An interactive story with turn based battles.

Controlled solely with the mouse (left click-confirm, right click-cancel) the player reads through the story as it unfolds and helps move it along by directing the conversions between the team via clicking the corresponding icon as well as deciding on the course of action using YES/NO selections. As the plot progresses the player must aid the members of the Gatchaman team by choosing the right character for the right job.

Eventually the team will be confronted by the enemy and a turn-based fight will ensue. Controlling the action is simple. The battle operates through a straight forward point-and-click system. First make your character selection then choose the attack type; normal, special or signature move (the later two drain the chosen character's 'SP' energy). Finally choose the enemy and the fight is played out through limited animation.

Each battle consists of at least one boss enemy who can only be confronted once you have defeated three rounds of four lower ranking soldiers. It seems you cannot change character until your initial choice is beaten so choose carefully. Vehicle battles make an appearance later in the game.

Having player a lot of Anime based PC98 games I can safely say this is one of the best. The graphics are very well drawn with great attention to detail. The presentation is second-to-none recreating the look and feel of the show perfectly from the music all the way to the structure of the plots and even including ad breaks where you can save your progress. The sound effects are numerous and varied something many games on this format cannot boast.

The battles are simple and fun. Sure they're not very animated but that's not a short coming that's exclusive to this PC98 title! It's true the gameplay is fairly linear, directing the conversation gives the illusion of control, but there are numerous branching plot lines so your decisions often count. One of Familysoft's best efforts!