Logan Howard

One Mask

Monday, July 6th, 2009

Just when the people needed a hero the most, a mysterious figure appeared. The iron fist of oppression is beginning to tremble with fear and frustration and the downtrodden citizens are lifting their heads for the first time in years. They are looking up to see if they can catch a glimpse of that masked marvel that has changed everything, given them hope and allowed them to dream again. They may never know the truth about the phantom stranger. They may never find out about the dedicated team of concerned citizens who have banned together to create a mythic icon greater than themselves. You will play the part of one of those brave souls. You will don the disguise when the time is right and do what you do best. United, you and your trusty team of talented nobodies will rock the foundations of a cruel and corrupt society and you will do it with one mask!

Gamba Robo!

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

Activate the Cosmo Drive! There’s a menace rampaging through the city demolishing sky scrapers with enormous chains made out of pure energy. The Army, Air Force and Navy have all been crushed by the towering robotic monster. You might be young and inexperienced, but you’re our last hope. Only Space Getnar V can take that thing down and you’re the one person who can control him. Get out there and hold that beast off until Getnar is charged up enough to fire the Hyper Wave!

Gamba Robo! It’s a celebration of those glorious old robot shows that let the imagination run wild. Blazing swords and projectile weapons that looked like animals flashed across the screen to the amazement of many a yound child. Sure, they were written for companies that wanted to sell toys, but they were AWESOME! This is your chance to project yourself into their world as a daring hero or to create your own “show” as the narrator and throw all kinds of havoc at the poor unsuspecting Do-Gooders.

The mechanic is very simplistic and both play and character-creation are left mostly to the whim of the Narrator. This is an extremely rules-lite game designed to capture the feeling of those fantastic classic super-robot shows.

Chain fists, drill arms and tomahawks made of lightning were a regular feature of the 1970’s giant robot shows. The robots had names like Daitarn, Voltes V and Mazinger Z. They had personality and charisma of their own. Those towering heroes were shunned by the next generations in favor of more “realistic” mecha that emphasized the vehicular nature of the machines. Blazing swords were replaced by machine guns and guided missiles. We were no longer watching super heroes. We were watching wars. As fabulous and sophisticated as the new mecha shows are, some of us will always long for the super robots of days gone by. Nothing thrills like a huge, laser-edged disk hurling from a giant arm to cut right through the
shoulder of some immense monstrosity because our hero screamed, “SPINNN… SAUCER!”