Herzog Zwei 1989

Is it still worth playing?

Technosoft's real time strategy game for the Mega Drive, an early example of the genre and the sequel to Herzog. It came out in Japan in 1989 and worldwide in 1990. You pilot a flying, transforming mech, and everything you do goes through it: you buy ground units, airlift them across the battlefield and give them orders such as patrol, garrison or capture a base. Orders can only be given during the airlift, and every reassignment costs money. There are eight types of land unit, each a tradeoff between speed, anti air, ground attack and cost. Your forces and the mech have finite fuel and ammunition, and vehicles do not repair themselves. Nine permanent outposts on the field bring in revenue and serve as remote bases. The mech is both your weapon and your only way of commanding, so each battle mixes arcade flying with strategy, and that blend is still its character.