Next on the Ghostly Month of Virtua SPOOOOOOOKIES!!!! We're taking a look at one of my all-time favorite scary games on the Sega Saturn! Let the haunting festivities begin!!!
Of all the games that deserve a new life, it is comforting to know that D was seen as worthy. If you happen to have a Steam account, there is a small chance you know that this Sega Saturn gem was given a new port that can work on modern computers. Faced with the engine speeds of a Sega Saturn, Playstation and CDO, D had a strained performance. This slow execution actually did a little bit to help it in the ways of atmosphere. The slow movement speeds do get a little monotonous, but now this port has improved all of it. SPOILERS for D ahead.
Not only does it look cleaner, but most movement just takes about a second. It looks a lot more stable now while not getting rid of its crude charm that we fell in love with. D was a little hard to get to remember. The last time I played it fully was to review it back in 2019, so this was a little harder to get back into than was expected. The heightened movement speed did a lot to help in ways of going the wrong way as well. If you accidentally made the wrong move and had to go back, it was a lot more annoying back when movements took three to five seconds. This may not seem like much, but when you move in a point and click like this, those few seconds make a lot of difference.
This is how a game should graphically clean up. If you remember in the Daytona Champion Circuit review, the graphics looked sterile. Sometimes, they look entirely too clean and change what made the game look so cool in the first place. D, on the other hand, keeps the grain, but there's just not as much of it. This keeps its identity as an older game while keeping itself fresher for the new systems and computer engines.
Not going to lie, I had to use a guide more than once when I couldn't remember where to find certain answers to certain puzzles. It was better to revisit it through text so you didn't give away the visual of finding the puzzle piece in the game itself. Sometimes you'll find answers in blood and sometimes you'll find evidence in some secrets that are fun to find throughout the Crazy Mind Mansion thing you're going through.
I made it a point to find all of the scarab beetles that bring about the flashbacks. Everyone loves finding completions and this was one of the more satisfying. It shows images that your dad erased of your mind when you kill your mother by stabbing her to death. There was only one other time I was able to do this in the game, so this was a nice little welcome surprise.
It really isn't a long game once you know what you're doing. Take that with the enhanced movement speed and it's almost a shame the game is so short otherwise. It's short because of the game's limitations and they used that to tighten up the scare sequences throughout D. Now, it is a graphically enhanced game for the mid 90's. It's obvious that I talk about D a lot with it being in my top 10 favorite Sega Saturn games. I only thought of it as having been reviewed before, in one of my first Sega Saturn articles ever written. It turns out that I have talked about this through favorites list, the sequel comparison and game comparison. I have mentioned it in several others as well as a statement on how to do horror correctly. There really will never be a substitute for these 32 bit games and how crudely charming they look. The new port looks great and if you're interested in playing some old games, this is one that shouldn't go overlooked if you're looking for something different. It's best played in the dark, here in the season of Halloween. Just remember to break it out during the Virtua Month of Ghostly SPOOOOOOOOOOOKIES and everyone will finish the night with both of their wings. Bring back the Saturn Spookiness this season and don't step in the spikes.
