Assault Suit Leynos - A classic strikes back

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Hello everyone! How are the adventures in the island of Avalon going? Just like I did with the entries of Momodora and The Legend of Legacy, in this new entry I´m going to talk about another game that, despite having been released just a few months ago, it could have been released during the 16/32-bit era. In fact, the game I´m going to talk about WAS originally released in those times, but in this entry we are going to talk about its recent remake for the PlayStation 4 and PC. The game I´m talking about is Assault Suit Leynos. Let´s see what this update of a 90´s cult classic series has to offer.

Developed by the small Japanese studio Dracue Co. Ltd., Assault Suit Leynos is a remake of the classic 2D Shoot ´Em Up released exclusively for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1990 under the title Target Earth, which was the first title in the “Assault Suit” series, with the later titles in the series being released across other platforms such as the Super Nintendo (including an unofficial sequel developed by LucasArts and published by Konami), the Sega Saturn, the PlayStation 1 and the PlayStation 2. Just like other classic Japanese game series of the time such as Front Mission or Armored Core, and manga/anime series such as Mobile Suit Gundam or Macross, Assault Suit Leynos is a story about battles between mechas (or giant robots for the non-otakus). The story of Assault Suit Leynos takes us to the year 2201. Humans have developed humanoid combat vehicles known as Assault Suits. The government of planet Earth and it´s colonies are fighting an open war against a mysterious army of giant robots who seem to have appeared out of nowhere. We will assume the role of Rex, a veteran pilot considered as the best Assault Suit pilot in the whole world who is send to face the menace. As you might expect from a shooter from 1990, the story is not precisely the game´s strongest point. However, the story of Assault Suit Leynos was praised at its time, especially for a genre that, at least back then, was not known for its deep stories (or even having barely any story at all).

Regarding the gameplay, Assault Suit Leynos is a classic style 2D Shoot ´Em Up in which we will basically have to advance though the stages shooting everything that moves. However, after a few minutes inside after Assault Suit, we will soon discover that it’s be simpler said than done, for I guarantee you that, just like in the case of JoyMasher´s awesome Oniken, Assault Suit Leynos will be one tough and intense ride, especially if you are not used to the “meanness of the classics,” although it is true the game’s difficult has been somehow adapted to these “anti-frustration mode included” times. I’m sorry 90s masochists, but “suffering” while playing games is not cool anymore, but fear not, the game will still be quite a challenge, especially when compared to most of the games you can see nowadays in the industry. Assault Suit Leynos only includes 8 stages, but the challenging difficulty of the game will surely force us to repeat several times many of the stages till we are finally able to beat them, and then there are also the dreadful (and enormous) final bosses that will be waiting for us at the end of each stage, which will surely be one of the stellar parts of the game. Before we start each stage, we will be able to customize the equipment of our Assault Suit with a wide variety of weapons that will allow us to adapt our robot to our combat style and the needs of the mission, being able to choose from slow heavy weapons with a lot of firepower, ideal for the “big baddies,” to lighter weapons with a higher fire rate, ideal when the screen is crawling with enemies (which will be quite often). This freedom of choice to equip our Assault Suit before each mission, while surely making the gameply more fun and varied, is also one of the reasons for the game’s high difficulty, for if we choose the wrong equipment, most probably we won’t make it even halfway through the stage, as focusing only on attacking will normally lead to our robot being blown into pieces in a few minutes, forcing us to replay the stages several times in order to memorize them so we can find the perfect equipment for it. The truth is that, even after 26 years, Assault Suit Leynos feels as challenging and fun as it was when it was first released, which is something truly admirable.

Comparison between the remake (image above) and the original title (image below).

Regarding the graphics, Assault Suit Leynos does a good job, at least as long as don’t expect anything never seen before. The team has done a good job rebuilding the game graphics from scratch, with colorful and solid graphics and effects that are somehow up to nowadays standards, with character models that display all kind of details (specially the big enemies), making it look like a completely new game. However, the team tried to be as respectful as possible with the original material, something that will surely please the fans of the original title and the fans of this kind of game.


Assault Suit Leynos is a good 2D action game, a good proof of that is that the formula still works despite all the changes the industry has gone through since the original title was released in the now distant 90s. However, the game’s difficulty will surely “scare away” some of those who might be just too used to the “press the button to win.” You can buy the downloadable version of the game for the PlayStation 4 and PC through PlayStation Network and Steam respectively, or you can buy the physical version available just for Sony´s machine. So if you´ve always been a fan of combats between giant robots and classic style 2D action game, Assault Suit Leynos is the perfect chance to experience classic 2D action games the way there was back in the early 90s. Good old times… By the way, if you like this game and you feel you use some more giant robot combats, you can also have a look at Assault Suits Valken (Cybernator in Europe and America), the remake for PS2 of the second entry in the series release for the Super Nintendo. Enjoy!


GAMEPLAY VIDEO LEYNOS (PS4/PC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHh1K0kWwaE

GAMEPLAY VIDEO VALKEN (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7YTRqZAiPQ