70s-Style Robot Anime Geppy-X [REVIEW] – A Masterfully Preserved Japanese PlayStation Shoot ‘Em Up

Back in 1999, Japanese PlayStation owners got a highly ambitious side-scrolling shooter that didn’t just take inspiration from vintage mecha cartoons… it COMPLETELY adopted their identity. And now, it has been brought to modern platforms. I’ll admit, I hadn’t even heard of Geppy-X (which is now referred to as 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X) prior to this release, but you know what? It has been a very pleasant surprise getting to experience it.

Check out some screenshots down below:

The premise of 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X sees players thrown into the fictional year of 197X, where the Earth is facing a massive threat from an alien empire. To save the day, a scientist recruits three reluctant pilots to steer a giant transforming robot. So far, so anime, right? Well, the real hook here is the presentation, because you aren’t just playing a game… you are experiencing something that is stylised as a seventies television broadcast. Every stage is framed as a complete episode, packed with authentic opening credits, catchy theme tunes, next-episode teasers, and brilliantly funny fake advertisements, and… well… it’s brilliantly unique. That alone acts as a wonderful selling point and it truly makes the whole experience feel unlike anything else you would have played.

When you actually get into the cockpit of your craft, you are looking at a mostly traditional 2D horizontal shoot ’em up, though it has a few unique ideas. Each episode gives you two main levels to blast through and two boss fights to survive, with the core mechanic revolving around switching your robot between three distinct configurations on the fly. You have a balanced setup, a highly mobile ranged option, and a heavy-hitting but risky close-quarters form, and swapping between these adds a deceptively tactical edge to the experience – especially since the transition grants you a brief moment of invincibility.

“With a dedication to preservation and engaging action, 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X definitely deserves your attention.”

Unlike many classic shooters where a single stray bullet spells doom (something that had traditionally made the genre touch for newbies), your robot has a dedicated armour gauge. Taking hits chips away at your health, but it also charges a special bar, and once full, you can unleash a massive attack that wipes out standard foes and gives you a few seconds of much-needed safety. It gives you that fighting chance even when you’re in a perilous situation, which is a neat idea and a good way to have one last roll of the dice. And hey, defeated enemies also drop items to replenish your health, so you can use that to your advantage.

It has some clever ideas that help make for a fun time, but 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X does have some flaws that show its age. The movement can feel a little heavy, whilst the difficulty is a bit of a rollercoaster too – some levels are a breeze, while others suddenly throw you into intense bullet-hell scenarios that catch you completely off-guard (especially when the old-school visuals can make it difficult to track everything that’s going on). Thankfully, this rerelease includes modern conveniences like quick saves and a handy rewind feature, so some of the frustrations can be alleviated.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Visually, the gameplay sections offer a mix of older 2D sprites and blocky 3D models, which I absolutely love. I’m a sucker for this style of aesthetic that was seen a lot in the PlayStation days, and I really think it holds up well now… you know… from a retro perspective. However, it is the animated cutscenes that truly stand out, with the developer taking thousands of frames of original footage and completely restoring them from the master tapes, bumping the framerate up to a smooth twenty-four frames per second and cleaning everything up. It’s an absolutely wonderful act of preservation, and I genuinely feel like that alone makes 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X a highlight for old-school gaming fans.

Developer: Implicit Conversions
Publisher: Bliss Brain
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4120310/70sstyle_Robot_Anime_GeppyX/