• Finished Jan 15

Incredible for the hardware. Granted I played it on the ps4 collection and I hear this improves frame rate so it may vary on an actual Game Gear. That said, the music is fantastic, the stages are all unique and really stand out. Some inventive ideas here with stages scrolling diagonally, or flying through tunnels and descending. The bosses were really memorable and inventive designs. From chasing one below that then comes into focus, to multiple-part bosses. It all is rather modest compared to console but on portable I can't help but be impressed.

The difficulty was a touch easier than I expected but also felt very fair. Boss patterns were very intuitive to learn and the sub weapons had fun uses. The game has infinite continues (afaik) so it shouldn't take too long although the final two levels do get spicier especially if you're going into them on a reset with no powerups, but it's balanced and beatable. Lots of fun and a big recommend. Would play again and maybe turn up difficulty.

• Finished Jan 21

Gorgeous pixel art and a really lovely soundtrack that I'll be listening to for years to come. Whimsical story that is really fun to unravel and honestly is what kept me going as it certainly wasn't the gameplay. The gameplay is pretty bad. Protagonist controls terrible slowly and with the grace of a hippo. Combat is abysmal, all weapons have awful range (despite some claiming to have good range), damage values are very similar. The elemental system is underused and with the huge combinations of weapons and elements it's impossible to know what to take and what's effective. In the end you can't go wrong with just "axe" or maybe sword at higher levels when its faster. The other weapons don't matter. Later on even elements don't matter as you get a more powerful upgrade, but that doesn't stop the game from giving you the last elemental upgrade prior to the final boss (where you can't use it anyway). The mind boggles.

The dungeons were kinda bland in layout but thrilling and varied in art design. Some really lovely locations. That said, the bosses were really fun and inventive and I always looked forward to the next encounter. The game is presentation over gameplay, the Valis of action adventure/rpgs...you know it's bad but you also kinda dig it. Spiritual Successor to Soleil it is not, but is it fun? Kinda. Is it well made? No. This is what good mediocre is all about. Memorable but not special. It also gets better as it goes on past the rough first hour or so.

• Finished Jan 30

Breathtaking, iconic visuals on the Saturn and for 1995 with a soundtrack that is like no other series. The entire game oozes atmosphere and has such a rich lore established without actually featuring heavily in game. The manual and supplementary materials leave you wanting more. Gameplay works best on large sprawling levels such as the sunken city, desert, excavation site and forest stages. I'm not sure the enclosed stage works as well or the higher speed sections in the finale. Aiming becomes quite tricky and the homing lock on never seems to snap when you want it to. Sometimes couldn’t understand why it wouldn’t lock on but then suddenly would. It all just feels slightly off and wonky. The vulcan shot works out better alot of the time but can be tiring on your fingers to use. (I'm getting old). Colliding into enemies all too often is very frustrating and also costs so much health and on the fast tunnel levels it’s very hard to not do this. Dodging attacks and bullets in the late game makes aiming very tricky as it rarely ceases up. Sometimes I found myself losing lots of health without really noticing why. That said, the highs are lofty and the lows still glide steadily. Overall, this is a fantastic entry into a unique series that is an important part of any Saturn library.

• Finished Feb 01

Really well made port of an adult shooter. Given the source material this game has scrubbed up very well on the saturn. Colourful graphics, lots of use of sprite rotation and little details with different ship shadow size on the backgrounds. The music really pops and the presentation with voice acting and talking heads in levels is really well done. The gameplay is fast and mostly good fun, although it leans heavily into the cluster chaotic screen filled type of shooter with alot of randomness to powerups. There are too many and you are always flip flopping between sub weapons and the two main shots (even when you don't want to as they are hard to avoid). It's a shame because the sub weapons are really fun but change too fast. Bosses are fun and the dodge dash move is really satisfying and sort of important to master to deal with the chaos on screen. That said it does sometimes feel like you just face roll things and survive with health.

The infamous adult scenes feel kinda cheap production wise, especially as its mostly just a few static (albeit nicely drawn) images with long stretches of voice acting and no change. The story itself is actually pretty good in game but then the between level adult scenes feel kinda stupid. I actually think this would be a much better game if they were swapped for FMV and also changed from being lewd to more serious story. There is a serious story here and its actually quite fun for a shooter. Still I guess it wouldn't be Steam Heart's if it was steamy, and that's really what the game is known for.

• Finished Feb 02

Absolutely stunning game especially in widescreen which blows my mind for 1996. It takes everything from the previous game and does so much more with it. They made the vulcan shot more user friendly and the lock on works much much better now. Dodging feels easier and the perspective is much better to. I also appreciate the easier difficulty. Each level is one thrilling set piece after another and with different routes there's more replay-ability. Much like the previous game, I still think the open outside levels are where the game shines and was less keen on the indoor tunnel level again. The penultimate level was a real show stopper. I wish the different routes had lead to different levels though. Didn't bother with the final Ending as it requires a perfect run to unlock. With easier ways to replay levels I would be more down for it.

My only real gripe is that the story is very vague and the latter half is especially unclear what's happening. I've pieced it together from online info but wish the conclusion (and actual purpose of the game) was stated a bit clearer. It's also rather confusing who is the Empire and who is Mecchania. The said the game is fantastic and I only wish there had been a 3rd game on the Saturn in the same vain. This is such an early showcaser for what the Saturn was capable of. It looks great and runs perfectly. Staple must play game.

• Finished Feb 04

It's a hard one to judge as honestly. There is a fantastic game here but its marred by a really piss poor port on Saturn. Ugly opening FMV, toned down arcade graphics, and doesn't even use memory backup to save your high score (so why bother?). The Yoko mode is horrible and cuts off most the screen and scrolls with suddenly movements. The game really needs screen space and would have been better off just being zoomed out. The boss design in this game is fantastic and makes great use of rushing up the sides to avoid patterns but so much of the level design just doesn't work in yoko mode. Most of the time you can't see what's firing, The bullets are fast and this makes the game very difficult. Yes you could scroll the screen up by moving up but that usually causes death as you fly into something. The Saturn can do so much better than this. Psikyo proved this with the Strikers ports yoko modes. Even Batsugun plays fine. Poor effort by Virgin.

Still, I find myself playing it again and again. All that said what makes the game good is still here. Big explosions, fun level design and a time travel motif, and a soundtrack that is like nothing else. Has a beautiful melody motif that runs through each of the 5 levels and you will be humming it for hours after. I hope someday this gets a real port based off arcade. It's a very underrated little shooter.

• Finished Feb 8th

I had always heard this was an influential shooter and I can certainly see many ideas used in other shooters. I had not heard however how it's also known for it's brutal difficulty. Yes, it is that hard. Tbh it was beyond the sort of difficulty I enjoy in a shooter. Most of the difficulty comes down to nasty choke points with no powerup. You can figure out routes to survive but even then its very tough to execute them. Get used to 3 seconds death, 3 seconds and death, loop. The game has no chill to let you wind up and its a race to gain dominance on screen with your peashooter before it's to late. Positioning is crucial here and a lot of the game is about point blanking and doing some risky moves to survive.

I'm not really a fan of this sort of unforgiving game design, especially when deaths come so cheap. Too many times you also are unable to shoot backwards but the stage design is demanding it. It often feels like the red pods are needed too often. The speed adjustment causes a rocket blast which can be do damage behind you but without turbo fire it's tough to use. I did end up having to use it alot on later stages but it feels so clumsy. You are constantly changing your speed while trying to back blast which often causes a collision, If you live you then have no idea what speed you are when you stop without checking. The pod launching feels too niche to use and difficult with buttons. This game has alot of my pet peeves. Gradius syndrome brutal checkpoints, powerup carriers that have too much health and pod powerups that are time sensitive and don't start a cycle from the same place upon spawning. It's very hard to be consistent and the struggle to just get the right power ups you want to do your route plan is in itself a challenge. The lead up to the boss from the checkpoint is nearly always much harder than the boss itself and will wear you down. I'm sure many love this sort of style but it's not for me. I must have spent 100$ in credits and a swear jar.

• Finished Feb 10th

Utterly torn on this one. As a huge fan of the mega drive port I was excited to try this and for 80% it's good fun, Marvel Land goodness albeit with stupid mini games bosses and annoying dungeon end of world levels. Graphics are in many ways better but less variety of enemies and sorely misses the additional mega drive track make sit inferior IMO. Mostly one track which gets very annoying. I enjoyed the first part of the game, it’s very difficult but mostly realistic. Once you hit world 4 though the game just gets outright mean. 4-3 is the worst level of the game with a stupid wheel with physics that don't work and a spiteful gotcha death at the very end. But that is nothing compared to the final level.

There’s a tough but short run up to the final boss room, then beat him at janken (which is clunky and I found hard) then the real fight beings. He immediately zaps you unless you are already moving (totally unfair and cheap). The fight is a horrible "pattern" that seems to react to your distancing and position with some very odd precision that even when you think you’re doing exactly the same as last time he does something totally different instead. Its hair pulling. He also takes a good 15-20 hits. While you can chain by bouncing but it's hard to control. If you die even once then it’s back to the start. Touch run up, janken and all. The expectation is just too much. Soured me incredibly on the game. I ended up saving at the boss and feel little shame in doing so. I don’t like calling games quarter munchers but the end of this game certainly is. Stick to the console version, it’s much more balanced.