A game worth the price tag

The sentence that serves as a title for this post is usually one of the first things that come to my mind when I think about it. You see, for there are a lot of rare and expensive Saturn games out there, some of them good, some of them bad, but all not worth the hefty prices they demand these days. But, alas, I've found one such a game! It can go from 50 to 200€/$/£, depending on region (Europe - semi-rare, USA - rare, Japan - cheap as fuck), but even the biggest price tag is thoroughly deserved.

I'm talking about Panzer Dragoon Saga!


Now, you all know I'm a big fan of the series, and this game was the only one missing from my collection (not counting the spin-off Panzer Dragoon Mini or whatever that gamegear game was called). It has been on my list for quite some time, but now I finally decided to take the plunge and just play it. And OMFG it's awesome!!!

Seriously, this game was so ahead of it's time! I'm only in the middle of disc 2 and it's already one of my favourite RPG's ever! For a start, the game is very cinematic. There are a lot of FMV's (real, lengthy videos, not just short clips) that illustrate the story thoroughly and put you in the right mood for this hallucinating trip, and not only they're technically irreprehensible, but also masterfully designed, with shots worthy of Hollywood. Then, it's freaking accessible for an RPG. For a start, everything is thoroughly explained in a series of interactive tutorials. That way you won't enter your first fight without knowing the combat system in detail.



And also, the combat system is one of the most engaging and fast-paced I've ever seen using a turn-based mechanic. It's kind of complex for me to explain here without a video to illustrate while I describe it, but just bear in mind that position matters, you have to be constantly moving around your enemies to dodge their attacks and find their weak-points, and your choice of attacks depends heavily on your action bar's charge.

Then there's the story, the surreal setting on which the action takes place and the gameplay outside the fights. You'll explore villages on foot and breathtaking scenarios mounted on your faithful dragon, reminiscing of some areas from the previous games, and the slower pace of the games let's you learn more about this strange world and admire the absolutely stunning graphics. This takes me to the graphics, which are simply amazing. It's almost impossible to get more out of the Saturn's limited 3D capabilities, but enough to make you realize how amazing the system is/was back in the day. Also, the game has a unique "Saturn look" to it. I can't really explain, but I think there are certain graphical effects that were most used on Saturn games, so that you can immediately tell this was not released on a Playstation, for example. But, more stunning than the technical aspect is the art direction, which is everything you can expect from a Panzer Dragoon game.



To sum it up, even though I'm not halfway through it yet, this is already one of my favourite game on the system, and given it's accessible nature, chances are a lot of you faithful readers will enjoy it too, even if you usually don't fancy RPG's. This game is pure magic. Go buy it and see for yourself, you'll thank me later :)

And Father K, I know you have this one. Go play it, go play it now!

Lunar: Silver Star Story and Eternal Blue

I can't believe I didn't think of writing about this sooner! Ok, there's a reason for that, the fact that I played the PSX version of these games, but since they were such big Saturn titles in Japan I think they deserve a mention here. I'm talking about the Lunar series of RPGs, more specifically the two main titles (there's also a bunch of spin-offs), which have quite a story. They were first released for the ill-fated Sega CD (aka Mega CD) add-on for the Mega Drive (aka Genesis) but later remade for our beloved console in two versions, a first one in 1996, and a 2nd, even better one, entitled Silver Star Story Complete in 1997. Now, I have to be honest, I don't exactly know the differences between the original and the first Saturn game, but the 2nd, which was later ported to the PSX (the version I played), improves on the original in every possible way. The graphics are way better, the characters have been redrawn, it features excellent anime-style cut-scenes and even the gameplay is better than in the original, with enemies present on screen instead of random encounters. Unfortunately for some reason they decided to change some bits of the story too, usually for worse, but it's still a very enjoyable game.


It's basically an RPG like many others, were you control a boy and his group of friends in a quest to save the world, but if you look past this cliché theme (which was probably more original back then) you'll find an interesting story, engaging characters and a universe worth exploring. It's a great RPG all and all, and it deserves a look by every fan of the genre, although it won't convert any RPG-haters. But wait, there's got to be a reason why I chose to play the PSX version instead of the Saturn one. An why is that? Try to guess... yup, it was never released here. Damn...it's times like this I get really pissed... At least the PSX version was released in the west, but by "west" I mean the US. Yup, no European version...


Anywho...Lunar 2 is even better, specially when it comes to gameplay where it shows some pretty inspired features, like a character in your party whom you cannot control or the final boss battle that is just epic, specially for its time. The cut-scenes are also improved, with CGI effects along with the traditional anime style, and my only complaint about it is the soundtrack which in my opinion is not as good as in the first game, and I'm saying this because the music is a big part of these games, specially the first one, where one of the main characters is a singer. Just listen to it:



Once again, this post is somewhat redundant since I doubt any of you will play the Saturn versions, but if you like the genre and have a PSX at hand (or a good emulator, I personally recommend pSX for the ease of use but if you're looking for graphic improvements you may want ePSXe) I definitely recommend you give these games a try, while pretending you're actually playing on a Saturn :)

More crazy Japanese stuff

After sometime without touching my beloved Saturn (been busy lately with my 360), I decided to try another obscure Japanese game, this time a dungeon crawler much like Diablo (did I ever mention that Diablo II is my favourite game of all time?), or so I was told. The fact is this game is much more similar to Evolution, a series of RPG's for the Dreamcast, which is not that bad, since I kind of liked Evolution 1 and 2...until I got bored to death with the repetitive gameplay.

(Diablo II: I wuv it so...)

But let's talk about this particular game. The game in question has one of the longest/weirdest titles I've ever seen, it's name being (breath in): Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon Limited (breath out). My first thought was that this was some kind of strange mix between Waku Waku 7 and the Puyo Puyo series in a dungeon-style setting, but although I've never played Waku Waku 7, I didn't see any reference to it.


Well, maybe this is because I can't understand a fucking word of Japanese, and this game is full of it! Yeah, yeah, I know, what else could I expect from an import, but there are some games that have a lot of english between the kanji. Unfortunately this is not one of those, and although I don't care for the story, it's really hard to manage your inventory like this. I bet I'm still using my beginner's rusty sword while my inventory is full of "great swords of the greatest greatness +5".

(beware of killer puyos!)

At least the gameplay is really basic. You start the game in what seems to be some sort of crazy fun park, with the typical horror house along the not so typical puyo dungeon (WTF?). It doesn't really matter what area you choose, because they all end up like being the same thing, only the background is different. Just like in Evolution, you have to explore a maze-like dungeon, fighting enemies (oh noes, killer puyos!), collecting items and exploring the dungeon until you find the stairs to the next level. The worst thing about this game, and about all others of the same genre, is that this is all you do, and you have to repeat it ad nauseam (I like to show off the little latin I know :D). Combine this with my short attention span and you have a game that will only be in the console for 1 or 2 days.


Anyway, in case anyone really digs this kind of games, this is a good choice and not a too expensive one (you can usually buy it for, like, $30 or something).


Puyos, aren't they cute...(and deadly!)

Virtual Hydlide Review And Screenshots!

"Killer trees, deadly dragons and blood thirsty zombiesare rife in this magical slash and hack adventure. To the haunting strains of the atmospheric soundtrack, explore the super-realistic 3D fantasy world, warping to the different dimensions, collecting weapons and mysterious objects and tackling weird and wonderful foes. The amazing landscape generator creates a completely new adventure every time you play, providing a whole new dimension in RPG gaming."

Or at least that's what it says on the back of the box! Yes folks, Virtual Hydlide is the newest addition to Father Krishna's ever growing Saturn collection. Another bargain from the hallowed Gamestation, this little baby came free with a purchase of arcade style shooter Charge 'n' Blast, for Dreamcast.



Even though the attached review says it can be completed in a few hours, its unlikely that I'll play it for a while, so rather than just let it pass, I thought I'd attach a few screenshots and a very comprehensive review.





Virtual Hydlide

On the plus side it's got a nice musical score and a random "landscape generator". On the downside it's got an attrocious camera perspective and is apparently a bit repetetive.
Still it's free and the box hasn't fallen apart. I might give it a whirl this evening, but then again I might just stick to playing the frankly awesome Crisis Evil (Homebrew Resident Evil/Streets Of Rage hybrid for Dreamcast.)


Crisi Evil!

I'm off to the Light House this weekend with all of my new homebrew goodies to give them a good old road test, which I will flag up on the Dreamcast Junkyard some time in the future!

Aurevoir mes enfants! ;)