Aw man. It's ya boy, Soulja Boy, tell 'em. They got this game, right? For people who smoke or people who drink. Like, if you drink beer and you get drunk or if you smoke weed and you get high. And you just- anything, like if you- if you just be getting fucked up.

They got this game, right, oh no. This shit called Braid. What the fuck. Watch this shit. It's about this little guy in a- in a suit and he walk around. And he ain't got no point to the game, you just walk around jumping on shit. It look like Mario in the future. And there's Mario in the business suit with his hair dyed orange and a tie on. And he just walking around jumping and shit, but what's the funny part about it is you can do this right here, watch this.
(X)
YOOP!
Now if you didn't catch that, I just went back in time. For the whole game, he just be going back in time. Watch this shit. Like, if you about to die, he be like "AW SHIT, I'M GONNA DIE!"
(X)
"WOAAAAH!!!!!!!"

For the longest time, I've only been familiar with the Genesis version of Sonic 3D Blast, with the Saturn release being a more unknown factor. Sure, I could've changed this at any point by simply emulating it, but I can count the number of times I've thought "gee, I want to play Sonic 3D Blast" on one hand. An intrusive thought that I'd give about as much weight to as "you should start an electrical fire," it's best to disregard it entirely. Unfortunately, sanity doesn't always prevail and sometimes our hands are guided more by our inner darkness than our conscious mind.

Right out of the gate, the Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast features a number of improvements, including a full CG intro cutscene that may not be as technically impressive as the one that opens the Genesis version, but which isn't so garbled that it can't be understood by human eyes. Levels also feature more complex surface textures and expanded color pallets, and I really love all the small background details, like monkeys climbing up trees in Green Grove Zone or tiles wobbling beneath Sonic's feet in Rusty Ruins. These touches add a lot of life and vibrancy, and not to knock the Genesis version for working within its limitations, but I think 3D Blast looks much better on the Saturn as a result.

It debatably sounds better, too. There's no question that Jun Senoue's score is filled to the brim with memorable tracks, but Richard Jacques has his own style and it's a damn good one. I'd actually compare this to Sonic CD in that they're radically different yet equally suited to the game, and I can see myself slipping into similar territory where my preference is constantly vacillating between the two. Rusty Ruins and the special stage themes have been stuck in my head all weekend.

Speaking of the special stages, the Saturn version of 3D Blast ditches the Genesis' piss-easy runways in favor of something more akin to Sonic 2, so if you can't stand dodging bombs and collecting rings along winding halfpipes (it's me, I hate it, I am referring to myself here) then I'm afraid I've got some bad news. Being fully 3D and running on more capable hardware does make these stages more manageable, but there's still plenty of instances where the track is made unreadable thanks to sharp turns and poor camera angles, so you can still expect to get blindsided by bombs pretty frequently. A lot of people seem to love these special stages, but I'm not one of them. I'm a Blue Spheres guy, not a Halfpipe guy.

The rest of the game is, regrettably, Sonic 3D Blast. I got a little more mileage out of the alternate soundtrack and improved graphics, but dealing with Sonic's unwieldy controls and awkward hitboxes makes collecting Flickies a chore no matter which console you play it on.

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES
For the past few months I’ve been obsessing over this game, while not actually sitting down to play through it. Not too long after I had dipped into Ridge Racer Type 4 I became interested in other racing games, and eventually learned about Daytona USA. An iconic arcade racer that- immediately took my interest. The aesthetics, soundtrack, and arcadey nature made me raise an eyebrow. I wanted to try this.
But only now have I actually gone through every track in the original game, after playing the first two levels on and off for about two months. Some of that is due to Daytona’s skill curve. I wouldn’t call it as easy to pick up and play as Ridge Racer. The way drifting works is significantly more difficult to pick up on, and overall this game has more emphasis on needing to learn all of its mechanical intricacies to play properly. That being said, you can still do okay-ish enough by knowing only the basics, even on automatic transmission.
Gameplay wasn’t the main factor for my interest in the game, though. I was much more curious about everything else. Daytona USA is absolutely seeping with SEGA’s energy from the 90’s. Bright blue skies loom over you, as head bopping tunes, some of Sega Sound Team’s pure finest, play in the background. Takenobu Mitsuyoshi’s fantastic vocals for every track elevated the score, and with the Saturn version, made his voice fully realized in the realm of CD quality audio. The soundtrack is mainly comprised of three songs, The King of Speed, Let’s Go Away, and Sky High, all of which are FANTASTIC. Both the arcade and Saturn versions of these tunes are some of my favorites in video games period, reminding me of similar Sega soundtracks like Sonic R and Sonic CD. Just music that is riding with both energy, creativity, and depth.
The 1994 Saturn port of the game isn’t well regarded, and while for good reason too, it’s still very solid. The technical aspects of the game are a bit annoying, such as the drop from 60fps to 20fps, and the limited draw distance being- very apparent. It still plays great, though, and it also introduces the arranged soundtrack. I think considering the crunch development cycle of the Saturn version in order for it to release on launch, alongside the limitations of Saturn hardware compared to Sega’s technical beast that is the Model 2, it’s a lot better than it could’ve been. Nowadays, if you have a PS3 or Xbox, you can just play a modern port of the arcade version for about ten bucks, which isn’t a bad price. There still is merit to trying older versions of the game, but if you had to pick one version… it’s probably that. I still adored the Saturn version, with it’s cute little limitations, shadows and other visual effects simply being a very obvious dithering effect, and overall comfiness. It is worse than the arcade version, but it still offers that core Daytona experience.
Little side tangent, can I just say that the box art for both of the Daytona USA ports on Saturn in Japan look fantastic? The 1994 one is oozing with color, while the Circuit Edition one has this amazing evening sky. The NTSC-U box arts by comparison are… fine, but a little generic.
Daytona USA is a special game to me. It’s not my favorite racing game (I still think RRT4 is), but it’s a game that reminds me of why I loved Sega in the 90’s and 2000’s, especially with those bright blue Sega skies. I don’t know if I’ll ever fully be able to explain what this game’s aesthetics mean to me, but it makes me happy and I guess that’s all that really matters. Please play this, if you can, it’s less than 30 minutes long if you play all the tracks, and it is really fun.