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  • Official Sega Saturn Magazine (March 1998)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Official Sega Saturn Magazine – Issue Number 29 – March 1998 

    The Official Sega Saturn Magazine in the U.K. was relatively short lived but then so was the system. It was however, a beautiful magazine. It’s definitely something that I think every Saturn owner would have wanted. The March 1998 issue includes:

    Features

    • Grandia – A detailed look at the massive RPG Grandia. This article takes you through the authors experience with this game so far.
    • Saturn Bomberman: Fight! – A look at this pretty good update of the classic Bomberman. Unfortunately, U.K. residents were forced to import this one if they wanted it.
    • Panzer Dragoon Saga – Presented here as “one of the greatest Saturn game ever”. But it is a quest emphasizing flying on dragons after all.
    • Sega Rally 2 – An in-depth preview of this upcoming Sega racing game.
    • House of the Dead – Sega produced most of the best light gun games of this era. House of the Dead is one of those.
    • Burning Rangers – Definitely a game with one of the more unique concepts. Though games involving fire fighting were not entirely unprecedented. I remember playing Rescue Squad on the Commodore 64 which wasn’t precisely about firefighting but it was about rescuing people from fires…

    Previews

    • DJ Wars – Basically a DJ simulator in which you compete with other DJs.
    • Shining Force 3 – While the Final Fantasy series may have been taking most of the spotlight, the Shining Force series was excellent and even better depending on your personal preferences.
    • Real Bout Fatal Fury Special – SNK made some of the best 2D fighters around and this is a great one for the Saturn.
    • Chill – A snowboarding game. Not sure how good it was as it seems rather obscure and the screenshots don’t make the graphics look all that great.

    Reviews

    • Winter Heat – This game features several winter sporting events including cross country skiing, bobsledding, ski jump and more. If you liked the old Winter Games series then you might like this one.
    • NHL Hockey ’98 – Unfortunately, this conversion for the Saturn is probably the worst. The PC and PlayStation versions were significantly better. Probably more a reflection of a rushed conversion than the Saturn’s capabilities.

    Regulars

    • News – Rumors of new Sega hardware in 1999 (this would become the Dreamcast); new game releases coming for the Saturn include Gun Griffon 2, Ninpen Manmaru, World League Soccer ’98, NBA ’98, NHL All-Star Hockey ’98, Vampire Savior, D&D Collection, King of Fighters ’97, and more.
    • Virtua Writer – Letters from readers about Street Fighter vs. Teletubbies, the demise of Saturn Power magazine, Sega advertising, Marvel Super Heroes, FIFA ’98, Tomb Raider, and more.
    • Q+A – Questions answered about buying import games, definitions of various computer terms, Grandia release, Resident Evil 2, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, and more.
    • Coin-Operated – A look at some of the latest and upcoming arcade games including Marvel vs. Capcom, Fighting Vipers 2, Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram, Harley-Davidson & LA Riders, Astra Superstars, and Fallen Angels.
    • And Finally… – A look at the first lesbian video game character?

    Playing Tips

    • Small Tips – Tips and codes for Steep Slope Sliders, Duke Nukem, Command & Conquer, and Mech Warrior 2. Plus a Q&A regarding NTSC/PAL (50/60Hz) switches for the Saturn.
    • Croc: Legends of Gobbos – Part 1 of a strategy guide for Croc that covers levels 1-1 through 1-6 plus boss level 2 and secret levels.
    • Mortal Kombat Trilogy – A Fatality Guide for Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
    • Quake Guide, part 3 – Part 3 of a detailed Quake strategy guide. This part covers the second and third episodes.

    …and more!


    Retro Games Sega Saturn 📎and tagged

  • Galaxy Fight (Sega Saturn)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/705220884951154688/segacity-cat-scratch-galaxy-fight-universal

    After Street Fighter II was released in 1992, there followed an endless procession of fighting games. In addition to the endless Street Fighter II enhancements and sequels, Mortal Kombat games and seemingly unlimited supply of SNK fighters for Neo Geo hardware, there were many more obscure fighting games as well. Galaxy Fight is one of those.

    Galaxy Fight (subtitled “Universal Warriors”) was originally released as an arcade game, not surprisingly on Neo Geo hardware, in 1995. The only other home conversion was for the Sega Saturn. This was only Sunsoft’s second fighting game with the first having been released only in Japan. Galaxy Fight has the usual array of characters, moves and special moves that you would expect of a 2D fighter.

    The concept behind Galaxy Fight is a galaxy wide fighting tournament with characters from all over the galaxy. I guess that concept makes it pretty easy to have some pretty varied characters. There are a total of eight playable characters including characters that look like monsters, aliens, robots and more. There are also four non-playable bosses.

    Galaxy Fight received pretty average reviews overall. There was nothing particularly wrong with it but it just didn’t stand out in a deluge of similar games. However, if you are a 2D fighter aficionado then I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to check it out. There isn’t a huge difference between the Neo Geo and Saturn versions (other than soundtrack). The Saturn version was based off of an unreleased Neo Geo CD version of the game. In addition to tracking down an original Neo Geo or Sega Saturn version, this game was also released as part of Arcade Archives for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2017 (though I have no idea if it’s still available that way). And of course there are also various emulation options. There was also a PlayStation version that was released only in Japan and Europe.

    There were no direct sequels to Galaxy Fight but Sunsoft did release another game a year later called Waku Waku 7. It used the same game engine and was similar in quite a few other way, including having a Galactic theme. Waku Waku 7 was released only in Japan.

    Screen shots above are from the Sega Saturn version of the game.


    Retro Games Sega Saturn 📎and tagged

  • Official Sega Saturn Magazine (October 1998)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Official Sega Saturn Magazine – Issue Number 36 – October 1998

    This was the official Sega Saturn magazine in the U.K. I believe that the October 1998 issue was nearly the last issue and it was already heavily covering the Dreamcast. The writing was on the wall for the Saturn and had been for a while. This issue includes:

    Features

    • Yuji Naka Reveals All! – An interview with Yuji Naka, who was responsible for the four Sonic games on the Genesis, as well as Burning Rangers and NiGHTS. Here he talks mostly about the Dreamcast.
    • Capcom Speaks! – An interview with Mr. Noritaka Funamizu, General Producer of Capcom’s Development Division. Here he talks mostly about future plans for the Dreamcast.
    • Drones Special Report – An interview with Alex Lemedy, Game Designer, Producer and Project Manager for NIGMA Software. Here he talks mostly about their first game for the Dreamcast called Drones.
    • Astra Superstars – A detailed review of Astra Superstars, Sunsoft’s latest 2D fighting game for the Saturn which utilizes the 4MB expansion.
    • Star Wars Trilogy – A detailed look at the upcoming Star Wars arcade game produced by Sega’s AM8 division and based on Model 3 hardware.

    Previews

    • Guardian Force – A 2-D shooter for the Saturn produced by Success.
    • Konami MSX Pack – A collection of classic games for the Saturn that were originally released on the MSX computer, including Road Fighter, Soccer, Antarctic Adventure, Konami Rally, Hyper Sports 2, Yie-Ar Kung-Fu (one of my favorites on the Commodore 64), Yie-Ar Kung-Fu 2, Gradius, Golf, Tennis, Boxing, Billiards, and more.
    • Sega Ages: Disney – Two classic Disney games that were originally released on the Genesis now collected for the Saturn. Castle of Illusion and Quackshot are both included.
    • Arcade Gears – Arcade conversions of both Image Fight and X-Multiply on one disc for the Saturn.

    Reviews

    • Astra Superstars – A 2D fighter for the Saturn from Sunsoft.
    • Deep Fear – A survival horror game for the Saturn by Sega. Described here as being the last major release by Sega for the Saturn.

    Regulars

    • Editorial – A new era for Sega, pondering possibly the last official Sega Saturn review and the future with the Dreamcast.
    • News – Sonic is back for the Dreamcast; screen shots of Dreamcast technical demos; PC version of Sega Rally 2; Neo Geo Pocket introduced; and more.
    • Virtua Writer – Letters from readers about D2, Tomb Raider 2, Virtua Fighter 3, Sega Rally 2, Daytona 2, Saturn games on the Dreamcast, and more.
    • Q+A – Questions answered about playing audio CDs on the Dreamcast, games coming out on the Dreamcast, the 128-bitness of the Dreamcast, import games on the Dreamcast, network connectivity on the Dreamcast, and more.
    • Coin-Operated – A look at The King of Fighter ’98 and Dynamite Cop (including an interview with the creator).
    • Up the Back End – Japanese advertisement of the month…

    Playing Tips

    • Castlevania X, Part Two – Part two of a detailed strategy guide for Castlevania X.
    • Tips Megathon, Part One – Part one of a guide to every tip for every Saturn game ever printed in the magazine.

    …and more!


    Retro Games Sega Dreamcast Sega Saturn 📎and tagged