A little while ago, Luke published a piece about the anime of his youth and how They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To – a curmudgeonly rallying cry that he used as a jumping-off point to examine the very literal ways in which that statement is true. One example he cited was Macross, an ‘80s mech series that has found numerous ways to be about way more than just mechs. Rogue Flight, a space combat game coming later this year, wears that influence on its sleeve.
The game’s trailer speaks ominously of the world burning at the hands of a “watchman system” that took control of the solar defense force and turned on humanity, then shows off some slick-looking animated scenes and even slicker-looking space combat. The ships do flips. I’m into it.
This one’s also touting a seriously stacked voice cast. Rogue Flight’s Steam page says that it features “Japanese talent from Sailor Moon, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gundam, Naruto & One Piece, and English voice talent featured in Overwatch and Fallout 76, League of Legends and Marvel's Avengers.” It seems like, at least on that front, developer Truant Pixel understood the assignment. But can its story measure up to the likes of Macross Plus and Macross: Do You Remember Love, which Luke, Chris, and I derailed an Aftermath meeting to gush about last week? It’s a tall order, but here’s hoping.
All of this got me thinking: What are some other games that do justice to the retro anime vibe? As far as released stuff goes, there’s the sadly-discontinued Jumplight Odyssey, as well as better-faring fare like VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action and the recent River City games. On the horizon, Vivarium looks super promising if you’re into cozy stuff, and Nightshift Galaxy appears to be approaching mechanized space combat from a slightly different angle than Rogue Flight. Are there any others on your radar?
