• Tag Archives Sega

  • 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!


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  • 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.


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  • Electronic Gaming Monthly (April 1998)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly – Issue Number 105 – April 1998

    I would say that by 1998, EGM was already past its peak, however it still seemed to be going strong covering the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Saturn, Super NES, Genesis and the arcades. The April 1998 issue includes:

    Features

    • Tekken Triumphant – A detailed preview of Tekken 3 which was about to be released for the PlayStation, including a comparison to the arcade version.
    • Calling All Poor Losers – A humorous look at sore losers and their tactics.

    Departments

    • Editorial – A look to the future of gaming along with a complaint about there being too many sequels and not enough originality. Not that all sequels are bad (the upcoming Zelda: The Orcarina of Time is mentioned along with others), just that there are no surprises.
    • Letters – Letters from readers regarding female gamers, 2D vs. 3D, “explicit” ads, big chain stores discontinuing Saturn products, and more.
    • News – The big story this month was the impending launch of “Project X” (later called “Nuon”) from VM Labs. VM Labs was made up in part by ex-Atari employees and the idea was to embed 3D capably gaming hardware in DVD players and set top boxes. Hardware was launched but a late launch (after the PS2), poor marketing, and little games support doomed it quickly. In other news, Namco plans bankruptcy for arcades…they owned Aladdin’s Castle at the time…I miss Aladdin’s Castle.
    • Gaming Gossip – Quartermann reports that the 64DD disk drive for the Nintendo 64 might not make it to the U.S. in 1998 (little did he know it never would); he also reports on a satellite gaming service from Nintendo, the Sega Dural/Katana (ultimately to be the Dreamcast), and Sony using a mini-disc format in the next version of the PlayStation.
    • Review Crew – Reviews this month include Mystical Ninja, NBA In The Zone ’98, NHL Breakaway ’98, and Quake 64 for the Nintendo 64; Winter Heat for the Sega Saturn; Gex: Enter the Gecko, March Madness 98, Newman/Haas Racing, Punky Skunk, and Tactics Ogre for the PlayStation; and James Bond 007 for the Game Boy.
    • Jump Start – A strategy guide for NFL Blitz.
    • Tricks of the Trade – Tips and tricks for Jet Moto 2 (PlayStation), Resident Evil 2 (PlayStation), NFL Quarterback Club ’98 (Nintendo 64), Auto Destruct (PlayStation), WCW Nitro (PlayStation), Street Fighter Collection (PlayStation), and more.
    • Get Some! – Toys, gadgets, electronics and other stuff. This month featuring an R2D2 cassette player, Deer Hunter and Wild Turkey Hunt, Gamer’s Web Directory and more.

    …and more!


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