Forget Bin Laden, this game has to be no. 1 on the FBIs most wanted!!! The big question really, is does the game live up to the hype and the legendary status? Before the internet really came into play, very few people knew anything the game, as only a few thousand copies were produced before Time Warner closed it's Japanese operation. Frustratingly, we couldn't even get a single copy of the game when it was released - not a single one of our suppliers could get stocks. It was even more frustrating when the new issue of Game Fan magazine was released and there was a preview on the game complete with load of pictures for us to cry over. Now we have the internet, and there are numerous fan sites, and of course message boards, so the game has huge status now - perhaps becoming the 'Holy Grail' of Saturn games.
OK, onto the game. The main point, is to try not to have any preconceptions about what type of game it is, and how it plays. It seems to be so poorly described by so many people and that changes people's expectations. People call is a shooter, which is not really true, although there are shooter elements. People call it a Shinobi-type game, which seems to fit the bill most closely if you simply scan the screenshots. Again, not really true, but there are elements of the game, especially due to the graphical style, which is largely feudal Japan in look and feel, although there are some very otherworldly enemies and magical weaponry and special effects, so I guess it's sort of a mixture of Shinobi and Big Trouble In Little China!
***SPOILER*** Oh, did I mention that it's also 3D? No, and I bet you didn't expect that! The screenshots depict an entirely 2D game, which it really is when you first start playing it, but a couple of minutes into the game, you're walking along and come to a sort of intersection and then the screen suddenly turns around so that you start walking along the intersecting street! It's a truly great gaming moment, looks astonishingly good and will leaving your heart beating about 30% faster than before it happened. I had to put a spoiler warning here because it's an awesome feeling when you first see it if you didn't expect it to happen! ***SPOILER OFF***
Although you're controlling a walking character, the game itself really does play much more like a shooter than a Shinobi game, because you control the movements of a form of 'sight' which you must match upto an enemy before unleashing one of your weapons in order to kick some ass. In this sense, you could say it's a little like Alisia Dragoon, or perhaps Sin & Punishment or even Nam 1975, which isn't really a million miles away from being a gun game without a gun but with a controllable character onscreen.
It's a superbly produced and executed game, said to be directed by one of the people at Treasure, which would be no surprise seeing as how great it looks and how it manages to feel so unique. It's probably one of the best games on the Saturn, as it does nothing wrong and so much right and has to score points for being so unique. So does it live upto the hype? Well, assuming the 'hype' is correct, then you have to say yes. Is it worth the money? Well...is any game worth this much? You're paying for the rarity obviously, and there are games which are just as good which cost far less, but if you're collecting, then you really need this game and it is a top title, so it's a game you can buy to collect AND play.
I can't believe that. I guess I can put another nail in the coffin of the idea of me ever picking up Taromaru 
This is going to fuck with prices for a bit. Luckily the Saturn market isn't like the Neo market though, not too many people will gouge the shit out of the prices for too long 
