Genesis / Ristar

[Radical Lanzar]

Synopsis / Overview
Sega needed a mascot to take down the one and only Mario. Characters that were imagined up included a rabbit that could pick up things with his ears and a fat man in pajamas. That fat man became what we Sonic fans know as Dr. Eggman. The rabbit was eventually changed into Sonic the Hedgehog with altered gameplay. Years later, that original concept would serve as the motivation for Ristar. Truthfully speaking, the gameplay is actually very similar to Sonic the Hedgehog with a number of exceptions that make it a unique platformer.

Gameplay
Where this game shines is the gameplay. Ristar moves around slowly, really slowly; but he makes up for it with his various star powers and abilities. Ristar's main weapon is his arms, which he uses to slam enemies into his face. However, that is not all they can do. Ristar can also grab onto ledges, ladders, use his arms as a grappling hook agaisnt cliffs, and his arms also serve as a means to propel himself from trees and poles. The only trick to the gameplay is avoiding monsters. Where as bosses have patterns which can be seen with enough exposure, monsters often appear on screen, serve warning to the player, and move in difficult to determine patterns. At times the monsters are actually flung into the character, or fly completely under the radar, only to come back chasing the player. Needless to say, this game is unique in the gameplay department.

Sound
Ristar's sound effects and music are one and the same. Ristar's squeaks and voice use the weak Genesis sound synthesizer, but it gets the point across. Sound effects in game also sound similar to the star's voice, with the exception of ricocheting enemies, which is annoying, among other things. Music seems to have a festive mood to it, and as has been said, it sounds very similar to the sound effects for a well blended environment.

Graphics
Unlike many games of the era, and even modern games for that matter, Ristar uses a unique color palette. The colors are hardly real. Instead it's like everything is painted with glow in the dark neon and some unforseen lighting effect gives it the color that we see. While not hard on the eyes, it definitely is bright. Details are definitely easy to see with this color scheme, but at the same time, it makes me wonder what the designers were thinking. The only thing I could honestly say is the colors and environment are definitely that of an alien world. About the only thing that looks normal is the enemies themselves.

Storyline
The storyline differs depending on region. In Japan it is the Star Goddess Oruto that awakens Ristar and sends him on his journey. In America and Europe, it is his father, a legendary hero, that awakens him.

Lanzar's Thoughts
It seems to be a one shot attempt at making a game. The story goes that Sega gave the go ahead for Ristar to succeed Sonic the Hedgehog, but it never happened. Sega seems to always be making decisions like this, be it switching from single consoles to addons, dropping consoles for third party, or altering their mascot of choice into a Bugs Bunny knockoff. I'm never quite sure what Sega is thinking anymore. As it is, their latest incarnation of their mascot has 'classic Sonic' and the regular Sonic side by side. Anyway...

[Editor's Note] It isn't just the storyline that was altered per region. In Japan Ristar is this cutesy character that is awakened by the star goddess Oruto. Further, most of the enemies in the game are also cutsey. The opening dialogue is not present, and the ice boss is actually a cat that is defeated by 'hot food' (Japanese referance to a cat's tongue hating hot food). In America and the International releases, Ristar has a more serious demanor, monsters also wear an evil expression, and there is opening dialogue giving the game a bit of a backstory. Hot food doesn't just defeat the ice boss, it melts him!

[Violent By Design]

Synopsis / Overview
Sega needed a mascot to take down the one and only Mario. Characters that were imagined up included a rabbit that could pick up things with his ears and a fat man in pajamas. That fat man became what we Sonic fans know as Dr. Eggman. The rabbit was eventually changed into Sonic the Hedgehog with altered gameplay. Years later, that original concept would serve as the motivation for Ristar. Truthfully speaking, the gameplay is actually very similar to Sonic the Hedgehog with a number of exceptions that make it a unique platformer.

Gameplay
Where this game shines is the gameplay. Ristar moves around slowly, really slowly; but he makes up for it with his various star powers and abilities. Ristar's main weapon is his arms, which he uses to slam enemies into his face. However, that is not all they can do. Ristar can also grab onto ledges, ladders, use his arms as a grappling hook agaisnt cliffs, and his arms also serve as a means to propel himself from trees and poles. The only trick to the gameplay is avoiding monsters. Where as bosses have patterns which can be seen with enough exposure, monsters often appear on screen, serve warning to the player, and move in difficult to determine patterns. At times the monsters are actually flung into the character, or fly completely under the radar, only to come back chasing the player. Needless to say, this game is unique in the gameplay department.

Sound
Ristar's sound effects and music are one and the same. Ristar's squeaks and voice use the weak Genesis sound synthesizer, but it gets the point across. Sound effects in game also sound similar to the star's voice, with the exception of ricocheting enemies, which is annoying, among other things. Music seems to have a festive mood to it, and as has been said, it sounds very similar to the sound effects for a well blended environment.

Graphics
Unlike many games of the era, and even modern games for that matter, Ristar uses a unique color palette. The colors are hardly real. Instead it's like everything is painted with glow in the dark neon and some unforseen lighting effect gives it the color that we see. While not hard on the eyes, it definitely is bright. Details are definitely easy to see with this color scheme, but at the same time, it makes me wonder what the designers were thinking. The only thing I could honestly say is the colors and environment are definitely that of an alien world. About the only thing that looks normal is the enemies themselves.

Storyline
The storyline differs depending on region. In Japan it is the Star Goddess Oruto that awakens Ristar and sends him on his journey. In America and Europe, it is his father, a legendary hero, that awakens him.

Lanzar's Thoughts
It seems to be a one shot attempt at making a game. The story goes that Sega gave the go ahead for Ristar to succeed Sonic the Hedgehog, but it never happened. Sega seems to always be making decisions like this, be it switching from single consoles to addons, dropping consoles for third party, or altering their mascot of choice into a Bugs Bunny knockoff. I'm never quite sure what Sega is thinking anymore. As it is, their latest incarnation of their mascot has 'classic Sonic' and the regular Sonic side by side. Anyway...

[Editor's Note] It isn't just the storyline that was altered per region. In Japan Ristar is this cutesy character that is awakened by the star goddess Oruto. Further, most of the enemies in the game are also cutsey. The opening dialogue is not present, and the ice boss is actually a cat that is defeated by 'hot food' (Japanese referance to a cat's tongue hating hot food). In America and the International releases, Ristar has a more serious demanor, monsters also wear an evil expression, and there is opening dialogue giving the game a bit of a backstory. Hot food doesn't just defeat the ice boss, it melts him!

Great review, I played this game for a little bit on ROM once. I've recently obtained the Mega Sonic Collection which I believe has this game, so I'll be sure to try it out.

[sabrage]

While I think you gave a nice rundown of the game and its elements, I think you need to add more personal input to give us a sense as to whether the game is actually good or not. As the review stands, it's a little hard to tell whether or not you enjoyed it.