Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ENCYCLOPEDIA
vol.02
copy/paste:
DaddaRuleKonge
Sega Saturn
Encyclopedia
vol.02
DaddaRuleKonge
I made this book because I like to have something to do, and I like
doing this sort of stuff. Cataloguing and stuff... This book (or PDF)
is one in a long line of PDFs I have made since 2012.
If you are happy with the book then please look at some of the web-
sites on the “Reference Guide” page. Find a site that you like and
give them some spending money. Or give cash to something you
believe in. A kickstarter project or something, i don`t know?
If you are annoyed, send an email to me: sennep@hotmail.com
from: Daniel aka DaddaRuleKonge
https://daddarulekonge.itch.io/
Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Compilations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Lost & Found . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Unreleased Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Sega Saturn Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Saturn Demo Discs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Sega Saturn Consoles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Accessories
TV connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Light-Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
misc. Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
NetLink Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Cartridge Periphials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Video CD Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Cheat Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Debugging Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
SGX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Saturn Prototypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Emulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Developers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
6 • Reference Guide
Reference Guide
These are web sites that I used a lot for pictures/screenshots, reference and much of the information. If I have
not used wikipedia on a game description, then I have tried to credit it at the bottom of the text.
I can recommend all of these websites, as they are very informative and/or fun to look through.
If you are the owner of one of these sites and feel that i have done you wrong, then please send me an e-mail
and i will make the necessary change to your wish.
Sega Retro
“Welcome to Sega Retro, a project from the people behind Sonic Retro. We aim to cover
everything possible about Sega from the 1940s to today. We currently are working on
14,906 articles and have many more that are requested to be worked on. ”
• Used for most cover and intro pictures, information and rarity score.
A giant site on every Sega consoles. Maybe the most important site for a Sega aficionado. It consist of a huge
wiki, detailed information, pictures, flyers, and a great rarity score list. Without this site, this book would be
very barren.
https://segaretro.org/Main_Page
Satakore
https://www.satakore.com/
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/
Reference Guide • 7
GameFAQs
“Founded in 1995, GameFAQs has over 40000 video game FAQs, Guides and
Walkthroughs, over 250000 cheat codes, and over 100000 reviews.”
http://www.gamefaqs.com/
Moby Games
“MobyGames is the oldest, largest and most accurate video game database for
games of every platform spanning 1979-2014.”
http://www.mobygames.com/
10 • Sakura Taisen
Sakura Taisen
8.7
Developer Sega CS R&D 2, Red, Nextech
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) September 27, 1996
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player
xxx Sakura Wars is a Japanese me- with spirit powers which defends To-
dia
xxxfranchise created by Ouji Hiroi, and kyo against demon attacks using steam-
is developed and formally licensed by powered armor called Koubu. The city
Red Entertainment and Sega (who also is currently being attacked by demons
owns the franchise). The franchise cen- controlled by the Hive of Darkness, a
Limited Edition, Type A
tres on a series of dramatic fantasy and group of black magicians led by the
science-fantasy tactical role-playing powerful Kuroki Satan and his master
adventure video games, which consist Tenkai. Tenkai, who sacrificed himself
of tactical wargame and dating sim ele- 300 years earlier to prevent Tokyo fall-
ments, and also includes a motion pic- ing to demons, begins launching suc-
ture, anime, printed media, and other cessive attacks on Tokyo and then on
merchandise. The series began in 1996 the Flower Division itself.
as an eponymous video game; the game Sakura Wars is set in Tokyo dur-
Limited Edition, Type B was a success and spawned sequels. ing a fictionalized version of the Taishō
The video game series has branched period, with players taking the role of
into other genres and platforms, such as Ichiro Ogami and the all-female Impe-
portable games and games for mobile rial Assault Force. Dubbed a “dramat-
phones. ic adventure” game and taking place
Sakura Wars is the debut entry across multiple episodes, the gameplay
in the Sakura Wars series. It was origi- segments incorporate tactical role-
nally released for the Sega Saturn then playing, dating sim and visual novel el-
Satakore subsequently ported to other systems ements. Gameplay is divided between
including the Dreamcast, and remade periods where Ogami navigates the Im-
for the PlayStation 2 under the title perial Theater and interacts with vari-
Sakura Wars: In Hot Blood. Defined by ous characters, and combat sequences
Sega as a “dramatic adventure” game, governed by a turn-based battle system
Sakura Wars combines overlapping upon a tilted grid-based battlefield.
tactical role-playing, dating sim and During the social sections, Oga-
visual novel gameplay elements. mi navigates the theater during limited
The game is set in 1923. Im- time sequences between battles. Dur-
perial Army Ensign Ichiro Ogami is ing these sequences, when talking with
transferred to the Flower Division of both the main heroines of the Flower
the Imperial Assault Force, a secret Division and supporting characters,
combat unit based in Tokyo. Met by conversations rely on the LIPS (Live
Sakura Shinguji, he is led to a theater & Interactive Picture System) system;
and meets its main actresses of the Im- when faced with critical choices in the
perial Theater Revue; Sumire Kanzaki, course of a conversation, conversation
Maria Tachibara, and Iris Chateaubri- options are displayed with a time limit
and. Meeting the theater’s manager for the player to select a response. De-
Ikki Yoneda, Ogami learns that he has pending on the type of response, the
been assigned as a ticket taker for the character may respond positively or
theater. Initially seeing his assignment negatively, impacting their relation-
there as a punishment, it turns out to ship with Ogami and future interac-
be a bluff to determine his worth. The tions. Other actions within LIPS in-
“Imperial Theater Revue” is the Impe- clude holding the cursor over parts of
rial Assault Force, a group of women a character’s portrait to trigger internal
Sakura Taisen 11
monologues and varying responses from the char- The concept for what would become Sakura
acters. Each main heroine has different personality Wars was created in 1990 when Oji Hiroi saw a Japa-
quirks that must be taken into consideration while nese stage production of the play Shanghai Rhapsody,
talking with them. and was impressed by the spectacle he saw from the
During combat segments, the Flower Divi- acting troop on stage. Later in 1993, Hiroi and anime
sion fight demon monsters using machines called composer Kohei Tanaka worked together on an origi-
Koubu. Each unit has their own turn, with each turn nal video animation adaptation of the video game
allowing two actions. These actions include “Attack”, Tengai Makyou: Ziria. Hiroi was highly impressed by
“Defend”, “Move”, “Deathblow” (a critical strike), Tanaka’s music, to the point where he wanted to create
Charge (store energy for a more powerful action dur- a musical set to Tanaka’s music. This concept evolved
ing the next turn), and Heal (heals a chosen unit). Dif- into the wish for Tanaka to score a video game which
ferent units specialize in different skills, such as sup- focused on theater. Beginning in 1993, a small team
port actions, melee attacks, or distance attacks—along in the Planning Department of Red Company led by
with their range of movement, each unit also has an Hiroi began promoting his concept and planning the
independent range in which they can perform actions. game’s basic concepts. At this stage, the project was
Actions taken during LIPS sequences with members just titled “Sakura” due to the wish to connect it with
of the Flower Division directly impact battles; skill- Japan, and was described as an “example plan” rather
ful performances during LIPS segments raise a char- than a practical project. While distinct from the final
acter’s Motivation, granting status increases and im- Sakura Wars, the proposal shared an alternate histori-
proving combat ability. cal setting with steampunk technology, a female lead,
and mecha combat. In addition to Hiroi, the team in-
cluded three young Red Company artists. Two of the
artists — Ryoma Kaneko and Naoki Morita — would
later work on Sakura Wars proper. While developing
the “Sakura” proposal, Hiroi and his team created two
tabletop role-playing games dubbed “Sakura 1” and
“Sakura 2”, which resulted in the strategy elements
almost overriding the other aspects. Inspired by the
combination of tactical combat and story used in the
Fire Emblem series, Hiroi steered the project more
in that direction. Influences from contemporary ani-
me were also added to bring depths to the story and
characters. With the basic elements defined, the team
continued to refine the project over between half a
year and a year. Having confidence in the project’s
potential to become a video game, Hiroi presented
“Sakura” to multiple game companies, but none of
them had confidence in the project. With no-one in-
terested, Hiroi put the project to one side, expecting
that it would not enter production despite his contin-
ued determination to realize it.
In 1994, following Hiroi’s decision to put aside
Sakura, Hiroi was contacted by Shoichiro Irimajiri—
then vice president of Sega—about the possibility of
developing a game with a popular mascot character
for Sega’s in-development Sega Saturn home con-
sole. Irimajiri wanted a unique video game property
for the system, and had heard positive feedback about
Hiroi’s work. Hiroi was initially reluctant, but eventu-
ally accepted Irimajiri’s offer, inviting him and other
potential contributors to spend a fortnight’s holiday
in Saipan. Hiroi later said that the decision to work
12 • Sakura Taisen
on a game for the Saturn was a hard one, as he had sequences were handled by Kyokuichi Tokyo Mov-
previously worked on games for rival home console ie. Sega initially outsourced programming to an un-
systems. It was Sega’s favorable response to his pitch named external company, and by 1995 it had already
that persuaded him to develop Sakura Wars on the developed one or two chapters of the game’s combat-
Saturn. Hiroi pitched his old concept for Sakura to based content before Hiroi objected to the direction
Irimajiri during their stay on Saipan, and while Hi- the game was taking, becoming a generic simulation
roi harbored doubts as to whether such an ambitious game that deviated from his vision. Red Company
and unusual project would be accepted, Irimajiri was refused to continue development of the prototype,
convinced. Upon their return to Japan, Sega and Red and the external studio was removed from develop-
Company began development on Hiroi’s project. ment. Eager to see the game completed, duties were
The project was then given the title Sakura Wars: as transferred to Sega’s internal studio Sega CS2 R&D,
there were problems trademarking the kanji version which would co-develop the game with Red Com-
of “Sakura” due to being the native name for cherry pany. The conflicting gameplay elements needed to
blossom, the word was instead written in katakana. be divided between different teams within Sega CS2
There was early contention about the inclu- R&D, only bringing the two parts together at the end
sion of adventure segments alongside the strategic of development. Due to this development technique,
simulation elements, with some fearing Sakura Wars none of the elements could be effectively tested un-
would turn into a bishōjo game. The strategic seg- til the game was close to completion. Due to these
ments were designed to feel like interactive anime various development difficulties, the Sega team found
battles, with everyone getting a chance to attack as production difficult. Sega also commented in an in-
in many anime fight sequences of the time. The wish terview that Sakura Wars was their most expensive
for an anime style also came through in the adven- video game production to date, although no exact
ture segments with the LIPS system, turning conver- budget was given.
sations into a kind of confrontation to be won. The The main cast were designed by manga artist
LIPS system was born from staff frustration with ad- Kōsuke Fujishima, who at the time was working on
venture game traditions of having to select a response the long-running manga series Oh My Goddess!.Be-
to a tense situation, but that time would freeze while fore Fujishima joined the project, the characters had
the player made the decision. By implementing a time placeholder designs created by Red Company staff.
limit, the team made Sakura Wars more interactive There was resistance from Fujishima’s editors due to
and removed the frustration. The “LIPS” title was his heavy work load, including his commitment to Oh
chosen for its sound rather than any special meaning. My Goddess!. Sakura Wars was the first time Fujishi-
The LIPS system really got going after testing was ma had ever worked with Sega or been associated with
done on a scene where Ogami can choose to look or a Sega property, and he was skeptical due to state the
not look into a shower cubicle. The battle sequences project was in when he was first approached, being
were inspired by similar scenes found in the Kamen in a very early stage of development before story or
Rider and Ultraman television shows, and were ac- gameplay mechanics had been finalized. Red Compa-
tively referenced during the final battle with the com- ny’s placeholder character designs were in place at a
bined final attack of the entire Flower Division. Each time when it was uncertain whether Fujishima would
battle sequence was hand-crafted by one member of join, but Hiroi was adamant that Fujishima would be
staff to simplify production. The game’s “Motivation” character designer. Fujishima eventually joined the
system was a means of incorporating simulation ele- project by the end of 1994, with his first design be-
ments without utilizing role-playing elements such as ing for Sakura. His initial sketches for Sakura moved
experience points. The decision to remove experience Hiroi to tears, and fully convinced both Red Com-
points entirely proved controversial within the team. pany and Sega that Fujishima was the right person.
According to Ito, the process of creating the Reliabil- The positive reception of Fujishima’s work, together
ity system was based around trial and error, mainly with his understanding for the project’s goals, helped
due to how best to express it. raise staff morale for the entire project.
Development on Sakura Wars lasted for ap- Fujishima was responsible for designing eight
proximately three years, double the original estimate. characters including Ogami and Sakura, along with
Hiroi acted as the general producer, while Ito acted as formal and casual clothes, and accessories. The sup-
general director. The CGI segments were developed porting cast was designed by Hidenori Matsubara.
by Buildup Entertainment and Neverland; the anime Matsubara also helped with general animation. As the
Sakura Taisen 13
character concepts had been firmly established before Aji Express Line. For the armor of the Imperial As-
the design stage, Fujishima was able to create the char- sault Force, Nagata designed them to mirror each
acters with ease, creating them so players could eas- member’s traits and beauties, designing them so they
ily understand what was going through their minds. would be a unique set of armor rather. Because the
Due to the game’s Taishō period setting, Fujishima Koubu were meant to be armor rather than robots, they
needed to stop himself from adding anachronistic ele- were not given faces. Because Nagata was brought on
ments such as fasteners. Hiroi made character sheets early in the game’s production, he had considerable
for each character, which Fujisaka used to create each freedom when submitting and adjusting his designs.
character and their various designs, noting Sumire When the designs were finalized, Nagata began work-
as a character whose personality was communicated ing full-time on CGI, finishing the first Koubu design
through her clothes. Each character had distinct traits, in five days.
such as a ponytail and hakama kimono for Sakura, When Hiroi was creating the original concept
so Kujishima simply combined these elements with for Sakura Wars, he had trouble picking the exact era
his own design ideas. The Taishō period meant that in which the story would take place. He initially con-
Fujishima could combine traditional Japanese cloth- sidered using the Shōwa period, with a focus on the
ing with Western accessories such as shoes, allowing post-war black market. He also considered setting it
the female characters an otherwise improbable range shortly before and during World War II itself. Hiroi
of movement. His design for each main protagonist— eventually abandoned this idea as there was too much
from Ogami to the Flower Division members—di- documentation about the Shōwa period, making its
rectly mirrored Hiroi’s concepts for them. The Flow- use as a fantasy setting complicated. He next consid-
er Division’s battle dress was modeled after tuxedos, ered using the Meiji period, which was a time of tur-
and compared by Kujishima with the costumes of the bulence following the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate
Takarazuka Revue. that saw the introduction of Western culture into Ja-
The Koubu mecha designs, along with the pan following the Shogunate’s imposed isolation. Hi-
game’s CGI sequences, were created by Futoshi Naga- roi also abandoned this idea as Meiji-era Japan could
ta. His initial design outline from Hiroi was the basic not allow for the “modern” feeling he wanted. With
concept of steampunk technology within the Taishō these in mind, Hiroi settled on using the Taishō period
period. When designing the Koubu, Nagata was guid- as the setting for Sakura Wars. He chose this period
ed by Morita, who showed him photographs of both as it was the next step taken by Japan in embracing
steam-powered trains and early deep sea diving suits, Western culture and merging it with its own, allowing
specifically those made of spherical segments. When for political changes and the emancipation of women
creating the designs, Nagata consciously avoided the after a prolonged feudal period. In the original draft,
trope of anachronistic near-future technology, doing the story was much darker, with a key event being the
extensive research on the Second Industrial Revolu- Great Kantō earthquake and the resultant breakdown
tion in the United Kingdom. The concept of a div- of the Taishō period. This version was almost entirely
ing suit fitted in with the concept for the Koubo as discarded.
being reinforced armor rather than robots. Its front Hiroi wanted to create a version of the Taishō
was designed after the steam trains that ran on the period where the social advances and freedoms the
14 • Sakura Taisen
Japanese began exploring continued without being the project as he had never written for a video game,
brought to an end by the Great Kantō earthquake but Hiroi told him to write the story like an anime tel-
and the subsequent shift to militarism prior to World evision series. When Akahori first joined the team, the
War II. Another reason for using the Taishō period story was still in an unfinished state: the only points
was the lack of concrete documentation about the pe- finalized were its setting, overall theme of steampunk
riod and Tokyo’s development during that period, as mecha combat, and a cast of five or six characters.
much of it had been destroyed during the Great Kantō Akahori’s early work was focused on expanding the
earthquake. Hiroi originally wanted to distinguish narrative and characters based on Hiroi’s draft. Due
the Sakura Wars Taisho from the historical Taisho by to the deep connection to Hiroi’s family history, Aka-
modifying the kanji slightly, but he did not do this due hori could not work on the script by himself, need-
to staff wishes for a world that blended real and fic- ing frequent consultation with Hiroi. Hiroi also in-
tional events. To further distinguish it, Hiroi made use sisted on making frequent changes if Akahori’s work
of steampunk technology in the game’s world. De- did not fall in line with his vision. Akahori wrote a
spite it being a fantastic version of the Taisho period, thirteen-episode storyline for the game, with the final
Hiroi did his best to incorporate realistic elements, battle taking place across three episodes. After talks
creating a blend of fantasy and reality within the with staff, the final battle was condensed into a single
game. The world’s general setting, while conceived chapter, bringing the game to its current ten-episode
by Hiroi, was further developed and fleshed out by length. Kaneko and Morita created the additional
the writers Ryoma Kaneko and Naoki Morita. dialogue around Akahori’s main scenario, along with
The main script and branching storylines were other duties such as script editing and debugging.
written by author and screenwriter Satoru Akahori. Creating strong representative characters
Hiroi felt that the script would lose entertainment was part of the request from Sega for a new mascot
value if he wrote the game’s script himself as the character for their Saturn system. A major element of
setting was based on family stories. Hiroi had pre- the cast was taking advantage of the game’s setting,
viously worked with Akahori on other projects, so which could allow characters from countries outside
Akahori was brought on board. When Akahori first Japan such as Russia and France to be part of the Im-
heard the concept before talking with Hiroi he was perial Assault Force. During early planning, Hiroi
highly skepctical, but Hiroi convinced him to come made character concepts for the central female cast,
on board. When first pitched the project, all that had imitating character archetypes commonly found in
been finalized was that the story would involve young high school manga. Using this inspiration he created
girls and mecha. Akahori was unsure how to approach a gentle yet strong-willed woman (Sakura), a rival
Sakura Taisen 15
character with a negative first impression (Sumire), Sakura Wars was first announced at a spe-
a cold leader figure (Maria), a small cute character cial Sega presentation in 1995. It was originally an-
who would be jealous of the other members (Iris), a nounced for release in April 1996. The game’s unique
woman who would be good at athletics (Kanna) and blend of genres and styles resulted in it being labelled
an oddball character who wore glasses (Kohran). The as a new genre dubbed “dramatic adventure” during
role of male protagonist was initially given to a young its marketing. Due to the greatly increased amount
man named Kusaku Kanuma, a member of the Tokyo of content—particularly the amount of voice acting
Metropolitan Police Department who inherits a blade Hiroi wanted to include—resulted in the release date
forged by the Japanese swordsmith Muramasa and being pushed forward several months at Hiroi’s in-
must work with Sakura to pilot a two-person mech. sistence, along with the game being expanded from a
As with most of the draft scenario, the male character single disc to a two-disc release. In order to reach the
underwent major alterations. Most of the protagonist’s new release date, the developers worked long hours
development into Ichiro Ogami happened after Aka- and sometimes all through the night. Several pieces of
hori joined the team, with Akahori creating Ogami’s finished content needed to be cut to make the release
role as an avatar for the player who could be friendly date Sakura Wars released on September 27, 1996. It
with every member of the Flower Division. His name received a reprint on June 20, 1997, and released as a
was inspired by the Japanese word for “wolf”, refer- budget title on February 11, 1998.
ring to his energetic personality traits. Sakura Wars was an unexpected success for
both Red Company and Sega, prompting the compa-
nies to develop further entries in the series. Sakura
Wars spawned three direct sequels; Sakura Wars 2:
Thou Shalt Not Die for the Saturn, and Sakura Wars
3: Is Paris Burning? and Sakura Wars 4: Fall in Love,
Maidens for the Dreamcast. A fourth sequel was de-
veloped for the PlayStation 2; known as Sakura Wars
V: Farewell My Lovely in Japan, it was published
overseas as Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love, becom-
ing the first entry to release outside Japan. Numer-
ous spin-off titles covering multiple genres related
to each entry have also been developed for multiple
platforms.
The music for Sakura Wars was composed by An original video animation (OVA) series
Kohei Tanaka. Tanaka was among the first people to dubbed Sakura Wars: The Gorgeous Blooming Cherry
offer support for Oji’s vision, as little to no other peo- Blossoms was produced and released between 1997
ple believed the project would come to fruition. Tan- and 1998. It told a series of stories around events
aka was also among the first brought on board pro- mentioned in Sakura Wars or the untold origins of
duction, and like the others was defined as a teacher the Flower Division members. An anime series of the
figure for the rest of the development team. Sakura same name was broadcast in 2000 over a six-month
Wars was Tanaka’s very first video game project, and period. While following the basic plot of Sakura
brought him widespread recognition. Tanaka began Wars and preserving Hiroi’s original vision, several
working on songs for Sakura Wars in 1995. At that elements such as depictions of the main antagonist’s
period, Japanese popular music was dominated by past, Sakura’s childhood memories and scenes within
rhythm and percussion over melody. Both Tanaka the Flower Division prior to Ogami’s arrival were
and Hiroi wanted to reintroduce younger Japanese to added. A major issue was being faithful to both the
beautiful melodies again. While looking at how he video game and OVAs while keeping within the re-
could construct the music, Tanaka looked at popular strictions of a television format.
music from the game’s time period and worked to Sakura Wars has remained popular in Japan
re-create its melodies and structure using the popu- since its release. Sakura Wars was rated as the 13th
lar music styles of the 1990s. Due to the setting and best game of all time in a 2006 Famitsu pole, with all
Takana’s goals, he was able to incorporate multiple the main entries then released also appearing in the
music genres including jazz, rumba and samba along- list. Sakura herself was rated in 2009 by Famitsu as
side more traditional Japanese musical styles. the 17th best Japanese video game character.
16 • Sakura Taisen 2 ~Kimi, Shinitamou Koto Nakare~
Sakura Taisen 2:
9.3 Kimi, Shinitamou Koto Nakare
Developer Red Entertainment
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) April 4, 1998
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player
The second fan disc to come out after the initial game,
this time in November of 1997. It’s a much more sub-
stantial offering than Hanagumi Tsūshin, featuring ac-
tual new art assets and gameplay. It is presented as two
distinct sub-products in one package, each on its own
disc and each with its own manual.
Disc one is the “Play Disc” and disc two is the Disc
two is the “Musical Disc”.
18 • Sakura Tsuushin
“segaretro.org”
“psxdatacenter.com”
Scorcher • 19
Scorcher
7.5
Developer Zyrinx
Publisher Sega, (jp) Acclaim
Release date (us) March 1, 1997
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player
Samurai Spirits
8.2 Amakusa Kourin
Developer SNK
Publisher SNK
Release date (jp) October 2, 1997
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players
Samurai Spirits
Zankurou Musouken 7.8
Developer SIMS
Publisher SNK
Release date (jp) November 8, 1996
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players
Sangokushi Koumeiden
7.3
Developer Koei
Publisher Koei
Release date (jp) March 28, 1997
Genre Role-playing
Mode 1 Player
Sangokushi V 7.7
Developer Koei
Publisher Koei
Release date (jp) September 27, 1996
Genre Role-playing
Mode 1-8 Players
5.4 Savaki
Developer Cynus
Publisher Microcabin
Release date (jp) April 16, 1998
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players
“Smashey9@theisozone.com”
Sankyo Fever Jikki Simulation S Vol. 3 • 23
8.5
“segaretro.org”
Saturn Bomberman Fight!! • 25
Sega Ages is a label given to a number of Sega video game re-releases. Four sets of games use the brand-
ing - thirteen Sega Saturn games released between 1996 and 1998, thirty-three PlayStation 2 games released
between 2003 and 2008, a number of mobile phone games released in the mid-to-late 2000s, and a digital
download series starting in 2012. “Ages” is “Sega spelt backwards, an anagram previously used in European
advertising in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Saturn Sega Ages series is comprised of various ports, most of which were originally released in the
arcades in the late 1980s (by Sega AM2) or for the Sega Mega Drive. At the time, it was impossible to play
more accurate representations of these games in the home. Some games have extra features such as CD au-
dio, or difficulty settings.
None of the Saturn games were released in the west, however the After Burner, OutRun, and Space Harrier
sets were compiled onto one disc and sold as Sega Ages: Volume 1 in North America and Europe. The Sat-
urn’s short lifespan in these regions meant a volume 2 was never made.
Interestingly many of these games can be purchased in Shenmue, as can a Sega Ages version of Super Hang-
On which does not exist in real life. They are all straight arcade ports in this game though.
Sega Ages
Memorial Selection VOL.1 6.6
Developer Sega CS1
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) February 28, 1997
Genre Compilation
Mode 1-2 Players
Sega Ages
7.2
After Burner II
Developer Rutubo Games, Sega CS1
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) September 27, 1996
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player
Sega Ages
Fantasy Zone
8.6
Developer Sega CS1, Rutubo Games
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) February 21, 1997
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players
Sega Ages
I Love Mickey Mouse: Fushigi no Oshiro Daibouken
6.7 I Love Donald Duck: Guruzia Ou no Hihou
Sega Ages
OutRun 7.5
Developer Rutubo Games, Sega CS1
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) September 20, 1996
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player
Sega Ages
Power Drift 6.1
Developer Phant
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) February 26, 1998
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player
Sega Ages
Phantasy Star Collection
8.0
Developer Sega CS1
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) April 2, 1998
Genre Compilation
Mode 1 Player
Phantasy Star Collection feature the first four games in the series. It was
later ported to the PlayStation 2 in Japan with additional games. The ports
are virtually identical to their original versions, as opposed to enhanced
remakes. Gameplay has not been altered in each of the collections.
Phantasy Star Phantasy Star III:
Phantasy Star was the first install- Toki no Keishousha
ment of the series, released for the Phantasy Star III: Generations of
Sega Master System in 1987. It in- Doom, released for the Mega Drive
troduced players to the planets, races, in 1990, was a departure from the
and lore of the series. The game fol- previous games in that the different
lows the adventures of Alis Landale, worlds were no longer the differ-
a young woman from Palma. After ent planets of the Algol system. The
Alis’s brother Nero is killed by the game revolves around two feuding
formerly benevolent government of factions, the Orakians and the Lay-
King Lassic, Alis embarks upon a ans, who have been engaged in bitter
quest for revenge. conflict since their founders disap-
Phantasy Star II: peared 1,000 years earlier; the fac-
Kaerazaru Toki no Owari ni tions assume their founders were bit-
Phantasy Star II, released in 1989, ter enemies who fought each other.
marked the series’ transition to the Unique to Phantasy Star III was a
Sega Genesis. It benefited from an storyline that spanned three genera-
upgrade in graphics and in the scope tions, starting with Rhys, an Orakian,
of its quest, as it’s more than twice and continues through two more gen-
the size of its predecessor. It tells the erations, with the player controlling
story of Rolf, a government agent Rhys’s son and grandchildren.
from the town of Paseo on Mota- Phantasy Star:
via. In this new setting, 1,000 years Sennenki no Owari ni
after Phantasy Star, Motavia is no Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Mil-
longer a desert world, but has been lennium was released for the Mega
mostly converted into one lush with Drive in 1993. Building on its pred-
vegetation and animal life, thanks ecessors, it added a number of new
to a system-wide computer network features, such as pre-programmable
known as Mother Brain. However, combat maneuvers called “Macros”,
malfunctions throughout the network combination attacks between two
are resulting in all sorts of catastro- or more characters and manga-style
phes, from climate change to the ap- panel illustrations for major cut-
pearance of mutant plant and animal scenes.
life called biomonsters. Rolf changes Taking place 1,000 years after Phan-
from an agent of the government to tasy Star II, Phantasy Star IV returns
a rebel fated to end Mother Brain’s to the Algol Solar System, which has
reign over the system. He is joined by been in a precipitous decline after the
a colorful cast of characters. destruction of Mother Brain.
36 • Sega Rally Championship
“segaretro.org”
Sega Saturn-you
Word Processor
Developer Koei, Canon
Publisher Koei
Release date (jp) 1996
Genre Software
Mode 1 Player
Sexy Parodius
7.3
Developer Konami
Publisher Konami
Release date (jp) November 1, 1996
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players
“mobygames.com”
6.9 She’sn
Developer Gaibrain
Publisher KID
Release date (jp) November 19, 1998
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player
ShellShock 7.3
Developer Core Design
Publisher CentreGold, (us) U.S. Gold, (jp) Electronic Arts
Release date (eu) April 19, 1996
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player
Shienryu 6.8
Developer Warashi
Publisher Warashi
Release date (jp) June 27, 1997
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players
Shinouken 6.4
Developer System Vision, Saurus
Publisher SNK
Release date (jp) April 4, 1997
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players
8.6
Shin Megami Tensei:
Devil Summoner
Developer Atlus
Publisher Atlus
Release date (jp) December 25, 1995
Genre Role-playing
Mode 1 Player
demon is treated well and performs actions in battle it Okada the freedom to realize long-held concepts for
approves of, its loyalty will increase. If the opposite a “parallel world” as an extension of the original con-
occurs, the demon will begin to disobey the protago- cept for If.... Odaka was the game’s director, while
nist, then leave. Demons can be fused together at a the script was written by regular Megami Tensei
special location in the game called the Hotel Gou- writer Ryutaro Ito. The story and atmosphere drew on
maden, where fusions are supervised by the NPC Dr. themes from detective fiction, particularly the melan-
Victor. Demon fusion is governed by a comparabil- cholic and hardboiled fiction of Raymond Chandler.
ity system, with more favorable One of Ito’s favorite pieces of di-
fusions emerging from better de- alogue was the opening segment,
mon compatibility. Demons can where the protagonist is dragged
also be fused with weapons to about by Kumiko on her errands,
grant stat boosts, and after a cer- during which the protagonist’s
tain point in the game artificial personality is determined by the
demons called Zomas can be used player.
and strengthened through repeat- In its first week of release,
ed fusions. the Sega Saturn version of Devil
Shin Megami Tensei: Summoner sold 264,822 cop-
Devil Summoner is the first en- ies. As of 2007, it sold 355,656,
try in the Devil Summoner series, becoming the 14th best-selling
which forms part of the larger game for the system in Japan.
Megami Tensei series: as with Famitsu gave the original
other entries, its narrative takes version a positive review, with it
the form of a modern-day detec- scoring 35 out of 40 points: the
tive story as opposed to the series’ four reviews gave it scores of 9,
more prevalent post-apocalyptic 9, 9 and 8 out of 10. In a feature
settings. The concept for Devil on the game for GameFan, Casey
Summoner originated during the Loe noted the game’s “clean and
development of Shin Megami crisp” 3D visuals, called the ene-
Tensei II and Shin Megami Tensei If... for the Su- my design excellent, and thought the full-motion vid-
per Famicom. During the development of II, series eo sequences were the best to be found on the Saturn
producer Kouji Okada considered creating a more system. She ended by praising Atlus’ plans for releas-
imposing sequel, but instead created If... as a smaller- ing a title so deep and mature for the Western market.
scale spin-off title. The positive reaction to If... gave
Shining Wisdom
Developer Sonic! Software Planning 8.0
Publisher Sega, (us) Working Designs
Release date (jp) August 11, 1995
Genre Role-playing
Mode 1 Player
Shinobi Legions
7.4 Developer Sega, Tose
Publisher Sega, (us) Vic Tokai
Release date (jp) June 30, 1995
Genre Action-platformer
Mode 1 Player
“mobygames.com”
Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden • 65
“segaretro.org”
“vndb.org”
4.1 Shunsai
Developer Naxat Soft
Publisher Naxat Soft
Release date (jp) August 23, 1996
Genre Simulation
Mode 1 Player
Silhouette Mirage
8.1
Developer Treasure
Publisher Treasure, ESP
Release date (jp) September 11, 1997
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player
“segaretro.org”
Slayers Royal
Developer Onion Egg
7.4
Publisher Kadokawa Shoten, Entertainment Software
Release date (jp) July 25, 1997
Genre Tactical role-playing
Mode 1 Player
Slayers Royal 2
6.8
Developer Onion Egg
Publisher Kadokawa Shoten, Entertainment Software
Release date (jp) September 3, 1998
Genre Tactical role-playing
Mode 1 Player
Sol Divide
7.8
Developer Psikyo
Publisher Atlus
Release date (jp) July 2, 1998
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players
Solar Eclipse
5.8
Developer Crystal Dynamics, Team Titan
Publisher BMG Victor, Crystal Dynamics, (us) Crystal Dynamics
Release date (us) November, 1995
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player
Snatcher
7.8
Developer Konami
Publisher Konami
Release date (jp) March 29, 1996
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player
Snatcher was first released in 1988 for the PC- story was ultimately changed from 2042 to 2047.
8801 and MSX2 computer platforms, and remade for The Sega CD version adds an extended open-
the PC Engine in Super CD-ROM² format under the ing intro (adapted from the introductory manga story
title of Snatcher CD-ROMantic in 1992. This version, featured in the manual) and Act 3 was revised to al-
in addition to offering improved graphics and audio, low more interaction with the player, such as a series
added voice acting during key portions of the game, of shooting sequences just before Gillian’s encounter
as well as Act 3. Konami preceded release of Snatcher with Elijah Modnar. The ending is extended with the
with a Pilot Disk containing a playable portion of the addition of Katrina and Mika in the final scene, as
game, a trailer-like preview, a database of characters well as a cameo from Napoleon.
and mechanics of the game, a commentary of previ- According to Blaustein, the Sega CD version
ous versions by Japanese gaming journalist Akira Ya- of Snatcher only sold a “couple of thousand units” in
mashita (who previously reviewed the game for Mi- North America. He attributes the game’s commercial
com BASIC Magazine), among other supplemental failure due to Sega’s discontinuation of the add-on at
content. the time of the game’s release.
An English localization of Snatcher was pro- In 1996, Snatcher was ported to the PlaySta-
duced in 1994 for the Sega CD in North America, as tion (February 12) and Sega Saturn (March 29). These
well as the Mega CD in Europe and Australia. The two 32-bit versions added slightly redone graphics, a
Sega CD port was produced specifically for the over- CG animated opening, and other subtle changes (most
seas market and was ported from the PC Engine ver- of them derived from the English Sega CD version).
sion. The script was translated by Scott T. Hards, with Most of the graphic violence were censored, the talk-
Jeremy Blaustein (who would later translate Metal ing heads (when a character spoke) were completely
Gear Solid) supervising the localization. This version redrawn, and the music was completely remixed.
adds support for Konami’s Justifier light gun periph- Snatcher has been critically acclaimed by re-
eral for the shooting segments. viewers. Famitsu gave the PC Engine version a score
Several changes were made to conform with of 33 out of 40.
the different censorship standards outside Japan, Upon release of the Sega CD version, Game-
mainly due to sexual content: Katrina’s age was Fan magazine gave it scores of 90, 100, and 90, with
changed from 14 in the Japanese version to 18 in the one reviewer praising it for “new shooting sequences,
English version due to a nude shower scene she has in perfect voice acting, rockin’ art, incredible music, and
the game, and the exposed breast of a dead Snatcher the most involving videogame storyline ever” while
was covered up. A scene featured in the PC Engine another reviewer praised it for “ungodly carnage,
version, which depicts a dying dog twitching with its the greatest story ever, and the interface that is just
internal organs exposed was redone so the dog is no the coolest”. Mean Machines Sega described it as “a
longer twitching. The clientele at the Outer Heaven breathtakingly detailed game which is so full of nice
night-club, which were originally parodies of popular touches and extras that going about your everyday
sci-fi characters such as Kamen Rider and Cornelius, Junker duties becomes as enjoyable as hunting down
were changed to Konami-owned characters to avoid the Snatcher units” and rated it as one of their “top
any potential copyright infringement and certain loca- three Mega CD games of all-time”.
tions (such as the Joy Division mask shop) were re- RPGFan gave the game scores of 95% and
named for similar reasons. The naked Snatchers were 97%, praising it for its “amazing story line,” every
also redesigned to lessen the resemblance with the character’s “superb development and revelations,”
Terminator robot: their endoskeletons were repaint- the “twists and turns in the plot,” and the game’s end-
ed with olive-colored body parts and their eyes were ing. Niall MacDonald of Console Obsession gave the
changed from red to green, besides other minimal game a score of 9/10, praising it for its “solid game
graphic changes. One minor plot change was made to world” as well as “excellent story, stylised visuals
Jean Jack Gibson’s last meal in the English version: and deep concepts.” He recommended the game to
his final meal was originally whale meat, which was fans of film noir and cyberpunk, concluding that it is
changed to buffalo meat for the localization. Because “not just an excellent interactive movie, but an exam-
of the later release of the English version, the year of ple of gaming at its finest.”
the Catastrophe was changed from 1991 to 1996 and
all other dates in the games were moved accordingly
by five years - thus, the present year of the game’s
78 • Solo Crisis
8.1 Söldnerschild
Developer Sega, Koei
Publisher Sega, Koei
Release date (jp) September 25, 1997
Genre Tactical role-playing
Mode 1 Player
“koei.wikia.com”
“segaretro.org”
7.0 Sorvice
Developer Altron
Publisher Altron
Release date (jp) September 23, 1998
Genre Action role-playing
Mode 1-2 Players
Soukyugurentai 8.8
Developer Eighting, Raizing
Publisher Electronic Arts Victor?, Virgin Interactive, Raizing?
Release date (jp) February 7, 1997
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players
Sonic 3D Blast
7.0 Developer Traveller’s Tales, Sonic Team
Publisher Sega
Release date (eu) February 14, 1997
Genre Action-platformer
Mode 1 Player
xxx Sonic 3D Blast is a isometric
platformer for the Sega Genesis and
Sega Saturn. The story follows Sonic
the Hedgehog as he embarks on a jour-
ney to save the Flickies, a species of
bird that are being enslaved by Doctor Sonic, while green and red Flickies
Robotnik. The player must guide Sonic wander off at random; the latter even
through a series of themed levels to col- jumping about, making them harder to
lect Flickies, in order to defeat Robot- re-collect. Sonic starts the game with
nik. Though it shares similar gameplay three lives; if he is hit with no Flickies
elements with prior Sonic the Hedge- or rings in his possession, he will lose
hog games, Sonic 3D Blast is differen- a life. Lives can be replenished by col-
tiated by its isometric viewpoint, mak- lecting a 1-up or collecting ten Sonic-
ing occasional use of pre-rendered 3D shaped medals.
models converted into sprites. As with previous games, Sonic
3D Blast includes “special stages”, in
In the game, players control
which the player collects Chaos Emer-
Sonic the Hedgehog, whose goal is
alds. Obtaining all seven Emeralds al-
to save the Flickies, collect the seven
lows the player to play the final boss
Chaos Emeralds, and defeat Doctor
battle and discover the true ending of
Robotnik and his robot army. Sonic
the game. To access these stages, the
retains most of his abilities from prior
player must find one of Sonic’s friends
games: he can jump and spin in mid-air
(either Tails or Knuckles the Echidna)
to defeat robots or hop on platforms,
hidden within a level, and stand next to
perform a spin-dash on the ground to
them with at least 50 rings collected.
gain speed, and collects rings as a form
Doing so allows the player to exchange
of health. Sonic can also collect power-
the rings in order for the chance to play
ups, such as elemental shields, speed
the game’s special stage. During spe-
shoes, or invincibility, by breaking tel-
cial stages, the camera shifts to behind
evision monitors containing them.
Sonic as he runs down a preset path
The game is split into several
and must collect rings while avoiding
levels called zones. Every zone has
obstacles that, when run into, make
three acts: two standard levels, where
him lose rings. A certain number of
the player must collect Flickies by de-
rings need to be obtained at certain
feating robots in order to proceed; and
checkpoints to continue through the
a boss fight against Robotnik, without
stage, and ultimately be able to make
any Flicky-collecting involved. In nor-
it to the end in order to receive a Chaos
mal levels, once the player collects all
Emerald.
five Flickies from each section of an
act, Sonic is either further advanced Sonic 3D Blast was the final
into the act, or taken to the next act. If Sonic the Hedgehog game produced
Sonic and the following Flickies are hit for the Sega Genesis, and was devel-
by an obstacle or enemy, the Flickies oped as a swan song for the system.
and the rings Sonic collected will scat- Sega had discontinued official support
ter. Each individual Flicky’s color de- for the Genesis in 1995, but intended
termines its behavior: blue, pink, and to produce the game for the 16-bit con-
orange Flickies make an effort to find sole because games typically sell for
Sonic 3D Blast • 81
one to two years after their platforms’ discontinuation. Sega also commissioned a version of the game
The game’s basic concept was conceived by longtime for the Sega Saturn in case Sonic X-treme was can-
series developer Sonic Team during the development celed. This cancelation did indeed occur, so Sonic 3D
of Sonic the Hedgehog 3; however, most of the ac- Blast was safely released in time for Christmas 1996
tual programming was done by the United Kingdom- in its stead. The game was ported in seven weeks, dur-
based developer Traveller’s Tales. According to the ing development of the Sega Genesis version. While
founder of Traveller’s Tales, Jon Burton, the team had it does feature graphical changes, such as weather ef-
just finished developing Toy Story and wanted to start fects and higher resolution textures, the game largely
developing games for 32-bit systems such as the Sega plays the same as the original version. It features a
Saturn and PlayStation. Sega, impressed with their higher quality opening video and improved graphics.
work on Toy Story and Mickey Mania, approached Sonic Team filled in for development of the special
them with the isometric game; as Sonic was extreme- stage in the Saturn version of the game, which in-
ly popular at the time, the concept “got [their] atten- cludes polygonal graphics as opposed to sprites only.
tion”. In retrospect, Burton stated that he believed the This version is also compatible with the Saturn’s ana-
reason the game was commissioned was due to the log control pad.
fact that Sonic X-treme, in development for the Sat-
Sonic 3D Blast received mixed reviews from
urn at the time, was struggling, and Sega wanted to
critics, according to the review aggregator GameR-
make bring Sonic into the 3D era of gaming.
ankings. Mike Wallis, an employee of Sega at the
Jon Burton on why Traveller’s Tales accepted
time, recalled in an interview that the Genesis version
the proposal for Sonic 3D Blast, in a retrospective
was successful for the company, eventually selling
interview with VentureBeat; “We’d just finished Toy
over 700,000 copies. The Saturn version was the sys-
Story, we were keen to get on with the new consoles,
tem’s second best-selling game, behind Nights into
the Saturn and the PlayStation. Sega came to us and
Dreams.
wanted a meeting. Well, of course, we’ll take a meet-
ing with Sega. They said, we want you to make a Gen-
esis game. We really wanted to do the next-gen stuff.
But then they said, it’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Oh, that
16-bit game? Yeah, we can do that 16-bit game.”
The game was developed from scratch in eight
months, beginning in July 1995. Burton, who served as
lead programmer, implemented an exception handler
where, should an error occur, the game would greet
the player with a secret level select screen instead of
crashing; this was done so the game could easily pass
Sega’s approval process for publishing games. Burton
also gave the game a unique full motion video intro
sequence, and used compression methods to make
the video fit in the 4MB cartridge and appear higher
resolution. The game makes use of some pre-rendered
3D models converted into sprites. Inspiration for the
isometric viewpoint was drawn from Sonic Labyrinth
and Super Mario RPG. The item collection was influ-
enced by the 1984 Flicky game, and the graphics were
inspired by Donkey Kong Country’s. Burton remem-
bered the partnership with Sega fondly, recalling that
he greatly enjoyed “making a machine do something
you haven’t seen it do”. Towards the end of develop-
ment, Traveller’s Tales began to expand its scope, and
Burton passed the rest of programming to his employ-
ees.
82 • Sonic Jam
Sonic Jam
Developer Traveller’s Tales, Sonic Team 9.0
Publisher Sega
Release date (eu) February 14, 1997
Genre Action-platformer
Mode 1 Player
“Easy” effectively halves the amount of lev- (which is absent from the Mega Drive release) was
els in each game (by skipping what were presumably added, and like later games, clouds of dust are created
considered the “difficult” acts of a zone), reduces the when Sonic skids to a halt.
hit count of most bosses to just three hits, and adjusts The notorious “spike bug” is fixed in Sonic
the placement of objects so as to help less experienced Jam, however some sound effects are missing, most
players. The acts chosen for easy mode vary depend- notably the noise of the waterfalls in Green Hill Zone.
ing on the game - the original Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog 2
and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 usually have the player run Sonic Jam’s port of Sonic 2 uses the invincibility tune
through the first acts, while Sonic 3 opts for second from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, presumably by
acts, save for cases where it makes less sense (such as accident as the Sonic 2 track in on the CD and used in
Angel Island Zone, where starting from act 2 would the two player versus mode. Thanks to the increased
omit the introduction). processor overhead, the versus mode also lags less of-
“Normal” acts as essentially a bug-fixed ver- ten than in the Mega Drive version of the game.
sion of the original game, though some layout chang- In the original Sonic 2, the “SEGA” jingle
es were made to address concerns with the original re- plays at a slightly higher pitch than its siblings. This
leases. As an example, more platforms were added in is fixed in the Sonic Jam release.
Sonic 2’s Chemical Plant Zone to reduce the chances Wing Fortress Zone has the distinction of be-
of the player drowning in the level’s second act - it ing the only zone completely skipped in any of Sonic
means on the whole, “normal” is easier than “origi- Jam’s easy mode games. No attempt was made to fin-
nal”, but harder than “easy”. ish this seemingly incomplete stage - there are still no
Also included as part of the package are time sound effects for the boss battle for example, though
trials and a chaos emerald mode, where the user plays extra platforms were added normal mode to reduce
through each special stage in succession. It is also the chances of falling off.
possible to disable the time over screens.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3/Sonic & Knuckles
Some of the audio in Sonic Jam is different
Being effectively two halves of the same game,
from the original Mega Drive versions, with most mu-
Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles share many changes,
sic tracks having a slight delay before playing (likely
though aside from different sounds for collecting blue
due to CD loading times). This is particularly notice-
spheres, most of the improvements involve fixing
able when collecting Power Sneakers, as rather than
bugs and exploits which are far more common than in
speed up the music already playing, a different, faster
the two earlier Sonic titles.
version of the tune is swapped in (and subsequently
Issues known to have given the developers
swapped out), with the track restarting each time (it
grief, such as Knuckles’ green socks in Sonic 3, are
can also cause results screen music to start playing for
not addressed in Sonic Jam, and are sometimes com-
a second time if an extra life is obtained).
plemented with new palette errors.
Many sound effects have been sampled at a
The infamous spinning barrel in Carnival
lower quality (or seemingly replaced, as is the case
Night Zone (which forces the player to learn it can be
with many explosions), while others are missing,
controlled with Up and Down) is completely removed
such as the sound for transforming into Super Sonic.
from the non-original versions of Sonic 3.
While players can still charge spin dashes, the pitch of
Despite Sonic & Knuckles Collection (re-
spin noise no longer rises when doing so.
leased around the same time period) skirting around
The ability for music to fade in and out is also
what are thought to be music tracks produced by
removed in Sonic Jam, however as there is no longer
Michael Jackson, Sonic Jam makes no significant
a need to share audio channels, sound effects cannot
changes to Sonic 3’s audio, save for changes men-
interfere with music playback.
tioned above which effect all the Mega Drive games.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic Jam received mostly positive reviews.
The original Sonic the Hedgehog sees the most obvi-
It holds an average score of 77% at GameRankings,
ous changes in its transition to the Saturn, being built
based on an aggregate of four reviews.
on the later revision of the game (not released in the
west), complete with extra scrolling with the clouds “sonicretro.org”
in Green Hill Zone and extra water effects in Laby-
rinth Zone. An option to toggle the Spin Dash ability
84 • Sonic R
Sonic R
8.7 Developer Sonic Team, Traveller’s Tales
Publisher Sega
Release date (us) November 18, 1997
Genre Racing
Mode 1-2 Players
xxx Sonic R is a Sonic the Hedge-
hog-themed 3D racing game. It was
developed by Traveller’s Tales under
guidance from Sonic Team, and pub-
lished by Sega for the Sega Saturn and
later Windows PCs. where the player races solo to get the
fastest time, and a two player competi-
Sonic R is a racing game featur-
tive mode, increased to four-players in
ing single-player and multiplayer game
the Gems Collection port. In addition to
modes. The player selects a character
the standard time trial mode, there are
and participates in a footrace on one
two others: “Get 5 Balloons”, where
of five race tracks, competing for the
five balloons are scattered across the
fastest time ahead of the other racers.
track and must be located, and “Tag 4
Four characters are initially available,
Characters”, where the player chases
while the other six are secret characters
and must catch four others.
that become available when the player
completes certain in-game objectives. Sonic R features ten playable
Although the gameplay is considered racers, each with unique attributes and
similar to kart racing games such as abilities falling in line with their usual
the Mario Kart series, Sonic R places abilities. The title character, Sonic the
an emphasis on jumping and explora- Hedgehog, is the fastest and possesses
tion, as each track has multiple paths the ability to “double jump”. Tails is
and hidden areas. The tracks, although able to fly through the air for a short
original creations, are thematically time, and Knuckles the Echidna can
based on the art style and environments glide through the air upon jumping.
of classic Sonic games such as Sonic Amy Rose, the last initially available
the Hedgehog’s “Green Hill Zone” and character, drives a car, allowing her
Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s “Chemical to hover over bodies of water and re-
Plant Zone”. ceive extra speed from driving over
During each race, the player is boost spaces. Secret characters include
able to collect items scattered across Sonic’s archenemy Dr. Robotnik, who
the track, bestowing advantages. flies in a hovercraft and resists differ-
Rings, the staple Sonic item, are abun- ences in terrain; robotic clones of Son-
dant; the player can exchange rings to ic (Metal Sonic), Tails (Tails Doll), and
gain a temporary speed boost or open Knuckles (Metal Knuckles); Robot-
doors leading to short cuts or special nik’s robotic assistant EggRobo; and
items. “Item Panels” give a random Super Sonic, a faster version of Sonic
temporary advantage, such as a speed powered by the Chaos Emeralds.
increase or shields that grant abilities After the completion of Sonic
such as being able to run across wa- 3D Blast in 1996, Sega approached
ter or attract nearby rings. Collection Traveller’s Tales about working on
of other special items, such as “Sonic another Sonic game, this time being
Tokens” and the Chaos Emeralds, may a racing game. Traveller’s Tales, who
lead to the unlocking of secret charac- coincidentally had been working on a
ters. Sonic R allows the player to select 3D graphics engine without a purpose
the type of weather seen during races. at the time, found this to be a logical
There is also a “Time Attack” mode, progression, and accepted the project.
Sonic R • 85
Traveller’s Tales chose to rebuild a Formula One Sonic R was designed with the Sega Saturn
game they were developing into a Sonic-branded ti- in mind, but was subsequently brought to Windows
tle. Development started in February 1997 as a joint a year later. The PC version exists in two forms; one
project between Sega’s Sonic Team and Traveller’s which uses software rendering (i.e. graphics are han-
Tales. The game was originally known as Sonic TT dled by the CPU), and another which uses hardware
(the TT standing for Tourist Trophy). Sonic Team de- rendering, taking advantage of 3D accelerator cards
signed the race tracks and the game’s general flow, which were becoming more commonplace at the time.
and Traveller’s Tales were responsible for the imple- The version of Sonic R which appears in Sonic Gems
mentation and programming. Sega of Europe pro- Collection is derived from this hardware-accelerated
ducer Kats Sato handled communication with Sonic PC conversion.
Team, as he was the only person who could speak
The Saturn version of Sonic R received gen-
both English and Japanese. Discussions led to the
erally positive reviews from critics at the time of its
reward mechanisms, which Sato believed broadened
release, although retrospective commentary has been
the game. The courses’ look and feel were inspired
more negative.
by other Sonic games, including Sonic 3D Blast. The
The game’s visuals were considered its strong-
3D models were based on 2D sketches from Sonic
est feature. Allgame’s Shawn Sackenheim praised the
Team. All models and animations were developed us-
“vibrant texture maps” with “no pop-up or glitch-
ing Softimage, while Traveller’s Tales created their
ing”, while Kelly of Electronic Gaming Monthly
own tools for the remaining game development.) Im-
made note of the “lush” environmental details. Kelly
plementing the two-player split-screen mode proved
and Sega Saturn Magazine’s Lee Nutter highlighted
difficult: programmer Jon Burton stated that this was
the consistent framerate (which rarely dropped below
mainly because it was difficult to ensure cheating was
30 frames per second) as a noteworthy achievement,
not too easy, so shortcuts were made challenging,
with the latter favourably comparing Sonic R to the
with a penalty incurred if players got them wrong. A
Saturn version of Sega Rally Championship.
major development goal was to maintain a consistent
30 frames per second frame rate during gameplay. A
custom game engine was developed to take full ad-
vantage of the Sega Saturn hardware and a graphical
technique, described as “12 layer transparency”, was
used to transparentise distant textures to conceal the
Sega Saturn’s limited draw distance. Burton claimed
that Sonic R could not have been replicated on other
consoles during the timeframe, such as the PlaySta-
tion console, due to the technique developed specifi-
cally for the Sega Saturn hardware.
An early build was unveiled at the Electronic
Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, Georgia in June 1997,
with Sega releasing screenshots of a “40% complete
build” to various magazines shortly afterwards. The
builds would be largely the same as the final game,
with the exception of minor tweaks, such as the abil-
ity to play the “Resort Island” level in a sunset set-
ting, where as the final game only allowed to alter the
weather, not time of day.
Hirokazu Yashuhara of Sonic Team went to
England and fine-tuned the game due to lack of time
for communication. Technical and scheduling issues
caused Sato to change the game design, leading to a
dispute with producer Yuji Naka, and Sato removed
his name from the credits.
88 • Sotsugyou III Wedding Bell
“vndb.org”
6.2 Sotsugyou S
Developer Headroom, NEC Interchannel
Publisher NEC Interchannel
Release date (jp) September 25, 1997
Genre Simulation
Mode 1 Player
“sorethumbretrogames.com”
Players are armed with a red and blue sonar. Each stage
has a number of stacked cubes, visually they all look
alike, but using the sonar players can find out whether
the cube is red, blue, white, Core, or Jammer. To clear
the stage one has to find the ‘Core’ cube and eliminate
it.
“psxdatacenter.com”
90 • Sound Novel Tsukuru 2
Machi 9.0
Developer Chunsoft
Publisher Chunsoft
Release date (jp) January 22, 1998
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player
Soviet Strike
Developer Electronic Arts, Granite Bay, Tiburon 8.2
Publisher Electronic Arts
Release date (us) February 17, 1997
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player
Standby SaySayYou!
You(スタンバイ セイ ユー) is an adventure
is an adventure
game developed by Human
revolves around for acting.
voice the Sega Saturn. There
are three cover art variants of this
The player controls a voice acting game.
studio director that have to complete
xxx
the voice acting of a new videogame.
He have to talk to the actors and start recording the voic-
es in the game sequences.
The game was released in three cover art variants.
96 • StarFighter 3000
6.2
StarFighter 3000
Developer Studio 3DO, Krisalis Software
Publisher (us) Acclaim, (eu) Telstar, (jp) Imagineer
Release date (eu) June 21, 1996
Genre Shooter, Simulation
Mode 1 Player
Steeldom 6.3
Developer Technosoft
Publisher Technosoft
Release date (jp) September 6, 1996
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players
Steam-Heart’s 5.9
Developer Giga
Publisher TGL
Release date (jp) September 23, 1998
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players
Strahl:
Himerareshi Nanatsu no Hikari 5.2
Developer Media Entertainment
Publisher Media Entertainment
Release date (jp) November 24, 1995
Genre Action Interactive Movie
Mode 1 Player
GT 24h 5.7
Developer Jaleco
Publisher Jaleco
Release date (jp) April 2, 1998
Genre Racing
Mode 1-2 Players
perform a special counterattacking technique called Due to the small amount of character anima-
an Alpha Counter (Zero Counter in the Japanese ver- tion data in Street Fighter Alpha, Capcom was able to
sion) after blocking an opponent’s attack, which con- do a relatively straight port to the Saturn and PlaySta-
sumes a level of the Super Combo Gauge. tion; source code from the arcade version is incorpo-
There are two playing styles that can be se- rated into both home versions. Both versions feature
lected after choosing a character: “Normal” and an arranged soundtrack with a choice between the Ar-
“Auto”. Auto differs from Normal in that the charac- ranged and Original versions. In addition to a dedi-
ter automatically guards against a limited number of cated two-player “Versus Mode”, these ports were
attacks (provided the character is not in the middle of also the first console Street Fighter ports to feature
performing an attack). Auto also allows the player to a Training Mode, allowing players to practice their
perform an instant Super Combo by pressing a punch techniques and combos on a non-hostile character.
and kick of the same strength simultaneously, but at A port for Capcom’s CPS Changer was also
the expense of reducing the maximum level of the Su- released as a mail order release in 1996 in Japan. This
per Combo gauge to one. version was based on the CPS I version. A Windows
There are also new basic techniques such as version was released in 1998, based on the PlaySta-
Air Blocking, the ability to guard during mid-air, and tion version.
Chain Combos, which are combos that are performed Street Fighter Alpha is one of the eleven
by interrupting the animation of one basic move by games scheduled in 2018 to be released as part of the
performing another of equal or greater strength. In Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection in its ar-
addition to recovering from an opponent’s throw, the cade perfect form. This version is on the Playstation 4
player also has the ability to roll on the ground when Xbox One Switch and Steam with the feature of save
they fall to the ground after an attack. states.
The single player mode consists of seven ran- Reviewing the Saturn version, Sega Saturn
dom opponents and a final opponent whose identity Magazine commented: “The graphics are great, the
depends on the storyline of the player’s selected char- sound’s great, it plays very well indeed and it’s tough
acter. M. Bison is the final boss for half of the char- enough to keep you going for ages even without a sec-
acters. There are also two hidden characters: Akuma, ond player to hand.” However, they also remarked
who returns from Super Turbo as an alternate final that the game was outclassed by the recently released
boss only after certain in-game requirements are met, X-Men: Children of the Atom and that most gamers
and a new character named Dan (a popular Capcom should get that one instead. GamePro criticized that
spoof character), who challenges the player during the some of the game’s new characters were not as pow-
course of the game if certain requirements are met. erful or fun to play as the series regulars, but praised
The game also features a secret two-on-one the gameplay additions and deemed the Saturn ver-
Dramatic Battle mode in which two players as Ryu sion “a near-perfect arcade conversion.” Maximum
and Ken fight against a computer-controlled M. Bi- argued that while the game has fewer characters and
son, a match inspired by the final fight between the backgrounds than Super Street Fighter II Turbo and
characters in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie makes few innovations to the series, it is refined to
(the Japanese arcade version of the game plays an the point where “Everything that Street Fighter does
instrumental rendition of the movie’s battle theme, so well has been taken to new levels in Alpha.” They
“Itoshisato Setsunasato Kokorozuyosato”, which was commented on the accuracy of the Saturn version and
replaced by M. Bison’s regular theme in the overseas gave it their “Maximum Game of the Month” award.
releases). Both GamePro and Maximum particularly applauded
The immediate character roster includes Ryu, the coloration of the Super Move shadows in the Sat-
Ken, Chun-Li and Sagat from the Street Fighter II se- urn version.
ries, along with Birdie and Adon (Sagat’s former ap- A manga adaptation based on the original
prentice) from the original Street Fighter, who make Alpha and Alpha 2 by Masahiko Nakahira was pub-
their first appearances as playable characters in this lished in Gamest game from 1995 to 1996, and was
game. Guy, one of the main playable characters from later adapted into English by UDON in 2007. Two
Final Fight also appears along with Sodom, a boss different animated adaptations were also produced:
character from the same game. New to the series are Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation in 1999 and
Charlie, Guile’s combat buddy who uses the same Street Fighter Alpha: Generations in 2005.
special techniques, and Rose.
104 • Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Racer
7.5
Developer Vivid Image
Publisher Ubisoft
Release date (eu) November 16, 1996
Genre Racing
Mode 1-8 Players
6.7 Sugobencha:
Dragon Master Silk Gaiden
Developer Gimmick House
Publisher Datam Polystar
Release date (jp) February 19, 1998
Genre Table
Mode 1-5 Players
Strikers 1945 II
Developer Affect Boom, Kuusou Kagaku, Psikyo 8.3
Publisher Psikyo
Release date (jp) October 22, 1998
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players
“mobygames.com”
“mobygames.com”
8.7 Swagman
Developer Core Design
Publisher Eidos Interactive
Release date (eu) April, 1997
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1 Player
“segaretro.org”
“SegaStation@youtube.com”
Taikou Risshiden II • 119
Tactics Ogre
8.0 Developer Riverhillsoft
Publisher Riverhillsoft
Release date (jp) December 13, 1996
Genre Role-playing, Strategy
Mode 1 Player
xxx Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is a Japa-
nese tactical role-playing game originally released in
1995 on the Super Famicom.
Chronologically, the game is the 7th episode
of the Ogre Saga. The land of Valeria is in a state of
constant tension between the three nations that pop-
ulate it. The Gargastan people, which constitute the
majority, find themselves in a turbulent political situ-
ation. The Walstanian minority is being oppressed by
the more powerful neighbors. The king of Bacrum, a
nation that considered itself Valeria’s elite, eventually
gained the upper hand in the struggle, and managed to
establish an era of peace and stability. All this ended
when mysterious accidents began to plague the royal
family. A new conflict arose, and eventually led to the
ethnic cleansing of the Walstanians. Denim Powell, one of the survivors, em-
barks on a quest for revenge against those who slaughtered his people.
The gameplay of Tactics Ogre is similar to the turn-based strat-
egy style of tactical RPGs. Like other tactical RPGs, the player builds up a
team of several characters with changeable classes and fights battles on iso-
metric grids. The order of movement is determined by the speed of individual
characters, in contrast to games in which each side moves its entire team at
once. Each character is moved individually on the grid and the order of combat
is calculated for each character individually.
The gameplay is intermixed with expositional cutscenes revealing the
plot, shown in the same isometric view as the battles. Movement and team
management between battles are done through a map interface. Most human
characters begin as either amazons or soldiers. By leveling up correctly, they
can later progress to the other male or female classes, although most advanced
classes are limited to certain alignments: lawful, neutral, or chaotic. Another
feature is the “Warren Report”, a type of database on the land, people, encoun-
ters and races of Valeria.
Tactics Ogre had a long development cycle for its time, and was re-
leased 18 months after it was first announced. This was the second game direct-
ed by Yasumi Matsuno, following Ogre Battle, which featured a considerably
different game style. Conceived as the seventh episode in the Ogre Battle Saga,
the game was originally titled Lancelot: Somebody to Love, and then Tactics
Ogre: The Bequest of King Dorgalha, before the final title was settled upon.
According to Matsuno, Japanese players were not used to the real-time strategy
gameplay of Ogre Battle so he changed to a turn based grid system for Tactics
Ogre. Furthermore, he stated he felt the previous game “lacked reality”, with
too many gods and demons, and thus decided to switch to a more dark fantasy
atmosphere with a Middle Ages/Roman Empire base for a more realistic set-
ting.
Tactics Ogre • 121
The game was innovative in its nonlinear inspired by Matsuno’s outside perspective on events
branching plotline inspired by sound novels and that unfolded during the Yugoslav Wars in the early
gamebooks at the time. Crucial decisions made in the 1990s, including the Bosnian Genocide.
game determine the path of the story, the members of The subtitle of Let Us Cling Together is a ref-
the players army and the ending sequence. There are erence to the Queen song “Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling
multiple endings with radically different outcomes. Together)” from their album A Day at the Races. This
The game expanded the non-linear alignment system is one of many references to Queen songs in the series,
of its predecessor, with three types of alignments for including Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen,
each unit: Lawful, Neutral, and Chaos, none of which which references “Ogre Battle” and “The March of
are portrayed as necessarily good or bad. The game the Black Queen” from the album Queen II.
gives players the freedom to choose their own des- The Saturn version of Tactics Ogre is very
tiny, with difficult moral decisions, such as whether to similar to the SNES version, though as 256x224 is
follow a Lawful path by upholding the oath of loyalty, not a supported video mode on Sega’s console (unlike
even if it means slaughtering civilian non-player char- the PlayStation), the game appears “thinner” than its
acters on the leader’s command), or follow the chaot- rivals and cutscenes are pillarboxed. There is, how-
ic path by following a personal sense of justice, even ever, a wider view of the playfield and an enhanced
if it means rebelling. Such factors affect the game’s soundtrack missing in the PlayStation conversion. It
ending, which is also affected by decisions such as also has voiceovers for “important” cutscenes. The
whether to obtain the most powerful class, which can port also has voice acting in most of the important
only be acquired by making a tragic sacrifice. scenes, and an art gallery exclusive to this version.
While the concept of branching storylines af- In addition, this version makes it is possible for the
fected by Law/Neutral/Chaos alignments had already player to swap bodies with some normally restricted
been explored before in the Megami Tensei series classes through one ability from the Ogre Blade item.
developed by Atlus, Tactics Ogre presented choic- In all of the other ports of Tactics Ogre, restrictions
es more grounded in reality, revolving around war are made on which character can be controlled under
crimes and political alliances, rather than supernatu- this ability, but the Sega Saturn port does away with
ral elements. The dark, complex, political narrative of any restriction, significantly impacting gameplay if
Tactics Ogre revolving around the reality of war was this feature is to be used by the players.
122 • Taito Chase H.Q. Plus S.C.I.
“Da_Shocker@sega-16.com”
Tempest 2000 • 125
Tenant Wars
7.1
Developer KID
Publisher KID
Release date (jp) February 11, 1998
Genre Table
Mode 1-4 Players
Tengai Makyou:
7.7 Daiyon no Mokushiroku
Developer Hudson Soft, Red
Publisher Hudson Soft
Release date (jp) January 14, 1997
Genre Role-playing
Mode 1-2 Players
6.8 Tetris S
Developer Bullet Proof Software
Publisher Bullet Proof Software
Release date (jp) December 27, 1996
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1-2 Players
Theme Park
8.5 Developer Bullfrog Productions
Publisher Electronic Arts, (jp) Electronic Arts Victor
Release date (jp) December 22, 1995
Genre Role-playing
Mode 1 Player
Theme Park offers three levels of simula- only on the world’s largest and most profitable theme
tion: the higher difficulties requiring more manage- park. The graphics were drawn and modelled using
ment of aspects such as logistics. For example, at full 3D Studio. Molyneux stated that each person takes
level, the player must manage research, negotiations, about 200 bytes of memory, enough for them to have
stocks, and shares. On sandbox, the game does not their own personality. The team travelled the world
involve those aspects. Game time is implemented visiting theme parks and taking notes, and sound ef-
like a calendar: at the end of each year, the player fects were sampled from real parks. Molyneux ex-
is judged on that year’s performance against rivals. plained that they were going for as much realism as
Game speed can be adjusted, and staff can be moved possible. There was to be a feature where a micro-
by the player. Cash awards may be earned for doing phone is placed on a visitor and so the player could
well, and trophies may be awarded for achievements hear what they were saying, and multiplayer support
such as having the longest roller coaster. was dropped two weeks prior to release because of a
The goal is to increase the park’s value and deadline. Multiplayer mode would have let players
available money so that it can be sold and a new lot send thugs to other parks.
purchased from another part of the world to start a The Saturn version was noted as being most-
new theme park. Once enough money has been made, ly faithful to the PC original. Sam Hickman of Sega
the player can auction the park and move on to newer Saturn Magazine praised it for retaining the original
plots, located worldwide and having different factors intro, music, speech samples, and features of the PC
affecting gameplay, including the economy, weather, version (all of which had been left out of most previ-
terrain and land value. ous console versions), although a reviewer from the
From a Sega perspective the game is fairly in- Japanese magazine of the same name criticised the
teresting, as it technically released twice on the Sat- lack of mouse support. Electronic Gaming Monthly’s
urn in Japan, first as regular Theme Park seen here, reviewer held a similar opinion to that of Hickman by
and again as Shin Theme Park, a localised variant. commending the Saturn version for being a compre-
The game was originally designed with a mouse in hensive port of the PC original, and also applauded
mind, but none of the Sega ports are compatible with the addictive simulation gaming of Theme Park.
their respective mouse add ons, whether that
be the Sega Mouse or Shuttle Mouse.
Peter Molyneux stated that he came
up with the idea of creating Theme Park be-
cause he felt the business genre was worth
pursuing. He said that Theme Park is a game
he had always wanted to create, and wanted
to avoid the mistakes of his earlier business
simulation game, The Entrepreneur: he want-
ed to create a business simulation game and
make it fun so people would want to play it.
In an interview, he explained that the primary
reason he created Theme Park was because he
wanted players to create their dream Theme
Park. Another reason is he wanted players to
understand the kind of work running one en-
tails. The three difficulty settings enable play-
ers to choose the desired depth: simply hav-
ing fun creating a theme park, or making all
the business decisions too. Molyneux stated
that the most difficult part to program was the
visitors’ behaviour.
The story was originally to have the
player play the role of a nephew who had in-
herited a fortune from his aunt, to be spent
136 • Thunder Force: Gold Pack 1
Thunderhawk II 8.5
Developer Core Design
Publisher Core Design, (us) U.S. Gold, (jp) Victor Entertainment
Release date (eu) December, 1995
Genre Shooter, Simulation
Mode 1 Player
“ipfs.io”
Tomb Raider
9.0
Developer Core Design, (jp) Victor Soft
Publisher Eidos, (jp) Victor Soft
Release date (eu) October 24, 1996
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1 Player
A general action button is used to perform a ning. In fact, in early concepts, Lara originally had
wide range of movements in Tomb Raider, such as a cold-blooded militaristic-type personality, but Gard
picking up items, pulling switches, firing guns, push- and the team decided to create and play up the “proper
ing or pulling blocks, and grabbing onto ledges. Items English lady” aspect of her character to establish that
to pick up include ammo, small and large medi-packs, there was more to Lara’s personality and life than just
keys and artefacts required to complete a stage. Any her immediate actions during Tomb Raider’s game-
item that is collected is held onto in Lara’s inventory play.
until it is used. Throughout each stage, one or more A three-dimensional action-adventure like
secrets may be located. Discovering these secrets is Tomb Raider was unprecedented at the time, and the
optional, and when the player has found one a tune development team struggled to find a way to make
plays. The locations of these secrets vary in difficulty Toby Gard’s vision for the game work on contempo-
to reach. The player is usually rewarded with extra rary hardware, in particular getting the player charac-
items. ter to interact with freeform environments. According
In the Sega Saturn and PlayStation versions to programmer Gavin Rummery, the decision to build
of Tomb Raider, saving the game is restricted to fixed the entire game world on a grid was the key break-
save points within each level, marked by a floating through to making the game possible. Though the
blue crystal or by completing the level. When Lara 3D platforming gameplay, player character abilities,
touches one of these the option to save is made avail- and focus on exploration have been likened to Super
able. The DOS version of the game allows the player Mario 64, the developers have denied it was an in-
to save at any time. A stage is finished when a certain fluence on Tomb Raider, and indeed development on
doorway is reached, an artefact is recovered, or a boss Tomb Raider started well before Super Mario 64 had
is destroyed. been shown to the public.
Preliminary work on Tomb Raider com- The front of the Derby Studios building where
menced in 1993. The title was crafted by Core Design Core Design worked on the game was later used as
of Derby, England, who took 18 months to develop it. the front of Croft Manor. It is Core’s contention that
The team consisted of six people, among them Toby the company was struggling somewhat with 32-bit
Gard, who is credited with the creation of Lara Croft. development at that time. The first glints of the game
The character went through several changes before were seen on Sega Saturn development kits. Howev-
Core settled on the version she became famous for. er, Gard stated that though Core and Sega had a deal
Initially Gard designed a male character to be the star for Tomb Raider to be a timed exclusive for the Sat-
of Tomb Raider. As he began working on the design urn, the game was developed simultaneously for the
document, Core were planning on giving players a Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation. Following the
choice of player characters, so he designed an early release of the Saturn version, a number of bugs were
form of Lara to be the female alternative. Later real- discovered that affected both versions of the game;
izing that having two player characters would double because of the timed exclusivity, the development
the amount of work required for the cutscenes, Gard team fixed these bugs for the PlayStation version.
cut the player characters back down by eliminating the While the series would see four more instalments on
male character, since he liked Lara better. Gard also the original PlayStation, no additional Tomb Raider
cited Virtua Fighter as an influence on this decision: games were released for the Saturn. Additional Sega
“It became clear to me watching people play Virtua ports were released on the Dreamcast.
Fighter, which was kind of the first big 3D-character Shelley Blond provided the voice of Lara
console game, that even though there were only two Croft for the game. She recalled, “I was asked to per-
female characters in the lineup, in almost every game form her voice in a very plain non-emotive manner
I saw being played, someone was picking one of the and in a ‘female Bond’ type of way. I would have add-
two females.” ed more inflection, tone and emotion to my voice but
Lara Croft was originally named “Laura they wanted to keep it how they felt it should sound,
Cruz”. As her backstory began to take shape and it which was quite right. My job was to bring their char-
was decided that she would become more English acter to life.”
and that it would be a major part of who the character Despite being the target platform for the
was, her name was changed to reflect this. According game, the Western Saturn version of Tomb Raider is
to Toby Gard, the idea to make her more akin to a considered to be the weakest version, primarily due
female Indiana Jones was not present from the begin- to not being optimized for the way the Saturn hard-
Tomb Raider • 151
ware handles 3D graphics. On a technical level, the in 1996 this was only achievable with high-end hard-
VDP2 is rarely used in the game, with the vast major- ware. By 1998, PC versions of Tomb Raider had been
ity of work being handled by the VDP1, thereby using adapted to multiple 3D graphics cards to address
only a fraction of the Saturn’s power. There are also some of these graphical concerns, and fan-made mods
minor differences to level layouts (specifically some allow the game to benefit from modern systems.
secret areas) because the Saturn version was rushed to The Japanese Saturn version, released in 1997,
launch three months before the PlayStation version. was enhanced by Victor Soft, with more detailed en-
The Saturn Tomb Raider runs faster than its vironments, higher texture quality, longer draw dis-
PlayStation counterpart in some situations, but while tance, improved water effects, higher resolution, and
the PlayStation targets and largely maintains a 30 FPS higher frame rate.
refresh rate, the Saturn struggles to maintain 20 FPS. Tomb Raider remains the most critically ac-
The Saturn version also lacks reflections on the save claimed game in the long-running franchise, and has
crystals as well as alpha transparency. sold over 7 million copies worldwide becoming a best-
On the other hand, the PlayStation version seller. Upon its release in 1996, the game was widely
lacks perspective correction and has issues with tex- praised by gaming magazines for its variety and depth
ture warping and polygon seams, whereas the Saturn’s of control, revolutionary graphics, intriguing environ-
forward texture mapping provides some perspective ments, and use of occasional combat to maintain an
correction, its bilinear approximation reduces texture atmosphere of tension. Ryan MacDonaold of GameS-
warping, and higher polygon accuracy results in al- pot summarized, “Take the puzzle solving of Resident
most seamless polygons. The Saturn version also has Evil, the gory action of Loaded, and the 360-degree
refractive water surfaces, which both the PlayStation freedom most gamers only dream of, and you have
and PC versions lack. Tomb Raider, the closest thing to a ‘Mario 64 killer’
The Saturn version had smoother Gouraud to date.”
shading, whereas the PlayStation version had color Most critics rated the PlayStation version as
banding, when running on the original PlayStation better than the Saturn version. MacDonald said that
hardware released from 1994 to 1995. The color band- its graphics were sharper, and Bro’ Buzz of Game-
ing was eventually eliminated on the new PlayStation Pro scored it a half point higher than the Saturn ver-
hardware, which improved the system’s transparency sion in every category (control, sound, graphics, and
and shading capabilities. The PlayStation version is FunFactor), remarking, “After a solid showing for the
thus able to have smooth shading when running on Saturn, Tomb Raider scores even higher.” However,
newer PlayStation models, despite the PlayStation Next Generation stated that they would not bother to
version originally not having smooth shading upon review the PlayStation version because the differenc-
the game’s release in 1996. es between it and the Saturn version “are negligible.”
The Saturn version is also dark in comparison,
The game’s use of a hard-edged, female hero-
due to the way Gouraud shading works on the Sat-
ine has been both hailed as revolutionary (breaking
urn hardware. The Saturn’s VDP1 uses additive shad-
away from the male perspective of game playing) and
ing, which often results in darker shadows, whereas
undergone multi-factorial, critiques that either consid-
the PlayStation’s GPU uses multiplicative shading,
er Lara’s portrayal to be a positive, visual metaphor of
which often results in brighter lights.
sexual empowerment, or objectifying and sexist.
Pre-rendered videos are slightly smaller in
terms of resolution, although the Saturn’s D-Pad is An infamous footnote in Lara’s history is the
regarded as being more suitable to this game than the so-called Nude Raider patch. This patch was created
PlayStation’s. Sound effects are sampled at a lower externally and was never housed on the Eidos or Core
bit-rate than on the PlayStation too. websites. The patch, when added to an existing Tomb
Against the PC DOS version, the Saturn (and Raider game (PC-based versions only), caused Lara
PlayStation) versions of the game offer more varied to appear naked. Contrary to rumour, there is no nude
music (the PC opting merely for ambiance due to disc code in any console version of the game. In 1999,
space restrictions) and higher colour colour depths Core Design considered taking legal action against
(the PC restricted to 8-bit colour (i.e. a palette of 256 websites, which hosted nude pictures of Lara Croft,
colours) due to the use of a software renderer). The stating that “we have a large number of young fans
PC version does, however, have the option to run in a and we don’t want them stumbling across the pictures
640x480 mode (and a lower 320x200 mode), though when they do a general search for Tomb Raider”.
152 • Tokyo Shadow
“mobygames.com”
Transport Tycoon
Developer MicroProse 5.1
Publisher Imagineer
Release date (jp) November 20, 1997
Genre Strategy. Simulation
Mode 1 Player
True Pinball
Developer Digital Illusions 7.2
Publisher Ocean Software, (jp) Gaga Communications
Release date (jp) April 5, 1996
Genre Pinball
Mode 1-8 players (alternating)
Tunnel B1
7.1
Developer NEON Software, Microcabin
Publisher Acclaim, (eu) Ocean, (jp) Gaga Communications
Release date (eu) October 16, 1996
Genre First-person shooter
Mode 1 Player
Trash It 4.5
Developer Rage Software
Publisher GT Interactive
Release date (eu) 1997
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player
“psxdatacenter.com”
Ultraman:
6.2
Hikari no Kyojin Densetsu
Developer SIMS
Publisher Bandai
Release date (jp) December 20, 1996
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players
Ultraman Zukan 2
Developer Tsuburaya Production, Kodansha
Publisher Kodansha
Release date (jp) December 18, 1997
Genre Miscellaneous
Mode 1 Player
Ultraman Zukan 3
Developer Tsuburaya Production, Kodansha
Publisher Kodansha
Release date (jp) June 18, 1998
Genre Miscellaneous
Mode 1 Player
reach Queen Sindel to warn her of their true past. the arcade intro sequence is missing, Rain does
• Reptile – As one of Shao Kahn’s most trusted not appear in the game, yet the message Kombat
servants, Reptile assists Jade in the hunt for Kitana, Kode “Rain can be found in the Graveyard” is
but with secret orders enabling him to kill her if still displayed. It also contains several elements of
necessary. MK3 that were removed for the arcade version of
• Scorpion – Scorpion escapes from Earth’s hell UMK3, such as “The Bank” level and Noob Saibot
when Shao Kahn makes a failed attempt at stealing being a shadow Kano as in MK3 (not a black ninja
the souls and eventually joins the struggle against as in the arcade version of UMK3). There are a few
the Outworld. new Kombat Kodes, but several that were present
More are unlockable via the Ultimate Kombat in the arcade release do not work any longer. The
Kode: secret characters can be unlocked via a secret op-
• Classic Sub-Zero – Having been seemingly killed tions screen, eliminating the need to enter three
in the first game, Sub-Zero mysteriously returns to separate Kombat Kodes to unlock them (this is
again attempt an assassination of Shang Tsung. much faster, especially since unlocked characters
• Ermac – A mysterious warrior that exists as a life cannot be saved); the Kombat Kodes themselves
force of by the souls of dead Outworld warriors in were also shortened to have six slots instead of ten.
Shao Kahn’s possession. Critical reception of the game has varied
• Mileena (Becky Gable) – After she was killed by depending on the version under review. The initial
Kitana, Mileena was brought back to life by Shao releases were generally well received by critics,
Kahn to help him to defeat Earth’s warriors with especially the 32-bit Sega Saturn version. EGM
her combat skills and a mind-reading connection named it their “Game of the Month”, commenting
to her sister. that it is a “near-perfect” translation of the arcade
Finally, Smoke’s human form can be un- version, with the only problem being the long load-
locked via a code entered right before a match. ing times. VideoGames rated this port a review
Returning characters were warmly wel- score of 8/10, calling it “simply a great game”
comed by critics as an improvement the “lackluster and stating that “if there was ever a definitive MK
roster” of MK3 with “the greatly missed” Kitana, game, this is it.” In GamePro, Major Mike summa-
Mileena, Reptile, and especially Scorpion. rized that “Saturn owners left out in the cold when
The Sega Saturn version is based directly MK 3 hit the PlayStation can now gloat: Ultimate
on the version of Mortal Kombat 3 that was re- has arrived, and it offers more fighters, moves, fa-
leased for the PlayStation and PC. It thus has the talities, and secrets than MK 3.”
same graphical quality and menu system. Since
6.6 Uno DX
Developer Media Quest
Publisher Media Quest
Release date (jp) January 29, 1998
Genre Table
Mode 1-2 Players
Vampire Savior:
9.0 The Lord of Vampire
Developer Capcom
Publisher Capcom
Release date (jp) April 16, 1998
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players
Vatlva 6.9
Developer Ancient
Publisher JVC
Release date (jp) December 6, 1996
Genre Action
Mode 1-6 Players
Virtuacall S 7.0
Developer KID
Publisher KID
Release date (jp) October 29, 1998
Genre Simulation
Mode 1 Player
Virtua Fighter
9.0 Developer Sega AM2
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) November 22, 1994
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players
Virtua Fighter 2
7.9 Developer Sega AM2
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) December 1, 1995
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players
The game took Sega AM2 as the arcade version. To make this dif-
roughly 12 months to develop. The ference less apparent, the programming
developers designed four new charac- team used texture mapping on the char-
ters, only two of which, Lion and Shun, acters, taking advantage of the fact that
made it into the final game. the Saturn could map 16 different colors
In a 1995 interview, head de- to each polygon, whereas the Model
veloper Yu Suzuki said Virtua Fighter 2 Two arcade hardware could map only 1.
was his favorite of all the games he had In addition, the polygon background ob-
made, elaborating that he was particu- jects of the arcade version were replaced
larly pleased with the way the polygo- with parallax scrolling playfields with
nal graphics “added a sense of reality” selective scaling. The AM2 team also
to the characters’ motions, and the addi- used data from Virtua Fighter Remix as
tion of counterattacks. a reference for some elements. In an in-
At the beginning of 1995, Sega terview during development, Keiji Oka-
AM2’s Sega Saturn division was split yasu discussed the team’s struggles with
into three sub-departments, each one getting the Saturn version to run at 60
charged with porting a different arcade frames per second:
game to the Saturn: Virtua Fighter 2, “If we didn’t have to consider the
Virtua Cop, and Daytona USA. Due to speed, we could do the conversion very
unexpectedly slow progress in the Day- quickly. But with so much data, we can
tona USA port, a number of members only move slowly. With Virtua Fighter 1
of the Virtua Fighter 2 team were reas- we could use the arcade data for each
signed to Daytona USA. In March, AM2 technique with just a few changes, but
Research completed the Sega Graph- with 2 there’s just too much data. But
ics Library, a Saturn operating system we have done well, although how is a
which made it feasible to create a near- secret... I think we couldn’t have made 2
arcade perfect port of Virtua Fighter 2 if we hadn’t made the first conversion -
for the Saturn. but it’s just as tough! We owe a lot to the
After completing the Dayto- new SGL OS (Sega Graphics Library
na USA port in April, the team took a Operating System) software.”
short holiday before beginning work on
By the end of September, hit de-
the Virtua Fighter 2 conversion in ear-
tection had been enabled, and the now
nest. In June, AM2 gave the first public
fully playable conversion was displayed
demonstration of Saturn Virtua Fighter
at the JAMMA show. Taking into ac-
2 at the Tokyo Toy Show. To increase
count audience reactions at the JAM-
confidence in the accuracy of the port,
MA show, the team spent the next two
they displayed non-playable demos of
months on final adjustments, play-test-
the characters Lion, Shun, Pai, and Lau
ing, and the addition of Saturn-specific
running on the Saturn hardware at 60
options. Development on the port was
frames per second - the same speed as
completed in November 1995.
the arcade version.
However, AM2 continued to Virtua Fighter 2 was critically
face problems in creating an accurate acclaimed upon release. Next Genera-
port for the Saturn. Due to the high tion gave the game a perfect 5/5 stars,
number of moves in Virtua Fighter 2, calling it “the ultimate arcade transla-
months had to be spent on developing tion” and “the best fighting game ever.”
compression techniques in order to fit The magazine cited its “accurate repre-
all of the game’s moves onto a single sentation of 10 very distinct and realistic
CD. Also, in order to maintain the 60 fighting styles”, “remarkable AI”, and
frames per second, the Saturn version “a general attention to detail that sets a
could not use nearly as many polygons new mark for quality game design.”
“segaretro.org”
180 • Virtua Fighter Kids
Release date: October 13, 1995 Release date: November 17, 1995
Jacky Bryant (born August 28, 1970; San Francisco, Akira Yuki (born September 23, 1968). His fighting
California). Nicknamed the “Blue Flash”, Jacky is an style is Bājíquán, a Chinese martial art.
indy car racer, and is featured as a playable charac- Rather than just pursuing victories, Akira enters the
ter in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. He is also the tournament to further hone his Bājíquán techniques
elder brother of Sarah Bryant. and to understand what “true fighting” is about. He
Jacky fights using Bruce Lee’s incredibly versatile was a childhood friend of Aoi Umenokoji. In addi-
Jeet Kune Do style, allowing him a few of Bruce tion, he’s had fierce rivalries with fighters such as
Lee’s actual techniques that he chose to perfect dur- Goh Hinogami and Jean Kujo, and especially Kage-
ing his lifetime. The most important aspect of Jacky’s Maru. He’s also friends and rivals with Wolf Hawk-
game are his combos, which can be utilized to re- field.
peatedly strike and inflict massive damage. Akira is the official winner of the Second World
Fighting Tournament (Virtua Fighter 2).
Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series • 183
Pai Chan (born May 17, 1975; Hong Kong). She is Wolf Hawkfield (born February 8, 1966). He is a
a martial arts movie star in her hometown, and the Canadian professional wrestler who debuted in the
daughter of renowned Chinese martial artist Lau original game and has appeared as a playable charac-
Chan. Her fighting style is Mízōngquán. ter in every installment in the series.
Pai has a cheerful and determined personality, al- Wolf is a gentle giant who lives to fight and enjoys
though her moods can change very rapidly depend- nothing more than a good bout, aside from nature
ing on the situation. When she’s not busy with her and karaoke. He cared so much about fighting that
career as a movie actress, she devotes her time and he relinquished his championship belt and retired
attention to her training in the hopes of surpassing from pro-wrestling after growing tired of the same
her father. She met Akira Yuki in the First World competition. Then, after hearing of the World Fight-
Fighting Tournament, and since then, they’ve been ing Tournament, the Canadian decides to enter in the
friends with each other, and trained together. hopes of finding stronger opponents.
A leading Chinese chef, a master of the legendary Shun Di (born January 2, 1912; China) debuted in
wushu style Tiger Swallow Fist and the father of Pai Virtua Fighter 2 along with Lion Rafale. He uses a
Chan although the two share a strained relationship. style of Drunken Kung Fu (Zuì Quán).
He is from Shandong Province, Northern China. He is from Northern China and is considered as a
Currently (and ever since Virtua Fighter 4), Lau has sage by many. He teaches in his small training hall
suffered from a rare illness which cannot be cured. and had many students in the past but most have left
This illness does not seem to hamper his Koen-ken him by now. This is due to his keen interest in taking
techniques or his ability to fight although he is seen students able to take hardship as part of the training.
coughing in one of his pre-fight animations and, in Shun hears his friends boasting about the success one
Virtua Fighter 5 R, one of his idle animations. Lau of their student fighters in recent tournament compe-
was the winner of the first World Fighting Tourna- titions. He suddenly exclaims, “I also want to partici-
ment. pate in the World Fighting Tournament”.
184 • Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series
Lion Rafale (born December 24, 1979; Bordeaux, Kage-Maru (Kage for short; pronounced as KA-géh-
France). He was one of two new characters, along MAH-ru, born June 6, 1971; Japan) is a tenth-gen-
with Shun Di added in Virtua Fighter 2. Lion’s per- eration Hagakure Ninja. His fighting style, taught to
sonality is displayed as cocky, spoiled, a little bratty him by his father, the ninth-generation, Hagakure-
and arrogant. ryū Jū-Jutsu, a fictional martial arts that’s based on
He is born into the Rafale family, one of the wealthi- Jujutsu. When he lost his mother, the eighth-genera-
est families in France. They are involved in illegal tion, father and entire village, Kage entered into the
arms contracts with terrorists. Lion has been prac- first World Tournament to shutdown Judgement 6.
ticing Northern Praying Mantis under an instructor Kage is the most decorated competitor having won
as part of management education since he was five. the 3rd and 4th tournament and has defeated several
Lion is participating in the tournament competition combatants such as Akira Yuki (twice), Lau Chan,
to become free from his father. Lion Rafale, Shun Di, and Dural (twice).
Jeffry McWild (born February 20, 1957). He is a Dural is the main antagonist of the franchise. She
fisherman who mastered Pankration on his own. He appears as the final boss of the Arcade mode in all
is of Australian Aboriginal descent. Virtua Fighter games. The player is given only one
A fisherman on the Australian coast, he lived in the match against her; whether or not Dural is defeated,
salty tang of the tides and the hot sun. The most skill- the game is over.
ful fisherman of his village, he has an engaging per- Dural’s fighting style is an amalgamation of vari-
sonality. He was bested by only one opponent: the ous moves taken from several fighters in each game.
giant, eight-meter long, human-eating Satan Shark. Consequently, she may string together unique com-
After the shark wrecked his boat, he entered the binations that cause incredible damage and defeat
World Fighting Tournament to build a new boat and players very quickly. Her style also augments some
fight the shark again. In Virtua Fighter 2 the shark of the original fighters’ moves to make them even
wrecks his boat again... more damaging.
186 • Virtual Golf
“segaretro.org”
Virtual Hydlide • 187
“segaretro.org”
“mobygames.com”
7.3 Virus
Developer Hudson Soft
Publisher Hudson Soft
Release date (jp) August 22, 1997
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player
“mobygames.com”
Wachenröder 7.3
Developer Scarab Studio
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) August 6, 1998
Genre Turn-based strategy, Role-playing
Mode 1 Player
Waku Waku 7
6.6
Developer Sunsoft
Publisher Sunsoft
Release date (jp) June 20, 1997
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players
“sorethumbretrogames.com”
WanChai Connection • 195
The unit would start getting angry at Blizzard sold exclusive world-
the player, or start saying silly things wide rights to develop, publish, and
in reference to movies, games, or other distribute console versions of the game
things. For example, a footman might to Electronic Arts. In 1997 Electronic
say, “Don’t you have a kingdom to Arts released Warcraft II: The Dark
run?”. Footmen and Grunts said dif- Saga for the Sony PlayStation and Sega
ferent things in the game’s demo, from Saturn, which combined the campaigns
some of those they did in the retail ver- of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and
sion, most of them exhortations to buy Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal.
the game later. The Dark Saga also allowed players
to automate upgrade of buildings and
After seeing the excellent re-
production of units, and to select more
sponse of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, re-
troops at once, facilities that were not
leased in November 1994, Blizzard En-
extended to the DOS and Mac versions.
tertainment started working on Warcraft
II: Tides of Darkness. Development be- Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
gan in February 1995 and the game was earned enthusiastic reviews, elevating
released in December for MS-DOS and Blizzard to the elite along with West-
in August 1996 for the Macintosh. Bliz- wood Studios, id Software and Lu-
zard later explained that the small budg- casArts. The rivalry between Blizzard’s
ets of the time allowed short develop- series and Westwood Studios’ Com-
ment times. The response of Warcraft: mand & Conquer series fueled the RTS
Orcs & Humans also allowed Blizzard boom of the late 1990s.
to recruit additional top-class develop- GameSpot was pleased that the
ers. The company’s initial design com- ports of the consoles PlayStation and
bined modern and fantasy elements, Saturn, combining Warcraft II: Tides of
such as fighter pilots ambushed by a fire- Darkness and Warcraft II: Beyond the
breathing dragon. However, they found Dark Portal, are practically identical.
that this was unsatisfactory, and that Reviewers in GameSpot for the PS and
there was plenty of content for a fantasy Saturn suggested that players with PCs
RTS. The initial release of Warcraft II: should not buy the console versions, but
Tides of Darkness ran over a local area recommended the game to those who
network using IPX but not over the In- use only consoles. Absolute PlaySta-
ternet communications protocol TCP/ tion and Electronic Gaming Monthly
IP. Kali, which used the Internet as if it omitted comparisons with the PC and
was a local area network, became very praised the console versions. Sega Sat-
popular and Blizzard quickly provided urn Magazine gave the Saturn version a
to players a program that made it easy 91%, calling it “a highly enjoyable and
to set up multiplayer Warcraft II games compelling strategy warfare game” and
using Kali. praising it as superior to the PC original.
Bill Roper: “After the first Absolute PlayStation, Sega Sat-
Warcraft and when we were talking urn Magazine, and Electronic Gaming
about Warcraft II, there was an idea Monthly commented that the console
for about a week where we’d open an- versions have no multiplayer capability,
other portal open and have the Orcs in- but were impressed with the number of
vade the modern-day world. We had this campaign and skirmish maps. The two
whole cut-scene we were talking about GameSpot reviews noted that, while
where it was going to be dragons and F- most campaign missions follow the “re-
16s and firefights and stuff. And we were source, build, destroy” pattern, some
like, “Man, that’s going to be weird. have other objectives.
That’s going to suck. That’s not going to Absolute PlayStation and Elec-
be Warcraft.” tronic Gaming Monthly regarded the
console buttons easy to use.
198 • Welcome House
5.3 Whizz
Developer Microvalue, Flair Software
Publisher Konami, (jp) Bandai Visual, B-Factory
Release date (jp) August 29, 1997
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player
Wing Arms
6.8
Developer Bell Corp., Jitensha, T’s Music, Sega CS
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) September 29, 1995
Genre Action, Simulator
Mode 1 Player
“l4c3k@psxplanet.ru”
“l4c3k@psxplanet.ru”
Winning Post 3 Program ‘98 • 201
“psxdatacenter.com”
“psxdatacenter.com”
Wipeout
8.4 Developer Psygnosis, Tantalus, Perfect Entertainment
Publisher Psygnosis, (us) Sega, (jp) Soft Bank
Release date (eu) March 29, 1996
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player
Shining the
Wipeout HolyasArk
(stylised is a firstisperson
wipE’out”) a futuristicrole-
playinggame
racing gamedeveloped
released for andthepublished
Sega Saturn. It is a part
by Psygnosis.
ofisSega’s
It the first Shining
game series
in the of video games.
Wipeout series. It was origi-
nally
released in 1995 for PlayStation
Shining the Holy Ark takes place and20PCsyears run-be-
ning MS-DOS, and in 1996 for
fore Shining Force III. While in the town of Enrich,Sega Saturn, being a
launch
Arthur title and forthethe PlayStation
others meet a in Europe.
young boy named Ju-
lian. HeWipeout tells them is athat his game
racing father that
wentis tosetinvestigate
in 2052,
a haunted
where playersmansion
compete in the woods,
in the F3600 butanti-gravity
never returned.rac-
Since
ing that time
league. The gamehe has beenthe
allows in player
the care of a one
to pilot familyof
afriend. It would
selection of craftlater be discovered
in races on severalthat Julian’s
different father
tracks.
was killed
There are fourby Galm,
racingone teamsof the mythical
to choose Vandals
from, and two that
ruled over
ships for each the world
team. during
Each shipthe time
has itsof distinct
the 1,000 year
char-
kingdom. His
acteristics father’s death
of acceleration, top compels
speed, mass,Julianandtoturn-
seek
revenge
ing radius. against Galm, their
By piloting which setsover
craft intopower-up
motion his pads in-
volvement
found on the in the events
tracks, theofplayer
ShiningcanForce
pick III.
up various
weapons
and power-ups
Gameplay is most suchsimilar
as shields, turbo boosts,
to Shining in the
mines, shock waves, rockets, or missiles.
Darkness, a 1991 Sega Genesis game,; the player ex- The power-
ups
plores allowtowns the andplayer to either
dungeons in protect their craftview,
the first-person or
disrupt the competitors’ craft.
with battles almost exclusively taking place in dun-
geons. Battles
There are takeseven
placerace
in atracks in the format,
turn-based game, six main-of
them
taininglocated in futuristic
the first-person viewversions
but alsoof countries
allowing thesuch
play-
as Canada, United States and Japan.
er to view allies as they take their actions. One uniqueAfter all tracks
have
mechanic been iscompleted
the “pixie” on system,
the highestwheredifficulty,
the player a hid-can
den track set on Mars is unlocked.
befriend pixies that will attack enemies as the party
encounters them. was developed and published by
Wipeout
Liverpudlian
The story developer Psygnosis,
of Shining the HolywithArkproduction
was de-
starting in the second half of
signed with a more mature audience in mind 1994. According to Leethan
Carus, one of the artists, Wipeout
earlier games in the Shining series were targeted to- took 14 months
to develop,
wards. and the
In a 2009 conceptproducer
interview, began asHiroyuki
a conversa-Taka-
tion
hashi commented: “Until [Shining] Wisdom, theatidea
between Nick Burcombe and Jim Bowers a
pub
had been simply to develop a story that would attractaa
in Oxton, Merseyside. Bowers then started on
concept
broad range film ofwhich
users.wasFromshownHoly around
Ark on, Psygnosis’
the story of- and
fices. It proved popular, and Wipeout
game were redesigned to focus on the Saturn players was approved
and
of theproduction
time. Japanese began.Saturn
The marketing
owners were and generally
artwork
were designed
in their by Keith
late-teens Hopwood and The
or early-twenties. The Designers
age group
Republic in Sheffield. Aimed at a
had shifted away from children, so... the concept fashionable, club-was
going, music-buying audience, Keith
‘fantasy that can be enjoyed by adults’. This new ap- Hopwood and
The
proachDesigners Republic
led to a darker, created
deeper worldart than
for the
we packag-
had been
ing, in-game branding, and other promotional
creating for the ‘all ages’ category prior to Holy materi-Ark.
als. An early beta version appeared in
We started to work on the plot of a story that would be the teen cult
film Hackersin(1995),
appropriate such ainworld.”
which bothThe protagonists
game’s soundtrack were
playing
was composedthe game by in a nightclub.
Motoi Sakuraba, who later wrote the
music for TheShining
team was Force III. pressure, as it consisted
under
of around ten people, and they were on a tight sched-
ule. Carus stated that the code had to be rewritten
three quarters of the way through development, and
Wipeout • 203
that the team was confident that they could complete recorded for the Saturn version by Psygnosis’s in-
the game on time. The vehicle designs were based house music team, CoLD SToRAGE.
on Matrix Marauders, a 3D grid-based strategy game Some textures were replaced in the conver-
whose concept was developed by Bowers and re- sion, with Psygnosis banners being replaced with ad-
leased for the Amiga in 1994. Burcombe, the game’s verts for Tantalus, and PlayStation logos with adverts
future designer, was inspired to create a racing game for Krazy Ivan (which incidentally would not reach
using the same types of ‘anti-gravity’ vehicles from the Saturn until mid-1997). Some semi-transparent
SoftImage’s animation of two ships racing. The name sprites are omitted, not because the team couldn’t get
“Wipeout” was given to the game during a pub con- them to work on the Saturn, but because their process
versation, and was inspired by the instrumental song took nine times longer than non-transparent alterna-
Wipe Out by The Surfaris. Designing the tracks tives.
proved to be difficult due to the lack of draw distance The PlayStation version of Wipeout supports
possible on the system. Players received completely the console’s Link Cable, allowing two machines to
random weapons, resembling Super Mario Kart in be directly connected together for multiplayer modes.
their capability to stall rather than destroy opponents. While Taisen Cable support was considered, the tech-
Burcombe said that Wipeout was influenced by Super nology was not widely understood and was scrapped
Mario Kart more than any other game. due to Psygnosis’ demands for a release prior to
Wipeout gained a significant amount of con- March 1996 (reportedly so it could be counted as part
troversy on its initial release. A marketing campaign of the 1995/1996 financial year). Taisen Cable sup-
created and launched by Keith Hopwood and The De- port would not be seen in games until the Japanese
signers Republic included an infamous promotional release of Hyper 3D Taisen Battle Gebockers in Fe-
poster, featuring a bloodstained television and radio brurary 1996.
presenter Sara Cox, which was accused by some of Performance would be largely rectified in the
depicting a drug overdose. Next Generation printed sequel, Wipeout 2097.
the ad with the blood erased; the magazine staff ex-
plained that not only had they been under pres-
sure from newsstand retailers about violent im-
agery in games magazines, but they themselves
felt the blood added nothing to the ad other
than shock value. The poster branded Wipeout
“a dangerous game”, with Wipeout’s lead artist
Neil Thompson suggesting—and designer Nick
Burcome denying—that the “E” in Wipeout
stood for ecstasy.
Wipeout was first released alongside the
PlayStation in Europe in September 1995. It was
the PlayStation’s best-selling launch title in Eu-
rope. In November 1995, it was released in the
United States. The game went to number one
in the all format charts, with over 1.5 million
units of the franchise having been sold to date
throughout Europe and North America.
Wipeout arrived late on the Saturn. De-
spite having been rushed for its PlayStation re-
lease and therefore lacking many planned fea-
tures, the Saturn conversion is a straight port of
the PlayStation game, albeit one that runs at a
slower frame rate (20FPS vs. 30FPS). Because
the company behind the PlayStation, Sony,
owned the applicable rights to most of the Play-
Station version’s soundtrack, new music was
204 • Wipeout 2097
Wipeout 2097
7.8 Developer Psygnosis, Tantalus, Perfect Entertainment
Publisher Psygnosis, (jp) Game Bank
Release date (eu) September, 1997
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player
Shining the
Wipeout 2097Holy(alsoArk known is aasfirst
Wipeoutperson XL) role-
is
playing
the second game releasedreleased
instalment for the Sega in theSaturn.
Wipeout It isseries,
a part
of Sega’s
and is the Shining seriesof
direct sequel ofthe
video games.
original game released
the
previous year. .
Shining the Holy Ark takes place 20 years be-
fore Shining Whereas ForcetheIII. Whilegame
original in theintroduced
town of Enrich, the F3600 anti-gravity racing
Arthur in
league and2052,the Wipeout
others meet 2097a isyoungset over boyfour named
decades Ju- later and introduces the
lian. Hetotells
player them that
the much faster,hismore
fathercompetitive,
went to investigate
and more dangerous F5000 AG
a haunted
racing league.mansion
The gamein theintroduced
woods, but never
a new returned.
damage interface and new weapons
Since that time he has been in the care of a family
and tracks. The Sega Saturn version supported analogue control by using its 3D
friend. ItPad,
Control would later be
whereas thediscovered
PlayStation that Julian’s
version father analogue control only
supported
was killed
through by Galm,
using one ofNegcon
the optional the mythical Vandals that
twist controller.
ruled
over
Gameplay does not differ much from1,000
the world during the time of the year
the previous title. Aside from the
kingdom. His father’s death compels Julian to
different circuits and new weapons, the fundamental aspects were kept. Pilots seek
revenge
race eachagainst other or Galm, which sets into motion
computer-controlled his in- to finish in the highest
A.I. opponents
volvement
position possible. in the events of Shining Force III.
Gameplay
As with the isfirst most similar Wipeout
instalment, to Shining 2097 inwasthe developed by Liverpud-
Darkness,
lian developer a 1991 Sega Genesis
Psygnosis and thegame,; the player
promotional ex- designed by Sheffield-
art was
plores
based The towns and dungeons
Designers Republic. in The
the first-person
developmentview, cycle ran seven months. To
with battles almost exclusively
cater for the increase in Wipeout players, taking place in dun-
an easier learning curve was intro-
geons. Battles take place in a turn-based format,
duced whilst keeping the difficulty at top end for the experienced gamers. Themain-
taining
game was the originally
first-personintended
view butasalso allowing
a tracks add-onthe play-
for the original Wipeout. No
er to view
sequel had allies as they take
been planned, their actions.
but Andy SatterthwaiteOne unique
(who worked on the MS-DOS
mechanic
version of isthethe “pixie”was
original) system,
askedwhere the player
by Psygnosis to can
apply for the role “internal
befriend pixies that will attack
producer”. He did, and during the interview, asked enemies as the party
to do a sequel to Wipeout,
encounters them.
but instead ended up developing extra tracks. The add-on was titled Wipeout
2097 becauseThe story of Shining
Psygnosis did not thewant Holy to Ark
give was de-
the impression that it was a full
signed In
sequel. withthe aUnited
more States,
matureit audience
went by the inname
mindofthan Wipeout XL because it was
earlier
felt thatgames
American in the Shining
players wouldseries notwere targetedthe
understand to-concept of the game be-
wards.
ing set aIncentury
a 2009ininterview,
the future.producer
The American Hiroyuki titleTaka-
was originally to be Wipeout
hashi
XS commented:
(for “Excess”), “Until but it was[Shining]
pointed Wisdom,
out thatthe XSideacould also stand for “extra
had been simply to develop a story that
small”. Satterthwaite ended up with a team of two coders would attract a (two of who were
broad six
new), range of users.
artists, FromBurcombe.
and Nick Holy Ark on, the story and
game were redesigned
Burcombe wanted to focus
to improveon theonSaturn players ship handling and intro-
the original’s
of thea new
duce time.weapon,
Japanese Saturn
which led toowners were generally
new power-up ideas. Westcott said that it was
aincollaboration
their late-teens or early-twenties.
between the areas because Theofage the group
strict deadline. The gameplay
had shifted away from children,
change that had most interest was what happened to so... the concept wasships that hit track edges.
‘fantasy
That ships that can beimmediately
stopped enjoyed by in adults’. This new
the original gameap- was considered too harsh.
proach
It led to athat
was desired darker,
shipsdeeper
scrapedworld thethan
edges weinstead,
had been and this took longer than
creating for
expected the ‘all ages’ category prior to Holy Ark.
to develop.
We started Liketoits work on the plotthe
predecessor, of Saturn
a story version
that would be
of Wipeout 2097 lacks the li-
appropriate in such a world.” The game’s soundtrack
censed music heard in the PlayStation version of the game, instead being com-
was composed
posed entirely by by Motoi Sakuraba,
Psygnosis’ housewho laterCold
band, wrote the
Storage. It runs at a slightly
music for Shining Force III.
lower resolution and lacks the transparency effects seen in the PlayStation ver-
sion, but otherwise retains all the features of its sibling. Loading times are also
quicker on the Saturn.
Wizard’s Harmony 2 • 205
8.0 Worms
Developer Team 17
Publisher Ocean, (jp) I’MAX
Release date (us) April, 1996
Genre Strategy
Mode 1-16 Players
“segasaturn.org”
“psxdatacenter.com”
“psxdatacenter.com”
“mobygames.com”
Yuukyuu no Kobako Official Collection • 223
“mobygames.com”
7.0 Z
Developer The Bitmap Brothers, Krisalis Software
Publisher GT Interactive Software
Release date (eu) April, 1998
Genre Real-time strategy
Mode 1 Player
“romstation.fr”
6.1 Zoop
Developer Hookstone
Publisher Viacom New Media, (jp) Media Quest
Release date (jp) November 29, 1996
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player
6.6 Zork I:
The Great Underground Empire
Developer Infocom, Activision
Publisher Shoeisha
Release date (jp) March 15, 1996
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player
Software
These few pages include software discs, or non-games not included on the game pages. Most,
if not all information and pictures are taken from segaretro.org.
Cleaning Kit for Sega Saturn is a cleaning kit for the Sega Saturn released ex-
clusively in the US by C-Seven. The package features Sonic and Tails promi-
nently.
NetLink Custom Web Browser is the software used with the NetLink Inter-
net Modem to allow North American Sega Saturn owners to connect to the
internet. It was created by PlanetWeb, who would go on to design the Sega
Dreamcast web web browser software in North America, appropriately ti-
tled Sega Dreamcast Web Browser.
Multiple versions of the NetLink Custom Web Browser exist:
Version 2.0
Version 2.0 came packaged with the NetLink Internet Modem, and so is the
most common variant of the software. It supports all HTML 2.0 tags, and
most HTML 3.0 tags, but is unable to view framed webpages, and does not
support IRC chat. It is somewhat comparable to early versions of Netscape.
Version 3.0
Version 3.0 came packaged with NetLink Game Pack, adding basic sup-
port for the viewing of framed pages (by letting the user access each frame individually, not all at
once) and a simplistic IRC client. The IRC client is crippled in that it can’t connect to major servers
such as DALnet and EFnet.
Golden Version 1.135
Golden Version 1.135 uses the same code as 3.0 except no CD was ever pressed and it does not in-
clude the “NetLink City” front page. It was available for download from Planetweb’s site.
Beta Version 4.035
Version 4.035 adds SSL support for secure online ordering and was also available for download on
Planetweb’s site.
“segaretro.org”
232 • Software
Pad Nifty
Developer Sega
Publisher Sega
Release date (jp) July 27, 1996
Pad Nifty was used to access Fujitsu’s now defunct NIFTY-Serve network.
Sega had a presence on NIFTY-Serve with their Sega Game Information
Station, with the network having previously hosted dedicated Sega bulletin
boards.
It is completely reliant on the Sega Saturn Modem (of which it was bundled
with) and the defunct NIFTY-Serve network, as such it cannot function in
the modern age.
“segaretro.org”
Pad Nifty 1.1 & Habitat II is a compilation containing the software Pad
Nifty and Habitat II, both to be used in conjunction with the Sega Saturn
Modem in Japan.
“segaretro.org”
Sega Saturn Internet Vol. 1 is internet software designed for the Sega Saturn
Modem in Japan.
Compilation
Included here are the most noteworthy compilation games. Most of these games came as
regular releases with a new cardboard packaging. Most, if not all information and pictures
are taken from segaretro.org.
SS Adventure Pack:
Nanatsu no Hikan & Myst
Release date (jp) March 28, 1997
• Myst
• Nanatsu no Hikan
Daisenryaku Pack
Release date (jp) December 13, 1996
• EMIT Vol.1
• EMIT Vol.2
• EMIT Vol.3
• Falcom Classics
• Falcom Classics II
• Taikou Risshiden II
• Nobunaga no Yabou Tenshouki
Langrisser Tribute
Release date (jp) December 23, 1998
• Panzer Dragoon
• Panzer Dragoon Zwei
238 • Compilation
NetLink Game Pack is a special compilation for the Sega Saturn, re-
leased exclusively in North America. Due to its misleading packag-
ing design it is often confused for the NetLink Internet Modem, but
in fact contains nothing but software. The NetLink Game Pack was
bundled with the NetLink Internet Modem (80118) or Sega Saturn
NetLink bundle (80121) - it was not sold separately, though has its
own separate box.
The NetLink Game Pack contains NetLink-compatible versions of
Sega Rally Championship and Cyber Troopers Virtual-On, as well
as version 3 of the NetLink Custom Web Browser. It was released
sometime after the NetLink Internet Modem (which comes with ver-
sion 2 of the browser), though the precise details are still sketchy.
“segaretro.org”
• Worms
• True Pinball
• Puzzle Bobble 2X
• Space Invaders
Zork Collection
Release date (jp) March 12, 1998
• Sangokushi V
• Sangokushi Returns
• Virtua Cop
• Virtua Cop 2
• Virtua Cop
• Virtua Cop 2
• Virtua Gun
• The House of the Dead Taikenban
Yuukyuu Gensoukyoku
Hozonban Perpetual Collection
Release date (jp) December 7, 2000
• Yuukyuu Gensoukyoku
• Yuukyuu Gensoukyoku 2nd Album
Released on 7 December 2000,
• Yuukyuu Gensoukyoku ensemble it was the last officially released
• Yuukyuu Gensoukyoku ensemble 2 Saturn game.
• Yuukyuu no Kobako Official Collection
242 • Lost & Found
Volume 2 has a blue shaded cover and was released July 28, 2007 at the
NWCGE 2K7.
It contains two discs, REBELLION FMV Adventure and THREE DIRTY
DWARVES Early Development Prototype.
None of the three volumes came with a user manual or any other sort of
operating instructions. Each multi-disk volume was packed in a DVD case
and each volume had a full cover. The front covers depicted a photo of the
Sega Saturn and the production number of the enclosed set of disks. The
back cover of each volume included screenshots of some of the content and
some printed information about the included content.
244 • Unreleased Games
Unreleased Games
3D Ultra Pinball
The pages include some of, what I found, the more
Publisher Sierra On-Line, Sierra Pioneer
interesting games cancelled for the system. Most of Genre Pinball
the text on these pages are taken verbatim from se-
3D Ultra Pinball was developed as a port of
garetro.org. Alot of text and pictures are also taken
the PC game of the same name. The game was pre-
from unseen64.net. If you are interested in more on
viewed in the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine issue
unreleased Saturn games, i recommend visiting some
26 and 32.
of these two sites, as they include more information,
pictures and videos on the subject.
Adidas Power Soccer
Developer Psygnosis, Perfect Entertainment
Publisher THQ
Release date Q4 1996-1997
The 11th Hour Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player
Developer Trilobyte
Publisher Virgin Interactive Entertainment Adidas Power Soccer is a football game de-
Release date Q4 1995 veloped by Psygnosis (then owned by Sony Compu-
Genre Adventure ter Entertainment) and released for the PlayStation in
Mode 1 Player
1996.
The 11th Hour is a PC adventure game and A Sega Saturn version was heavily promoted
sequel to 1993’s The 7th Guest. The game was men- for release but did not materialise. This version was
tioned in the magazine, Mean Machines Sega, issue ported to the console by Perfect Entertainment for a
34. planned release in 1997, but was cancelled for un-
Mean Machines Sega #34 known reasons, despite being reportedly completed.
Much-delayed interactive movie for the PC. A Saturn
version will follow hot on the heels of the completed
PC code. Apparently, although it’s very late it’ll blow Allegiance
our socks off Developer Team 17
Genre First-person shooter
Kumite is an unreleased fighting game for the Absolute Entertainment, makers of Turn and Burn
Sega Saturn. and Battletank, suspended operations and laid off
Mean Machines Sega (UK) #45
most of its staff late last fall, according to industry
Konami plans to outdo all other fighting games with sources. While the company hadn’t returned calls by
an incredibly authentic martial arts game put togeth- press time, sources say that Absolute’s last batch of
er by eight programmer/experts from San Francisco. games for 1995, including Penn & Teller’s smoke and
Mirrors (Sega CD, 3DO) and Battletech: Gray Death
Legion (Saturn), are indefinitely on hold as the com-
pany determines its future course.
Unreleased Games • 247
Bubsy 3D Buggy
Developer Eidetic Publisher Gremlin Interactive
Publisher Accolade Release date Q4 1997
Release date Q4 1996 Genre Racing
Genre Action-platformer
Buggy is a PlayStation and PC racing game.
Bubsy 3D is a 3D platform game released in A Sega Saturn version was planned for release in the
October 1996 for the PlayStation as a sequel to Bubsy fourth quarter of 1997, but was ultimately cancelled.
II. It was once planned for release on the Sega Sat- Other versions were pushed back to July 1998.
urn, but despite being advertised with a date of Win-
ter 1996, was cancelled for unknown reasons. During
development it was initially known as Bubsy III. Burn Cycle
Bubsy 3D was critically planned by the gam- Developer TripMedia
Publisher Philips Interactive Media
ing press and is often considered to be one of the Release date Q4 1996-1997
worst 3D platformers of all time. Genre Action
GamePro (US) #93
Burn Cycle is a CD-i game with full motion video
Rocket through five computer-generated planets with
released in 1994. Publisher Philips Interactive Media
everyone’s favorite bobcat, Bubsy. Hand-rendered
announced that in 1996 all of its CD-i games would
3D character inhabit the new worlds, and a 360-de-
be ported to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation - Burn
gree, nonlinear play frees you to explore it all. Bubsy
Cycle would have been the first, but despite being ad-
will have two players, alternating co-operative play,
vertised, neither version ever materialised.
thousands of frames of animation per character, and,
Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) #7
as always, plenty of attitude.
Now that the CDi isn’t doing too well (actually, it’s
never done too well), Phillips are looking further
Buster Bros. Collection afield for their future game releases. The initial re-
Developer Mitchell sult of this is that their full portfolio of games will be
Publisher Capcom released on both Playstation and Saturn in the third
Release date Q4 1996
quarter of this year.
Genre Compilation, Puzzle
The first release to hit the shelves will be Burn
Buster Bros. Collection is a compilation of Cycle, Phillips’ most acclaimed title to date, which
three arcade games in the Buster Bros. series for the features a futuristic cyber-guy who has two hours to
PlayStation. solve his own impending murder. Featuring film cuts
The Saturn version was advertised in North and some of the most involving puzzle action ever
America (and given an ESRB rating) around the same seen on the CDi (not exactly hard) this is bound to be
period as the PlayStation version, but did not materi- hit on Saturn as it’s fast paced and really good fun.
alise for unknown reasons. In Japan and Europe this Expect to see other Phillip titles such as QAD (Quin-
game is known as Super Pang Collection, however tessential art of Destruction) following a couple of
there is yet no evidence to suggest the Saturn ver- months after.
sion was ever due to be released in these regions. It
is thought that Sony initially rejected this game dur-
ing the PlayStation approval process for being 2D, Foes of Ali
which may have had a knock-on effect for the Saturn Developer EA Sports
release. Release date Q4 1996
Genre Sports
Foes of Ali is a boxing game developed by EA
Ecco the Dolphin Sports, featuring Muhammad Ali and several of his
Developer Sega
Publisher Sega
real-life opponents. It was released for the 3DO, and
while Saturn and PlayStation versions were planned,
The game was used as a Saturn tech demo. It neither were released. Development on the Saturn
didn’t get past the concept stage. version had progressed far enough for the game to be
reviewed in CVG #172, dated March 1996.
248 • Unreleased Games
Chelnov Chill
Genre Shooter Developer Silicon Dreams
Publisher Eidos Interactive
Chelnov, also known as Atomic Runner or Release date Q4 1998
fully titled as Atomic Runner Chelnov - Nuclear Man, Genre Sports
the Fighter, is a Japanese infinite runner arcade game Mode 1-2 Players
developed and published by Data East in 1988. The Chill is a snowboarding game developed by
game was ported to the Sega Mega Drive in 1992. Silicon Dreams and published by Eidos Interactive
Atomic Runner, in its original arcade form for the PlayStation in 1998.
was once set to appear for the Sega Saturn. It appeared The Saturn version of Chill was very close to
at the Tokyo Game Show and various game stores in release before it was axed, having been sent to the
the Akihabara district of Tokyo in 1997, though was press for review and was expected to hit store shelves
canceled for unknown reasons. A prototype has since in early 1998. The United Kingdom’s Sega Saturn
been leaked onto the internet. Magazine even announced that a playable demo
Chelnov is one of the most controversial ar- would feature in a future volume of Sega Flash, but
cade games in history. The setting, where a coal miner these plans never materialised. They did, however, go
is caught in a nuclear accident, a hammer and sickle on to review the game, giving it an 80% score.
visible on the game’s opening screen, and the game’s The presumably finished version of Chill
title (Chernobyl in Japanese) led many to interpret the from January 1998 was dumped and released on the
game as a tasteless parody of the Chernobyl disaster. internet in early 2010. It is fully playable and depicts
Data East responded in a television program that the a game similar in nature to Steep Slope Sliders.
name “Chelnov” was merely a relative of Karnov, the The reasons for cancelling the Saturn version
title character of one of the company’s games, and of Chill are unclear, though were likely due to Eidos’
was not at all influenced by the events at Chernobyl. plans to drop support for the Saturn. No North Ameri-
Other development staff members later explained that can or Japanese versions were ever announced, and
the game had been planned under a different name, the PlayStation release remained exclusive to Europe
but the events at Chernobyl led to the name “Chel- too.
nov,” which became the game’s title. Under this ex-
planation, the parodic elements resulted purely out of Dark Helix
coincidence, but over a year and a half passed from
Publisher Konami
the accident to the first release of the game, which Release date Q4 1997
was ample time for the developers to reassess the Genre Action
suitability of the game’s plot and content. The game’s Broken Helix is an action game for the Play-
storyline was changed considerably to remove con- Station. A Sega Saturn port was planned, but can-
notations with Chernobyl when the game was ported celled for unknown reasons. It was announced at E3
to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. 1996 as Dark Helix.
Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) #16
Deadly Skies Konami Enter Doom Territory! First impression do
Developer Virtual Studio convey a very Doom-esque experience, but there’s a
Publisher JVC lot more to Broken Helix.
Release date Q4 1996
Like What Exactly! Try a plotline, for instance.
Genre Shooter
There’s a lot of characters in the game which Konami
Deadly Skies, developed by Funcom is a have brought to life well.
PlayStation air combat game released in late 1997. Such As? Try the kick-
The game appears to have had a troubled de- ass musclehead with a
velopment, as it was originally also set for release Schwarzenegger sounda-
for the Saturn, 3DO and PC, with North American like voice over! “You set
versions handled by JVC. Despite being advertised, us up! It’s all bullshit! All
none of these versions materialised, and the PlaySta- of it!”
tion version was only released in Japan, where it was
published by Coconuts Japan.
Unreleased Games • 249
Cyber Sled
Release date Q4 1995
Death Race
Genre Shooter Developer Ocean Software
Publisher Ocean Software
Cyber Sled is an 3D arcade game released Release date Q4 1996
by Namco in 1993. A Sega Saturn version was an- Genre Racing
nounced in May 1995, but did not materialise. Death Race is a cancelled 3D racing game de-
While the specifics are unclear, the cancella- veloped by Ocean for Playstation and Saturn, sched-
tion of the Saturn Cyber Sled was likely due in part uled for the end of ’96. The game was set in a distant
to Namco’s close relationship with Sony and its Play- future where the most popular show is Death Race.
Station console (although rumours circulated that dif- The game was a mix between the racing part (10
ficulties developing for the hardware may have been courses were available to challenge violent opposi-
a factor, with the lead programmer being poached by tion) and exploration on foot in a 3D environment.
Shiny Entertainment).
Namco did not release any Saturn games
throughout the console’s run - following the success
of PlayStation launch title Ridge Racer, it appears
the company chose to abandon all non-PlayStation
projects.
“unseen64.net”
Unreleased Games • 251
Dark Ride
Developer Rocket Science Games Dawn of Darkness
Publisher Rocket Science Games Developer Ocean Software
Release date Q4 1995 Publisher Ocean Software
Genre Action Release date Q4 1996
Mode xxx Genre First-person shooter
Darkside (sometimes written as Dark Ride or Dawn of Darkness is an unreleased first per-
Darkride) was one of many titles being devloped by son shooter for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
Rocket Science Games before being cancelled. It was Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #83
to be a psychodellic tunnel-based game with bizarre Dawn of Darkness is a first-person shooter where
graphics, and was briefly previewed in the December you are in a fight for your life after being thrust into
1994 issue of Games World: The Magazine, which circumstances that many players will find out of the
stated that ‘the team behind the game are perfecting normal. Currently the standard for any type of ac-
the smooth scrolling of the ride… before the game- tion/adventure is the Doom-style, meaning players
play’. are always in a maze. Even with exceptional height-
Rocket Science Games themselves are prob- mapping techniques, many players still find this style
ably more interesting than the games they made - of game boring. DoD gives players a different style
funded by Sega Enterprises and promising more than of first-person game with over 40 complex room de-
they could deliver on, they mostly made Sega-CD and signs.
PC-based FMV based titles such as Cadillacs & Di-
nosaurs: The Second Cataclysm and Obsidian. How-
ever, their titles never sold well, and Sega themselves
Dungeon Keeper
Developer Bullfrog
cancelled half of the company’s titles around 1994/95
Publisher Electronic Arts
to keep costs down- it seems Dark Side / Dark Ride Release date Q4 1996-1997
was one of the victims of this. They eventually went Genre Strategy
out of business in 1997. Dungeon Keeper is a strategy game devel-
The preview in Games world: The Magazine oped by Bullfrog for DOS and Windows. Ports to
states that the game was being developed for the 3DO, the Saturn and PlayStation were due to be released in
although almost all other RSG games were being de- 1996, but were cancelled.
veloped for either the Sega CD or the PC- whether The programmer working on the ports,
this is a mistake on the magazine’s part is unknown. Carsten-Elton Sorensen, was hired in June 1996 and
In a short article published in French maga- claimed the Saturn version looked good, in part be-
zine CD Consoles issue #4 it is written that “Dark- cause of the system’s quadrilateral-based polygons
side” was in development for the Saturn and the game (instead of the usual triangles). The game was around
would have took the player into an imaginary world, 10% complete before work switched to the Play-
to explore it aboard a cart on rails (as in a rollercoast- Station version, which in turn was cancelled due to
er). This could mean that the title would be an on- memory limitations.
rails shooter. Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) #16
As written in an article in Wired 2.11, Rocket It’s Not Even Out On PC Yet! True, it’s due in Febru-
Science decided to cancel this project because it was ary and although it’s not confirmed, it’s a good bet for
too similar to other games of its time: conversion.
The trend toward more literate games means that How Good Is It? It’s Bullfrog’s most ambitious game
some projects well along the Rocket Science pipe- yet - control every aspect of your own dungeon and
line have had to be scrapped. “We saw some things butcher good guys like stinking hogs! Sounds like ace
at the Consumer Electronics Show very similar to fun to us.
our Rocket Boy and DarkRide, so we’ve put those on Looks Amazing... Damn right - Bullfrog’s 3D tech-
hold,” says Caldwell. “But we still have Wing Nuts, a nology is bloody amazing. The PC version looks ab-
World War I dogfight game, in the works.” solutely stunning.
“unseen64.net”
252 • Unreleased Games
Dreadnought
Into the Shadows Developer Ocean Software
Gender Wars
Developer Sales Curve Interactive
Release date Q4 1995
Fighting Force
Gender Wars is a PC strategy game published
Developer Core Design
Publisher Sega, (jp) Electronic Arts Victor (?) by Sales Curve Interactive. A Sega Saturn release was
Release date Q4 1997-1998 planned, but was cancelled for unknown reasons.
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #83
Fighting Force, called Metal Fist in Japan, is a
3D beat-’em-up developed by Core Design. Once due Now here’s a scary thought: the pressure between the
for release exclusively on the Saturn, various issues sexes escalating until a war begins. Who will win? I
saw the game released for every major video game guess that’s up to you. Gender Wars, for the Saturn
system on the market except the Saturn. and PlayStation, features a huge playing area, two
Core Design had originally intended Fighting games perspectives and
Force to be titled Streets of Rage 4, being pitched to a sick opportunity to take
Sega as a sequel to Streets of Rage 3. However, dur- out your daily stress on
ing development there was a change of plan, and the the opposite sex without
group decided it would be more worthwhile to create getting arrested! This one
a multi-platform game. Predictably, this caused Sega is a futuristic and strange
to demand the Steets of Rage trademark be removed, look into what could be.
and so the game was renamed Fighting Force.
Development resumed for Fighting, with Heart of Darkness
Sony PlayStation and Windows ports (along with the Developer Amazing Studios
Saturn version), being estimated for release around Release date Q4 1996-1997
Q4 1997. The PlayStation and Windows versions hit Genre Action
their target, however despite being reportedly com- Heart of Darkness is a platform game released
pleted, no Saturn version was released. It is said this strategy game released in 1998 for the PlayStation
occurred due to publishing disagreements - Core and Windows.
originally approached Eidos Interactive for publish- The game took six years to develop and went
ing, but later contacted and secured a deal with Sega through a number of iterations - in 1996 a Sega Sat-
of Europe for the Saturn version, who claimed the urn version was advertised (to be published by Virgin
game would be released in November 1997. For Interactive Entertainment), but a release did not ma-
whatever reason, this did not happen, though Eidos terialise. It was also thought to have been picked up
were able to publish the other ports (including an en- by Sega themselves, to be released on the Saturn be-
hanced Nintendo 64 edition, released in 1999). fore the PlayStation and PC in 1997, but again these
The December 1997 issue of Sega Video plans fell through. In the end, Interplay published the
Magazine also shows the Fighting Force/Metal Fist game in North America and Ocean Software (later In-
version of the game, indicating an also-cancelled fogrames) published it in Europe.
Japanese release by Electronic Arts Victor with a De- Mean Machines Sega (UK) #44
cember 4 release date and a price tag of ¥5,800. An electrifying demonstration of Sega’s new found
An early prototype of the Saturn version was status with third-party developers is the announce-
leaked in November 2008 by drx. ment that Virgin’s biggest game, and longest devel-
Fighting Force 2, a sequel to this game, saw a opment, Heart of Darkness, is to appear on Saturn
release on the Sega Dreamcast, though is a radical de- ahead of other formats. Apparently the Sega version
parture from the gameplay seen here. It was panned is at least as advanced as any, and will be ready with-
by most critics. in six months. Heart of Darkness has been in produc-
tion for over three years, it’s a massive adventure that
takes games like Delphine’s Flashback leaps forward
- a true interactive movie.
256 • Unreleased Games
HyperBlade
Developer Activision
Hexen II Publisher Activision
Developer Raven Software Release date Q4 1996-1997
Publisher Activision Genre Sports
Release date Q4 1997 HyperBlade is a PC futuristic sports game.
Genre First-person shooter
Versions were announced for the Saturn and PlaySta-
Hexen II is the sequel to Hexen. Activision tion, but they never materialised.
announced a Sega Saturn port before the game was Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #83
finished, but no such version materialised. Bloody action is what you’ll get with Armed for the
Saturn Power (UK) #1 PlayStation. With plenty of heavy artillery, this one
Hexen 2 Saturn bound? will definitely let you release any and all tension
Although we’re still waiting for definite confiramtion from a hard day. You control Vic through 12 ren-
from Activision, it would appear that they will be dis- dered levels. Each level increases in difficulty as you
tributing Hexen 2 when the game’s released towards work your way through to the toughest enemy in the
the end of the year. game... a traitor from your own special forces team!
Coded by Raven (the id-affiliated develop- 3-D graphics are featured throughout Armed in both
ment company who wrote the first game), Hexen the game and the cinemas. Like some other Interplay
2 will use a similar engine to Quake (although, as titles, the story line makes you feel like you’re inter-
you can see from these shots, they’ve beefed up the acting with a movie. In this case, an blood bath of a
graphics engine somewhat). Activision claimed that movie! Plus, the musical score goes along with the
the game will be far more interactive than the first plot.
one, with the fresh ability to ‘chat’ to townsfolk one
of the new inclusion. Basically, Hexen 2 will be more
of a action/RPG game and as soon as we have the
Incredible Idiots in Space
Developer Magnet Interactive Studio, ASC
inevitable confirmation of a Saturn conversion, we’ll Genre Sports
let you know. Fingers crossed, Lobotomy may even be
commissioned to produce the conversion... Incredible Idiots in Space is a cancelled com-
edy adventure game that was in development by Mag-
net Interactive Studios in 1995/1996 for the Playsta-
tion and Saturn. The game was going to be published
by ASC, but it seems that they decided to cancel the
project because the “market was not ready for a com-
edy game” of this kind.
In Incredible Idiots in Space the player would
have been able to meet over 36 different alien life
forms and talk to them to resolve their problems.
Millennium Fire “unseen64.net”
Developer Bandai Unknown magazine
Publisher Bandai IIIS is a breakthrough
Release date Q4 1998
Genre Shooter
comedy/action adventure
game where your mission
Millennium Fire is an unreleased Sega Saturn is to uncover who is at-
game created by Bandai. It appears to have been a rail tempting to gain control
shooter set on a space station, possibly with Virtua of the universe. The title features
Gun support. It was at one point given a 1998-08- 36 different alien life-forms and
27 release date for Japan and was set to be priced at allows you to select your own
¥5,800, though the game did not materialise. dialog when you interact with the
NPCs.
258 • Unreleased Games
The Indestructibles
Developer Bullfrog
The Indestructibles is an unreleased arcade want it to look like anything else. The game was of
strategy video game developed by Bullfrog Produc- Molyneux’s design.
tions. The game would have had players control a Of the characters, Cooper said that the cars
superhero or a team of superheroes to do battle with and the player’s team members were to be created
super villains. using vector graphics, and the civilians using “a mix-
The game was originally titled MIST - My In- ture of sprites”. He said that vectors were useful be-
credible Superhero Team, and was cancelled because cause they enable the characters to be more flexible
Bullfrog were unable to obtain a Marvel licence. and they use less memory, which he said was useful
The Indestructibles takes place in the early because the game was being developed for the Play-
20th century, and puts the player in control of a su- Station and Saturn.
perhero or a team of superheroes to compete against
super-villains in a 3D city. The player could have de-
signed a character and its abilities, and had the option
of being good or evil. Funding is granted by organisa-
tions depending on which side the player chooses: for
example, the government if good and from whoever
is willing to pay the most if evil. Money is used to
research faster and more powerful superheroes and Cooper also stat-
weapons. ed that he was “working
According to Computer Gaming World, the hard” to make The Inde-
action would have been based on physics rather than structibles an impressive
rules, and players would have been able to play as multiplayer game, and
super-villains. that he wanted to the BT
MIST - My Incredible Superhero Team, was WirePlay network. Ac-
in development by July 1995 and set for release in cording to Génération 4, The Indestructibles’s artifi-
November. It used Bullfrog’s Skeletal Mapping (a cial intelligence featured “very powerful” algorithms
technique with which a skeleton’s actions are cal- that analysed the player’s combat techniques and
culated by a computer, rather than the artist drawing countered them.
every possible animation a character could perform) Artist Fin McGhie said that development was
to make it possible for players to create superheroes, not smooth and that it eventually become apparent
according to Peter Molyneux. Edge stated that the that it would be unlikely to be completed. He left to
game featured a “fully modelled” city, textured poly- form Mucky Foot Productions and The Indestructi-
gon characters, and a Pentium mode that runs at 30 bles was rebooted, but that also “didn’t work out”.
frames per second. According to Bullfrog developer Glenn Corpes, The
The game had been renamed to The Inde- Indestructibles was cancelled because Marvel Com-
structibles by February 1996, and was produced by ics threatened to intervene if any of the game’s super-
Sean Cooper. At this time, PC Zone said the game heroes resembled any of theirs. According to Bullfrog
looked “so damn impressive”, and because of this, designer Alex Trowers, the game was cancelled due
Cooper would give the magazine monthly reports on to the lack interest in designing superheroes and an
its development. He stated that he had “very strong inability to obtain a Marvel licence. Corpes said the
views” on how he would have liked it to look, and game “would have been cool”, and Molyneux said it
that he wanted it done his own way and “nothing like “was a really nice game idea”.
it has ever been done before”. The game was origi- RetroGamer interview with Glenn Corpes issue #160
nally had a futuristic setting, but Cooper decided that “The Indestructibles would of been cool. It was like
he wanted a brighter and more colourful environment multiplayer Quake in that you’d get to know the level
for daytime settings and a “dull monochrome” ap- well. It didn’t happen because Marvel said here’s a
pearance for night-time. He said the latter was impor- list of several 100 superheroes, if any of yours are like
tant because ir creates atmosphere and that he did not ours…we’ll be talking to you..”
Unreleased Games • 259
Mudkicker Ninja
Developer Scavenger Developer Core Design
Publisher GT Interactive Publisher Eidos Interactive
Release date Q4 1995-1997 Release date Q4 1996-1998
Genre Racing Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players
Mudkicker is a cancelled off-road racing game
that was in development in 1995 / 1996 by Scavenger Ninja for the Sega Saturn is an unreleased ac-
for the Saturn, Playstation and PC. The project was tion game developed by Core Design. It was subtitled
meant to be published by GT Interactive, along with as Ninja: Shadow of Darkness and released for the
AMOK, Scorcher and Into the Shadows, but only the PlayStation in 1998, but the Saturn version did not
first 2 titles were finished. In January 1997, before materialise, likely as publisher Eidos Interactive had
Scavenger could complete and deliver the remaining at this point cancelled all upcoming Saturn projects
two titles, GT sent Scavenger a letter setting forth no- due to low sales of the console.
tice of “material breaches of the Agreement by Scav- Ninja had a prolonged development cycle,
enger” and purporting to terminate the development originally planned for release in Summer 1996 be-
of those games. Because of these problems with their fore being pushed back the November, then to Sum-
publisher and lack of money, Scavenger had to close mer 1997 and finally for its PlayStation release, to
down. Mudkicker was never finished and vanished September 1998. The game was announced relatively
forever with the closure of the studio. early in the Saturn’s lifespan and is thought, much
like Tomb Raider, to have originally been built with
Sega’s system in mind, before being brought over to
the PlayStation.
Mean Machines Sega (UK) #44
Core kept a suprise development, Ninja, from the
journos until the ECTS event. MEAN MACHINES
was the first to view this stunning new slant on the
beat ‘em up. Set in the times and landscapes of an
oriental feudal fantasy, the brave young Kuwosawa
Unknown Magazine fights polygon samurai, towering lizards and to be
Scavenger’s most conventional project is an arcade perfectly frank, large
off-road racer. Hydraulic four-by-four racers com- monsters. The graph-
pete over slalom courses and bridge jumps. For their ics are pretty incred-
first driving game, the 3-D engine is impressively fast ible, with a chunky,
and smooth. isometric 3-D of ad-
mirable detail even at
close rangem includ-
Premier Manager 97 ing spectacular archi-
Publisher Gremlin Interactive tecture which leaps out
Release date Q4 1996-1997 of the screen at you.
Genre Simulation Core are planning a
The Sega Saturn version of Premier Manager late summer release
97 is an unreleased simulation game in the Premier for this very exciting
Manager series. This would have been a more capa- game.
ble than the Mega Drive version.
Though both Saturn and PlayStation port
were advertised in the United Kingdom, only the PC
version of the game was ever released.
Unreleased Games • 263
Vandals
The Incredible Developer Accolade
Shrinking Character Publisher Accolade
Release date Q4 1996
Developer Go-Go Interactive Studios
Genre Action
Publisher Cyberdreams
Release date Q4 1996 Vandals is an unreleased action game an-
Genre Action-adventure nounced by Accolade for the Saturn and PlayStation.
The Incredible Shrinking Character is a can- Some concept art of the game was shown, but
celled action adventure game that was in develop- little else.
ment by Go-Go Interactive Studios and that would Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #83
have been published by Cyberdreams for the Play- Accolade recently game EGM an exclusive look at
station, Saturn and PC in 1996. The plot involved a their under-development title code named Vandals.
crazy doctor that shrinked the main character with an This adventure title has some totally weird and cool
experimental potion. Players would had to explore characters. Vandals might just be a popular title.
the (now) huge laboratory resolving puzzles, to find a Since EGM only has a
way to return to normal. small amount of info and
As we can read at Bill Narum’website, former owner has seen an early version
of Go Go Studios: of the game, it’s hard to
The year is 1959. You are a Private Investigator hired say what later versions
to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Julie will consist of. One thing
Caldwell, daughter of a wealthy east-coast industri- is for certain, the sketch-
alist family. The subject, in her early twenties, was es are cool!
last reported heading to visit the home and labora-
tory of Dr. Warren Franklin.
On the afternoon of January 30th, you head
Virtua Hamster
off to the doctor’s castle for the interview of a life- Developer Sega, David A. Palmer Productions
Publisher Sega
time. Unknown to you, Dr. Franklin has laid a trap, Genre Action
and you awaken in a stupor to find yourself only 3
Virtua Hamster is a unreleased 32X and Sat-
feet tall and gradually shrinking. You realize now that
urn game. The game was to star a variety of selecta-
finding Julie will be no simple task.
ble rodents attached to rocket packs who could travel
Another reoccurring sound you can’t help but
through a series of connected tubes, fighting each
notice is that of a female screaming, most likely the
other and avoiding various obstacles.
victimized Julie. The volume and intensity increases
It was built solely with the 32X in mind, how-
as you approach the dungeon. You must find the anti-
ever after the console failed development moved to
dote and save Julie soon, but first you must evade be-
the Sega Saturn for a short while before being axed
coming dinner for the doctor’s house cat, and numer-
completely. It is also reported that Sega of Japan were
ous other deadly creatures, bats, rats, roaches and
not keen on use of the “Virtua” in the game’s name,
ants, etc. that inhabit the mysterious castle.
possibly so that the game was not associated with
They planned at least 10 levels in the game, in Sega AM2’s Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing. An
which the main character would have shrinked more alternate box mock-up uses the title Virtual Hamster
and more each hour, leaving us to deal with big ants instead.
and size-based puzzles. A short preview of The In- In August 2009, Ryo Suzuki of SEGASat-
credible Shrinking Character with some screens were urno.com dumped an early prototype version of this
published in NextGeneration magazine issue 14 and game. In it, the only selectable character is hamster,
some more info on the project can be found at Bill Chip, and there is only one empty level (though there
Narum’website. A playable beta demo for PC was are numerous non-moving 3D models of other char-
also released on the internet. acters and items dotted around the map). A resets the
“unseen64.net”
game, and B/C can be used to move the camera for-
wards and backwards through the tube. There are also
two Sega screens.
264 • Unreleased Games
Perfect Weapon
Publisher American Softworks
Opposite Lock Release date Q4 1996-1997
Developer Quickdraw Development Genre Action
Opposite Lock was an early beta version of Perfect Weapon is an action game for the
Wreckin Crew. The graphic style remained the same, PlayStation. A Sega Saturn version was announced,
but the screenshot in the gallery below is probably but cancelled for unknown reasons.
from a target render (also the HUD is different). Mean Machines Sega (UK) #53
Opposite Lock was in development by Quick- EA is pretty busy at the moment, as it’s currently pre-
draw Development/Telstar for the Playstation, Saturn paring Perfect Weapon for a February release. Play-
and PC. It seems that Opposite Lock was going to be ers take on the role of the stupidly monikered Blake
an arcade with colorful Hunter, martial arts expert, and are faced with a stag-
graphic and stylized ve- gering 1300 3D locations to explore. There are 20
hicles based on real-life types of alien critters to duff up and, thanks to ad-
cars (as Chevrolet and vanced AI, you can expect simultaneous attacks from
Ford). It’s currently un- up to five enemies at once. The gameplay takes the
kown why the game was form of a scrolling beat-’em-up, with loads of martial
canned. arts to discover. If all goes according to plan, a pre-
The original press release: view will be gracing these
Based around a blisteringly fast game engine, Oppo- pages next month.
site Lock is an arcade style, 3D hot rod racing game
that also includes combat and stunt driving aspects.
With most driving games nowadays concentrating on
showing off the polygon engine rather than present-
ing a fast and furious racing game, Opposite Lock
sets out to redress this balance by putting the FUN
back into the genre. Modern racing games tend to-
wards the simulation end of the driving spectrum and
ignore the qualities that made Hard Driving, Power The Sacred Pools
Drift and Mario Kart so popular. Opposite Lock of- Developer SegaSoft
fers you the chance to drive a whole host of stylised Release date Q4 1996-1997
and customised vehicles from 1957 Chevrolets to Genre Action
Ford pickups, each with their own individual attack The Sacred Pools is an unreleased PC and
moves. There are stunt tracks, cup competitions and Sega Saturn full motion video game. It was one of the
head to head modes, not to mention a demolition first projects to be announced by the newly formed
derby competition and a complete action replay and SegaSoft, although very little is known about what
video editing suite to play back and save your favour- the project entailed.
ite moments. The game featured at E3 1996 but was not
• Multi-player option that allows up to 32 players on seen afterwards.
a network. In-game pickups and upgrades, including Mean Machines Sega (UK) #45
weapons, nitros and repair kits. Just when you thought the interactive movie was
• Over 100 different road side objects which interact dead... along comes Sacred Pools. This is another
with the players car. Hit a tyre stack and the tyres Segasoft venture, and one which they say revolution-
bounce all over the track! ises adventure gaming by mixing computer graphics
• Full screen VGA and SVGA modes ensure that you with video footage. At present only the video footage
are in the thick of the action at all times. was on show, and it’s the usual mix of Dr.Who effects
and actors without dignity. And we thought they’d
“unseen64.net”
learned their lesson with Double Switch.
Unreleased Games • 265
Rattlesnake Red
Pinky and the Brain Publisher
Release date
Acclaim Entertainment
Q4 1997
Electronic Gaming Monthly #84
Genre Action
Warner Bros’. maniacal Animaniac character The
Brain and his not-so-brainy partner Pinky will soon Rattlesnake Red is an unreleased action game
make their video-game debut in this Saturn title - for the Saturn and PlayStation. It was heavily inspired
courtesy of Konami. If you’re not familiar with the by Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes shorts.
pair, Brain, of course, is the smarter of the duo, and Rattlesnake Red was reportedly cancelled due
he uses his genius to devise plans for taking over the to the game not living up to expectations. It has been
world. Pinky, on the other hand, ain’t all that interest- accused of being poorly managed, watered down
ed in world domination; he just hangs out with his pal from its original aims and “designed by commitee”
The Brain and usually fouls his partner’s plans. The by lead animator Sunny Strasburg.
Mean Machines Sega (UK) #51
Saturn version will follow this wacky story line with
The Brain heading off on yet another insanity-riddled Sega has announced what could well be the Saturn
adventure and Pinky just going along for company. beat-’em-up event of the year, Fighter Megamix! Sim-
ply put, the game Saturn owners can look forward
to is essentially Virtua Fighter 2 Vs Fighting Vipers,
Return Fire with all the characters from both games included. De-
Developer Prolific veloper AM2 have also started that a number of other
Publisher Williams Entertainment faimiliar faces will also be included as well as secret
Release date Q4 1996 fighters. Since they’re responsible for Virtua Cop 1
Genre Action & 2 and Daytona USA, things could get interesting.
Return Fire is an unreleased Sega Saturn The Virtua Fighter characters will have some of their
game, ported from the Panasonic 3DO. It is a top- all-new VF3 moves, and the Vipers are getting some
down 2.5D action game, in which you control a vari- new attack patterns too. Stages will be a mixture of
ety of vehicles and shoot enemies. Fighting Vipers and Virtua Fighter 2, with walls and
The Saturn version of the game was complet- fences included. All characters will be able to dodge
ed and was ready for release, but complications arose. and perform mid-air recoveries, and the some of the-
Hitachi, manufacturers of the HiSaturn, noted that the Virtua crew’s moves are being upgraded to armour
game did not run correctly on their variant of the con- breakers. Also new to the game is a rime attack mode,
sole, leaving the developers (Prolific) waiting for a where you only have a set amount of time to complete
HiSaturn console to test the game on. After this set- the entire game! Unbelievably, Fighters Megamix is
back the game’s publisher, Williams Entertainment, set for release in Ja-
decided to avoid publishing games for the Saturn, and pan on December 21st,
hence the project was effectively scrapped. Other ver- so hopefully, hopefully,
sions of the game were released, however, including we’ll have more info,
a version for the PlayStation. and even some pics, next
The full Saturn version of the game was month. We can’t wait!
leaked onto the internet in 2007. It was also reviewed
by several publications at the time and given a rela-
tively high score. Rebellion
A Sega 32X version was also planned at one Genre Adventure
point. Rebellion is an unreleased full motion video
adventure game for the Sega Saturn. An early proto-
type is known to exist.
266 • Unreleased Games
Rayman 2
Developer Ubisoft ers while rescuing his friends from their imprison-
Publisher Ubisoft ment – one character who was imprisoned by these
Release date Q4 1996-1997 robots was Betilla the Fairy. The robots planned to
Genre Action-platformer convert the entire planet into a cold ball of metal. A
by: raymanpc.com
character named the Chief, similar in design to the
Early in its development, Rayman 2 was in- General, would have been involved in the game’s
tended to be a 2D game, which would have been very story, and probably would have played a much larger
similar to the original Rayman in terms of graphics role than that of the General in the final version. It has
and gameplay. This 2D game would have been re- been speculated that he was the game’s villain, and
leased for the Saturn and PlayStation. was replaced by Razorbeard in the final game. Bet-
The game would have had a much stronger illa, and possibly other characters from the original
similarity to the original game than the final version Rayman would have returned, and new friends would
did. The art style would have remained very similar to also have appeared to aid Rayman.
that of the first game, as would the gameplay, with a
Rayman would have started the game with all
few notable additions. The mechanical gameplay was
of the powers he received during the original game,
to be more accessible and less difficult than that of the
with the exception of the running ability. He would
original Rayman game, but it was also to be more cer-
have gained additional powers as the player pro-
ebral; puzzles would have taken on a larger role, as
gressed. His telescopic fist would have been able to
can be seen in the playable
fly around more freely, and with greater momentum;
level which was included
punching and jumping in a certain way would even
with the PlayStation ver-
cause the fist to circle Rayman completely due to the
sion of the final game.
centrifugal force. Rayman would have been able to
According to one
punch through certain surfaces to open up secret pas-
magazine article, the game
sageways. As in the final 3D game, Rayman would
was due for release in the
have learned to swim. Rayman would have met new
late Autumn of 1996. It is
friends, and some of these would have followed and
unknown exactly how near
helped him during gameplay.
the game was to comple-
Rayman would have started using mechani-
tion, but it seems that its
cal tools and devices. These would have included a
music had not yet been
plunger vehicle (possible something similar to the
composed when the game
was scrapped. However, plunger gun in Rayman
the magazine’s article on Raving Rabbids), a hook,
the game stated that ‘it’s a laser pistol, and a ‘de-
already in a fairly advanced viant’ – a device used to
state – expect to see a pre- make Rayman’s telescop-
view next month’. ic fist rebound. Rayman
When the devel- would also have been able
opers saw Naughty Dog’s to mount and ride certain
original Crash Bandicoot vehicles and creatures, in-
game at the 1996 Elec- cluding a robot dinosaur
tronic Entertainment Expo, (this idea was recycled in
they became aware of the the cancelled Rayman 4).
new gameplay possibilities One new platform-
offered by the 3D platform genre. This lead to their ing element was the addi-
cancellation of the sidescrolling Rayman 2 prototype tion of a ‘cowardly’ plat-
in favour of the final 3D game. form, which would shrink
away from Rayman in
The plot of the cancelled game was similar fear should he approach
to that of the final Rayman 2. In the prototype game, it. Punching the platform
Mr Dark has been defeated and has vanished from would create a sparkling
Rayman’s island. Then, evil robotic invaders from connection between it and
space arrive, and Rayman has to defeat these invad-
Unreleased Games • 267
and Rayman, which would prevent it from escaping In the final 3D Play-
while the connection endured. This new power was Station version of Rayman
to be called the platform fist. Very similar-looking 2: The Great Escape, the
(though otherwise completely different) platforms player can unlock a single
were found in the Game Boy Color version of Ray- level from the canceled
man. Perhaps the most significant alteration to the 2D version of Rayman 2.
gameplay was that the levels were now two-layered; This is done by collecting
there was both a background and foreground. Enemies at least 90% of the Yel-
in the background could fire projectiles at Rayman low Lums, then complet-
while he was in the foreground, Rayman would be ing the Crow’s Nest level.
able to teleport himself between layers by activating Since the PlayStation ver-
a device that resembled a shower with a toilet-handle sion of Rayman 2 has only 800 Yellow Lums to col-
attached. This background–foreground system was lect, the player only needs to collect 720 of them in
quite similar to the one found in the games Oddworld: order to access the level. The level takes place in a
Abe’s Oddysee and Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus. grassy environment with strange rock formations in
Another new addition to the game were float- the background, in addition to a cloudy, purple sky.
ing, purple bombs. These explosives could be moved Music from the Walk of Life level plays in the back-
around the area by Rayman’s punches, but would ground.
detonate upon contact with Rayman or each other. An inspection of the files on the disc of the
Another new object was a small floating box PlayStation version of Rayman 2 reveals a file called
with a hand protruding from it; some of these boxes RAY.INF, which contains only the following French
floated stationary, but others moved horizontally or text:
vertically. When Rayman punched the hand, his fist ///RayMan 2 PlayStation/version:01.12d/date:31 mai
would bounce off it; this would allow Rayman’s fist 1996/gravure:Vincent Greco/demande:equipe RM2
to reach otherwise unaccessible spots, such as an out- Sony/destinataire:equipe RM2 Sony/usage perso/
of-the-way life statue, or let him his a floating bomb derniere version/
from another angle. It was even possible for the fist to Its exact meaning is unknown; however, Vin-
be bounced around between multiple floating hands. cent Greco was the lead programmer on the original
Tings would have appeared in the game; un- Rayman game, and went on to work on Rayman M
like the sparkling, blue Tings of the original game, and Rayman 3. Judging by the appearance of his
these Tings would have been silvery and metallic, name in its files, it would seem that he was also in-
and reflected their surroundings, like small convex volved in the production of this prototype.
mirrors. Life statues and exit signs would also have
returned. Red flying rings would have returned, al-
though, strangely, they functioned the same as purple
ones.
Re-Loaded Shenmue
Developer Gremlin Interactive Developer Sega
Release date Q4 1997 Publisher Sega
Genre Action Genre Role-playing
Mode 1 Player
Re-Loaded, frequently known as Reloaded is
the sequel to Loaded and was released by Gremlin The first prototype for Shenmue began back
Interactive in 1996 for the PlayStation and later DOS in 1995. The Old Man and the Peach Tree was to be a
computers. It was once set for release on the Saturn, Sega Saturn title that would increase freedom of con-
but this version was cancelled for unknown reasons. versation and controllability as well as give player
Re-Loaded is peculiar in that its Saturn port free motion and promote conversation with a world’s
was heavily previewed and advertised before cancel- characters. It would follow the player in a third-per-
lation. Demo versions of game were even released to son view, and would be complimented with cinemat-
the public as part of Gremlin Interactive Demo Disc, ics.
Saturn Power No. 2 and an issue of Sega Magazin, It would be set in 1950s China, in the city
featuring the first level of the game. Luoyang - an idea that came to Suzuki after visiting
Many print magazines, including the United the country in 1993. It would tell the story of a man
Kingdom’s Sega Saturn Magazine reviewed full ver- named Taro. This young man would visit China to
sions of the game (or claimed to have full copies ready search for a Kung Fu master named Ryu.
for review). Saturn Power ran a competition where Suzuki had it planned out so well that he de-
customers could win free copies of Re-Loaded, but tailed a cutscene where a man suspected of being Ryu
as the full game was not released, entrants were of- was shown skipping rocks across a lake. Every rock
fered alternative Saturn games. Dean Mortlock who skip would hit a fish, taking them out, and leaving
worked on the magazine later described the full game them floating belly up. Sometimes he would hit two
as “awful”. or three fish with one stone. After witnessing this
Re-Loaded was at one point scheduled for a spectacle, Taro was certain that the man was in fact
release in Europe in Spring of 1996, though the Play- Ryu.
Station port did not arrive until November. No North
American or Japanese releases were ever confirmed.
Mean Machines Sega (UK) #53 Spider: The Video Game
Gremlin will be revisiting its space criminals on Sat- Developer Boss Game Studios
urn again this spring, with the follow-up to Loaded. Publisher BMG Interactive Entertainment
Release date Q4 1997
The conversion of the original was a suprise hit for Genre Action
the Sheffield developer - No.1 in the charts in fact.
Re-Loaded is essentially more of the same, with some Spider: The Video Game, known simply as
of the irritations of the original smoothed out. The Spider in Europe, is an action game released by Boss
Vox character has been ‘erased’, but two more more Game Studios for the PlayStation. A Saturn version
take her place, the cannibalistic disco bunny known was also in development, but was cancelled for un-
as The Consumer, whose favourite recipe is ‘Beefy known reasons.
Brains’ and Sister Magpie, intergalactic nun. Ex-2000 The Saturn Spider is said to have had six
AD artists have created new artwork and rendered se- months of development time, and was heavily pre-
quences for each. There are also six new planets split viewed (and even reviewed) by the gaming press. Its
into multiple overhead-viewed sub-levels, taking one PlayStation counterpart received another year and a
or two players to confront their old adversary FUB, half’s treatment before release in early 1997.
now brain-merged with a hippie artist resulting in the Spider is often confused with another can-
creations if a gigantic beast known as CHEB. The celled Saturn release, Tarantula.
Mean Machines Sega (UK) #45
levels are more compact than their sprawling pred-
ecessors, new puzzle elements, more sophisticated BOSS game studios big ideas: Take a cyber spider
than those door-key conundrums of Loaded. Smarter and pit him against a range of polygon beasties. Nice
graphics and a more noticeable 3D perspective have backgrounds, but why has a spider fot homing mis-
also been developed. Expect Re-Loaded sometime in siles?
the early Spring.
Unreleased Games • 269
Sonic X-treme
Developer Sonic Team, Sega Technical Institute ond pitch was of an untitled isometric game starring
Publisher Sega Sonic, the only work done being a single conceptual
Release date Q4 1996 screenshot by video game designer Chris Senn.
Genre Action-platformer Though both were ultimately passed on, they
by: sonicretro.org
helped lay the groundwork for a third pitch that was
Sonic X-treme is an unreleased Sonic the accepted - Sonic Mars. Led by Michael Kosaka and
Hedgehog game, developed by Sega Technical Insti- featuring work by Chris Senn, the game was meant to
tute and set to be published by Sega of America dur- be a fully polygonal representation of Sonic on the ill-
ing the mid-1990s. fated Sega 32X. Before returning to Japan, Yuji Naka
X-treme is perhaps the most infamous Son- was shown the early animated work for the project,
ic game to be cancelled, and personifies much of in which he could only shake his head and offer two
the problems related to Sega’s corporate structure very important words: “Good Luck.”
for much of the decade. Following a showing at E3
1996, X-treme was aggressively pushed by Sega of
America in an attempt to boost flagging Sega Saturn
sales during the Christmas 1996 season. However af-
ter a troubled development timeline, the project was
shelved, and a Saturn port of Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Is-
land was released in its place.
Only one form of Sonic X-treme was of-
ficially revealed to the public - a Sega Saturn game
featuring Sonic the Hedgehog in a fully-rendered 3D
world. However, the project dates back much further, The first test animation created for Sonic X-
treme’s precursor, Sonic Mars
to the latter half of 1993 in which proposals were put
forward for a Sega Mega Drive game. Development Because of internal disputes between Michael
then shifted to the Sega 32X, Sega Saturn and finally Kosaka and Dean Lester, Kosaka left Sega in 1995,
Windows, before ending in early 1997. leaving the still-young Sonic Mars without a lead
designer. Chris Senn, who had never been in a lead-
With the release of Sonic & Knuckles, Sega
ership position before in such an ambitious project,
was more than aware of the potential contained
was thrust into the job. Though given the impression
within the Sonic franchise. Not wanting to lose the
it was only a temporary position until another, more
momentum created by the string of hits in the ear-
experienced designer could be found, he held the po-
ly 90’s, Sega wanted to create the next “big” Sonic
sition through most of the development of the game.
game, along with a slew of other titles to help support
It was around this time that the Saturday morning car-
it. While games like Knuckles Chaotix, Sonic 3D:
toon elements were dropped from the game, and the
Flickies’ Island, and even G Sonic were being done in
decision to switch platforms to the next generation
other areas of Sega, Sega Technical Institute received
Sega system was brought up.
the big assignment - to create the true successor to
Due to the confusion behind what the true
Sonic & Knuckles.
successor to the Mega Drive was to be, an effort was
With such a daunting task ahead of them,
made to focus the development on the proposed car-
and with the Japanese side of STI returning to their
tridge-based nVidia-powered system being developed
home country, the American team behind such games
by Sega of America. Though the system promised to
as Sonic Spinball, The Ooze, and Comix Zone dove
be even more capable at 3D rendering than Sega of
head first into a project that would take numerous
Japan’s “Project Saturn”, a failed demonstration of
twists and turns before its cancellation.
the nVidia chip caused Sega of America’s project to
The earliest pitches as to what would ultimate- be turned down, and development shifted once again
ly result in the “Sonic X-treme project” were meant to a new console.
to be developed for the Mega Drive. The furthest With the project fully underway, development
along of these pitches was Sonic-16, a game based for Sonic X-treme was split into two separate groups.
on the Saturday morning series Sonic the Hedgehog. The first, led by Chris Senn and programmer Ofer
Headed by Peter Morawiec, the game was meant to Alon, focused on the main body of the game, creating
be a slower, more story-intensive platformer. The sec- the worlds that Sonic would run through. The second
Unreleased Games • 271
ters, working almost non-stop, the few hours of sleep fresh from their work on NiGHTS into Dreams, did
being had in a cot within the office. The strain of the briefly work on a Sonic title for the system, they real-
project became simply too much, Chris being over- ized it would be futile to continue further, seeing as
taken with pneumonia in August of 1996. With doc- the system’s short lifespan was already visible. Tak-
tors saying he only had months to live if he kept this ing what they had, they quickly slapped together the
up, Coffin was forced to bow out of the development Sonic World area in Sonic Jam, applying what they
cycle. With its lead programmer out of commission, learned from this experiment into the production of
Mike Wallis was forced to tell management that the Sonic Adventure, which would ultimately be released
game would not be completed in time for Christmas. on the Sega Dreamcast.
Though the official word was the project had Sega of America, having never officially can-
been postponed, those involved knew the game had celed Sonic X-treme in the public’s eye, at one point
finally been canceled after years of production. To fill teased the idea of certain concepts from X-treme
its place, a hastily-done port of Sonic 3D: Flickies’ (such as Sonic’s proposed arsenal of new moves) be-
Island with enhanced graphics, a new special stage, ing carried over to Adventure, but in reality it was all
and redone music was released on the Saturn that spin to try and rebuild brand loyalty in US, who had
year. The advertisement money that was intended for felt burned at the lack of a new Sonic platformer for
X-treme was devoted to Sonic Team’s NiGHTS into the Saturn.
Dreams, which became the Saturn’s top seller that X-treme stands as one of several examples
Christmas, the port of Flickes’ Island being second. of the fraught relations between Sega of Japan and
Sega of America, others being the Sega 32X console
itself, as well as problems concerning the Saturn and
Dreamcast.
The storyline for Sonic X-treme was one nev-
er set in stone, with quite a few ideas thrown about
during the development process. The best known of
these (which were mentioned in such magazine fea-
tures as the Red Shoe Diaries) explains that Sonic
Sonic the Hedgehog in the first test the Hedgehog, having received a “bluestreak” dis-
level of “Project Condor,” referred tress signal, runs over to the home of Professor Ga-
to as Jade Gully in-game. zebo Boobowski and his daughter, Tiara. The two are
the guardians of the Rings of Order, and also know
Even though they had been removed from the the ancient art of ring smithing. Dr. Eggman, hav-
project, Chris Senn (who was also suffering severe ing learned of the rings, has set about to claim them
medical issues as a result of Sonic X-treme) and Ofer himself, prompting the professor to ask Sonic to re-
Alon continued to work on the engine and the textures trieve the mystical rings before the evil doctor. When
used for the levels. Creating another presentation, the explaining the evolution of the storyline years later,
two showed off their work to the PC division of Sega Chris Senn stated that the “Rings of Order” story was
with the hope that the game would be released on PC, hastily thrown together for the specific purpose of the
where it always worked at the proper framerate. Red Shoe Diaries feature in Game Players, the “final”
The management declined to take it on, cit- story having yet to be solidified.
ing it was not in their budget to finance a new game, No less than seven other storylines were cre-
preferring to stick with ports of existing Sega titles. ated over the project’s lifespan, the final one authored
While Chris Senn believed the real reasons were just by Hirokazu Yasuhara and Richard Wheeler. In this
more internal politics at Sega because of Nakayama’s version, Dr. Eggman returns with a Death Egg that
distaste for the shoddy port of Ofer’s work, the end is larger than planet Earth, its gravity causing other
result was still the same. Ceasing work on Sonic X- planets to fall into an orbit with the space station.
treme, Ofer left the company, thus putting an end to Miles “Tails” Prower teleports Sonic to the Death
the Sonic X-treme development saga. Egg in the hopes of stopping Eggman’s latest scheme,
With the cancellation of Sonic X-treme, the but the beam is intercepted by one of the planets now
Sega Saturn would not see a core Sonic the Hedge- in orbit. Finding himself on a strange world, Sonic
hog title released on the system. Though Sonic Team, also discovers that the badniks Eggman are using are
Unreleased Games • 273
powered by an alien species called “Mips,” the na- There was also meant to be a ring attack, where Sonic
tives to the planets that have become a part of the could throw the rings he had collected at enemies,
Death Egg’s defenses. an idea that was introduced early on in the Sonic X-
Earlier storylines also briefly considered us- treme development cycle.
ing the cast of the Saturday morning series Sonic the Even though there was no official announce-
Hedgehog, though those iterations of Sonic X-treme ment, it became quite clear that Sonic X-treme was
never went beyond the conceptual phase. indeed canceled, and soon became a wildly discussed
Nearly from the get-go, the intent of Sonic myth in fan circles, little known about what had hap-
X-treme was to place Sonic the Hedgehog in a com- pened to the game. It was only with the growth of
pletely 3D environment, building upon the ideas of the Internet and a fanbase reaching adulthood that al-
exploration and the “go-anywhere-or-run-through” lowed proper inquiry into what had really happened,
concept. The levels were constructed in an almost resulting in fan contact with Mike Wallis, Chris Senn,
tube-like fashion, the camera pointing ahead to en- and Christina Coffin. This outpouring of support led
courage the player to run forward towards their ul- to the creation of the Sonic Xtreme Compendium, a
timate destination. Because 3D was still new and X- site owned and operated by Chris Senn meant to or-
treme was experimenting with how to properly have ganize the many resources made during the project,
Sonic in a 3D world, the camera was given a “fish- and chronicle the highs and lows of development.
eye” lens, in an effort to let the player see more of Though no copy of Ofer Alon’s engine has
their surroundings within a given zone. Taking a cue been released, a prototype of Chris Coffin’s boss en-
from the special stages in Chaotix, Sonic was also gine (early in its conversion into “Project Condor”)
supposed to have the ability to run up walls and walk was put up for auction on ASSEMbler Games, and
on ceilings, giving what might have seemed like a though effort was made to buy it for public release, it
linear level added areas to explore. was ultimately sold to a private collector.
Originally, Chris Senn wanted to use a number The latest major release of material concern-
of playable characters, including Miles “Tails” Prow- ing the game was in 2009, when a package of unre-
er, Knuckles the Echidna, and newcomer Tiara Boo- leased textures and level data was leaked to the pub-
bowski, giving each their own style of gameplay and lic. Coupled with a viewer, the release finally allowed
camera perspective. Sonic’s was meant to be a 3/4 fans to experience the levels that were meant to be in
view, Tails was to have the camera positioned behind Chris and Ofer’s Sonic X-treme, albeit in an unplay-
him, Knuckles would have had a top-down view, and able format.
Tiara’s gameplay would have been viewed from the In 2014, ASSEMbler Games member Jollyro-
side. Though Chris Senn, the lead designer through ger acquired a source code archive of Point of View’s
most of Sonic X-treme’s life, was excited at the pros- work on Sonic X-treme. This archive contains the
pect of multiple characters and styles, the game’s lead source for builds v37 and v40 of Ofer Alon’s engine
programmer, Ofer Alon, convinced Chris to keep and level editor titled “SonicBoom”, along with lev-
things simple and focus on the core Sonic gameplay, el data and a never before seen engine programmed
and to only add more characters if time allowed. from scratch by Point of View on Sega Saturn. The
Chris Coffin, the lead developer of the boss PC version of the engine requires an nVidia Diamond
stages, also briefly toyed with the idea of Amy Rose Edge 3D NV1 video card, NV1 SDK and a Windows
being a playable character, modifying the Sonic sprite 95 system to work.
set the team was using to look like the pink hedgehog. The v37 engine has been recompiled in the
However, aside from the sprites being made, nothing latest version of Visual Studio and the NV1 renderer
else was done with the concept. code was converted to render in OpenGL instead. It
The game was also meant to introduce a vari- was released for first time on February 23, 2015 as a
ety of new moves into Sonic’s arsenal. Among them single level demo. The level featured in this release
were the “Power Ball” (an attack to strike down on was the same version of Jade Gully featured in the E3
enemies below), “Super Bounce” (a jump with added 1996 trailer.
height but less control), “Ring Shield” (a shield one In 2016, Jollyroger discovered that the POV
could create at the cost of a number of rings collect- archive also contained binaries of build v001 on PC
ed), and the “Sonic Boom” (an attack in conjunction from 1995. This build is very early, with no control-
with the Ring Shield to attack all enemies on screen). lable Sonic.
274 • Unreleased Games
Tomb Raider II
Developer Core Design
Publisher Eidos Interactive Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) #21
Release date Q4 1997 Tomb Raider 2 Jeopardy!
Genre Action Shocking news reaches SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE
Mode 1 Player
regarding the status of the Saturn rendition of Tomb
Tomb Raider II was released for the PlaySta- Raider 2, Core Design’s eagerly anticipated title
tion console and Windows in 1997. For a good chunk which was due to be released in October along with
of its development, a Saturn release was also planned, PC and PlayStation versions.
but by May 1997 this port had been shelved due to Notice the emphasis on “was” because the
“technical issues”. latest news to emerge is that the game will ONLY ap-
Tomb Raider II is one of the more notorious pear on the PC and PlayStation. Numerous reasons
Saturn absentees, as the game was eagerly awaited are cropping up as to the reason behind the game’s
by the gaming press and went onto become a best non-appearance on the Sega Saturn. First of all there
seller, particularly in the United Kingdom. The origi- is talk of Sony signing an exclusivity deal on the
nal Tomb Raider had been designed with the Saturn game, looking out all other console conversions. This
in mind, debuting before the PlayStation release in hasn’t been confirmed by Core or Sony at the time of
many territories and being adopted by Sega as a key writing.
selling point for the system, however Core Design The second, perhaps more sinister, reason
claimed that upgrades to the game engine reportedly concerns the Saturn’s suitability for the game. The
led to a Saturn port becoming unfeasible in Eidos In- original game ran at a slower frame rate than the
teractive’s given time frame. PlayStation version and Core are pushing that game’s
Were this a non-issue, other factors likely engine to the limit for the new sequel. In the original,
would have come into play. Sony later signed an around 150 polygons were used on-screen to show off
exclusivity contract with Eidos in September 1997 the backgrounds - this is thought to be far higher on
meaning Tomb Raider games could only be released Tomb Raider 2, which is set in Venice. This would ex-
on PlayStation consoles over the next two years plain the rumours regarding Core looking into using
(which may explain why a reported Nintendo 64 ver- the fourth-coming 3D enhancement cartridge widely
sion also did not materialise), and Eidos backed away tipped to be packaged with Saturn Virtua Fighter 3.
from Saturn development entirely around the same Considering the lack of details to emerge on the up-
period. grade (and whether there will actually be one at all
The cancelled Saturn version still appears to - AM2 have yet to announce anything on VF3 which
have affected Tomb Raider II’s development, as simi- looks set to slip to 1998) perhaps this isn’t so surpris-
lar to the original, levels are built with quad-based ing. Whatever the reason, the sad fact is that at the
geometry in mind (something that would not be re- time of writing, Tomb Raider 2 is not in development
solved until the game’s sequel, Tomb Raider III: The for the Sega Saturn.
Adventures of Lara Croft, which also skipped the Regardless of TR2’s fate, Core have confirmed
Saturn as part of that aforementioned contract (one that their two other major products: Fighting Force
which incidentally expired by the release of the Sega and the potential amazing Ninja will DEFINITELY
Dreamcast version of Tomb Raider: The Last Revela- be coming for the Saturn. So the company are by no
tion, and never effected PC versions)). means leaving the Saturn market behind.
Varuna’s Forces
Developer Accent Media
Publisher JVC
Release date Q4 1995
Genre First-person shooter
Varuna’s Forces is a first-person shooting
game developed by Accent Media and set to be pub- Varuna’s Forces
lished by JVC for the Sega Saturn, 3DO and Atari Developer Accent Media
Jaguar CD. The Saturn version was cancelled in Publisher JVC
Release date Q4 1995
favour of a Sega Dreamcast version, and the 3DO/
Genre First-person shooter
Jaguar versions were cancelled due to poor console
sales. The Dreamcast version itself was also aban- Virtua Fighter 3 was released in 1996 for Sega
doned later. Finally, the developers moved to the PC, Model 3 Step 1.0 arcade hardware, as the first game
but by then JVC had run into financial trouble and the to hit the system, followed by Scud Race.
game had to be scrapped entirely. Following its arcade debut, it was rumoured
Mean Machines Sega (UK) #34 that Virtua Fighter 3 would be brought to the Saturn.
A Daedalus clone, with more than a hint of Alien Tril- This was confirmed at and then confirmed at the Sega
ogy. Take your squad of space gooks through a laby- Saturn Senryaku Happyoukai conference on the 8th
rinthian maze of corridors as you attempt to destroy November 1996 by Yu Suzuki. However, given the
the very core of an alien invasion force. complexities involved in converting Sega Model 2
games to the system, it was widely expected that con-
verting a Model 3 game would bring significant chal-
Viper lenges.
Developer Neon It was therefore decided that supporting hard-
Publisher Ocean Software ware would be produced - an “accelerator cartridge”
Release date Q4 1997 (of unknown specifications) would be used to give
Genre Shooter developers access to Model 3-like graphics. This pe-
Mode 1 Player
ripheral could then theoretically be used for other
Viper is a shoot-’em-up for the PlayStation. conversions, such as Scud Race. Sega Europe’s Andy
A Sega Saturn version was planned, but cancelled for Mee suggested the price would be pegged at around
unknown reasons. the price of a third-party Nintendo 64 game in the UK
Viper was delayed quite considerably from its - £80, but hopefully lower.
original 1996 announcement, arriving Sony’s console During 1996 a promotional trailer for Saturn
in July 1998, exclusively in Europe. Virtua Fighter 3 was released in Japan, and subse-
Viper and Tunnel B1 were originally con- quently passed across the world’s press. The trailer
ceived as being two parts of the same game, before comprised entirely of pre-rendered footage, with no
publishers Ocean Software decided otherwise. The gameplay shown and no references to dates or price.
two games run on the same core engine. No in-game Saturn footage or screenshots were ever
released to the public during the conversion’s devel-
opment.
Wet Corpse By mid-1997, all plans for an accelerator
Developer Vic Tokai cartridge were scrapped, likely due to costs and the
Unknown Magazine simultaneous development of a console successor to
A Resident Evil clone, the Saturn.
just six weeks into de-
velopment. You’re al-
ready dead at the start
of the game. Yep, it’s a
weird one.
278 • Unreleased Games
• All Star Soccer • “MT”
• Animal Olympics • Nanotek Warrior
• Apocalypse • NBA Hang Time
• Aqua • NBA in the Zone
• Arms Race • NCAA Football
• “AB” • NHL Breakaway 98
• Bad Mojo • NHL Open Ice
• Ballblazer X • Offensive
• Ceasars World of Gambling • Olympic Games Vol 1
• Championship Pool 2 • Peperami
• Colliderz • Planet Pinball
• Condemned (a.k.a. Forsaken) • Project Overkill
• Conquest Earth • Raiden II
• Constructor • Raw Persuit
• Criticom 2 (Dark Rift?) • Road Racer
• Crow 2 • Robinson’s Requiem
• Dark Rift (Criticom 2?) • Rocket Boy
• Davis Cup Complete Tennis • Rollcage
• Dawn Patrol • Sampras Extreme Tennis
• Death Trap Dungeon • Scud Race
• Dream Golf 18/Fantasy Golf • Sentinel Returns
• Dream Knight • Shadoan
• Empire Golf • Shredfest
• Endorfun • Shutokou Battle Gaiden: Super Technic Challenge
• European Champions League • Sign of the Sun
• Fake Down • Slipstream
• Fighter Attack (a.k.a. Flying Corps) • Spearhead
• Fighting Fantasy • Speed Freak
• Firo & Klawd • Star Control III
• Flying Aces • Super Cross
• Football Manager • Super Soccer
• Gen 13 • Take Down
• Guts ‘n’ Garters in DNA Danger • Tank Commander
• Hanna Barbera Project • Tanktics
• HMS Dreadnought • Terminus
• Hulk 2 • Topps MVP Baseball ‘96
• Inferno • Ultimate Skidmarks
• International Moto • Ultra Flappy
• Iron & Blood • Velocity
• Legends of Football ‘97 • Viewpoint
• Lethal Enforcers I & II • Virtual Chess
• Lightning Gunner • VMX Racing
• Lunatik • VR Baseball
• Manic Karts • VR Pool
• Mickey Thompson’s Supercross • War Gods
• Mission: Deadly Skies • Warhammer 40,000: Dark Crusaders
• Mission Impossible • Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat
• Motor Cross • XS: Shield Up - Fight Back
• Moustache Red
280 • Sega Saturn Magazines
Sega Visions
Publisher The Communique Group, Infotainment World
Country United States
Releases Jun. 1990 - Sep.1995
Issues 37
Frequency Bimonthly, Quarterly
The Japanese version of Sega Saturn Magazine was a magazine which focused
on the Sega Saturn. It succeeded Beep! MegaDrive at some point in 1995. It
later became Dreamcast Magazine.
Sega Power
Publisher EMAP
Country United Kingdom
Releases Nov. 1995 - Nov.1998
Issues 37
Frequency Monthly
Sega Power was a monthly magazine sold within the UK that focused on
Sega products, namely the Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive (and its
add-ons, the Sega Mega-CD and Sega 32X), Sega Game Gear and later,
the Sega Saturn. It was the successor to S: The Sega Magazine, and took
advantage of the boom of video game consoles during the early 1990s.
The magazine continued until 1997 when it was rebranded Saturn Power
and focused solely on the Sega Saturn.
Sega Power continues the numbering scheme set up by S: The Sega Maga-
zine, and so starts at issue 13.
282 • Saturn Demo Discs
Sega Flash Vol. 4 was released in 1997. It contains Sega Flash Vol. 6 was released in 1997. It contains
three playable demos, however Cyber Troopers Vir- three playable demos; Steep Slope Sliders contains
tual-On is recycled from Sega Flash Vol. 3. Die Hard two characters and two tracks, Sega Worldwide Soc-
Arcade contains the first section of the first stage and cer ‘98: Club Edition, much like the Sega Worldwide
Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island contains the first level too Soccer ‘97 demo in previous Sega Flash discs, allows
(and bonus stages). The videos are full-screen and are users to play half an exhibition match with any team
again no-frills demonstrations of gameplay footage. of their choosing, and Sega Touring Car Champion-
There is an additional “arcade titles” video which ship contains the first track.
shows Model 2/Model 3 footage of Last Bronx, Sega In the United Kingdom this was released with
Touring Car Championship and Virtua Fighter 3, all issue #27 of Sega Saturn Magazine.
considered big Sega arcade games at the time.
In the United Kingdom this was released with Sega Flash Vol. 7
issue #19 of Sega Saturn Magazine.
D-Xhird Sample
Core Demo Disc
Publisher Takara
Release Japan 1997
D-Xhird Sample is a Japanese
demo disc for D-Xhird.
DJ Wars Taikenban
Developer Spike
Release Japan
DJ Wars Taikenban is a Japa-
nese demo disc for DJ Wars.
DonPachi Sample
Developer Atlus
Release Japan 1996
DonPachi Sample is a Japa-
nese demo disc for DonPachi.
Real Sound:
Kaze no Regret Taikenban Saturn Power demo discs
Developer Warp During its lifespan, the UK Sega Saturn Magazine Sat-
Publisher Warp urn Power produced a number of demo discs which it
Release Japan 1997 distributed along with its magazine. Unlike the Sega
This is a Japanese Sega Flash series, they were not published by Sega, and so
Saturn demo disc for Real there were fewer discs produced and each disc had
Sound: Kaze no Regret. less content. 5 discs were released in total.
Developer Sega
Publisher Sega Developer Sega
Release US 1995 Publisher Sega
Sega Saturn Choice Cuts is a Release US
demo disc for the Sega Sat- Sega Screams Volume 1 is
urn, released exclusively in a demo disc for the Sega
North America. It was the Saturn, released exclusive-
first Saturn demo disc to hit ly in North America with
American shores, and was bundled with all new con- console bundles. Bizarrely Sega of America released
soles during 1995. this game twice - initially as Sega Saturn Bootleg II
Most likely due to its early release, there aren’t (as a “sequel” to Bootleg Sampler). The product in
actually any playable demos in Sega Saturn Choice its Bootleg II form is far less common, though aside
Cuts, just gameplay footage of upcoming or recently from a changed title screen (on some discs), the two
released titles, along with promotional material. discs are identical.
Unlike Bootleg Sampler, Sega Screams Vol-
ume 1 opts for the “standard” Saturn demo disc men-
us often seen in the European Sega Flash series.
Virtua Fighter 2
Hibaihin Mihonban Sega Screams Volume 2
Publisher Saturn
Release Japan 1995 Developer Sega
Publisher Sega
Virtua Fighter 2 Hibaihin Mi- Release US
honban is a Japanese demo Sega Screams Volume 2 is a
disc for Virtua Fighter 2. demo disc for the Sega Sat-
The disc contains a timed demo of the arcade urn, released exclusively in
mode, though if the user performs a soft reset (A + B North America with console
+ C + Start) the demo will cycle between a timed two- bundles. It is a “sequel” to
player mode and a timed “watch” mode (in which the Sega Screams Volume 1. It
CPU battles itself). All of the main characters are se- is less common than its pred-
lectable. ecessor.
Sega Touring Car
Championship Taikenban
Shining Force III Scenario 1: Publisher Sega
Outo no Kyoshin Taikenban Release Japan 1997
Publisher Sega Sega Touring Car Champion-
Release Japan 1997 ship Taikenban is a Japanese
This is a Japanese demo disc Sega Saturn demo disc for
for Shining Force III Scenar- Sega Touring Car Champi-
io 1: Outo no Kyoshin. onship. It was included as
part of the Sega Touring Car
Championship soundtrack.
294 • Saturn Demo Discs
Tech Saturn
Developer CRI (Captain soft)
Publisher ASCII
Release Japan
Tech Saturn Tsuushin later known simply as Tech Sat-
urn (?) was a Japanese magazine focused on the Sega
Saturn. It came with its own set of demo discs.
note:
missing pixture of Tech Saturn Tsuushin Vol.3
Tomb Raiders
Vampire Hunter:
Taikenban Hibaihin
Darkstalkers’ Revenge Sample
Developer Core Design
Publisher Victor Interactive Publisher Capcom
Release Japan 1997 Release Japan
Vatlva Taikenban
Touge King the Spirits 2
Developer Ancient
Mihonhin Publisher Victor
Publisher Atlus Release Japan
Release Japan 1997
Vatlva Taikenban is a Japa-
Touge King the Spirits 2 Mi- nese demo disc for Vatlva.
honhin is a demo disc for the
game, Touge King the Spirits 2.
Sega Saturn
¥34,800
July 5, 1995
• HST-0004 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
Sega Saturn Consoles • 297
Sega Saturn
¥20,000
July 10, 1997
• HST-0019
• HSS-0101-S Control Pad
1997
• HST-0019 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
1997
• HST-0014 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
298 • Sega Saturn Consoles
1996
Hi-Saturn • MMP-11 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
¥64,800
April 1, 1995
• MMP-1 console
• HSS-0118 Control Pad 1996
• MMP-11 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
• Christmas Nights
300 • Sega Saturn Consoles
JVC/Victor V-Saturn
JVC-Victor also produced their own version of the V-Saturn
Saturn hardware called the V-Saturn. There are two
versions of this system. The casing is similar to that
of any standard Saturn. The colors are different, as is
the machine’s circuitry, and “V-Saturn” is printed on
top of the machine.
The boot-up sequence on a V-Saturn has the
polygons form a V-Saturn logo instead of the Sega
Saturn logo. 1995
• RG-JX1 console
• RG-JX1: This model is based on the first major Sat- • RG-CP5 Control Pad
urn model, with Drive Access LED and oval buttons • Virtua Fighter Remix
and is two toned blueish gray and dark gray as the
bottom color. V-Saturn
• RG-JX2: This model is based on the second major
Saturn model, with round buttons and is two toned
light gray with darker gray as bottom color.
V-Saturn
June 7, 1996
• RG-JX2 console
• RG-CP6 Control Pad
¥34,800
June 16, 1995
• RG-JX1 console
• RG-CP5 Control Pad
• Virtua Fighter Remix
1996
• RG-JX2 console
• RG-CP6 Control Pad
• Vatlva
302 • Sega Saturn Consoles
1996
• console
• MK-80100 Control Pad
1996
• MK-80006 console
Sega Saturn • MK-80100 Control Pad
$399 • “Video Game Sampler”
May 11, 1995
• MK-80001 console
• MK-80100 Control Pad Sega Saturn
$199.99
Sega Saturn - Virtua Fighter 1996
$449 • MK-80008 console
May 11, 1995 • MK-80116 Control Pad
• MK-80001 console
• MK-80100 Control Pad
• Virtua Fighter
Sega Saturn - Video Game Sampler Enclosed
• Sega Saturn Choice Cuts
Sega Saturn - Virtua Fighter 1996
• MK-80008 console
1995 • MK-80116 Control Pad
• MK-80001 console • “Video Game Sampler”
• MK-80100 Control Pad
• Virtua Fighter
• Sega Saturn Choice Cuts
Sega Saturn Consoles • 303
Sega Saturn - Video Game Sampler Enclosed - Sega Saturn - Panzer Dragoon
3 Free Game Pack 1995
1996 • console
• MK-80001 console • MK-80100 Control Pad
• MK-80116 Control Pad • Panzer Dragoon
• “3 Free Games With
Sega Saturn
Purchase of Sega Saturn”
• Bootleg Sampler 1996
• 80008-22 console
• MK-80116 Control Pad
304 • Sega Saturn Consoles
1996
• console
£349.99
• MK-80313 Control Pad
1995
• Command & Conquer
• console
• MK-80301 Control Pad
• Daytona USA 1995
• console
• MK-80313 Control Pad
1995
• Tomb Raider
• console
• Sega Flash Vol. (?)
• MK-80301 Control Pad
• Virtua Fighter
• Sega International 1995
Victory Goal • console
• Clockwork Knight • MK-80313 Control Pad
Sega Saturn • Sega Rally Championship
1996 • Sega Worldwide
• console Soccer ‘97
• MK-80313 Control Pad
• Sonic Jam
Sega Saturn Consoles • 305
Germany
France
Sega Saturn
3,390F 1995
July, 1995 • console
• console • MK-80301 Control Pad
• MK-80301 Control Pad
1995
• console
2,590F • MK-80301 Control Pad
1995 • Virtua Fighter
• console • Clockwork Knight
• MK-80301 Control Pad
• Daytona USA Sega Saturn
1995
1996 • console
• console • MK-80301 Control Pad
• MK-80313 Control Pad
• Preview Sega Saturn Vol. 1 1996
• console
• MK-80313 Control Pad
• Sega Rally Championship
1996
• Sega Flash Vol. (?)
• console
• MK-80313 Control Pad
• Virtua Fighter
• Sega Rally Championship
December 1, 1996
• console
Sega Saturn Action Pack
• MK-80313 Control Pad
1,590F • Command & Conquer
March 4, 1996
• console
• MK-80313 Control Pad
• Sega Rally Championship Sega Saturn Action Pack
• Sega Worldwide Soccer ‘97 449,95DM
• Sega Flash Vol. (?) 1997
• console
Latvia and Estonia • MK-80313 Control Pad
• Sega Rally Championship
• Sega Worldwide Soccer ‘97
1996
• Sega Flash Vol. (?)
• console
• MK-80301 Control Pad
Slovenia
1996
• console
• MK-80301 Control Pad
306 • Sega Saturn Consoles
Spain
Sega Saturn
79,900 Ptas
July, 1995
• console
• MK-80301 Control Pad Italy
• Virtua Fighter
Sega Saturn
69,900 Ptas 1995
1995 • console
• console • MK-80301 Control Pad
• MK-80301 Control Pad • Virtua Fighter
• Daytona USA
69,900 Ptas
1995
1995
• console
• console
• MK-80313 Control Pad
• MK-80301 Control Pad
1995
• console
• MK-80313 Control Pad
Bulgaria
1996
• console
• MK-80301 Control Pad Romania
1996
• console
• MK-80301 Control Pad
Serbia and Montenegro
1996
• console
• MK-80301 Control Pad Poland
1200 zł
March 1, 1996
• console
Czech Republic and Slovakia • MK-80301 Control Pad
8.998 Kc
1996
• console
• MK-80301 Control Pad
Sega Saturn Consoles • 307
Portugal Australia
1995
• console
• MK-80313 Control Pad
• Virtua Fighter
• Sega Rally Championship
1997
• console
• MK-80301 Control Pad
• Pocket Boy
• Sega Flash Vol. ?
Lithuania
2799 Lt
1996
• console
• MK-80301 Control Pad
308 • Sega Saturn Consoles
1997
• MK-80228-07 console
Asian Saturn • HSS-0101 Control Pad
Sega Saturn consoles released in Asian countries (oth-
er than Japan and South Korea) are normal Japanese
units, with different boxing only, and a 220v power
supply. These units all have their model numbers end 1998
in -07. Not much to say about these, their boxes and • MK-80229-07 console
manuals were in English instead of Japanese. They • HSS-0101 Control Pad
are a nice option if you live in PAL land but want a • Video CD Card
60hz machine without modding, as their 220v power
supply makes voltage converters unnecessary. They
had counterparts for almost every Japanese boxed re-
lease. Known motherboards are VA0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 13,
and 15. The last few units came with Video CD cards
preinstalled, and had a red “Video CD” label on the
console and the boxing had unique yellow colors in-
stead of white.
Sega Saturn
1994
• MK-80202-07 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
1994
• MK-80215-07 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
1996
• MK-80220-07 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
1997
• MK-80228-07 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
Sega Saturn Consoles • 309
₩418,000
1995
• SPC-ST2 console
• SATURN-0001 Control Pad
• Converter
₩451,000
November 10, 1995
• SPC-SATURN console
• SATURN-0001 Control Pad
• Converter
• unknown
₩349,000
1997
• MK-80226-08 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
1997
• MK-80226-08 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
• Virtua Cop 2
1997
• MK-80226-08 console
• HSS-0101 Control Pad
• Sega Rally Championship
Sega Saturn Consoles • 311
1996
• 180090 console
Brazil Saturn • HSS-0101 Control Pad
Like the Sega Master System and Sega Mega Drive
before it, the Sega Saturn was distributed by Tectoy
in Brazil. These units were essentially re-branded
USA units at first (both model 1 and 2), then Japa-
nese white units, and lastly Derby Stallion Skeleton 1999
Saturns. All these units had a few internal modifica- • console
tions: custom power supplies were added, all serial • HSS-0101 Control Pad
numbers were removed, the region was changed to • Virtua Fighter Remix
region 4 for USA when necessary, and units were fit-
ted to output PAL-M signal. This sometimes included
1995
changing the master clock to 14.302446 Mhz, but
• 180010 console
sometimes they only added a separate sub-board with
• MK-80301 Control Pad
an oscillator, and fed the clock input directly to the
• Virtua Fighter
video encoder, leaving the default 14.318 Mhz master
clock in place. Since all serials were removed, it is
impossible to guess how many of these were made.
Like previous SEGA consoles released in Brazil, they 1995
are fully compatible with all games released in North • 180010 console
America. In fact, most of the Tectoy Saturn games • MK-80301 Control Pad
were simply US discs in Brazilian packaging. • Virtua Fighter Remix
1996
• console
• MK-80313 Control Pad
• Virtua Fighter Remix
• Sega Worldwide Soccer 97
• Daytona USA:
Champion Circuit Edition
Accessories • 313
Saturn Accessories
These pages are mostly taken from:segaretro.org
These pages include accessories for the Sega Saturn.
Several accessories were released for the Sega Saturn,
across the three regions, some in common, some exclu-
sive to Japan. Like the Saturn Models, many were also
licenced by other Sega hardware partners.
Monaural AV Cable
Manufacturer Sega
Release (jp) November 22, 1994 S-Video Cable
Type TV connector
Manufacturer Sega
The Monaural AV Cable is the offi- Release (jp) November 22, 1994
cial method of connecting a Saturn Type TV connector
to a television via RCA video (yel- The S-Video Cable is the official method of
low) and audio (white) standards connecting a Saturn to a television via S-Video.
The reason for this cable’s
existence is not fully understood, as
all Japanese Saturn consoles were
bundled with Stereo AV Cables,
which fulfill exactly the same func- 21 Pin RGB Cable
tions (and were sold separately). Manufacturer Sega
What differs between the two is the Release (jp) November 22, 1994
omittance here of the red “right au- Type TV connector
dio channel” cable for stereo sound, The 21 Pin RGB Cable is the offi-
but given as each cable is plugged cial method of connecting a Saturn
in separately, it does not make the to a television via the Japanese RGB
Stereo AV Cable incompatible with standard (not SCART, which uses
mono televisions. Likewise the Sat- the same connector). It was only re-
urn can be configured via the set- leased in Japan and a SCART ver-
tings screen to output audio in mono, sion for Europe was never released
and thus only use the white lead. separately.
Stereo AV Cable
Manufacturer Sega
Release (jp) November 22, 1994
Type TV connector
AV Selector RF Unit
Manufacturer Sega Manufacturer Electronic Equipment
Release (jp) 1996 Release >= 1995
Type TV connector Type TV connector
The AV Selector is a switch allow-
ing users to toggle between four sets
of composite video outputs. It was RF Unit
released by Sega and has a Sega Sat- Type TV connector
urn product name, but a Saturn is not
required for it to function.
AV Cable
Manufacturer Retro-bit
Type TV connector
RF Unit
Manufacturer Electronics Boutique
Release >= 1995
Type TV connector
RF Unit
S-Video AV Cable AV Cable Manufacturer Performance
Release 1997
Manufacturer Retro-bit Manufacturer Tomee Type TV connector
Type TV connector Release 2012
Type TV connector
Accessories • 315
N-PAL Convertor
Manufacturer Game Source Pro Extension
Type TV connector Manufacturer Naki
Release >= 1995
Type Extension cable
Extension Cable
Manufacturer Tosk
Controller Extension Cable Release >= 1995
Type Extension cable
Manufacturer Performance
Release >= 1995
Type Extension cable
Extension Cable
Manufacturer High Frequency
Release >= 1995
Type Extension cable
CD Soft Case
Manufacturer Sega
Release (jp) 1996
Type Storage case
The CD Soft Case is a means of storing compact discs
endorsed by Sega. It was only released in Japan and
shares the Sega Saturn’s aesthetic and product code
scheme, but is by no means limited to Saturn software.
The CD Soft case is essentially a soft CD hold-
er in a plastic Saturn-shaped box.
316 • Controllers
‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
‘ ‘ ‘
US MK-80100
EU MK-80301
‘
JP Grey
US MK-80116 Samsung
EU MK-80313 KR SATURN-0001
KR HSS-0101
US MK-80114 V-Saturn
JP HSS-0101 JP RG-CP5
BR
white V-Saturn
JP HSS-0101 JP RG-CP6
BR
skeleton Hi-Saturn
JP HSS-0101 JP HSS-0118 BR
Controllers • 317
Control Pad
Manufacturer Sega
Release (jp) November 22, 1994
(us) May 11, 1995
(eu) July 8, 1995
Type Controller Control Pad
Manufacturer Sega OziSoft
The Sega Saturn Control Pad, later known sim- Release (eu) 1996
ply as the Controller in North America, is pri- Type Controller
mary method of user input for the Sega Saturn.
It is an evolution of the Six Button Control Pad The Control Pad by Sega OziSoft is a control-
for the Sega Mega Drive and was originally ler for the Sega Saturn, released exclusively in
seen in 1994 along with the Saturn console. Australia in 1996.
It has a circular D-Pad, a Start button, Though very similar to a standard Saturn
and six face buttons; A, B, C, X, Y and Z. New Control Pad (of which there are many variants),
to the Saturn is the addition of two shoulder but- this particular model has a slightly different
tons, L and R, which replace the Mega Drive’s plastic casing - a design not seen either before
“mode” button to bring the total number of or since. Most notably, the Australian Control
buttons to nine. Like the Mega Drive Control Pad has turbo switches on the back of the unit
Pad(s), it is ergonomically designed for maxi- - though several turbo controllers received offi-
mum comfort. cial branding for the Sega Mega Drive (namely
The Saturn controller debuted in Ja- the Sega MegaFire), this is the only “official”
pan in 1994 and remained largely unchanged Saturn control pad to offer this service (the Vir-
throughout the lifespan of the console. In North tua Stick offers these functions in arcade stick
America and Europe however, a different, much form).
bulkier controller was released to supposedly It is presumed to have been phased out
accommodate for the “bigger hands” of west- relatively quickly, as Sega began to roll out the
ern consumers. This “MK-80100” control pad similar, cost-reduced, Japanese-style control
is functionally identical to its Japanese cousin, pad as the standard controller.
but is slightly larger and has a peculiar concave Similar to previous controllers released
D-Pad, not seen in a Sega console since. This by Sega OziSoft, it is a re-brand of a third-party
particular model is often regarded to be worse controller.
than the Japanese variant, and was replaced en-
tirely during the summer of 1996, cutting costs
as the console was redesigned.
There are many slightly different colour
variations of the controller, mostly to match the
colour of the console. Japan initially received
grey pads, but eventually saw white and clear
varieties as well as those designed for V-Saturns
and HiSaturns. In the rest of the world (bar Bra-
zil), only black controllers were released.
318 • Controllers
Prototype
Turbo Turbo
WS WS
S-S Pad
Joyshuttle
Zykon
Explorer
Joytech, Innovation
StrikePad SaturnStick
Quickshot
320 • Controllers
Explorer+
‘
The Pad
‘
Innovation
ST-18
Competition Pro
Stealth
VR-Especial
Saturn-18
Funsoft
Infra-Red Controllers
Blaze
‘
Panther 3
Panther
Power Pad
Naki
Saturn Pad 6
Funsoft
Fighting Commander SS
Hori
SunSaturn Pad
Sunsoft
Controllers • 321
Panther 3 VR-Especial
Speed Pad Panther Saturn Control Pad
Super Cobra
Access Line
SS Pad Saturn-18
ST ProPad
Odyssey
Phase 9
Super Cobra
‘
Infra-Red Controllers
Blaze
322 • Controllers
Explorer SA
Manufacturer Logic 3
Release (eu)
Type Controller
Astro Pad
Manufacturer QuickShot
Type Controller
ASCII Pad X The Astro Pad, not to be confused with the Sega
Manufacturer ASCII Dreamcast AstroPad, is a third-party control pad
Release (jp) for the Sega Saturn. It is a fairly bog-standard ac-
Type Controller cessory moulded similarly to previous controllers
The ASCII Pad X is a third-party con- released by the company, such as the Invader 3
troller developed by ASCII for the Sega for the Sega Mega Drive.
Saturn. It is a round controller with turbo
switches sold only in Japan.
Horipad SS
Manufacturer Hori
Release (jp) white - August 2, 1996
(jp) clear - December 12, 1997
Type Controller
The Horipad SS is a third-party controller
released by Hori in Japan. It is a simple re-
placement controller with no major additions
over the official control pad. Both white and
transparent (“clear”) versions exist.
Controllers • 323
Master 32
Manufacturer Logic 3
Release (eu)
Type Controller
Mad Catz Advanced Control Pad
The Master 32 by Logic 3 is a third-party for Saturn
control pad. It is dual-format controller (with Manufacturer Mad Catz
support for the PlayStation), and has turbo/ Release (us), (eu)
programmable features. It builds on a Play- Type Controller
Station controller called the Station Master, The Mad Catz Advanced Control Pad for
similar to how the Explorer 32 (with similar Saturn is a third-party controller for the
features to this pad) builds on the Explorer Sega Saturn developed by Mad Catz.
SS. The Advanced Control Pad is effec-
tively a Mad Catz Control Pad for Saturn
but with added turbo features. A version
was sold in Europe by Gamester who used
324 • Controllers
SG Tornado Pad
Manufacturer Imagineer
Release (jp)
Type Controller
The SG Tornado Pad is a third-party controller released by Imagi-
neer in Japan.
The SG Tornado Pad is a stripped down version of the
Eclipse Pad seen elsewhere in the world, with many of the turbo
features removed, and swapped placement of the Start and Slow
Motion buttons. It is unknown whether other regions of the world
received the SG Tornado Pad (or whether Japan officially received
the Eclipse Pad). The SG Tornado Pad also uses a lighter shade of
grey for its case.
A similar story befalls its arcade stick counterpart, the SG
Tornado Stick.
SS JoyPad AI
Manufacturer VIC Tokai (?)
Release (jp)
Type Controller
The SS JoyPad DX is a third-party controller. It was marketed
by VIC Tokai in Japan, though judging from its similarities to
the SS JoyPad AI, it was likely manufactured by a different com-
pany (one which is currently unknown). The SS JoyPad DX is a
strangely-shaped Saturn controller with turbo features.
SS JoyPad AI
Manufacturer (jp) Intec, Game Source/Eternal Peace Electronics
Release (jp), (eu)
Type Controller
The SS JoyPad AI is a third-party controller. The Japanese
version credits Intec as its creators, although elsewhere it was
marketed as the SS Majoris AI, with credits going to Game
Source/Eternal Peace Electronics. At present its true origins
are unknown.
The SS JoyPad AI is an upgrade over
the SS JoyPad DX, with added programming
abilities.
Controllers • 325
SS Pro Commander
Manufacturer Optec
Release (jp)
Type Controller
The SS Pro Commander is a third-party controller created by Optec.
It is a programmable controller, which can also use data stored on
small cartridges.
SBom Joycard
Manufacturer Hudson Soft
Release (jp) 1996
Type Controller
The SBom Joycard (model no. HC-735) is a controller
manufactured by Hudson Soft. It was built mainly with
Saturn Bomberman in mind, and was often distributed with
the game along with the SBom Multitap in Japan, where it
remained exclusive.
The SBom Joycard functions exactly like an or-
dinary Saturn controller, however has nine turbo switches
and a moulding of Bomberman on its shell. The turbo func-
tion claims to be able to output 26 “shots” per second. It
also features a switch in the center that when put into “Hu
Position”, unlocks hidden features in Hudson Soft games.
326 • Controllers
Super Pad 8
Manufacturer InterAct (Recoton)
Release (us), (eu)
Type Controller
The Super Pad 8 is a third-party controller manu-
factured by Performance. It is very simliar to a
regular Saturn controller however has a number of
small improvements. It has a turbo mode that ap-
plies to all face buttons, an extra long lead and a
slow motion mode. The controller was sold in the
US and Europe.
Controllers • 327
Psychopad Jr.
Manufacturer Act Labs
Power Pad Release (us) 1997
Manufacturer Naki, Doc’s Hi-Tech Game Products Type Controller
Release (us) 1995
Type Controller The Psychopad Jr. is a third-party program-
mable control pad for the Sega Saturn, as a
The Power Pad by Naki is a third-party controller
non-stick alternative to the Psychopad K.O..
for the Sega Saturn. It is effectively an upgraded
PlayStation and Super Nintendo ver-
version of Naki’s Control Pad, with extra turbo fea-
sions were also released.
tures added.
Doc’s Hi Tech Game Products released an
own-brand version in North America.
Saturn-28
Manufacturer A-1
Release (us), (eu)
Type Controller
The Saturn-28 by A-1 is a third-party controller. Simi-
lar packaging style and controller trends suggest it was
likely manufactured by Honey Bee.
Aside from minor cosmetic differences, it is not
known how this differs from the Saturn-18.
Explorer 32
Manufacturer Logic 3
Release (eu)
Type Controller
Saturn-8
Manufacturer Honey Bee, Competition Pro, Nyko
Release (us), (eu)
Type Controller
The Saturn-8 is a third-party control pad for the Sega Sat-
urn. It is a simple pad which is functionally identical to
the official Saturn control pad, though likely retailed for
slightly cheaper upon release.
The Saturn-8 is presumed to have been created by
Honey Bee, although was distributed under various differ-
ent labels including Competition Pro in the United King-
dom and Nyko in North America (as the Strike Pad).
Control Pad
Manufacturer Naki
Release (us)
Type Controller
The Control Pad by Naki is a third-party
controller for the Sega Saturn. Other than
different styling it is a bog-standard control-
ler which functions no differently than the Eclipse Pad
official model. Both black and white vari- Manufacturer InterAct
ants exist. There is an another version of the Release (eu), (us) 1995
Control Pad with a more “classic” shell, that Type Controller
have audio/video player functions. The Eclipse Pad is a third-party
controller created by Recoton’s
STD Manufacturing division and
sold under the InterAct name. It is
the direct descendant of the Sega
Mega Drive’s SG ProPad 6, be-
ing almost identical bar the name,
plug, and extra shoulder buttons.
Like the SG ProPad 2/SG
ProPad 6, it can be “programmed”
so that certain buttons have turbo
features. It also contains a “slow”
button, which rapidly pauses/un-
pauses the game, giving the effect
of slow motion.
330 • Controllers
3D Control Pad
Manufacturer Sega
Release (jp) July 5, 1996
(us) August 23, 1996
(eu) September, 1996
Type Controller
Japan
Saturn Twin-Stick
Manufacturer Sega
Release (jp) November 29, 1996
Type Controller
The Saturn Twin Stick is a special peripheral de-
signed with Cyber Troopers Virtual-On in mind. As
the name suggests it features two joysticks at the
expense of fewer buttons. Despite having a product
code of its own (HSS-0151), it was only ever sold as
part of a HSS-0154 pack containing Cyber Troopers
Virtual-On.
The Saturn Twin Stick was only released in
Japan (despite having detailed descriptions of the
controls in the US and EU Cyber Troopers Virtual-
On manual), and its design would go on to inspire
the Dreamcast Twin Stick.
Terminator
Manufacturer Logic 3
Release (eu)
Type Controller
The Terminator is a third-party controller for
the Sega Saturn created by Logic 3. Despite
its odd shape, it is no different than a stand-
ard Saturn control pad, though does come
equipped with extra LEDs. A turbo version
was released as the Voyager.
Voyager
Manufacturer Logic 3
Release (eu)
Type Controller
The Voyager is a third-party controller for
the Sega Saturn created by Logic 3. It is es-
sentially a turbo version of the Terminator.
Controllers • 333
Sankyo FF
Manufacturer Sankyo
Release (jp) 1997
Type Controller
The Sankyo FF is a third-party controller re-
leased by Sankyo for use with pachinko games.
It was only released in Japan.
A similar PlayStation variant also exists.
Compatible games;
• Sankyo Fever Jikki Simulation S
• Sankyo Fever Jikki Simulation S Vol. 2
• Sankyo Fever Jikki Simulation S Vol. 3.
The Maximizer
Manufacturer Nyko
Release (us) Action Replay
Type Controller
Manufacturer ASCII
The The Maximizer is a third-party control- Release (jp) 1996
ler created by Nyko. It is an arcade stick with Type Controller
turbo features. A variant was also produced The ASCII Grip X controller
for the PlayStation. is a peripheral manufactured
by ASCII for the Sega Sat-
urn (with a similar peripher-
al appearing for the PlaySta-
tion). It is an unusual device,
in that it moves all the but-
tons from a standard Saturn
Control Pad so that games
can be played with only one hand.
The ASCII Grip X only works with adven-
ture games or RPGs - games that do not require
fast reactions or require multiple buttons to be
pressed at once. It was not
Densha de Go! Controller
released outside of Japan.
Manufacturer Takara
Release (jp) October 1, 1998
Type Controller
The Densha de Go! Controller is a special con-
troller designed for Densha de Go! EX. It has but-
tons and brake-and-throttle levers to suggest real-
world train controllers.
334 • Controllers
Pro Fighter 8
Manufacturer Naki
Release (us)
Type Controller
The Pro Fighter 8 is a third-party arcade stick
created by Naki. An infra-red version exists as
ASCII Saturn Stick the Wireless Pro Fighter 8.
Manufacturer ASCII
Release (jp), (us) 1996
Type Controller
The ASCII Saturn Stick, known as the AS-
CII Fighter Stick X in Japan, is a third-party
arcade stick manufactured by ASCII for the
Sega Saturn.
A white version with red buttons was
released alongside Street Fighter Zero 2 in
Japan.
Controllers • 337
Fighting Stick SS
Manufacturer ASCII
Release (jp), (us) 1996
Type Controller
The Fighting Stick SS is a third-party arcade stick
manufactured by Hori.
Virtua Stick
Manufacturer Hori
Release (jp) November 22, 1994
(jp) 2nd ver. - July 27, 1996
(us) 1995
(eu) July 8, 1995
Type Controller
The Virtua Stick is an arcade stick peripheral released for
the Sega Saturn - the first officially licensed one built by
Sega. There are two models of the Virtua Stick, the first
(HSS-0104) was released internationally and features turbo
switches, while the second (HSS-0136) only made it to Ja-
pan and is closer to what you might find built-in to Sega
arcade cabinets.
Both Virtua sticks have nine face buttons, seven
functioning like the regular face buttons on a regular Saturn
Controller and another two for L and R. As the name sug-
gests, the Virtua Stick was intended to be used with Virtua
Fighter, one of the earliest Saturn versus fighting games.
The Virtua Stick was redesigned for the Japanese
audience to make it more authentic. The buttons and joy-
sticks were replaced those more common to the arcade. The
second Virtua Stick would go on to influence the Dreamcast
Arcade Stick in the years that followed, as well as PlaySta-
tion 2 and PC versions.
The HSS-0136 model was also re-released for the
Dreamcast by a third-party, including an internal Sega Sat-
urn to Dreamcast controller adapter. It was re-branded as
“DC GAMEMATE Fighting Stick” by sticking new foil la-
bels over the old branding. Japan also received the Virtua
Stick Pro, which adds space for a second player.
Virtua Stick
Manufacturer Hori
Release (jp) November 22, 1994
(jp) 2nd ver. - July 27, 1996
(us) 1995
(eu) July 8, 1995
Type Controller
The Virtua Stick Pro is an arcade stick peripheral buttons. In fact, the entire upper metal plate of this
for the Sega Saturn. It can be seen as an “upgrade” stick is removable, and a full actual arcade plate
to the regular Virtua Stick (second version), having can be installed; even the Virtua On panel will fit.
the same aesthetics and shape but being twice as Buyers of these sticks today are cautioned
long to accommodate a second player. It was only to check the included metal plate for rust; a very
sold in Japan. The stick is designed to resemble the common sight on this item when used heavily.
arcade panel of Sega’s popular (and still widely in The base plastic is quite rugged, and the
use) arcade machines. lower metal plate can be removed for easy modifi-
In a move unusual for the era, the HSS- cations. Those looking to purchase a stick sight un-
0130 used two Seimitsu LS-32 Joysticks. Popular seen should be aware that many are now yellowed
for shooting games, these sticks were frequently with age; this is common if the stick is used in a
used in the Astro City arcade machines that the smoking household.
Virtua Stick Pro is based on. Unfortunately, the The Virtua Stick Pro also features an ar-
HSS-0130 does not contain arcade-grade buttons. cade-sized field at the top for installation of move-
Instead, snap-in copies directly touch a printed lists. Any list that fits on an Astro City or Blast City
circuit board below. These sticks accept modifica- cabinet will fit. Unlike the original cabinets, this
tion easily, and without too much trouble the but- field is not removable and is made of plexi-glass
tons can be replaced with popular arcade quality instead of actual glass. When new, move-lists for
snap-ins. Due to the metal tabs that hold snap ins Virtua Fighter 2, VF Kids, and FIghting Vipers
in place, some cutting is required to fit screw-in were included.
‘ ‘
advert:
This powerful stick - with
Eclipse Stick a sturdy metal base, eight
Manufacturer InterAct
full-size fire buttons, semi
Release (eu), (us) 1995
Type Controller and hands-free auto-fire,
programmable synchro-
The Eclipse Stick is a third-party arcade stick
fire, slow motion, an LED
manufactured by InterAct. It is essentially an
panel, and an extra long
arcade stick version of the Eclipse Pad, with
cord - brings home all the
“programmable” turbo buttons.
action of your favorite ar-
cade hits.
Programmable 10 in 1
Power Stick
SG Tornado Stick
Manufacturer KV
Release (us) Manufacturer Imagineer
Type Controller Release (jp)
Type Controller
The Programmable 10 in 1 Power Stick
The SG Tornado Stick is a third-party arcade stick re-
by KV is a third-party arcade stick
leased by Imagineer in Japan.
compatible with both the Sega Saturn
The SG Tornado Stick is a stripped down ver-
and PlayStation. It is, as the name sug-
sion of the Eclipse Stick seen elsewhere in the world,
gests, a programmable arcade stick
with many of the turbo features removed. It is un-
with a multitude of options and turbo
known whether other regions of the world received
switches.
the SG Tornado Stick (or whether Japan officially re-
ceived the Eclipse Stick). The SG Tornado Stick also
uses a lighter shade of grey for its case.
A similar story befalls its control pad counter-
part, the SG Tornado Pad.
Controllers • 341
Real Arcade VF
Manufacturer Hori
Release (jp) 1995-12-01
(jp) Dash -1997-07-25
Type Controller
Real Arcade VF is an arcade stick developed by Hori for the
Sega Saturn. It has only three face-buttons (A B and C) as it
was built with Virtua Fighter in mind, hence the “VF”. A sec-
ond model, the Real Arcade VF Dash (stylized as Real Arcade
VF′), was made specifically for Fighters Megamix and adds the
R button to the mix (which was used in that game for the Escape
maneuver). Both joysticks were released only in Japan
The Real Arcade VF is an odd accessory as it omits
many of the buttons featured in a standard Sega Saturn Control
Pad. Both the Virtua Fighter and Virtua Fighter 2 arcade cabi-
nets include three buttons, but as most Saturn games try to make
use of the six standard face buttons and two shoulder buttons of
the standard control pad, this makes the Real Arcade VF incom-
patible with the majority of Saturn titles.
Conversely, Sega’s own Virtua Stick contains all of the
required buttons, plus turbo switches, and is significantly easier
to find. Hori’s earlier accessory, the Fighting Stick SS, also in-
cludes all the required face buttons
Super Pro-Stick
Manufacturer Sigma
Release (us)
Type Controller
The Super Pro-Stick by Sigma is a third-
party arcade stick compatible with both
the Sega Saturn and PlayStation.
Psychopad K.O.
Manufacturer Act Laboratory
Release (us)
Type Controller
The Psychopad K.O. is a third-party arcade
stick created by Act Laboratory. It is compatible
with the Sega Saturn, PlayStation and Super
Nintendo (each requiring their own lead sup-
plied in the box). The Psychopad K.O. is a very
advanced stick, with programmable features,
turbo controls and a relatively high build qual-
ity compared to other third-party peripherals of
the day.
Act Labs RS
Manufacturer Act Labs
Release (us) 1998
Type Controller VRF1 X-Cellerator
The Act Labs RS is a multi-platform racing wheel. Manufacturer Act Labs
It was initially advertised as being compatible Release (eu) 1997
with Windows, the PlayStation, the Nintendo 64 Type Controller
and the Sega Saturn. The VRF1 X-Cellerator is a third-party analogue
racing wheel released by Blaze. It is compatible
with the Sega Saturn, PlayStation and Nintendo
64. The package comes equipped with both a
wheel and pedals.
ZeroTech SS
Manufacturer Act Labs
Release (us) 1998
Type Controller
The ZeroTech SS is a third-party controller released by
Hori for the Sega Saturn in Japan.
The ZeroTech SS is a “steering controller”, acting
as an alternative to the official Arcade Racer Joystick. It
is a fraction of the size of Sega’s model, and is operated
in a different way - steering is controller by a small wheel
on the side, while analogue acceleration and deceleration
is provided through “gun-like” triggers underneath.
A PlayStation model, simply called the ZeroTech,
was also released.
TopGear
Manufacturer Act Labs
Release (us) 1998
Type Controller
The TopGear is a steering wheel controller manu-
factured by Logic 3 for the Sega Saturn, PlaySta-
tion and Nintendo 64. It features a gearstick and
two pedals.
348 • Controllers
Virtua Gun
Manufacturer Sega
Release (jp) November 24, 1995
(jp) shin - September 20, 1996
(us) 1995
(eu) December 8, 1995
Type Light gun
Compatible games;
• Area 51
• Chaos Control (European version)
• Chaos Control Remix
• Crypt Killer
• Death Crimson
• Die Hard Trilogy
• The House of the Dead
• Jinzou Ningen Hakaider: Last Judgement
• Maximum Force
• Mighty Hits
• Policenauts
• Scud the Disposable Assassin
• Virtua Cop
• Virtua Cop 2
Controllers • 349
Predator
Manufacturer Logic 3, Nuby, Nyko
Release (us) 1996
(eu) 1997
Type Light gun
The Predator is a third-party light gun for the Sat-
urn and PlayStation. It has been rebranded several
times - as the Predator by Logic 3, the Virtual Gun
(not to be confused with the official Virtua Gun) by
Nuby and the Cobra Gun by Nyko.
There is also a Predator 2, which from a Sat-
urn perspective is much the same, but adds vibra-
tion for PlayStation users.
Super Cobra
Manufacturer Nyko
Release (us)
Type Light gun
The Super Cobra by Nyko is a third-party light gun for the
Sega Saturn, and an upgrade to the Cobra Gun. The Super Co-
bra is a meaningful release for PlayStation owners, adding vi-
bration and Namco GunCon support, but for Saturn owners, it
is much the same product as the Cobra Gun.
350 • Controllers
Avenger
Manufacturer Blaze
Release Europe
Type Light gun
The Avenger is a third-party light gun for
the Sega Saturn. It was also released under
the name The Enforcer.
Erazer MP5
Manufacturer Nu-Gen
Release (jp), (eu) 1999
Type Light gun
The Erazer MP5, known as the Erazer Gun in
Japan, is a light gun compatible with both the
Sega Saturn and PlayStation. Its origins are cur-
rently unknown, however it was distributed by
Blaze in Europe and Gametech in Japan. As the
name implies, the Erazer MP5 is modeled after
the Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine gun.
Two versions of the Erazer are known to
exist, one in black, and one with a green/brown
camouflage texture.
Screen Mount-Sight
Manufacturer Tanio-Koba
Release (jp)
Type Light gun accessories
The Screen Mount-Sight is a third-party accessory which adds
a pseudo line of sight to the Sega Saturn’s Virtua Gun. It was
only released in Japan.
Controllers • 353
Fazor
Manufacturer Mad Catz
Release (us) 1996
Type Light gun
The Fazor by Mad Catz is a third-party light
gun. It is also compatible with the Sony
PlayStation.
354 • Accessories
Multitap
Manufacturer Honest Soft
Release >= 1996
Type Multitap
S-S Promoter
Manufacturer Game Source
Release (jp)
Type Controller accessories
The S-S Promoter is a peripheral released by
Game Source which allows Super Nintendo (or
Super Famicom) controllers to be plugged into a
Multi-Tap Saturn. Due to Super Nintendo/Super Famicom
Manufacturer Blaze controllers having one less button than Sega Sat-
Release >= 1996 urn controllers, there is a switch on the side of the
Type Multitap unit that toggles the function of the Super Nin-
tendo/Super Famicom controller’s Start button
between the Sega Saturn’s R and Start buttons.
Accessories • 355
SBom Multitap
Manufacturer Hudson Soft
Release (jp) 1996
Type Multitap
The SBom Multitap is a peripheral for the Sega Saturn re-
leased exclusively in Japan. It is a third party version of the
Sega Saturn 6 Player Multiplayer Adapter and it compatible
with the same games. It was created by Hudson Soft and is
designed to look like Bomberman’s head.
As with the Sega Saturn 6 Player Multiplayer Adapt-
er it has extra controller ports which allows up to six people
to play together simultaneously on compatible games. By
using two 6 Player Multiplayer Adapters up to ten players
could play in some games, such as Saturn Bomberman.
Taisen Cable
Manufacturer Sega
Release (jp) November 22, 1994
Type Accessories
The Taisen Cable is device which allows two Sega Sat-
urns to connect to each other. It can be seen as a con- Compatible games;
sole equivalent to a local area network (LAN) setup Japan
usually found with computers, where systems are all • Daytona USA Circuit Edition
linked together within a small area. The official Sega- • Doom
branded Taisen Cable was only released in Japan, how- • Gungriffon 2
ever third-party alternatives were released in other ter- • Hexen (accessed through debug menu, very buggy)
• Hyper 3D Taisen Battle Gebockers
ritories and a number of non-Japanese games support
• Hyper Reverthion
the device. • Steeldom
The Taisen Cable and its derivatives perhaps Europe
had more of a use in store displays and gaming events • Doom
rather than in the home. Despite acting as a physical • Hexen (accessed through debug menu, very buggy)
connection between two Saturn consoles, each console North America
requires its own television and its own copy of a com- • Hexen (accessed through debug menu, very buggy)
patible game in order to play. Only a few games were
released with Taisen Cable compatibility, though many
try to hide this fact, or have difficulty working with
third-party variants of the cable.
Today physical links such as these have largely
been replaced with online services, though this can pro-
duce latency and affect the quality of your game. Mod-
ern consoles can still be connected together through
similar methods to the Taisen Cable.
“segaretro.org”
Accessories • 357
Pri Fun
Manufacturer Sega
Release (jp)
Type Accessories
The Sega Pri Fun (Printer Fun-Fun) is a Japanese add-
on printer for the Sega Saturn and Sega Pico. It uses a
video-in interface to make pictures approximately 4 x
6 inches from the Saturn itself. It uses a single roll of
thermal dye that makes very good pictures for such a
process. It can be used in conjunction with the Saturn
Freeze Card that freezes the Saturn so you can take
a picture. The unit also accommodates sticker sheets.
“segasaturn.org”
MKU-1
Manufacturer Hitachi
Release (jp) April 4, 1995
Type Accessories
The Hitachi Karaoke MKU-1 is a karaoke peripheral for the Sega Sat-
urn, only sold in Japan. Though to the western world it seems like an
odd attachement for a games console, karaoke is hugely popular in Ja-
pan, with many of the major consoles supporting karaoke adapters.
The karaoke unit sits below the Saturn system and links up via a
expansion cable. The device supports up to two microphones, each with
its own volume control.
“segasaturn.org”
Manufacturer Sega
Release (us) 1996-10-31
(br) 1996-12
Type Accessories
The NetLink Internet Modem (or Net Link Internet
Modem) is a device used to utilise with the NetLink Though heavily advertised, the NetLink
internet service offered by Sega of America for Sega service is seen as a failure in North America, mostly
Saturn consumers in North America. NetLink had due to its high price point and lack of games that
several purposes, including basic internet access, supported it. At the end of the console’s run, less
email and online gaming - a precursor to similar at- than five million people had purchased a Sega Sat-
tempts for the Sega Dreamcast, and the many online urn console, with significantly less having a Sega
features video game consoles have today. NetLink modem as well.
NetLink was exclusive to North America, Originally the unit was priced at $400 when
though a small, unsuccessful test-run of the service bundled with the console, $199 by itself.
occurred in Finland for a short period. In Japan there While the NetLink was not the first piece of
was the Sega Saturn Modem, an older (and slower) hardware to allow American gamers to get online
device which utilised different online services. (or at least play against others online/direct dial*), it
The NetLink service can cause confusion, as was the first to allow players to use their own inter-
it requires both a modem and compatible disc soft- net service provider (ISP). While Sega recommend-
ware in order to function. The NetLink Internet Mo- ed Concentric as the ISP of choice (similar to the
dem needs to be placed in the Saturn’s cartridge slot Sega Dreamcast when released in this region), they
and hooked to a phone line (similar to the earlier allowed for any ISP that met their technical specifi-
Sega Mega Drive XB•ND service), but in order to cations.
be utilised, a NetLink Custom Web Browser disc (or Sega’s target for North America was 100,000
a compatible game disc) needs to be placed in the NetLinks, however records show that only 15,000-
console. This is similar to the online services of the 25,000 were actually sold. Only five games sup-
Sega Dreamcast, however the major difference there ported the peripheral in this region, and all debuted
is that the Dreamcast Modem was included with the much later than the modem itself, arriving in the lat-
system. ter half of 1997.
NetLink Internet Modems were sold in two A European release was on the cards for
forms, in a package (catalogue number 80118) con- years, though outside of test runs in Finland, never
taining just the modem and a NetLink Custom Web materialised due to the state of Europe’s network in-
Browser disc, and alongside Model 2 Sega Saturn frastructure at the time. Sega finally pulled the plug
consoles (catalogue number 80121). Depending on on the idea in the latter half of 1997.
“segaretro.org”
the retailer, the extra NetLink Game Pack may have Compatible games:
been thrown in as an added bonus. Also available as • Daytona USA: CCE NetLink Edition
part of the NetLink “range” was the NetLink Mouse, • Duke Nukem 3D
NetLink Keyboard and NetLink Keyboard Adapter. • Saturn Bomberman
• Sega Rally Plus - Netlink Edition
• Virtual-On Netlink Edition
Accessories • 359
Compatible Games:
• Daytona USA Circuit Edition
• Decathlete
• Dennou Senki Virtual-On
• Dennou Senki Virtual-On Media Card Pack
• Habitat II
• Pad Nifty
• Pad Nifty 1.1 & Habitat II
• Puyo Puyo Sun
• Puzzle Bobble 3
• Saturn Bomberman
• Sega Rally Championship Plus
• Sega Saturn Internet 2
• Sega Saturn Internet Vol. 1
• Sega Worldwide Soccer ‘98
• Shadows of the Tusk
• Special Disc with Sega Saturn Internet 2
• Virtua Fighter Remix
360 • Accessories
GamePro #75:
Lost RAM on Saturn
You may already know that the Sega CD
hardware doesn’t have a heck of internal
memory. Instead of correcting this problem
when designing the Saturn, Sega offers an
EU optional Back-Up RAM Cartridge.
JP - MK-80101-07
Complete with 512 kilo-bytes of
memory, this cart allows you to transfer
saved games from the cart to internal mem-
ory, and vice versa. Because it costs $60, we
advise you to wait until your internal memo-
JP - HSS-0111
ry is almost full before deciding if you want
to delete some of your games or spend the
60 clams. If you’re not a “save freak” who
needs to keep every stat and score you’ve
ever compiled, spend your money elsewhere.
Compatible Games
1MB 4MB
* 1MB only * 4MB only
† optional † optional
• Astra Superstars (†) • Astra Superstars (†)
• Cotton 2 (†) • Cotton 2 (†)
• Cyberbots: FullMetal Madness (†) • Cyberbots: FullMetal Madness
• Fighter’s History Dynamite • Dungeons & Dragons Collection (*)
• Friends: Seishun no Kagayaki (†) (Shadow over Mystara only)
• Groove On Fight: Gouketsuji Ichizoku 3 • Fighter’s History Dynamite
• Marvel Super Heroes (†) • Final Fight Revenge (*)
• Metal Slug • Friends: Seishun no Kagayaki
• Noël 3 (†) • Groove On Fight: Gouketsuji Ichizoku 3
• Pia Carrot e Youkoso!! 2 (†) • Marvel Super Heroes (†)
• Real Bout Garou Densetsu (*) • Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (*)
• Real Bout Garou Densetsu Best Collection • Metal Slug
• Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special • Noël 3 (†)
• Samurai Spirits Amakusa Kourin (*) • Pia Carrot e Youkoso!! 2
• Samurai Spirits Best Collection • Pocket Fighter† (*)
• Samurai Spirits Zankurou Musouken • Real Bout Garou Densetsu Best Collection
• Super Real Maajan P7 (†) • Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special
• The King of Fighters ‘96 (*) • Samurai Spirits Best Collection
• The King of Fighters ‘96 + ‘95 • Samurai Spirits Zankurou Musouken
(Gentei KOF Double Pack) (*) • Street Fighter Zero 3 (*)
• The King of Fighters ‘97 • Super Real Maajan P7 (†)
• The King of Fighters Best Collection • The King of Fighters ‘97
• Waku Waku 7 • The King of Fighters Best Collection
(The demo discs of Samurai Spirits Amakusa Kourin • Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire (*)
Hibaihin, The King of Fighters ‘97 and Vampire Savior • Waku Waku 7
support the cartridges in the same way their full coun- • X-Men vs. Street Fighter (*)
terparts do).
368 • Accessories
Video CD Card
Manufacturer Sega, Victor, Hitachi For various reasons, most notably the lack
Release (jp) June 23, 1995
of copy protection, the Video CD format failed to
Release (eu) October, 1995
Type Accessories take off in Japan, and despite early pushes, was also
rejected in Europe. Though the VCD format made
The Video CD Card, called the Movie Card in Ja-
it to North America, the Saturn’s Video CD Card
pan, is a daughtercard-like peripheral that plugs
did not, and all three regions stuck dismissed the
into the Sega Saturn (though the door the battery is
concept in favour of earlier technologies, usually
accessed from), and, as the name suggests, allows
treating the Saturn purely as a video game console.
the Saturn to play Video CDs (VCDs), otherwise
By 1995 the DVD standard had been created, and
known as the White Book disc standard. The Vid-
became the dominant form of video media during
eo CD Card also allows the hardware playback of
the late 1990s and 2000s (something the PlaySta-
MPEG-1 (version 1) video in certain games, lead-
tion 2 greatly benefited from). The Photo CD stand-
ing to higher quality full motion video for use in
ard, though initially popular, became a loss-making
cutscenes (and occasionally, gameplay).
venture and was retired between 2001 and 2004.
The Video CD Card was released seven
VCDs, however, remained popular in
months after the console’s debut in Japan. Nev-
smaller Asian markets, such as mainland China,
ertheless, the Video CD card stands as one of the
Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thai-
earliest attempts at transforming a system tradi-
land, Burma, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam,
tionally used for games into something more akin
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. For this reason,
to a general entertainment device. It was released
VCD compatibility was given to some Asian Sega
in Japan and Europe and variants were manufac-
Saturns straight out of the box. Sony also produced
tured by Sega, Victor, and Hitachi. Many cards are
VCD-compatible PlayStations with the model
also capable of handling the rarely seen Photo CDs
number SCPH-5903 (with third-party accessories
(or Beige Book disc standard), and there have also
giving standard PlayStations VCD support).
been reports of Saturn third-party video CD cards.
Primarily the Video CD Card is used by Sat-
With the Photo CD and Video CD standards urn enthusiasts to upgrade the quality of in-game
only being finalised in 1992 and 1993 respectively, movies. VCD resolution is 352x288 for PAL and
the formats were still relatively new when the Sat- 352x240 for NTSC. The Saturn does not support
urn was released, and similar to the relationship the extensions to the standard, namely the SVCD
with the Xbox 360 and HD-DVD standard, and or XVCD technologies.
PlayStation 3 and Blu-Ray standard seen in later
generations, for a short while the Saturn became Compatible Games;
a spokesperson for the two technologies, attempt- note: Games that used the card include (not necessarily
ing to persuade consumers to switch from analogue complete list)
systems such as VHS. • Chisato Moritaka: Watarasebashi/Lala Sunshine
In Japan, the Movie Card was launched • Falcom Classics (disc 2 of the limited edition)
alongside the Photo CD Operating System and • Gungriffon (Japanese version only)
Electronic Book Operator on 23 June 1995 and re- • Lunar: Silver Star Story MPEG-ban
tailed for ¥19,800. Europe received a similar pack- (the only game that requires the card)
age, save for the Electronic Book Operator shortly • Moon Cradle
afterwards. The card fits in all versions of the Japa- • Sakura Taisen Hanagumi Tsuushin
• Sakura Taisen Jouki Radio Show
nese Saturn (the Hi-Saturn naturally comes with
• Vatlva
MPEG capability), with early Japanese Saturns • Wangan Dead Heat + Real Arrange
(i.e. the gray ones) having the connector for it on a • Yuukyuu Gensoukyoku Hozonban Perpetual Collection
second circuit board inside the unit, and later ones • Yuukyuu no Kobako Official Collection
having the connector on the main board. Despite • Yoshiyuki Sadamoto Illustrations
not being sold in the North America, all variants The EU MK-80310 Video CD Card is incompatible with all
of the Video CD Card should work in a US Saturn, of these games. The US version of Gungriffon still has MPEG
but the system’s language may need to be changed. movies on the disc but that they are not played during the
game. Instead, the in-game movies have been apparently
converted to Cinepak or Truemotion.
Accessories • 371
HSS-0119 RG-VC20
RG-VC2
372 • Accessories
>= 1995
Multi-Game Adaptor
Trend Master
1997
>= 1995 >= 1995 8 Meg Direct Access
Pro Universal Adapter Mega Converter (only Memory Card
Datel packaged with Samsung (region converter+1MB
Saturn consoles) memory)
Samsung Innovation
Accessories • 373
Magic Card V2
Manufacturer Datel, InterAct
Release (tw)
Type Accessories
The Magic Card V2 is a two-part accessory for
the Sega Saturn, allowing the system to play
“backup” versions of Saturn software. It is an
alternative to physical modifications which by-
passes all of the Saturn’s anti-piracy and region
locking mechanisms. It assists in doing the swap
trick by stopping the disc from spinning at cer-
tain points, and providing on-screen instructions
on when to swap discs or reset the console.
>= 1995 >= 1995 The Magic Card V2 is a very rare item
Game Adapter Meg Memory Card
and comes in two parts - a cartridge and a disc,
(region converter
+1MB memory) both of which are required to achieve the de-
Joytech sired effect (although any retail Saturn disc can
be substituted for the Magic Card V2 disc). At
present it is not known who made the Magic
Card V2 (or whether there was a “V1”) - it was
not endorsed by Sega, and copies often retail for
significant sums of money second-hand.
>= 1995
Ultra Madness 4M Turbo
Key (region converter
+1MB/4MB RAM)
Madness
>= 1995
Sega Satellite
EMS
>= 1995
ST-Key+4MB RAM
(region converter
+1MB/4MB RAM)
Madness
>= 1995
Ultimate Game
Memory Card (region
converter+memory card)
Action Replay
Manufacturer Datel, InterAct
Type Cheat cartridge
The Sega Saturn Action Replay is a cheat cartridge
released as part of the Action Replay series.
The original Saturn Action replay stands as
the first, and least useful Action Replay cartridge
for the Saturn - it is a cartridge which allows users
to add cheat codes and modify a game at run-time,
and can bypass region locking, allowing for import
games to be played. They also have a comms port,
allowing them to hook up to a pc to update codes
or backup save data. These original Action Replays
can be seen as redundant and are not in high de-
mand, having been superseded by the superior Pro
Action Replay and Action Replay Plus, which re-
tain all the features seen in this version of the de-
vice while adding more.
In North America this Action Replay was
released by InterAct as the GameShark, and in Ger-
many as the Game Buster. However, aside from
branding differences and some replaced text, the
cartridges are identical.
(tw) Multi-Function
Terminative Card Plus
(uk) Pro Action Replay Pro Action Replay Pro Action Replay
(jp) Pro Action Replay (jp) Pro Action Replay 2 (jp) Pro Action Replay
(jp) Pro Action Replay 2 (jp) Pro Action Replay 2 (jp) Pro Action Replay
Accessories • 379
X-Terminator
Manufacturer Gametech
(uk) Pro Action Replay Release (jp)
Type Cheat cartridge
The X-Terminator is a cheat device for the Sega
Saturn, and is one of several poorly documented
X-Terminator accessories for home video game
consoles believed to have been developed by Gam-
etech.
The X-Terminator is said to be a GameShark
device with an added secondary feature - it can con-
nect to a separate device with an LCD screen (or a
(uk) Pro Action Replay computer) which can be used to “detect” possible
in-game cheats, without the need to key the codes
in manually.
Little is understood about the X-Terminator.
At least two versions are known to exist - an origi-
nal, almost no-frills device with unknown function-
ality, and a “Ver. 3” version with the aforementioned
X-Terminator
extra detection device. It is not
known if there was a “version
2” released to the public - while
units were sold in Japan, none
are thought to have come to
the west through conventional
Replay Pro. means.
(jp) X-Terminator
Power Saturn
Indy
Manufacturer SGI
Release (jp), (us), (eu) July 12, 1993
Type Debugging Station
The Indy is a workstation developed by SGI. It was
at one point workstation of choice for Sega Saturn
development, endorsed and distributed by Sega.
By workstation standards the Indy is consid-
ered a low-end machine, however it was still more
powerful than conventional home and business
computers of the era. Primarily it would have been
tasked with running Softimage, a graphics render-
ing program that typically required large amounts of
computer resources.
There are several slight variations of the
Indy, all released between July 1993 and June 1997.
The full Indy package would have contained the
Indy unit itself (with a distinctive blue finish), a CRT
monitor, keyboard, mouse and an IndyCam webcam
for video conferencing.
“segaretro.org”
Saturn CartDev
Manufacturer Sega of America, Cross Products
Release (jp), (us), (eu) 1995
Type Debugging Station
The Saturn CartDev is a development kit for the
Sega Saturn, released by Sega of America in 1995.
They replaced the older Sega Saturn Programming
Boxes, and are designed to be placed beneath modi-
fied consumer Saturn hardware, as opposed to being
an all-in-one unit. Two versions of the CartDev were
released: Revision A (Sega of America) and Revi-
sion B (Cross Products). The Revision A was report-
edly very unreliable.
Connected to a Modified Production Saturn
via the cartridge slot, this development system, in
conjunction with the SNASM2 Development Soft-
A complete CartDev Revision B setup consists of: ware provides an inexpensive and easy-to-use devel-
• Cartdev Rev B
opment environment. This debugger executes both
• Modified Saturn Rev B(Cross Modified)
• 9V Power Adaptor for Cartdev
COFF files generated by the GNU-C compiler or bi-
• Adaptec 1542CF SCSI Card Kit w/ software nary files produced by the SNASM SH2 Assembler.
• 6’ SCSI I to SCSI II Cable These files can be downloaded directly through the
• SNASM2 Software ( 5 X 3.5” Disks) Cartdev system. The SNASM debugger allows full
• SNASM2 Manual source level debugging, register content viewing, as-
• Confidence Test/HSI Tools (3.5” Disk) sembly code debugging, memory viewing and more.
• Saturn Cartdev Hardware Installation Guide “segaretro.org”
E7000
Manufacturer Hitachi
Release Japan
Type Debugging Station
The E7000 is a debug station unit used for Sega
Saturn development.
Debugging Station • 383
advert:
Develop games on Saturn.
(spaceship not included) • The interface hardware has its own RISC proc-
To launch games developers into the new age of en- essors to avoid burdening the processores you’re
tertainment, Cross Products is proud to announce trying to program with debugging tasks.
the SNASM2 Saturn development systems are now • You can rapidly port existing code, or code sam-
available. Check out the features below and then ples, as we support GNU and Hitachi syntax in ad-
give us a call so you can join us in running rings dition to our powerful SNASM2 code syntax!
around the competition. With prices starting at • The interface firmware is in flash memory so that
£3,000 + VAT SNASM 2 Saturn development sys- any updates that may be required can be quickly
tems offer the following: and easily performed on-site without needing to
• A complete system: you get the Saturn, the inter- return systems for upgrade.
face hardware and the software tools, so you just • Our debugging systems have been designed to
need a PC and a programmer and you’re in busi- work alongside the Saturn CD BIOS so you get full
ness. access to the CD features without having to jump
• The interface hardware we supply forms part of through hoops.
an open inter-face standard, so it supports other • With SNASM2 you get backup of a company
tools such as editors and artwork designers. which has been supporting game developers for
over five years.
384 • SGX
SGX
The SunSeibu SGX (model no. HSG-0007) is a Inside the system, a production Saturn PCB is
modified Saturn in a steel enclosure hooked up to used, with the battery, VCD and serial ports ac-
a coin operated mechanism and a 7 disc CD-ROM cessible from the rear. A standard Saturn power
changer. Using a remote control or the panel- supply is also used, though the AC plug has been
mounted buttons, the CDs can be easily cycled to removed and there’s now a cable providing power
select the game of choice. The coin slot activates to the PCB where normally the supply is connected
the unit and a timer counts down the remaining directly. A large JVC CD changing mechanism, the
play time. When the last minute comes up, the sys- same as found in their home audio equipment with
tem’s internal speaker beeps. For the last ten sec- a 6-CD cartridge and a single tray, provides the
onds it beeps rather insistently, giving the player disc-swapping capability.
ample time to slap in another hundred yen. It was The only parts of the Saturn PCB that are
manufactured primarily for use in Japanese ho- used normally are the serial port, VCD slot and
tels, although a few entrepreneurial types installed battery. The rest are moved to other locations in
them in arcades. the box. The controller ports and AV output are re-
The owner can configure it to run for a routed to a small PCB mounted under the Saturn
determined time whenever the proper number of PCB. The controller ports are connected with a
coins are inserted. It can also be set to free-play, ribbon cable, the video output from the Saturn is
perfect for the home user. Two standard controllers connected via three wires soldered to the base of
can be connected to the rear of the unit, and it uses the Saturn board. These wires are the only changes
the standard AV cable and power cord. There’s a made to the Saturn PCB. The BIOS is standard
slot for the VCD card, presumably for love hotels Sega Saturn fare.
that wanted less gaming and more entertainment. The system is set to Japanese, though you
There’s a video passthrough so a VCR or TV tuner can set the language like any normal Saturn via the
can be connected to the same TV. Both the remote boot menu. Since it uses a standard Saturn board
and deck have a Game/TV switch to select the out- you can easily configure it to run games from any
put. region. It’s trivially easy to connect the RGB or S-
There are only five controls accessible video output as well, however this will obviously
when the cover is on: power, coin, CD+ & CD-, bypass the video passthrough function.
and TV/Game. When the cover is removed (us- “segaretro.org”
ing a key) there are four additional buttons: CD The full SunSeibu SGX system comes with:
Eject, Cartridge Eject, Credit and Reset. There’s • Saturn Unit
also a switch to enable the video passthrough (or • Control Pad x2 (5m cables)
not) when there’s no credits on the clock. There • 6-CD Cartridge
are two LED displays, one shows the currently se- • Movie Card
• Remote Control (5m cable)
lected CD and the other shows remaining time in
• AV Cable
minutes. • Power Cord
Ports on the rear are your standard fare; • Lithium Battery
two standard Saturn controller ports, a serial port • Instruction Book
(for a modem, since linking two of these is prob- • Keys (2 kinds, 2 of each)
able completely unheard of), AV in and AV out. • Screwdriver
There are three removable panels, one hides the
VCD card and battery, one allows installation or
removal of the remote unit (which is not cordless),
and one on top allows access to the cartridge slot.
This cartridge slot must use a special 90-degree
riser, normal carts will not fit.
“segaretro.org”
Saturn Prototypes • 385
Pluto 01 Pluto 02
386 • Saturn Prototypes
Saturn V08
The Saturn V08, was a joint project between
Sega and NVIDIA that was worked on during
some point in either 1995 or 1996. The V08 was
Sega Jupiter designed as a potential successor or upgrade to
the Sega Saturn, however it was not revealed
The Sega Jupiter is an unreleased console de- publicly by any of the parties involved, and only
veloped by Sega during the early 1990s. The Ju- came to light after interviews with former mem-
piter would have been a cartridge-based 32-bit bers of Sega Technical Institute in the mid-to-
console with similar (if not identical) specifica- late 2000s.
tions to the Sega Saturn. It is frequently confused The V08 was an extension of the graph-
with the Sega 32X project, codenamed “Mars”. ics technology seen in the Sega Saturn console,
The concept of the Sega Saturn being continuing to use the quadrilateral polygons but
able to run cartridge-based (as well as compact with fewer limitations than the Saturn’s VDP1.
disc-based) software was explored during de- The V08 is suspected to be NVIDIA’s effort to
velopment (and explains the reason for the con- utilise its NV2 graphics card technology in con-
sole having a cartridge slot), but was ultimately sole form - the NV2 being a planned successor
scrapped in favour of being disc-only. The Ju- to the NV1, itself based on Saturn hardware.
piter was rumoured to have been essentially a While NVIDIA were keen to pitch the
Saturn without a CD drive, so would have been concept to Sega, who in turn explored its use for
able to run the same cartridge based software, a short period, ultimately the company rejected
had any been made. EDGE magazine also sug- NVIDIA’s NV2 technology in favour of the
gested that the Jupiter would have retailed for work being pioneered by 3Dfx. Primarily this
¥30,000 (at the time, the Saturn’s price was set was due to a desire for triangle-based 3D render-
at ¥50,000), and could have been converted into ing (as was quickly becoming the standard in the
a Saturn by purchasing an extra CD drive (simi- industry), but NVIDIA’s fate was sealed when
lar to the relationship between the Sega Mega its NV2 prototype failed to work in a demonstra-
Drive and Sega Mega-CD). tion.
Work is rumoured to have begun in early The V08 name likely comes from “Mu-
1994, though unlike the Sega Neptune, no pro- tara V08”, the name of the NV2 chip (NV2,
totypes of the Jupiter were ever made. By mid- strictly speaking, being the code number).
1994 the idea had been scrapped entirely, though The secretive nature of what became an
the concept was explored again for Sega Titan unfinished project means little is known about
Video arcade hardware the following year. The the V08. The infamous Sonic X-treme was
Jupiter is said to have been scrapped for the sim- briefly developed for V08 hardware before be-
ple reason that CDs were a more cost-effective ing moved to stock Saturns and the PC.
form of media, and that the industry was moving Following the cancellation of the NV2
away from the more limited cartridge format. project, NVIDIA began work on what would
“segaretro.org” become the RIVA 128 chipset (NV3); Direct3D-
compatible PC graphics technology that debuted
in 1997.
“segaretro.org”
Emulators • 387
Emulators
The Saturn is notoriously hard to emulate due to its dering had a fourth side with a length of zero. This
complex architecture (dual processors, etc.), but are technique proved problematic as it caused texture
notable emulators do exist. distortion and required careful reworking to achieve
The complexity of the system has made the creation the desired appearance—Sega provided tools for
of a proper emulator for it rather difficult. remapping textures from UV space into rectangular
\ “One very fast central processor would be tiles. These complications can be seen in the Saturn
preferable. I don’t think all programmers have the version of Tomb Raider.
ability to program two CPUs—most can only get
about one-and-a-half times the speed you can get
from one SH-2. I think that only 1 in 100 program-
mers are good enough to get this kind of speed [near-
ly double] out of the Saturn.” Yu Suzuki reflecting
upon Saturn Virtua Fighter development. Yabause
The Saturn had technically impressive hard- Developer Yabause Team
System(s) Saturn
ware at the time of its release, but its complex de- License Open / GNU GPLv2
sign, with two CPUs and six other processors, made OS Windows, Linux, OpenBSD, Mac OS X,
harnessing this power difficult for developers accus- Dreamcast, PlayStation Portable, FreeBSD
tomed to conventional programming. The biggest Yabause is an open source Sega Saturn emulator
disadvantage was that both CPUs shared the same for Windows, Linux, OpenBSD and Mac OS X
bus and were unable to access system memory at systems using OpenGL and SDL, as well as Sega
the same time. Making full use of the 4 kB of cache Dreamcast and PlayStation Portable. The first ver-
memory in each CPU was critical to maintaining sion in 2003 was Linux only; Windows and Mac
performance. One example of how the Saturn was ports were added for version 0.0.6 in July 2004.
utilized was with Virtua Fighter’s use of one CPU for Yabause can load games from CDs, virtual CD
each character. Many of the Saturn’s developers, such drives or disc images (ISO). It also has debugging
as Lobotomy Software programmer Ezra Dreisbach, features and cheats. Save states are planned for a
found it difficult to develop for compared to the Play- future release, as is an Android port.
Station because of its more complex graphics hard- Third parties have ported Yabause to Free-
ware. In order to port Duke Nukem 3D and PowerS- BSD, Dreamcast and Android (as uoYabause,
lave to the Saturn, Lobotomy Software had to almost which itself has been ported to Windows and
entirely rewrite the Build engine to take advantage iOS).
of the Saturn’s unconventional hardware. Third-
party development was initially hindered by the lack
of useful software libraries and development tools, Yaba Sanshiro (old uoYabause)
requiring developers to write in assembly language
Developer devMiyax
to achieve good performance. During early Saturn System(s) Saturn
development, programming in assembly could of- License Open (Fork of Yabause) / GNU GPLv2
fer a two to fivefold speed increase over C language. OS Android, Windows, iOS
Sega responded to these criticisms by writing new uoYabause, also known as Yaba Sanshiro, is a
graphics libraries which were claimed to help make Sega Saturn emulator for Android, Windows and
development easier. These libraries were presented iOS, developed by devMiyax. It is based upon the
as a new operating system by Sega of Japan. emulator Yabause. On Google Play, uoYabause
Unlike the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 was renamed to Yaba Sanshiro in order to pass
which used triangles as their basic geometric primi- their rules.
tive, the Saturn rendered quadrilaterals with forward
texture mapping. This proved to be a hindrance be-
cause most of the industry’s standard design tools
were based on triangles, with independent texture
UV coordinates specified per vertex. One of the
challenges brought forth by quadrilateral-based ren-
388 • Emulators
Mednafen SSF
Developer Mednafen Team Developer Shima
System(s) SG, SMS, GG, Saturn System(s) Sega Saturn, arcade (Sega Titan Video)
License Open / GNU GPLv2 License Closed
OS Windows, OS X, Linux, OpenBSD OS Windows
Mednafen (My Emulator Doesn’t Need A Frickin’ SSF is a Sega Saturn and Sega Titan Video emula-
Excellent Name), formerly known as Nintencer, tor for Windows, developed by Shima. It is able
is an open source multi-system emulator for Win- to run most Saturn games without issues, directly
dows. It uses source code from Genesis Plus and from a CD or virtual CD drive.
SMS Plus for Sega Mega Drive, Master System The emulator has a certain amount of in-
and Game Gear emulation, as well as original put lag. Suggested solutions are to disable V-sync
code for Saturn emulation. (emulator settings, causes tearing) and enable
MedSat is a third-party frontend for Med- “VDP2 RAM write timing”.
nafen, developed by paul_met. It simplifies the
process of loading Saturn games.
Nova
System(s) Saturn
Satourne License Closed
Developer Runik OS Windows
System(s) Sega Saturn, arcade (Sega Titan Video)
License Closed
Nova is a new and last emulator join to the party.
OS Windows Which is in development by a single developer.
Saturnin is a Sega Saturn and Sega Titan Video
emulator for Windows, developed by Runik.
Satourne
Developer Fabien Autrel
System(s) Sega Saturn, arcade (Sega Titan Video)
GiriGiri License Closed
Developer Shinya “MegaDeath” Miyamoto OS Windows
System(s) SG, SMS, GG, Saturn
License Closed Satourne is a Saturn and Sega Titan Video emula-
OS Windows tor for Windows, developed by Fabien Autrel.
GiriGiri is a Sega Saturn emulator for Windows,
developed by Japanese programmer Shinya
“MegaDeath” Miyamoto. Initially a freeware pro- MAME
gram that worked only with the Japanese version Developer Nicola Salmoria, MAME Team
of Windows 98, the developer released “debug- System(s) Multi-platform
ger” beta versions up until 0.6a in early 2001. License New BSD, GNU GPL v2 or later
OS Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, Amiga, etc.
Debugger version 0.9 and the full GiriGiri Saturn
emulator were announced, but never released. In- MAME, formerly an acronym for Multiple Ar-
stead, Sega hired the developer behind the project cade Machine Emulator, was born, as the acro-
and bought the software to run downloadable nym suggests, as a program capable of emulating
Sega Saturn titles on the online Cyber Disc/B- multiple types of arcade machine. Unlike home
Club service. The service was short-lived, closing video game consoles or even computers, arcade
in March 2004. machines often have hardware that is devoted
The emulator was later hacked by Gavi- to only running one specific game. The MAME
onne to improve compatibility, and released as project, which began its life in February 1997, at-
GiriGiri Gav. Another version (0.7.7 beta) was tempts to emulate every arcade machine known
released by MiC with a new loader program. to man.
390 • Developers
Developers
Activision ADK
Founded October 1, 1979 Founded July 1980 (as Alpha Denshi)
Parent Activision Blizzard 1993 (as ADK)
Employees 4000 Defunct 2003
Headquarters California, United States Fate Closed, properties sold
Key people Eric Hirshberg (CEO) Successor SNK Corporation
Headquarters Ageo, Saitama, Japan
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video ADK Corporation was a Japanese video game pro-
game publisher. It was founded on October 1, 1979 duction company throughout the 1980s and 90s.
and was the world’s first independent developer and ADK began as a developer of arcade games but is
distributor of video games for gaming consoles. Its best known for their library of Neo Geo titles, main-
first products were cartridges for the Atari 2600 vid- ly produced in the 1990s in partnership with SNK.
eo console system published from July 1980 for the ADK was founded in July 1980 in Ageo,
US market and from August 1981 for the interna- Saitama, Japan. At the time, it was known as Alpha
tional market (UK). Denshi or Alpha for short. Originally a producer of
Before Activision, third-party developers did audio and telecommunications equipment, Alpha
not exist. Software for video game consoles were first ventured into video games in 1980 with two ar-
published exclusively by makers of the systems for cade titles: Dorachan by Craul Denshi and Tehkan’s
which the games were designed. For example, Atari Shogi, a basic Japanese chess game. Dorachan was
was the only publisher of games for the Atari 2600. recalled shortly after release due to unlicensed usage
This was particularly galling to the developers, as of the fictional character Doraemon.
they received neither financial rewards nor credit for Despite an inauspicious start, Alpha con-
games that sold well. tinued to develop arcade games in 1981. Janputer,
Atari programmers David Crane, Larry Kap- published by Sanritsu Giken, was one of the earliest
lan, Alan Miller, and Bob Whitehead met with Atari arcade Mahjong titles and helped Alpha to establish
CEO Ray Kassar in May 1979 to demand that the themselves in the industry. In 1983, Alpha expanded
company treat developers as record labels treated into sports games with their self-published Exciting
musicians, with royalties and their names on game Soccer and two Champion Baseball titles for Sega.
boxes. Kaplan, who called the others “the best de- Alpha would produce several more games for Sega
signers for the [2600] in the world”, recalled that through the mid 1980s while continuing to publish
Kassar called the four men “towel designers” and others on their own.
that “anyone can do a cartridge.” Crane, Miller, Alpha Denshi began developing games al-
and Whitehead left Atari and founded Activision in most exclusively for SNK hardware in 1987. In
October 1979 with former music industry executive 1990, SNK was developing a new unified video
Jim Levy and venture capitalist Richard Muchmore; game platform for both the home and arcades.
Kaplan joined soon. David Crane has said the name In 2000, ADK released its last video game ti-
“Activision” was based on Jim Levy’s idea to com- tle, Dynamite Slugger, and was primarily focused on
bine ‘active’ and ‘television’. The original name pro- developing content for Japanese i-mode-based mo-
posed for the company was VSync, Inc. bile devices. After their bankruptcy, SNK Playmore
As of January 2017, Activision is one of bought up ADK’s relinquished intellectual proper-
the largest third-party video game publishers in the ties. To this day, ADK characters are still known to
world and was also the top publisher for 2016 in the occasionally appear in SNK Playmore games.
United States.
Developers • 391
Argonaut Games plc was a British video game de- ASCII Corporation was a publishing company based
veloper, founded in 1982 and liquidated in late 2004, in Tokyo, Japan. It became a subsidiary of Kadokawa
with the company ceasing to exist in early 2007. It Group Holdings in 2004, and merged with another
was most notable for the development of the Super Kadokawa subsidiary MediaWorks on April 1, 2008,
NES video game Star Fox and its supporting Super and became ASCII Media Works. The company pub-
FX hardware. lished Monthly ASCII as the main publication.
Founded as Argonaut Software by teenager During the early years of the ASCII Corpo-
Jez San in 1982, the company name is a play on his ration’s existence, the group focused on developing
name (J. San) and the mythological story of Jason the MSX and different content for it. It also formed
and the Argonauts. a joint venture with Microsoft in 1979, and repre-
In 1993, Argonaut collaborated with Nin- sented Microsoft in Japan until 1986 when it went
tendo during the early years of the NES and SNES, public and opened its own Japanese office.
a notable incident being when Argonaut submitted However, during the 1980s when the videog-
a proof-of-concept method of defeating the Game ame market seemed to collapse, the group decided
Boy’s copyright protection mechanism to Nintendo. to focus on publishing Japanese games for the popu-
The combined efforts from both Nintendo and Argo- lar consoles of the time - the most notable of these
naut yielded a prototype of the game Star Fox, ini- being the NES and the Sega Genesis. The company
tially codenamed “NesGlider” and inspired by their reported success in this market, and chose to form
earlier Atari ST and Amiga game Starglider, that an American branch of their company. This branch
they had running on the NES and then some weeks was formed in 1991, and became known as ASCII
later on a prototype of the SNES. Jez San told Nin- Entertainment.
tendo that his team could only improve performance Over time the market once held by ASCII
or functionality of the demonstration if Nintendo al- Corporation shrunk considerably, and the company
lowed Argonaut to design custom hardware to ex- grew weaker in its market over time. In a complete
tend the SNES to have true 3D capability. Nintendo change, the market possessed by ASCII Entertain-
agreed, so San hired chip designers and made the ment (their US brand) grew considerably. Due to
Super FX chip. They originally codenamed it the this success, another brand was formed by the AS-
Mathematical Argonaut Rotation I/O, or “MARIO”, CII Corporation. This company was known as AS-
as is printed on the chip’s surface. So powerful was CII Game Entertainment Technology, and was com-
the Super FX chip used to create the graphics and monly abbreviated to Agetec. After just over a year,
gameplay, that they joked that the Super NES was Agetec was sold off and managed to survive thanks
just a box to hold the chip. to different company relationships.
In late October 2004, Argonaut Games called During March 2002, ASCII chose to cease
in receivers David Rubin & Partners, laid off 100 all game-based operations, and to return to their
employees, and was put up for sale. Lack of a con- original field of work: computer systems.
stant stream of publishing deals had led to cashflow
“giantbomb.com”
issues and a profit warning earlier that year.
392 • Developers
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer Atlus Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer,
and home computer company founded in 1972 by publisher and distribution company based in Tokyo,
Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Primarily responsi- and a subsidiary of Sega. It is best known for devel-
ble for the formation of the video arcade and modern oping the Megami Tensei, Persona, Etrian Odyssey
video game industries, the company was closed and and Trauma Center series.
its assets split in 1984 as a direct result of the North Atlus began in April 7, 1986 as a video game
American video game crash of 1983. developer of computer games for other companies.
Atari was named after Japan’s centuries old In January 1987, Atlus started selling amusement
classic, Go. The term “atari” is used by Go players to equipment. It expanded into the sale of karaoke
politely inform their opponent that they are about to equipment in March 1989. Atlus released the first
be overrun. The company was created in 1972 with video game under its own name in 1989: Puzzle Boy
money earned by Bushnell’s first game Computer for the Game Boy.
Space. While this initial game was not considered Atlus started in the arcade industry in the
to be a success financially, it seeded the ideas for 1990s by manufacturing its first arcade video game,
the game Pong, which would become the first gam- BlaZeon, in 1992. In 1995, Atlus launched Print
ing classic the gaming industry would see. By most Club Arcades in partnership with Sega. In its goal
gaming historians, this is considered to be the true to further increase its presence in the amusement in-
birth of the gaming industry. dustry, Atlus acquired the manufacturer Apies from
Several financial problems would eventually Yubis Corporation in 1999. Atlus suffered from defi-
lead to the sale of Atari to Warner Communications cit financial results in both 1999 and 2000. To ad-
in 1976 for $28 - $32 Million (est .). dress the issue, Atlus established a management re-
In 1977 Atari was able to release what would form plan in 2001. In its restructuring efforts, Atlus
become their lasting legacy, the Atari 2600. sold two subsidiaries (one of them being Apies) to
In July of 1984, a $240 million deal was their respective employees as part of a management
struck between Atari and ex-head of Commodore, buyout.
Jack Tramiel, and all of Atari was sold except for the On 30 August 2010, Index Holdings an-
small coin-operated arcade business, Ataritel. Warn- nounced its merger with Atlus. Although fans were
er retained the arcade division, continuing it under concerned about the company’s future, CEO Shinichi
the name Atari Games and eventually selling it to Suzuki said that Atlus would continue to provide the
Namco in 1985. Warner also sold Ataritel to Mit- “finest quality game experiences possible” and the
subishi. merger “further strengthens the foundation of Atlus,
Atari would eventually be renamed Atari both in Japan and here in the United States.” After
Corporation and would never be able to regain con- the dissolution, the name Atlus continued as a brand
trol of the console market, or have the same amount used by Index Corporation for video game publish-
of clout that they had during the peak of the 2600’s ing until 2013. Atlus in its current incarnation was
popularity. founded as Sega Dream Corporation in September
“giantbomb.com” 2013, a new shell corporation established by Sega.
Developers • 393
Backbone Entertainment is an American video game Banpresto Co., Ltd. is a Japanese toy company, and
developer based in Rancho Santa Margarita, Califor- a former game developer and publishing, headquar-
nia. tered in the Shinagawa Seaside West Building in
Backbone Entertainment is the result of a Shinagawa, Tokyo. The current iteration of the com-
2003 merger between Digital Eclipse Software and pany was formed on April 1, 2008, with the focus on
ImaginEngine. Digital Eclipse specialized in arcade the toy consumer business.
game emulation and handheld video games, and The original company was founded April
formerly had studios in Emeryville, California and 1977 as Hoei Sangyo, Co. Ltd.. During the 1980s
Vancouver, British Columbia. It was known for con- it worked mainly as a subcontractor for Sega and
versions of classic Williams Atari titles for modern its arcade division, and the company was renamed
home computer systems, such as Defender, Ms.Pac- Coreland in 1982. It started to be partially owned by
Man or Marble Madness, many of which were re- Bandai in 1989, when it gained its current name. It
leased in compilations. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Nam-
ImaginEngine specializes in children’s soft- co Holdings in March 2006.
ware, formerly having studios in San Francisco, Cal- Banpresto has created a variety of Japan-
ifornia and Boston, Massachusetts. The San Fran- only video games, most notably the Super Robot
cisco and Emeryville teams were combined at the Wars series. Other projects include anime tie-in
Emeryville location upon execution of the merger. games such as the Slam Dunk basketball games and
One of their first franchise projects as Back- Tenchi Muyou! Game Hen. Banpresto also made
bone Entertainment was Death Jr., for the PSP. They the Another Century’s Episode series, a collabora-
have also produced a sequel, Death, Jr. II: Root of tion with FromSoftware, and the Compati Hero se-
Evil, and a Nintendo DS version of the franchise en- ries of games which crosses over the Ultraman, Ka-
titled Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom. When men Rider and Gundam franchises. Banpresto also
Death Jr. was first announced, the CEO of Backbone makes several varieties of mechanical prize-winning
spoke on making DJ a full-featured franchise, with games. As Coreland, the company has produced a
comic books, a TV show, action figures, and more. number of games for Sega, including Pengo, 4-D
According to GameRankings, the average review Warriors and I’m Sorry.
score for the three games in the franchise is a 59%, Banpresto’s video game operations were ab-
with Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom scoring sorbed into Bandai Namco Games on April 1, 2008.
the lowest overall. As part of the merger, two of Banpresto’s subsidiar-
In 2005 the company merged with another ies, Pleasure Cast Co. Ltd and Hanayashiki Co. Ltd,
video game developer, The collective in Newport became Namco subsidiaries. Banpresto itself now
Beach, CA to form a new conglomerate, Foundation focuses on its prize machines business.
9 Entertainment.
An additional studio was formed in 2006 in
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, but was spun
out in 2007 to become Other Ocean Interactive.
394 • Developers
The Bitmap Brothers are a UK based video game Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video
developer founded in 1987. The company entered game developer and publisher based in Irvine, Cali-
the industry in 1988 with the scrolling shooter Xe- fornia, and is a subsidiary of the American company
non. They quickly followed with Speedball. Prior to Activision Blizzard. The company was founded on
becoming the publisher of their own games (under February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse
Renegade Software), early Bitmap Brothers titles by three graduates of the University of California,
were distributed by Image Works and Konami. Los Angeles: Michael Morhaime, Frank Pearce, and
The Bitmap Brothers were based in Wap- Allen Adham. The company originally concentrated
ping, East London and were privately owned. The on the creation of game ports for other studios be-
company’s MD was Mike Montgomery, who had fore beginning development of their own software in
founded the company together with Eric Matthews 1993 with games like Rock n’ Roll Racing and The
and Steve Kelly. Mike Montgomery later went on to Lost Vikings. In 1994 the company became Chaos
take sole control of the business. Studios, Inc., then Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. after
Mark John Coleman is a computer graphics being acquired by distributor Davidson & Associ-
developer who frequently worked with the Bitmap ates.
Brothers, and along with Dan Malone was respon- Shortly thereafter, Blizzard released Warcraft:
sible for the visual style that became a trademark Orcs & Humans. Blizzard created several other vid-
of the Bitmap Brothers’ games. Other key staff in- eo games, including Warcraft sequels, the Diablo
cluded Technical Director John Phillips, Art Direc- series, the StarCraft series, and in 2004 the massive-
tor John Kershaw, Business Development Director ly multiplayer online role-playing game World of
Ed Bartlett and Creative Director Jamie Barber. Warcraft. Their most recent projects include the first
The Bitmap Brothers became known for the expansion for Diablo III, Reaper of Souls, the online
high difficulty of their games. Montgomery later collectible card game Hearthstone, the sixth expan-
remarked that “all of the Bitmap Brothers games... sion for World of Warcraft, Legion, the multiplayer
they’re probably a bit too difficult. The reason for online battle arena Heroes of the Storm, the third and
that was we designed games that we wanted to play final expansion for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty,
- for us it was actually quite hard to think that some- Legacy of the Void, and the multiplayer first-person
body would want to play something that’s easy.” The hero shooter Overwatch.
development team was voted Best 16-bit Program- On July 9, 2008, Activision merged with
mers of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards. Vivendi Games, culminating in the inclusion of the
Speedball was also voted best 16-bit Game of the Blizzard brand name in the title of the resulting hold-
Year overall. ing company. On July 25, 2013, Activision Blizzard
After 2002 the company released ports of announced the purchase of 429 million shares from
several of their games for both the Game Boy Ad- majority owner Vivendi. As a result, Activision Bliz-
vance and Pocket PC platforms, and since then they zard became a completely independent company.
have been licensing their old games and properties
to several other companies.
Developers • 395
Bullfrog Productions was a British video game de- Camelot was founded in 1990 as a division of Sega
veloper, founded in 1987 by Les Edgar and Peter known as Sega CD4 (Consumer Development Stu-
Molyneux. The company was based in Guildford. dio #4), soon changing their name to Sonic! Software
Bullfrog gained recognition in 1989 for their third Planning, which was formed to create, alongside
release, Populous, and is also well known for titles Climax Entertainment, Shining in the Darkness for
such as Theme Park, Magic Carpet, Syndicate, and the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. The studio also de-
Dungeon Keeper. Bullfrog’s name was derived from veloped other successful games in the franchise, in-
an ornament in the offices of Edgar’s and Molyneux’s cluding Shining Force and Shining Force II. In 1995,
other enterprise, Taurus Impact Systems, Bullfrog’s Sonic! officially separated from Sega, but agreed to
precursor where Molyneux and Edgar were devel- continue developing games for the Shining series
oping business software. Bullfrog Productions was and to not release any games for rival systems that
founded as a separate entity after Commodore mis- would threaten the success of the Shining franchise.
took Taurus for a similarly named company. In 1995, there was a brief period where they
Electronic Arts, Bullfrog’s publisher, ac- worked for Sony Computer Entertainment in addi-
quired the studio in January 1995. Molyneux had be- tion to creating Shining products.
come an Electronic Arts vice-president and consult- By Shining Force III, the studio had begun
ant in 1994, after EA purchased a significant share of operating under its current name, Camelot Software
Bullfrog. Molyneux’s last project with Bullfrog was Planning. In late 1998, Sega began focusing their
Dungeon Keeper, and as a result of his dissatisfac- resources on the Dreamcast, leaving Camelot with
tion of the corporate aspects of his position, he left their final Shining Force III scenario, for the Sega
the company in July 1997 to found Lionhead Studi- Saturn, in jeopardy. Though the scenario was re-
os. Others would follow them to Lionhead, and some leased, Camelot decided to move away from Sega
founded their own companies, such as Mucky Foot completely and to establish a partnership with Nin-
Productions. After Molyneux’s departure, Electronic tendo.
Arts’ control over Bullfrog caused several projects The company then developed many Mario
to be cancelled—in 2001 Bullfrog was merged into sports games, including Mario Golf, and Mario Ten-
EA UK and ceased to exist as a separate entity. Bull- nis, as well as the Golden Sun series of role-playing
frog titles have been looked upon as a standard for games.
comparison and have spawned numerous spiritual The creation of the Mario character, Waluigi,
sequels. can be attributed to Camelot Software, after Nin-
The final title released under the Bullfrog tendo requested a “Wario-like” counterpart for Luigi
brand, Theme Park Inc, was published in 2001. By during the development of Mario Tennis.
the time the game was in development, most of the
Bullfrog teams had become part of EA UK, and
much of the development was handled by another
company.
396 • Developers
Capcom CAVE
Founded May 30, 1979 Founded June 15, 1994
Founder Kenzo Tsujimoto Headquarters Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Owner Tsujimoto family Total assets JP¥ 874,251,193 (2012)
Headquarters Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan Employees 158 (2012)
Revenue Increase $239.6 million (2014) Subsidiaries
Employees 2,811 (2017) Beads Mania (merged on June 1, 2008)
Mini4WD Networks Co., Ltd. (44.8% stake)
Capcom Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game develop- CAVE Interactive CO., acronym for “Computer Art
er and publisher known for creating multi-million- Visual Entertainment”, is a Japanese video game
selling franchises such as Mega Man, Street Fighter, company founded in 1994 by former employees of
Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Ace Attorney, and Toaplan following its bankruptcy. They are known
Monster Hunter as well as games based on the Dis- primarily for their “bullet hell” shoot ‘em ups; from
ney animated properties. Established in 1979, it has 1995 up to 2010, CAVE was one of the most pro-
become an international enterprise with subsidiaries lific shoot ‘em up developers in the Japanese mar-
in North America, Europe, and East Asia. ket. Alongside this, CAVE has produced a variety of
The original companies that spawned Cap- other types games for arcades, home consoles, PCs,
com’s Japanese branch were I.R.M Corporation as and smartphones, also dating back to 1995.
well as its subsidiary Japan Capsule Computers Co., Key staff members include Tsuneki Ikeda
Ltd., both of which were devoted to the manufac- (director and COO) and Makoto Asada (game de-
turing and distribution of electronic game machines. velopment department head) who left the company
The name Capcom is a clipped compound of “Cap- in 2013. On January 24, 2014, community manager
sule Computers”, a term coined by the company to “Masa-King” announced that the Cave-World Twit-
describe the arcade machines it solely manufactured ter and blog were shutting down on February 28,
in its early years, designed to set themselves apart 2014, terminating all existing English social media
from personal computers that were becoming wide- presence in the west.
spread at that time. The word capsule alludes to how CAVE’s arcade titles have used various ar-
Capcom likened its game software to “a capsule cade boards over the years. Earlier titles used a
packed to the brim with gaming fun”, as well as to CAVE-designed board based on a Motorola 68000
the company’s desire to protect its intellectual prop- CPU, with later releases moving over to the PGM
erty with a hard outer shell, preventing illegal copies (Poly Game Master) hardware, and then, starting
and inferior imitations. with Mushihimesama, onto boards based on the Hi-
In the first few years after its establishment, tachi SH-3 CPU. CAVE dabbled in PC-based hard-
the Japanese branch of Capcom had three develop- ware for Deathsmiles II, but switched back to SH-3
ment groups referred to as “Planning Rooms”, led for later titles.
by Tokuro Fujiwara, Takashi Nishiyama and Yoshiki Since 2006, CAVE has hosted CAVE Mat-
Okamoto, respectively. Later, games developed suri, a yearly festival in which several announce-
internally used to be created by several numbered ments regarding company affairs are made. Also,
“Production Studios”, each assigned to different some titles are offered exclusively at this event such
games. Starting in 2002, the development process as Mushihimesama Cave Matsuri ver 1.5.
was reformed to better share technologies and exper- Within the Guinness World Records, Cave
tise, and all of the individual studios were gradually holds the record for the “most prolific developer of
restructured into bigger departments responsible for danmaku shooters”, having released 48 games in the
different tasks. genre since 1995 as of October 2010.
Developers • 397
Climax Studios is an independent development stu- The Codemasters Software Company Limited (for-
dio founded in 1988 by Karl Jeffery in Portsmouth, merly Electric Games Company Limited), doing
Hamshire. The studio has developed numerous li- business as Codemasters, is a British video game
censed games, and is perhaps best known for its two developer and publisher founded by David Darling
entries in Konami’s Silent Hill franchise - 0rigins and his brother Richard in 1986. Headquartered in
and Shattered Memories - and the prolific output of Southam, Warwickshire, Codemasters is one of the
its racing studio in the early 2000s, which included oldest British game studios, and in 2005 was named
Sony’s ATV Offroad Fury series and the THQ-pub- the top independent games developer by Develop
lished MotoGP games. Most recently, the studio has magazine.
developed the XBLA title Bloodforge and down- Established on 6 August 1986 by Richard
loadable Vita puzzler Smart As. Darling and David Darling (who worked previously
Climax Studios was, in the early 2000s, one for Mastertronic), Codemasters established them-
of many studios in The Climax Group, a collective selves in the growing ZX Spectrum market, mostly
of independent studios. The empire began when Cli- with action games that required the player to solve
max Studios - who, during this time, rebranded their simple puzzles by combining different objects, such
development staff as Climax Solent after the strait in as the Dizzy series. While rooted in the ZX Spec-
the vicinity of where they are based - purchased Syr- trum, Codemasters did not write exclusively for this
ox Developments and reestablished them as Climax computer. They also released software (including
London; they were soon followed by Climax Hand- the Dizzy series) for the Commodore 64, Commo-
held Games (originally a division of Climax London dore 16, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC,
staffed by former members of Crawfish Interactive Atari 8-bit, Commodore Amiga and Atari ST.
that became further ingrained in Climax London as As the 8-bit computer market diminished,
the studio shifted focus to handheld development), Codemasters turned to developing for the 8-bit and
Climax Brighton (a.k.a., Climax Racing) and an 16-bit console markets, as well as moving away from
American branch in Climax LA. However, financial their budget title legacy to more full-price games on
issues and restructuring ultimately led to the number the 16-bit computers. They had major success with
of Climax-branded studios being whittled back the Micro Machines series and Pete Sampras Tennis
down to one. Climax Racing was rebranded as Black on the Sega Mega Drive.
Rock Studio and sold to Disney in 2006; Climax LA In the last years Codemasters have since con-
was closed in 2007 after the troubled development tinued to release titles for later generation systems,
of Silent Hill: Origins forced the Solent branch to such as the TOCA Touring Car series, Colin McRae
take over the project; Climax London, along with Rally series, Brian Lara Cricket series and Operation
the Solent branch, was rebranded Climax Action in Flashpoint.
2004 in an effort to unify the development efforts of In April, 2016 Codemasters started a studio
both studios, a move that eventually saw the London based in Runcorn consisting of former Evolution
branch merged with the Solent branch and shuttered. Studios developers, who’s most recent creation was
“giantbomb.com” Driveclub.
398 • Developers
Rebellion (Derby) Ltd (formerly Core Design Lim- CRI Middleware Co. Ltd., formerly known as CSK
ited) was a British video game developer based in Research Institute Corp., was set up to function as a
Derby, England. The company was acquired by um- research institute for the CSK group in 1988, whose
brella company CentreGold in 1994, which in turn primary holding was Sega. That year, the company
was acquired by Eidos Interactive in April 1996. developed Japan’s first CD-ROM software: After
Following the latter acquisition, Core Design was re- Burner for the Fujitsu FM Towns console. Using its
organised as a subsidiary of Eidos Interactive, while skills gained in CD-ROM technology, in 1993 the
other CentreGold components were either closed or institute took part in the development of the Sega
sold off. In May 2006, the Core Design personnel Saturn. CRI developed the Saturn’s BIOS file sys-
and assets were acquired by Rebellion Develop- tem, development tools and supplied technical sup-
ments, and the company became Rebellion Derby. port for the system. In 1996, CRI Sofdec (formerly
Based in the city of Derby, England, Core CRI MPEG Sofdec) and CRI ADX are developed.
Design was founded in 1988 by Chris Shrigley, Andy Apart from doing research into new media and for-
Green, Rob Toone, Terry Lloyd, Simon Phipps, Dave mats and developing support tools for the software
Pridmore, Jeremy Heath-Smith, Kevin Norburn industry (mainly Sega and its third parties), it did
and Greg Holmes. Most were former employees of also do some games development itself for the Sega
Gremlin Graphics. The studio was part of distribu- Mega Drive, Mega CD, Sega 32X, Sega Saturn and
tion company CentreGold when it was acquired by Sega Dreamcast.
Eidos Interactive in 1996. Eidos subsequently sold On September 30, 1999, CSK sold its 100%
most of CentreGold, but retained U.S. Gold, the interest in CSK Research Institute Corp. by Sega to
owners of Core Design. Core had a brief history of Isao Okawa for $853 million. The sales price was
producing titles for the Sega consoles, such as Thun- based on an appraisal performed by a third party.
derhawk for Mega-CD and the original Tomb Raider When Sega was splitting of its divisions into sepa-
game for the Saturn. rate companies in 2000, CRI merged with the AM2
The company is widely known for the Tomb division. As part of the deal, the merged company
Raider series. The first game was created by Toby gained the rights to Shenmue series.
Gard and Paul Howard Douglas, which was released CRI Middleware logo.
in 1996 and followed by several sequels. The suc- In 2001, Sega turns to multi-platform devel-
cess of Tomb Raider and its subsequent sequels opment. As a result, when the game developers move
played a huge part in keeping Eidos Interactive fi- to Sega AM2, the CRI was rebranded as the middle-
nancially solvent. After the successful Saturn debut ware developer CRI Middleware Co. Ltd. Their cus-
of the original Tomb Raider a full month and a half tomers since this move have included high-profile
ahead of the PlayStation version, Sony decided to clients such as Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Nintendo,
use the brand to boost sales of its own console. In Capcom, Konami, Namco Bandai Games, Atari In-
September 1997, Sony’s U.S. arm, SCEA, signed an fogrames, Sony Computer Entertainment, Square
exclusivity deal with Eidos to keep the franchise on Enix, and Bungie.
their consoles. “segaretro.org”
Developers • 399
Cryo Interactive Entertainment was a French video Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an American video game
game development and publishing company found- developer that was founded in 1992. It was acquired
ed in 1992, but existing unofficially since 1989 as a by Eidos Interactive in 1998. After Square Enix’s ac-
developer group under the name Cryo. It was formed quisition of Eidos in 2009, it became a subsidiary of
by members of ERE Informatique who left Info- Square Enix. The company’s mascot was the video
grames (proprietor of ERE since 1986) — among game character Gex the Gecko.
these were Philippe Ulrich, Rémi Herbulot and Jean- Crystal Dynamics was formed on 8 July 1992
Martial Lefranc. by Sega veterans Judy Lang, Madeline Canepa, and
The first game developed under the Cryo In- Dave Morse. Crystal was the first licensed developer
teractive moniker was the hit Dune, which granted for 3DO, a gaming hardware platform simultane-
the newly formed software company both public- ously funded by Kleiner Perkins. In 1993, Strauss
ity and funding for further games under Virgin until Zelnick, president of 20th Century Fox’s film stu-
1996, when Cryo started self-publishing inside the dio, was hired to run Crystal Dynamics. This made
European market, and in North America through national news and helped to touch off the frenzy of
then partially owned Canadian publisher Dream- multimedia investments of the mid-1990s. A 1993
Catcher Interactive. editorial in Electronic Gaming Monthly declared
Cryo made its name mostly through adapta- that “the hottest new video game company on the
tions of already existing stories (such as Riverworld, upscale scene is definitely Crystal Dynamics.”
based on Philip José Farmer’s novel and Ubik by Due chiefly to the unexpectedly slow growth
Philip K. Dick) or those based on historical scenarios of the next generation gaming market, Crystal Dy-
(like KGB, a game set days before the dissolution of namics’s massive expansion in its early years failed
the Soviet Union and several games based in Atlan- to pay off. In 1996 new CEO Ted Ardel announced
tis, Ancient Egypt, Qing Dynasty’s China and Louis the company was cutting one third of its workforce
XIV’s France, developed with Cryo’s Omni3D en- and stepping aside as a publisher to focus strictly on
gine). Although most of the post-Virgin games man- games development.
aged to capture and stay true to the original settings, Crystal Dynamics had been most known for
poor interfaces and the lack of worldwide distribu- developing Legacy of Kain and Gex, but in 2003,
tion turned little profit from each game. the studio was also entrusted the development of the
In July 2002, not long after Frank Herbert’s best-selling Tomb Raider franchise after its origi-
Dune flopped, Cryo’s situation was no longer sus- nal developer, Core Design, failed to gain critical
tainable, and the company was declared bankrupt. or commercial success with their later Tomb Raider
After much negotiation, most of the assets and de- games, and released its first game in the series in
velopment teams of Cryo Interactive were absorbed 2006, Tomb Raider: Legend, which was the fastest
by DreamCatcher Interactive, forming the base for selling game in the entire series, selling 4.5 million
DreamCatcher Europe. units worldwide. In 2009, Crystal Dynamics laid
On 20 October 2008 Microïds acquired the off over 30 employees to refocus their efforts on the
brands and intellectual property of Cryo Interactive. Tomb Raider games only.
400 • Developers
Culture Brain is a small Japanese developer/publish- Data East Corporation, also abbreviated as DECO,
er of DS titles that was once known for some unique was a Japanese video game and electronic engineer-
hybrid titles on the NES, SNES and GB. ing company. The company was in operation from
Culture Brain was founded in 1980 as Nihon 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles.
Game Corporation. In 1981, a subsidiary to handle Data East was founded on April 20, 1976 by
the sales operations of the company was established. Tokai University alumnus Tetsuo Fukuda. Data East
Its first video games were arcades games, with titles developed and released in July 1977 its first arcade
such as Shanghai Kid and Chinese Hero that were game Jack Lot, a medal game based on Blackjack for
manufactured under “Taiyo Systems” trademark. In business use. This was followed in January 1978 by
1987, it transitioned from arcade to console video Super Break which was its first actual video game.
games and renamed itself “Culture Brain”. The com- More than 15 arcade games were released by Data
pany has also alternatively used the brand “Micro East in the 1970s.
Academy” in the mid-1980s. Data East established a U.S. division in
In North America, Culture Brain is mostly 1979, after its chief competitors Sega and Taito had
known for its six video games for the NES and its already established a market presence. In 1980, Data
three for the Super NES. Two of those games, The East published Astro Fighter which became its first
Magic of Scheherazade and Flying Warriors, were major arcade title. While making games, Data East
strongly redesigned by Culture Brain USA (the com- released a series of interchangeable systems compat-
pany’s division in Redmond, Washington) to better ible with its arcade games, notably the DECO Cas-
appeal North American consumers. sette System which soon became infamous among
Culture Brain was distinct for its innovative users due to technical problems. Data East dropped
gameplay and its mixture of role-playing video game the DECO Cassette by 1985.
elements with either action or adventure. However, Data East continued to release arcade video
like many other Japanese video game companies, games over the next 15 years following the video
Culture Brain ceased its operations in the United game crash of 1983. Some of its most famous coin-
States in the 1990s. Ever since the demise of Culture op arcade games from its 1980s heyday included
Brain USA, video games developed by the parent Karate Champ, Heavy Barrel, BurgerTime, Bump
company have rarely made it in America. An excep- ‘n’ Jump, Karnov and Atomic Runner Chelnov.
tion of the latter situation is the Nintendo 64 version In 1981, three staff members of Data East
of Flying Dragon which was published by Natsume. founded Technōs Japan, who then supported Data
Culture Brain also ran until 2003 a profes- East for a while before becoming completely inde-
sional school, the Culture Brain Art Institute. pendent.
In 2016, the company was renamed Culture Most of Data East’s intellectual properties
Brain Excel and the website’s URL was changed to were acquired in February 2004 by G-Mode, a Japa-
the new name. The longtime Culture Brain logo was nese mobile game content provider.
instantly dropped and will be replaced by a new logo
that was scheduled to be unveiled in 2017.
Developers • 401
Eidos was an English based developer and publisher Electronic Arts (EA) is an international developer,
behind such games as Tomb Raider, Age of Conan, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games.
and Hitman. Since a buyout from Square Enix, the The company has sparked controversies over its ad-
company is now know as Square Enix Europe. vertising efforts, microtransactions, and acquisition
Following the business deal, games devel- of other studios.
oped by the company will still carry the Eidos name Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982
but games published by the company will carry the by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of
new Square Enix Europe label. the early home computer games industry and was
The most successful franchises to come out notable for promoting the designers and program-
of the company have been the Tomb Raider and mers responsible for its games. Originally, EA was
Hitman series of games. Both series have received a home computing game publisher, however in the
generally positive reviews, and the original Tomb late 1980s, the company began developing games
Raider is revered as a classic game of the original in-house and began to support consoles by the early
Playstation’s life cycle. 1990s. EA later grew via acquisition of several suc-
While many publishers have been implicated cessful developers, and by the early 2000s, EA had
in meddling with the press to obtain good review become one of the world’s largest third-party pub-
scores and the possible sales boost that can come lishers.
from that, Eidos in particular has received much Electronic Arts is one of the most significant
criticism over the years for their interference with third-party publishers for Sega consoles - the Sega
the critical process. Perhaps their most infamous Mega Drive being EA’s main console of choice for
review controversy, in November 2007, Eidos was the first half of the 1990s. Initially EA had planned to
implicated in being involved in the firing of Jeff Ger- avoid direct contact with Sega, reverse-engineering
stmann, former Editorial Director of CNET’s Game- the Mega Drive which later formed a barganing chip
spot. Gerstmann gave Eidos’ major release for that for securing a better deal for EA as a third-party de-
fall, IO Interactive’s Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, a veloper than rival firms. EA would go on to make
6.0 out of 10. Shortly following, he was let go from huge gains on consoles, particularly when it came to
his Gamespot position. Insider sources claimed that sports games (starting with John Madden Football
Gerstmann had been fired for giving the game a low in 1990), and supported the Mega Drive until 1997 -
score after Eidos complained to CNET. well after others had abandoned the system.
In February 2009, word came out that Square EA supported the Sega Saturn, but its refusal
Enix Holdings Co. Ltd. had come to an agreement to to support the Dreamcast in favor of preparing titles
purchase the financially struggling Eidos for roughly for the PlayStation 2 is seen by some as a contribut-
$120 million. Throughout the remainder of February ing factor to the console’s failure.
and March, support was gained by many sharehold- Currently, EA develops and publishes games
ers, including Warner Bros., for the purchase. under several labels including EA Sports titles FIFA,
Madden NFL, NHL, NCAA Football, NBA Live,
“giantbomb.com” and SSX. “segaretro.org”
402 • Developers
Enix Fill-in-Cafe
Type Kabushiki gaisha Founded 1987 (as Team Cross Wonder)
Founded September 22, 1975 Defunct 1998
Founder Yasuhiro Fukushima (Active CEO) Headquarters Japan
Fate Merged with Square Key people Masatoshi Imaizumi
Successor Square Enix Kanta Watanabe
Headquarters Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan Masaki Ukyo
Employees 134 (2002) Keishi Yonao
Enix Corporation was a Japanese video game pub- Fill-in-Cafe was a video game developer that was
lisher that produced video games, anime and manga. founded in Japan in 1987. They are best known for
Enix is known for publishing the Dragon Quest se- creating the Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. franchise,
ries of role-playing video games. as well as Mad Stalker: Full Metal Forth.
Enix was founded on September 22, 1975 as In 1987, Fill-in-Cafe was founded as Team
Eidansha Boshu Service Center by Japanese archi- Cross Wonder, and later renamed itself as “Fill-in-
tect-turned-entrepreneur Yasuhiro Fukushima. The Cafe” in 1989 and incorporated in 1991. They first
company initially published tabloids that advertised developed Metal Sight for the Sharp X68000 under
real estate. the Team Cross Wonder label, followed by develop-
In February 1980, Eidansha Boshu Service ing Neural Gear under the Fill-in-Cafe label. Later,
created a wholly owned subsidiary for the purpose they hired several more companies like Intec and
of specializing in real estate trading and brokerage. Family Soft to publish their products. In 1994, they
This new subsidiary would take on the name of Ei- became successful with the release of the Asuka
dansha Systems in August 1981. The following year, 120% BURNING Fest. franchise, as well as with
in August 1982, Eidansha Systems was renamed Mad Stalker: Full Metal Forth and its multiple ver-
Enix Corporation. The name “Enix” is a play on the sions.
words “phoenix”, a mythical bird that is reborn from In 1998, Fill-in-Cafe filed for bankruptcy.
its own ashes, and “ENIAC”, the world’s first digital Some planned titles were canceled, such as a sequel
computer. to Panzer Bandit and an untitled, enhanced arcade
After a failed attempt of Eidansha Boshu port of the Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Limited
Service to go nationwide in 1982, its newly estab- with Kaneko being the arcade publisher. Shortly af-
lished Enix subsidiary began a foray into the gam- terward, Success Corporation became in charge of
ing market by holding a personal computer game developing Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Final and
programming contest. One of the winners was Love Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Return after their re-
Match Tennis, created by Yuji Horii. It would go lationship with Fill-in-Cafe and Datam Polystar in
to become one of the company’s first PC releases. developing and publishing titles together, such as
Another winner was the puzzle game Door Door by Makeruna! Makendō 2: Kimero Youkai Souri for in-
Koichi Nakamura, which would become one of the stance.
company’s better known home computer titles. Na- After bankruptcy, Family Soft bought the
kamura would stay on board as one Enix’s key pro- rights to most of its developed library, including its
grammers. only self-published title Community POM. Kanta
The company merged with its competitor Watanabe and Masaki Ukyo moved to Treasure while
Square in 2003 to form Square Enix, in order to mu- Masatoshi Imaizumi moved to establish R.U.N (Re-
tually decrease development costs and to compete lease Universe Network). Masaki Ukyo later joined
with foreign developers. R.U.N with Imaizumi.
Developers • 403
Funcom Gainax
Founded 1993 Industry Animation (Anime)
Headquarters Oslo, Norway Founded December 24, 1984
Key people Rui Casais (CEO) Headquarters Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
Employees 100 Key people Hiroyuki Yamaga (President)
Website funcom.com Website www.gainax.co.jp
Aliases Funcom Oslo A/S
Funcom Oslo AS (formerly Funcom Productions GAINAX Co., Ltd. is a Japanese anime studio fa-
AS) is a Norwegian video game developer specializ- mous for productions such as Gunbuster, The Wings
ing in online games. It is best known for the MMOR- of Honneamise, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water,
PG titles Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, The Secret Neon Genesis Evangelion, Magical Shopping Ar-
World and The Longest Journey series of adventure cade Abenobashi, FLCL, Gurren Lagann and Panty
games. The company has offices in Oslo, Norway & Stocking with Garterbelt, which have garnered
and North Carolina, US. They previously also had critical acclaim and been commercially successful.
offices in Beijing, Dublin and Montreal. The studio was formed in the early 1980s as
In March, 2007, Funcom stopped releasing Daicon Film by university students Hideaki Anno,
games on CD and DVD, and started to use digital Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Hiroyuki Yamaga, Takami
distribution completely. This was done because of Akai, Toshio Okada, Yasuhiro Takeda and Shinji
financial losses due to piracy of their games. Higuchi. Their first project was an animated short
In September of 2008, one of the founders for the 20th Annual Japan National SF Convention,
and game director of Age of Conan, Gaute Godager, also known as Daicon III, held in 1981 in Osaka,
left Funcom because he was dissatisfied with parts Japan. Though the short had an ambitious scope, the
of Age of Conan. animation was rough and low-quality.
In February of 2009 Funcom reported finan- The group made a much bigger splash with
cial losses of approximately $23 million in Q4 of the short they produced for the 22nd Annual Japan
2008, and the unsuccessful launch of Age of Conan National SF Convention, Daicon IV, in 1983. The
was largely to blame. An analyst at DnB NOR, esti- Daicon IV short firmly established Daicon Film as
mated that around 100,000 people were playing the a talented new anime studio (albeit small and with
game immediately after launch. This was far below only 20 million yen or about US$200,000). The stu-
what Funcom had expected. dio changed its name to Gainax in 1985, basing the
On September 1, 2009, Funcom announced term “Gainax” on an obscure Tottori Prefecture term
that they were opening a new studio in Montreal, for “giant”, with the English suffix -x added because
Canada. The new studio is currently working on it sounded “good and was international”.
their latest MMO, The Secret World, and was also During 1988, Gainax produced a number of
the developer of the Age of Conan expansion, Rise items such as garage kit and adult video games (a
of the Godslayer. Shortly after the announcement of major earner which kept Gainax afloat on occasion,
the new studio Funcom reduced their staff by 20%. though they were sometimes banned).
In August of 2012 Funcom announced the Gainax has also produced a number of com-
layoff of half of its employees due to the lackluster puter games, including a strip mahjong game featur-
performance of The Secret World. Funcom blames a ing Evangelion characters and its most famous, the
poor Metacritic score and the launch of Diablo 3 for Princess Maker series (later adapted as Puchi Puri
The Secret World’s unsuccessful launch. Yūshi).
404 • Developers
Genki Co., Ltd. is a Japanese developer of computer Infogrames Studios Limited (formerly Gremlin
and video games. It was founded in October 1990 by Graphics Software Limited and later Gremlin Inter-
Hiroshi Hamagaki and Tomo Kimura, who left Sega active Limited) was a British software house based
to form the company. The company is best known in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer
for its racing game titles. According to MobyGames, market. Like many software houses established in
the company logo is a picture of Hiroshi Hamagaki, the 1980s, their primary market was the 8-bit range
drawn by his son when he was 3 years old. of computers such as the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad
In its early years, Genki dabbled in a few dif- CPC, MSX, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64.
ferent genres, looking for its niche. On one end of The company was acquired by French video game
the spectrum, there was Devilish, a game similar to publisher Infogrames in 1999, and was renamed
Arkanoid that was released for Sega’s Game Gear Infogrames Studios in 2000. Infogrames Studios
and Mega Drive systems in 1991. On the other end, closed down in 2003.
there was Kileak: The DNA Imperative, a first-per- The company, originally a computer store
son mecha shooting game for the PlayStation which called Just Micro, was established as a software
was released in 1995. house in 1984 with the name Gremlin Graphics
Genki found its niche in 1994 with the re- Software Ltd by Ian Stewart & Kevin Norburn.
lease of Shutokō Battle ‘94 Keichii Tsuchiya Drift Gremlin’s early success was based on games such
King for the SNES—the first in a long-running se- as Wanted: Monty Mole for the ZX Spectrum and
ries of racing games. Shutokou Battle 2 followed Thing on a Spring for the Commodore 64.
one year later, in 1995, and was also for the SNES. In 1994, it was renamed as Gremlin Interac-
Within the same year, Genki shifted towards tive, now concentrating on the 16-bit, PC and con-
developing 3D games, continuing the Shutokou Bat- sole market. Gremlin enjoyed major success with the
tle series with Highway 2000 on the Sega Saturn. Zool and Premier Manager series in the early 1990s,
Genki also produced major titles for both the Play- and then with Actua Soccer, the first football game in
Station and Nintendo 64 consoles in the following full 3D; other successful games included the Lotus
two years. racing series; a futuristic racing game, Motorhead; a
In 2010, Genki created an alternate reality stunt car racing game, Fatal Racing (1995); and the
game division called Genki ARG, to replace the cur- 1998 flight simulator Hardwar.
rently discontinued Genki Racing Project. This divi- In 1997, Gremlin acquired DMA Design
sion was closed in late of March 2012. (creators of Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings). After
The Shutokou Battle series was recently re- 1999, they themselves were bought by Infogrames
vived with a Mobage version for mobile phones re- and renamed “Infogrames Sheffield House”, for a
leased in 2017. This is the first Shutokou Battle game reported fee of around £24 million, but the studio
after GRP was discontinued. The same year, however, closed in 2003. The building they latterly occupied
Genki announced that they were discontinuing the near Devonshire Green has since been demolished
service, to be shut down in late of that year. when Infogrames Sheffield House was supposed to
be renamed “Atari Sheffield House”.
Developers • 405
Gust Co. Ltd. is a video game developer and divi- Hudson Soft Co., Ltd, commonly known by its brand
sion of Koei Tecmo Holdings, known for their Atel- name Hudson, was a Japanese video game company
ier and Ar tonelico series. that released numerous games for video game con-
Gust Co. Ltd. was founded in 1993 in Na- soles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly
gano, Japan, as the first game software house in from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered
Nagano Prefecture. The company began by creat- in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka,
ing dôjinshi games for personal computers. Its first Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in
project was Story of King Ares for the NEC personal the Hudson Building in Sapporo.
computer. In 1994 the company became an official Hudson Soft was founded in Toyohira-ku,
developer for the PlayStation console, and its first Sapporo, Japan on May 18, 1973 by brothers Yuji
PlayStation product was the simulation game Falk- and Hiroshi Kudo. The founders grew up admiring
ata. In 1997, Gust released Atelier Marie, the first trains, and named the business after their favorite,
game in the long-running, popular, and iconic Atel- the Hudson locomotives (called the “4-6-4”, and es-
ier series. Since then the company has released sev- pecially Japanese C62). Initially, it dealt with per-
eral successful games for various home and portable sonal computer products, but later expanded to the
video game systems. On 7 December 2011 the finan- development and publishing of video games, mobile
cial news source Nikkei reported that Tecmo Koei content, video game peripherals and music record-
had bought all shares of the company from the stake- ing. Primarily a video game publisher, it internally
holders for 2.2 billion yen with the intention to make developed many of the video games it published,
social games of Gust’s Atelier console role-playing as well as a few published by other companies. It
game franchise. is known for series such as Bomberman, Adventure
It was announced on July 28, 2014 that Gust Island, Bloody Roar, and Bonk.
will be absorbed by its parent company Koei Tecmo Hudson Soft made the TurboGrafx-16 in as-
on October 1, 2014, and will continue to develop ex- sociation with NEC, to compete against Nintendo,
isting game series and new intellectual properties as Sega, and SNK, while continuing making games on
“Gust Nagano Development Group”. other platforms, as a second-party developer.
In 2015, Gust released a new site called Hudson Soft ceased to exist as a company
“Gust Social” exclusively for its social games, start- on March 1, 2012, and merged with Konami Digital
ing with Nights of Azure, Atelier Sophie and Ciel Entertainment who was the surviving entity. Despite
Nosurge as the first advertised, for the purpose of the demise of Hudson Soft, Konami had intended for
improving communication with fan feedback. The products and services to continue being developed
website allows for fans to make a Gust ID account and offered under the Hudson brand. The Hudson
which allows them to participate in surveys, buy website was even initially retained and maintained
products from the Gust online store, and a variety by Konami. In practice, however, there was no sig-
of other related content. Additionally, the Gust So- nificant action from Konami with the Hudson brand,
cial serves as an active news site for its new social save for some re-releases on the Virtual Console.
games.
406 • Developers
id Software LLC is an American video game devel- Iguana Entertainment (later Acclaim Studios Austin)
oper headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company was an American video game developer from 1991
was founded by four members of the computer com- to 2004 best known for developing the Turok series
pany Softdisk, programmers John Carmack and John and the home console versions of NBA Jam.
Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Iguana Entertainment was first incorporated
Carmack (no relation to John Carmack). Business in California, in 1991, by Jeff Spangenberg. Prior to
manager Jay Wilbur was also involved. incorporating Iguana Entertainment, Mr. Spangen-
id Software’s history starts at Softdisk, an berg had run Punk Development. Based in Sunny-
Apple II disk magazine company. At a board meet- vale, Punk Development was the product develop-
ing at Softdisk in 1990, John Carmack introduced ment arm of RazorSoft, Inc., an Oklahoma-based
a groundbreaking technique to develop rapid side- video game distributor. All of the founders and many
scrolling graphics on a PC. Carmack and co-worker early employees worked for Punk Development.
Tom Hall worked through the night developing a Iguana Entertainment’s major clients included
replica of the first level of Super Mario Bros. 3 using Acclaim Entertainment and Sunsoft. In September
stock images from co-worker John Romero’s game, 1993, Iguana Entertainment moved to Austin, Texas,
Dangerous Dave. Unknown to Softdisk, the three becoming Austin’s second-largest developer of com-
men designed a full carbon copy of Super Mario puter games, smaller only than Origin Systems.
Bros. 3 on the PC, hoping to license the game to The original pet iguanas could not be easily
Nintendo. Despite their work, Nintendo turned them moved between states and were given away. Once
down, saying they had no interest in expanding to in Texas, a new tank and iguanas were added to the
the PC market, and that Mario games were to remain lobby. Cyrus Lum created an updated company log-
exclusive to Nintendo consoles. otype (featuring a portrait of the new iguana named
id Software made important technological Killer) and animation that appears in many Iguana
developments in video game technologies for the PC games with the iguana mascot.
(running MS-DOS and Windows), including work In 1993, the company acquired Optimus
done for the Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake fran- Software Ltd of Teesside, England which became
chises. id’s work was particularly important in 3D Iguana Entertainment UK. Iguana UK proved a val-
computer graphics technology and in game engines uable resource, both for “porting” arcade games in-
that are heavily used throughout the video game in- cluding NBA Jam to home video game consoles and
dustry. for recruiting and preparing employees for transfer
The company was also heavily involved to the US office.
in the creation of the first-person shooter genre. In 1995, owners Jeff and Beth Spangenberg
Wolfenstein 3D is often considered as the first true sold Iguana Entertainment to Acclaim Entertainment.
FPS, Doom was a game that popularized the genre When Acclaim Entertainment went bankrupt in 2004,
and PC gaming in general, and Quake was id’s first most employees of Acclaim Studios Austin found
true 3D first-person shooter. out when they showed up for work but the building’s
manager had locked them out of their offices.
Developers • 407
Jaleco JVC
Type Corporation Founded September 13, 1927
Founded October 3, 1974 Headquarters Yokohama, Japan
July 3, 2006 Key people Shoichiro Eguchi (President)
Defunct May 21, 2014 Employees 19,044 (2008)
Fate Dissolved Parent JVC Kenwood Corp.
Headquarters Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0031 Subsidiaries Victor Entertainment
JCVision
Jaleco was founded on October 3, 1974 as the Ja- Victor Company of Japan, Ltd, usually referred to
pan Leisure Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of amusement as JVC or The Japan Victor Company, is a Japanese
equipment; its headquarters was in Setagaya-ku, To- international professional and consumer electronics
kyo, Japan. In 1982, the company started developing corporation based in Yokohama. Founded in 1927,
and manufacturing arcade video games. That year, the company is best known for introducing Japan’s
the company shortened its brand name to Jaleco and first televisions and for developing the VHS video
formally changed its name to Jaleco Ltd. in 1983. recorder.
Jaleco was a video game company whose fo- JVC began its live in 1927 as The Victor
cus lay in arcade titles, as well as titles for the NES Talking Machine Company of Japan, Ltd, a Japanese
and other popular computer and video game con- subsidiary of the US-based Victor Talking Machine
soles of the 1980s and 1990s, most notably the Bases Company. In 1929 the conglomerate merged with
Loaded series and Carrier. RCA, becoming RCA Victor, but the JVC branch
In 2006, it decided to become a pure holding kept its original branding. JVC severed its ties with
company by renaming itself Jaleco Holding and split- RCA Victor during World War II, becoming its own
ting its video game operations into a newly created stand-alone company (though the Victor name and
subsidiary that took its former name of Jaleco Ltd. “Nipper” the dog trademark was shared between the
By 2000, Jaleco, still active in the develop- two, and both companies continue to work closely to
ment of arcade and console video games, hadn’t pro- this day).
duced any hit title in years and was in a struggling JVC has spent most of its existence produc-
state. Its American division Jaleco USA had already ing electronics, notably the first Japanese televisions
left the arcade industry in 1993. In 2000, Jaleco was in 1939, as well as stereos, multimedia equipment,
acquired by Hong Kong company PCCW. Jaleco, and the VHS home video standard in 1976. In the
renamed PCCW Japan, gave the PCCW Group a 1980s it began a venture into the home computer
foothold in Japan. PCCW heavily restructured the market, producing the HC-95 MSX computer.
company, shutting down Jaleco’s arcade division In 1972 it established one of their subsidi-
and other non-profitable departments to focus on aries as Victor Musical Industries (later Victor En-
video games for consoles of the sixth generation era. tertainment and then Victor Interactive Software) to
PCCW Japan itself acquired on April 2001 the VR-1 originally cater for the audio market (before going
Group which included VR-1 Entertainment, a U.S. on to publish video games). This is one of several
developer of massively multiplayer online role play- forays JVC have made into the video gaming world,
ing games, to bring a more global focus to its cur- alongside Electronic Arts Victor (a partnership with
rent and future software endeavors. In 2009, Jaleco Electronic Arts) and BMG Victor (a partnership with
Holding sold Jaleco Ltd to Game Yarou. On May BMG Interactive Entertainment).
21, 2014, Game Yarou was declared bankrupt by the JVC has itself published video games, and
Tokyo District Court. Since then, Jaleco has disap- has created hardware including the Wondermega
peared and its website is no longer active. and V-Saturn.
“segaretro.org”
408 • Developers
Koei Konami
Founded July 25, 1978 Type Kabushiki gaisha
Founder Yōichi Erikawa Founded March 21, 1969
Keiko Erikawa Founders Kagemasa Kōzuki
Fate Merged with Tecmo Headquarters Tokyo Midtown, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Successor Koei Tecmo Games Owner Kozuki family (29%)
Headquarters Yokohama, Japan Employees 5,048 (2017)
Parent Koei Tecmo Subsidiaries 4K Media Inc.
Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game pub- Konami Holdings Corporation, commonly referred
lisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. to as Konami, is a Japanese entertainment company.
The company is known for its historical simulation It operates as a product distributor (which produces
games based on the novel Romance of the Three and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot
Kingdoms, as well as simulation games based on machines and arcade cabinets), video game devel-
pseudo-historical events. oper and publisher company. It also operates health
Koei was established in July 1978 by Yōichi and physical fitness clubs across Japan.
Erikawa (also known as Kou Shibusawa) and Keiko Konami is famous for popular video game
Erikawa. Yoichi was a student at Keio University, series such as Suikoden, Castlevania, Contra, Dance
and when his family’s rural dyestuffs business failed Dance Revolution, Metal Gear, Pro Evolution Soc-
he decided to pursue his interest in programming. cer, Silent Hill and Yu-Gi-Oh!. Konami is the twen-
The company to this day is located in the Hiyoshi tieth-largest game company in the world by revenue.
area of Yokohama along with Erikawa’s alma mater. The company’s founder and current chair-
The company initially focused on personal man, Kagemasa Kozuki, previously ran a jukebox
computer sales and made-to-order business soft- rental and repair business in Toyonaka, Osaka before
ware. In 1983 it released Nobunaga’s Ambition, a transforming the business into a manufacturer of
historical strategy game set during the Sengoku peri- amusement machines for video arcades. Their first
od of Japanese history. The game went on to receive coin-operated video game was released in 1978, and
numerous awards, and Koei produced several more they began exporting products to the United States
such games set against the backdrop of world his- the following year. Konami began to achieve suc-
tory, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms, set cess with hit arcade games such as 1981’s Frogger,
during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese his- Scramble, and Super Cobra, many of which were
tory, and Uncharted Waters, set in Portugal during licensed to other companies for stateside release, in-
the Age of Exploration. cluding Stern Electronics and Gremlin Industries.
The company has also found mainstream The name “Konami” (/koʊˈnɑːmi/; Japanese
success in a series of loosely historical action games, pronunciation: [koꜜnami]) is a conjunction of the
the flagship titles of which are the Dynasty Warri- names Kagemasa Kozuki, Yoshinobu Nakama, and
ors and Samurai Warriors series, also known as the Tatsuo Miyasako.
Musō series. Koei also owns a division known as On March 3, 2015, Konami announced they
Ruby Party, which focuses on otome games. would be shifting focus away from individual stu-
On April 1, 2009, Koei merged with Tecmo dios, notably Kojima Productions. Internal sources
to form the Tecmo Koei Holdings holding company. claimed the restructure was due to a clash between
Koei changed its name to Tecmo Koei Games on Hideo Kojima and Konami. Kojima left Konami
April 1, 2010 by absorbing Tecmo, and again on July several days afterwards, re-opening Kojima Produc-
1, 2014 to Koei Tecmo Games. As of 2017, Koei tions as an independent company.
Tecmo Games continues to use the Koei brand.
Developers • 409
The company that would eventually become Krome Lobotomy Software, Inc. was an American video
Studios started life as several Australian splinter game company responsible for the Sega Saturn ports
companies, founded years apart. of Quake and Duke Nukem 3D, and the original
Melbourne House was founded in the UK game PowerSlave.
in 1978 as Melbourne House - for the purpose of Lobotomy Software was founded in 1993,
publishing books - by Australian ex-pats Alfred when a group of friends working at Nintendo of
Milgrom and Naomi Besen. Seeing the success of America left to form their own company, becoming
the burgeoning video game industry in the US and the Creative department of Lobotomy, with the en-
Japan, they retooled that business plan in 1980 to gineering talent coming from Manley & Associates
involve localization and importation of US games (Manley & Associates was later acquired by Elec-
for the UK market. Fortuitously, soon after the an- tronic Arts in 1996, renamed Electronic Arts Seattle,
nouncement of this change, the Sinclair ZX80 was and subsequently shut down in 2002). They origi-
released. Milgrom jumped on this opportunity by nally worked out of co-founder Paul Lange’s apart-
writing a book for the home computer market and ment, but soon set up an office in Redmond, Wash-
distributing it through his own company. The book ington. The team began working on various game
was a success, and it convinced the two founders demos, one of which later became the first-person
that they could make money by focusing entirely on shooter PC game, PowerSlave.
the video game market. PowerSlave received enough success to help
The founders returned to Melbourne and Lobotomy Software secure a contract to port the
founded Beam Software in late 1980 to localize and game over to the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation.
import US games to a largely-untapped Australian Lobotomy Software originally wanted to port Pow-
market. 1981 was largely spent publishing software erSlave from the PC to the Saturn and PlayStation
for the VIC-20 and Sinclair ZX81, but in 1982 Beam with no changes. However, the weaker hardware of
released its first in-house production The Hobbit for the consoles made this impossible. Instead, Lobot-
the newly-released ZX Spectrum. The Spectrum omy Software created their own fully 3D game en-
would go on to become one of the most popular gine known as SlaveDriver and decided to recreate
video game platforms in UK/Australian history, and PowerSlave with new level designs for the Saturn
The Hobbit would eventually go on to become one and PlayStation; the console versions of PowerSlave
of the best-sellers for the Spectrum. This early suc- were a success.
cess cemented the company’s market position, and In 1998, Lobotomy Software was acquired by
allowed the company to hire more programmers for the now defunct Crave Entertainment and renamed
in-house games. Lobotomy Studios. The team worked on a Caesar’s
Today, Krome Studios is best known for their Palace gambling game for the Nintendo 64, but after
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger games and for their reboot a year of development, the game was postponed and
of the Spyro the Dragon franchise. Krome has con- eventually cancelled. At that point, Lobotomy Stu-
tinued localizing and releasing games locally, while dios was closed and employees were let go or given
developing one or two in-house titles per year. the option to be relocated to another position.
410 • Developers
LucasArts Maxis
Founded May 1, 1982 Founded 1987
Founder George Lucas Founders Will Wright
Headquarters California, United States Jeff Braun
Employees <10 Headquarters Redwood Shores, California, U.S.
Parent Lucasfilm Parent Electronic Arts (1997–)
(The Walt Disney Company) Website www.maxis.com
Mitchell Corporation was a Japanese video game de- Natsume is the name of two video games publishers,
veloper based in the Suginami ward of Tokyo. Roy Natsume-Atari and Natsume Inc, that were once the
Ozaki served as president, and Koichi Niida served same company but are now completely separated.
as vice-president. Some employees were former Natsume Co Ltd was founded in Japan on
Capcom and TAD Corporation employees. The October 20, 1987. It established in 1988 an American
company was originally established on February 1, division called Natsume Inc. In 1995, Natsume Inc
1960, as an import/export business by the father of split from Natsume Co Ltd to become an independ-
Roy Ozaki. Ozaki and Niida took over the company ent company. The name “Natsume” was retained by
and began acting as exclusive overseas agents for both companies in their respective countries. In 2013,
such video game companies as Visco, Video Sys- Natsume Co Ltd renamed itself Natsume-Atari fol-
tem, Seta, Metro, Home Data, and other small video lowing a merger with its subsidiary Atari that year.
game manufacturers in the 1980s. Company activity Also in 2013, Natsume Inc (the American company)
was suspended on 20 November 2012. inaugurated a Japanese division called Natsume Inc
Mitchell Corporation develops titles for Japan with no connection to its former parent com-
home consoles, handhelds, Japanese mobile phones, pany.
the arcade and interactive kiosks located in res- Natsume-Atari is based in Shinjuku, Tokyo,
taurants and other places. Mitchell also distributes Japan and is known for developing licensed titles
printed circuit boards for the arcade/coin-op market. and mobile games. Natsume Inc is located in Burl-
The company also develops video games for other ingame, California and is best known for publishing
publishers. Since 2004 they have developed games unique, family-oriented niche games, such as Har-
only for Nintendo hardware. vest Moon and Reel Fishing.
Mitchell Corporation is best known as the During the NES and SNES era, NatsumeA-
game developer of Puzz Loop. Copyright and trade- tari developed numerous titles, often licensed, such
mark registration of Puzz Loop was established in as Power Rangers. Natsume Inc published a wide
December 1999, the same year it was released to range of titles, including those developed by Nat-
the international coin-op arcade market. Prior to sume-Atari, such as S.C.A.T., Wild Guns and Shad-
this, it developed the Pang! series of games, known ow of the Ninja.
in America as Buster Bros. and distributed there From the end of the Super NES era up until
by Capcom. Puzz Loop was first released in North late 2014, Natsume Inc was known for publishing a
America, as well as Europe, under the title Ballistic series of Story of Seasons games in North America.
for the original PlayStation console and Game Boy Natsume has also operated an eBay shop,
Color handheld. Infogrames published the PlaySta- selling copies of older games sealed in their original
tion and Game Boy Color versions in North America packaging, collected from storage at its offices. At
in late 1999, while THQ published these same ver- auction, the company sold a sealed copy of Pocky &
sions for European territories. Tokyo Crash Mobs is Rocky for over $1,600.
the latest instalment of the Puzz Loop series.
Capcom published both versions for the Japanese
412 • Developers
NEC Neversoft
Founded July 17, 1899 Founded July 1994
Founders Kunihiko Iwadare Founder Joel Jewett
Takeshiro Maeda Mick West
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan Chris Ward
Key people Nobuhiro Endo (Chairman) Defunct July 10, 2014
Takashi Niino (President) Fate Merged with and into Infinity Ward
Website www.nec.com Parent Activision
NEC Corporation is a Japanese multinational pro- Neversoft Entertainment was an American video
vider of IT services and products, headquartered in game developer. Neversoft is best recognized for
Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network their line of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Guitar
solutions to business enterprises, communications Hero video game franchises. The company was ac-
services providers and to government agencies, and quired by Activision in October 1999. The studio
has also been the biggest PC vendor in Japan since was merged with Infinity Ward on May 3, 2014 and
the 1980s. The company was known as the Nippon was officially made defunct on July 10, 2014.
Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in Neversoft was founded in July 1994 by three
1983 as just NEC. Its NEC Semiconductors business employees of Malibu Interactive (previously Acme
unit was one of the worldwide top 20 semiconductor Interactive), a division of Malibu Comics based in
sales leaders before merging with Renesas Electron- Westlake Village, California. Joel Jewett was at the
ics. NEC is a member of the Sumitomo Group. time head of development at the rapidly shrinking
The company started with the production, Malibu Interactive. He teamed up with Mick West, a
sales and maintenance of telephones and switches. game programmer, and Chris Ward, an artist.
NEC modernized the production facilities with the In July 1994, Neversoft was formed. They
construction of the Mita Plant in 1901 at Mita Shiko- initially found work for Playmates Interactive En-
kumachi. It was completed in December 1902. tertainment, who were about to release a line of toys
In 1980, NEC created the first digital signal called Skeleton Warriors and wanted a video game
processor, the NEC µPD7710. NEC Semiconduc- to go along with the toys and the cartoon series. Nev-
tors Ltd. was established in 1981, producing VLSIs ersoft began work on the game design and moved
and LSIs. NEC introduced the 8-bit PC-8800 series into offices in Woodland Hills, California. Never-
personal computer in 1981, followed by the 16-bit soft worked on the Genesis version for five months,
PC-9800 series in 1982. This made the company the over that time they hired another artist and a level
dominant leader of the Japanese PC industry, hold- designer. In December 1994, Playmates cancelled
ing 80% market share at the time. the game. They were not unhappy with the progress,
NEC is responsible for a number of parts but had decided that they needed to get on the 32-bit
used in Sega consoles (and the PC Engine/Tur- bandwagon and develop the game for the Sega Sat-
boGrafx-16). They have also published video games urn. 1995 was spent developing Skeleton Warriors
for Sega consoles. for the Sega Saturn.
NEC’s in-house video game development In May 2014 it was reported that Neversoft
team before the mid-1990s was called NEC Avenue; had been merged with Call of Duty creators Infin-
this was eventually consolidated with other software ity Ward to create what was internally referred to
developers to form NEC Interchannel. Their NEC as a “super-studio”. Neversoft was officially made
Home Electronics division was also responsible for defunct on July 10, 2014, 20 years to the day of its
developing and publishing video games during the founding, with the remaining employees attending a
NEC Interchannel years. burning of a sculpture of the skewered eyeball from
their logo that has been part of their offices before.
Developers • 413
Psygnosis Limited was a video game developer and Radical Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian video game
publisher headquartered in England. Founded by developer based in Vancouver, British Columbia and
Jonathan Ellis, Ian Hetherington and David Lawson, a subsidiary of Activision. The studio is best known
the Liverpool-based Psygnosis was indirectly born for developing three games in the Crash Bandicoot
from the ashes of the defunct 8-bit game company franchise, and the Prototype series of games.
Imagine Software, where Lawson was one of the Radical Entertainment was founded in 1991
founders and Hetherington was Financial Director. by Rory Armes, Dave Davis, and Ian Wilkinson, of
After the collapse of Imagine in 1984, the name and which Davis and Armes had previously worked at
trademarks were bought by Ocean Software, while Vancouver-based Distinctive Software. The studio
the rights of the software remained with original primarily developed NES ports and adaptations of
copyright owners. After Imagine, Lawson and Het- other video games, peaking at eight projects in 1994.
herington set up a new company called Finchspeed Between 1997 and 1998, several employees left the
which used Bandersnatch (one of Imagine’s much- studio to form Barking Dog Studios.
hyped but never completed “Megagames”) as the In 2003, Radical Entertainment opened a de-
basis of what became Brataccas, the first game pub- velopment division, 369 Interactive, which was set
lished by Psygnosis. to develop multiple titles based on the CSI franchise,
In 2000, the publishing branch of the compa- in partnership with Ubi Soft.
ny was merged into Sony Computer Entertainment Although Radical Entertainment developed
Europe as a whole, and the Psygnosis brand was few titles for Vivendi Universal Entertainment,
dropped in favour of SCE Studio Liverpool, which the titles gained massive success and warranted
marked the full integration of the studio within Sony the company’s interest in the developers. In 2005,
Computer Entertainment. Vivendi acquired Radical Entertainment, however,
Studio Liverpool was the oldest and second as described by a former developer at Radical, the
largest development house within Sony Computer mood did not change much and Radical still oper-
Entertainment Europe’s stable of developers, and is ated as an independent game developing company.
best known for the Wipeout series. The studio is also On 28 June 2012, Activision announced
known for the Formula One series of licensed rac- that Radical Entertainment had seen a “significant
ing games, and the Colony Wars series released on reduction in staff”, and that the studio “will cease
the original PlayStation. As Psygnosis, they were the development of its own games going forward”,
original publishers of the Lemmings series. prompting media speculation that the developer had
Reports of Studio Liverpool’s closure sur- closed. The publisher cited Prototype 2’s failure to
faced on 22 August 2012, with Edge quoting staff “find a broad commercial audience” as the reason
tweets. Staff were told the news by the vice president behind Radical’s closure. According to Activision,
of Sony Worldwide Studios Europe, Michael Denny. some employees will remain working for Radical
In a press release Sony stated that after an assess- Entertainment supporting other existing Activision
ment of all European studios, it had decided to close Publishing projects, thus, while keeping the studio
Studio Liverpool. active, leaves them as a support team.
414 • Developers
Sculptured Software was a game development com- Silicon Knights was a Canadian video game devel-
pany based in Salt Lake City, Utah and founded in oper. Founded in 1992 by Denis Dyack, the com-
1984 by George Metos, Peter Adams, and Bryan pany was headquartered in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Brandenburg. George Metos incorporated the com- In 2012, following the loss of a court case against
pany on July 12, 1985 in the state of Utah with the Epic Games, Dyack left Silicon Knights to form a
help of some investors, as Sculptured Software, new game studio, Precursor Games. The case then
Inc. The company was an early pioneer in the video led Silicon Knights to bankruptcy on May 16, 2014.
gaming industry, porting many games from arcade Silicon Knights’ first games were real-time
to home console systems, and developing its own strategy/action hybrids for the computers. Silicon
games as well. The development company stayed Knights’ last PC game, Blood Omen: Legacy of
very busy and successful, with over 50 games to its Kain was published in 1996. Since that time, Silicon
credit, making it a target for acquisition by larger Knights moved from creating PC games to console
companies. This happened in October 1995 when titles. In 2000, Silicon Knights was signed by Nin-
Acclaim Inc. bought the company. tendo to create games exclusively for its consoles,
Acclaim had also purchased Probe Enter- during which time it produced Eternal Darkness:
tainment as well as Iguana Entertainment several Sanity’s Requiem. Together with Nintendo, Silicon
months earlier, and the three companies were col- Knights worked with Konami to create Metal Gear
lectively known as “Acclaim Studios” in 1998, al- Solid: The Twin Snakes. In 2004, the company ended
though no official name changing happened until lat- exclusivity with Nintendo. In 2005, it partnered with
er. It appears that the Sculptured Studios, Inc. name publisher Microsoft Game Studios for Too Human,
remained since it was printed on game packaging all though Nintendo still owned stock in the company.
the way through 1999. It was referred to as “Iguana In 2011, Silicon Knights partnered with Ac-
West”, but it is unsure whether this name was offi- tivision Blizzard and released X-Men: Destiny to
cially used as a development entity. average to poor reviews. It was later alleged that
Restructuring and rearranging things within the studio had used development funds granted to
Acclaim occurred in an attempt to streamline opera- them by Activision intended for X-Men: Destiny to
tions, and the Sculptured Software name was discon- instead work in secret on a tech demo for a poten-
tinued in favor of Acclaim Studios Salt Lake City tial Eternal Darkness sequel. Further compounding
in 1999. The first game on record developed by Ac- Silicon Knights’s troubles, the company lost their
claim Studios SLC was ECW Hardcore Revolution suit against Epic in large part due to the fact that the
(January, 2000), and the last completed game by the game engine code in Too Human and X-Men: Des-
studio was Legends of Wrestling II (2002). Acclaim tiny, supposedly created using a new internal engine,
Studios SLC was working on Legends of Wrestling in fact featured large chunks of code taken from the
III when the headquarters decided to close the studio Unreal Engine. As part of Epic’s legal victory, the
in December 2002. Everything was absorbed into court ordered all unsold copies of both Too Human
Acclaim’s Austin studio at that time. and X-Men: Destiny destroyed.
“segaretro.org”
Developers • 415
SNK Sunsoft
Type Kabushiki gaisha Type Division
Subsidiary Founded 1978
Founded 1978 (Shin Nihon Kikaku Corp.) Headquarters Kōnan, Aichi, Japan
(defunct on October 22, 2001) Parent Sun Corporation
2001 (as Playmore Corporation) Website sunsoft.jp/en
Headquarters Suita, Osaka, Japan
Owner Orient Securities Co., Ltd.
SNK Corporation is a Japanese video game hard- Sunsoft, stylized as SUNSOFT, is a Japanese video
ware and software company, successor to the Shin game developer and publisher. Sunsoft in itself is
Nihon Kikaku and current owner of the SNK video not a company, but instead the brand name of Japa-
game brand and Neo Geo video game platform. The nese electronic manufacturer Sun Corporation for
Shin Nihon Kikaku Corporation was founded in its video games operations. Its U.S. subsidiary oper-
1978 by Eikichi Kawasaki. Initially called Shin Ni- ated under the name Sun Corporation of America,
hon Kikaku (New Japan Project), the name was in- though, as in Japan, games published there showed a
formally shortened to SNK Corporation in 1981 be- logo that read only Sunsoft.
fore becoming the company’s official name in 1986. In April 1971, Sun Electronics Corporation
SNK is most notable as creator of the Neo (alternatively called Sun Denshi) was founded in
Geo family of arcade, home, and handheld game Kōnan, Aichi as a manufacturer and vendor of elec-
consoles, beginning in 1990. The Neo Geo line was tronics equipment.
halted in 2001, when financial troubles forced SNK Sun Corporation’s history in video games
Corporation to close on October 22, 2001. Antici- began in October 1978 in arcades with two titles:
pating the end of the company, Kawasaki founded Block Challenger and Block Perfect. Sun Corpora-
Playmore Corporation on August 1, 2001. By Oc- tion had several arcade hits in the early 1980s such
tober, Playmore had acquired all of the intellectual as Arabian, Ikki and Kangaroo. At the time, its ar-
property of the former SNK Corporation. In 2003, cade video games were released under its own cor-
Playmore Corporation was renamed to SNK Play- porate name of Sun Electronics Corporation.
more Corporation, to more firmly establish itself as The brand Sunsoft first appeared in the lat-
the successor to the SNK brand and legacy. ter of the 1980s when Sun Corporation began devel-
Traditionally, SNK operated primarily as oping original games and technology for the home
a video game developer, publisher, and hardware video game console market, with emphasis mostly
manufacturer, focusing on arcade games but also on the Famicom. Sunsoft had gone international at
working on console and PC games. In 2004, the that time, and it had the publishing might to secure
company started manufacturing pachislot machines, major licenses of the day (such as Batman and The
which the company leaned heavily into before with- Addams Family). In the 1990s, Sun Corporation of
drawing from the market in 2015. In 2009, the com- America joined forces with Acclaim Entertainment
pany also entered an active wave of mobile game de- to handle ad sales rights to Sunsoft’s video games for
velopment. Classic SNK franchises like Metal Slug, game consoles.
Samurai Shodown and The King of Fighters feature Finally, in 1995, Sun Corporation of Amer-
heavily in its recent offerings. ica heavily restructured in the face of bankruptcy,
In 2016, SNK dropped the “Playmore” name and all the company’s pending projects were either
from its logo and reintroduced its original slogan, sold to other companies or cancelled. On September
“The Future Is Now”, as a means to signify “a return 14, 2006, Nintendo announced that Sunsoft was a
to SNK’s rich gaming history.” partner on the Wii’s Virtual Console.
Former Sunsoft producer and director René Boutin
416 • Developers
SystemSoft Alpha Corporation is a Japanese soft- Taito Corporation is a Japanese video game devel-
ware development company. oper and publisher of arcade hardware and mobile
Formerly just “SystemSoft”, they have a long phones, and an operator of video arcades. It is also
series of mainly military strategic simulation games a former publisher of home video games. Taito is
(generally hex-based) popular in the Japan market. known for producing hit arcade games, such as Space
Notable among these are the many Daisenryaku and Invaders, Bubble Bobble, and Arkanoid. It has pro-
Master of Monsters series games that have been duced arcade games all around the world, while also
ported to multiple platforms from PCs to consoles. importing and distributing American coin-op video
SystemSoft “Alpha” initially was to develop games in Japan. Taito owns several arcades in Japan
for all console based games such as Daisenryaku known as Taito Stations or Game Taito Stations.
while the parent SystemSoft focused on Windows The company was founded in 1953 by a Rus-
and Macintosh editions. Now the “SystemSoft” sian Jewish businessman named Michael Kogan as
website focuses on more general software solutions Taito Trading Company. Taito started out importing
outside of games, while SystemSoft Alpha is the and distributing vending machines. It was also the
game-making arm of the company. The main web- first company to distill and sell vodka in Japan. Lat-
site for the game division, regardless of platform, is er, it began leasing jukeboxes and eventually started
now SystemSoft Alpha, but “Alpha” still is not seen to manufacture its own. Taito began producing elec-
in the logo of the company on game boxes. tro-mechanical arcade games in the 1960s.
Only a handful of the dozens of games in On August 22, 2005, it was announced that
their portfolio have ever been translated to make it to the gaming conglomerate Square Enix would pur-
English-speaking markets, including two Master of chase 247,900 Taito shares worth ¥45.16 billion
Monsters games for the Sega Genesis and PlaySta- ($409.1 million), to make Taito Corporation a sub-
tion (“Disciples of Gaia”). Part of the reason for this sidiary of Square Enix. The purpose of the takeover
is that the main platform for their games for almost a by Square Enix was to both increase Taito’s profit
decade was the NEC PC-9801. margin exponentially as well as begin its company’s
SystemSoft has produced many wargames expansion into new forms of gaming (most notably,
that are from the perspective of the Japanese Mili- the arcade scene), and various other entertainment
tary, circa World War II. These games fill a niche venues. The takeover bid from Square Enix was ac-
in the hex wargaming market that Japanese Military cepted by previous stockholder Kyocera, making
enthusiasts cannot expect from Western game devel- Taito an official Square Enix subsidiary. By March,
opers who often portray the Japanese as the “enemy” 2006 Taito became a subsidiary wholly owned by
in games, if at all. Similarly, if less controversial, is Square Enix and was delisted from the First Section
the guaranteed inclusion of the Japanese Self De- of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Despite being a sub-
fense Forces in modern wargames like the Daisen- sidiary to Square Enix Holdings, the parent company
ryaku series. has kept the branding of Taito distinct from Square
Enix.
Developers • 417
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company found- Tantalus Media (formerly Tantalus Interactive) is a
ed in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged video game developer based in Melbourne, Austral-
with Tomy company limited to form Takara Tomy. ia, founded in 1994 by former Beam Software pro-
The Takara motto was “playing is culture”. grammers Trevor Nuridin, Tim Bennett and Andrew
In 1975, Takara produced the Diaclone and Bailey.
Microman Micro Change toys. In 1984, the toy line Their first original title was South Park Rally,
was rebranded by Hasbro as “Transformers”. Takara completed for four platforms in seven months. Their
continued to sell Microman and used it as the basis first handheld game was ATV Quad Power Racing
for the Micronauts toy line. Micronauts were sold for the Game Boy Advance, and they released Space
internationally by the Mego Corporation. Takara Race, their first PS2 game, that same year. They used
also invented Battle Beasts, the E-kara karaoke mi- two cross-platform engines: CRIS for handhelds,
crophone, B-Daman and Beyblade. These toys were with skinned mesh rendering, and the Mercury En-
sold or distributed internationally by Hasbro. In gine for new generation consoles in its early years.
1978, Takara developed the Choro-Q, mini pullback In the mid 1990’s Tantalus was partly owned by UK
cars. Internationally, they have been sold as “Penny developer Perfect Entertainment, which secured
Racers”. contracts with Psygnosis for ports of their popular
Takara developed and published video PlayStation games to the Sega Saturn. During this
games. Despite publishing video games from as time, Tantalus was known as Tantalus Entertain-
early as 1983, Takara made their name in the video ment, but reverted to Tantalus Interactive after they
game industry in the early 1990s, porting SNK’s became independent when separating from Perfect
Neo Geo titles to the likes of the Sega Mega Drive in 1998.
and Super NES. It moved onto publishing Tamsoft’s The developer’s best performing title was
3D fighting game series Battle Arena Toshinden and the 2007 girl’s horse riding simulator Pony Friends
numerous other Japanese-only titles. It purchased for the Nintendo DS, which sold more than 1 million
a controlling stake in Atlus in 2003, and many of copies, making it the largest-selling single-format
Takara’s licenses were published under that name. game developed in Australia.
March 1, 2006 saw the company merge with The company changed its name to Tantalus
Tomy to create Takara Tomy. The company still out- Media in 2007 following investment from private
puts video games, but is more focused on the toy equity company Netus.
manufacturing business, selling many of Hasbro’s Tantalus briefly re-branded to Straight Right,
products in Japan and producing its own Micro- relocated its entire studio and underwent a number
man, Transformers, Battle Beasts, Beyblade and B- of changes which despite keeping the business
Daman toys, just to name a few. branding of ‘Tantalus’ to this day, heralded a radical
change for the developer. During this time Tantalus
Media dabbled in some touch-gaming development
and largely returned to its former self- a studio dedi-
cated to porting on Nintendo platforms.
418 • Developers
Team Ninja is a Japanese video game developer and Technosoft (also known as Tecno Soft and Techno
a division of Koei Tecmo, founded in 1995. It is best Soft) was a Japanese video game developer that was
known for the Ninja Gaiden action-adventure game active from 1980 to 2001. Technosoft as a corpora-
series and the Dead or Alive fighting game series. tion ceases to exist as its current incarnation is the
Team Ninja was formed by Itagaki from internal research and development division of Twen-
game designers working at Tecmo, specifically for ty-One Company, the parent company that acquired
the purpose of creating the home versions of the Technosoft in 2001. Technosoft is currently referred
fighting game Dead or Alive and its sequel, Dead or to as Twenty-One Technosoft division.
Alive 2. In 2008, the action-adventure game Ninja The company’s most commercially success-
Gaiden II for the Xbox 360 was published by Mi- ful franchise was the Thunder Force series. It was a
crosoft Game Studios, making it the first game cre- series of free-roaming scrolling shooter video games.
ated by Team Ninja to not be published by Tecmo; The series began with the original Thunder Force in
Tecmo Koei later released an enhanced version of 1983. The games are known by fans of the genre for
Ninja Gaiden II on the PlayStation 3 as Ninja Gaiden their hardcore appeal, pleasing graphics, and gener-
Sigma 2. ally well composed synthesizer-based chiptune mu-
On June 3, 2008, Dead or Alive creator To- sic soundtracks.
monobu Itagaki announced that he would be leav- Other notable releases include Elemental
ing Tecmo and Team Ninja on July 1, 2008, citing Master (1990) and the conversion of TurboGrafx-16
difficulties with the company. In the same statement game Devil’s Crush (dubbed Dragon’s Fury and re-
announcing his resignation, he also announced that leased in North America by Tengen). In 2001, the
he was filing a lawsuit against Tecmo over unpaid company was purchased by pachinko maker Twen-
bonuses for his work on Dead or Alive 4 for the ty-One Company and was merged into its R&D divi-
Xbox 360. It was later reported that he was fired sion.
from Tecmo on June 18, 2008 in retaliation for his In 2006, the URL Tecnosoft.com was reg-
lawsuit. Many of his colleagues at Team Ninja quit istered and updated. However, as of January 2008,
as well to join him at his new game development no updates other than “We will restart soon! Please
team, Valhalla Game Studios. Some ex-Team Ninja wait for a while.” and “THUNDERFORCE is a reg-
members also helped with Ubisoft’s Teenage Mutant istered trademark.” have been added to the website.
Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up. However, with the announcement of Thunder Force
In 2013, following a reconstructing of Koei VI, the copyright for the game has been apparently
Tecmo, Team Ninja was split into two distinct devel- turned over to one of the series’ creators and may no
opment teams. They are dubbed Ichigaya Develop- longer apply.
ment Group 1 (led by Ninja Gaiden Sigma director Some staff members left Technosoft to start
Yosuke Hayashi) and Ichigaya Development Group the game development companies Arsys Software in
2 ( by Fatal Frame producer Keisuke Kikuchi). 1985 (founded by Katsunori Yoshimura, creator of
Thunder Force and Plazma Line) and CAProduction
in 1993.
Developers • 419
Tose is a Japanese developer that was founded in Toys for Bob is an American video game developer
1979 as a spin-off from Toa Seiko, a Japanese elec- founded in Novato, California in 1989. The name
tronics and technology development firm. Special- Toys for Bob was invented by Laurie Lessen-Re-
izing predominantly in outsourced work from other iche; it was chosen to stimulate curiosity and allude
development companies in both Japan and overseas, to Paul and Fred’s appreciation of real toys.
although it is only officially credited on a handful of The company was founded by Paul Reiche
games, most notably all of the Game & Watch Gal- III (CEO and creative director), Fred Ford and Terry
lery games, as well as the Starfy franchise, which is Falls. They created Star Control and its sequel Star
its own creation, Tose is believed to have been in- Control II in the early 1990s. However, they were
volved in the development of 1100-plus games for not involved in the development of Star Control 3.
numerous platforms in various capacities over the After this, they went on to develop a number of vid-
years ranging from graphics support to full devel- eo games for Crystal Dynamics from 1994 to 2000
opment. However, since it routinely declines to be including The Horde, Pandemonium!, The Unholy
credited in most of the games to which they contrib- War and 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue.
ute work, it has come to be known as a “ninja devel- After the release of their next game they de-
oper,” with portions of its exact resume largely being veloped called Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure
made apparent either by clients that make its hiring in 2003, the company was bought by Activision
known, such as Square-Enix for Enix/Dragon Quest on May 3, 2005, and is now a wholly owned sub-
franchise-related ports, or by forensic work done on sidiary. The management team and employees have
both the games themselves and external resources all signed long-term contracts with Activision, and
related to the company. The ways involved in the lat- Toys for Bob remains in place in Novato, California.
ter method include financial reports and ROM hack- Under Activision, the developer mainly focused on
ing, among other means. licensed video games; however, the market for these
The developer’s secrecy extends as far as its types of games began to dry up circa 2008 and they
work force, with even its upper management often were forced to find a new niche.
preferring anonymity over having their names made They took a gamble in 2011 on the game
known. Sporting over 1000 employees, Tose is one Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. A first of its kind ti-
of the world’s largest developers that, with one ex- tle that used real world toy figures and put them in
ception in the form of the PSP Network title Susume the game as playable characters. This game spawned
Tactics, doesn’t also do publishing work. In addition 3 sequels (announced) to date and created a new
to the main office in Japan, it also maintains branch genre that other developers are emulating.
offices in the United States and China.
“giantbomb.com”
420 • Developers
Treasure Ubisoft
Type Kabushiki gaisha Type Public
Founded June 19, 1992 Founded 12 March 1986
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan Headquarters Rennes, France
Key people Masato Maegawa (CEO) Key people Yves Guillemot (Chairman, CEO)
Employees 20-30 Serge Hascoët (CCO)
Website http://www.treasure-inc.co.jp/ Employees 11,779 (2017)
Website ubisoft.com
Treasure Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game devel- Ubisoft Entertainment SA (formerly Ubi Soft Enter-
oper, founded by former employees of Konami on tainment Software) is a French video game publisher,
June 19, 1992. Treasure is best known for classic- headquartered in Rennes. It is known for publishing
style action games that employ innovative gameplay games for several acclaimed video game franchises
systems. Their greatest commercial successes have including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Just Dance,
been games like Wario World and Mischief Mak- Prince of Persia, Rayman, and Tom Clancy’s. It is
ers, but they are better known for their critical suc- the fourth largest publicly-traded game company in
cesses, such as Sin and Punishment, Gunstar Heroes, the Americas and Europe after Activision Blizzard,
Bangai-O, and Ikaruga. Their first released game Electronic Arts, and Take-Two Interactive in terms
was Gunstar Heroes, although McDonald’s Treasure of revenue and market capitalization.
Land Adventure was developed first. In March 1986, five brothers of the Guille-
Treasure is a small, privately held company, mot family founded Ubi Soft in Carentoir, a small
consisting of around 30-40 members, though this village located in the Morbihan department of the
number is somewhat misleading as they also employ Brittany region in France. Yves Guillemot soon
independent contractors to assist development and made deals with Electronic Arts, Sierra On-Line,
sometimes partner with other companies like Sega, and MicroProse to distribute their games in France.
G.rev and Nintendo to increase the size of their By the end of the decade, Ubi Soft began expand-
teams. They have worked on many titles based on ing to other markets, including the United States, the
licenses, including Astro Boy, McDonald’s, Bleach United Kingdom, and Germany. They entered the
and Tiny Toon Adventures, as well as partnering video game distribution and wholesale markets, and
with companies like Sega, Enix and Nintendo to pro- by 1993 they had become the largest distributor of
duce original properties. video games in France. In the early 1990s, Ubi Soft
Treasure does not have a rigid hierarchy. initiated its in-house game development program,
There are not designated “directors” from project to which led to the 1994 opening of a studio in Mon-
project; all directors also work as programmers, art- treuil, France. It later became their administrative
ists, or composers, and may work on other projects and commercial head office, even as the company
that they are not directing. continues to register its headquarters in Rennes.
For the first five years of Treasure, the com- Ubisoft has expanded heavily through the
pany produced games exclusively for Sega consoles. years. Between 1996 and 2000 the company estab-
According to a Treasure representative, their first lished development studios in Shanghai (China),
game (Gunstar Heroes) was developed on the Sega Annecy (France), Montreal (Canada), Casablanca
Genesis for hardware performance reasons, and af- (Morocco), Barcelona (Spain) and Milan (Italy), and
ter that they continued developing for Sega consoles distribution offices in Spain, Italy, Australia, Bel-
since their fan base consisted of owners of those gium, China and Denmark. Ubisoft also acquired
consoles. Red Storm Entertainment, Blue Byte Software and
the games division of The Learning Company.
Developers • 421
Visual Concepts Entertainment is an American video Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video
game developer based in Novato, California. Found- game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was
ed in May 1988, the company is best known for sport founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as
games in the 2K franchise. Westwood Associates and was renamed Westwood
In September 1997, Sega announced their Studios when it merged with Virgin Games (later
intentions to acquire Visual Concepts, a deal that Virgin Interactive Entertainment) in 1992. The com-
was closed on May 18, 1999, for an undisclosed pany was bought by Electronic Arts alongside Vir-
sum. Following a June 2004 deal between Sega gin Interactive’s North American operations in 1998,
and TakeTwo Interactive, wherein the two would and Westwood was closed by EA in 2003.
co-publish and distribute titles in Visual Concepts’ Westwood is best known for developing re-
ESPN-based game series, rumors started spreading al-time strategy, adventure and role-playing genres.
in December 2004, which suggested that Take-Two It was listed in Guinness World Records for selling
Interactive was planning to acquire Visual Concepts more than 10 million copies of Command & Con-
from Sega. On January 24, 2005, Take-Two Inter- quer worldwide. The last former Westwood employ-
active announced to have completed a transaction ee quit working for Electronic Arts after the release
of $24 million to Sega for the acquisition of Visual of Command & Conquer: Generals in 2003.
Concepts, its subsidiary Kush Games, and the intel- Brett Sperry and Louis Castle founded West-
lectual property to the 2K franchise. The publisher’s wood Studios in 1985.
2006 Form 10-K filing later showed that a total of According to Louis Castle, the company was
$32.2 million had been paid to Sega for the acquisi- named after the “entertainment meets professional”
tion of Visual Concepts and affiliate properties by character of the Westwood neighborhood in Los
January 2006. On January 25, 2005, the day follow- Angeles; “We really liked the “entertainment meets
ing the acquisition, Take-Two Interactive announced professional” character of Westwood CA (in L.A.)
their new publishing label, 2K Games, and its 2K and the attraction of the area to teens and young
Sports division, the latter of which would henceforth adults felt like the perfect fit for a new company spe-
manage Visual Concepts and Kush Games. cializing in entertainment software. Even back then
A March 2009 research study on Metacritic we recognized that it took a team of people to make
scores, conducted by GameQuarry, ranked Visual great products so we appended the “Associates” to
Concepts as the number one “most consistent” video emphasize that aspect of product development. We
game developer on the review aggregator website, were not really sure if we could make a go at game
with 50 out of their 72 games at the time having development so the original name “Westwood As-
received an aggregated review score of 80/100 or sociates” also gave us the ability to get into more
higher. In August 2010, Visual Concepts laid off 30 traditional business software if necessary.”
employees due to “the need for resource alignment The company’s first projects consisted of
and better efficiency”. contract work for companies like Epyx and Strategic
Simulations, Inc. (SSI), porting 8-bit titles to 16-bit
systems like Commodore Amiga and Atari ST.
424 • Checklist
Checklist
To compile this lists I used satakore.com as a master, and included info from. These lists are not a Master-list,
I suspect alot of different variations are missing. For more on each variations, please visit satakore.com. Black
page numbers are pages in Volume.1. Green are pages in Volume.2.