Robotica was the first, first-person shooter for the platform and a first generation game for the console. It is somewhat similar to Space Hulk, only that the player takes the role of a machine that rebels against the robots to save mankind. The weapons include a punch, Vulcan gun, Missiles, and Lasers. The main environment is made up of various hallways. The player runs through the various stages collecting keys, using computers, and triggering lights. The enemies are relatively basic but are dangerous in numbers. The game is set in 2877, 800 years after the world's peacekeeping unions have collapsed. They are replaced with World Silent Security Service, a global world order to maintain the security on earth and in space. However, over time the role of the order is questioned, and the Reformist Faction rebel group sends three pilots in Laocorn assault robots to the WSSS' space station Daedalus in earth's orbit. Two are immediately destroyed, but the player gets to control the remaining robot.
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A game that honestly has been forgotten about very unjustly, "Robotica" (or "Daedalus," depending on one's region) has killer app energy and frankly deserves more recognition and praise even today for its innovative aspects.
The graphics are absolutely incredible for the Sega Saturn. It shows off what the system's 3D capabilities were (even though it's more of a "stacked 2D," mixing polygons and sprites like a lot of first-person games were doing at the time), the controls are tight and easy to accumulate to, and the soundtrack is memorable and eerie. Overall, the presentation is pretty top-shelf as far as the era was concerned, and I'm shocked it wasn't pushed more in advertising for the system as the game to get alongside the Panzer Dragons and the Virtua Fighters. It's absolutely worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as those classics.
The game is essentially a mech warrior game mixed with a on old-school first-person dungeon crawler in the style of an Ultima Underworld (though obviously not as in-depth). People refer to it as a first-person shooter, but that's pretty inaccurate. It also sets the player up for disappointment because it places unfair expectations upon what they game is going to be.
What "Robotica" actually functions as at the end of the day is a dungeon-crawler Rogue-like with mech suit fighter trappings. You can shoot guns as one of the elements of your arsenal as a mech character, but that isn't your only function. You also have booster rockets and bombs, among other additional gadgets built into your suit, and you can cycle through them at the press of a button. Your health and shields are separate from the fuel you need to power these additions, and so that fuel effectively functions as mana, with the extra mech trappings being the spells.
As stated earlier, this is a Rogue-like. There is no save system, and each new game has randomly generated dungeons and enemy placements, ensuring a new experience with every playthrough. For the early 1990s on a home console, that's incredibly ambitious. But it also happens to be tons of fun. The movement is slow and deliberate, since you're playing a mech, which is another reason it's a disservice to the game to call it a "shooter" in the traditional sense. The game is much more about exploration of all the labyrinths and looting the enemy drops, with the slower pace ensuring that the player has the chance to make strategic choices of traversal and attack. The depth and ambition of this game cannot be understated--especially for the time and venue it was released in.
If you're looking for a Doom clone for the Saturn, this game will disappoint you. But if you're open to experiencing the game on its own terms, you may end up having an absolute blast.
The graphics are absolutely incredible for the Sega Saturn. It shows off what the system's 3D capabilities were (even though it's more of a "stacked 2D," mixing polygons and sprites like a lot of first-person games were doing at the time), the controls are tight and easy to accumulate to, and the soundtrack is memorable and eerie. Overall, the presentation is pretty top-shelf as far as the era was concerned, and I'm shocked it wasn't pushed more in advertising for the system as the game to get alongside the Panzer Dragons and the Virtua Fighters. It's absolutely worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as those classics.
The game is essentially a mech warrior game mixed with a on old-school first-person dungeon crawler in the style of an Ultima Underworld (though obviously not as in-depth). People refer to it as a first-person shooter, but that's pretty inaccurate. It also sets the player up for disappointment because it places unfair expectations upon what they game is going to be.
What "Robotica" actually functions as at the end of the day is a dungeon-crawler Rogue-like with mech suit fighter trappings. You can shoot guns as one of the elements of your arsenal as a mech character, but that isn't your only function. You also have booster rockets and bombs, among other additional gadgets built into your suit, and you can cycle through them at the press of a button. Your health and shields are separate from the fuel you need to power these additions, and so that fuel effectively functions as mana, with the extra mech trappings being the spells.
As stated earlier, this is a Rogue-like. There is no save system, and each new game has randomly generated dungeons and enemy placements, ensuring a new experience with every playthrough. For the early 1990s on a home console, that's incredibly ambitious. But it also happens to be tons of fun. The movement is slow and deliberate, since you're playing a mech, which is another reason it's a disservice to the game to call it a "shooter" in the traditional sense. The game is much more about exploration of all the labyrinths and looting the enemy drops, with the slower pace ensuring that the player has the chance to make strategic choices of traversal and attack. The depth and ambition of this game cannot be understated--especially for the time and venue it was released in.
If you're looking for a Doom clone for the Saturn, this game will disappoint you. But if you're open to experiencing the game on its own terms, you may end up having an absolute blast.
This owns. Mystery dungeon goes first person mecha shooter. Dragged down a little by muddy movement but nothing that can’t be worked around.
Robotica, known in Japan as "Daedalus" feels like FromSoft's Armored Core started as a King's Field game.
It features more than satisfying graphics and a trendy ambient soundtrack, in fact, Robotica's presentation goes beyond most shooters I've seen from the early 90s until Quake of course. There's no saving system, and its levels are randomly generated so you're always getting a new experience. The FMV is really decent for an early 90s title and eliminates loading times between areas. It all sounds really good on paper, so what is the problem?
Robotica is a slow game - it's painfully slow, we get that you're controlling this tank mech, the game is trying to imitate Mechwarrior or tank games perhaps too closely. As we said, its levels are randomly generated, so you're bound to experience the same Wolf-like level design over and over, there's not a lot of souls put into it, it's definitely like advertised, Robotica...l? You'll be wandering these square rooms with a random assortment of enemies in each of them. While the graphics are really good, there's this draw distance that blocks your view of anything not at point-blank, at least there's a radar on your HUD. The game gets darker as you go deeper through the game, maybe to compensate for more enemies being on screen because the game was already running at around 15 FPS on the first level.
It's not that awful a game, if you want something flashy for your Saturn maybe give it a try, it's definitely a good-looking game to play on a CRT screen... but the game itself, meh. I won't "spoil" it for you, but the "end boss" is as fascinating as you'd expect.
I gave it 1 ½ for its great soundtrack and presentation, it's just not that diverting of a game.
It features more than satisfying graphics and a trendy ambient soundtrack, in fact, Robotica's presentation goes beyond most shooters I've seen from the early 90s until Quake of course. There's no saving system, and its levels are randomly generated so you're always getting a new experience. The FMV is really decent for an early 90s title and eliminates loading times between areas. It all sounds really good on paper, so what is the problem?
Robotica is a slow game - it's painfully slow, we get that you're controlling this tank mech, the game is trying to imitate Mechwarrior or tank games perhaps too closely. As we said, its levels are randomly generated, so you're bound to experience the same Wolf-like level design over and over, there's not a lot of souls put into it, it's definitely like advertised, Robotica...l? You'll be wandering these square rooms with a random assortment of enemies in each of them. While the graphics are really good, there's this draw distance that blocks your view of anything not at point-blank, at least there's a radar on your HUD. The game gets darker as you go deeper through the game, maybe to compensate for more enemies being on screen because the game was already running at around 15 FPS on the first level.
It's not that awful a game, if you want something flashy for your Saturn maybe give it a try, it's definitely a good-looking game to play on a CRT screen... but the game itself, meh. I won't "spoil" it for you, but the "end boss" is as fascinating as you'd expect.
I gave it 1 ½ for its great soundtrack and presentation, it's just not that diverting of a game.