Sega Saturn thread

[Quagmire]

I finally got around to setting up my Saturn in my new apartment and tried playing some Nights. I have no idea what the fuck was going on. I get that you have to gather orbs to kill the jellyfish robot thing, and then bring back its power orb to the initial pedestal within a time limit, but other than that ???? Rings increase your score, hitting enemies lowers your time. Got it. But it's not really intuitive how movement works. Sometimes it's 2-D, other times you move into and/or circle around the background elements at predetermined spots. There's no real rhyme or reason to it -- it kind of just happens whenever the game designers want it to.

I timed out on the first boss because I didn't know wtf to do. I kept hitting it and it kept collapsing and reforming. What looked like its health bar slowly chipped away, but it took way too long. There was definitely a correct way of doing it. Anyway, the game kicked me back to the title screen after that, and after all that progress. That sucked major dongus.

I didn't read the manual, but I like games to be intuitive or to have a simple tutorial.

Holy fuck is the 3D controller every comfy though, damn.

Yeah I dont remember of what to do, I just know I did do it. Wonder if the manual helps here

Yeah the 3d controller is great, as is the standard Saturn controller. Shame they didnt improve upon the 3d controller for the dreamcast and gave us what ever the hell that thing was

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Nights takes a bit of time to get used to. I was able to beat the first boss, but can't recall how to do it off the top of my head. Couldn't make it to the second boss because I kept running out of time.

Also, I too really like the 3D controller. Controller should also never have "stick" drift because of how it's designed.

 

[Smacktard]

Nights takes a bit of time to get used to. I was able to beat the first boss, but can't recall how to do it off the top of my head. Couldn't make it to the second boss because I kept running out of time.

Also, I too really like the 3D controller. Controller should also never have "stick" drift because of how it's designed.

Here I was thinking you had said you loved Nights, and you didn't even beat the second boss

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Here I was thinking you had said you loved Nights, and you didn't even beat the second boss

I dont recall saying I "loved" Nights...

 

[Smacktard]

I dont recall saying I "loved" Nights...

Yeah I see that now. I don't know why I had thought that. Maybe it was Crystal. Anyway, I'm going to try to gitgud and finish the game.

...but before I do that, I think I'll play Willy Wombat and Elevator Action Returns.

 

[Quagmire]

Yeah I see that now. I don't know why I had thought that. Maybe it was Crystal. Anyway, I'm going to try to gitgud and finish the game.

...but before I do that, I think I'll play Willy Wombat and Elevator Action Returns.

I like it a lot and think it probably was a lot more wow at launch

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Come to think about it, I don't know if I've given my base opinions on Nights.

IMO, Nights is unique, relatively pretty for the era, makes great usage of the controller that made for it (I would certainly hope so), the music is catchhy, and once you get used to how awkward it plays, you can definitely feel how well it flows. It definitely requires spending more time than I have to truly get used to how the game plays.
I dislike on foot stuff. The ground level layout was DEFINITELY not designed to handle what to do when you're forced to play at the dreaming child after sucking as Nights. If you get knocked out of Nights in a bad spot, it can be impossible to get to the location where you retransform into Nights again, especially with that thing that follows you around trying to end your run. Might as well just restart the level.

Also, the time limit might be a bit tight. One thing I really like about the Sonic games is that there isn't a countdown clock. There's a timer, but its to tell you how long you've taken for speed run and socring purposes. I think its weird that the same team put a time limit on its levels in Nights like some arcade game with checkpoint timers.

 

[Smacktard]

I just finished playing Elevator Action! Returns. It's a very quick completion. I think I got through the first 3 levels on 3 credits, then had to start over again from the beginning. I used a title screen code to get 7 credits, and then completed the game on my very last life. It was an intense finish! Altogether, I probably put about 1h20 into the game?

It's an excellent game. The controls and premise are pretty simple. There are three characters, each with differences in speed, power, and tankiness. You have to move horizontally and vertically through levels, and you have to move vertically by taking elevators that move back and forth between levels on a timed basis, though once you are on an elevator, you are able to control it.

You have two buttons: jump and shoot. Pressing them both at the same time throws a grenade. Why there couldn't be a third button for grenade, I don't know. You can also press down to duck incoming bullets. The aim is to enter every red door in each of the 6 levels, and then to reach the end. You can get special weapons with limited ammo from drops. There aren't boss fights as such (except for the last level), but there are some pretty frantic enemy spam sections.

It's an excellent arcade game: easy to pick-up and play, and hard to master. Mistakes and deaths largely feel like they're your fault. Some sections do feel impossible to get through without getting hit, but apparently there's a longplay of the game without taking any hits. Impressive! Still, there are some sections that feel less like reaction or skill-based than memorizing exactly what to do and where to position yourself in certain areas.

The pixel art in the game is absolutely lovely. Excellent effects like smoke trails wisping away from the wall after you fire a bullet. It's a really gorgeous 2D game. And did I mention totally badass? In the second level, you crash a helicopter through a giant glass window, and it explodes, killing everyone nearby (except you). This is probably the most hell yeah moment in the whole game, but the rest of the game is plenty heck-yeah. The music is nice and arcade-y, too. It suits the game perfectly.

I find it strange that the game was a Japan-only release, considering that almost all of the text in-game is English. There's some fast, horizontal-scrolling Japanese text between levels, but I honestly didn't even recognize it at first. I'm not sure, but I think it's just translating the English text that's on the screen.

I figure that one of my favorite games of all time, Huntdown, took some heavy inspiration from this game.

9/10

 

[Smacktard]

also I was trying to remember the name of Huntdown, and DeepAI was not help. Utterly roasted me:



wtf bro

 

[shortkut]

also I was trying to remember the name of Huntdown, and DeepAI was not help. Utterly roasted me:

View attachment 31531

wtf bro

Have you tried shutting the fuck up?

 

[Smacktard]

Have you tried shutting the fuck up?

I will try it now.

How am I doing so far?

 

[shortkut]

I will try it now.

How am I doing so far?

I meant the game, obviously

 

[Smacktard]

Nights into Dreams

I started off disliking this game, but ended up enjoying it after I got more familiar with the gameplay and mechanics. It's definitely tough to get into. The controls are very hard to master, but they really are excellent (on the 3D controller, anyway). It's fun picking up speed and flying through a level, skillfully racking up points as you weave your way through rings, doing loop-de-loops, etc.

This game actually changed the way I think about game design. To unlock everything, you need a score of C for each level (D or below in sub-levels is fine as long as the final score for each level is C or higher). Initially, I thought this was annoying because how much skillfull gameplay in this game relies on memorization. You really need to be familiar with every level to get the highest score. However, a final score of C is very forgiving.

The more I played this game, the more I came to appreciate the gameplay, speed, and mechanics. I'm not really a fan of memorization in gameplay, but this helped me to see how this type of game could be really fun for people who like doing score attacks.

The game does have some annoyances. You have to clear 4 sub-levels before you get to a boss. Each boss has a unique way of defeating them, and a time limit. If you take damage, you lose time. If you run out of time, you have to redo all of the sublevels. This can be really annoying if you make just a few mistakes. That hard-earned rank of A or B is gone, and you have to start over. No lives, no redos, just do it again. I'd watch YouTube and look up boss tips whenever I got to a boss because -- fuck that. I don't feel like redoing everything.

Overall though, quite a nice game -- and the sort of game that doesn't really make sense and isn't really enjoyable until you spend an hour or two figuring out what the hell is going on. Still not a Mario 64-killer, though

8/10

 

[Smacktard]

Virtual On

Mech games famously have shit controls, and this game is no exception. All 6 face buttons are used, and are split between 3 movement buttons (air dodge + ground dodge) and 3 attack buttons (3 different weapons). For inexpicable reason, they aren't separated into top being movement, and bottom as weapons. The top middle button is a weapon, and the bottom middle button is movement. It makes no sense and it's just annoying.

The L and R buttons supposedly pivot the camera, but they're slow to engage and don't really seem to work. There's no real lock-on feature in a game that DESPERATELY needs it. To make matters worse, the 3D controller doesn't even work with this game. Ugh, why?

There apparently is a standalone controller for this game that might solve these control issues, but it's still just not that fun. I'm sure there's a huge skill gap between me and a top player, but it's just so clunky and unfun that I wouldn't ever care to try to close that gap.

5/10.

 

[Crystal]

Glad you enjoyed Nights, and yeah, it was me that was a fan for many of the same reasons you mentioned

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Nights into Dreams

I started off disliking this game, but ended up enjoying it after I got more familiar with the gameplay and mechanics. It's definitely tough to get into. The controls are very hard to master, but they really are excellent (on the 3D controller, anyway). It's fun picking up speed and flying through a level, skillfully racking up points as you weave your way through rings, doing loop-de-loops, etc.

This game actually changed the way I think about game design. To unlock everything, you need a score of C for each level (D or below in sub-levels is fine as long as the final score for each level is C or higher). Initially, I thought this was annoying because how much skillfull gameplay in this game relies on memorization. You really need to be familiar with every level to get the highest score. However, a final score of C is very forgiving.

The more I played this game, the more I came to appreciate the gameplay, speed, and mechanics. I'm not really a fan of memorization in gameplay, but this helped me to see how this type of game could be really fun for people who like doing score attacks.

The game does have some annoyances. You have to clear 4 sub-levels before you get to a boss. Each boss has a unique way of defeating them, and a time limit. If you take damage, you lose time. If you run out of time, you have to redo all of the sublevels. This can be really annoying if you make just a few mistakes. That hard-earned rank of A or B is gone, and you have to start over. No lives, no redos, just do it again. I'd watch YouTube and look up boss tips whenever I got to a boss because -- fuck that. I don't feel like redoing everything.

Overall though, quite a nice game -- and the sort of game that doesn't really make sense and isn't really enjoyable until you spend an hour or two figuring out what the hell is going on. Still not a Mario 64-killer, though

8/10

There's a sequel on the Wii if that interest you. Also, there's also a holiday themed demo/sampler on the Saturn release called Christmas Nights into Dreams. If you set your Saturn's clock to various days throughout the year, the look of the first chapter is altered.

Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams...

Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams... was a Christmas-themed sampler disc of NiGHTS into Dreams... released in 1996. The story takes place after the original NiGHTS into Dreams..., and takes place during Christmas. Elliot Edwards and Claris Sinclair are shopping for gifts in Twin Seeds City, when they...

sega.fandom.com

Virtual On

Mech games famously have shit controls, and this game is no exception. All 6 face buttons are used, and are split between 3 movement buttons (air dodge + ground dodge) and 3 attack buttons (3 different weapons). For inexpicable reason, they aren't separated into top being movement, and bottom as weapons. The top middle button is a weapon, and the bottom middle button is movement. It makes no sense and it's just annoying.

The L and R buttons supposedly pivot the camera, but they're slow to engage and don't really seem to work. There's no real lock-on feature in a game that DESPERATELY needs it. To make matters worse, the 3D controller doesn't even work with this game. Ugh, why?

There apparently is a standalone controller for this game that might solve these control issues, but it's still just not that fun. I'm sure there's a huge skill gap between me and a top player, but it's just so clunky and unfun that I wouldn't ever care to try to close that gap.

5/10.

Virtua On really needs to be played with twin stuck controllers. The Dreamcast got a twin stick controller so people could play Virtua On 2 and it is massive from the looks of it. It also isn't supported by many games. Two big ones I know of off the top of my head are Virtua On and OutTrigger.

 

[Smacktard]

There's a sequel on the Wii if that interest you

It never interested me before because I think it reviewed pretty low. I wonder if that's because of some of the issues I highlighted about the OG Nights game. I might check it out. @Crystal have you played it?

Also, there's also a holiday themed demo/sampler on the Saturn release called Christmas Nights into Dreams

I have a JP copy but I want to pick up a US copy at some point.

 

[Crystal]

I haven't played the Wii version, no, but Christmas Nights is fun