Assault Suit Valken Declassified was an awesome restoration of a 16-bit classic. It was uncensored and included a wealth of extras and a fully translated guide decked out with lovingly shot models and miniatures. As great as it was, fans couldn’t help but feel that it was a tad overpriced for one 16-bit game, but there was hope that more of the Assault Suit titles would follow.
In my Valken review, I hoped that Leynos 2 would get a chance to come to the West, and those prayers have been answered. M2 would have no part in it, and it will be published by a different team. Could it be that this was a monkey’s paw wish granted?
The jump from 16 to 32-bit promises that the successor to Leynos and Valken would be the most explosive and thrilling mech action platformer yet. Being exclusive to Japan for decades added mystique and allure to this entry, but now everyone can finally play it. Has the wait been worth it? Find out in our Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute review!
Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute
Developer: City Connection, NCS Corporation
Publisher: Clear River Games, City Connection, Masaya
Platforms: Windows PC, Sega Saturn (as Assault Suit Leynos 2), Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Release Date: March 21, 2025
Price: $24.99
When Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute begins, something feels off. The first thing you’ll notice is the utter lack of options and features. There’s no manual scans, no art galleries, and there isn’t any scanline options to speak of. The spartan main menu leaves a lot to be desired with its plain presentation.
Perhaps the modern developers porting Leynos 2 didn’t want to upstage the core game? Moving past the launcher and starting the game proper, the beginning prerendered FMV begins. It doesn’t tell the player much about anything; depicting wooshing text over still models of various mechs. Could this be a deadly premonition of things to come?
Never mind the lackluster opening intro; we’re all here for some 2D rousing giant robot run-and-gun, sweat-running-down-your-face, boost’n-shoot’n action. Starting the first level is a lot to take in. The scene is vast with endless trees and it doesn’t take long before you are inundated with swarms of enemies.
Your mecha platoon panics and the scene is like Apocolypse Now meets Votoms. After the skirmish dies down, an unbelievably large turtle mech rushes in from offscreen, filling the 4:3 aspect ratio. If you weren’t managing your ammo in the last skirmish, then you probably will run out fighting this boss. Leynos 2 is pretty realistic in this regard since there are no pick-ups during stages.
This is a crazy first level and justifies the leap from 16-bit to 32-bit. The first boss makes an indelible first impression. After coming down from the high of the spectacle, one thing is painfully clear: managing ammo by paying closer attention to enemy weaknesses is paramount to getting anywhere in Leynos 2.
There is a story in Leynos 2, but you’ll be too utterly blinded by rage to notice. This brutal game is made frustrating by some flaws, and disappointing level design. Most of the time, the first tries at every stage are trial and error until you understand what to do.
There is no improvising on the fly and playing casually. All the mechs control as accurately as controlling mechs on a 2D plane possibly can. Every action has a bit of a delay due to following through with an action. This applies to enemies too, so the playing field is fair.
After getting past the first stage from playing more efficiently, I was surprised by how fast the game moved. Not the actual gameplay (which is appropriately weighty and lumbering), but the stages are over quickly. There are only seven stages and they only take a few minutes to complete once you know how to complete them. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, expect to beat Leynos 2 in about an hour.
Every button on the controller is used and mapped to any of the equipped weapons/actions. There is an absurd amount of weapons; about 50 of them and each of the unlockable mechs can be further customized with equipment. This is way more than you’ll ever need in a single playthrough and the game is seemingly designed around new game plus.
Every stage has different weapons, equipment, and assault suits to unlock depending on the earned rank. This is more annoying than anything since there isn’t any way to know how good you’re doing. There is some value in replaying since the battle arena level introduces a new foe and winning earns the Valken suit from Cybernator, which you’ll want because its shield never breaks and looks the coolest.
By far the most disappointing aspect of Leynos 2 is the boring, and flat level design. There isn’t much platforming and half of the stages are in outer space. The worst level is one where players escort and protect a tanker. This truck blows up very fast and enemies rush in from all directions to take a shot at it and the player. It’s a hopeless mission that demands a little luck and a lot of practice.
Leynos 2 is not fun enough to warrant all the replays and practice to earn the ridiculous amount of weapons and upgrades. Constantly throttling between boosting and walking modes and auto and manual aiming is a struggle. The action never feels smooth and it’s made worse due to laggy game speed and tight ammo supply.
Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute is regretfully a mediocre port. The slow-down from the Saturn version persists across all platforms. Aiming and shooting are as unwieldy as ever and no effort is put into adding right analog stick aiming. The developers didn’t include 45-degree aiming either, which was a missed opportunity since Valkens had it back on the SNES.
For its price, Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute could have at least included the original Leynos on Sega Genesis. Having save states, shield and HP buffs, and a rewind feature helps curb some of the brutal difficulty, but analog aiming would’ve been preferable. Somehow it is a step backward compared to Valken despite the technological leap.
Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a code provided by Clear River Games. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute is now available for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
