86. Dive Alert: Matt's Version (Sacnoth, Neo Geo Pocket Color, 2000)

So far I've really enjoyed playing through the few remaining Neo Geo Pocket Color games in my library. Each one has managed to surprise me, and Dive Alert: Matt's Version is no exception. The game starts with an exposition dump about how 100 years ago a nearby star exploded and killed most humans, the remaining few of which now live on a flooded earth in submarines.

There's talk of robots patrolling the seas and people who hun them, working for a corporation trying to earn points to get into a utopian city. There's also a resistance force of pirates who suggest that the corporation might not be as benevolent as they seem. It's all very young adult fiction, and maybe I've just been starved for a game with a good story, but I'm really intrigued by the plot and worldbuilding here.

It's a shame then about the gameplay. As the title may imply, Dive Alert is a game about piloting a submarine, but it's all presented via a top down radar view with very simple graphics. This would be fine, except your movement speed is snail-boringly slow. Thankfully enemy fire is also very slow so dodging is not much of an issue, but the gameplay is just downright no fun. There is a somewhat robust customization system, so maybe you get a much faster sub later in the game, but as is, the gameplay is a huge letdown compared to the story.

3/5, super charming, but brought down by excruciating gameplay