Blogcritics

Retro Corner: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Chris "UZ" White — Sun, 3 Aug 2008 15:02:31 EDT

The first handheld Zelda is one of the best examples of an early era Game Boy game in the market.
Retro games are a hot commodity. With the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii's Virtual Console, it's quickly becoming a prolific segment of the industry. Blogcritics is going to start looking at gaming's generally under-appreciated past in a different way.Teaming up with classic gaming database Digital Press, Blogcritics will be presenting some...

Retro Corner: Final Fantasy

Chris "UZ" White — Fri, 4 Jul 2008 13:47:13 EDT

The NES origin of one of the biggest series in the RPG genre remains fun to this day.
Retro games are a hot commodity. With the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii's Virtual Console, it's quickly becoming a prolific segment of the industry. Blogcritics is going to start looking at gaming's generally under-appreciated past in a different way.Teaming up with classic gaming database Digital Press, Blogcritics will be presenting some...

Retro Corner: Speed Devils

Matt Paprocki — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 02:21:28 EST

A lost Dreamcast classic that remains relevant eight years later.
The GameShortly following the launch of the Dreamcast, Speed Devils filled a gap in the Dreamcast's line up. This odd and sadly forgotten racer seems rather straightforward on the surface, though was loaded with relatively new additions to the racing genre at the time. Those familiar with William's Cruisin' series will immediately recognize the...

Retro Corner: Ace Combat 2

Matt Paprocki — Wed, 7 Nov 2007 10:05:25 EST

A look back at this influential, genre altering title from Namco.
The GameAce Combat 2 was one of those rare early home console 3-D efforts to maintain the simplicity of the classics while mixing in the styles of modern game. Flight is simple, yet no less exciting than a full-fledged simulation. Its arcade roots with its predecessor are firmly in place before the series would take turn towards becoming slight...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Retro Corner: Super Nintendo Mortal Kombat

Matt Paprocki — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 18:37:45 EDT

The GameIt's infamous. It was Mortal Monday, the day the arcade smash Mortal Kombat came home, replete with controversy and gamers frothing at the mouth. They loaded their cartridges, inputted ABACABBA, and there was Mortal Kombat.At least, that's what you did if you owned a Genesis. Super Nintendo owners had Mortal Kombat, but they didn't have the version they wanted. That version was censored, infamously toned down to include sweat instead of blood. Fatalities were reworked to be less intense, and even Scorpion became polite when stabbing his foes in the chest with his spear. His special move call became "Come Here!" instead of the far more popular "Get Over Here!"That wasn't the only problem though. Super Nintendo fans were plagued by inconsistent controls, though they did manage to see a strong version of the game graphically. Sprites are large, full of color, and the animation is superb in comparison to the arcade game. Audio also packs a heavier impact, with clean voice samples that simply crushed the Genesis port. The PresentIf anything, it shows the original Mortal Kombat wasn't especially deep or involving. Fans weren't willing to deal with the lack of gore, and moved on. Now, it's even more apparent that this shoddy port was hardly the focus of Acclaim's attention. The first time a special move comes off a second later than it should or Liu Kang just stands there instead of performing his special, it's infuriating. You'll need to prepare for that happen quite often. This is a sluggish translation, arguably even more so than trying to run the PC version on a keyboard and ran slowly even on decent hardware at the time. If you're looking for a Mortal Kombat fix today, you'll find yourself looking elsewhere, whether on the Genesis, slow loading Sega CD, or even a recently released Plug and Play. Even on the Game Gear or Master System you'll find yourself pulling off specials and the original fatalities. Facts and NotablesWhile it was more than likely Sonic the Hedgehog that turned the 16-bit wars in Sega's favor, censoring Mortal Kombat and taking the "family friendly" approach definitely played a significant role. Perrin Kaplan had this to say to Steven Kent in an issue of Electronic Games from 1994:"We lost $10 million in software sales. There is no way to estimate the lost hardware sales from people who decided to buy a Genesis to play the game."Even with politicians outraged over the game, Howard Lincoln (Nintendo of America's Chairman) had parents mad over the censoring of the game:"We got calls from irate parents. When parents call in and tell us not to censor our games, or threaten to sue us for misrepresenting a game, it sends a strong message."The Video Game Rating Council (Sega's created ratings board) handed over a MA-13 stamp, which meant the game was suitable for children 13 and above. The SNES version was unrated and contained no warnings. A Game Genie code could add a red tint to the "sweat" pouring from the fighters heads to make it look like blood. Nearly all versions were added to Germany's Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons list, of which only 389 titles are listed. The Game Boy port managed to escape this fate. Personal ThoughtsI was at Sears on Mortal Monday. There it was: Super Nintendo Mortal Kombat. For whatever baffling reason in my mind at the time, I chose the Game Boy version over the home console version. The only logic was that I knew my mom hated violent content, and it would have been easier to hide it on the Game Boy. Of course, that Game Boy cart wasn't exactly as what we would refer to as a "winner." Thankfully, a buddy of mine was smart enough to make the right choice, and it wasn't long before I was over there trying to rip some ones spine out of their body with my controller. Something was wrong though.We both heard rumors and read some articles about this being changed, but they couldn't have taken out the best part, right? An issue of GameFan previewed the Genesis cut and said they hit a few special buttons to make the blood work. That must have been the case here too. Uh, no. We certainly tried, but it was to no avail. It was sweat. I had the unplayable Game Boy port missing Johnny Cage. My friend had the SNES edition missing blood. Both of those would be unplayed for the most part, although mercifully to our young fanboy minds, Mortal Kombat II would set things straight eventually. We finally had something to tease Sega fans about. Images and review courtesy of Digital Press.

Matt Paprocki is the former reviews editor for Digital Press, a video game website with an appreciation for the retro side of the industry. The deep game collection which spans nearly 30 systems and 2,000 games line his walls for research purposes. Matt strives to bring credibility to video game journalism, and take it in a new direction to aid the industry in becoming respected with all forms entertainment media. He currently freelances for GameArgus.com and MultiPlayerGames.com.

Retro Corner: Super Mario Land

Matt Paprocki — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 01:23:26 EDT

Retro games are a hot commodity. With the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii's Virtual Console, it's quickly becoming a prolific segment of the industry. Blogcritics is going to start looking at gaming's generally under-appreciated past in a different way.Teaming up with classic gaming database Digital Press, Blogcritics will be presenting some lost or under-appreciated classics in short reviews. Extras may include odd facts, the title's impact on the industry, some personal retrospective, different ports the game may have received, and how well they hold up on today's market. Our hope would be to introduce a new generation of gamers, or even those who recently purchased a game console for the first time to those games they missed and the legacy they left behind. The GameWhile seemingly lost in a buzz over Tetris, the bizarre and unfitting Super Mario Land found a home on Nintendo's first dedicated portable hardware. While a fast paced platformer went against the horrifically blurring screen of the Game Boy, Mario Land is and was a resounding gameplay success, and more incredibly, it did so without a familiar figure. Trimming the standard Mario formula at the time down to only four levels, in all the Worlds, Islands, and Galaxies Mario's visited, there's never been another one like this. Sure, the US version of Super Mario Bros. 2 would have the famous plumber picking up vegetables to whack an oversized frog, but when have you even seen Mario hop into a submarine to take down Egyptian idols? This is definitely a departure for the series, helmed not by Shigeru Miyamoto, but Gunpei Yokoi. Yokoi crafted the Game Boy hardware, and this apparently landed him the task of crafting a Mario game to play with it. While by no means an insult, this would have become a far different character if Yokoi continued developing the franchise. While most of the typical features are intact, from collecting coins to warping down pipes, everything else is different. The enemies include insects, explosive turtles, and as mentioned above, Egyptian-styled bosses. Mario is even out to save Princess Daisy, and the new enemies have apparently taken a note from Bowser to stick him with the "Princess is in another castle" bit. Even the classic fireball power-up has been altered into a reflecting ball that can be strategically used to gain coins. Hirokazu Tanaka handled the audio, and created a theme that sticks with you constantly. It's peppy pacing and addictive hooks are a highlight for the series. While maybe not as influential to pop culture as the level 1 theme from the original Super Mario Bros., it certainly can hold its own. The PresentIf there's a lost game in the series made by Nintendo, this is it. No one seems to bring this title up in discussions about Mario, and it has to be the radical changes. There's simply no other reason for it. Granted, the sprites are unbearably small and it can lead to irritating deaths, Mario Land holds up just as well as the others. The platforming mechanics still maintain their trademark feel, and the level design creates some unique challenges. You'll need to play through this one twice at minimum to grasp everything even with the shorter than average length. While fun for their time, the shooting levels do stick out. They're mostly filled with cheap shots and end level bosses that sound like a sheep when hit. Not only that, they're some of the most out of place challenges in a traditional 2-D Mario game. There's a reason this feature was left out of all following efforts. The same goes for the fireball power, which is wonderful in enclosed areas, and completely useless in any level without a ceiling. Those minor quirks are small problems in this ignored entry to the venerable Mario family. It's no less playable today than it was nearly 20 years ago. Facts and notablesNone of the enemies would be reappear in future platforming Mario games, and the same goes for the soundtrack. This is the only Mario game with shooting stages. Gunpei Yokoi and composer Hirokazu Tanaka would team up for numerous classics, notably Metroid and multiple releases for the Virtual Boy. Even with the resounding sales success, Mario Land 2 would become a traditional Nintendo platformer, with giant sprites and a far more involving game world. The third game in the series would replace Mario all together, beginning the Wario Land set of games. Yokoi is rarely remembered for his game creations, and more for his hardware. He would produce Metroid II, multiple games used with the Super Nintendo Super Scope, and also a few games for his failed Virtual Boy. Yokoi's life sadly ended in 1997 in a tragic car accident. A game titled after his name, Gunpey, would be released in 1999. Personal ReflectionLike most kids in 1989, the Game Boy was a huge deal. Never mind the blurring screen that made it damn near impossible to see what you were doing. This thing played Tetris. While many a kid waited for Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan, we slugged through Super Mario Land. I must confess, I'm one of the people who shunned the game. There were quite a few incredible Game Boy games at the time, and there's a reason the hardware became what it did. Mario Land simply fell to the wayside, especially when a year later the NES was graced with Mario 3. What brought me back was an oddball radio remix of the main theme by Ambassadors of Funk that became a huge player on local radio. Looking back, it's one of the worst things I ever heard, but to the ears of a 12-year-old kid, this was golden. Setting 8-bit music to rap was never a good idea, though if it led me to realize this game as a classic, it was worth it.Images and review courtesy of Digital Press.

Retro Corner: Wario Land Virtual Boy

Matt Paprocki — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 18:29:59 EDT

Retro games are a hot commodity. With the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii's Virtual Console, it's quickly becoming a prolific segment of the industry. Blogcritics is going to start looking at gaming's generally under-appreciated past in a different way.Teaming up with classic gaming database Digital Press, Blogcritics will be presenting some lost or under-appreciated classics in short reviews. Extras may include odd facts, the title's impact on the industry, some personal retrospective, different ports the game may have received, and how well they hold up on today's market. Our hope would be to introduce a new generation of gamers, or even those who recently purchased a game console for the first time to those games they missed and the legacy they left behind. The Game Yes, it's a Virtual Boy game, and yes, it fits right in with the column's original intention: Introducing a wide audience to the lost classics they've never played yet absolutely should. Wario Land is a brilliant piece of retro gaming, one that both is still fun today, and uses the capabilities of the hardware to its fullest. While the Virtual Boy languished and bombed at the hands of the video game media at the time, players skipped directly over this red and black gem. Without a true dedicated Mario title for the console, his arch nemesis stepped in to grab the platforming crown. Level design is where Wario stands out, and it may even take some time to realize the depth this lost classic has. They key (literally) in each stage is, uh, well, the key. Somewhere between the enemies moving front-to-back, and in-and-out of the players view, block busting, jump blocks that send Wario out of the screen to a rear section of the stage, and transformations hides a key to open the final door. This could have been a simple case of running to the right with some superb parallax scrolling. Instead, Nintendo gave a purpose to the adventure. Exploring everything, even if it may not be in foreground, is critical. For those truly dedicated, hidden artifacts are crammed even deeper. This is a rather short ride, so replay value is crucial.Boss fights are nearly all classics, and each one-upping the prior. The 3-D effect is used to its fullest, well past the point of being slapped with a gimmick moniker. The same goes for the bonus levels, which require precision front-to-back jumping. The Present In a roundabout way, the use of the 3-D to find secret items or exits can be seen as an early precursor to the recent Paper Mario on the Wii. In terms of exploration, the game play mechanic is awfully similar in execution, and imaging how well Paper Mario's latest adventure would have looked here is a dream that will never come to light. With the passage of time, it's easy to see that the front-to-back (and often vice versa) jumping would have worked on the SNES at the time. A little Mode 7 scaling would have handled this just as well. However, the depth of field provided by the hardware makes all the difference. Graphically detailed, for simple red and black sprites, the characters still hold up. Some backgrounds, especially those containing the artifacts, feature stunning detail and attention to the design. Even with only a few shades of red to work with, the game play is never lost to the backgrounds. The level design sticks around too long after you've played it, meaning it's still worth dragging the Virtual Boy from its dusty grave from time to time ensuring yourself you've seen it all. Fact and Notables GamePro Magazine handed out a 4.8 out of 5 (average of the score dividers), the highest scoring Virtual Boy game reviewed in the publication. Only pack-in game Mario's Tennis came close with a 4.3. There are four total endings depending on multiple factors such as the amount of coins you earned and what artifacts were discovered. A differently labeled version of the game is available, and was used in demo kiosks. A "Not for Resale" sticker is readily apparent. The game is still the same. Once you've beaten the game, a second quest opens which provides a significantly higher challenge. Personal Reflection Like the majority of people who actually purchased the Virtual Boy new, mine was on clearance at Toys R Us. While the initial impression was not a good one as I figured out it wasn't really portable, popping in Wario Land proved that first impressions aren't everything. In this case, they're meaningless. Wario Land stands as the best game in the series, and yet no one seems to notice or give it credit. The means of actually playing it, blocking you out from the rest of world, lead to a few days where my employer needed to call me to see if I was coming in. Plowing through the game was simply too engrossing to look away (that and the threat of gong blind from being buried inside the console too long). I still have yet to see all four endings, either proof of my procrastination or simply for the fact that I never want an excuse to stop playing this one. I can always convince myself I'm playing through this again to find a new ending, even if I don't even look at a FAQ to figure out the needed route. Retro Review The Virtual Boy was never the lucky recipient of a true Super Mario adventure. Instead, Virtual Boy owners were treated to a game starring one of Mario's archenemies, Wario. Surprisingly, the game is not only one of the best entries in the Wario line of games; it's also amongst the best games available for the system. Continue reading on Digital Press.Images and review courtesy of Digital Press.

Retro Corner: U.N. Squadron

Matt Paprocki — Thu, 10 May 2007 00:46:17 EDT

Retro games are a hot commodity. With the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii’s Virtual Console, it’s quickly becoming a prolific segment of the industry. Blogcritics is going to start looking at gaming’s generally under-appreciated past in a different way.Teaming up with classic gaming database Digital Press, Blogcritics will be presenting some lost or under-appreciated classics in short reviews. Extras may include odd facts, the title’s impact on the industry, some personal retrospective, different ports the game may have received, and how well they hold up on today’s market. Our hope would be to introduce a new generation of gamers, or even those who recently purchased a game console for the first time to those games they missed and the legacy they left behind. The Game Ignored in nearly all “best of licensed titles” lists, U.N. Squadron took over the SNES shooter genre in September of 1991, easily overshadowing long-standing favorites R-Type and Gradius. Based off Japanese anime Area 88, this unique and gorgeous horizontal shooter remains one of the most undervalued on the market. A translation of an arcade game, of which this SNES version does share some similarities, players pick one of three pilots. Each has a specific trait that makes them useful in combat. Shin Kazama, Mickey Simon, and Greg Gates are your choices with the ability to upgrade weapons faster, gain the most from ammo pick ups, and fix plane damage in half the time, respectively. While the character selection is a rather mundane opening, the ability to earn cash for every enemy shot down opens the game up to a staggering amount of customization. New planes, each with the ability to hold specific weapons, increases the amount of strategy more than nearly any other shooter available, even today. This happens before you even dive into actual game play. Levels are selected on a map, continuing the focus on making U.N. Squadron open to the players choices. Enemies appear at random times to attack the home base, and these assaults are the only time the player will be forced into a level. Otherwise, as the game progresses, multiple levels open at once and any can be selected.A wide array of levels keeps the experience fresh, with beautiful backdrops behind the action. A battle in a thunderstorm complete with six layers of parallax scrolling and lighting bolts crackling is amongst the Super NES elite. Earlier available levels are not as intense as the stages closer to the enemy base, something that may turn off hardcore SHMUP enthusiasts. In the end, the player is assaulted from multiple targets, including a truly brutal level set inside a mountain with multiple levels along with vertical scrolling. The Present While the lack of two-player co-op is a disappointing deletion and huge benefit of the arcade version, early SNES fans were already used to it. It sticks out more in the modern era, and is one of the toughest to ignore when ignoring the warm nostalgia U.N. Squadron brings with it. Minor slowdown is acceptable, and certainly better than the challengers in the same time period. If anything, it makes tight enclosures more bearable when enemy jets begin their bombardment late in the game. The open-ended game play is still unique, and the amount of customization is simply unmatched. While the backgrounds no longer shine as they once did, nothing here hinders the game’s playability. Facts and Notables Rather obviously, the game carried the anime title in Japan, Area 88. There are no significant changes between the US and Japanese carts. Changes from the arcade include the wider array of jets (each pilot was stuck inside their specific plane in arcades), different music, and different level layout. One hit in the arcade was all the player was allowed before going down in flames. On the SNES, things are definitely easier with a meter that allowed for a few shots before losing a life. However, after being hit, the player needs to avoid being hit a second time until the meter stops flashing or risk dying regardless of the health level. Doesn’t follow any storyline from the anime. Characters and locale will be familiar to fans. Was followed by an arcade only sequel, Carrier Air Wing. Personal Reflection Being one of the initial games I had the chance to play on my own SNES hardware (Joe & Mac being the first), this one has stuck with me. It’s not simply because it was an early pick either, or else Xardion would be the game featured here and needless to say, this would not be a glowing piece. Even at 12 years old, the unique style of the game was undeniable. It was a lucky choice as it was one of the few left in stock at the rental store and picked it out of desperation for anything on the console. It’s one of the best things that could have happened to me in terms of my gaming hobby. When it comes to reliving the 16-bit era, U.N. Squadron is one of the first choices around here. Looking back, this is definitely a game screaming for a save system of any kind. I had to leave this one paused for hours one night and come back to it after scribbling some homework quickly to get back into play just to finish it off. That’s the addictive hook this sadly “lost” shooter brought with it.Images and review courtesy of Digital Press.

Retro Corner: Gunforce II

Matt Paprocki — Wed, 4 Apr 2007 15:35:05 EDT

Retro games are a hot commodity. With the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii’s Virtual Console, it’s quickly becoming a prolific segment of the industry. Blogcritics is going to start looking at gaming’s generally under-appreciated past in a different way.Teaming up with classic gaming database Digital Press, Blogcritics will be presenting some lost or under-appreciated classics in short reviews. Extras may include odd facts, the title’s impact on the industry, some personal retrospective, different ports the game may have received, and how well they hold up on today’s market. Our hope would be to introduce a new generation of gamers, or even those who recently purchased a game console for the first time to those games they missed and the legacy they left behind. The Game Irem’s M92 arcade hardware is a vastly underrated piece of gaming history. It housed 12 games total, and there’s barely a dud in the batch. There’s a particular lost and ignored classic buried here, though; one that somehow slipped through unnoticed during the final days of the arcade. Gunforce II is that title.A 1994 release, Gunforce II is simply one of the greatest action games ever produced. Yes, better than Metal Slug, both in that it hit two years earlier and actually manages to outdo the perennial SNK trademark in nearly every category. One or two players take hold of the generic action hero, blasting their way through multiple levels of sheer insanity well past what the hardware can handle.The hook is that the player holds two guns. They fire a full 360 degrees when called on, and only one can take advantage of the power-ups. It’s awkward at first, and late in the game when the difficulty takes off, it’s going to cause more than few cheap deaths. However, the advantages elsewhere in the game far outweigh those few extra quarters. Digital Press's review describes this better than anywhere else on the ‘net:“If something isn't dying or exploding every 10 seconds, you're not doing something right.”Prior to this, there was never a game to feature this sheer level of destruction. It was simply unparalled. In fact, in terms of 2-D titles, it still stands out. The level of animation is completely off the charts, adding extra pop to the explosions and environments. Who cares if the backdrop is a generic alien invasion? Michael Bay would have trouble finding room for this many explosives in his latest Hollywood blockbuster. Facts and Notables The M92 has a very distinct visual style - gritty by default yet able to produce stunning color and shading. The highlights of the hardware include submarine shooter Into the Hunt and another lost gem, Undercover Cops, a beat-em-up. Where’s the first Gunforce? It was a sluggish 1991 release, amazingly for the same arcade chipset as its sequel. It would find a home on the Super NES, though in an unplayable, slowdown riddled port. Gunforce II never found a place in gamer’s home unless they paid for the full cabinet. The title is called Geostorm in Japan.How much did Metal Slug borrow? A lot. Rescuing hostages for end level bonuses, alien invasion on a mass scale, airplane shooter segment, vehicles, weapon styles, vivid animation and a keen eye for over-the-top action. Personal Reflection I fully admit that I’m part of the crowd that missed this one in the arcades. Had a buddy and me not been going through the list of titles in the arcade emulator MAME one Sunday, I likely never would have noticed it. I had played the ugly Super NES port of the original, which, of course, left a sour taste in my mouth. We ran through the first level and gave up when it came up in MAME. In fact, we almost skipped Gunforce II as well. Since quite a bit of what were playing was junk anyway, we figured this might as well get a chance.It got a lot more than that. We played through it twice in back-to-back sessions, partly out of stunned silence as to what we had just witnessed, and secondly because we wanted to see if we missed anything behind the massive walls of debris and explosions. Keep in mind this is a shooter with barely any auto-fire to speak of, and this probably was the first sign that carpal tunnel will be a serious issue in a few years.Sure, we love Metal Slug. For what it does, it’s magnificent. It has the edge of Gunforce II in terms of character and the variety in the animations. However, Irem’s stunner is unmatched in terms of pure visceral thrills. It’s hard to imagine any home console of the day handling this effort. The 16-bit era was still going strong, and the PlayStation and Saturn needed more time for developers to become accustomed to the hardware. Gunforce II simply hit at the wrong time. In the Hunt would land on both pieces of the latter hardware, while Undercover Cops was watered down for a non-US release on the Super NES.As such, the only way you can take on Gunforce II, assuming you’re a poor gamer given your hobby choice, is via emulation. Unless you’re completely against the MAME project and would never dream of becoming involved, Gunforce II is reason enough to download the software. It’s truly that special.Images and review courtesy of Digital Press.

Retro Corner: Virtua Fighter

Matt Paprocki — Thu, 1 Mar 2007 11:43:17 EST

Retro games are a hot commodity. With the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii's Virtual Console, it's quickly becoming a prolific segment of the industry. Blogcritics is going to start looking at gaming's generally under-appreciated past in a different way.Teaming up with classic gaming database Digital Press, Blogcritics will be presenting some lost or under-appreciated classics in short reviews. Extras may include odd facts, the title's impact on the industry, some personal retrospective, different ports the game may have received, and how well they hold up on today's market. Our hope would be to introduce a new generation of gamers, or even those who recently purchased a game console for the first time to those games they missed and the legacy they left behind. The Game In terms of impact on the industry, Virtua Fighter stands alone in many regards. Helmed by Sega studio AM2 and led by legendary Yu Suzuki, Virtua Fighter astonished gamers with sharp 3-D graphics, amazing animation, and a keen eye for what makes the gaming industry so enjoyable. Its effects are still felt to this day in nearly every 3-D fighter you’ll play.Released in an era where complex six button, 2-D fighting games were helping arcade owners recoup a portion of their struggling business, there was more to Virtua Fighter than its landmark graphics. Daring to avoid the norm and crafting the fighting engine around two attack buttons and another for blocking, Suzuki’s team brilliantly found depth in this minimal control scheme. Nearly all 3-D fighters since have borrowed this set up, and some even go so far as to copy specific combo movements. It’s amazing to think that after 14 years, the series has remained this way. Little has been altered; truly proving how well this title came together. Technique became a matter of skill and timing, turning away from the Capcom standard of pressing the proper kick and punch button to continue a string of offensive blows. You learned Virtua Fighter on your own. All of the strategy guides in the world wouldn’t make you a better player. A more knowledgeable one, sure, but a true competitor? Not a chance. The Present Even when staring at the amazing textures of the recently released Virtua Fighter 5, there’s something about the flat shaded polygons of 1993 that has an indescribable visual appeal. The booming soundtrack is memorable, and if you called Sega for technical support during this period, you’d be listening to Jacky’s stage theme when on hold. Still perfectly playable, the game can hold its own. The annoyingly floaty jumping is a tough hurdle to overcome, and while the technique is definitely a step back from modern 3-D fighters, there’s no way to deny that it still takes practice to master this classic. Many titles from the early 3-D era cannot stand out after this period of time. Virtua Fighter easily passes the modern day game play test. Facts and notables Released at launch for the Sega Saturn, the buggy graphics and game play were quickly fixed by a mail-in update, called Virtua Fighter Remix. This new version added textures to the characters, and was also an arcade release. While the Saturn version suffered, Sega’s ill-fated 32X add-on became the surprising recipient of the best home port. While the character models were stripped down to their bare minimum, the steady frame rate an accurate response time pushed this port over the version on the higher-end hardware.To promote the release of the 32X version, the company released a now rare promotional package containing a t-shirt and video showcasing the game play. A Windows PC release was one of the first Sega games in a line up of console ports, including (amongst others) Comix Zone and Sonic the Hedgehog in distinctive white and blue packaging. As an early 3-D fighter, the game required a massive 8MB of RAM at minimum. A Virtua Fighter arcade cabinet is on display at the Smithsonian Institute Museum. Personal Reflection Virtua Fighter was one of those games you remember where you were when you first laid eyes on it. For me, it was in a local gaming store called the Player’s Edge, long since bought out by Movie Gallery and then closed. The animation of the game simply floored me, far and above what could then only be considered choppy and unrealistic efforts of Street Fighter II. It’s not something you look back on and laugh at yourself for believing it was the pinnacle of gaming. It was far too special, and it still is today. Akira became my character of choice, and while Jacky eventually superceded him over the years, that first 50 � (likely the first time I paid that much for a single credit) is always remembered. The game nearly led me to purchase a Saturn when it was released, though the overly high price tag led me to hold off. Instead, I found a 32X at Wal-Mart around a year later on clearance and of course, Virtua Fighter. That copy remains on my shelf, and while I’ve been through far more 32X consoles than any other in my collection, that first copy remains in a special place on my shelves, much like the game does is my gaming memories. Images and review courtesy of Digital Press.