Metal Max

Metal Max is a role-playing game developed and published by Data East for the Famicom in Japan in 1991.

You step into the boots of a lone wanderer in a world devastated by war and ecological collapse, but your true strength lies not just on foot, but within the hulking chassis of a tank. The core of Metal Max involves exploring a sprawling, open-ended world map, traveling between dusty towns, desolate ruins, and dangerous wilderness. Your primary goal is to take on bounties posted in towns, tracking down dangerous creatures and criminals for cash. This money is crucial for upgrading your tank, which is highly customizable. You'll visit garages to swap out engines for better speed, install different weapon systems like machine guns or missile launchers, and add extra armor plating to survive tougher encounters. Managing your crew is also part of the journey; you can recruit different characters to join your tank, each offering unique skills or simply providing extra hands.

Combat in Metal Max primarily takes place from within your tank, featuring a turn-based system where you choose which weapons to fire or what maneuvers to perform. Enemies range from mutated insects and wild dogs to rival armored vehicles and giant robots. When not in your tank, your character can explore towns, interact with NPCs, buy supplies, and even engage in limited on-foot combat if necessary, though the tank remains your main tool for survival and progression. The game encourages a freeform approach to exploration, allowing you to tackle objectives in a non-linear fashion as you uncover the secrets of the wasteland.