Maybe I just got a soft spot for console games that try to aim for something way above what the hardware was capable of doing but I actually find Virtual Hydlide somewhat enjoyable. Once you get past the abysmal framerate you got what is quite possibly one of the most ambitious games not only on the Sega Saturn but from that era of console gaming in general. Everything this game attempted is now almost commonplace in RPGs today(open world, real time clock, save anywhere, randomly generated world) which makes this a fascinating game to play even if you don't find it fun. While it might seem terrible at first glance and easy to be swayed by its negative reputation I recommend giving Virtual Hydlide a fair chance if only to see how cutting edge it was.

Look man there's a lot of issues with this game. Hardly any enemy variety, all the levels are basically generic city streets, and the difficulty is a bit absurd. But you gotta realize when I was five I got to be Venom.
I GOT TO BE VENOM
I
GOT
TO
BE
VENOM

The Cyberpunk of the Genesis homebrew scene. Paprium was a complete utter dumpster fire behind the scenes and is still burning with Fonzie being unable to ship the rest of the preordered copies out almost a year after the game finally launched. I was one of the few lucky ones to actually obtain a copy(along with a broken Grand Stick III, thanks Fonzie!) after this wild ride and unfortunately the game isn't in a state where it would've been worth the wait to obtain it.

Paprium is an incredibly perplexing game that's both aimed at a very specific niche audience yet also does everything it can to drive them away. As a Genesis/Mega Drive fan one of my favorite aspects of homebrew games and the big appeal is seeing what people can do with the console hardware after years of documentation and experience has been available. Paprium tries desperately to flex itself as the ULTIMATE Genesis game with 80 WHOPPING MEGS OF MEMORY except the cart itself is stock with so many custom chips it can't even really be classified as a Genesis game anymore beyond just using the console to power it up. What makes this all the more egregious is Fonzie in his infinite wisdom went out of his way to make this game borderline impossible to play on any clone consoles because again this is supposed to be THE Genesis game despite actually hardly using the console's hardware and hilariously enough his shitty attempt at this backfired hard as it turned out the game is unplayable on a lot of official Genesis consoles as well.

Now with all that out of the way you could still be telling yourself "Well maybe the game it really good in spite all of this to make it worthwhile!" at least that's what I was telling myself for years waiting for my copy to arrive. Sadly this isn't the case, for the first hour or so you'll be wowed by its flashy presentation but once the novelty runs out the cracks really start to show. Enemy AI is borderline unfinished with even incredibly basic attacks like the jump kick being extremely exploitable as they have no counter attack to it. There's a "bully" mechanic where when enemies will get put into a stunlike state that requires you to use a specific type of attack to do damage which ruins the flow of combat but to make it even worse there's also a glitch where if you use that attack too early it does no damage. There's also some visual issues as well which is pretty bad for something that wants to wow you with how great it looks such as bizarre perspectives when it comes to the breakable walls and televisions throughout the game. The throw attack rather than having an actual grab animation when you pick up an enemy has them magnetically fling to your hands. Glitches aside it also has a vary small variety of enemies and bosses which wouldn't be so bad if the game was fairly short but due to the insanely convoluted routing and secrets you're expecting to replay it numerous times for hours to fully unlock everything or get to the true ending.

Paprium is not a terrible game but it is held back with its blatantly unfinished state in a lot of areas leaving a very sour taste in the mouths of people who had been and still are waiting years to get their copy. Do yourself a favor and pick up Xeno Crisis or Demons of Asteborg if you want a technically impressive and great homebrew on your Genesis.