Saturn reviews...
Click for a
list of the top 50 female Saturn video game characters in Japan sometime
in 1998.
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of Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games.
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of Sony Playstation games.
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of Super Nintendo/Super Famicom games
Virtual On Sega
I love Virtual On! Its actually one of the first games I'd wanted to buy
for Saturn but it ended up bein one of the last. Too bad, as it's one of
the best anywhere. The king of one-on-one mecha combat (not that that is
the most crowded game genre) and pretty awesome. Very fast, n you dash and
jump all over the place (all totally 3-d) and you get heavy, very cool weapons
to blow up the other guy with. I always play as Fei-Yen...she's pretty much
a Sailor Moon-as-robot spoof...her mecha body evokes pigtails, boots and
a ruffled skirt with a bow. (really!) She's also kool cuz all her weapons
fire pink bullets, etc. It's very fun to destroy someone with pink hearts;
her coolest move is basically Sailor Venus' Love Me Chain. Fei-Yen is a
typical girl fighter; very fast and light and agile but none too armored....however,
the more damage she takes, the more powerful those pink hearts get (really
cool). All the robots move so well and the game so intense, it's just like
those Japanese cartoons where you see giant 40-foot robots jumpin and boogieing
and rippin stuf up all over the place just like they weighed nothing at
all. A nice touch...they all seem to have Saturns strapped to their backs
(the door opens and the CD comes flying out...not a good sign maybe, but
pretty funny) Basically the Virtuaroids (they are, really, unfortunately
called that) are practicing by beating up on each other, and then it's off
to the moon for some real war. yay! The fighters are all really good and
it just gets better. The fighting arena are quite large, nice and (usually)
have loads of things to duck behind. Good deal of thinkin, reflexes and
long-distance shooting involved. It just rocks. Graphics are very cool and
the little instant replay at the end of each round is the best...looks very
anime with its camera angles but 3-d. The sequel is out for Dreamcast and
I think I shall buy it fer sure! (it looks great)
Gebockers Riverhillsoft
Funny little game that kinda plays like a kiddie version of Virtual On.
You choose one of 8 silly cute little SD mechs (or something) and duke it
out fighting-game style one-on-one. Gameplay is pretty simple, but it's
got addiction-potential. I think it's really meant to be a two-player game
as playing against the computer is too simple. Against someone else (and
this is one of the few Saturn games that uses the link cable) it could be
really cool. But its pretty much, shoot, jump and bomb. You kin do extra
moves by pressing button combinations, like a fighting game. Arenas are
all 3-d, like the gameplay and there's stuff to hide behind and even blow
up. They're kinda cool-looking. The gfx are simple, too jaggy, but charming
wit some nice bits. Kid, the cowboy robot has two six-shooters, throws bundles
of dynamite and also holds up his oversized sheriff badge as a shield. The
opening animation is actually especially cool. Fave chara is Catty with
her red hair and cat ears, naturally...she's cool. Gebockers gets points
for cuteness, but the way better gameplay of VO has kinda spoiled it fer
me...I'll still play this tho.
Gungriffon 2 Game Arts/ESP
The original was one of my faves on this system and this Japan-only sequel
is even betta! The first Gungriffon is probably the best mecha game (I still
like Bulk Slash better than all, but it's a different sort of game...GG
is a better sim) GG2 improves the already pretty good graphics of the original
(really good 3-d for Saturn and actually better than Armored Core on the
PSX) I really enjoyed the gameplay of the original and it's improved here,
with more complex, really well-thought-out missions and smarter enemies.
It's harder, naturally, but not too. The first mission gets you in the game
with a classic blow-up-all-the-enemies objective, but after that you'll
be protecting convoys, leading rescue missions and the like (with still,
even more, blowing-stuf-up to do). They are laid out intelligently and have
a great sense of tension and suspense (something not found in the original).
Wonderful. Probably the closest I'll ever get to mecha combat. One thing,
there is a lot of Japanese in the mission briefings, but so far, it's totally
easy to figure them out. I havent gotten too far...I'm basically stuck on
the stunning polar-ice-cap level (#4). GG2 supports the Virtual On twin
sticks (very cool!) but if you don't own any like me, the controller layout
is the same as the first one and really good (for a game that uses a lot
of buttons) You kin even sortie a two-seater mech with a friend, and with
a link cable plus another Saturn, even play 4-playa games. yay! Oh, and
I didnt mention that you get a few new weapons. Very recommended, if mecha
combat is your thing. The latest game, Gun Griffon Blaze (I think) is out
in Japan for the Sony PS2, and, if it's good (and it should be) I may pick
one up just to play it.
Twinkle Star Sprites SNK/ADK
This is my new fave game, and it rounds out my Saturn collection nicely.
One thing Saturn did really really well is Neo Geo ports and this is one!
(it does NOT use the RAM cart, so ya don't need one) Twinkle Star Sprites
is a combination of a versus puzzle game (like Puzzle Bobble or Puzzle Fighter)
and an overhead shooter. It blends the best of both genres seamlessly and
into a unique mix. Its hard to say whether this is better than Cotton or
RS, but those are just shooters with puzzle elements by comparison. Twinkle
Star is so much fun! Good fer 2 playas, of course. You and your opponent
are flying over the same backdrop on a vertically split screen. You blow
up chains of enemies (all hopelessly cute characters), which sends them
zooming over (as fiery globs) onto your opponent's side and he/she kin send
them back as more powerful characters. eek! Reversing attacks is a big part
of the fun of this game. You kin even send bosses against yer opponent...there's
nothing like crushing your opponent with a giant cabbit (unless it's blowing
up the other guy's giant cabbit...sick!). Yes, it's pretty wierd and really
digustingly cute (not so cute as to be annoying, tho obviously I'm the wrong
judge of what would be too cute). You are LoadRun, a little girl witch on
a broomstick (not another one!) who turns into a postpubescent fairy when
she gets superpowers (her boobs even grow...kinda gross, but, sigh, I wish
this would happen to me!). Her sidekick is a little cabbit. There are loads
of opponents, either computer-or-human-controlled, included a great really
powerful secret character (she's got a Cutey Honey thing going in that she
has a million outfits). There's a story mode with good voice acting. Graphics
are really really good, all 2-d of course with drop dead gorgeous backgrounds
(not too much parallax but very detailed and animated!) The Saturn version
improves on the original (also included here) with parallax clouds and stars
and stuf and sparkles from yer broomstick. Also, it adds the aforementioned
voices to the cutscenes. ADK added a great FMV anime opening with the Twinkle
Star song (a fave!). Music is really good. There's also a second, omake
CD with tons of production art and fan art. An incredible game, and, no
it didn't see American release on Saturn. It's also available for Neo Geo
consoles (and now Dreamcast) but not Playstation. If ADK is reading this,
please please put this out on Neo Geo Pocket cuz it would go so well on
that system and I'd take it everywhere. (And, totally unrelated, I wish
Taito would do the same with a 2D Layer Section game). If you can find Twinkle
Star Sprites and you like cute stuf, buy it!
Cotton 2 Success
This is my other fave! Cotton 2 is almost the perfect game, tho it's not
as good as Radiant Silvergun, it's awful close. I'm currently playing it
more. Someone at Success musta thought, "Hmm, let's make a game just
for Linna." Well, not really, of course. I think Cotton 1 came out
on the Super Famicom. Cotton 2 was I think first developed for the Saturn,
then ported to the arcade (as an ST-V game) and then ported back. It's games
like this that made Saturn THE 2-d arcade machine at home. (OK, there's
Neo Geo but that's another story) Anyway, this game is a sidescroller shooter
much like Sengoku Blade. Except, you're not an overendowed Shinto priestess
(not that there's anything wrong wit that), you're a cute witch with a red
bob-cut. yay! And you fly on your broomstick! too kewl! Plus there's a cute
fairy in a bikini who follows you around. oooh! I like fairies! (Cotton
is the witch, the fairy is named Silk) If this couldn't get any kewler,
player 2 (cooperatively) plays as another cute witch wit a blonde bob (and
an ugly talking witchypoo hat). I won't say it's better n Sengoku Blade
but it plays differently. The characters are bigger, and the screen are
filled with obstacles and more crowded. Like Radiant Silvergun its got lotsa
shootin plus puzzlelike chaining. (This game wuz out first) Shoot a buncha
enemies and ya get a power-up crystal. If ya shoot the crystal it changes
color which gives you different spells which change your bullets n give
you bomb-like spells too. (These look really neat). And you kin grab enemies
n use em as weapons and throw em at other enemies! (ya know I like this!)
You kin capture enemies in NRG balls n use those fer massive chaining mayhem
goodness. This game is so much fun it makes me giggle sometimes. And it
was so cute I cried once! The gfx are a bit pixelly but nice n colorful.
Enemy design is really really good wit monsters, undead creatures, fish,
goblins and pretty evil fairies and dark angels and more. The bosses n subbosses
fire minature versions of themselves, which you kin grab n throw at them.
(You kin even grab the subbosses) One time, you face a decomposing dragon
skeleton, and you kin rip off his bones and hit him wit those. The sound
fx are good n the music is wonderful pretty synth-pop. It's supposta give
you more character voices if ya use a RAM cart (I don't have one). There
is a ton of animation in the game (Cotton's dress and hair blow in the wind)
and great anime intro and cutscenes. Control is soo smoooth it's really
scarey. It's great. (No analog control tho) Cotton 2 is really hard but
sooo worth it n anyone who luvs cute games hasta have it! There's a sequel,
called Cotton Boomerang, but it's supposta be almost identical, only harder.
I don't know who Success are, but I want more games like this! And it comes
wit a kewl (but now outdated) 1998 calendar. And 2-d rules!!
Radiant Silvergun Treasure/ESP
When I first heard Treasure was developing this for the arcade, I was like
"oh, this will be good." I luv 2-d space shooters. It's hard ta
believe, but Treasure's never done one. (They did do Axelay when they worked
for Konami). Treasure are known for side-scrolling violent action/platform
games, typically weird, funny, fulla inventive tricks and lotsa craziness
and more action. It was going to be interesting to see what they'd do with
this genre. They didn't disappoint and the result is even better then I'd
thought.
Radiant Silvergun puts EVERY other space shooter I've played to shame. Raystorm
(and all else made by Taito), Einhander, Thunderforce series, anything for
any platform. I haven't played Sokyugerentai and I still want Battle Garegga
but they can't be better 'n this. It's the prettiest overhead shooter ever
with a gorgeous mix of sprites and (I think a first for Treasure) polygons.
It's got transparencies! Sparks! The best explosions...everything blows
up real good. I thought that no shooter could ever cram more STUFF on the
screen than Galactic Attack but RS does with tons of enemies and bullets
and laser beams and background elements. Unlike that game, tho, there is
occasional slowdown. It's not annoying tho, cuz it sometimes happens in
boss battles when there is SO much CRAP on the screen; Either it chokes
the Saturn or Treasure feels sorry for you but either way you're thankful
for a little extra time to save yerself. (I think the former is true, n
is becuz of polygons not sprites) There are tons of bullets n stuff to dodge
and I like how they threw in a good bit of the wall-and-barrier-dodging
more commonly seen in side-scrollers. Emphasis is on boss-fighting but there
are tons of little (and not-so-little) footsoldier gruntcraft to blow away
b4 fighting the big bosses that pop up more than once per level. Enemy design
is fantastic, especially the bosses (Treasure's always had great bosses).
This is one of my fave bosses......it blows up real good too.
Gameplay is fast, intense and pretty innovative fer this genre. There
aren't any power-ups. Instead you get all 7 weapons at once (each assigned
to a controller button like a fighting game) and they get more powerful
the more you use 'em. Yay! You get kewl weapons too, like Layer Sectiony
lock-on lasers, homing shots, a homing lightning zapper and my fave, the
Radiant Sword. Way more better than Einhander's sword, the Radiant Sword
lets you slash enemies and you kin charge it up by slashing away enemy bullets.
When it charges up all the way, it turns inta a GIANT pair of scissors that
destroy most anything in their way and have kewl trails and funky-ass-old-skool-vector-graphics-fx.
This thankfully gets rid of the need for smart bombs in the game and is
more fun besides. (later on, for whatever reason you actually fight a boss
in vector graphics mode. Trippy!) You get a bonus fer shootin chains of
enemies of one color n bonuses fer finding hidden cartoon dogs. I don't
know what the dogs are for but they bark when you find em n they are cute!
You also get a bonus fer destroying bosses piece-by-piece rather than all
at once. Double Yay! N you'll get an extra continue fer a 100% perfect destruction
rate each time. So the more you play, the bigger weapons n more continues
you get. Evil! And you kin play in Arcade mode which gives you unlimited
continues that I find waaay too tempting. Besides Saturn mode has a storyline
with great in-game cutscenes (the first time I wasn't aware the gameplay
had started). You also get a dramatic Japanese voiceover that lasts till
you fight the first boss. Combined with the great symphonic (and all BGM...yay!)
soundtrack, this is the first shooter that really makes you feel that you;re
in the middle of an epic Star Wars-style space battle. There's also a great
anime intro wit kewl characters (the girl has a green bob and antennae n
is really reminiscent of Nicole from Guardian Heroes). I don't know Japanese
so I cant tell if the intro is a spoof or not but it's really dramatic and
weird.
Radiant Silvergun is really hard but I've never enjoyed gettin my ass
kicked over and over again more. It hasnt left my Saturn since I got it
and I havent played anything else since. If you like shooters n have a Saturn
you HAVE to get this game. If you really luv shooters and don't have a Saturn,
it's reason enuf ta get one. Really! RS is only available for the Japanese
market and it seems to be really in demand, but it is so worth finding on
import. If there ever was a PSX version, it wouldn't be as good since the
original arcade game was done for the ST-V Titan (a Saturn w/more memory).
If I could never buy another Saturn game gain I wouldn't mind. I don't think
I'll EVER get another overhead shooter (except maybe Battle Garegga) this
is so good. I don't think there will ever be a better space shooter until
maybe Treasure makes another one.
Last Bronx Sega
Like I need another Saturn fighting game. I picked this up for $20. It doesn't
take place in the Bronx, but in Tokyo, including real locations in Shibuya.
It's made by Sega's AM3, not AM2 who did Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers
n it's a little different. You fight with weapons, like nunchuks and its
very fast n violent. Weapons spark! You kin taunt (in Japanese) and there
are long combos. Matches are over very quick. It lacks some of the polish
of the AM2 fighters especially in the character select screen and the screens
between matches. But the in-game graphics are very good and so is the gameplay.
The characters have more animation and more personality (sometimes you see
em breathing!) My fave chara is Lisa, who's the cutest girl n she wears
a lil skirt wit suspenders and kewl boots. Backgrounds are better than AM2's
Saturn games (I'm not sure if they're really 3-d). It's kinda easy on Normal
setting (I finished it on the first try) but you kin put it on Hard as well
as secret settings like "Arcade", "Judo" and "Berserk."
The only problem is the bad polygon glitching that happens when the characters
do their winning poses or sometimes when doing throws. Its really ugly but
it doesn't ruin the gameplay. Really good anime and in-game cut-scenes (Tomb
Raider should learn from them) and the opening song is nice J-pop with tone
deaf vocals. Worth getting and different and way better than Toshinden.
Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II Psikyo/Atlus
This l'il import gem should be what 32-bit games are about. Perfect 2-d
graphics with hectic classic shooting gameplay. Unfortunately, that's not
what the 32-bit era turned out to be (while I do luv 3-d) and this game
didn't see an American release. Sengoku Blade is best described as Thunderforce
with Samurai Shodown characters but it's more than that. It's a side-scrolling
shooter set in a steampunked version of medieval Japan with weird magic
and technological enemies. The game's setting and design work very well
in the total package. Your character flies and shoots, apparently with the
aid of magic. You also get a little spirit or animal friend that flies with
you and shoots (like Gradius "option" powerup). You'll need him/her/it.
You'll also need the supply of big bombs (great animation on them) and yer
friend has neat special attacks and gets more powerful with each power-up.
As with most 2-d Japanese shooters for the Saturn the gameplay is very smooth
and intense. It seems a bit like Darius (which isn't bad), but the gameplay
is much better. You fight tons of bosses, several per level. If you like
bosses that you blow up bit-by-bit or transforming bosses this is the game
fer you. If you like boss fighting in general, this game is fer you. It's
pretty hard, too. The main character is Koyori who's got on an outfit like
what Sailor Mars wears around the temple, aviator goggles on her head and
has humungous boobies (bigger than Lara's). She's gorgeous with a really
pretty face (she kinda looks like you-know-who. Like I wish I could grow
boobs that big!). You kin also choose from a pretty-boy who looks like an
effeminate Ryu from Street Fighter, a robot samurai, a big ugly bald dude
wit earrings and a strawberry blonde girl whose best friend is a fire-breathing
ring-tailed lemur (really!).
Sengoku Blade comes with a second CD full of fan art (loads of clean cheesecake),
character sketches n more. They also have adverts for other Psikyo shooting
games, Gunbird, Strikers 1945 and the first Sengoku Ace, all of which are
nice-lookin top-down shooters. At least two of the characters have been
carried over from the first one n aged a bit. (Koyori has gone through a
LOT of puberty since) Sengoku Blade is worth getting on import for the atmosphere
(including some nice traditional Japanese music) and classic action. I luv
it n its the kinda game ya can't turn off.
Quake Id/Lobotomy/Sega
Most everyone knows this game, mostly fer its multiplayer fun. Unfortunately
Sega only wanted their version to be one-player So Lobotomy had ta work
hard at makin Quake a decent one-player game. Tho I don't play first-person
shooters much, I'd hafta say they succeeded. Also doing well-received versions
of Duke Nukem and Powerslave for the Saturn (the crap ports of Hexen and
Doom are not theirs), Lobotomy have done well in getting this game to run
on a dinky console. They took some stuf out but put other stuf in. Call
it Quake 1.5. The graphics are improved over the original Quake and they
made the enemies smarter. They're supposta hunt you down rather than standin
around waitin ta be shot (like they do in most games of this type). While
the gameplay is decent what makes Quake such a winner is its atmosphere.
It's so dark and spooky with some weird ancient alien architecture, kinda
Hellraiser- or Lovecraft-ish. Also the Trent Reznor-composed music Is really
nice n spooky n adds to the whole experience. Great lighting effects too.
The textures are grainy but they almost always are in this sort of game.
It's all polygons, too! You get kewl weapons like the nail gun (yay) or
grenade launchers that blow the enemy into pieces of meat (yuk). You'll
need the grenades cuz if you don't blow up zombies they come back to life
(nice). Analog control is supported, which is nice. Unfortunately there
are no multiplayer options (what's up wit that?)
Mass Destruction NMS/ASC Games
This is another one I saw when it was in development n couldn't wait fer
it to be out. Unfortunately the publisher was BMG Interactive which folded.
Mass Destruction came out for Playstation and Saturn under the ASC Games
logo. I don't think it was very popular cuz the Saturn version was hard
to find. It's too bad, cuz this is an awesome game. Imagine the old Atari
Combat with tons of stuff n Command & Conquer-style graphics ('cept the
graphics are better than that). You control your lil tank in a lil top-down
polygonal world and blow up stuf. Blow up buildings and collect powerups
inside 'em. Sometimes there are enemies in the buildings to blow up. Blow
up extra stuf fer bonuses! You're sent on missions around the globe to stop
our enemies, "The Republican Army". You have tons of enemy vehicles
n troops tryin ta blow you up along the way. The troops are the funnest,
they are tiny-ant-sized people that scream in the most horrible way when
you shoot em, sometimes running around with their pants on fire. The most
efficient way to kill em is just ta run them over. This game is really sick
and it's sickness is canceled out by the fact that the graphics are soo
pretty and the battlefield so toylike and cute. And it's sooo much fun!
You get all sorts weapons (the flamethrower is awesome) n you kin drive
anywhere on the battlefield n turn yer turret independently from the tank.
Nice water effects, your tank kin drive underwater fer a bit (til it fills
up) and if you blow up something near the water, the explosion is reflected
in the water, along with pieces of shrapnel splashing. I also dig the cheesy
Eurosynth soundtrack. Unfortunately there's a bug that turns the sound off
the first time you play (you have to turn it on manually in the options).
Also, there is no 2-player mode, either versus or cooperative. Boo! Very
recommended, tho. There are a few differences tween the Saturn and Playstation
versions, only graphic, the Saturn is worse in some ways, better in others.
I don't know if the Sony version was any more popular.
Bulk Slash Hudson
I've lusted after this since it was in beta, and now I got it. Id trade
most all my games just for Bulk Slash. Awesome awesome transformer mech
game imported from Japan. Faster and more arcadey than Gungriffon and loads
of fun. Fulla action and anime style. The enemies are great and the bosses
unbelievable. One looks like a cross between Mothra and a robot dragon with
a big-ass gun for a head. Big big explosions! Loads of weaponry and possible
the best part is zooming around exploring the 3-d NeoTokyo backgrounds.
Yes! Full 3-D movement! If only ya could blow up the buildings. It is fun
taking out signs and traffic lights and sailboats and blimps tho. All transformer
games should be like this! Macross games should be like Bulk Slash and it
could be one. You even get lock-on missiles. If you ever wondered what it'd
be like to play the battle climax of Macross Plus, this is pretty dang close.
Unlike SDF Macross, in which you could pretty much stay in one mode, here
it really helps to transform. Flying parts play like a 3-D Afterburner at
times. Textures are kinda grainy, but the environments are so rich and graphics
fast and glitch-free. Pop-up is handled very well, with buildings that gradually
fade into view. Kewl anime-soundtrack/80's metal music. I started singing
the Tenchi Muyo theme halfway through. Hudson threw in a special, very Japanese
little gimmick that was probably the game's main selling point. As it is
easy ta get lost in 3-d games like this, they let you pick up cute anime
chicks to help you navigate. They appear in a lil 2-d window in the upper
left screen and tell you where to go and yell at you in Japanese and react
to what is going on. One looks a lot like Rei from Evangelion. There is
a TON of Japanese, both written and spoken, but you don't need to know it
to play. They really should sell an American version. It's so good. A lot
of care and hard work went into Bulk Slash and Hudson deserves applause.
Hurray!
Guardian Heroes Treasure/Sega
This game pretty much shows what's good and bad about the Saturn. It's kick-ass,
fast, lovely 2-d with neato fx and lotsa action and mean enemies. Maybe
Streets of Rage crossed with Golden Axe and Gunstar Heroes. Lovely anime-atyle
art and a neat intro. But Sega didn't hype it, n advertised screen shots
were ugly. N yeah, its 2-d. Also the box art makes it look like a bad Masters
of the Universe RPG (tell me that's not He-Man and Skeletor on the cover).
Way ta go Sega! Please use the Japanese art next time. Compare it to Nintendo's
hype of Mischief Makers (also 2-d and from Treasure). too bad. My fave character
is Nicole, she's so cute! She's an acid house kid cuz her god is Smiley.
She has no weapons but kewl Sailor Mercury type spells. She kin vault over
her enemies and attack them from the other side. You kin choose your own
character and build them up as they go. Kinda RPGish. Also has branching
storylines, but it is pure action. Oh, yeah, you kin jump between multiple
scrolling planes using the shoulder buttons. All 2-d scrollers should be
done this way. If you know Treasure's other games, ya know what ta expect.
They also have Silhouette Mirage for Saturn and Playstation (It looks awesomely
weird) and of course Mischief Makers for N-64 (I haven't played it but almost
makes me wanna get one). Also godlike shooter Radiant Silvergun (above).
GH is available for pretty cheap and everyone should get it.
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross ("Do You Remember Love?")
Emotion/Bandai/Big West
I like 2-d shooting games and I love Macross, n this is a 2-d Macross shooting
game, so I was forced to buy it. The Macross game for Famicom was one of
the best and this is like 100x better. It's got multiple backgrounds n enemies
attacking from multiple planes. Transformer games are fun! Half the fun
is switchin between fighter and robot modes. Gerwalk mode too, which is
kinda inbetween which I like. You get the best weapon too: lock-on MIRVing
missiles that zoom all over the screen with whooshing exhaust trails n it
looks just like the cartoon! Gorgeous graphics. The sprites are mostly pre-rendered
3-d. Massive, elaborate backgrounds, more like a whole environment. In the
first level, you fly through a city with buildings that blow up n even lil
cars n trees. Later, you fly inside the Macross n fight there. The Macross
is a big-ass space-city transformer that could eat Optimus Prime for a snack
n poop him out. Watch out for when it transforms and everything goes sideways.
The soundtrack is really good too with explosions that sound like you are
in the middle of World War 3. You also get long nice-lookin Trumotion FMV
scenes between levels. They're from the real cartoon and some computer animation.
The story is from the first Macross, the one that became Robotech here.
Minmay is in it alot, she is so cute! You kin skip over it too. A few levels
suck tho, because they force you to follow the plot of the movie. If you
took away all the gfx n Macross goodies, it prolly wouldnt be half as good
as Taito's shooters. But it's got the goodies! Its kinda expensive, n comes
on two CDs but its worth it if you are a fan.
NiGHTS into Dreams Sega
For the past two years when he should have been working on a new Sonic game,
Sonic creator Yuji Naka was lying on the beach at Goa, tripping. Then he
went back to Japan and made this game. I really don't know what he was doing,
but Sonic Team must have gotten some serious hallucinogenics to come up
with this. Really, this flying dude in a jester cap game partly convinced
me to get a Saturn. It doesn't appeal to everyone cuz it looks like a wussy
game and is pretty weird besides. The commercials for it were really bad:
a few seconds of poor quality screen footage then someone dropping a Playstation
off a building. You play NiGHTS, the jester dude dreamed up by two kids
to defeat their nightmares. You fly through their dreamworld, collecting
stuff, bonking enemies on the head, defeating bosses, the usual platform
game stuff (you also hatch eggs). What makes it different is the gorgeous
graphics and feeling of flight. Its a 3-d game with 2-d movement, but the
way NiGHTS moves (especially with the analog pad) is so awesome, you wont
care. The bizarre levels are really lovely with all sorts of kewl effects.
You can fly though a waterfall and the water splashes around you; fly in
front of a mirror and there you are. My favorite is the Soft Museum, where
the ground, floors and ceilings make waves under you as you fly past. Strange
enemies and stranger bosses, my favorite is the big fat lady you bounce
like a beach ball. I managed to finish this game with both characters and
then went back to do it agin wit all A's on every level. At its heart, the
gameplay is as classic and tight and addictive as any old 8-bit game. Additionally
NiGHTS includes a primitive artificial life program with the levels populate
with lil pinhead angels (really!). The Nightopians evolve and breed (this
is where you hatch their eggs) and you kin cross-breed them with the bad
guys. They interact with you on a pretty basic level and the background
music changes depending on what they think of you. Everyone needs to play
this game!
Gungriffon Game Arts/Sega
It's too bad this game isn't more popular. I don't know why! Maybe its because
of the ugly cover art. There's a really bad picture of a mecha on it and
the artist didn't give it a head! Maybe to make it look more American. Japanese
mecha have heads and more personality, while American designs look like
the front end of a bomber plane on legs. And the screen shots on the back
are really ugly too! I got this real cheap. Really, it is a cool 3-d mecha
game with great graphics and action. Your mecha has a head and the kewlest
weapons! Loads of really good explosions! Also your mech has jets to jump
high up in the air and fly for a bit. It is sooo much fun to jump up and
take out a wise-ass helicopter that's been buggin you. Also to rain death
from above on enemy mecha. Kewl enemies and exotic locations such as Novosibirsk,
Kiev and Ulan Bator. They have personality and great animation. The first
time I saw the Masamune Shirow-style spider tank, I got douche chills. N
then I blew it up! I haven't played games like Krazy Ivan and MechWarrior,
but I imagine this is better. And out of nostalgia, the on-board computer
is called Silpheed.
Darius Gaiden Taito/Acclaim
Besides making "Mortal Kombat vs. Aerosmith Space Jam Wrestling",
Acclaim has imported some really good games from Taito. Unfortunately, I
don't think anyone likes them, cuz they are always on sale. Darius is a
side-scrolling space shoot-em-up like Scramble or Nemesis. Beautiful graphics
and soundtrack. Trippy psychedelic special effects. Loads of enemies, most
of which are fish for some reason. You get lots of power-ups and instead
of smart bombs, you get a black hole bomb that sucks up everything on screen
and blows up. You can also defeat the mini-bosses and take them over and
make them fight on your side. And, instead of makin you go from level to
level, you kin branch off to different levels (28 total) and take several
tracks.
Tomb Raider Core/Eidos
This game was really really popular for two reasons and they are in Lara
Croft's bra! Really, what makes it so good are the gorgeous environments
and the way you explore them. It really puts you in the game. I've wasted
so much time on this game and I've only just begun! (Unfortunately I wiped
out my Saturn's memory bout 1/2-way thru and am unlikely to pick up Lara's
quest agin). The characters are blocky, but the action is good. The adventure
part is simple enough for me to do and it is fun shootin animals. Unlike
the 2-d Flashback, you don't have to run and jump just so to get where you
want. Lara has really big boobs and a cute lil outfit (I would wear it if
I was exploring) n she looks real cute the way she pulls herself up onto
a ledge. I think Pitfall Harry has the hots fer her! She has a cute accent.
I like the part where you run around her house n she tells you how to move.
Too bad TR2 isn't on Saturn, but it's OK, cuz it sucks anyway.
Galactic Attack Taito/Acclaim
Another from Taito! Even better than Darius. This is one of my absolute
fave games and its a 2-d space shooter! It's top-scrolling like Xevious
or 1942, and like Xevious you blow up stuff both in the air and on the ground.
It mixes anime and old-skool flava. Beautiful graphics, as atmospheric as
you can get in 2-d, with asteroids and clouds and waterfalls and future
cities and even moving space dust! Great power-ups and weapons, including
a kewl lock-on laser that lets you blow up everything you can lock on to.
And you'll need it cuz there are TONS of enemies, including some really
big mean ones (it has the baddest bosses). Unlike too many shooters, these
guys fire back. If you don't watch out, you will be on a screen full of
nothing but bad guys and their fire. Good lookin' and filled with action.
Oh yeah, you kin play wit yer TV on it's side and the increased aspect ratio
gives you all of the taller arcade screen. (I did this wit my computer monitor
and you get ta see tons more of the backgrounds...impressive!) It cost $20,
but I would pay a lot more for it. I play this most every day and has become
like an old friend tho I haven't finished it. It was called Layer Section
in Japan. It's only on Saturn, but there is a 3-d version called Raystorm
for Playstation (n in Japan, Layer Section 2 for Saturn).
Fighters Megamix Sega
Megamix gives you all the characters from Virtua Fighter 2 (with VF3 moves)
plus all the ones from Fighting Vipers and 10 secret characters like the
chick from Virtua Cop 2, characters from the Sonic fighting game, and the
racing car from Daytona. The resolution is no where near as high as VF2's,
but the characters are Goraud-shaded which looks really good. Plus you get
cool dust clouds and sparks when you hit each other. Too bad there is bad
slowdown on a few stages. Some really good punching sounds too. It's based
on Fighting Vipers, so the characters from that game look really good (the
Virtua Fighter ones look worse). Also, like that game, you can fight in
closed in rings like cage matches. You can knock your opponents through
them. Also you can climb up to the top of the wall and jump into the ring,
just like on wrestling shows! I like the moves better than the ones in Virtua
Fighter cuz they are wilder and more powerful. VF2 is more real, but I think
Megamix is more fun. My fave character is Candy (Honey in Japan) from Fighting
Vipers. You get a choice of cute cute cute vinyl schoolgirl and angel outfits
and play as blonde or brunette. My favorite Candy move is the one where
she does the Bump and hits people with her butt! Also where she comes up
behind her opponent and tickles them! That doesn't do any damage, but it
is fun to do! There are a lot of secrets in the game that are unlocked as
you play, such as all the Candy outfits, super-fast Hyper Mode, secret tracks,
more secret tracks and secret options I haven't discovered yet. It is kinda
easy, but it gives you a chance to learn all your moves (also there is a
Training Mode) and you can always play it on a more difficult level or in
Hyper Mode (like me). Also nice CG intro and picture gallery. Here are 3
pictures of Candy from it (you cant see her wings in the angel outfit)
Fighting Vipers (Japanese Version) Sega
I got this too cuz I luv Candy/Honey so much! In the Japanese version you
get ta fight Pepsiman and there are a few Pepsi product placements. Maybe
more sexy Candy stuff. In some ways its a better game than Megamix. No slowdown,
the animation seems smoother and the backrounds more complex. More and better
camera angles (there it goes again, right up Honey's skirt!) Its also harder
and enemies are smarter and more fun. I've been playing this a lot more
than Megamix.
Panzer Dragoon Sega
When Saturn first came out, this was about the only game that looked halfway
interesting. Really good 3-d graphics, especially for then and the sequels
look even better! I got it for $15. Panzer Dragoon is like Space Harrier
except you fly around on the back of a kewl blue dragon. You get a laser
gun with lock-on capabilities (it looks so cool the way the beams MIRV)
to blow up weird enemy machines and really nasty mutant critters. Nice levels
and music too. Too bad it's only a rail-shooter and doesn't give you real
3-d movement. But it does support the analog pad and is still a great game.
Wipeout Psygnosis/Sega
It's not the most realistic racing game but it's a fave. Futuristic anti-grav
hovercraft racing. Awesome! Fast, fast movement, with crazy tracks full
of nausea-inducing twists and drops. Nice techno soundtrack too. Wipeout
has a unique look from the vehicles and the pilots to the Designer's Republic-designed
manual. Sega messed up the cover though. You get weapons, and while they
are pretty wussy, it is fun to blow the leader out of the air as he is making
a jump. It is too easy though. I can complete it and you don't even have
to like use the brakes until maybe the 4th track. Darren Emerson of Underworld
sez he can't even qualify on the first track It's still fun. The Playstation
version does look better and has an pretty good soundtrack (the rights are
owned by Sony) and the same is even more true of Wipeout XL (review on PSX page).
Bust-a-Move 2 Taito/Acclaim
Another from Taito! I must be keeping them in business. This is really Puzzle
Bobble 2 (2x if you are picky). It stars Bub and Bob of the classic Bubble
Bobble. Your cute lil Japanese dinosaur has to shoot colored bubbles at
a mess of bubbles that gets lower and lower to you. Line up bubbles of the
same color and they pop. Another variation on the Tetris theme, but its
different enough and very addictive. Also it's too too cute! Cute enemies
and animations, including a joke on Darius. Giggle! Kewl Vs. mode and you
can make your own levels! The box art is really bad, Acclaim seemed ashamed
of the games cuteness, so it just put a picture of some dude with his eyeballs
propped open on the cover with a warning about how addictive the game is.
No mention of Bub and Bob, who are only barely visible on the back. (Thankfully
Natsume has taken up publishing this series in the U.S. and has NO problem
w/cuteness) Also, it will play special holiday animations depending on your
system's clock, like fireworks on July Fourth. I will go play this right
now!
Bubble Bobble with Rainbow Islands, Taito/Probe/Acclaim
And one more, last but not least. Arcade-perfect version of the 1985 classic.
You probably know (and maybe) love this; You're a lil dinosaur who hops
around these (like 100) mazes. You blow bubbles to trap monsters, n after
you pop the bubbles, they die and turn into fruit, candy, etc. which you
grab. Yummy! Simple concept, unbeatable classic gameplay. Like Pac-Man or
Dig-Dug but I like it better. It's tons of fun and cute and I play it a
lot. Soundtrack by Vincent Clarke of Erasure. (not really, but it'd be funny)
Rainbow Islands was sold as a sequel, buts it's a different game. You're
a short, fat, probably simpleminded red-haired kid who kinda looks like
Cartman on South Park. You build rainbows to kill enemies and to travel
upwards across many platforms. It's pretty fun, but not as good. They also
include an "enhanced" version of Rainbow with more 32-bitish gfx.
Acclaim did a typical lame Photoshopped clip-art irrelevant cover, but it's
not as ugly as Bust-a-Move 2's. Acclaim's FMV logo even looks like crap.
Probe's looks not much better. Luckily, the real game part was left up to
Taito. There is a 3-D FMV intro that's very well-done, but the resolution
is pretty bad. Bubble Bobble was available on NES (Rainbow Islands, too),
Game Boy and other systems. There's a very nice total rip-off available
fer Mac. Playstation has a version of this disc, but I'm not sure if Rainbow
Islands is included.
Tempest 2000 Atari/Interplay
There are few games more fun that old-fashioned shooting games, and the
original Tempest was one of the best back in the day. It was really intense
and fast and unique. I started to miss it, but here it is! Tempest 2000
was a Jaguar game originally n was probably the best (guess it beat Missile
Command 2000). Interplay has brought it to the Saturn and another version
to the PSX. Thanks guys! Guess what? it's better than the original, with
way trippy graphics, new enemies and power-ups. 2-player versus mode is
fun too and it does include the original Tempest. I can't say Tempest holds
my interest for long-the first like 100 levels are too easy-but I play it
now and then. Kinda lame "techno-rave" soundtrack, but it does
put you in like a shooting trance. Eat electric death!
Sega Rally Championship, Sega (duh)
Scarey real rally racing game. The graphics are very good and the control
and the way the car feels are tremendous. The first time you try it, you
floor it and the car takes off so fast it's frightening. It supports the
analog pad. You get a choice of a Lancia (with a secret very fast Lancia
hidden away) or a Toyota Celica. There are nice touches like birds that
scatter as you drive at them, and a helicopter over the finish line to the
first course. You can't run over the spectators (or the elephant). There's
a really nice replay mode where you kin play back yer race from different
angles. It's fun ta watch n the music is pretty good. I think the game's
really hard and over too soon, but I keep tryin to win. Sega Rally came
out in 1995 and has not been beaten by any other rally game on any system
yet. There is a sequel for the arcades that will be out for Dreamcast.
Daytona USA Championship Circuit Edition, Sega
This is my fave racing game! The second version of Sega's arcade classic
for the Saturn has better graphics than the first. Plus, more courses and
cars to choose from. Its less real than Sega Rally, but I think it's more
fun. Daytona feels pretty fast, controls very well (analog supported down
to the gas and brake pedals) and you get these great end-over-end crashes.
You have to hit really hard to wipe out, n once you do you kin get back
in the race and your car will be all dented in 3-D. I luv the courses. In
the first one you race against 39 other cars, n it's great watching the
other cars get in position for the next turn. I love it! The music's kinda
good, even a junglist tune (tho you hafta choose it in options), 'cept for
the horrible rock song that plays over the replay mode (vocals by some guy
from Mr. Big...yuk).
Virtua Fighter 2, Sega
Another Sega classic. The Virtua Fighter series hasn't been beaten by any
other 3-D fighter, tho some have come close. I was so happy when I got it
in the 3-for-free pack and booted it up. The graphics are so pretty! The
fighting's very real (yeah, like I've ever been in a real karate fight)
and the moves (there are lots of them) are so good. Any game that has a
Drunken Master character I like. I mostly play as Pai Chan, the Chinese
girl with pigtails, tho the blonde chick Sarah is pretty kewl. VF2 is pretty
hard, n supposedly the AI learns as you play, but I've beaten it. If you
own a Saturn you should get this but you probably have. On the Playstation,
only Dead or Alive could come close (Tekken is fun but not nearly as good).
VF3 in the arcades is frankly amazing with super graphics. The Dreamcast
version may not be totally acrade-perfect but really really close. VF1 for
Saturn had very crappy graphics (the 32x version is better). Fighters Megamix
has VF3 moves (plus side-stepping) built in and I like it and Fighting Vipers
better. VF2 is better put-together tho.
Virtua Cop, Sega
Another game that came in the three free pack. They really spoiled people
with that. Too bad the system died within a year. The point of this game
is to eat the most donuts Pac-Man style before the clock runs out. No, really,
Virtua Cop is a shooting-gallery game with really nice 3-d graphics for
its time. The bad guys clutch themselves and fall over in pretty convincing
ways and the gameplay is far better than most games of this genre. You get
tons of firepower. It's tons of fun, but it gets boring after a while. It's
probably best with the light gun. I don't have one, but I use the analog
controller with the shoulder buttons (they're triggers, natch) set to reload
and shoot. The sequel is supposta be way better n I'd like to get it with
the gun and pretend I'm in a violent Hong Kong movie.
Hardware:
ST-Key import converter cartridge
Aside from buying a Japanese Saturn, the easiest way to play imported games
is to plug a cartridge into the Saturn's cart slot. There are other models,
and more recent ones that give you extra RAM and stuff, but the ST-Key seems
to be the most popular and available. Its pretty cheap at $20-25. There's
no manufacturer listed on it and the whole thang seems dodgy and borderline
illegal. Since the NES days, Japanese console manufacturers have built some
kinda territorial lockout into their systems. You can't play a game meant
for Japan on a system sold to Americans and vice versa. This is to keep
the manufacturer's control over distinct markets. Unfortunately it means
Americans miss out on some great games. Nintendo's systems use differently-shaped
carts for each market and cd-based systems like Saturn or Playstation put
a code on the insidemost groove of the CD. On boot-up, the system looks
for this code to make sure it is playing a cd meant for its home market
(this also keeps it from playing pirated games). What the ST-Key does is
override this boot-up process. (It will not, however, let you play pirate
games) Although it has an ugly-ass boot-up screen, the ST-Key works perfectly.
It will not work with some multiple-cd games (Macross is fine) or games
that require you to use an additional RAM cart (some Capcom fighters, SNK
games). For that, you can rewire your Saturn's guts, but this is easier.
(also you kin get one of the 4-in-1 converter carts that have built-in RAM)
The ST-Key will let you play any Saturn game meant for any market on any
Saturn. This includes Europe which is weird considering they use a different
video standard (I haven't tried).
3-D Control Pad aka Analog Pad bka NiGHTS Pad from Sega
This is the controller that you can get bundled with NiGHTS. I love it!
Its a big round controller with grips below it on the sides. Even though
it's really big, it fits comfortably in your hands. And you can reach all
the buttons. Its got kewl pistol-style left and right trigger buttons on
the front. But most important, it has a short, round analog thingy (it's
too short to be a joystick) just north of the d-pad. It gives you great
control on games that support it, especially Nights, but also Sega Rally
and Panzer Dragoon. Other games may support it (even if they don't say so),
but even if they don't you can switch it over to digital mode and use it.
Its is still better than Sega's regular controller which is kinda junky.
Even the trigger buttons work great for Virtua Cop or ANY game that requires
you to use the left and right shoulder buttons a lot. I usually hate using
shoulder buttons, but this controller makes it fun. Get your hot lil hands
on one! Oh yeah, n Sega's newest machine, Dreamcast comes standard with
a controller based on this one. Yay! Too kewl!