What’s that riff about more time elapsing between That ‘70s Show and now than the time between That ‘70s Show and the actual 1970s? ‘90s PlayStation freaks, we stand on razor-thin wire. It has been 27 years since Robot Anime Geppy-X released on the first PlayStation, and 27 years between Robot Anime Geppy-X and the broadcast debut of Mazinger Z. Don’t know what Robot Anime Geppy-X is? Well, thanks to a new remaster, you can quickly familiarize yourself with the giant mecha spoof, which is now as retro as the cartoons it’s making fun of.
Released in 1999, 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X is a sideways shoot-em-up about blasting mechanical space fiends. A competent enough shmup, what established Geppy-X as a cult classic in Japan was its lovingly crafted send-ups of ‘70s anime, such as Getter Robo and Mazinger-Z. An ever escalating robo-opera divided between episodes, with mean robot bosses, increasingly absurd transformations, and suffocatingly tight disco speedsuits. And unlike other recent cult-classic Steam ports, this one’s unwieldy long title is in fact the original.
The four-disc (count ’em, four) release also held a Saturday morning’s worth of cartoons. Not only the FMV theatrics of the brave Geppy-X, but mock commercials for toys, shampoo, and parodies of other vintage anime.
Now 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X is getting an official remastered Steam release, its first time leaving Japan. In addition to new localized language offerings, this remaster also restores the full-motion cutscenes, having digitized the original master tapes. Even across four PS1 discs there ain’t enough leg room for robots that big without some serious 320×240 compression.
70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X comes to Steam this July for all the ‘90s kids whose media diets were primarily send-ups of late ‘60s variety shows they may never see themselves.
Zack Kotzer
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