SegaFans Weekly Issue #14 - May 14, 2006
benstylus
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~ S E G A F A N S W E E K L Y ~ ~ ISSUE #14 - MAY 14 2006 ~
copyright 2006 segafans.com
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A Message from benstylus ~ Page 1
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E3's here, and with it has come a lot of new Sega announcements, but
unfortunately this has also meant a bit of a drought on actual current
releases.
It's a good thing Sega games stand the test of time and they're still
just as fun to play today as they are when you first picked them up.
We've got a lot to cover in this issue, so let's get to it!
I finally tried out the Full Auto demo that I downloaded on the Xbox
360.
Let's see... where to start... I don't like the inconsistent
framerate - usually 30, sometimes managing 60, often dipping well
below 30.
I also don't like the gameplay itself much. It's racing, but with
WEAPONS! Mario Kart is still king of the ring in that department.
All the other explosions that happen from other cars or buildings is a
nice visual touch, but it does little to alleviate the undeniably
shallow gameplay.
And finally, the demo froze on me towards the end of the very first
race I played.
I thought the point of a demo was to try and SELL games. My mistake.
At any rate, the next few weeks ought to be filled with some new fuel
for our top stories (would have started this week if it hadn't been
for a UPS blunder).
But that's in the future. Read on and enjoy the now.
~ benstylus
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delivered to you via email before it shows up on the SegaFans website,
send an email to sfw.su...@segafans.com & follow the instructions!
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Table of Contents ~ Page 2
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1 - A Message from benstylus
2 - Table of Contents
3 - Top Story - Happy 11th Birthday. Saturn!
4 - Weekly News Roundup
5 - SegaFans Forum Digest
6 - Feature - Sega Ages 2500: Part 4
7 - New and Upcoming
8 - Game of the Week - Sewer Shark (Sega CD)
9 - Links
10- Credits / Contact Information
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Top Story - Happy 11th Birthday. Saturn! ~ Page 3
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Eleven years ago this week, the very first E3 (Electronic
Entertainment Expo) was held in Los Angeles, California. We were
approaching the tail end of the 16 bit era and the dawn of the 32-bit
era (not counting the overpriced 3DO).
Of course, nobody knew just how close the 32-bit era of gaming was...
until the start of the show when Tom Kalinske dropped quite possible
the biggest surprise to ever hit the gaming press.
He announced that the Sega Saturn would still officially launch in
September of that year, but the console was available NOW at select
retailers for the low price of $399.99.
Yes, Sega of America launched the Saturn a few months early in order
to get the jump on newcomer Sony and their Playstation.
Olaf Olaffson, then president of Sony Computer Entertainment of
America, takes the stage and calls up one of the Playstation's
designers, Steve Rice, to say a few words.
His words were very few, and effectively mitigated any thunder Sega
may have had. What did he say? "US $299."
Sony's Playstation had undercut the Sega Saturn by $100, all that was
left to see was whether the few short months lead time Sega had before
the Playstation's release was enough to secure its place in the
market.
We all know how this story ends, but let's forget about it for now and
travel back to 1995 and take a look at some of the more memorable
games available for the Saturn early on during that first difficult
year.
DAYTONA USA
There are some things in video games that people never get tired of.
"ROOOOOOOOLING STAAAAAAAAAAAAAART!" is one of them. In fact, Sega's
fantastically cheesy upbeat tunes are half of what made Daytona USA
such a great game.
The other half was the fun and challenging gameplay that relied
largely on powerslides to pull you through tight corners without
losing much speed.
With crude visuals, only three tracks and no multiplayer, Daytona USA
was the subject of much criticism, but it's all about the gameplay,
and anyone who gets into it will understand what makes it great.
CLOCKWORK KNIGHT
A delightful mix of pre-rendered CG characters, 3D graphics, and
classic 2D platformer gameplay make Clockwork Knight a pleasure to
play.
It's biggest problem is that it's extremely short.
It's often said that in order to get it out early so there would be
more Saturn software on the shelf, they just released the half-
completed game and the other half was released later as Clockwork
Knight 2.
Whether this is true or not will probably never be known for sure, but
it's not too hard to believe after beating the game and saying,
"That's it?"
PANZER DRAGOON
The most creative of Sega's early efforts, Panzer Dragoon is set in an
alternate world filled with laser spouting dragons, lots of deserts
and enemies galore.
Dramatic music, impressive graphics, and genuinely satisfying levels
elevate Panzer Dragoon to the status of classic.
They went so far as to create a new language for the game's cutscenes
to complete the other-worldly feel.
Look for a complete rundown of the new PS2 remake of the game soon in
an upcoming issue of SegaFans Weekly!
BUG!
I think the best term to describe Bug! as a game is "technically
competent."
There are no problems that I've seen with the programming, and the
ideas put forth in the game are certainly implemented with polish.
It's a combination of pre-rendered CG characters (which do look pretty
good) and 3D levels (which look good for such an early Saturn game)
and 2D gameplay.
Add in a pinch of attitude, and you've got Bug!
The big problem with this recipe is that it's just not all that fun.
VIRTUA FIGHTER
A system-seller in Japan, Virtua Fighter has never really caught on
that well with American audiences. This first Saturn port of Virtua
Fighter was buggy, had lots of graphical glitches, and a low
framerate.
Despite those problems, it still retained the essential Virtua Fighter
gameplay which at the time was the deepest fighting gameplay ever. It
is still among the deepest, only being surpassed by its sequels.
So hey, happy 11th, Saturn. I would have brought cake, but it's hard
to e-mail. So I made a video instead.
- http://www.segafans.com/downloads/saturn_launch.mov
- benstylus
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Weekly News Roundup ~ Page 4
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More E3 news this week as Sega announces a boatload of new games...
First and foremost, Virtua Fighter 5 has been confirmed for a home
console release, and it will be available exclusively on the PS3. For
those with HD televisions, the game will support 720p resolution.
- http://www.sega-europe.com/en/NewsStory/1172.htm
Next up is Sonic's Wii debut in Sonic Wild Fire. Apparently this will
be a completely solo affair for Sonic - so those of you who crave high
speed action without the interruption of fishing or searching via
radar for hidden gems, this may be the game for you!
- http://www.sega-europe.com/en/NewsStory/1178.htm
And now a bit of a surprise - Sega has announced a new Golden Axe game
in development for PS3 and the Xbox 360. It's being developed by
Secret Level, a studio in San Francisco that Sega of America recently
purchased. But when will we finally get a home port of Revenge of
Death Adder?
- http://www.sega-europe.com/en/NewsStory/1184.htm
Also, Sega's updated their website for the Total War series in
anticipation of their upcoming Medieval: Total War game. Check it
out!
- http://www.totalwar.com
On the Japanese side of things, Sega Ages 2500 volume 24 - Last Bronx
finally has a release date. It's scheduled to hit stores on June
29th. More on this one as more details are made available, but
hopefully the delays have been worth it (as volume 27 is already out!)
- http://sega.jp/ps2/ages24/
Finally, it looks like OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast for the PC has been
pushed back to June instead of being released last week like it was
supposed to. Those of you without PS2s or Xboxs, just hold on a
little longer!
- http://www.sega.com/games/allgames.php?sort=date
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SegaFans Forum Digest ~ Page 5
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Forums were more active than usual thanks to the heaping helping of E3
news. Here's what we've got for you this time:
Bortumer's E3 topic is still going strong thanks to Sega's new press
releases.
- http://www.segafans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1880&st=80
Steve makes a rare appearance and asks about Trouble Shooter / Slime
World. Of course we're all too preoccupied with the fact that he
showed up to help him out!
- http://www.segafans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1900
While we're on the subject of rare appearances, Molloy stops by and
asks for some info on Sega's analog controller for the Mega Drive.
No, Nintendo did not invent analog control. (Neither did Sega, but
that's beside the point).
- http://www.segafans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1905
Steve reminds everyone of the Saturn's birthday, and a discussion
ensues.
- http://www.segafans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1908
More talk about Yuji Naka and Prope... including what this means for
Sega.
- http://www.segafans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1901
Keep up the good work guys! For those of you who haven't been part of
the discussion yet, why not come join the forums and be heard?
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Feature - Sega Ages 2500: Part 4 ~ Page 6
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We're back for another week and another 5 of the Sega Ages 2500 series
games! What's in store for you this week? Well, it's all about the
R's this week... RPGs and "R"cade games!
DECATHLETE COLLECTION (VOL. 15)
Take DecAthlete, Winter Heat, and Virtua Athlete 2000 and put them
together on one disc and you've got a winning combination, right?
Ok, ok, Virtua Athlete 2000 sucks, but the other two are still great
and would make a winning combination.
Or they would in theory.
I would have been content with arcade perfect (or close to it) ports
of the games. The Saturn versions (which were featured in SegaFans
Weekly Issue #8) don't quite look as good as their arcade
counterparts, but they play every bit as well.
The biggest downer with the DecAthlete Collection is that the digital
controls of the arcade version have been replaced with analog-only.
So people who have joysticks in order to get the authentic arcade
experience are now excluded.
And in a button-mash fest like these games, it's a lot easier to mash
buttons on a joystick than on the small Dual Shock controller.
Additionally, it appears that - other than the character models -
almost everything has been rebuilt from the ground up. So the
controls for some of the events have changed slightly, and even a lot
of the characters' animations are a little off.
It's quite disappointing, to say the least.
VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 (VOL. 16)
An arcade perfect home port of Virtua Fighter 2 would be killer.
Unfortunately, what we've got here is far from it. Yes, it has the
bridge in Shun Di's stage that has been missing from every other port,
but honestly, it's not all that impressive.
Especially once you see the super low resolution textures all over the
place. I've seen what the PS2 is capable of, and this is definitely
not it.
In short, you're probably better off just sticking to the Saturn
version.
Ah well. So our dreams of a perfect port will have to wait. Maybe
we'll get it as an unlockable bonus in VF5.
PHANTASY STAR: GENERATION 2 (VOL. 17)
Wow, what a remake. Clean, high resolution graphics, a revised and
expanded battle system, and a fresh modern anime styling really give
Phantasy Star "Phans" something to smile about.
And even if you don't like it, also included on the disc is the
original version.
If you're going to do a remake, this is definitely the way to do it.
I'd say more, but what more is there to say? It's Phantasy Star 2,
but prettier.
DRAGON FORCE (VOL. 18)
This one modestly updated the graphics (mostly increasing the
resolution, and redoing all the cutscene pics), but added quite a bit
more to the game including some new generals and some new story
sequences.
At heart, it's still the same Dragon Force, though. Epic 100 vs 100
battles are possible (though it will take a while before your generals
are good enough to command 100 troops), and it's really a lot of fun,
if rather basic strategy gameplay.
A word of caution - this game is heavy on the Japanese Kanji - so
unless you're willing to learn the language (or at least fuddle around
with the menus and memorize what each one does), you'd be better off
searching for the Saturn version.
FIGHTING VIPERS (VOL. 19)
I've never had the luxury of playing Fighting Vipers in the arcade, so
I don't know whether it's arcade perfect or not - but it's a whole lot
better than the rush job that was done on Virtua Fighter 2.
Fighting Vipers has usually played second fiddle to Sega's Virtua
Fighter series, so it's nice to see this one take the spotlight for
once.
It plays well, it looks good (the armor-shattering is better than
ever), and by the time you're done, you'll want to buy a whole
truckload of Pepsi.
Here's this week's video - more benstylus' exclusive action!
- http://www.segafans.com/downloads/ages_vols15-19.mov
Only a few more games to go before we're current! Tune in next week
for the exciting Finale!
~benstylus
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New and Upcoming ~ Page 7
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Here's a list of Sega's upcoming releases (within 2 weeks of this
newsletter) as well as recent games in case you accidentally missed
any of them. This list covers games developed by Sega, published by
Sega, or on Sega systems. These dates are direct from Sega, but
sometimes they change em. So this should be considered a "rough
estimate" rather than hard facts.
RECENTLY RELEASED - USA
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None :(
UPCOMING GAMES - USA
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None :(
RECENTLY RELEASED - EUROPE
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None :(
UPCOMING GAMES - EUROPE
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None :(
RECENTLY RELEASED - JAPAN
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None :(
UPCOMING GAMES - JAPAN
----------------------
Juiced PS2 05/18/06
Kamaitachi No Yoru 2 PSP 05/24/06
Nouryoku Trainer Portable 2 PSP 05/24/06
Wow, what a drought, eh? E3 may be great for game news, but it's real
bad for actual releases.
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Game of the Week - Sewer Shark (Sega CD) ~ Page 8
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I'm still on a bit of a Sega CD kick since I got my CDX, so you're
getting another Sega CD game as your Game of the Week this week.
And it's not one of the obscure titles, it's perhaps the most well
known of all the Sega CD's games with the possible exception of Sonic
CD.
That's right, this week's game of the week is Digital Pictures' full
motion video fest - Sewer Shark.
Sewer shark was groundbreaking, in that it was the first video game
for a home console to use full-motion video for its main gameplay
element, truly an "interactive movie" of sorts.
Digital Pictures was responsible for a few of these FMV games,
including Night Trap, but without a doubt Sewer Shark is the most fun
to play.
It's fast-paced action as you're trying to kill all sorts of baddies
as you run through the sewers.
The gameplay is pretty simple - point your cursor and shoot the
enemies. You'll also need to make sure you follow directions and take
the right paths when you come across a branch in the sewer system.
One of the games strengths is, believe it or not, the video cutscenes
between shooting segments. They help prevent the monotony that would
set in if you were just hunting enemies for an hour.
Well, to be fair, the videos themselves aren't that great, but your
off-beat co-pilot Ghost (played by David Underwood) is a pretty cool
character, and he manages to put on a pretty good show throughout the
game (unlike all the other characters).
The graphics are pretty crude by today's standard thanks to the single
speed CD-ROM drive and limited color palette on the Sega CD. However,
Sewer Shark never really looks BAD.
If you've got a Sega CD, you may want to pick this one up. You can
likely find it for a couple bucks or less, and it really is one of the
best FMV games out there (though admittedly that's not saying much).
And now, a video for your enjoyment.
- http://www.segafans.com/gotw/scd_sewer_shark.mov
-benstylus
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Links ~ Page 9
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SegaFans: Covering the past present and future of everything Sega
- http://www.segafans.com
Sega of America
- http://www.sega.com
Sega Europe
- http://www.sega-europe.com
Sega of Japan
- http://www.sega.jp
Cuddly Gamers: A forum where gamers are nice to each other
- http://cuddlygamers.com
Game Trading Zone: Buy, sell, or trade your games online for free
- http://www.gametz.com
Game Tribute: Provides ad free hosting to quality game fan sites
- http://www.gametribute.com
Whip Ass Gaming: A very hip gaming site run by BelPowerslave
- http://www.whipassgaming.com
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Credits / Legal / Contact / Subscription Information ~ Page 10
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This issue was created in its entirety by benstylus.
All original content copyright 2006 segafans.com.
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You may redistribute this newsletter under the following conditions:
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2 - You will not charge for this newsletter. If you run a
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3 - You will provide proper credit and a link to www.segafans.com
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~BUG JUICE~
Scott H
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ~ S E G A F A N S W E E K L Y ~ ~ ISSUE #14 - MAY 14 2006 ~
> copyright 2006 segafans.com
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> to e-mail. So I made a video instead.
> - http://www.segafans.com/downloads/saturn_launch.mov
> - benstylus
This video is awesome! Aside from the Daytona shadows being red,
what's up with that? I'd love to have this video up on the
Saturn-vs-PS1 page actually. I've been meaning to do a full 1995
comparison for some time now, and I should have time to go out and find
some of the PS1 games I haven't had a chance to shoot yet here in the
next couple of weeks. But your video is basically exactly what I'd do
for Saturn Launch, if you wouldn't mind my using it. If not that's
fine, I usually try to keep movie files 1 per game, so I could just go
back and do them as I have time.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Feature - Sega Ages 2500: Part 4 ~ Page 6
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 (VOL. 16)
> An arcade perfect home port of Virtua Fighter 2 would be killer.
>
> Unfortunately, what we've got here is far from it. Yes, it has the
> bridge in Shun Di's stage that has been missing from every other port,
> but honestly, it's not all that impressive.
>
> Especially once you see the super low resolution textures all over the
> place. I've seen what the PS2 is capable of, and this is definitely
> not it. In short, you're probably better off just sticking to the Saturn
> version.
Uh oh, the PS2 cop will be around any minute to haul you off for
spreading anti-Sony "propagandilism". Sony knows I learned my lesson
for saying I prefered VF3tb to VF4 (not EVO) for aesthetic reasons.
Low res textures, compared to the Model 2? I bet they just look worse
because of texture filtering, the same thing is true for the Saturn port
of DOA 1 in DOA Ultimate for Xbox. Filtering makes textures which look
sharp otherwise look seriously blurry in comparison. Feel free to prove
me wrong though, I'd love to know that Sega deliberately scaled down the
graphics for a port to significantly more powerful hardware. It'd give
me something to look forward to with Wii's Genesis compatibility. ;)
> Ah well. So our dreams of a perfect port will have to wait. Maybe
> we'll get it as an unlockable bonus in VF5.
What we need is what few fans Sega has left to start a letter writing
campaign large enough to actually convince Sega to treat their IP with
respect.
>
> PHANTASY STAR: GENERATION 2 (VOL. 17)
> Wow, what a remake. Clean, high resolution graphics, a revised and
> expanded battle system, and a fresh modern anime styling really give
> Phantasy Star "Phans" something to smile about.
>
> And even if you don't like it, also included on the disc is the
> original version.
>
> If you're going to do a remake, this is definitely the way to do it.
> I'd say more, but what more is there to say? It's Phantasy Star 2,
> but prettier.
Oh, I thought it was PS1, that's interesting. Man, I wish they'd bring
this one over.
>
> DRAGON FORCE (VOL. 18)
> This one modestly updated the graphics (mostly increasing the
> resolution, and redoing all the cutscene pics), but added quite a bit
> more to the game including some new generals and some new story
> sequences.
>
> At heart, it's still the same Dragon Force, though. Epic 100 vs 100
> battles are possible (though it will take a while before your generals
> are good enough to command 100 troops), and it's really a lot of fun,
> if rather basic strategy gameplay.
>
> A word of caution - this game is heavy on the Japanese Kanji - so
> unless you're willing to learn the language (or at least fuddle around
> with the menus and memorize what each one does), you'd be better off
> searching for the Saturn version.
This sounds like the kind of update I wish more companies would do as
budget titles. Keep the game the same, update the graphics (and sound
if necessary) add a few characters and levels and treat it as a budget
title. That way it's not necessarily a replacement for the original,
which saw all of the real hard work, but it keeps the game's memory alive.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Game of the Week - Sewer Shark (Sega CD) ~ Page 8
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm still on a bit of a Sega CD kick since I got my CDX, so you're
> getting another Sega CD game as your Game of the Week this week.
>
> And it's not one of the obscure titles, it's perhaps the most well
> known of all the Sega CD's games with the possible exception of Sonic
> CD.
>
> That's right, this week's game of the week is Digital Pictures' full
> motion video fest - Sewer Shark.
>
> Sewer shark was groundbreaking, in that it was the first video game
> for a home console to use full-motion video for its main gameplay
> element, truly an "interactive movie" of sorts.
>
> Digital Pictures was responsible for a few of these FMV games,
> including Night Trap, but without a doubt Sewer Shark is the most fun
> to play.
I thought Sony Imagesoft made or published this one.
> It's fast-paced action as you're trying to kill all sorts of baddies
> as you run through the sewers.
>
> The gameplay is pretty simple - point your cursor and shoot the
> enemies. You'll also need to make sure you follow directions and take
> the right paths when you come across a branch in the sewer system.
>
> One of the games strengths is, believe it or not, the video cutscenes
> between shooting segments. They help prevent the monotony that would
> set in if you were just hunting enemies for an hour.
>
> Well, to be fair, the videos themselves aren't that great, but your
> off-beat co-pilot Ghost (played by David Underwood) is a pretty cool
> character, and he manages to put on a pretty good show throughout the
> game (unlike all the other characters).
>
> The graphics are pretty crude by today's standard thanks to the single
> speed CD-ROM drive and limited color palette on the Sega CD. However,
> Sewer Shark never really looks BAD.
It was certainly popular, I even decided to pick it up after reading
positive reviews in all three game mags of the time. Yeesh, what a
simplistic and ugly game though. Loadstar and Tomcat Alley did a later
but much better job of promoting the FMV genre I thought. I'm not
intending to be overly critical, but games like Sewer Shark, Night Trap
and Double Switch really made me hate FMV, and I mean HATE FMV. ;)
> If you've got a Sega CD, you may want to pick this one up. You can
> likely find it for a couple bucks or less, and it really is one of the
> best FMV games out there (though admittedly that's not saying much).
>
> And now, a video for your enjoyment.
> - http://www.segafans.com/gotw/scd_sewer_shark.mov
> -benstylus
>
--
Scott
Scott H
Revised after getting the movie downloaded
VF2:
> Low res textures, compared to the Model 2? I bet they just look worse
> because of texture filtering, the same thing is true for the Saturn port
> of DOA 1 in DOA Ultimate for Xbox. Filtering makes textures which look
> sharp otherwise look seriously blurry in comparison. Feel free to prove
> me wrong though, I'd love to know that Sega deliberately scaled down the
> graphics for a port to significantly more powerful hardware. It'd give
> me something to look forward to with Wii's Genesis compatibility. ;)
Wow, they actually did tone down the textures. The Saturn ground
textures seem like one large map, while the Sega Ages version is
obviously smaller square checkerboard maps for the floors. That's
really sad.
>
>> Ah well. So our dreams of a perfect port will have to wait. Maybe
>> we'll get it as an unlockable bonus in VF5.
>
> What we need is what few fans Sega has left to start a letter writing
> campaign large enough to actually convince Sega to treat their IP with
> respect.
Double that.
>>
>> PHANTASY STAR: GENERATION 2 (VOL. 17)
>> Wow, what a remake. Clean, high resolution graphics, a revised and
>> expanded battle system, and a fresh modern anime styling really give
>> Phantasy Star "Phans" something to smile about.
>>
>> And even if you don't like it, also included on the disc is the
>> original version.
>>
>> If you're going to do a remake, this is definitely the way to do it.
>> I'd say more, but what more is there to say? It's Phantasy Star 2,
>> but prettier.
>
> Oh, I thought it was PS1, that's interesting. Man, I wish they'd bring
> this one over.
This looks awesome, I seriously hope Sega decides to bring it over.
>>
>> DRAGON FORCE (VOL. 18)
>> This one modestly updated the graphics (mostly increasing the
>> resolution, and redoing all the cutscene pics), but added quite a bit
>> more to the game including some new generals and some new story
>> sequences.
>>
>> At heart, it's still the same Dragon Force, though. Epic 100 vs 100
>> battles are possible (though it will take a while before your generals
>> are good enough to command 100 troops), and it's really a lot of fun,
>> if rather basic strategy gameplay.
>>
>> A word of caution - this game is heavy on the Japanese Kanji - so
>> unless you're willing to learn the language (or at least fuddle around
>> with the menus and memorize what each one does), you'd be better off
>> searching for the Saturn version.
>
> This sounds like the kind of update I wish more companies would do as
> budget titles. Keep the game the same, update the graphics (and sound
> if necessary) add a few characters and levels and treat it as a budget
> title. That way it's not necessarily a replacement for the original,
> which saw all of the real hard work, but it keeps the game's memory alive.
This is similar to what I was saying about DOA Ultimate, the
filtering just makes everything more blurry than it was originally.
Some of the graphical effects don't seem to work right either. Maybe
the gameplay is intact and it's still worth looking into, but it
certainly doesn't replace the Saturn version (you didn't say it did, but
others have).
--
Scott
benstylus
> benstylus wrote:
>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> ~ S E G A F A N S W E E K L Y ~ ~ ISSUE #14 - MAY 14 2006 ~
>> copyright 2006 segafans.com
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Top Story - Happy 11th Birthday. Saturn! ~ Page 3
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> So hey, happy 11th, Saturn. I would have brought cake, but it's hard
>> to e-mail. So I made a video instead.
>> - http://www.segafans.com/downloads/saturn_launch.mov
>> - benstylus
>
>
> This video is awesome! Aside from the Daytona shadows being red,
> what's up with that?
It's a trick of the display. The TV alternates between red and blue for
the shadows, I believe, but when you take a 30 FPS video of it, you only
get half of what's actually put on screen.
> I'd love to have this video up on the
> Saturn-vs-PS1 page actually. I've been meaning to do a full 1995
> comparison for some time now, and I should have time to go out and find
> some of the PS1 games I haven't had a chance to shoot yet here in the
> next couple of weeks. But your video is basically exactly what I'd do
> for Saturn Launch, if you wouldn't mind my using it. If not that's
> fine, I usually try to keep movie files 1 per game, so I could just go
> back and do them as I have time.
No go ahead that's fine. Just post a link to SegaFans ;)
>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Feature - Sega Ages 2500: Part 4 ~ Page 6
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> >
>
>> VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 (VOL. 16)
>> An arcade perfect home port of Virtua Fighter 2 would be killer.
>>
>> Unfortunately, what we've got here is far from it. Yes, it has the
>> bridge in Shun Di's stage that has been missing from every other port,
>> but honestly, it's not all that impressive.
>>
>> Especially once you see the super low resolution textures all over the
>> place. I've seen what the PS2 is capable of, and this is definitely
>> not it. In short, you're probably better off just sticking to the Saturn
>> version.
>
>
> Uh oh, the PS2 cop will be around any minute to haul you off for
> spreading anti-Sony "propagandilism". Sony knows I learned my lesson
> for saying I prefered VF3tb to VF4 (not EVO) for aesthetic reasons.
Well, to be fair, the Saturn version of VF2 has quite a bit of polygon
breakup which is not present in the PS2 version, and the sound samples
are significantly better in the PS2.
I also prefer the aesthetics of VF3 to VF4 (and Evo) for both the arcade
and the home conversions. The characters just look... dirty in VF4. I
never liked Jeffry or Taka-Arashi's models in VF3, though.
> Low res textures, compared to the Model 2? I bet they just look worse
> because of texture filtering, the same thing is true for the Saturn port
> of DOA 1 in DOA Ultimate for Xbox.
I'd say yes, and they look similar to the textures on the Saturn.
Check out the video - in the intro when it does the close up on Akira,
you can literally count the pixels in his eyebrow. The rest of the
textures are similarly bad, though you don't often get the close up view
of them.
>> PHANTASY STAR: GENERATION 2 (VOL. 17)
>> Wow, what a remake. Clean, high resolution graphics, a revised and
>> expanded battle system, and a fresh modern anime styling really give
>> Phantasy Star "Phans" something to smile about.
>>
>> And even if you don't like it, also included on the disc is the
>> original version.
>>
>> If you're going to do a remake, this is definitely the way to do it.
>> I'd say more, but what more is there to say? It's Phantasy Star 2,
>> but prettier.
>
>
> Oh, I thought it was PS1, that's interesting. Man, I wish they'd bring
> this one over.
They did PS1 also. That was back in part one of this feature.
>> Digital Pictures was responsible for a few of these FMV games,
>> including Night Trap, but without a doubt Sewer Shark is the most fun
>> to play.
>
> I thought Sony Imagesoft made or published this one.
Yes, it's got both their logos in the intro.
benstylus
> This is similar to what I was saying about DOA Ultimate, the
> filtering just makes everything more blurry than it was originally.
A little bit blurry versus a lot pixelated is a very difficult battle to
decide.
> Some of the graphical effects don't seem to work right either.
What, specifically are you referring to? It may be due to my recording
methods (as is the case with the red daytona shadows).
> Maybe the
> gameplay is intact and it's still worth looking into, but it certainly
> doesn't replace the Saturn version (you didn't say it did, but others
> have).
I'd say if you can read Japanese, it definitely replaces the Saturn version.
Mostly because it's about a third of the price :P
Scott H
> Scott H wrote:
>
>> This is similar to what I was saying about DOA Ultimate, the
>> filtering just makes everything more blurry than it was originally.
>
> A little bit blurry versus a lot pixelated is a very difficult battle to
> decide.
I haven't noticed a lot of pixelization in the original Dragon
Force, some of the sprites get a little blocky if you set the camera to
leave one as big as it can possibly scale, but aside from that every
object has good color and detail and any depth. One of the things I
noticed with PS1 and N64 ports to the Dreamcast is that they needed to
increase the texture resolution if they were going to use the
Dreamcast's resolution and texture filtering, otherwise the graphics
often times looked worse for the DC version. 4-bit color low res
textures don't look good with a simple screen resolution boost plus
filtering, they just look blurry, and the same is true for the Saturn's
8-bit color stuff to a lesser degree.
>> Some of the graphical effects don't seem to work right either.
>
> What, specifically are you referring to? It may be due to my recording
> methods (as is the case with the red daytona shadows).
When the sprites are walking away from a castle, they are supposed to be
on the castle graphic, not under it. I also saw some of the mage's
fireballs disappearing oddly when that doesn't happen in the original.
>> Maybe the gameplay is intact and it's still worth looking into, but it
>> certainly doesn't replace the Saturn version (you didn't say it did,
>> but others have).
>
> I'd say if you can read Japanese, it definitely replaces the Saturn
> version.
>
> Mostly because it's about a third of the price :P
I can sell you the Japanese Saturn version of Dragon Force for $15. ;)
--
Scott
