SNES Action Mech 1995

Metal Warriors

Reviewed by Marcus Webb & Elena Castillo · Updated June 2025

LucasArts' 1995 SNES mech action game — Metal Warriors puts players in control of five distinct mech suits fighting through a futuristic civil war, with the unique ability to eject from the mech and fight as a foot soldier. Two-player split-screen deathmatch and the most mechanically diverse mech selection of any SNES action game.

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💡 Metal Warriors — Key Facts

→ Metal Warriors was developed by LucasArts and published by Konami
→ Released in 1995 on SNES
→ Genre: Action, Mech
→ We rate it 9.1/10 — an absolute classic
→ LucasArts' 1995 SNES mech action game — Metal Warriors puts players in control of five distinct mech suits fighting through a futuristic civil war, with the unique ability to eject from the mech and fight as a foot soldier. Two-player split-screen deathmatch and the most mechanically diverse mech selection of any SNES action game.

Overview

Metal Warriors gives the player a mech. Then gives them a reason to leave it.

The ejection mechanic — press a button, pilot exits, stands on foot with a pistol — exists because sometimes the mech is the wrong tool. Sometimes the mech is about to be destroyed and the pilot needs to escape first. Sometimes a destroyed enemy mech is worth more than the damaged player mech.

Five Suits

The five mechs are genuinely different from each other. This isn’t five variations on a theme — it’s five different games sharing a stage.

Nitro is the all-purpose suit. It does everything moderately well and requires no adjustment. Players who start here and stay here can complete the game without confronting the others.

Spider clings to walls. The physics change — vertical surfaces become navigable terrain rather than barriers. Areas inaccessible to Nitro open to Spider. Ambush positions from above. Enemy mechs that expect ground-level combat find Spider at ceiling height.

Drache flies. The game’s physics model changes entirely — vertical movement becomes primary, horizontal movement matters differently. Aerial combat against ground-based enemies creates different tactical problems than ground-level mech combat.

Havoc destroys things very slowly. Maximum firepower, minimum mobility. Havoc requires positioning before combat — moving Havoc into the right location before firing, because repositioning after a missed shot is expensive in time.

The Steal

On foot, the pilot is vulnerable. The pistol is real but modest. Enemy mechs will destroy the pilot in a few hits.

On foot, the pilot can also enter a destroyed enemy mech. The stolen mech is fully operational — whatever weapons and capabilities it had are now available to the player.

Metal Warriors mission design frequently places opportunities for mech theft near situations where the player’s suit is damaged. The encouragement is implicit: eject now, let this one go, take the next one. The loop of mech acquisition replaces the standard action-game health loop with something more interesting.

The 1995 Release

Metal Warriors arrived in April 1995 on SNES. The PlayStation had launched in Japan in December 1994. The SNES’s audience had already begun transitioning.

The late release meant limited distribution, limited awareness, and the collector rarity that defines Metal Warriors’ market today. A game this mechanically accomplished finding its audience twenty years after release through retro enthusiasm — that trajectory is part of what Metal Warriors represents.

Our Review

9.1

Outstanding / 10

🎮

Gameplay

★★★★★

🎨

Graphics

★★★★★

🎵

Audio

★★★★★

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Replay

★★★★★

Gameplay

Metal Warriors is a side-scrolling mech action game where players select from five distinct Assault Suits (mechs) for each mission and fight through 11 missions of a future Earth civil war. The defining mechanic: pressing a button ejects the pilot from the mech to fight on foot — the pilot can enter a destroyed enemy mech, find another suit cached in the level, or fight with a pistol before re-entering their own mech (if it wasn't destroyed). The five mechs have radically different capabilities: Nitro (fast, balanced), Havoc (heavy artillery, slow), Ballistic (powerful missiles, limited maneuverability), Spider (wall-clinging, versatile), Drache (flight-capable, different physics). Two-player split-screen deathmatch mode pits players against each other in competitive mech combat.

Graphics

Metal Warriors' SNES visuals deliver large, detailed mech sprites with distinct visual identity per suit. The mission environments vary across 11 stages — cities, factories, space stations, military bases. The mech animation communicates each suit's weight and movement characteristics.

Audio

The Metal Warriors soundtrack provides driving action music appropriate to mech-scale warfare. Stage themes vary in intensity to match mission environments from urban combat to space.

Replayability

Eleven missions with mech selection freedom before each and the split-screen deathmatch create sustained replay. Mastering each mech's ejection timing and discovering cached suit locations rewards thorough exploration.

Historical Significance

Metal Warriors (1995, SNES) is part of the Assault Suits franchise — the same series that includes Cybernator (Assault Suits Valken, 1992 SNES). Despite being developed by LucasArts (a Western developer unusual in the genre), the game achieves authentic mech-action feel. Metal Warriors was released extremely late in the SNES lifecycle (April 1995), with limited production run, making it rare and expensive in collector markets. The split-screen deathmatch mode was unusual for the mech action genre. Metal Warriors represents the SNES mech action genre's final and most mechanically complete entry.

✅ Pros

+ Pilot ejection mechanic — fight on foot, enter enemy mechs
+ Five mechanically distinct mech suits with different capabilities
+ Two-player split-screen deathmatch mode
+ 11 missions with varied environments
+ Drache flight suit adds aerial combat dimension

❌ Cons

- Very rare SNES cartridge with high collector prices
- No digital re-release
- Some mechs (Havoc) extremely slow — adjustment required
- 1995 late-SNES release received limited distribution

Also Known As

Metal Warriors SNES

Metal Warriors FAQ

What are the five mechs in Metal Warriors?

Metal Warriors offers five distinct mech suits, each with different combat capabilities and movement physics. Nitro is the balanced starter suit — good speed, reliable weapons, manageable movement. Havoc is the heavy artillery mech — enormous firepower with powerful rockets, but extremely slow movement that requires positional planning. Ballistic specializes in long-range missile combat — effective against distant targets but less useful in close quarters. Spider can cling to walls and ceilings — its wall-clinging ability allows access to areas other mechs can't reach and ambush positions from unexpected angles. Drache is the flight-capable suit — a different physics model where the mech can hover and navigate vertically, useful in open environments but requiring adjustment to aerial combat. Players select their mech before each mission and can change by finding suit caches within levels.

How does the pilot ejection mechanic work?

At any time in Metal Warriors, the player can eject their pilot from the mech. The pilot exits on foot with a pistol — functional but far weaker than a mech. On foot, the pilot can: shoot enemies with the pistol, avoid enemy mechs, enter a destroyed enemy mech and pilot it, or find a cached suit stored within the level and equip it. If the player's mech is destroyed with the pilot inside, the mission ends. But if the pilot ejects before destruction, survives on foot, and finds another suit (enemy or cached), the mission continues. The mechanic creates strategic decisions: eject before the mech is destroyed to salvage an enemy mech? Stay inside and risk total destruction? The pilot-on-foot phase is vulnerable but creates opportunities — enemy mechs can be stolen rather than only destroyed.

What is the split-screen deathmatch mode?

Metal Warriors includes a two-player competitive deathmatch mode using split-screen display — each player sees their half of the screen while mechs fight in a shared arena. Players select their mechs, choose an arena, and fight until one player accumulates enough kills. The deathmatch mode supports different mech matchups — a Drache player with flight capability against a Spider player with wall-clinging creates asymmetric tactical competition. The pilot ejection mechanic applies in deathmatch — players can eject and attempt to steal the opponent's mech. The mode was an unusual feature for the mech action genre, which typically focused on single-player campaigns. Metal Warriors' deathmatch provided competitive play without requiring a fighting game.

Is Metal Warriors available on modern platforms?

Metal Warriors has never received a digital re-release and is not available through any current digital storefront. The SNES cartridge — with its 1995 late-release limited production run — is one of the more expensive common SNES games in collector markets. The game's rarity combined with its quality has driven significant collector demand. The Assault Suits franchise (which includes Cybernator/Assault Suits Valken and Metal Warriors) has been dormant since the mid-1990s. Neither Konami (the publisher) nor LucasArts (now part of Disney/Lucasfilm) have pursued re-release. Original SNES hardware or authorized emulation on the Analogue Super NT are the primary options for legal play.