The game has two main play modes: One-Player Mode, in which the company that markets the robots, World Aeronautics and Robotics (WAR), is holding a competition among its employees to decide who will be selected to oversee the establishment of the first Earth base on Jupiter's moon, Ganymede. For instance, one arena features spikes coming out of the darkness that can damage a robot. Unlike in most fighting games of its time, the arenas (except one, the Stadium) contain hazards.
Thus the many HAR/pilot combinations allow for large replay value. The pilots vary in strength, speed, and endurance. These HARs are piloted through a physical and mental link to the human pilots however, this is merely a plot concept and is never shown on-screen.Įleven HARs and ten selectable pilots are available for play, along with five arenas and four tournaments.
One Must Fall: 2097 replaces the human combatants typical of contemporary fighter video games with large Human Assisted Robots (HAR). One Must Fall: 2097 is one of the best fighting video games from the 1990s programmed by Diversions Entertainment and eventually released as freeware.