32X Recommendations

[Kaladron]

I picked up a 32X today with Star Wars Arcade and Virtua Racing. I could have got Doom too, but at ?4 I thought it was a bit too steep.

Can anyone recommend the MUST-HAVE titles for this machine?

[Lyris]

While I'm no expert, I heard that Knuckles Chaotix is must-have by 32x standards... I enjoyed playing it.

[edandersen]

Ah, Virtua Racing Deluxe. What a stunning game!

I spent hours on the game, and it took me yonks to beat it properly. Funny thing is, I insisted on using my mega drive arcade stick to play it with..

Graphics would make my eyes bleed now though. Not a rose tinted retro man when it comes to early 3D, me. Chaotix though I'd happily play through again any day (bar the special stages)

[Dragon2k4]

Hhah ah thank goodness Sega ages has a wicked remake of VRacing on PS2 then

Another must get would be Virtua Fighter, it's as close as your gonna get to the arcade, gameplay wise it's spot on - apparently better than the Saturn version!

[MD]

Chaotix on the 32X is a crap game, yes it looks pretty and yes the control method is interesting but you do think from stage one that 'Ah this must be a training level', then the stages go and your thinking 'Hey any minute now I am going to be swamped with bad guys' then you play the whole game (or get bored with it) thinking hey this game is all about getting from point a to point b.... :/ A wasted game me thinks...

Must have games include

Afterburner Complete
Space Harrier
The above two games are what the Saturn version is based upon, so there is little difference except fast loading times.

Virtua Fighter
Take Virtua Fighter on the Saturn, improve it and you have Super 32X Virtua Fighter

Star Wars and Virtua Racing you have but they are recommended too.

Mortal Kombat II best version is probably the 32X version, probably the best version of MK series too, before it got really rubbish.

Metal Head is worth a look if you can find it cheap. ^_^

Kolibri is a vastly underated humming bird shooter and a definate must have, really shows off the 32X quite well.

Darxide is quite hard to find as it is a UK exclusive and was a game by Frontier Software, quite a nice Asteroids in 3D game a definate must have.

Apart from that most of the other games are pretty poor. Tempo is okay but not a must have. The rest are slightly improved Megadrive games...

[innovator]

Nothing on the 32X is a 'must have'. It's a pointless system to own for anybody other than collectors. Mortal Kombat 2 is coming to PS2 under the second Midway collection pack.

[oracle]

why do you say 32x ver of VF is better, im looking at both rite now and the 32x def worse

[Dragon2k4]

why do you say 32x ver of VF is better, im looking at both rite now and the 32x def worse

Of all the versions of the Virtua Fighter series released for the home, the one for the 32X is perhaps the most impressive. By mid 1995, the 32X was going down the toilet and Sega knew it. Hardware sales were plummeting, software sales had dried up, and gamers had abandoned the system in droves. In an almost touching show of good faith, Sega decided to continue the development of Virtua Fighter for the 32X, even though it must have known the game would not be a moneymaker. Perhaps the true gamers at Sega knew that the 32X had not yet demonstrated its real potential and they wanted to show the world that their much-maligned add-on really did have the guts to handle a complex game. Perhaps Sega wanted to one-up arch-rival Nintendo, who was having serious problems with the Super-FX chip powered fighting game FX Fighter for the SNES (a direct rip-off of Virtua Fighter and a game that was ultimately cancelled because the SNES \ simply couldn?t push the polygons. It later appeared on the PC.) Whatever the reason, Sega finished Virtua Fighter for the 32X in 1995, even going so far as to hype the release with the odd Virtua Fighter Training Pack, a ?kit? that came complete with a t-shirt, a how-to video, and a sweepstakes entry (for a Virtua Fighter 2 arcade machine), but no cartridge. As it stands, Virtua Fighter was one of last games released for the little 32X, and arguably the best.

Review
After loading up the game (and catching a glimpse of the legendary AM2 division logo), you are presented with a number of options. Aside from the Arcade mode, you also have the option of choosing between a Versus (two-player) mode, a Ranking mode, and a Tournament mode. Other specialized options are available, including the number of match points necessary to defeat an opponent, the difficulty of an opponent, the size of the ?ring? that you fight in, the camera angle, and options for a number of control pad configurations. The character select screen is very similar to the arcade version with your chosen fighter acknowledging your selection with a subtle movement across his or her polygonal face.

Historically, American gamers have never really appreciated or understood the concepts behind Sega?s Virtua Fighter series, preferring the flash and guts of Tekken, Mortal Kombat, and Killer Instinct. In fact, Virtua Fighter is the inspiration for most every three-dimensional game you've ever seen... Street Fighter EX, Soul Calibur, Dead or Alive, and the Tekken series are all heavily influenced by Sega?s arcade head-turner. It seems fitting that Virtua Fighter is arguably the best game ever produced for the Sega 32X, and certainly the most technologically advanced of the thirty-nine games that were released worldwide during the system?s short lifetime. Every game from the Virtua Fighter series rank among the best fighting games ever made, and the 32X is home to an excellent version of the game that started it all.

The first thing one notices when the actual game begins is how odd the graphics look... indeed, all the characters appear to be comprised entirely of Lego blocks. Character models aren?t nearly as detailed as the arcade or Saturn versions, demonstrating the generational leap between the 32X and its CD-based big brother. The 32X simply wasn?t capable of rendering massive amounts of polygons (compared to Model 1 or Saturn), as shown the first time you look at Sarah?s oddly octagon-shaped head from an aerial view. After playing the game for a moment, one realizes that the LegoLand graphics are actually a worthy trade-off for the speed and smoothness of the game itself. Slowdown is nonexistent, and Virtua Fighter 32X suffers from none of the annoying flicker and graphical pop-ups that plagued its Saturn cousin. All of the eight (nine of you count Dural) characters are smoothly animated, just like the arcade. Control is spot-on, a quality vitally important to the series from a game play standpoint. After a while, the blocky graphics start to grow on you and lend Virtua Fighter 32X a look that cannot be found in any other fighting game, with the possible exception of the awful Fight for Life on the Atari Jaguar. Indeed, Virtua Fighter 32X looks mighty impressive for a game that was essentially a first-generation title on a technologically compromised system with limited developmental resources.

The 32X has no problem duplicating the sound effects of its arcade parent, which really isn?t saying much. Sega choose to compliment the sparse graphics of the original arcade version with simplistic music and sound effects, and the 32X follows suit. The techno music is light and unobtrusive, but nothing particularly memorable. The sound effects range from generic hitting and punching noises to the series trademark thunder and lightning. Each character voices his or her own smart-ass taunt after the winning round, a particularly gratifying effect when playing against a person you don?t like.

Responsive game play is an important aspect of any game, a fact that proves especially true of Virtua Fighter 32X. Perhaps more so than any other fighting game/series, Virtua Fighter depends on control and skill... button-mashers need not apply. The simple three-button control scheme can be very misleading and disguises the fact that Virtua Fighter is actually a very deep and complex game. Each individual fighter possesses his own unique fighting style, all based on a variety of martial arts. Multiple throws and counters are common for each character, on top of a huge selection of regular moves. Virtua Fighter is really a game of complex subtlety, unlike the bone breaking antics of the Tekkens, the screen-filling explosions of innumerable Capcom fighters, or the ?fatalities? of the Mortal Kombat series. Virtua Fighter really is as close as you can get to real fighting without having to break a sweat or put yourself in physical danger.

It?s no wonder that 32X enthusiasts rate Virtua Fighter as one of the system?s top games. Smooth and fast graphics, responsive game play, and unparalleled depth and complexity all add up to a game that can still compete with the best of today?s fighting games. This game was released late in the 32X?s short life span and wasn?t produced in particularly large quantities, so it may be a bit harder to locate compared to some other games. It?s worth looking for. - Video Game Bible.

[Fastware]

I'd like to also add that the 32X version is better then the Saturn version. In playability if not graphically.

[Firsty]

Me too.
It's a whooole lot better It looks better IMO. Yes there aren't as many poly's, but still..I dunno. Must be the lack of glitching from the saturn version.

[anephric]

While I'm no expert, I heard that Knuckles Chaotix is must-have by 32x standards... I enjoyed playing it.

If you like being beaten consistently about the head by a pack of multi-coloured "friends" then yes, it is quite fun...