Games Beaten in 2018 So Far - 48* denotes a replay
January (16 Games Beaten)
February (18 Games Beaten)
March (10 Games Beaten)
April (4 Games Beaten)
48. Corpse Killer - Saturn - April 11*
Having played through Corpse Killer on Sega CD 32X, I figured I might as well replay it on Saturn to compare the two versions I own. As oone would expect, the two games are almost identical. They are, after all, the same game just on different generations of hardware. There are some major differences between CD 32X and Saturn that are worth noting, however, both good and bad.
The most noticeable difference going from CD 32X to Saturn is the boost to performance. Whereas the Sega CD and Sega CD 32X has noticeable and regular frame stutters (especially the latter), the Saturn version has smooth scrolling that, from what I could tell, rarely if ever breaks from a solid 30 fps. It sounds minute, and you don't realize how much nicer and smoother it is until you compare the two directly, but it really is a big improvement. Much less drastic but still noteworthy are the improvements to video quality. Being a beefier system, the quality of the video clips is improved quite a bit although the boost isn't as immediately noticeable or as significant as the improvement to performance.
There are a handful of other changes that are much more minor. A difficulty setting has been added in case you want to play that's both really bad AND impossible to beat. There are now zombies that pop up right in your face and cover the whole screen in a lame attempt at a jump scare. They also added in English subtitles since the Rastafarian driver's dialogue definitely doesn't count as English in my book. Unfortunately the biggest change made in the jump to Saturn was negative - the control options. Unlike on Sega CD, Sega CD 32X, and 3DO, you can't use a light gun on the Saturn version. Forget the fact that the Saturn has a FANTASTIC light gun and in fact was the best system until the Wii for light gun games. They don't let you use one at all. You're stuck with your frankly useless controller D-pad to aim. Had they allowed you to use a light gun for the game, this would definitely be the definitive console version of the (admittedly crappy even on a good day) game, but they just ruined it with that one change.
Corpse Killer on the Saturn isn't any less terrible than it was on the Sega CD 32X. There are some definite improvements - the visuals are much clearer, the performance is much improved, and the addition of subtitles and difficulty settings are nice bonuses - but the removal of light gun support detracts FAR more than the aforementioned improvements added. Even despite the inferior visuals and lower performance stability, I'd take the Sega CD 32X version over the Saturn version of this game any day. Of course, I'd rather just avoid the game entirely because it's a steaming pile of crap.
