METAL MAX 2 改 (Metal Max 2 Kai) is a 2003 Game Boy Advance remake developed by Now Production, arriving during the GBA's commercial peak when the handheld was firmly established as the dominant portable platform in Japan. The game is a reworking of the Super Famicom classic Metal Max 2 (originally released in 1993 by Data East), transplanting its post-apocalyptic, tank-centric RPG experience onto Nintendo's 32-bit handheld with updated visuals, rebalanced mechanics, and additional content. By 2003, the GBA had already proven itself capable of hosting deep RPG experiences, and Metal Max 2 Kai fit naturally into that library, offering a lengthy and mechanically dense adventure for players who craved something beyond straightforward dungeon crawlers.
The game is set in a devastated future Earth where civilization has collapsed and roving bands of outlaws, mutants, and war machines dominate the wasteland. Players take on the role of a customizable protagonist who joins a loose band of hunters — mercenaries who take on bounties for eliminating dangerous targets. The central mechanical hook that distinguishes the Metal Max series from conventional JRPGs is the tank combat system. Rather than fighting exclusively on foot, players spend much of their time piloting and upgrading tanks, each of which can be outfitted with a variety of cannons, machine guns, and special equipment slotted into designated weapon and engine ports. Managing a tank's weight limit, armor rating, and weapon loadout adds a layer of strategic depth reminiscent of mecha customization games, and finding or purchasing new parts is a core loop that drives exploration.
On the GBA, the controls map cleanly to the handheld's button layout. Movement through the overworld and dungeons is handled with the D-pad, while the A and B buttons confirm and cancel menu selections in the traditional JRPG fashion. Combat is turn-based, with players issuing commands to both their human characters and their tanks each round. Human characters can fight on foot — useful in tight indoor spaces where tanks cannot enter — and each character class brings different skills and stat growth curves to the party. The game's structure is notably open-ended for its era: rather than following a rigid linear path, players are encouraged to explore the overworld freely, taking on bounty targets in a sequence largely of their own choosing. This non-linear design gives the game a sandbox quality that was relatively uncommon in portable RPGs of the time.
Now Production's remake added new story content, additional bounty targets, and rebalanced progression compared to the original Super Famicom version, making it the most complete version of Metal Max 2 available at the time of its release. The soundtrack, while compressed for the GBA hardware, retains the gritty, atmospheric tone of the source material. Reception in Japan was positive among fans of the series, who appreciated the faithfulness to the original's spirit alongside the new additions. The game remained a Japan-exclusive release, meaning Western audiences had no official access to it, which contributed to its relative obscurity outside of dedicated import and fan-translation communities.
