Damascus Gear Operation Osaka from Arc System Works is a fast-paced mech-based action game. Learn more about in our Damascus Gear Operation Osaka review!

 

It’s the middle of the 21st century, and humanoid robots under the GEAR system, developed by the Atsuga Corporation, are a thing. As happens in most games set in the future, things go terribly wrong, and several of the GEAR mechs have gone out of control, going on a rampage that cost many human lives. These GEAR mechs that had gone out of control were known as RAGE, and a decades-long battle took place in which the remnants of humanity, who had been forced to take refuge underground, managed to recapture the surface of Japan.

It’s been 30 years since the battle ended, and a new city named Cosmopolis has risen over the ruins of Osaka, serving as a beacon of hope and prosperity. You play as a young man who grew up listening to the stories of the big war, dreaming of finally becoming a GEAR pilot. If this were a fairytale, your character would have grown to become the best GEAR pilot in history, acting as the hero that the world needs to keep the RAGE invasion from ever happening again, but as it turns out, he’s been left with a rather hefty debt inherited from his parents, which is why he must work hard to repay that debt by making the most of his skills with the GEAR mechs.

 

But to become a proper Ranker – a GEAR mech pilot in this new day and age -, you’ll first have to complete a written test, as well as a practical test to show that you actually know what you’re doing. The written test will include questions such as “Which group was the counter RAGE unit that led ‘Operation Wolf’s Determination’ to recapture Tokyo?” as well as “During the war to recapture Japan, among the RAGE’s Four Heavenly Kings, which RAGE was modeled after Atsuga Corporation’s Thanatos?”

As for the practical part of the test, it will take place inside of a small arena area, and it will actually end up acting as the game’s gameplay tutorial so that you can get the hang of things. Going from a birds-eye perspective that can make it easier to see everything around your mech, you’ll be moving around your GEAR with the left analog stick, boosting with the R button so that you can move around at a faster pace. The B button can be used to activate evasive maneuvers so that you can stay away from danger.

 

Your GEAR mech can dual-wield weapons, so you’ll be attacking with the weapon on your left hand by pressing the Y button, with the A button shooting the weapon on your right hand. You’ll need to pay attention to the bright gauges on the upper left corner of the screen since they will let you know how much ammo or energy each of your weapons has left so that you can plan accordingly and let the corresponding weapon rest for a bit as your ammo is reloaded and your energy is recharged. You can press the L button to lock onto an enemy target, changing between all available targets by pressing up or down on the right analog stick. You also have a back weapon which you can use with the X button – time this just right since it’s going to deal a bunch of damage!

Your character will be joined in this endeavor by a FREAYA OS android model ksng-mk2, who you will get to command. The game features voice acting in Japanese with English subtitles, so unless you can understand Japanese dialogue, you’re going to end up doing a bit of reading for this one. After changing between different voice and language modules, your new android settles for a tone of voice that seems to best suit your new relationship. The debt you have to repay? It’s for 100 million Eyn, which is roughly around a million dollars, give or take a few bucks. Oh, by the way, you have 25 days left to repay this debt.

The game has a bit of a roguelike vibe. You’ll be exploring the Cosmopolis dungeon, which will change every time you visit. Your task will be to collect different parts to boost your GEAR, as well as obtaining items that can aid you in making a dent on your overall debt. Your GEAR can be customized for its head, body, arms, legs, shoulders, left weapon, right weapon, and back weapon, which means there’s a lot of parts you can use to change the loadout of your GEAR to boost its performance.

 

Along with the randomly generated dungeon that will be changing with every new run you do, there is also an Arena in which you can battle against other GEAR to try and win some extra Eyn. The more you win, the more Arena Points you will obtain, boosting your overall ranks, and the ranked opponent types you will face off against. Most of the battles will be of the one vs. one variety, with some battles proving to be the exception to that rule, since you’ll end up facing against more than one opponent.

If you ever feel like you need some additional information about everything that is going on around you, you can dive into the Report section where you will get to learn more about the history of the Atsuga Corporation, things such as the GEAR creation, the war with the RAGE, the efforts to recapture Japan, and the reconstruction efforts once the war was over. There is also a glossary section with several terms you should learn, information on the different mechs, as well as write-ups on the different skills you can obtain for your mech.

Damascus Gear Operation Osaka is a fast-paced mech-based action game on the Nintendo Switch. The gameplay is simple and to the point, but things progress at a steady pace as you obtain new parts to boost your GEAR mech. It’s available for a budget $19.99,

Disclaimer
This Damascus Gear Operation Osaka review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Arc System Works.

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