8th September 2010, 3:56 PM
Some thoughts on all the games I have for a platform- 32X
Titles, in order, in the first post: After Burner, Doom, Fahrenheit (32XCD), Metal Head, Mortal Kombat II, Space Harrier, Star Wars Arcade, Supreme Warrior (32XCD), Tempo, Virtua Racing Deluxe
Second post: Knuckles Chaotix, Motocross Championship, Virtua Fighter
After Burner
--
Good port of the arcade classic scaler-style rail shooter, the first good port of the game. It does run at a lower framerate than the arcade game and is a little blockier, but it looks and plays great. Now that there are perfect ports on the Saturn, Dreamcast, and PS2 this one doesn't matter as much as it did when it came out, but still, it's a very good port and it's great to have -- the Genesis scaler games were almost all awful. As for the game itself, I do find After Burner to be somewhat annoying. It's just too random, you get hit by missiles that you couldn't even see coming far too often. I did manage to beat the game on Easy (when you get game over in this version you get sent well back, so it is a challenge -- another reason to get this version, other ports just have infinite continues from the stage you're on), but the deaths are just too random for me to beat it on Normal. I like Space Harrier more. Still, 32X After Burner Complete is fast, smooth, and great looking. It's too bad they didn't make a 32X scaler racing game like Power Drive, Outrun, Turbo Outrun, or Outrunners, it'd have been just fantastic to have... Oh, on a 6-button controller, you can use the Z button as a fire button. That's awesome, it's kind of like a trigger. You want a 6 button controller for this game. :)
Doom
--
32X Doom looks decent graphically and has a fairly smooth framerate, but features-wise is quite disappointing. I like the SNES version, but this one... yes, the graphics are better than on the SNES, but some other things are seriously lacking. First, 32X Doom has the fewest levels of any released version of Doom -- it only has 17 levels. The original PC game had 27. The Jaguar version, which the 32X version is a port of, had 24, two of which were new, so it had 22 levels that were modified, geometry-reduced versions of the PC levels and two new ones. SNES Doom had 22 levels, though the five levels removed from that version are completely different from the five removed on the Jaguar and its ports -- play both versions and you play all the PC version levels. In comparison, the SNES version actually uses almost unmodified versions of the original levels, which is one reason I like it. (The PC game is from 1993, the Jaguar and 32X versions in 1994, the SNES and Playstation in 1995, the 3DO in 1996, the Saturn in 1997, and the GBA in 2001; all console ports except for the SNES are conversions of the Jaguar version) SNES Doom also has a fantastic soundtrack -- they did a great job making SNES versions of the music. On the 32X however, music is one of the game's greatest weaknesses, While it does at least have music, unlike games like Jaguar Doom or Doom 64 which only have atmospheric sounds, the 32X version's music is so pathetically awful in comparison to the PC or SNES music that it's really sad and makes a big negative impact on the game. So yes, the resolution is higher than SNES Doom, the visuals clearer, and the framerate better, but the levels are less accurate, the music is much worse, and the game isn't a straight port of the PC game like SNES Doom is -- Jaguar Doom and all its ports drop the level map between stages, the episode breakdown (so it's just one "episode"), the between-episode story texts, and more, all things the SNES has. Both versions only have a single facing for enemies, so they are always facing you and can't turn and shoot at eachother and things like that, for space reasons on the carts. In 32X Doom you just have a level select at the main menu -- you can start from any of the 15 main levels, flat out. The only ones you'll have to work for are the two hidden levels. SNES Doom had a somewhat annoying episode select system, and also had no saving, but the 32X's solution is kind of lame really. The biggest problem, though, is definitely the lack of levels. Why is Episode III completely missing from this version? It's pretty sad, and really hurts the game a lot. Still, it does have two or three stages not in SNES Doom, which is nice, and the smooth gameplay is fun. Also this cart is extremely common and cheap, probably the second most common 32X game after Star Wars Arcade, so most people with a 32X will probably end up with a copy at some point. It's worth a try, even if it is disappointing -- but don't expect anything from the music!
Fahrenheit (32X CD)
--
Fahrenheit is a live-action video FMV game which includes both Sega Cd and 32XCD versions in the box. The 32XCD version has much better video quality and many more colors in the video, as you'd expect. The five 32XCD games are all FMV titles that use the 32X for better video, and it makes a real difference -- the Sega CD's tight color limit was a big problem, and the difference is huge. As for the games though, they're still live-action-video FMV games, so don't expect much... this one is probably one of the better ones, but it's frustrating. In Fahrenheit you are a firefighter going into burning buildings, trying to find people to rescue and dangerous objects to remove. It's first person, and you go between screens with the arrows then look around and choose what to interact with. Some things will damage you, others help you. It's kind of frustrating and random, the game involves a lot of memorization. The later levels are mazes which are pretty confusing to navigate; even the first, simple level can be a little confusing because of the first-person perspective and how it can be hard to remember exactly what is in each direction at all times. Still, for an FMV game, it's not bad. Hard, but not bad.
Metal Head
--
Metal Head is a textured, 3d first person mech shooting game. You walk around in a mech shooting enemies. The graphics are maybe the most impressive thing about this game -- it is the only US-released 32X game with textured polygons, and is one of only two on the platform. However, while impressive for the system, the graphics definitely have aged a lot, and the gameplay is really only average. You walk around, shoot enemy vehicles, walk more, shoot more... you do have missions, so you sometimes have to do something other than shoot, but usually the missions just involve going somewhere and killing the enemies along the way. Levels are rectangular and full of buildings, but the minimap makes it easy to navigate. There is a map, which is nice, and a run button, which is great because the default walking speed is very slow. This is another 32X game that benefits greatly from the 6 button controller, and uses the buttons. Overall Metal Head is okay, but not great.
Mortal Kombat II
--
MKII is a good game, and is my favorite game in the Mortal Kombat series. This is a fine version of the game, on its own. However, it's just not that improved from the Genesis, and it's debatable as to whehter it's even as good as SNES MKII. And because of that, it is a little disappointing -- people got the 32X for a sort of next-gen experience, but the games that didn't use polygons often struggled to look much better than Genesis games, greater color use aside. That was particularly true for games like this one that are quick ports of Genesis titles. They did add some things -- there are more colors used in the characters, there's more blood in the backgrounds, etc -- so this is the superior version of the game compared to the Genesis -- but somehow, I'd expect more. Still, it's a fine version of a classic arcade fighting game, so it's well worth having, particularly if you don't have the Genesis or SNES versions of the game.
Space Harrier
--
Space Harrier is a true classic, and one of my favorite rail shooters ever. Like After Burner, Space Harrier is a mid '80s scaler game which finally got its first good home port on the 32X. However, like After Burner, Space Harrier is also a game which isn't arcade-perfect on 32X, but does have arcade-perfect releases on Saturn, Dreamcast, PS2, and Wii. The Wii Virtual Arcade version even has motion-control aiming, which is awesome. This 32X version is still great, though, and like After Burner, does make itself worth playing for fans because of the continue system. Both games use a limited continue system where, when you get a game over, you can only continue from two or three points in the game, so you must beat six to eight levels without getting game over. None of the later home ports of the games work like this, so it makes the 32X versions both harder and well worth a try. And 32X Space Harrier is great, a near-perfect port of the game. This really is a fantastic game, with a lot of levels, a very high but doable as you memorize the levels difficulty level, bright, colorful visuals, great art design, and more. Space Harrier is a great game that is a lot of fun to play. It's hard, but worth it. as you zoom along the color-filled stages, shooting a wide variety of crazy creatures and avoiding obstacles. Just get used to hitting that fire button a lot, you'll need to mash A (or B, or C, they all do the same thing) as fast as you can pretty much the whole time you're playing. :)
Star Wars Arcade
--
Star Wars Arcade was a 32X launch title in the US, and it was the only system seller the system had in its first holiday season in 1994. The game sold very well, almost 1:1 with the system in the US in holiday 1994. As a result, it's very common and cheap. This is fortunate, because despite some flaws, Star Wars Arcade is a great game well worth getting. Star Wars Arcade is a port of the Sega arcade game of the same name, and is a 3d, shaded polygon space flight combat game. In addition to the original arcade game, there is also a longer Original mode available, so there are two missions to try to complete. You control an X-Wing (single player) or a Y-Wing (2 player co-op, one player flies and the other shoots), destroying TIE Fighters, going over the Death Star surface, going through the Death Star trench and blowing it up, and more. It's a lot of fun. However, it's not perfect. There are two major flaws in the game. First, turning is very slow and stiff, and you have extremely limited up-down movement -- for the most part you just turn left or right and fire. It feels almost like you're on a flat plane, not in space. This is a little disappointing, space fighters do not handle like this. The later 32X title Shadow Squadron had a vastly improved 3d flight system which did allow for full, acrobatic 3d flight, but Star Wars Arcade doesn't have that at all, sadly. Second, the trench missions are incredibly hard and frustrating. To date, I haven't managed to get through either the trench or "flying through the Super Star Destroyer's superstructure" missions yet; the framerate seems lower, and the controls just are not good for flying through tight spaces like those. Even so though, Star Wars Arcade is a great game. The Star Wars theme is great, with the classic music and settig, and the gameplay, through annoying at times, is mostly good. Overall I like the game despite its flaws.
Supreme Warrior (32X CD)
--
Supreme Warrior is an utterly abysmal, atrocious FMV game that's so bad that even by the incredibly low standards of Sega CD FMV games, it's a bad game. The good-quality video of the 32X CD gives it a good first impression, but as soon as the actual gameplay starts and what the game actually is is revealed, that quickly fades away. Supreme Warrior is, as the name might suggest, a fighting game. The game is a first person fighting game where your opponent moves around in front of you while you try to use your attacks (have a six button controller, the game is even less playable without it) to hit them. You've got a block and various different kinds of attacks. Read the manual, the moves are not listed in the game and you must know them well, and practice them, to get anywhere, because the enemies are brutal. Honestly, I haven't beaten the first fight yet, and I don't know if I ever will. The learning curve to figuring out how to not lose is high, and the game is so incredibly unfun that it doesn't give me any kind of a reason to want to even consider spending that time. It's a very frustrating game where the enemy moves around in front of you doing stuff while you press buttons trying to figure out what in the world you're supposed to be doing... and supposedly, even if you do figure it out, it's still not fun. Don't bother with this game, it's very, very bad.
Tempo
--
Tempo is a Sega, 32X exclusive 2d platformer from the creator of Bonk. The game is good, but as with many 2d 32X games, doesn't really look like something that HAD to be on 32X. It does have cool looking spinning and bouncing backgrounds, and more colors on screen than the Genesis could do, but for the most part it's pretty much a Genesis game. Tempo has varied, colorful levels and settings, as you control your anthropomorphic bee (or whatever he is) through his "funky" adventures. Yes, the theme's kind of lame, but oh well, it's amusing at least. :) Tempo is also somewhat slow paced compared to Sonic, so don't expect to be blazing around in this game; instead, you need to take your time and explore to find the many secrets and hidden items in each level. Sadly the game does not have a save chip on the cart, so you need to write down passwords, which is pretty lame for a first party release. Oh come on Sega, why were you so cheap? At least it has the passwords, but still. Overall Tempo is a decent platformer, worth considering. It's not a great game, and I do think it's a little disappointing, but it's alright.
Virtua Racing Deluxe
--
Virtua Racing Deluxe is a great polygonal 3d racing game. The game uses shaded polygons and has a nice, stylistic look. 32X V.R. Deluxe is a vast improvement over the Genesis version, with more tracks, more cars, and much better graphics. The game has five tracks, two of which are new and 32X exclusive (that's right, they do not return in the Saturn or PS2 versions), and three cars, two of which are new (and again, don't return in exactly the same form). The game is very fun to play and challenging, and it does have a two player splitscreen mode too. The framerate is solidly playable, the graphics look nice, it's really fun... this is one of my favorite 32X games. It does have a downside, though -- there's no circuit mode or anything, so it's just single races, and the US and EU versions of the game do not save anything. This means that there's little reason to play for any reason other than what you can invent in your head, because nothing is saved and there's no circuit or championship or anything, either. The Japanese version does have a save chip in it and will save your times, but it's region-locked so you'll need a modded Genesis (or a Japanese Megadrive) to play it. If/when I get such a setup I'll definitely get a Japanese copy of the game, because it'd be fantastic to play a version of this game with saving! As it is it's an outstanding game, but with that it'd be even better.
Titles, in order, in the first post: After Burner, Doom, Fahrenheit (32XCD), Metal Head, Mortal Kombat II, Space Harrier, Star Wars Arcade, Supreme Warrior (32XCD), Tempo, Virtua Racing Deluxe
Second post: Knuckles Chaotix, Motocross Championship, Virtua Fighter
After Burner
--
Good port of the arcade classic scaler-style rail shooter, the first good port of the game. It does run at a lower framerate than the arcade game and is a little blockier, but it looks and plays great. Now that there are perfect ports on the Saturn, Dreamcast, and PS2 this one doesn't matter as much as it did when it came out, but still, it's a very good port and it's great to have -- the Genesis scaler games were almost all awful. As for the game itself, I do find After Burner to be somewhat annoying. It's just too random, you get hit by missiles that you couldn't even see coming far too often. I did manage to beat the game on Easy (when you get game over in this version you get sent well back, so it is a challenge -- another reason to get this version, other ports just have infinite continues from the stage you're on), but the deaths are just too random for me to beat it on Normal. I like Space Harrier more. Still, 32X After Burner Complete is fast, smooth, and great looking. It's too bad they didn't make a 32X scaler racing game like Power Drive, Outrun, Turbo Outrun, or Outrunners, it'd have been just fantastic to have... Oh, on a 6-button controller, you can use the Z button as a fire button. That's awesome, it's kind of like a trigger. You want a 6 button controller for this game. :)
Doom
--
32X Doom looks decent graphically and has a fairly smooth framerate, but features-wise is quite disappointing. I like the SNES version, but this one... yes, the graphics are better than on the SNES, but some other things are seriously lacking. First, 32X Doom has the fewest levels of any released version of Doom -- it only has 17 levels. The original PC game had 27. The Jaguar version, which the 32X version is a port of, had 24, two of which were new, so it had 22 levels that were modified, geometry-reduced versions of the PC levels and two new ones. SNES Doom had 22 levels, though the five levels removed from that version are completely different from the five removed on the Jaguar and its ports -- play both versions and you play all the PC version levels. In comparison, the SNES version actually uses almost unmodified versions of the original levels, which is one reason I like it. (The PC game is from 1993, the Jaguar and 32X versions in 1994, the SNES and Playstation in 1995, the 3DO in 1996, the Saturn in 1997, and the GBA in 2001; all console ports except for the SNES are conversions of the Jaguar version) SNES Doom also has a fantastic soundtrack -- they did a great job making SNES versions of the music. On the 32X however, music is one of the game's greatest weaknesses, While it does at least have music, unlike games like Jaguar Doom or Doom 64 which only have atmospheric sounds, the 32X version's music is so pathetically awful in comparison to the PC or SNES music that it's really sad and makes a big negative impact on the game. So yes, the resolution is higher than SNES Doom, the visuals clearer, and the framerate better, but the levels are less accurate, the music is much worse, and the game isn't a straight port of the PC game like SNES Doom is -- Jaguar Doom and all its ports drop the level map between stages, the episode breakdown (so it's just one "episode"), the between-episode story texts, and more, all things the SNES has. Both versions only have a single facing for enemies, so they are always facing you and can't turn and shoot at eachother and things like that, for space reasons on the carts. In 32X Doom you just have a level select at the main menu -- you can start from any of the 15 main levels, flat out. The only ones you'll have to work for are the two hidden levels. SNES Doom had a somewhat annoying episode select system, and also had no saving, but the 32X's solution is kind of lame really. The biggest problem, though, is definitely the lack of levels. Why is Episode III completely missing from this version? It's pretty sad, and really hurts the game a lot. Still, it does have two or three stages not in SNES Doom, which is nice, and the smooth gameplay is fun. Also this cart is extremely common and cheap, probably the second most common 32X game after Star Wars Arcade, so most people with a 32X will probably end up with a copy at some point. It's worth a try, even if it is disappointing -- but don't expect anything from the music!
Fahrenheit (32X CD)
--
Fahrenheit is a live-action video FMV game which includes both Sega Cd and 32XCD versions in the box. The 32XCD version has much better video quality and many more colors in the video, as you'd expect. The five 32XCD games are all FMV titles that use the 32X for better video, and it makes a real difference -- the Sega CD's tight color limit was a big problem, and the difference is huge. As for the games though, they're still live-action-video FMV games, so don't expect much... this one is probably one of the better ones, but it's frustrating. In Fahrenheit you are a firefighter going into burning buildings, trying to find people to rescue and dangerous objects to remove. It's first person, and you go between screens with the arrows then look around and choose what to interact with. Some things will damage you, others help you. It's kind of frustrating and random, the game involves a lot of memorization. The later levels are mazes which are pretty confusing to navigate; even the first, simple level can be a little confusing because of the first-person perspective and how it can be hard to remember exactly what is in each direction at all times. Still, for an FMV game, it's not bad. Hard, but not bad.
Metal Head
--
Metal Head is a textured, 3d first person mech shooting game. You walk around in a mech shooting enemies. The graphics are maybe the most impressive thing about this game -- it is the only US-released 32X game with textured polygons, and is one of only two on the platform. However, while impressive for the system, the graphics definitely have aged a lot, and the gameplay is really only average. You walk around, shoot enemy vehicles, walk more, shoot more... you do have missions, so you sometimes have to do something other than shoot, but usually the missions just involve going somewhere and killing the enemies along the way. Levels are rectangular and full of buildings, but the minimap makes it easy to navigate. There is a map, which is nice, and a run button, which is great because the default walking speed is very slow. This is another 32X game that benefits greatly from the 6 button controller, and uses the buttons. Overall Metal Head is okay, but not great.
Mortal Kombat II
--
MKII is a good game, and is my favorite game in the Mortal Kombat series. This is a fine version of the game, on its own. However, it's just not that improved from the Genesis, and it's debatable as to whehter it's even as good as SNES MKII. And because of that, it is a little disappointing -- people got the 32X for a sort of next-gen experience, but the games that didn't use polygons often struggled to look much better than Genesis games, greater color use aside. That was particularly true for games like this one that are quick ports of Genesis titles. They did add some things -- there are more colors used in the characters, there's more blood in the backgrounds, etc -- so this is the superior version of the game compared to the Genesis -- but somehow, I'd expect more. Still, it's a fine version of a classic arcade fighting game, so it's well worth having, particularly if you don't have the Genesis or SNES versions of the game.
Space Harrier
--
Space Harrier is a true classic, and one of my favorite rail shooters ever. Like After Burner, Space Harrier is a mid '80s scaler game which finally got its first good home port on the 32X. However, like After Burner, Space Harrier is also a game which isn't arcade-perfect on 32X, but does have arcade-perfect releases on Saturn, Dreamcast, PS2, and Wii. The Wii Virtual Arcade version even has motion-control aiming, which is awesome. This 32X version is still great, though, and like After Burner, does make itself worth playing for fans because of the continue system. Both games use a limited continue system where, when you get a game over, you can only continue from two or three points in the game, so you must beat six to eight levels without getting game over. None of the later home ports of the games work like this, so it makes the 32X versions both harder and well worth a try. And 32X Space Harrier is great, a near-perfect port of the game. This really is a fantastic game, with a lot of levels, a very high but doable as you memorize the levels difficulty level, bright, colorful visuals, great art design, and more. Space Harrier is a great game that is a lot of fun to play. It's hard, but worth it. as you zoom along the color-filled stages, shooting a wide variety of crazy creatures and avoiding obstacles. Just get used to hitting that fire button a lot, you'll need to mash A (or B, or C, they all do the same thing) as fast as you can pretty much the whole time you're playing. :)
Star Wars Arcade
--
Star Wars Arcade was a 32X launch title in the US, and it was the only system seller the system had in its first holiday season in 1994. The game sold very well, almost 1:1 with the system in the US in holiday 1994. As a result, it's very common and cheap. This is fortunate, because despite some flaws, Star Wars Arcade is a great game well worth getting. Star Wars Arcade is a port of the Sega arcade game of the same name, and is a 3d, shaded polygon space flight combat game. In addition to the original arcade game, there is also a longer Original mode available, so there are two missions to try to complete. You control an X-Wing (single player) or a Y-Wing (2 player co-op, one player flies and the other shoots), destroying TIE Fighters, going over the Death Star surface, going through the Death Star trench and blowing it up, and more. It's a lot of fun. However, it's not perfect. There are two major flaws in the game. First, turning is very slow and stiff, and you have extremely limited up-down movement -- for the most part you just turn left or right and fire. It feels almost like you're on a flat plane, not in space. This is a little disappointing, space fighters do not handle like this. The later 32X title Shadow Squadron had a vastly improved 3d flight system which did allow for full, acrobatic 3d flight, but Star Wars Arcade doesn't have that at all, sadly. Second, the trench missions are incredibly hard and frustrating. To date, I haven't managed to get through either the trench or "flying through the Super Star Destroyer's superstructure" missions yet; the framerate seems lower, and the controls just are not good for flying through tight spaces like those. Even so though, Star Wars Arcade is a great game. The Star Wars theme is great, with the classic music and settig, and the gameplay, through annoying at times, is mostly good. Overall I like the game despite its flaws.
Supreme Warrior (32X CD)
--
Supreme Warrior is an utterly abysmal, atrocious FMV game that's so bad that even by the incredibly low standards of Sega CD FMV games, it's a bad game. The good-quality video of the 32X CD gives it a good first impression, but as soon as the actual gameplay starts and what the game actually is is revealed, that quickly fades away. Supreme Warrior is, as the name might suggest, a fighting game. The game is a first person fighting game where your opponent moves around in front of you while you try to use your attacks (have a six button controller, the game is even less playable without it) to hit them. You've got a block and various different kinds of attacks. Read the manual, the moves are not listed in the game and you must know them well, and practice them, to get anywhere, because the enemies are brutal. Honestly, I haven't beaten the first fight yet, and I don't know if I ever will. The learning curve to figuring out how to not lose is high, and the game is so incredibly unfun that it doesn't give me any kind of a reason to want to even consider spending that time. It's a very frustrating game where the enemy moves around in front of you doing stuff while you press buttons trying to figure out what in the world you're supposed to be doing... and supposedly, even if you do figure it out, it's still not fun. Don't bother with this game, it's very, very bad.
Tempo
--
Tempo is a Sega, 32X exclusive 2d platformer from the creator of Bonk. The game is good, but as with many 2d 32X games, doesn't really look like something that HAD to be on 32X. It does have cool looking spinning and bouncing backgrounds, and more colors on screen than the Genesis could do, but for the most part it's pretty much a Genesis game. Tempo has varied, colorful levels and settings, as you control your anthropomorphic bee (or whatever he is) through his "funky" adventures. Yes, the theme's kind of lame, but oh well, it's amusing at least. :) Tempo is also somewhat slow paced compared to Sonic, so don't expect to be blazing around in this game; instead, you need to take your time and explore to find the many secrets and hidden items in each level. Sadly the game does not have a save chip on the cart, so you need to write down passwords, which is pretty lame for a first party release. Oh come on Sega, why were you so cheap? At least it has the passwords, but still. Overall Tempo is a decent platformer, worth considering. It's not a great game, and I do think it's a little disappointing, but it's alright.
Virtua Racing Deluxe
--
Virtua Racing Deluxe is a great polygonal 3d racing game. The game uses shaded polygons and has a nice, stylistic look. 32X V.R. Deluxe is a vast improvement over the Genesis version, with more tracks, more cars, and much better graphics. The game has five tracks, two of which are new and 32X exclusive (that's right, they do not return in the Saturn or PS2 versions), and three cars, two of which are new (and again, don't return in exactly the same form). The game is very fun to play and challenging, and it does have a two player splitscreen mode too. The framerate is solidly playable, the graphics look nice, it's really fun... this is one of my favorite 32X games. It does have a downside, though -- there's no circuit mode or anything, so it's just single races, and the US and EU versions of the game do not save anything. This means that there's little reason to play for any reason other than what you can invent in your head, because nothing is saved and there's no circuit or championship or anything, either. The Japanese version does have a save chip in it and will save your times, but it's region-locked so you'll need a modded Genesis (or a Japanese Megadrive) to play it. If/when I get such a setup I'll definitely get a Japanese copy of the game, because it'd be fantastic to play a version of this game with saving! As it is it's an outstanding game, but with that it'd be even better.