Impressions on various obscure Saturn games as they come Part II

Hey Steve you should be a game reviewer because you
can write & type really good.

I wouldn't know what to say or write a review. You
know what your talking about and I could never write
like that. Keep up the good reviews on the games buddy.

Do the Monster Mash! It's a Saturn smash!

Yes folks I'm talking about STEAMGEAR MASH


What a pleasant surprise this game turned out for me. An isometric adventure action game by Takara in 1995, it features a robot on a mission to rescue his friend Mina after she got kidnapped by aliens (hey, it could happen)

Graphics are colorful and quite bold, especially for a '95 title; to me it still looks very strong today. From the second you turn on the game you can feel a special quality in the game. The intro has great tunes and is very well done. Our hero, Mash, is like MegaMan in some ways. He has a green buster that when you hold down can charge up for one big mega blast. SGM is like MegaMan meets Sonic 3D Blast.





When enemies are killed, they explode to a nice sound effect and various hues explode in their place -- very cool. There are 6 stages total. Music in game is very good; very happy-sounding.





Mash is a cool character to control. He can jump, he has his trusty green laser bullets, he has bombs, spread shuriken shot, boxing glove, etc. (the last 3 mentioned are specials and have a limited quantity while the green laser shot is infinite).

Other functions in his arsenal includes: Roll, Lock, and Stop. There is also 3 more but I have yet to acquire them. What does roll do? First click L to activate it then hold R to use it. D-Pad to move Mash. Now you can move and spin his upper half in a circle shooting. Nifty! Lock is just that: Mash faces a certain direction and you can shoot and strafe to your heart's content. Stop has Mash stopping dead in his tracks and standing there spinning his upper half body around. Here you can blast away.





Any complains about the game so far? Well, enemies will reappear if you leave a room and come back. However, it's not as bad as the MegaMan games where enemies respawn in that very annoying way that probably doesn't need to be explained. Since this is an isometric game, at first you'll be bugged by some aiming issues, but it gets better and more natural as you progress.

The game seems easy. You take some damage but slain enemies often times leave behind a small or big heart (health, another MegaMan similarity).

I easily recommend this game with high praise to any action/adventure fan. It is a nice little Saturn "hidden gem," though not nearly as obscure as other titles already discussed and titles that I will share with you later on as the weeks progress.

BTW, Mina in the intro looks a lot like Capcom's Sakura. And the CD cover, like much of the game, is just so darn adorable. Did I just say that? That darn Mash... like MegaMan, he's cute yet rugged. A very good game... one that kids and adults alike should enjoy.



should run you less than $15 shipped, and well worth it

I gotta get that cool! game for my Sega Saturn.

Hell, I just finished replaying Nekketsu Oyako twice! I had not touched it in a year or so.

Like Steve said, it not too sharp nor blunt either, so if you like beat'em ups that are 2d, pick this one up.

Warriors of Fate was ok, but I sold my copy when I got my rom box.

In a crowded genre Shienryu's a bang but not a BOOM

Today we look at a game that probably no Saturn gamer would define as "obscure," but it isn't a household name either, so let's give it a moment to bask in the sunshine shall we

---

The Saturn is home to many shooters (AKA ''shmups''). The general consensus on Shienryu seems mixed. Many believe it's average and nothing special. Others will contest it's ''underrated, under appreciated and well, damn good.'' Where do I fall? Somewhere in the middle but more toward the latter than the former. Oh and, past the ladder over the hill down the stream and through the gate... sorry, I figure you might be so confused by now

Graphics: 8.5
Early on the graphics may not jump out at you much, but later on things get rather eye-catchy and impressive. In one of the later stages, there's this giant white ship that appears almost cel-shaded. My brother was playing with me and said, ''Whoa, check out the cel-shading power of Saturn! Albeit first generation...''
The graphics are rock solid and well drawn. The bullets often times appear in the blue hue. Enemies are well animated. You can see damage on bigger enemies before they blow up... very neat.

Sound/music: 7.5
The sounds are nice and explosions are fairly loud with a nice oomph. Music however is too bland for my liking and sounds like generic guitar riffs. Nothing to write home about.

Control: 9
As in most shooter games, great. Controls are very basic (shoot, bomb). Ship speed feels about right which is something shooter fans should never take for granted.

Gameplay: 8.5
Solid. Just solid. Although you only have one ship (some other shmups give you a choice between 3 or 4 ships) the gameplay zips along at a nice pace; it never gets TOO frustrating (on the easier difficulty levels anyway) and yet always manages to keep the pressure on at all times, especially in the later levels. There are lots of bullets to dodge and lots of turrets to destroy. It's just well done and done in a very respectable way. One small gripe though. If you lose a life, the action stops and you either go back to a certain segment, or go forward (depending on how much damage you did to the enemy ship(s) before you died. Like, you're on stage 5 and there are increments... i.e. 5-2, 5-5. Say you're on 5-4 and badly damage a mini-boss but he ends up killing you. Instead of going back to face him, in this case the game automatically takes you to 5-5 even though you did not ''earn it.'')

Replay Value: 7
I know I'll come back to it someday. Not a game I'll play every week but I'll break it out every once in a while. It's not as replayable as other shooters in my book, but without a shadow of a doubt I'll come back to it more than just once because it's solid good challenging fun.

Fun Factor: 8.5
It's something I can get down for and just have a blast with. However, I never really feel like I'm ''locked in'' with the game... I just kinda go through the motions so to speak. Still, I enjoy playing it quite a bit and one thing about Shienryu that is extra special in my heart is that it has an incredible arcade feel to it. When I'm battling the stage 3 end boss -- that red rad robotic octopus -- I almost can smell the aroma of cheese in the air and hear the joyous laughter of children as they're scampering about downstairs...

MISC:

-Loading times are quick!
-Yes, you have the all-mighty Bomb button in Shienryu
-The bosses are all pretty cool
-The last stage and last boss is very difficult
-The CG intro is well done and puts you in a good mood to blast and save the universe
-2 Player simultaneous play is a go!

Bottom Line:

Shienryu's a good shooter. Unfortunately, it finds itself in a crowded genre. Saturn's shooter library runs deep and rich. From the superb (Radiant Silvergun, Soukyugurentai) to the ho-hum (Gekirindan, Sol Divide) it's hard to be noticed in the crowd. You have to be REALLY good. And that Shienryu falls a bit short of being a superb shooter, but don't get me wrong. It's a solid shooter worth $35 (but not a penny more). I wouldn't classify Shienryu as a ''front-of-the-line'' shooter but I will stamp my seal of approval on it, and hope that once you finish buying and playing the likes of Soukyugurentai and Battle Garegga, that you give Shienryu a fighting (or should I say shooting) chance.




Now if you would kindly excuse me, I would like to resume my rightful position as Shienryu scores champion... *turns back* ''Hey you -- drop that quarter! Yeah -- you in the big gray mouse suit!* Drop it buddy!''

Overall: 8.0





*Chuck E. Cheese's baby!

I think I gave Shienryu an A- on my website. Damn good shmup, just too many people feel the need to compare it to Raiden for some reason.


If you liked Shienryu I would highly recommend Blast Wind if you can find it. It was made by the good folks at Tecno Soft who brought us Hyper Duel and the Thunder Force series, but its a vert, and quite kick ass (albeit incredibly easy).

Tonight we examine our first fighter!

"Hey man, you've spoke on a lot of games but are there any fighters I might have missed or not heard of? I'm a huge 2D fighting fan in particular, HOOK IT UP!"

Alright.

I recently discovered this game oh maybe at the turn of the new year. I had seen its name sparsely here and there over the years but never made the effort to figure out what genre it was. As soon as I learned it was a 2D fighter I immediately popped it on my want list.

And here we are today.

ADVANCED V.G.

(The VG apparently stands for "Variable Geo")

This is a 2D all-girl fighter, and what I dug up on it hasn't been very favorable... many saying skip this fighter.

In truth, they are somewhat right. AVG is nothing to write home about, in fact it's a very ho-hum fighter that I can only recommend to fighting FREAKS. However, even though it's ho-hum on the whole, it doesn't play or control bad at all... not at all. It just misses that all important X-Factor.

It does play a lot better than the tragically appalling Golden Axe: The Duel (remember that no combo system fighter? Yesh). It controls responsively. Hell, I'd recommend it if you are a HUGE fighter fan who must have every 2D fighter ever made. Because it's not a BAD game, per se.

The graphics are Super Nintendo personafied. The music is kinda catchy and good in places. The sound, however, is horrible. When you crack someone with a hard punch or kick, out comes this weak low sound. Stages were decent. One stage takes place in front of old fashioned townshops and to the far left of the screen is this girl holding her skirt so the wind doesn't shoot it up. Comedic. Another stage pits you at battle at night in front of a mansion with well-lit windows a-plenty and a rose bed in the background. etc.

Modes include 1P, Story Mode (you only can use Yuka), 2P mode, 1P vs. CPU mode, and COM vs. COM mode. In the VS. modes you can pick any stage, your handicap and a speed setting from 1-5 (5 is very very fast)

There are 9 characters total. They are as follows:

YUKA
The main character and as predicted has a fireball, hurricane kick type move and a Dragon Punch.

CHIHO
This ninja-looking female sports a purple sparkball and Burning Knuckle-type 5 hit attack

MANAMI
Really weird little character in a maid's dress with tiger paws. She plays like Blanka -- has his Rolling Ball Attack and a variation of the Rolling Ball Attack. Also has a long-string attack.

JUN
This huge brown-ish skin Amazon predictably is like the Zangief of the cast. Has a powerful throw and a J.Carn like Mongolian Fire anti-air special.

SATOMI
The fire fighter. Has an anti-air fire move that screams KOF. Another move she jumps high in the air and lands down with a fire strike to the head.

AYAKO
She is the "Stacey Kiebler" of the group... i.e. extremely leggy. She uses those long legs to good use too (hey now). Sort of a rolling leg attack and then an anti-air break dance type leg kick.

ELIRIN
Bunny costume! Oh c'mon, you had to see this one coming! Has a gun blast Yoga Flame style (but lasts on-screen nowhere as long as even jab Yoga Flame). Has a "jump in with fist" attack and an E.Honda rapid punch attack

KAORI
Leg kick into fireball. Airtwisting attack (like Dhalsim)

REIMI
Huge projectile. Shoulder rush attack, and a Flash Kick variant.

Everything about this game screams Super Nintendo. In this aspect it reminds me a lot of a fellow obscure Saturn 2D fighter "Sonic Council." I liked SC a lot better than this game, but don't get me wrong. It's a keeper for me. Typical 2-in-1 combo's. A basic combo system. It's like Street Fighter II but of course nowhere near as damn good.

It's just old school. Heck, there isn't even a power bar! However, there are some awesome desperation moves to be discovered (there's a GREAT FAQ of it on GameFAQs). For instance Yuka the main character has two desperation attacks.

DM 1: 3 fireballs in a row

DM 2: Crazy. I've done this and it's keeer-azy. Hurricane Kick attack into Fireball into Dragon Punch... Ken style (twice!)

Every character has two desperation attacks I believe, one girl throws out about a Dozen fireballs (a la Remy from SF III Third Strike fame).

Some good stuff.

So even though there's no Power Bar, when your energy widdles down to about a quarter left or so, you can pull out these devestating attacks and they're not too hard to pull off unlike some SNK fighters!

Overall, AVG lived up to my not-high expectations. It's a basic fighter.... don't expect an overly technically deep fighter and you should be OK. There's only 2 or 3 special moves per character listed in the manual, but I have discovered extra moves on my own. But this ain't KOF '98 we're talking about here, folks.

I got mine for just under $20. Overall I am satisfied with the game. It's not as bad as I have read some others ripped it waaaay back in the day (late 90's) but it's not (or should not) be a top priority purchase either. Something to get off to the side, know what I mean? There are a ton better fighters out there, but if you have a special place in your heart for these 16-bit-esque basic fighters, you will probably enjoy AVG.

What, no screens for AVG? D:

How does AVG compare to Asuka 120% BFL? I really like BFL, despite the majority disliking it. Clash, rockon...

a great fighter

LoneSage said:

How does AVG compare to Asuka 120% BFL? I really like BFL, despite the majority disliking it.

Click to expand...

Not sure which Saturn group you've been talking with, coz everyone I talked to had nothing but great compliements for Asuka. No one I know has really bashed it before, only a few who's been indifferent to its spazzy "scrub-friendly" gameplay.

And how does AVG compare to Asuka?

Well...

---

The last game we observed was an all-gal fighter in Advanced V.G. Now we look at another all-girl brawl-for-all... ASUKA 120% BURNING FESTIVAL LIMITED

Marvel Super Heroes, MSH vs. SF, X-Men vs. SF, and Astra SuperStar... if you can match the intensity and combo juggling of these games, you're mighty impressive. And Asuka does just that. This is a COMBO FEST. It's juggle city. It's counters and super specials galore.

I know a lot of games we've looked at so far have been given the "something to maybe get off to the side" well I'm glad to say that Asuka is definitely a game that may shoot right to the top of your list... for it is quality through and through.

It's not going to be for everyone, however. The juggle factor may turn off "old school 2D fighting" fans, but if you like the crazier 2D fighters, you've come to the right place.

It's amazing to me how Asuka goes unnoticed, for this is one of the coolest craziest games on Saturn! A lot of people are after Astra SuperStars and I can see why, but for a much cheaper bang for the buck, check out Asuka.

It's like Street Fighter, but then it's not. (Moves/Commands)

It's like some SNK fighters, but then it's not. (You get "Ippon!" for first match won like SS, it scales in and out in a similar manner to SS)

It's like Darkstalkers, but then it's not. (Chaining weak into strong attacks)

It's like the Capcom VS. games but then it's not (You get the down-up super jump from Capcom games starting with X-Men, and some later. You get "air combos" from MSH and later Capcom games)

It's like SF III but then it's not (You can block an attack with a correctly timed attack of the same power... a bit like a SF3 parry I guess, but it's just a button press)

It's like Mortal Kombat but then it's not (double tap commands)

It's like Pocket Fighter but then it's not (zany cheery atmosphere)

It's like Astra Superstars but then it's not (easy super specials and super specials a-plenty)

Basically Asuka is like a ton of fighters, but manages to stand on its own two feet. You can do anything in this fighting game you've ever seen from other fighters (counters, air combos, juggling, cancel, etc.) except air-block. Everyone I've talked to in the past who has played Asuka has said nothing but great things about it.

So what more do you need to know? Again, it's not going to appeal to everyone, but it's a quality game no doubt.

AVG vs. Asuka -- no contest. Asuka wins hands down. It's much more "modernized" and it's much much crazier and overall just the better fighter.

AVG uses four buttons of strength, while Asuka has just two (weak, strong). At first this may catch you a little off-guard but like Real Bout Special soon it becomes second nature.

Every character has the same commands. There are no charge moves, and only one character who uses the Dragon Punch command. Every character has a Hadoken command (and a fireball as a result, except for the She-male character) and a double tap down command (which produces either an anti-air attack or a rushing attack). Some have Hurricane Kick command (which produces usually a Hurricane Kick type move)

Super Specials are done by Hadoken, Hurricane Kick or double tap down commands with the button C (which configures to A+B).

The bar works like this: when it flashes 100 you can use one SS, but then the bar depletes itself. If you get to 100, and connect a few more hits, or receive them -- the bar jumps to 120%.... what this does is... you can do multiple SS's. Sometimes up to four or five, depending on how fast you can get it off. As you can see, super specials are a crazy part of Asuka's gameplay. The screen just explodes into an impressive fireshow.

When I first played this it took me back how much LITTLE energy is taken off when you're hit by a normal or special move. The energy bar looks kinda small compared to other fighters, but when you see the damage you might be shocked. But it all becomes 2nd nature before long.

Not really sure what the story is but it's a bunch of High School looking girls battling. Many have a theme. i.e. baseball, tennis, chemical student, etc.

Here are the characters:

HONDA ASUKA
Has a fireball that scorches her opponents and makes use of combusting chemical capsules. All of which can be done in the air. Her SS fireball connects 7 times

TOYOTA KARINA
A bizarre fighter who uses her pet friend Froggy in battle. Frog acts as a projectile, and her two SS's involves Froggy. One she launches a stampede of frogs at you and the other Froggy charges you, chucks you high in the sky and drops you down in one burning slam.

OKUBO KUMI
Leg jump attacks and has some crazy ribbon attacks, including a SS that makes her go ribbon-insane.

OWADA NANA
Fights with a fan.. tossing it and such.

SUZUKI MEGUMI
A most charming character, this cheerleader puts her pom pom's to good use. It acts like a boomerang so her opponent has to watch out it doesn't hit them on the way back! Has a 7 hit Pom Pom Punch that reminds me of Sagat's 7 hit Tiger Uppercut. Her SS is a wild 20 hit combo that finishes with the Pom Pom Punch.

YAMASAKI RYUKO
Sliding fist attack and a devastating backbreaker (OUCH!)

CATHY WILD
I swear she and Jeffrey McWild are perfect for each other. Only character to NOT possess a projectile. She's all throws and rushing knee/fist attacks. Her SS is a 10 hit screen-shaking wrestling headache.

MITARI KIYOKO
I like how her name rolls off the tongue, haha. A baseball player -- exactly -- OUCH! Has one mean giant baseball swing. Tosses wicked energy baseballs.

SHINDO TAMAKI
Sports the tennis racket. That's bad news if you're fighting her. Has a Racket Uppercut and lobs fire tennis balls at you. She's an INSANE character. Has also a charging racket attack that produces energy waves "V" on screen.

HOJYO TORAMI
Shoots out multi blue fireballs and possesses a variety of longing kicks. All of which can be done in air as well.

KAWASAKI SHINOBU
Sweet sweet Ryu-type character that has a mean energy fireball, a nice Sakura-like DP, and a Dan-like Hurricane Kick. Her DP and fireball SS's are simple beauties to behold.

Other notes:

-3 stars difficulty, sorry no typical SF 1-8 difficulty levels
-Story (Arcade) mode
-VS mode
-VS. CPU mode
-Ranking mode
-Long intro that has anime-like quality, lots of JP voice in intro
-Number of hits in combos flash on screen with the word RUSH in front (i.e. RUSH 21)
-Decent loading times

Overall Asuka is a flat-out wicked fighters, and it has appealed to fighting and non-fighting fans I've known over the years. When I first played it I never got into it. I shelfed it but recently picked it up again and learned the kinks... and it indeed is a very solid game.

I would highly recommend it to fighting fans.

Good graphics, control, sound/music, everything is better than AVG significantly. The PSX got 2 versions but the Saturn version is by far the best. They reupped the graphics for the Saturn version. Big sprites! Lovely sprites. Lots of color. It's only too bad there are static backgrounds, but the backgrounds are nice with lots of people. It doesn't really take much away from the game. The onscreen action in the foreground is crazy enough.



Asuka -- a winner is you.

I better track this game down real soon.

sorry Waku Waku 7...

You know... damn the Saturn is some good shit. Every once in a while it hits me again just how wonderful this system is... as long as you have the right games

I still got a TON left to touch on in this topic... so many games to go... we ain't done yet... not much by a longshot. Trust me the best is yet to come! So much more good stuff to share... keep it tuned right here. Some real good gems are in the works....

(So how is your want game list eh? heh heh)

Tonight we take a look at one of my personal favorites. IMO it's the best game on Saturn with the title "Waku Waku" in it... and no I'm not talking about Waku Waku 7. (which was a sloppy port at best BTW)

It's a shame it's so little-known, but perhaps I can help to change that a bit tonight.

In 1998 Altron (makers of the ole cult favorite Robo-Pit) released two puzzle games. I was after both puzzlers for 2 and a half years. They just never popped up on the internet.

One was called ROX. A dice puzzler I thought it would be a kick-ass combo of Tetris meets Devil Dice, but its overly complicated gameplay system and drab graphics/sound really killed it. Ah what a disappointment. But the other game in the batch, the one I had less expectations for... actually turned out to be a hell of a puzzler.

WAKU WAKU MONSTER

There are six colors (red, purple, white, green, yellow and blue) and you have to get a color combo of 3 touching each other to disappear.

The blocks/bubbles come in the cute form of a little creature... most similar to a rabbit or hamster (think Hamtaro). The game options however allow you to change the blocks to any of the following:

-Yoshi like eggs
-Magical Drop style bubbles
-Jewels and diamonds

Hey why not? But I always play with the creature bubbles, they're just too darn cool to pass on.

It's a battle of monsters and their caretakers. You can select from a total of 15 monsters (3 by which you must unlock), but there are a total of six caretakers... so each one represents 3 or so monsters. Each of the 6 caretakers have their own "falling debris pattern".

The monsters just give you different animations and sounds. I guess you could say there's really only 6 characters but IMO the monsters have personality so it feels more like 15 different characters.

They include the dreaded two-headed red dragon Guren, the pink little bunny (and our animal on the front cover) Myu Myu, the yellow little Pikachu wannabe Pomul, a kangeroo Woodhead, etc.

So what makes WWM stand out from the crowd of puzzlers?

-You drop one block at a time
-The caretaker appears in small form at the top of your puzzle field
-Caretaker holds one block in his or her hands
-One by one, you guide the caretaker left or right and press "A" to drop

Because of this unique twist on the ole Tetris theme, WWM becomes a game of Speed and Hand Eye Coordination. If you ever played Speed the card game, WWM is a good virtual simulation of that.

There is also a bar. Every time you pop the blocks it rises up. At any time you can press B to launch an onscreen attack which throws debris on the opponent's field. Or you can hold back on pressing B and wait til it hits MAX where then it automatically sends debris over. The higher the bar, the more debris there will be.

You can also counter the opponent's attack by pressing B once they pressed B.

It cancels (well, depends on how much of the bar was charged for both you and your opponent).

So there's some strategy there. Do you counter and cancel the debris? Or do you take it and then, knowing full well his bar is zero, unleash your fury to which he cannot counter? Good stuff.

Debris are just black bubbles that turn into regular colored bubbles once you connect 3 or more regular bubbles next to it. This can often times unleash a MAJOR 5+ hit chain.

D= Debris
W= White
Y= Yellow

Note: remember different caretakers have different block patterns, this is just an example, and not universal

D
DW
DW
DY
DY

Now you got a white block in your hands... drop it on the two white's already on top of each other:

DW
DW
DW
DY
DY

The white blocks will burst and pop out of play, unlocking the three Debris pieces, in this case we'll say each three will turn into green


G
G
G
DY
DY

The 3 greens will pop out of play, unlocking only the debris piece directly below it. It may very well turn yellow (depends on block patterns of your opponent a la Puzzle Figher, but let's say it does turn yellow)

YY
DY

Those 3 yellow's are touching, bam gone!

A nice little 3 hit chain... and believe me you can get much more complex.

So WWM stresses speed and high combo's. It's fun to start racking up the chain and watching the monsters yell and duke it out onscreen with an onslaught of flames and what have you. It gets pretty intense!

My ex girlfriend absolutely LOVED this game. She loved it more than Puzzle Fighter, if that means anything to you. And she loves Puzzle Fighter, but she just happened to like WWM that MUCH more. It definitely would be a big hit if you had a significant other...

Charming characters/animals/monsters, bright luscious simple graphics, an addicting puzzle system, nice sound and just a whimsical atmosphere adds up for one great package. 2 player mode is awesome flat out competitive fun. Against the CPU it just fails to capture the same intensity and taunting and what have you.

If you have a significant other who likes puzzle games or gaming friends who are down with the odd puzzle fight here and there I highly highly recommend this hard to find puzzler.

If you like puzzlers but are a lone gamer, I'd still recommend it.

But again, 2P mode is where it's at.

The rush of tapping "A" and "left" and "right"... it's different in a way, and it works! Waku Waku Monster is an awesome puzzler!

http://vgrebirth.org/games/game.asp?id=2473

Please keep in mind: once you press "A" the caretaker drops the bubble straight down... you can't change its flight once you commit. So... work fast! A misplaced block can ruin the game... you have to be fast and accurate... against a strong competitor this game is exhilarating...

revisiting a dear old friend..

OK I posted here before, long before, about
a great little-known Saturn puzzler called
COIN PUZZLE MOUJIYA. For anyone
who might have missed it I just want to
repost it so everyone can know about this
little gem.

But first I want to share some pictures of two
previous games touched on... the two all-gal
fighters Asuka and AVG:



better out there, but I'm a sucker for simple fighters



a damn good game!

CPM is a great little gem for the Saturn.
I know 3 people who own this game, and all 3 like it very much.

Make that 4 now.

CPM is 1996 Virgin/FPS puzzler that features Japanese coins AKA yen.
The object is to match up yen, combine them and, ultimately, make a 1000 bill to make it disappear for good.

Those cats are variations of "Maneki Neko." They're those infamous cats with their paw raised... the "good fortune" creatures for our Asian friends. You might have seen them around at the local mall, an Asian restaurant, etc.

http://www.amy.hi-ho.ne.jp/~mono93/cat/english/what_e.html

There are 6 different coins:

1 (blue)
5 (yellow)
10 (red)
50 (green)
100 (magenta-ish)
500 (purple)

It's like Money Puzzle Exchanger. EXCEPT instead of Magical Drop style, CPM works Puyo Puyo style. Two coins drop at a time. Also, CPM won't cost you an arm and leg! Always a plus, right?

Form 5 blue coins to get 1 yellow coin, as 1+1+1+1+1 = 5. And 5 is represented by yellow. Not only did you just clear up some clutter but you have bigger money on your playing field now in a more accessible manner.
(you cannot add a blue yen [1] to a green one [50] and expect anything to happen as it is... however, convert the 1 to 5... then 10... then 50... it touches the other 50 and wham 100!)

Confused? Do not be. It's simple once you get the hang of it. And addicting.

Yellow + Yellow = 5+5 which equals 10. (you now have a single red coin, representing 10)

You also get two special cat head icons that operates differently from your typical "Clear-All" icon. In fact there is NO clear-all icon, unlike Puzzle Fighter's diamond. One works like this: whichever yen you wish to drop the cat head icon on, all yen of that denomination upgrades to the next largest denomination.

For example, if you drop the special cat head icon on a 50, all 50's on your field will turn into 100's. It's a very nifty little thing. You definitely want to drop it on whatever similar coins are touching each other most. That way you can get some easy chains and killer combos going.

The thing I like about the cat head icon is that as it descends, whichever block it currently targets, all respective blocks of that denomination will light up... giving you eye-candy to contemplate where to drop the almighty cat head icon. Try to place it wherever you see the most flashing blocks touching each other for easy chains.

But if you have debris blocking your coins... you're sorry outta luck. The cat head icon will touch the debris and nothing will happen. That is when you just wanna let out an expletive.

2P mode is extra competitive because a good opponent will know when to time an attack to counter the cat head icon. Coz remember, if a field is covered with debris, and the cat head icon comes down... hahaha... your opponent is screwed!

But how does one know when the opponent's cat head icon comes? Isn't the display in the "Next Coin" screen too little time to tell?

I'm glad you were shrewd enough to ask that question.

The cat head icon is NOT random. There's an empty cat body at the bottom of the screen, and as you score points it fills up gradually. The bigger the chains the faster it charges up. Once full it will flash and your next piece will then automatically be the cat head icon.

Cool huh?

So just keep an eye on when it's about full... then concentrate on unleashing that all-vital precounter attack!

Most other (if not all) puzzlers the "special piece" is assigned randomly during play, whereas CPM awards advanced players and punishes slow-podding rookies with a bar-charged system.

So what's the SECOND special piece? Well, per round, you can press "C" for a one time shot to access a special icon that will come down and eat up any debris on your field. Use it wisely... you only have it once per round.

It adds a lot of strategy to the mix and intensifies the cut throat matches. Do you use it now? But wait, your opponent still hasn't used his... better save it... etc.

There's a VS. CPU mode, a VS. mode and a "stand-alone" mode. I suggest starting on the standalone to get the kinks of gameplay.

Graphics is like any other puzzle game almost -- colorful and bright. Though CPM isn't quite as bright as say, Puzzle Fighter. Still gets the job done though.

Gameplay is fun and frenetic. Strategy is much involved, with careful planning and trying to nail off some huge combos. It's cool how, say for example you got four 100's and need one more 100 to make a 500 coin.

Your next dropped coins include a 5 and 50.

Rats right?

Not so fast.

Simply drop the 50 on the 100.

Next batch... say you get another 50. Drop the 50 on the previously placed 50 and you made a 100!

Now that 100 touches the four 100's and wah-lah! One 500 coin.

You can visualize the chain ability of this system as we speak, I bet. Well you can, can't you?


This combining and consolidating feature of CPM is what makes it stand out from the crowd. Not to mention what makes it so fun and refreshing.

Music is typical puzzle affair. It can get annoying but it also can be kind of catchy and bob along to the gameplay. You know how it is.

No complains about the controls -- a critical must in puzzle games.

Chaining in this game feels great. Some puzzle games you chain and feel "Eh" but in CPM you do feel "cooooooool." So far I've hit several 4-chainers and even a few 5-chainers; it feels sweet lemme tell ya!

My only complaint is the VS. human mode. After one battle you're whisked away to the main screen. A la Saturn Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Unlike Saturn MKT however, the loading in CPM is quick as a cat (no pun intended!) and while a minor annoyance, isn't that major in the end.
Besides, you get a larger window of opportunity to taunt your friend or sibling after you win! (it's all about perspective!)

Oh yeah, the intro's pretty odd in that Japanese way.

CPM -- overall, is a nice little fun puzzle game worth having. For 10-15 bucks I can't see how you can go wrong. Really just a charming addition to the genre, and my second favorite puzzler, only behind Puzzle Fighter.

It's pretty uncommon but I'm sure a copy or 2 will pop up here and there.
Take my word, CPM is a MUST for puzzle fans who own a Saturn capable of playing imports.



*cue Sega Rally voice guy* "FAAAN-TASTIC YEEEAH!"

old school bliss

Happy Memorial Day everyone.

Our next Saturn import is a very difficult to find game, and commands quite a dollar. Thought Crows was hard to find? It's arguable that this is as rare if not a little rarer.

MIZUBAKU ADVENTURE (AKA Liquid Kids or Mizubaku Daibouken)

From the excellent maestros at TAITO comes this charming and colorful little adventure platformer. Released in Arcades in 1990, then ported to TG 16 in 1992 and finally Saturn in late October 1998, MA has players transversing all matter of worlds through the form of a platypus named Hipopo. Your weapon is a water bubble (known as a Mizubaku) that you toss at enemies. For smaller enemies it will freeze them where you can thereby touch them launching them across the screen taking out any other enemies in its path (works much like the shells in Mario games).

For bigger enemies the water doesn't freeze them -- it just damages them but you have to keep throwing the bubbles at them to eliminate them. The cool thing about the water is that it also makes a trail of water if it doesn't immediately hit an enemy, so even if you're on one plane and the enemy one below, you can still freeze/hurt them. Pretty cool stuff.

Very basic controls. A is bubble, B is jump. Look before you leap! Once in air you have minimal control of going left or right (unlike Mario) and jumping on enemy heads will kill you. MA employs the classic 1 hit and you're dead gameplay style. No mistakes here -- you have to be extra sharp. You can hold down A to make a bigger bubble that is stronger and leaves a much bigger water trail.



There are 7 worlds in all with each world consisting of 2-3 zones before you face an end boss. All the worlds have their own theme and enemies appropriate to that theme. All bosses are pretty huge creations which take up about 1/4 to 1/3 of the screen and have a long yellow energy bar at the top. The 7 worlds are:

1. Woodland Forest
An easy world to aclimate gamers into the game. Boss is a huge floating fire-breathing mechanical rabbit.



2. Waterworld
No not the Kevin Costner film that bombed in the mid 90's but rather a lovely world where you guide Hipopo across water fighting green plant monsters, squids and other forms of beasties. There is a cool golden cup where you use bubbles to break the handles one by one before the cup comes crashing down revealing goodies (bonus points in the form of food)... nice sound effects and a nice touch overall. Boss is a giant weird see-through monstrosity that chucks out yellow poison. I refer to him as the Popcorn Man.

3. Gearworks Factory
A cool world featuring zany enemies and introduces us to the Knights. Knights take several hits to die and have a killer (literally) stretch attack with their javelin-like weapon. It also introduces us to arguably the game's biggest headache regular enemy -- a big nasty blue meanie that takes about 20 bubble hits and swings a long chained spiked ball. Better load up!
Lots of classic platform touches found in this world. Falling platforms, timed jumps, etc. Boss is a mechanical flame-torching, foot-solider laying machine of destruction.



4. Pyramid
Scampering shrimps, ghouls, mummies, giant rock throwing stone men, and little sand worms are but some of the baddies you'll face in this yellow-colored world. The boss is a giant Camel-Rider... once defeated he chucks the camel and then you fight him! A double duel so to speak... but he is very weak -- watch those bubbles rapidly drain his health!

5. Wood Tree
You move up to the top facing some enemies from level 1 and some new ones like the fire breathing green dragons. The boss is a weird gorilla-like creature who climbs up throwing rocks at you -- his arms are made of fire and that's his main weak point.

6. Cloud Land
Filled with dangerous fires and lightning, trek your way to the end to meet up with Giant Clown Face and his three joker henchmen.

7. ????????
Spanning 4 zones or so the end boss I'll leave for you to find out.....

MA is good ole fashioned platforming fun. The pastel-colored worlds, the tricky little enemies, the goal to get the highest score possible, this is 90's gaming at its best. After you beat each world you have a choice to go left or right... so the game gives you multiple paths to provide further longevity. I'll give you a hint... after you beat Cloud Land do NOT select the left door! Why? There's an incredibly HARD mid-boss....

The friend who sold me MA really liked it but he needed the money, and another friend of mine really loves this game. In fact, he loved it so much that in his college film about a guy who was obssessed with video games, shots of MA in gameplay is seen on screen for about 15 seconds or so. It was really this friend who made me aware of this cool little gem. (his movie was about a girl friend moving in and handling her video game obssessive boyfriend... good stuff, and I believe his professor gave him an A for his efforts)

I've beaten MA once, but haven't been able to since. It's a fairly challenging game but with 99 continues and fair continue points, it's possible to beat the game. If you have controller chucking anxiety though, buckle up... some parts in the game could have you ready to throw a fit.

Overall MA is a great game that I'd recommend, but again it is pricey and very very hard to find. Is it worth it? Only a question you yourself can answer....

But definitely one of the many cool oddball Saturn imports out there. Good luck!

BTW, at title screen press left, right, left, right, left, right, A, B, C, A to unlock semi-translucent bubble mode and English option! Groovy!

Thanks for sharing all these cool looking games Steve. I remember Wonder 3
was in the arcades before, I just searched it on klov.com, and it is there as Jamma
board by Capcom.

Btw, do you have Gals Panic X, I believe is the title of the game for the Saturn?

Holy shat Steve, I never even knew Liquid Kids got a port to the Saturn..GG.

3 for the price of 1

short, nope, don't own Gals Panic SS.

Tonight is a triple whammy. And I apologize to your sanity/wallet if your want list has increased mucho, but I'm just the messenger.

Fortunately, maybe you won't have to lift that pencil after this entry... we'll see.

Leading off tonight's batting order is a funky little puzzle game PAPPARA PAOON



Got a chance to finally play this 1995 puzzle from the folks at Ecole. It had long been on my "that looks interesting but I'm in no rush to get it" list.

It's very bare bones, what you see is what you get. There is a vs. CPU mode and a 2P mode.

You shoot colored "blocks" (ranging from triangles to circles, etc.) to the side of the screen, trying to "push out" your opponent. It's a halfway interesting concept. If you liked playing "connect four" growing up (I know I did) I guess there are some similarities.

You connect four or more like-colors to burst blocks.

It's not a terrible game per se, it's just not all that exciting or addicting. It's only worth it if you're a diehard puzzle nut and I would not pay more than 10 bucks for it.

Interesting note though, in 2P mode you can play it one of two different ways. One is where you and your opponent can go all out crazy and keep launching blocks OR you can make it more like Chess where there are turns. This is probably the coolest feature of the game. It slows the game down and makes it into a real thinking man's kind of puzzler. For this gameplay system, it works brilliantly.

Like I said, not a great game, not a horrible game. Your mileage may vary. If you're mainly a solo gamer I'd probably skip. If you got a fellow puzzle fan who is open minded this could be fun.

BTW, too bad those drab graphics are quite bad looking. I normally don't really care for graphics but these are so low-res you can't help but point it out. If it had colorful graphics like Puzzle Fighter then that certainly wouldn't have hurt..

Overall, a decent little game but remember -- it's just that -- a little nice game.


Next we have CLOCKWORKS

From the guy who made Tetris comes this interesting little game of get to the exit unharmed. The intro is claymation and it's just bizarre. We have a regular Joe sleeping in bed when his alarm clock rings off the hook. He shuts it up but realizes the clock turns into a vile monster that then transport him into a whole 'nother world! From here the game begins and it's up to you to guide our Regular Joe friend through a variety of mazes unharmed.

You remember those geoboards we got to play with in Geometry right? The boards where you placed rubber bands on to see how many different squares you can make?

The gameplay field basically looks like that... and we have a midget version of Joe swinging around. Scattered about are hazards like bombs and rotating clock hands. Touch either one and it's bye bye. You have 3 minutes to successfully move Joe from point A to point B -- the exit onto the next level.

This is a rather cool little game -- a nifty brain teaser if there ever was one. There are 100 levels I've been told, and some of them get really difficult!

Joe is constantly rotating clockwise or counter clockwise. You can change direction by pressing up. This is essential because as you move Joe to a new point, a clock hand might be nearby coming at you that you will have to quickly switch directions.

B moves Joe in a rotating U and upside down U. C moves Joe in an upside down U from one to the next. Mastery of these commands and knowing when to use which and when not to use which is key to survival.

There are other things in the playing field later on like walls, doors which need to be opened by touching a box somewhere away from the door, guns that when Joe presses a button will shoot a bullet, etc. It all adds to the challenge. Easy is easy while normal and hard will test the truest of the hardcore.

The more I played it the more I became addicted to it. It's not close to capturing the magic of Tetris but it ain't a half-bad game. It's also known as Clockwerx on the PC. All levels have names and you can save your progress. It's a nice little game.






Lastly we have K-1 FIGHTING ILLUSION SHOW





This was also released on PSX but for Saturn came out import only. US gamers didn't lose out on much; the gameplay doesn't capture the intense lightning-quick fury of these savage fighters, but the more I played K-1 the more it grew on me. Though the game doesn't move fast, there was a certain satisfying feeling to kicking the CPU upside his head silly... the feeling of the 1-2-3 combo's, and the leg sweeps.

You have VS. CPU mode where you pick 1 of 12 K-1 fighters, go through the rest and then you meet your ultimate challenge in Master Ishii. You have VS. Mode for 2P. You have Team Battle mode for VS CPU or VS 2P. Here each person selects 3 fighters and whoever wins the most battles wins the overall competition. Then you have Tournament mode where you can play up to 8 humans to find out who is the ultimate fighting machine.

Remember Center Ring Boxing on Saturn? It's kinda like that. Low polygon count on the characters, kind of a slow game, but here we have the addition of kicking. Each character has their own moveset, and I found it kinda fun to go through each fighter.

It's not a bad game, but it's not something that will on your playing list too much. I guess if you can find a 2nd player to play with, this game would be a lot better... as can be said for most games. My bro was watching me play it but he quickly returned to his Final Fantasy 11 in the next room. I bet I would have taken him, lol.

Option mode where you adjust difficulty, rules, rounds and such.

Each fighter has an energy bar that which hit will deplete but there's always a lighted section where you can recover a bit -- a la Vampire Savior. It employs that kind of system.

Knockouts feel pretty sweet, and when you win a match with a knockout there's a pretty cool replay system showing it three times with last replay being in slow mo.

My favorite moment came when I kicked this fool's head and he bounced off the nearby ropes... he was then temporarily stunned when I unleashed my character's special dashing knee. RIGHT IN THE GUT! KO'ed his sorry butt! That was sweet.

Not a game I would actively hunt, but if you happen to buy it for 5-10 dollars, hey, you could do a lot worse.


can you defeat Master Ishii?

Steve said:

Today we look at a game that probably no Saturn gamer would define as "obscure," but it isn't a household name either, so let's give it a moment to bask in the sunshine shall we

---

The Saturn is home to many shooters (AKA ''shmups''). The general consensus on Shienryu seems mixed. Many believe it's average and nothing special. Others will contest it's ''underrated, under appreciated and well, damn good.'' Where do I fall? Somewhere in the middle but more toward the latter than the former. Oh and, past the ladder over the hill down the stream and through the gate... sorry, I figure you might be so confused by now

Graphics: 8.5
Early on the graphics may not jump out at you much, but later on things get rather eye-catchy and impressive. In one of the later stages, there's this giant white ship that appears almost cel-shaded. My brother was playing with me and said, ''Whoa, check out the cel-shading power of Saturn! Albeit first generation...''
The graphics are rock solid and well drawn. The bullets often times appear in the blue hue. Enemies are well animated. You can see damage on bigger enemies before they blow up... very neat.

Sound/music: 7.5
The sounds are nice and explosions are fairly loud with a nice oomph. Music however is too bland for my liking and sounds like generic guitar riffs. Nothing to write home about.

Control: 9
As in most shooter games, great. Controls are very basic (shoot, bomb). Ship speed feels about right which is something shooter fans should never take for granted.

Gameplay: 8.5
Solid. Just solid. Although you only have one ship (some other shmups give you a choice between 3 or 4 ships) the gameplay zips along at a nice pace; it never gets TOO frustrating (on the easier difficulty levels anyway) and yet always manages to keep the pressure on at all times, especially in the later levels. There are lots of bullets to dodge and lots of turrets to destroy. It's just well done and done in a very respectable way. One small gripe though. If you lose a life, the action stops and you either go back to a certain segment, or go forward (depending on how much damage you did to the enemy ship(s) before you died. Like, you're on stage 5 and there are increments... i.e. 5-2, 5-5. Say you're on 5-4 and badly damage a mini-boss but he ends up killing you. Instead of going back to face him, in this case the game automatically takes you to 5-5 even though you did not ''earn it.'')

Replay Value: 7
I know I'll come back to it someday. Not a game I'll play every week but I'll break it out every once in a while. It's not as replayable as other shooters in my book, but without a shadow of a doubt I'll come back to it more than just once because it's solid good challenging fun.

Fun Factor: 8.5
It's something I can get down for and just have a blast with. However, I never really feel like I'm ''locked in'' with the game... I just kinda go through the motions so to speak. Still, I enjoy playing it quite a bit and one thing about Shienryu that is extra special in my heart is that it has an incredible arcade feel to it. When I'm battling the stage 3 end boss -- that red rad robotic octopus -- I almost can smell the aroma of cheese in the air and hear the joyous laughter of children as they're scampering about downstairs...

MISC:

-Loading times are quick!
-Yes, you have the all-mighty Bomb button in Shienryu
-The bosses are all pretty cool
-The last stage and last boss is very difficult
-The CG intro is well done and puts you in a good mood to blast and save the universe
-2 Player simultaneous play is a go!

Bottom Line:

Shienryu's a good shooter. Unfortunately, it finds itself in a crowded genre. Saturn's shooter library runs deep and rich. From the superb (Radiant Silvergun, Soukyugurentai) to the ho-hum (Gekirindan, Sol Divide) it's hard to be noticed in the crowd. You have to be REALLY good. And that Shienryu falls a bit short of being a superb shooter, but don't get me wrong. It's a solid shooter worth $35 (but not a penny more). I wouldn't classify Shienryu as a ''front-of-the-line'' shooter but I will stamp my seal of approval on it, and hope that once you finish buying and playing the likes of Soukyugurentai and Battle Garegga, that you give Shienryu a fighting (or should I say shooting) chance.

Now if you would kindly excuse me, I would like to resume my rightful position as Shienryu scores champion... *turns back* ''Hey you -- drop that quarter! Yeah -- you in the big gray mouse suit!* Drop it buddy!''

Overall: 8.0

*Chuck E. Cheese's baby!

Click to expand...

Yes indeed, I picked this game up for Saturn while ago and then about a year ago saw a game called Gekioh Shooting King for the PS1. Well I'll be damned, it's the same game, just ported to PS2. I picked up a copy (it was $10) and told my friend to since he doesn't have a Saturn to even speak of. Not bad for a PS1 port. For those of you who don't have a Saturn, pick up the PS1 version. It's worth it.

^^^PSOne version doesn't have TATE mode.

Steve said:

Keio Yugekitai

Click to expand...

one of the best games ever
if you can get it buy it you wont be dissapointed

LoneSage said:

Holy shat Steve, I never even knew Liquid Kids got a port to the Saturn..GG.

Click to expand...

I have it for my PCE fun little platform game.

Be warn though the Saturn version is rather pricey
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62053&item=8194732107

While the PCE version is a little cheaper

Wonder Years voiceover in full effect

The year was 1994.

It was the year of the 2D fighter.

The year of the Doom clones.

The year "T.G.I.F" was in its absolute prime

The year of the 16-bit wars in full throttle

The age of innocence.

It was a hot summer night, and somewhere in Sacramento was a 2 story house filled with laughter and joy. The parents talked and laughed with the other parents, and us kids, we did our own thing. We spent the night Dragon Punching*, slam dunking** and blowing each other up***. In fact, we spent much of the early-mid 90's doing just that on our get-together sleepover bonanza's. Ohh it was the best of times... THE BEST.

Basic overview: our group was an out of town friendship thing... 5 families, 18 kids... est. circa mid-late 80's. The dads who survived the Vietnam War, bonded and kept in touch; we all grew up together... our get-together sleepovers were legendary -- truly some of the defining moments of my childhood with plenty of coming-of-age moments. I could write a whole novel on it but I'm sure no one came here for that, heh heh.

Ah yes, '94... it was the best of times...



*



**



***


*tires screeching sound effect*

Then 1995 came.

Couple of the older friends in our group got girlfriends. Or became more involved with local friends. Some lost interest in video games. Times were a'changing. The parents got a little older. Suddenly the long drives were looking less and less attractive. The 16 bit wars was pretty much over, with the 32-bit generation breathing down its neck and SNES clearly beating out the poor Genny. I wanted no part of it. Too much change... too fast

*steps out of time machine*

Ah that was an interestng look back at more innocent, fonder days. And what the hell did that have to do with my next writeup?

I'm happy to say that this next game is a pure rocket buster straight from the days of old. It's just a kick to play, and harkens back to the days of innocence when wide-eyed kids would gather round the TV and stay there for hours on end.

What game am I talking about?

HATTRICK HERO S!!




We recently took a look at Taito's magnificent Mizubaku Adventure, now let's check out their ace soccer game. (by the title one might easily assume it's a hockey game but it's not)

HHS is an arcade-type game as opposed to a sim. Kind of like Neo-Geo's Super Side Kicks series except it was on Taito's F3/Cyber Core arcade system.


Super Side Kicks 2 from Neo Geo fame

HHS is a smooth playing soccer game with funny old school blocky sprites running about kicking a rubber ball. The game is almost entirely in English. You have:

-Arcade Mode: pick an ace and a team, and see how far you can advance! Can you reach the final team -- the dreaded MAX team??

-World League: Basically a tournament type mode

-Exhibition: One game

-PK Mode: Penalty Kick mode... nice little mode for bragging rights.




There are 8 "aces" to select from (players), once you select an ace you get to pick 1 of 42 country teams. Everyone from China to Nigeria is represented. Then you can set up formation and your lineup of players.

A is shoot, B is pass, C is turbo on Offense

On defense, A is sliding kick, B is punch/jump kick/sweep kick

On defense I recommend using A. It's not as effective as jarring the ball loose from your opponent, but B is a violation that sometimes gets called for a yellow card! (depends on whether the ref caught you or not... it seems about 50/50) But you know... sometimes you just see that punk there and you wanna punch his lights out. ^_^

Camera angle is adjustable and very nice. You can go high, low, near, far, etc. All on the fly too. L and R for near or far. X and Z changes the angle, and Y sets it back to default. Good stuff.

On offense, you can pass the ball then hold the pass button down to set up overhead kick passes. The announcer yells "GOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!" quite enthusiastically when someone scores, then there's a shot of the two coaches- one cheering and the other cringing. Some players even celebrate by doing a fancy dance. It's hilarious. Also there is a neat slow mo replay system after goals are scored.




You can power up your players to do a "Super Shot"- this is sweet, the game will stop and the announcer yells "Super Shot!" followed by a close up of your player kicking the ball toward the screen. You've got to get the ball to the right player for this to happen though. After this, it goes back to the in-game screen where the ball flies insanely fast toward the goalie, it knocks him into the net, and you get a goal. You have to earn enough "Units" to use this though. "Super Play" (this allows super shots, hyper shots and whatnot) can be turned off at the option screen if you'd rather not use it. Shaolin Soccer, anyone?

And then if this wasn't all enough good old fashioned fun for you, Taito pulls something wickedly random out of their sleeves....

Take a guess...

FEMALE STREAKER!!!! LOL, the first time I saw this I was both befuddled and cracking up! I thought it was a bug at first but then realized... hey crazy things happen during soccer games all the time, Taito just wanted to capture that! Don't get TOO excited though, she's not a "full-fledged" streaker. Haha I think I just heard a collective groan. "Yes Bob take a point off." To top off the hilarity of this event the word HAPPENING! flashes on screen. LOL... gotta love that "broken english/old english" type usage there. There is at least one more "happening"... and that involves an animal scurrying through the field. There might be more, but those are the two I've seen so far. They happen like once every 3 games or so...

I dunno bout you but it's little things like that that makes video games so cool and fun... it's always about the little things...

Another random cool feature: you can knock out the ref! I've seen soccer balls that have knocked the poor ref down, and sometimes he gets caught in a melee! He gets up after about 4 seconds lying on the ground. When he is down you can attack your opponents with "B" as the ref can't yellow card you since he's obviously stunned on the ground. Good stuff.

Here is another person's (quick) take on HHS:

Before the time of polygon based soccer games there was sprites. Hat Trick Hero is a perfect example of the older times. Blocky sprites wobbling up and down the pitch in what looks like a feeble attempt to run (^o^), hahaha. Great game for those nostalgic nights.

--

Overall, Hattrick Hero S scores a definite GOAL! for me. The best thing was, I got this game for a measly $2.99. So it's NOT expensive AT ALL.

I'll never forget the first time I played it. It was 0-0 down to the wire. I kicked the ball toward the goal... the goalie left his feet to block it... the ball then ricochet to my other player, and I quickly kicked it in! I ended up winning 1-0.

Overall especially at its low price I recommend this game particularly if you're not opposed to the odd arcade soccer game here or there. It has a solid pick-me-up-and-play factor... and yes, it's 1-4 players. Just a fun, fun game. Of course I'm sure someone will play it and say "I don't get it? What's so fun? It seems a little crappy to me." Hey, not everyone liked even Tetris.

To end this I do want to say that the group is still cool. No we don't meet up every month like we did in the old days, and no we don't spend every major holiday together like we used to, but whenever we do get together, we pick up where we last left. We still manage to crank out good times. Like the big "Reunion" Lake Tahoe trip in '99... damn good times still. So... its a new era, generation, whatever you want to call it... but.... it's a friendship/bond for life.

Just like the oleee SEGA Saturn.
Have a good one.

Steve said:

Have a good one.

Click to expand...

Coud you do a review of SEGATA SANSHIRO, thanks.

Shawn Carr2o said:

Btw: is their a turbo controller for the Sega Saturn
because the part where you pick up a giant hand
that you use to press a button on the wall which
i can't press the button on the regular controller
without help.

Click to expand...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3654&item=8158461560&tc=photo

Hey guys, I wanted to bump this thread up insted of making a whole new one just for Import Saturn games.

I need to do a favor for my friend, he's over in Japan right now and he wanted to know what are some of the best games on the Saturn that didn't get imported to America.

He's already found Metal Slug 1, Panzer Dragoon, Christmas Nights and Raident Silvergun and he wanted to know what else is good. He's not really into fighting games so I didn't bother telling him about the Capcom VS games and the other Neo-Geo ports.

So if you could help him out I would appreciate it! Thanks!

neo x7, unfortunately I do not own SS, but have heard some good things about it.

YuckMud, I will PM you a list to save clutter from this topic.

OK the next game we are looking at is actually two... but both are fairly similar. By the way, tomorrow's game will be very interesting indeed...


LODE RUNNER: THE LEGEND RETURNS and LODE RUNNER EXTRA


No, this isn't the SUPER old school Lode Runner, these games are based upon the revamped mid-90s PC versions of Lode Runner. They feature new gameplay kinks and better graphics, but the characters are still that small Command & Conquer size.


wow... talk about old skool!

Lode Runner is a classic game and is represented well on Saturn. For anyone who never played LR before, it's basically a never-ending series of levels, maze-like levels with ladders and such, where you aim to collect all the gold and get to the exit before the evils can get you. Classic stuff, and gets ROCK hard later on.

Going deep beneath the Earth to find piles and piles of gold may sound exciting (and profitable), but when you throw in a bunch of mad cannibal monks chasing after you trying to protect these riches, the scenario changes.

Here's the story...

You are Jack Peril, an adventurous chap who tries his darnest to take back the gold that the keepers of the underground stole from above. But to do so, you must avoid dozens of traps, deadly gaping holes and of course, those crazy monks. But Jake is able to set traps of his own and use various items like the jackhammer to get away from the evil-doers.

The 1st level is simple with no monks. The 2nd introduces monks, the 3rd even more monks and so forth. Before you know it, levels will seem IMPOSSIBLE to beat. Toward the end most mortal gamers want to pull their hair out from how hectic it is. But for puzzle action games, this is a good thing.

These games also has a level editor option where you can fill your own levels with whatever you want and make them as easy or difficult as you wish. When you're done you can save the levels to the memory card.



It may look dated, but plays well and the classic 2D thinking man's feel will attract to die hard gamers and gamers who miss the days of ole.

In these two games you will go through 10 "stages" with each "stage" having PLENTY of levels. They are:

1. Moss Caverns

2. Fungus Delvings

3. Lost City of Ur

4. Crystal Hoard

5. Winter's Dungeon (you guessed it, an icy world)

6. Skeleton's Keep

7. Inferno's Playground

8. Shimmering Caverns

9. The Shadowlands (insanely unfair)

10. Meltdown Metropolis

Those monks are fast and relentless! Even when you kill them, they respawn immediately and continue hunting you. Poor Jack... we hardly knew ya!

Here's the difference between Saturn LR and PSX LR:

PlayStation: Lode Runner

Pros:

-- Includes both Lode Runner: The Legend Returns and Lode Runner Extra.

-- Includes the same ten music and backgrounds used in the two Saturn games; the construction mode is the same, and all the levels are there.

-- Includes a nice, brief video introduction from Douglas E. Smith, the creator of Lode Runner.

Cons:

-- Doesn't have all the options available in the Saturn games.

-- The speed seems stuck somewhere between "normal" and "slow." It only bothers me when I play it after the Saturn ones.

The Saturn games:

Pros:

-- You can jump to any level in both versions. If you're stumped on a particular stage, skip it and try later.

-- Infinite lives! Note that a Japanese warning pops up when you do this -- I believe it simply won't save any record created with infinite lives on.

-- You can choose from three speed settings: Slow, Normal, and Fast. This can be a life saver sometimes on Slow, or a time saver on Fast when having to repeat stages a lot.

-- I don't believe the PSX game lets you switch between mono and stereo. The Saturn games do.

-- Each include the construction kit, and both appear to be identical. I don't know if the save files are compatible between versions, but I'd imagine they must be.

-- Only 10 memory blocks to save.

Cons:

-- No video introduction by Doug Smith.

-- You have to buy two games. Then again, it won't cost that much more than the single PSX disc. I've seen Legend Returns go for $12-$18 and same for Extra.

Note that Lode Runner: The Legend Returns was released first. It has 150 levels and is a good bit easier than the follow-up. Lode Runner Extra contains 110 all new levels and is more difficult than the first release. INSANELY difficult. The 32-bit Lode Runner games introduce new weapons to use to avoid enemies and collect gold, all of which work well though it may take a bit to get used to them. There is a pick axes to dig up into the ceiling, a jack hammer to dig straight down (including through material you can't dig through), an "ice gas" gun to stun enemies, bombs to blow up parts of levels, booby traps to permanently eliminate one enemy (or yourself if you're not careful), sticky paint cans to slow down walking speed along a small strip, and some others like keys, teleports, and so forth.

Overall, if you gotta get one, I recommend Saturn Lode Runner The Legend Returns. It has some slick production values (back of manual and front of disc is much more aesthically pleasing than EXTRA) and the game is VERY hard but not as CRAZY HARD as Lode Runner Extra.

But hell, get both and spend the rest of your lifetime JUST trying to get to Skeleton's Keep.

I recommend them both, but if you're kinda iffy, I'd just recommend The Legend Returns. Keep in mind, I'm not lying or exaggerating when I say these games are ROCK HARD. But the level jumping feature and whatnot, it's worth trying your hand at each level at least once. Good stuff.

I'll be back tomorrow with a most intriguing obscure import.... til then!



and so it begins... run Jack run! Those savage monks move fast! 1 more level down... only 142 to go....