Retro|Spective 211: The Final Tour of Sega Saturn

[wakka]

Never played this one but will be getting around to the fan translation at some point. We live in a golden age of fan translations. It's marvellous.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 04 - Burning Rangers
Sonic Teams fire fighting action title was designed to be a technical showcase for the system with a vocal guidance system, transparency and lighting effects and full 3D movement. Exploration of levels offered a wide range of civilians to rescue as floors, ceilings and walls exploded around you. Collecting crystals and putting out fires as you work through the stages, the game scored well in reviews and has attracted a small but loyal audience. However, as one of the final seven games launched in the US it arrived too late in the systems life to recieve enough attention and Sega took this as disinterest meaning that the game remains locked to the Saturn and alone in its franchise even as it turns 25 years old this year.





Just Do It? Just Burning Rangers?

[Asura]

There's a lot to like about Burning Rangers. The idea (that you're kinda part of the anime version of Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds), with the music etc. that comes from that. The way the guidance button works, to give you directions when you ask, so you don't really need a map. The way it stretches the Saturn's capabilities to the absolute breaking point.

However, that last part is the kicker.

I fully understand all the reasons why Burning Rangers is a big technical achievement. But ultimately, I can't help but feel that it asks too much of the hardware and just doesn't come together because of it. It's one of a few late Saturn games, another being Steep Slope Sliders, that I just don't get.

I think it's because I sold my Saturn just prior to the release of Fighters Megamix, as the value of the hardware was crashing in the UK and as a kid, I wanted to maximise what I could get in order to move over to the N64 (even so, I remember that the better indie near where I lived only gave me £130 for my boxed machine, Virtua Gun and ~6 games) - consequently I only played some of these later games in around 2001.

[Neon Ignition]

Though I played a good few of its games I only fully spent lengthy dedicated time with the Saturn late in its life having picked up one from EB right in its last 12 months of life. It was like the firing gun on the 3 or so years that Sega was absolutely on fire with its releases even though the public paid them little attention.

It remains a huge shame that Burning Rangers wasn't just designed to be a Dreamcast launch game, it really would have stood a decent chance of standing out then and avoiding some of the technical critique it suffered but I really enjoyed it, roughness aside. Still remains something I'd love them to return to more so than many of their better known IP's.

[wakka]

Burning Rangers is a really cool game. Great idea, brilliant aesthetic. It is a bit rough to play though. I do need to give it a more time, as I've only dabbled with it. This thread is a great reminder to do so.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 05 - Clockwork Knight
Fans were waiting for news of a new mascot platformer for the next Sega system and their expectation of a blue blur was once again 'Bug'ged as another new IP was launched with the mechanical knight setting out on a pint-sized adventure. It's visuals were praised but reviewers found the game too easy. Being an early title, like Bug, it did find enough of an audience to secure a sequel.




Fun Like Clockwork?

[Asura]

Another "never played" for me. I did play the sequel a bit.

[wakka]

Yeah I've never played this one, or the sequel for that matter. I really don't like the aesthetic. It's sort of unintentionally creepy.

[Hirst]

For what it's worth, I really like Clockwork Knight. It was a pack-in with my Saturn along with two other games, but I have returned to it over the years and I do feel that rose tints aside it holds up as what it is - a pretty good, admittedly fairly easy, platformer. The sprites on 3D backgrounds was a pretty nice early showcase of the hardware with it throwing it around at 60fps, quite lengthy FMV sequences with genuinely impressive 3D for the time. And somehow the whole thing predates Toy Story despite very similar themes (which I think is probably just a coincidence than anything else).

Some of the levels/bosses have quite interesting mechanics too - the train level is a highlight, with the 3D train you're riding going off into the background for a time before coming back. And some of the bosses are Dynamite Headdy levels of weird. Some of the levels aren't completely linear with weird shortcuts and secrets. None of it really reinvents the wheel or anything, but it's a pleasant and charming enough game to spend an hour on. That's probably the only real sting in the tail - it's short. But it's also dirt cheap for the Japanese version, I think I got 1 and 2 together for under a tenner. There's a special pack where it's 1/2 together for about £25-30, but it's not quite the same thing - they've redone the first game onto the slightly different game engine of the second one and some other bits. That's probably the definitive CK experience, but I've never played it so can't say.

For what it's worth, I like most of the soundtrack and occasionally I get the absolutely ace ending theme stuck in my head. I was amazed when I was playing Yakuza 5 on the PS3 and walked past a bar and it was playing very quietly (they removed it from the remastered version though, the ratbags): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LvOFXDYTaQ

Honestly in my opinion, just go into it with an open mind and give it a chance. It is a good game! Also the first level music is a bit annoying, it gets better.

[wakka]

Love that Yakuza 5 tidbit. That's very cool.

I will give the game a try!

[Neon Ignition]

Game 06 - Congo: The Lost City
An FPS based on the movie, it used clips from the film to tell its story but the gameplay itself was in essence a clone of Doom. The game scored mixed reviews and has drifted out of awareness since.




Um-Fun-Go, Um-Fun-Go, Had Fun Playin' with Congo?

[Asura]

Never played it; I always stayed away as I heard it was dreadful beyond belief.

[wakka]

I've read the book. Not Crichton's best. Not his worst either.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 07 - Dark Savior
Devleoped by Climax, this sequel to Landstalker combined platforming, puzzling and fighting game mechanics with each of these mechanics kept seperate. The game is notable as it opens with the player chasing an escaped monster, the time taken to chase the monster down determines which one of five paths through the game the player will take. The game was made for the Saturn partially because the PlayStation struggled with it as it was written in assembler. The game was considered by some to be too easy but its focus on replayability, several playthroughs that varied widely, was praised and it scored well overall.



Dark Horse?

[Hirst]

Great game, had it on PAL back in the day off Wakefield Market when it was still pretty new as it looked really interesting. The RPG stuff is pretty light, it’s more of an action platformer with puzzle elements - I know it’s a Landstalker sequel, but also many hints of Light Crusader on the MD.

However it has mine cart sections and they are amongst the most infuriating bits of gameplay of any game I’ve ever played. Right up there with the Cannon Fodder level where you get the Skidoo. Absolutely horrible. Doesn’t ruin a very good game though, just adds 30 minutes of hell to an otherwise consistently great experience.