Retro|Spective 211: The Final Tour of Sega Saturn

[Neon Ignition]

We begin anew with another entry that takes us on a whistlestop tour of the key games that remain landlocked to a past format, in this case the still exclusives for Sega's 32-Bit wonder:

Retro|Spective 211: The Final Tour of Sega Saturn


Under appreciated in its day, the Saturn has a strong following especially since so many of its releases have never been ported or seen the endless rereleases that we see elsewhere. A good number did see release on other formats in one form or another leaving a specific line of games that remain exclusive to the system to this day.



Game 01 - Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean
This side entry into the franchise was originally intended to be a SNES release however with that system getting late in its life the studio decided to switch to a Saturn release. A turn based RPG, the game featured an orchestra soundtrack thanks to embracing the CD release. It also saw release in the US following a solid Japan release though it fared less well in the states.





Ever Fulfill This Odyssey?

[Asura]

Can't say I ever played this one.

[fuse]

Never played it, but it looks princely.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 02 - Astal
A 2D platformer, the game mixes some elements of the abilities of Mario with those of Kirby thanks to the Astals ability to inhale and expel enemies. The Japanese version of the game is notably easier with 5 lives instead of the 3 in the US version along with allowing for unlimited continues. Additionally the intro to the Japanese version contains a lyrical theme rather than instrumental. The game scored mixed reviews thanks to the level of challenge and being a traditional 2D sprite game launched early in the 3D era buzz.




Dated or Drowned Out?

[Asura]

Game 02 - Astal

Never played it. I always wanted to, as there was a video trailer for it on the Saturn's "Bootleg Sampler" demo disc, which I played tons because the disc also had a generous playable demo of Sega Rally. But it never came out in the UK, so I promptly forgot about it until years later.

It's high on the list of games I want to play in my future hypothetical flawless Saturn emulation/FPGA setup, where I have most of the library on a big hard drive.

[wakka]

Never even heard of Albert Odyssey.

I've played a bit of Astal, just a bit, and I wasn't especially impressed. The gameplay felt quite generic and failed to hold my attention. It reminded me of Tempo on the 32X - nice graphics but a clunker to play. I'd have enjoyed it if I'd played it when it was contemporary, most likely, but there's not enough there to grab me now. Maybe I'll give it another try at some point.

[Hirst]

Never played it. I always wanted to, as there was a video trailer for it on the Saturn's "Bootleg Sampler" demo disc, which I played tons because the disc also had a generous playable demo of Sega Rally. But it never came out in the UK, so I promptly forgot about it until years later.

Was going to mention the same, they had footage of it and I thought "oh that looks good!" and then it never turned up. The PAL Bootleg Sampler was the same as the latter American one it was based on, albeit with some messages added to say that games weren't running at full speed (since it was just unoptimized 60Hz code). Guess nobody checked whether all the games were even getting a European release.

[Asura]

Was going to mention the same, they had footage of it and I thought "oh that looks good!" and then it never turned up. The PAL Bootleg Sampler was the same as the latter American one it was based on, albeit with some messages added to say that games weren't running at full speed (since it was just unoptimized 60Hz code). Guess nobody checked whether all the games were even getting a European release.

To be fair, I think all of the others did. And there were a lot of demos on that disc.

[Hirst]

To be fair, I think all of the others did. And there were a lot of demos on that disc.

Everything apart from Roach Racing, which nobody got - it was one of the names that flashed up of on the FMV that had a mixture of available/upcoming games set to some rock music.

[wakka]

Roach Racing would have been the PlayStation killer imho.

[Asura]

Roach Racing would have been the PlayStation killer imho.

That's such a 90s idea, isn't it?

There's a parallel universe where it got made. The full-page ads in CVG have a bunch of roaches crawling over a lingerie model, with a postage-stamp-sized thing at the bottom right explaining it has something to do with some ****ty videogame

[Neon Ignition]

Game 03 - Bulk Slash
A third person mech combat game, with players working through a series of stages that each have a boss at the end. The game scored positive reviews for its gameplay and visuals that were a mixture of 3D and pre-rendered sprites. However, despite the response it never saw a release outside of Japan.





Virtually On For It?

[Asura]

Game 03 - Bulk Slash
Virtually On For It?

Honestly I am soooo happy that I didn't know about this one in the 90s; because as a fan of basically anything with robots (Virtual On, Gungriffon, Mechwarrior) I would've been absolutely crushed that this never came to the west.

[jonathan_ingram]

I think Bulk Slash recently got a fan translation too

[Hirst]

I think Bulk Slash recently got a fan translation too

It did, a really professional one with proper voice acting. Arguably better than any official release would have been too.