Take a good look at that image below and let the fond memories of yesteryear flood your mind:

This collection of colorful characters form to create none other than Capcom's instantly recognizable catalog from the mid '80s to late '90s. In more recent years, Capcom has distanced itself from most of these notable franchises in order to craft titles with a more "westernized" appeal thus leaving a substantial community of fans confused by the company's new direction. In response, many popular designers of Capcom classics like Keiji Inafune have since severed ties with the house of the Blue Bomber in order to pursue other endeavors or establish new studios, but perhaps the most underrated of these departures was that of Noritaka Funamizu.

Funamizu was an integral part of establishing the Capcom name during the 1980s and early 2000s and his resume is arguably more impressive than that of even Inafune's. His standout credits include being the executive producer of the Mega Man, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, and Marvel vs. Capcom franchises, but Funamizu's works doesn't stop there. Fan-favorites like the Power Stone, Rival Schools, Strider, Tech Romancer, and the Breath of Fire series were also among his bidding as well as The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages games for the Game Boy Color, a project that Nintendo would only leave to the most capable and talented of Capcom's staff. Long story short, Funamizu games are known for a recognizable sense of charm and it is this element that once helped shape Capcom's identity as a game developer.

As Capcom began its journey into the new millennium, Funamizu's tenure would sadly come to a close, but he certainly left on a high note before founding his own studio Crafts & Meister in 2004. Among the producer's final credits are the original Monster Hunter for PlayStation 2 and a little known GameCube title known as Gotcha Force. While one of these titles became an unexpected staple of Capcom's modern catalog-spurring numerous sequels and a cultural phenomenon in Japan-the other game never quite reached its ceiling. Despite Gotcha Force's respectable critical reviews, the poor Japanese and Western commercial performance prevented the title from becoming a full-fledged series and thus it appears the game suffered from the hefty weight of its own ambitious, yet unrealized potential.

Gotcha Force is a mech-beat-em-up that quite simply challenges players to battle and collect hundreds of vibrant toy-like robots not-so cleverly named "Gotcha Borgs." Hmm… Why does this premise sound so familiar? Well, it's probably because Gotcha Force was clearly Capcom's response to the late 90s Virtual On arcade craze and the Pokémon merchandising goliath. There exists a few remnants of Capcom's ill-fated multimedia marketing push such as an extremely short-lived and limited run of action-figures modeled after several of the game's characters. Some of these toys are shown on the official Japanese Gotcha Force website where Capcom employees can be seen staging silly scenes of the figures exploring office cubicles, which seems to imply the team was quite fond of their quirky little creation. However, this supposed franchise never took flight commercially in any region as the company most certainly had hoped. Although the proposed multimedia brand flopped, Gotcha Force still remains a game that bursts at the seams with producer Noritaka Funamizu's signature game design and charm as this hidden gem of the GameCube library boasts an undeniably slick control scheme, diverse character roster, and fun visual aesthetic.

Characters

Kou The namable protagonist who is about as two-dimensional as male anime leads get. He is as courageous and good-hearted as he is generic. Teams up with Gotcha Borg "G-Red" and friends to save Safari Town from the evil Galactic Emperor.

Kakeru Kou's likable neighbor friend who deals in Ninja Borgs. Your first ally's team proves to be a bit of a slow starter, but Kakeru gains access to some very powerful units in the later stages of GF's story mode.

Mana Think white mage archetype and that's Mana in a nutshell. You'll be using her often as she provides excellent and unparalleled healing support. She is an incredibly useful asset as she specializes in Nurse Borgs, which are few and far between. Also, fish hair clip. So cute.

Usagi Safari Town's resident tomboy who says stuff loud, wears black, and is proud. Her lady-centric force is formidable with just a dash of sexy. Usagi's Girl Borgs are eclectic in that they are skilled long-range and close-range fighters with the ability to hinder enemies with mobility traps. Capcom seems to be under the impression that she's the main character of this game or something because she's the only GF character to be featured in other games.

Tsutomu Mandatory anime geek character, but his partner "Leopard" is a Tank Borg named after a wildcat, which deserves props. Since tanks are typically quite powerful, he won't be recruiting additional units left and right like some of the other allies do throughout the game.

Nekobe You know that bully from A Christmas Story? Yeah, basically this guy is that kid with Vampire Borgs. May or may not have yellow eyes. Nekobe is actually pretty unique amongst your allies as his Borg Vlad regains health upon dealing melee damage, which is all sorts of cool coming from a vampire knight robot.

Kitsune You know that other bully from A Christmas Story? Yeah, basically that kid except with Machine Borgs. Machine Borgs = Robot Robots. Wow. Any way, Kitsune is an awesome partner choice once his team gains his signature heavy-hitters as they become difficult to collect for personal use.

Met Commander of an army of small soldiers. Sort of a jerk. Met's squad is army-themed, but shapeless in terms of specific Borgs. A jack of all trades, but a master of none if you will. Well, except he's a master jerk face... jerk...

Tetsuya Friendly rival of Kou that utilizes Musha Borgs AKA samurai-themed robots. That's right, SAMURAI ROBOTS. He is a great partner for those combat-heavy situations where you just need a samurai to hack-and-slash your way to victory.

Yuji "It's possible from the point of literature" that you've never heard a Yujiism, but it "is impossible from the point of cultural anthropology" to not enjoy his increasingly random quotes. Yuji uses a pink flying scuba-diver Borg named "Jack." Also, "a noisy noise annoys an oyster!!" Obviously. Wait... what?

Kotaro A younger kid who joins Kou late in the game. His Gun Borg "Billy" sports sunglasses that rival Horatio Caine's from CSI: Miami. Those shades, man. Kotaro and company's future looks so bright that he might need some-wait for it-shades... YEAAAAAH! *Sigh*

Tama You like food? So does Tama. You like reigning death from above in the form of miniaturized floating aircraft carriers? So does Tama! You two have so much in common! Why don't you own this game yet?

Sho According to some, Sho's dad was killed by Death Borgs. Claims to hate all Gotcha Borgs, yet still battles with an entourage of badass Wing Borgs. Meh, still not as weird as Tama. Sho's partner "Garuda" has absolutely punishing speed and strength and certainly worthy of consideration.

Orochi A girl temporarily possessed by the Galactic Emperor and forced to serve as a Death Force Commander along with that weird kid Tama. Her Death Borgs are not only terrifying, but really lethal if you're not prepared. Yikes.

To play Gotcha Force is to know control scheme simplicity at its finest as this Virtual On clone handles more like Ocarina of Time rather than the often intimidating and fangled arcade mech-beat-em-ups. Movement is controlled by the GameCube's left analog while dashing is performed by smashing the analog in the desired direction similar to Masahiro Sakurai games like Super Smash Bros. or the recent Kid Icarus Uprising. The properties of a jump (A button) depend on the selected Borg as the action can execute either a double jump, triple jump, or even a hover, all of which can have their movement smashed for a quick directional change. C-stick acts a fixed camera for limited and occasionally clunky angle changes, but since the game features an auto-targeting system, this very rarely affects playability. L or R swaps between auto-targeted enemies while holding Z comically focuses your attacks at allies for those moments where partners need a reminder to get their head in the game. The B button is your Borg's primary attack button and its function also varies depending your Borg and distance from the enemy. B at long ranges often fires projectiles, B at short range is an automated-melee attack (some melee attacks are playful nods to Street Fighter moves such as the notable "shoryuken" uppercut), and some Borgs even have a B charge attack. X is also an attack button for most Borgs, simply acting as certain variations of the mentioned B commands. Additionally, limited attacks and ammunition are automatically restored within a few seconds upon depletion. Finally, the Y button activates an energy burst when a meter at the top of the screen flashes. This is essentially "Super Saiyan" mode for Borgs complete with a flashy yellow aura and will allow for temporarily increased damage, rapidly reloading attacks, and quicker mobility. Thanks to the shapely and ergonomic contours of the GameCube controller, Gotcha Force controls like a dream and it's the clever design choices like this that makes the title's lack of notoriety all the more curious.

Where Gotcha Force really shines though is in its character designs and collectibility factor, which is where the Pokémon comparisons come into play. The immense "tribe" roster of Borgs include Machine, Knight, Fighter, and several dozen other inspired classifications exemplifying the game's surprisingly robust and varied characters. For example, the ammo-heavy "Gattling Tank" is a near irresistible choice since it can unload countless shells before scrappy units like a Ninja Borg can draw close, but Ninja Borgs can typically outmaneuver tanks with ease. Chief among these mobility abusers is the pesky "Acceleration Ninja" that attacks by literally running circles around his competition and thus racking up copious amounts of cheap damage. Actually, this ninja's unparalleled speedy tactics and unfortunate blue-color scheme seem to echo a certain irritating hedgehog, but that's another article entirely. Nonetheless, players are encouraged to build teams up to 30 units deep allowing for even more character flexibility on top of the already unique Borg classes. While these Borgs teem with personality, Gotcha Force's environments are rather lacking in graphical creativity and rely too heavily on boring and repeating blockiness. The good news is that battles are so frantic and brimming with hordes of fun-looking enemies that players aren't going to spend much time nitpicking the game's stages that often resemble uninspired LEGO structures.

While Gotcha Force features a chaotically fun multiplayer mode that can be played with four people, story mode is where players will be spending most of their time battling and collecting Borgs. Don't expect much in terms of compelling narrative because Kou and G-Red's adventure is not much more than a Saturday morning cartoon plot although one could argue that the invasion of planet Earth and the slaughtering of countless Borgs does seem to draw upon Heart of Darkness. Main character Kou is presumably a middle-schooler who, like a lot of kids in Safari Town lately, discovers a toy-sized race of alien beings known as the Gotcha Borgs. It's up to Kou and Borg partner G-Red to save the world from the Galactic Emperor's army of the aptly named "Death Borgs." Gee, what's a kid with a super special awesome robot friend to do? Pit those cutesy robot friend against other savage, cutesy robots obviously. Pokémon has been abusing that formula for almost 20 years now and so can Gotcha Force, right?

The anime-inspired backdrop of the game isn't going to suit everyone, but Kou and friends are kooky and adorable in often hilariously cheesy ways. Prepare yourself for a barrage of god-awful battle cries between characters, but every once in a while there's an absolute gem of a quote. Easily Gotcha Force's goofiest character is a boy named Yuji who often exclaims, "A noisy noise annoys an oyster" among other tongue twisters and curiosities as his banter. Yuji specializes in scuba diver Borgs, and he's awesome for it, mind you. If the wacky voice acting is an audible turn off, know that Gotcha Force also features a stellar soundtrack chock-full of dancy synth and other fun, upbeat arrangements by composer Mitsuhiko Takano whose compositions includes Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Character designs are handled by the talented Mega Man artist Ryuji Higurashi giving Gotcha Force its light-hearted and vibrant atmosphere and cast. The marriage of its catchy soundtrack, pleasant artwork, and most importantly engaging gameplay make Gotcha Force an impressionable title that will stick with players long after they put down the controller because it's quintessentially a classic Capcom title even if audiences didn't initially treat it as such.

There's never been a sequel to poor little Gotcha Force, but Capcom has been known to make passing references to the title in recent years. Ally character Usagi has made a number of appearances in Japan-only social games like Capcom All-Stars and Onimusha Soul, but, outside of said titles, Gotcha Force has seen very little in terms of overall love and representation. Strangely, Capcom rereleased Japanese copies of the GameCube title in 2012, almost a good decade after its original release and sold for a dated console. It seemed that the company was gauging interest in the series sparking new hopes of a potential sequel in the near future, but it's more likely Capcom was trying to sell excess copies left over from the game's original production. For die-hard Capcom fans, Gotcha Force comes strongly recommended as it serves as a plucky piece of the company's heritage and a classic example of Funamizu at his best. If nothing else, Gotcha Force is a great way to wreck some irritating kid's toys without any consequences, and who doesn't want a little more of that in life?