Software:Heavy Nova (video game)

From HandWiki
Heavy Nova
Developer(s)Holocronet
Publisher(s)Micronet co., Ltd.
Platform(s)Sega CD, Genesis, X68000
ReleaseMega-CD
  • JP: December 12, 1991
Genesis
  • NA: January 1992
X68000
  • JP: April 10, 1992
Genre(s)Fighting, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Heavy Nova (ヘビーノバ) is a 1991 video game for the Sega CD, Sega Genesis, and X68000 that combines elements of fighting games with platform games and mission elements. Players assume the role of a robot operator destined to earn the highest operator rank. To do so, the robot – known in the game as a Heavy DOLL – must complete a combat training camp which prompts the 2D Platformer stages. The player then must combat other Heavy DOLLs as the end-level bosses which prompts the 2D fighting elements. A sequel, Black Hole Assault, was released in 1992.

Plot

Sometime in Earth's future, it came to humanity's realization that the Earth's natural resources were starting to decline, but despite every nation's attempts, the Earth's environment and resources continued thin. Suddenly, an alien race appeared in the Solar System. Hailing from the planet Akirov, the aliens had been observing Earth for centuries and arrived in order to save it. With their technological help, Earth's environment was replenished and Humans were able to travel deeper into space. By the year 2102, humanity was finally at peace thanks to the Akirovians.

Ten years later, a plot to enslave humanity was discovered to be a part of the Akirovian's plans and a war waged between the two. Eight years later, the Akirovians lost and left the Solar System. The primary machines for Earth's victory came from original Akirovian designed machines: giant remote controlled robots first used to design and repair Earth's satellite and colony structures. The robots were favored as Earth's primary line of defense and were dubbed the Heavy D.O.L.L's (Defensive Offensive Lethal Liberator).

Now taking place in 2120, the prospect of earning the highest combat ranking for a Heavy D.O.L.L, the rank of Heavy Nova, has become a long desired military rank. The player assumes the role of such a person attempting to earn that rank who must go through training and combat situations to prove their abilities.

Gameplay

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Mega12%[1]
Entertainment WeeklyD+[2]

Heavy Nova's Single Player game play is separated into two sections: a platform game section and a fighting game section. The player has to destroy every possible enemy robot in the Platformer sections and make it to the end in order to fight the boss awaiting them. The player has various attacks at their disposal with the Idar, most of which they were able to use during combat with the bosses in the Fighting Game stages. During the Fighting Game Stages/Boss Fights, the player had to defeat the boss using various Fighting Game attacks such as a button command that allowed missiles to launch from the Idar's hand. However, both Heavy D.O.L.L robots, player and enemy, has an energy bar under their health meter; the energy bar measures how much strength the player or enemy has in order to move their robot. Taking too much damage results in energy depletion. When the player's energy was depleted to two bars, the player robot cannot move, leaving the player completely vulnerable to enemy attacks.

Alternatively, the 2 Player mode pitches two players against each other using all of the enemy robot models encountered in the game.

Reception

Heavy Nova received very poor reviews. Mega said that "badly animated robots, appalling music and terribly unresponsive controls as much fun as colouring in each square on a piece of graph paper with a different pen... with a headache... listening to Max Bygraves." Classic Game Room's Mark Bussler praised its intro cutscene, but called it "possibly the worst video game I've ever played", criticizing the clumsy controls, uninspired level design, and flawed collision detection that turns the boss fights into a matter of "simply mashing buttons and hoping for the best".[3]

Entertainment Weekly gave the game a D+ and wrote that "Heavy Nova's high-stepping, stainless-steel robot hero may have a certain wacky appeal — if Michael Jackson were the Terminator, this is what his skeleton would look like — but it also has the most ponderous, difficult-to-master moves this side of a tai chi tournament. Identically languid opponents and shamelessly minimal action sequences make this game the perfect corrective to acute caffeine poisoning."[2]

References

  1. ↑ Mega rating, issue 15, page 77, December 1993
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Strauss, Bob (1992-06-12). "Heavy Nova" (in en). Entertainment Weekly. https://ew.com/article/1992/06/12/heavy-nova/. Retrieved 2019-02-15. 
  3. ↑ Classic Game Room review, May 13, 2008
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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