try to stop us in this one, and it culminated in a battle with a giant gunboat and its escort of two smaller vessels. Avoid some artillery fire and mines, and the next boss is dead. The next mission has us back where we belong, in an urban environment with lots of buildings to climb over. In this one, we’re on the boss from the start, having several encounters with them until cornering them for the final confrontation. This boss is a humanoid, does backflips, slices the air, impacts the ground, and can turn invisible. A nice change of pace. Back to chasing for the next mission though, but rather than speeding across the ocean, we’re speeding down a highway. There is a little bit of choice on a couple of roads to travel, but it makes little difference other than the odd pickup and a jumping hazard. Attack helicopters, tanks, and bikers make up the roster of enemies this time, and it culminated in a face off with a massive articulated lorry. As it barrels past us towards the end of the level the rear bursts open to reveal a pair of robotic arms which pound the tarmac, smashing it up and causing us rather a lot of damage. Once they’re dealt with, the next trailer reveals a laser turret, and after that the truck itself starts firing a pair of machine guns at us. As you can imagine, things end, as always, in a big explosion. Another mission done.
The next mission is set at night, and again in an urban setting. We’re to sweep the city and destroy a handful of gun emplacements dotted about. After dealing with these we’re set upon by another mech boss. Standard stuff, but this guy’s USP is that it has some kind of gravity altering or magnetic ability. We’re drawn in an he bombs us to bits. Its fate is sealed shortly after however, and it goes boom just like its predecessors. The next mission has us inside again, but not in the sewers. Basically, it’s the exact same environment however, just with a bit of a reskin. It’s not quite as dark though, so that’s something. Scratch that – a few minutes in and the lights go out and the night vision comes on. Another standard boss at the end of this level. After that, we proceed to another interior, but a little less cramped this time. Lots of tanks about. This mission ends somewhat differently than the others as we face off against a load of robot arms firing lasers at us. We’re timed too, and we have to destroy 8 control rods to stop the meltdown of the giant reactor that looms ahead. Nice variety here, and it’s quite a fun challenge.
After all that, the reactor begins to meltdown anyway, so we up in the lift and head to the 97th floor to reach the control room. More corridors greet us here, and while its ok, it’s not the best. Walking on the ceiling is fun though. Eventually we reach our destination and we’re greeted with a pair of bosses this time - two floating mechs. Their attacks feel a bit more chaotic, but after getting one of them down, the second was easy. Bosses dead and meltdown averted, onwards and upwards through a series of corridors and (some slightly more spacious) tunnels. Another big mech greets us at the end of this level, and after blowing it up, its head pops off and continued the attack. This is easily dealt with, however.
We’re off to the roof next for our final confrontation and as you peer over the edge you can see the nightscape of the city stretching out far below, and yes, you can wander off the edge and fall to your death. Learning from that mistake, we work our way around the upper reaches of the tower and overcome some tricky jumps. This level more than any other pushes the wall climbing to a really fun an engaging point, leaping across platforms and catching hold of opposite walls to clear deadly falls. Its only a shame this aspect of the game wasn’t explored more deeply. After a bit of parkour, we find ourselves on the uppermost platform, and its here we meet our last boss. It’s a pretty standard fight for the most part, the attacks are varied enough, and the main challenge comes from avoiding damage rather than dealing it out. After draining the last of its shields, we get blown off the roof along with it. Our fight continues then as we plummet to the ground in unison. It’s all very Gandalf v Balrog, and it’s great - a really unique fight to end things with, and as we finally destroy the bastard, the final score comes up and is followed by a brief final cutscene and the credits. GAME DONE! I played through a second time the next day to get some higher quality screenshots, and finishing it with a score a little over 1000000 we get a still of the cover art. Great.
Other than the story missions, and replaying the cinematics in the options, the only other content in the game is the training section. This has you piloting the Fuchikoma about a series of spaces, blasting as many holographic targets as possible in a certain time frame – culminating in a battle against another Fuchikoma. This part of the game certainly adds replayability (as does the scoring system for the story levels, which is included here too), and is overall rather fun, and it quite a challenge to get really good at and have a similar vibe to the VR missions in Metal Gear.
You could spend countless hours perfecting and refining your scores, but I think a single playthrough is probably enough - the second go made the game feel a lot shorter. Overall, I really enjoyed getting into it, and it was great to revisit after such a fleeting experience of it all those years ago. I’ve gone on about the quality of the cinematics, the briefings, the voice overs, the music, but enough can’t be said about these aspects. Alone the gameplay would be fun enough - it’s great arcade style fun. The visuals are pretty impressive for the time (and actually it looks fantastic when emulated for 1080 or 4k), and the overall quality of the animation, level design, enemy variety, controls, etcetera… all this would make for a decent game. Combined with the quality inherent in the work it’s based on, the game becomes greater than the sum of its parts. The gameplay loop is the weakest part however, not for being boring or awkward, but it’s just not all that challenging, and is a little repetitive and basic. As a vehicle for a Ghost in the Shell story though, who could complain?
So there we go, I rented this game about 25 years ago now and it took me all this time to finish it. Doesn’t look hopeful for all these modern games I want to play… It’s a never ending list. Still, we ticked another one off, so that’s something!
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