LilSwampAss
1995
this is just not fun, not even a little. Even the more bearable levels are no fun, just something you can complete. I know Sonic isn't purely about speed but a purposely slow sonic game is just a bad idea. The more complex levels are hellish. Just don't play this one.
3/10
3/10
1995
I didn't beat it, but from what I've played (up to the third level), this is a pretty solid title. It just seems kind of bothersome going through since I couldn't find any command to immediately exit a level, so I had to walk all the way back to the start if I needed a different item. I still think what I played was enjoyable. If you like Metroidvanias you might want to give this a go.
6/10
6/10
1995
I mean it's not bad or anything, it's just super strange. I also wouldn't say it's super fun to play. I kind of just forced myself through. I say you should try it, but don't expect perfection.
5/10
5/10
1995
US Saturn Release #003 - Daytona USA
Played on a real American Sega Saturn with the Fenrir ODE
Daytona USA is just so fucking fun, man. I don't have a whole lot to really add to that, honestly. It just feels perfect whenever I play it and even though I eat shit all the time on the harder turns, I'm constantly motivated to try it again because the whole thing is just so much fun. Nailing a tough turn and blasting through at top speed is truly a feeling you can struggle to capture in modern racers.
Though, I won't act like this is some perfect port. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to notice that this port is a severe graphical downgrade. Usually it's not that big of a deal because it generally plays like the arcade cabinet, but sometimes it does effect the playing experience with lag and lower frame-rates. Also, I just kind of think the pop-in is ugly. However, that's about it when it comes to big flaws.
The soundtrack is also surprisingly better than the arcade game. Since the game is on a disc, it can do these songs more naturally compared to the arcade game which had to deliver its vocals through a string of samples. The arcade game's samples are charming, but I do think this is better overall.
This is a must-have, must-play Sega Saturn title. It has its evident failings, but at its heart, it's a wonderful arcade port that you'll gladly sink hours into. This is a perfect boredom killer. Never a dull moment.
8/10
Played on a real American Sega Saturn with the Fenrir ODE
Daytona USA is just so fucking fun, man. I don't have a whole lot to really add to that, honestly. It just feels perfect whenever I play it and even though I eat shit all the time on the harder turns, I'm constantly motivated to try it again because the whole thing is just so much fun. Nailing a tough turn and blasting through at top speed is truly a feeling you can struggle to capture in modern racers.
Though, I won't act like this is some perfect port. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to notice that this port is a severe graphical downgrade. Usually it's not that big of a deal because it generally plays like the arcade cabinet, but sometimes it does effect the playing experience with lag and lower frame-rates. Also, I just kind of think the pop-in is ugly. However, that's about it when it comes to big flaws.
The soundtrack is also surprisingly better than the arcade game. Since the game is on a disc, it can do these songs more naturally compared to the arcade game which had to deliver its vocals through a string of samples. The arcade game's samples are charming, but I do think this is better overall.
This is a must-have, must-play Sega Saturn title. It has its evident failings, but at its heart, it's a wonderful arcade port that you'll gladly sink hours into. This is a perfect boredom killer. Never a dull moment.
8/10
1995
Fantastic music, outstanding visuals, just not that wonderful of a playing experience. Going for the chaos rings was kind of a slog, but keep in mind this is my first time playing. I think if I put more time into this I'll find these setbacks more passable. Don't play this game in one sitting, that's hellish.
7/10
Vector Cock Rings
7/10
Vector Cock Rings
1995
It's literally just Sonic Drift 1 but with slightly more stuff. It's just not interesting at all. It's fine I guess?
5/10
5/10
1994
US Saturn Release #002 - Clockwork Knight
Played on a real American Sega Saturn with the Fenrir ODE
Clockwork Knight is a platformer that does most things very well. The controls are responsive, the actual physics of your character are comfortable to work with, levels are designed well enough to not be frustrating and each contains enough to stand out. However, Clockwork Knight also lacks challenge, and is extremely short. That's not bad, per say, but it prevents this game from really reaching the heights of action platforming you see in Castlevania, Mega Man, and Mario.
The benefit of those issues is that this game is super easy to jump into and it's super comfortable to run through. Nothing feels unfair but for someone like me, nothing feels exciting either.
I really enjoyed the visuals. This game demonstrates early that the Sega Saturn was well suited for 2D games. This takes a lot of what Donkey Kong Country did and runs with it in 32 bits. more colors, fully polygonal boss fights and levels, and no slowdown. It's not the kind of game that immediately stuns you with its visuals, but definitely shows off the Saturn's 2D potential.
Despite my gripes about difficulty and length, I do appreciate how everything is designed. There really are no bad levels. The whole thing of playing as a toy is used rather well in designing both how stages look and how they play (for example, the kitchen level is like an ice level, with extra polished kitchen counters, and the sink provides as a rising-falling water hazard level).
Clockwork Knight is certainly creative and well designed for pretty much anybody to jump into, but as someone who loves platformers and has played many of them, this doesn't really compare to most others. This is definitely a game I recommend playing, and it's very good, but I wouldn't expect anything amazing.
7/10
Played on a real American Sega Saturn with the Fenrir ODE
Clockwork Knight is a platformer that does most things very well. The controls are responsive, the actual physics of your character are comfortable to work with, levels are designed well enough to not be frustrating and each contains enough to stand out. However, Clockwork Knight also lacks challenge, and is extremely short. That's not bad, per say, but it prevents this game from really reaching the heights of action platforming you see in Castlevania, Mega Man, and Mario.
The benefit of those issues is that this game is super easy to jump into and it's super comfortable to run through. Nothing feels unfair but for someone like me, nothing feels exciting either.
I really enjoyed the visuals. This game demonstrates early that the Sega Saturn was well suited for 2D games. This takes a lot of what Donkey Kong Country did and runs with it in 32 bits. more colors, fully polygonal boss fights and levels, and no slowdown. It's not the kind of game that immediately stuns you with its visuals, but definitely shows off the Saturn's 2D potential.
Despite my gripes about difficulty and length, I do appreciate how everything is designed. There really are no bad levels. The whole thing of playing as a toy is used rather well in designing both how stages look and how they play (for example, the kitchen level is like an ice level, with extra polished kitchen counters, and the sink provides as a rising-falling water hazard level).
Clockwork Knight is certainly creative and well designed for pretty much anybody to jump into, but as someone who loves platformers and has played many of them, this doesn't really compare to most others. This is definitely a game I recommend playing, and it's very good, but I wouldn't expect anything amazing.
7/10
I reeeeeeeally wanted to like this game, especially when I played it as a kid on Gems Collection, but it just doesn't do anything for me. I really don't have any fun with the levels, even if some gimmicks are pretty fun. It just doesn't feel good to play at all, especially if you go for the emeralds. I say try it if you have a game that has it, like Sonic Adventure DX or Sonic Gems Collection or Sonic Origins, but you can skip it without worry.
5/10
5/10
1993
US Saturn Release #001 - Virtua Fighter
Played on a real American Sega Saturn with the Fenrir ODE
As a port of the arcade version of Virtua Fighter, this is an incredible showcase for the Saturn. It really doesn't age wonderfully in the visuals department, but I hardly think that matters. My only critique on the visuals is that there's a lot of flickering polygons in the character models, and sometimes to the game maps go a little crazy when you jump around. It's like the game camera doesn't know how to properly display the playfield when you do that.
The gameplay itself feels really weird though, which is kind of sad. I think the game tried to be a lot more realistic, at least closer to real martial arts in comparison to something like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter. I feel like that just made it harder for me to play it though. Stuff like manually turning around and lows not blocking mids like the games I'm used to playing. Also, I had a seriously hard time getting special moves and grabs out. I don't know if it's just me not being good or that this game functions differently input-wise to other fighters. I'm not excellent at fighting games but I have an ok time adapting and pulling off moves. Here, I could barely do anything.
It was very fristrating, but part of me feels like it's just me being bad at the game rather than the game just being poorly executed. I would have loved to train, but there really isn't a training mode here. You can try to train in the arcade mode, but I feel like the A.I. gets too hard too quickly. It even tries to cheese you by jumping around when the clock runs low, trying to time you out. Surely you can cheese it back, but I really don't know how to yet. You could also jump into the VS mode alone, fighting a static opponent, but that didn't help me out much either.
I'm being rather critical, but I understand that this was kind of a big deal at the time. I also understand that I'm struggling to enjoy it partly because I'm playing solo, when fighters are at their most fun when you're playing with friends. I'm sure if I was playing with friends, I would have bumped this up a couple points. But as it stands now, this didn't really do much for me for the time I played it.
5/10
I really think you should try it out. You might not like it but you might find more here than I did. Just be sure to play with somebody else if you can.
Played on a real American Sega Saturn with the Fenrir ODE
As a port of the arcade version of Virtua Fighter, this is an incredible showcase for the Saturn. It really doesn't age wonderfully in the visuals department, but I hardly think that matters. My only critique on the visuals is that there's a lot of flickering polygons in the character models, and sometimes to the game maps go a little crazy when you jump around. It's like the game camera doesn't know how to properly display the playfield when you do that.
The gameplay itself feels really weird though, which is kind of sad. I think the game tried to be a lot more realistic, at least closer to real martial arts in comparison to something like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter. I feel like that just made it harder for me to play it though. Stuff like manually turning around and lows not blocking mids like the games I'm used to playing. Also, I had a seriously hard time getting special moves and grabs out. I don't know if it's just me not being good or that this game functions differently input-wise to other fighters. I'm not excellent at fighting games but I have an ok time adapting and pulling off moves. Here, I could barely do anything.
It was very fristrating, but part of me feels like it's just me being bad at the game rather than the game just being poorly executed. I would have loved to train, but there really isn't a training mode here. You can try to train in the arcade mode, but I feel like the A.I. gets too hard too quickly. It even tries to cheese you by jumping around when the clock runs low, trying to time you out. Surely you can cheese it back, but I really don't know how to yet. You could also jump into the VS mode alone, fighting a static opponent, but that didn't help me out much either.
I'm being rather critical, but I understand that this was kind of a big deal at the time. I also understand that I'm struggling to enjoy it partly because I'm playing solo, when fighters are at their most fun when you're playing with friends. I'm sure if I was playing with friends, I would have bumped this up a couple points. But as it stands now, this didn't really do much for me for the time I played it.
5/10
I really think you should try it out. You might not like it but you might find more here than I did. Just be sure to play with somebody else if you can.
This is probably the best Sonic game to ever come out (that or Mania, I highly doubt it's anything else). I absolutely adore how the game tells the story through its little cutscenes and a lot of the set pieces. There wasn't a whole lot of this in other Sonic games (CD had some good stuff in it) but it's full force here, especially in the back half. Of course, Knuckles is a classic character, and he's really fun here. I haven't played a lot of him but I do know from past experience that he's fun to play with. The levels themselves are essentially perfect. They're challenging but not so much that you want to give up or rage quit. Same goes for the special stages, and finding them is lots of fun even when I'm consulting maps. New stuff like the insta-shield and the elemental shields are fucking awesome, and are always very useful. I don't know, I'm realy struggling to find a single thing I don't like about this game. It's perfect.
1994
This is the most painfully mid game ever but it's not bad at all. It's just so boring that it stays in the 5s. You may have fun for like 6 minutes, but you won't be clammering for more.
I've never hated Sonic Spinball, but it was never my kind of thing, It's not a horrible game, but I just don't like pinball enough to see it to the end. I'm also just not good at pinball so story-based pinball titles are kind of not so fun for me. I see that there is appeal and people do like it, so it's not like I wouldn't recommend it. Try it and see what you think.
This game is fucking hard. I was expecting it to be similar to Kirby's Avalanche in difficulty, that being that it's difficult but manageable, but I couldn't get past Stage 8. Still, it's Puyo Puyo. It's still pretty entertaining despite the difficulty. I recommend it.
I remembered this being very fun when I was a kid, but I think it's just kind of mid now. I was interested in how the special stages worked, but I got kind of frustrated with having to collect and hold onto so many rings when there are seemingly no shields to be found. Get hit? kill yourself. You have to start over. And even then, when you get to the special stage, it could just be some stupid pipe maze that's too fast to actually react to. I got to the special stage in almost every level and still did not get all the emeralds because of those stupid fucking pipe mazes.
Otherwise, the game is still painfully mid. The general gameplay is fine, but it's not exciting or really anything worth mentioning. You get to play as tails, but there's not much here besides that. It's not horrible, but it's not great either.
5/10
Otherwise, the game is still painfully mid. The general gameplay is fine, but it's not exciting or really anything worth mentioning. You get to play as tails, but there's not much here besides that. It's not horrible, but it's not great either.
5/10
1993
I fucking love Sonic CD. I understand why some think it's kind of rough, but I think the whole experience is just pure fun. The levels are big but they're fun to run through and explore. The special stages are fucking amazing and I love playing them every time. The metal sonic race is just peak. The japanese soundtrack is funky shit. It's just amazing. I can't think of much that I actually don't like. Maybe Wacky Workbench? I still don't really hate that level it's just kind of annoying.
9/10
9/10