Playing all of "Sega Saturn's Explosive Shmup Library"

[marurun]

Thunderforce V is sooooo good. The music is fantastic and Free Range makes it a whole different type of game.

[opa]

Planet Joker



Let's just get this one out of the way, shall we?

After a fairly okay-for-the-time anime intro you get dropped into the main menu. Unfortunately, there's no "play something else" option. After choosing your mech you drop into the game and realize the mistake you made.
Gameplay consists of ceaselessly hammering the fire button while enemies appear. Occasionally, the environment shifts the perspective around so you can shoot at more lame targets. It's painfully easy in what little I played and not fun at all.
Skip Planet Joker and play something else, okay?

Likes
-Pixelated anime intro
-Actually uses some 3d models

Dislikes
-Just plain bad
-Not exciting
-Galaga had more going on during gameplay
-Really difficult to hit enemies in the top left/right due to the weird camera angle

Verdict: Pass

[pierrot]

Interesting choice. I've never played or even really looked into footage of that one. I was never really expecting much, but at least I feel a little more confident now that I don't need to wonder, 'What if...?'

Thanks for your service, soldier. o7

[opa]

As a slight addendum - the game also features a force field button. I believe it's tied to the charge bar on the left of the screen. Once you hold down the button you can run into enemies and kill them instantly. It seemed really finicky and got me killed a couple of times. Not really a sound weapon choice.

[opa]

Metal Black



This is actually not my first go-around with Metal Black. I have one of the Atgames mini home arcades that includes the arcade version. However, it has been a few years since I've played it so honestly I'm looking at this title with fairly fresh eyes. I just remember liking what I played of it.

And my memory was correct! Metal Black is awesome. You pilot a fighter jet that seems to shoot mostly crustaceans, robo bugs, and fish robot-things. The title screen even features a set of shark jaws so I guess that's the theme of the day. Either way you are presented quite a challenge at the start as this game picks up the pace fairly quickly. No real "waiting around" for the game to actually get difficult.
So you have a basic weapon that you upgrade by picking up the little multicolored pick-ups that float onto the screen. What's neat is that when you get to a boss fight they actually collect them too. They unleash a big attack once they get enough it seems. But I noticed you can also counter-attack with your laser if you've picked up enough and cancel it out.

Really cool game. I don't really want to spoil anything else. Check it out! My one gripe is that this is one of those games that you can't tell what you can fly over or what's in the background. You'll often find yourself asking "can I fly over that?" when something comes on the screen. *crash* Nope, not the background.

Likes
-the "AH-OOO-GA" boss warning sound is oddly satifying
-the effects are a treat for the eyes
-the explosion when a boss dies

Dislikes
-can't tell what's in the background or "safe to touch" at times

Verdict: Recommended

[pierrot]

Metal Black was an offshoot of Darius, wasn't it? At least, the enemy designs make sense to me from that perspective. Darius Burst also inherited the giant laser beam battles with bosses mechanic, if you're looking for more of that at all.

[opa]

Metal Black was an offshoot of Darius, wasn't it? At least, the enemy designs make sense to me from that perspective. Darius Burst also inherited the giant laser beam battles with bosses mechanic, if you're looking for more of that at all.

Not sure. I'll take your word for it. I haven't had a chance to research most of these titles.

I will look into Darius Burst. I really like the mechanic.

[opa]

Terra Cresta 3D



Oddly enough I started out pretty positive on this. The graphics are 3D (if the title didn't clue you in) and they actually look okay to me. Fairly clean models and somewhat smooth scrolling. Not the best 3D I've seen on the Saturn but decent enough.

Unfortunately, Terra Cresta 3D's gameplay is a bit bland and... terrible... Basically you have to hammer the fire button to get a decent fire rate so you'll be tired in five minutes of playing. The enemies are brain-dead easy. They just float in - maybe shoot a few times - and disappear. Also, the first boss just randomly appeared. There were no audio cues like a music change or a visual "Warning" sign. It just floated on screen and it died after shooting it a bunch. I thought it was just a mini-boss or something but no.

At this point it was tempting to shut it off but I persevered and went through stage 2. Same bland gameplay. However, when I got to the boss it changed into a almost Space Harrier looking scene with a behind the ship view. While it looked kind of cool it still took a billion bullets to even hurt the boss. I gave up after the second phase.

Likes
-Clean 3D graphics

Dislikes
-Gameplay sucks
-Bullet sponge bosses
-Lacking music

Verdict: Pass

[o.pwuaioc]

Hard pass on Terra Cresta 3D. All the 3D gen updates imo failed hard, excepting Centipede on the PS1, something I haven't played, though, in well over 20 years. Maybe also Galaga Destination Earth, which wasn't terrible, but it isn't worth looking into. Again, imo.

Metal Black is one of my favorite Saturn shooters. I really like everything about it, from the ambiance to the collecting little Newalones (the proper term for those pick-ups, iirc), to the pacing. It really drew me in. Honestly, this is a top 3 for me for Saturn games. I never played the arcade version, so I can't compare, but it's just so good in whatever it does. Helps that I really do love horis. It's because of this very site that I fell in love with this game and it a comfort game. I still revisit it more than any other Saturn game, shooter or otherwise.

[opa]

DonPachi



I am a big fan of Cave shooters and DonPachi is no exception. This vertical scrolling title starts off strong and does not hold back on the action.

You get three different ships to choose from each with their own firing patterns. From a wide spread shot, to a more tight grouping, and one that meets them in the middle. The C Button shoots your forward fire; and holding the R button while firing will focus your attack into a laser shot.

I really love the detail that they put in both the enemies and environment. Some enemies have states of destruction (like shooting these tanks on the ground would destroy the top first and set it on fire). There's also little guys running around trying to get into vehicles. I will have to check but I'm not sure if they were actually getting in the vehicles and becoming enemies but that would be neat if true. I was destroying everything too fast to pay attention.

The two bosses I saw didn't mess around, either. Really heavy fire patterns coming from multiple parts of the machines made me really have to pay attention to oncoming attacks. The second boss destroyed me but I'll have to go back and learn the patterns.

I really just have two main gripes with DonPachi. The first one being the load times. It takes a while for the game to actually begin. Also, when you die and use a credit to continue, you get the option to change your ship. If you choose a different ship than the one you were currently using, the game freezes and has to load in the new one. I guess it is pulling it into the memory or something. This does not occur if you pick the same ship, however.

Secondly, while I love the details - the graphics do look kind of muddy at some points. Not horrible, but not too great either. Maybe this is something that could be improved with shaders on the emulator or something.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed my time with DonPachi and look forward to checking out the sequel!

Likes
-Fast paced right off the bat.
-The ship selections actually feel different.
-The little guys running on the ground.

Dislikes
-Somewhat muddy graphics.
-Load times suck no matter what game it is.

Verdict: Recommended