Sonic Christmas Blast - The Sonic Stink in your Stocking (Virtua Sonic #9)

One of the worst facts about Sonic's TV series is that the one that lasted the longest with the most episodes was Adventures of Sonic. Yes, we have covered this show in a previous article, but now we're here at the Yule tide season and we're going to be talking about the final installment of the entire series, Sonic Christmas Blast. It has been made no mystery that this show is awful. The Christmas special in question today is no different. 

What was different about this special is that, beyond being the ultimate installment, was also the first installment to do a lot of things. First off, this is the first time it has really been made clear that there is a humanoid civilization on... I'm guessing this is Mobius, I really don't remember... and this is the first time we get a real huge city. All of the other places have been much more shallow while this one actually has a population and some sort of eco system. 

Not that they're very smart, as they immediately get pulled into a Robotnik (yes, he is called Robotnik in this) scheme that really shouldn't have worked in the first place. Sonic catches onto Robotnik having a robot Santa relinquish the name to Mr. Roboto so that he is now Robotnik Claus. It's as dumb as it sounds. Obviously, this shouldn't have worked, but it does. Instead of giving presents to the children and people, they are to all give him presents. They must also do so under pain of imprisonment and/or financial destitution and seizure of all owned assets--MY GOD! Why am I saying any of this? 

It does not take a genius to understand why this is dumb, and that is proven because I watched this at the age of 10 and I still knew it was dumb. At that age, I understood VERY well that SAT AM was the best show and that this was just a filler to watch when nothing was on Nickelodean or WB. So, we're forced to shift to the belief that Santa had the authority to give to the people, but also take from the people with no consequences. Where is the government of this so-called "civilization"?! 

Okay, overthinking it. So Sonic obviously finds Santa Claus and... the story gets even dumber, if you really need to know. He tells Sonic that if he wants to become the next Santa, he needs to pass the... Impossible Tasks? For real, he calls them Impossible Tasks and all of them are seriously so easy that Sonic is able to gain the power of Santa's world traveling ability and he rushes out against Robotnik. 

So, obviously Robotnik's plan is Deus Ex Machina'd BOOM BAM! The little rebellious kid who always believed in Sonic would save them sees that he's now Sonic Claus when he brings the gifts back to his home. It's not a bad moment, really. It's cheesy and heart warming and Christmas is saved. Now, believe it or not, despite its flaws, it does end the entire series on a very fascinating high note. Santa decides it is, indeed, time for him to retire. He officially passes the mantle over to Sonic and that is, actually, it. There is no episode after this. Making Sonic the new Santa and seriously just halting everything there was probably the most genius move they ever made. 

So, yes, this entire series is overall garbage, but it is something to say that there was care put into this last Christmas special. For one thing, the name, Sonic Christmas Blast, was from the game Sonic 3D Blast, but it was supposed to be Sonic Christmas X-treme that was going to come out for the Sega Saturn. It never did and they changed the name before it aired. Thanks to Phelous on Youtube for a lot of this extra information and reminding me that this Christmas Special existed in the first place. Watching it again, it didn't take multiple viewings and that says something about the quality. That means it's better than one episode of Sonic Underground OOOOOHHHHHH VIRTUA SONIC BLAST!!!!!! 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Planet Virtua! 

Give the Gift of Physical Media! - Planet Virtua Christmas 2025!

Well, as is the tradition, we'll be opening our presents on Christmas Eve, and we'd really like them to be wrapped in paper and topped with a bow. That's right, this year, we're going to be giving the gift of physical media to those who wish to keep their games safe and on the shelves. Shelves are not so bad, sheet books for discs, or just flat out stack them in the old CD-R containters. Digital is not the devil, and it has its place, but always remember to keep your discs. 

It astounded me that they even thought to make a PS5 that is wholly digital, especially with the size of those games in the old storage that can balloon in both space and price very quickly. It's like they want you to just prepay for the 1TB or even the storage extensions. Or, you know, you can keep the majority of your library in cyberspace and hope and pray that your internet stays in tact or, God forbid, one day companies decide they want to stop leasing out their games to your library and POOF they're gone. 

No, I'm not saying that is an inevitability, even if it very well could be, but it is rather disconcerting that they would flat out tell you that you should become comfortable not owning your game. Yes, our comeback of not owning meaning pirating is not stealing is very witty and clever, but that doesn't stop the fact that the word "comfort" became very ironic, as the comment stirred up a great deal of discomfort. 

Physical media is our dragon horde, and it is much better when you are able to cover yourself and sleep within it. Yes, that is weird metaphor but the intention is the same. Yes, you must put up with the fact that you can lose your disc and cover box, needing to store it in whatever as said previously, but at least you know it's there in that comfortable space where you can reach it and pop it into that good old Saturn or PS2 or Gamecube, whatever is your jam. 

The Christmas tree, stockings or gift pile looks so much better with colorful boxes and retro media of all sorts. Give the gift of DVD and Blu-rays new in the box and let them fill someone's home with old school joy. Give a child a Dreamcast and show them the ways of Jet Grind Radio as it was originally intended (of course buying it for 5 bucks on Steam is also a viable option, but let's stay on topic). They will thank you and possibly beat your score and cause deep resentment. Family is fun! 

Above all, whether it be digital or physical, remember to be safe and happy however you can while keeping warm with those close to you. Remember to find your player 2, whoever they may be, as long as they bring you joy for the holidays. Bring them joy and beautiful 32-bit games you can put in your console. Have fun, take some time off and decompress. That's what games are for. Make some time and it would help if you shared it with someone special. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Planet Virtua! 

Virtua Dasher!

Christmas Nights - A True Christmas

 This Christmas, we're going to look at one of the more obscure titles on the Saturn. Even with its obscurity, more and more attention is starting to arise for this game. That's a wonderful thing, because this game is so simple, yet so complicated at the same time. It has so many different features attached to it according to the days that you play it. If you play it on Christmas, you get an even better feature that I will not spoil for you. 

This game only has one level and one boss, but that's because it was a special feature made for a magazine promotion. It's a reskin of Nights, but they obviously put their hearts and souls into it and made it absolutely gorgeous. Even the story mode behind it is exceedingly simple. There's a huge Christmas tree in the city, but it has no star. So, you beat the level with both characters to get the star. That's it. It goes out of its way to just show you how beautiful it is with Jingle Bells playing in the background and all of the wonderful decorations it put up throughout the level. 

What I would like to draw attention to, aside from the many features and secrets, aside from the gameplay and the rarity of this title, is the message it conveys. The people in Twin Seeds are all distressed and rushing through the holiday season. They are not happy, they are busy buying toys and scurrying through the streets to get where they are going. Claris and Elliot look on this in distress and notice that the star is missing atop the giant Christmas tree. 

Once they find the star, people seem much happier and able to enjoy the time of year. They seem to bring happiness to the citizens of Twin Seeds and let people slow down and take their time. That's the message we need to listen to, folks. No matter if you celebrate Christmas, no matter what you celebrate, as long as you are happy and those around you are happy along with you. Make sure you are able to enjoy this time of year, even if it seems to bring a lot of stress along with it. Simmer down, breathe, and find someone to share it with. The holiday season was not put here to bring you misery, even if some people seem to think otherwise. 

Obviously, putting a big star on top of a giant Christmas tree is not going to instantly fix everyone's problems here in this plane of existence. The message here is that you need to bring about your own joy and share it with others. There's always someone out there looking for someone else to share their experiences with and we here on Planet Virtua want you to help bring that joy to life. So, from all of us here, we wish you a Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year. Singing those Virtua Dreams.

Christmas on Planet Virtua 2024!

 Here on Planet Virtua, we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve! Strange, yeah I know, but who cares! Come have egg nog! We're not going to invade you! While we sit here and eat our cookies, we like to think about the good old Christmas mornings of old. Some of the old systems showed up in boxes and we all remember that we couldn't get the boxes open fast enough. 

Sadly, it seems that those days are from the times of old. More and more, we're seeing video games on digital systems with no disc. It's a good thing that Stadia went nowhere, but that's not saying it wouldn't have worked. The longer we stick with physical media, the better. Is there a good side to owning digital? Of course, but who wants to wake up and open your Playstation store, find new games in your library only to need to download them, install them and patch them over the next three hours? 

Classic gaming is the way to go when you give new media to loved ones. Give them something they can pop in and play, or you'll just be deleting games from your storage to make someone happy. Santa is there to deliver the presents, he can't just sit there and pick which games you don't want to play, making way for 20 gigabytes a pop. 

The solution? Hit the game stores! Used game stores have consoles of old and they can be some of the most engrossing titles. You don't need to spend much more than a 100 USD to have a Merry Christmas or whatever other holiday you celebrate. If you have people you want to entertain, take some of these into consideration.

Nintendo 64

While these better known titles can be rather expensive, nothing can be said about the hours upon hours of family entertainment that it is clearly capable. The cartridges it has in its library are sturdy and long lasting. You will be hard pressed to not find some great 2-player game or two. Even if you can't get 007 GoldenEye, the chances are you can find Mario Kart 64 for at least a decent price. Quake is a multiplayer capable port for this and you can have mindless fits of glee killing each other in arena combat. 

If you wish to do cooperative, there is plenty of that here as well! Gauntlet Legends will allow you to work together to cut through rows upon rows of orcs sksletons and goblins. The N64 is perfect to just pull out and play whether you want to play with someone else or if you want to play by yourself and/or with someone as a spectator. 

Sega Genesis

That's right, we're going Sonic 2 and 3 for some of the greatest in 2-player goodness. Whether you want Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter 2, this is your baby. Blast Processing may not be an actual thing, but it sounded cool and honestly became something of a fond memory in early gaming memes. 

For a little extra co-op, look toward the Adventures of Batman and Robin (not the movie of the same period, mind you) along with Toejam and Earl! Some of the greatest 2D titles can be seen on the Sega Genesis, even if it doesn't seem to get as much praise as the SNES. Streets of Rage 2 and Contra Hardcore are two hidden gems that seem to go overlooked a lot on the Genesis but you put any of these games into your machine and you're bound to find one that you'll quite possibly love. 

Playstation 2

This system was made especially with families in mind. While you may not consider it an old school system, it still doesn't require patching. Even the PS3 is guilty of patching and updating games before you play them, and then it's not nearly as bad as the ones we have now. The Playstation 2 came at the time right before multiplayer went primarily online. There are still so many games with local multiplayer like the legendary title, Twisted Metal Black. 

To say destroying your loved one's vehicles with missiles and miniguns is satisfying would be such an enormous understatement. You completely destroy them in huge gales of smoke and fire and it is glorious! 

Baldur's Gate II: Dark Alliance is 100% co-op friendly. In fact, the game is easier with two people with the puzzles you need to solve. With one as a caster and another as a warrior, you can beat down your enemies with no problems and have a ton of fun while doing it. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is an amazing example of technology that is scarce even today. With such an enormous world to explore, having two people in one game to do it is something of a marvel in gaming in general. 

There's a ton of local multiplayer options in the early to mid-2000's, and even into the PS3 era. Here at Planet Virtua, we're all about the physical media you can pop and play with a loved one. Christmas morning, don't forget the money-saving presents that can bring a family together. Even if it's a passing fancy, it gives them something that they can come back to. Just a few titles in your library like this and maybe a few for some self therapy with some good story. 

Die Hard Trilogy (Saturn) - Dreaming of a Red X-Mas

 

When you want a good time, you want a bit of variety, right? Why settle for one when you can have three? Although Die Hard Arcade is still a very good 3D beat'em up, and a jolly good bit of fun, Die Hard Trilogy is a bundle of fun on top of a frantic fast and furious ride (yes, I know what I said). So, now that it is the holiday season, why not end the year with a fantastic Christmas game? Whatever your thoughts on its status as a Christmas theme, this is what we're going with. 

The first game is probably the weakest of the three, but it's still a load of awesome gameplay. You lead McClane through a parking garage and shoot down some baddies. As simple as it is, you can go pretty crazy with your gun and keep firing off your gun as they surround you over and over again. Is it easy? Not especially, the bad guys can gang up on you pretty quick if you are not careful. Thankfully, the real saving grace for this section of the game is that there is a map for you to keep track of where everyone is. No matter how good you are, chances are you will be getting some hits. 

Making your way through the building, things do not improve for you. Men come out of nowhere and they keep up the heat! Help the hostages escape and cause as many explosions as you can to take down the criminals as you make your way toward the roof. You get machine guns, shotguns, grenades, and just about as much blood as you can stand. The real problem with this game is that it can be repetitive but that's to be expected with such a bare bones 3rd person shooter. So long as you pay attention to your surroundings, you can beat this game with a bit of patience and fast reflexes. Is it perfect? No, but really, when you're in the mood for some mindless shooting, just pick it up and start firing. Yippee Ki-yay.

The second game, Die Harder, is a railshooter, almost a Virtua Cop clone with a lot more blood. I do mean a LOT more blood. One shot and the criminals are a torrent of red, it's hilarious. Is it as good as Virtua Cop? Not really, but it's still a lot of run and gun fun for everyone. One nice feature is that it boasts a much higher ammo clip and you're able to turn the screen slightly when you're aiming off of it. It's chaotic, which is a good thing and a bad thing, because sometimes there's a bit too much action on the screen and the framerate can take a bit of a hit. 

Explosions are where this game really flourishes. Who doesn't love setting off a grenade only to have five puddles of blood to splatter everywhere? One real problem with this game is that the innocent civilians will literally saunter onto the screen without a care in the world. Because why run for cover when you can just get in the way of gunfire? They've obviously got a plane to catch so why wait? Run through the bullets! Make your way through the entire airport so you can get to the runway to fire down an entire jumbo jet! That's right, the main baddie is a passenger aircraft! Will wonders never cease? 

Now comes my personal favorite game in the trilogy. Some may call it Die Hard With a Vengeance, but I call it blood wipers. You drive through New York City streets, you drive through Central Park and you drive against a nefarious garbage truck. You can do all of this and beat the clock, taking down the bombs or you can just drive around and run into cars and pedestrians because why not? Blood on your windshield can just be wiped off because why not? The free wheeling style of this game can nearly be considered addictive. It's fast and bloody and beautiful!

One thing you may notice from all three of these titles is that they are unbearably simple. They are about as bare bones as it comes. This is a turn off for some, and that's understandable. However, as said before, this game is all about variety and it has that in spades. Die Hard Arcade adds a beat'em up element that could be considered one of the many features, so long as you possess both of these games. Die Hard Trilogy is something to pick up and just lose yourself into some brutal violence with guns and manslaughter where you don't need to worry about the 32-bit people you are destroying. 

Love it or hate it, Die Hard Trilogy is delicious junk food. You can eat it by the handfuls or you can have a light snack, it doesn't matter. Just put in your initials or a curse word in the top list, and have a Merry Christmas, because that's what it's all about in the end.

Virtua Neptune's Top 10 Playstation 2 Games

  The Neptune Christmas Gaming Saturn 2 Extravaganza is back on the air! Welcome, folks! This is, once again, my present to myself for myself, enabling me to chat about whatever I would like, so long as it sticks to gaming and the awesomeness of it. To that end, we will be talking about another concept outside of the Gaming Triforce as previously stated in Part 1. The Saturn is always #1, of course, and the Dreamcast along with the Gamecube bring up a good tie for #2. Now, if there were a #3 that took up the fourth position, which there is because I'm making up math as I go, then that would be the Playstation 2. 

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNN!!! Whoa! Neptune! Stop! What are you doing?! The Playstation?! My eyes! Why would you do this?! We're at war! Sound the alarm! Wake the Ninjas! Fire the Cannons! Bring in the cavalry and kill him! 

Hold your horses, literally, there, Jake. We've discussed the Playstation 2 more than once. The Playstation 2 is definitely the fourth spot with the third place because it is, by far, the greatest console on the market. 

Oh, yes, I said it and yes, it is actually true. This game console sold so well that it is STILL the #1 BEST SELLING CONSOLE IN THE WORLD TO THIS DAY. I'm sorry, but if that is not just so damned impressive, then close this article and go look somewhere else. We're talking about the Playstation 2, I don't care what console it succeeds and I don't care that it defeated the Dreamcast. Guess what, if there was any that deserved to defeat the good old Sega Saturn 2, it was the Playstation 2. Sorry, folks. Life's a bitch. Get a floatie! 

The Playstation 2 was at the height of popularity through most of the 2000's. It took a long time for the Playstation 3 to come out, so its reign had a good long draw and all of the games seemed to gravitate toward it. One great advatange to owning the Playstation 2 is that the games are so plentiful that they are actually quite cheap. Aside from games such as Silent Hill 2 or rarities on the exclusives lists, these games came in droves far more plentiful than the Dreamcast or the Gamecube, as it enveloped both of their lifespans and then some. The PS2 even continued to gain PS3 titles, which isn't too far fetched, but it did it for quite a long time. The Playstation 2 was getting titles until WELL INTO 2013!!! That's a year after I bought my Xbox 360! That only shows how elongated that console was. It really is nice to admire one that deserves such admiration. 

                                                            10. Tony Hawk Underground

Tony Hawk became popular and I played it over at a friend's house for hours and hours and hours all in one night. As little as I have played this game in life, it has had such a huge impact on my life that I needed to purchase it for my collection, even when skateboarding is very much not my thing. This game is hard for me because the button combos and the dexterity required is not my forte. Is it fun, though? Oh, yes. The music deserves the 90's chef kiss of the radical dudes of the ones before us. Rock on, Skaters.

                                                            9. The Simpsons Hit and Run

You can't put a price tag on a game that does sandboxing just right. Yes, it can be expensive, but it is so hard to make, so hard to get right and so hard to maintain that it seems like an art that is all but lost on today's gaming society. Why, then, was it done so well in the console world so many times, yet they still can't seem to get it right with so many devs? The Simpsons Hit and Run took all of the aspects of GTA 3 we loved, took away the death and violence and replaced it with authentic Simpsons humor. Is all of it funny? No. Is it funnier than the Simpons now? YES!

                                            8. Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King

Dragon Warrior is my favorite game of all time. It is the first game in the Dragon Quest series and after it was brought out of the NES consoles, it fourished as Dragon Quest on the market and continues to do so to this day. This title is no shortage of greatness or Slimes. Just kill them good and get the slimes first. Then we can move onto the ghosts! Oh, sorry, that's my Dragon Warrior talking. There is a lot of story here by comparison, but it is a very fun ride, for certain. 

                                                                    7. Soul Calibur 3

This series continues to thrive and be awesome, no matter how the new games are getting slightly worse. Virtua Fighter this ain't, but it is a very solid game series that deserves much of all of the praise from the fighting game genre. It features prominent weapon combat, something that a lot of fighting games attempted but just couldn't really get right with Mortal Kombat 4, Tekken and it kind of looked like Virtua Fighter was trying to maybe incorporate weapons at one point in 4 or 5, but this is the one that seemed to get it down. It was just nice that the blades and axes didn't chop them into ribbons, then it would be a completely different fighting game altogether.

                                                                        6. Silent Hill 2

This is the Playstation game that is the Holy Grail for many collections and for good reason. The only version that was available to play of this was the Playstation 3 HD collection, as terrible as that sounds, it's all I have. This game is almost impossible to emulate fully and trying to buy a real copy is akin to manipulating dead body parts. It only kind of maybe works. Either way, it was still a very fun experience (mostly because I don't have much experience with the original to go off of*) and playing it in the dark still brought about great scares and joy. 

                                                        5. Grand Theft Auto 3: Vice City

GTA3, the vanilla game, is my favorite of these, bar none. Vice City is my favorite iteration on PS2, though. Don't ask why, but for some reason, the pink aura of the 80's resonating off of this title drew me toward it over San Andreas. Again, there's nothing against SA, but if there were a second place for GTA3, this is it. It's Grand Theft Auto and if I needed to explain what I do on this, you'd probably not like me playing it very much even though all of you do the same thing!

                                                                            4. Bully

Speaking of Grand Theft Auto, here is a title that only beats it because it has vastly less distractions. Do I consider it a BETTER game? No, but it does what it set out to do better, technically. This game wins out overall from focus. There's less distractions. You can bully other kids, but you can't just go around randomly beating them up too much like in GTA3 and its iterations. You are more driven to finish missions and follow the rules/strategically break the rules and skip/attend classes. Bully is a whole lot of structured fun, while GTA3 is pure choatic fun. Both are beating you in the face.

                                                            3. Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution

Virtua Fighter the Series is no stranger to me. Virtua Fighter 4 is no slouch, and it never will be considred one. It even has the Evolution version which has a brand new version of the original Virtua Fighter. Seriously? If you haven't already played this amazing fighting game, then what is keeping you? It's rated higher than Soul Calibur 3, by all means, play both. The new game mechanics, the new graphics the new touch ups on characters and story, all of it is just a monumental successful upgrade. Let's Virtua Fi-Fi-Fi-Fi-Fi-Fi-Fi-Fi-----

                                                                    2. Virtual On Marz

Fight! Whoa! Here we go! The only reason that this is not #1 is because it is #1 for the Sega Saturn, technically. Virtual On did not get many titles and it was much later in life when I found out about this one. Yes, it is Virtual On in all its amazing goodness but it is far more mission based and based on fighting multiple smaller enemies as well as boss battles. It is Virtual On slathered with better graphics and high flying action on a much bigger scale. If you don't slam this together with the first Virtual On, then there is going to be Virtual and Virtua Consequences! FINISH HIM!!

                                                            1. Mortal Kombat: Deception

FATALITY! Ah! Here we are! Mortal Kombat is no stranger to this blog either. What is a bigger stranger is the 3D era of games. That's the period of games after Mortal Kombat 4, when Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube were all churning out Ed Boon games and Tobias was just freshly straight out the door after his abysmal title, Special Forces. Deception was the middle title. Is it actually better than Deadly Alliance or Armageddon? No, but it is the title that was around and it is the title that was played for many hours along with the story mode, which is awesome, by the way. 

Wow, being able to talk about the PS2 and all of my favorite consoles. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Even if I don't have your permission to do it, I do thank you from the bottom of my heart! This is the best Christmas gift ever and if you can find it in your hearts to let me keep this going for as long as it will, I'd sure appreciate it. This is all going to you from me with no script, no anchor, no rules and all just Gonzo Scrapbook Article Writing. This is a vacation for these tired fingers that had to go through college, stories and novels on top of articles and whatever else happened this year. 2023 was not an easy year as stated earlier in the year, but we made it as a family unit. Whether it be with the Sega Saturn or whatever else was played in the retro consoles, that's what going down for this Christmas Saturn Neptune Virtua Extravaganza! Coming Next!

Christmas on Planet Virtua!

                                         

Saturn Journal December 25th, 3023

Merry Christmas from all of us on Planet Virtua and/or Saturn! We're happy to be among you and we're happy to bring you joy and prosperity through games and joy of the genres we enjoy. We love fighting, roleplaying, free roaming, sandboxing and shooting things! We love to shoot things! Not that we'd ever invade you. No, it's Christmas, remember? That's for later.

Now, why live on Virtua? Well, our Christmases always seem to work in the ways of Retro Gaming and we're loving to share all of this with all of you in the ways of comparisons and nonlinear competitions that come up with middle-of-the-road results and semi-obvious outcomes. Now, do I want to make this entire thing into another reward show? No, that's already here, so this is just going to be something of an article for Christmas and Christmas joy for all!

So! What do we have first on the list? Why, it's roleplaying games! Of course, we all know that the most popular roleplaying games stem toward the free-roaming aspects in the genre. Do we want to talk about Final Fantasy VII in this Saturn Christmas? No, if you want to talk about Playstation 2, that's last article. Oh, it's not Playstation 2? Oh No!

Anyway, Panzer Dragoon Saga wins the Roleplaying Game genre, for sure. Shining The Holy Ark goes up in stock while Shining Forces III goes down. Sadly, Forces III didn't age quite so well. Guardian Heroes stands strong on the stock market, so be sure to keep those stocks nice and cozy. The Top 20 List isn't going to change much this season, honestly, but there are a few games that bear mentioning this holiday season. 

Sonic R for guilty pleasures? Yes, but Doom has gone way up in that category for sure. With all of the John Romero activity and the Sonic racing game stuff that has sucked over the past few years. You may as well set your watch by these titles. 

Quake has also gone way up in stock. The FPS genre in general is in dire need as far as the Saturn is concerned. Whatever wasn't considered a Railshooter was either extremely mediocre, legendary or just plain WEIRD. Quake, Doom, Power Slave (Review coming soon), and a few other titles like Alien Trilogy or DUKE NUKEM 3D have really stood the test of time far better by comparison. Duke Nukem 3D has to probably take the cake when it comes to winning the FPS genre overall. Quake and Duke Nukem 3D are very strong contenders.

Look, I know I never mentioned Hexen in my FPS Culture reviews, but that's more because Hexen and Heretic did little to impress on any port, let alone the Hexen port on Saturn. It was mediocre all around, if I'm really being honest all around. When we're being honest, there's a big reason for this lack of First Person Shooters as a whole, and it probably as more to do with the fact that the controllers only had one D-pad/A Joystick on the same side as the D-pad. This would... improve? On the Dreamcast.

3D Fighting can go to either Virtua Fighter 2 or Virtual On. Those two are way too close and too different to really contend in any meaningful way. Though, it still stands to reason that they are both fighting games and they are both in three dimensions. Power Stone would also be a strong contender, but again, we're sticking to Saturn. Battle Arena Toshinden--so anyway...

3D Platformer, it's Nights Into Dreams. That is pretty much the closest genre it has and honestly, there really isn't much else you could put it in a category for. It's really not much of a platformer either since the forms of "platforms" are neglegible at best. Other than Sonic 3D Blast, Nights into Dreams is the best we have when it comes to this Genre. Even the established render of the Sonic X-Treme for the Sega Saturn does not deter this in the slightest. Honestly, it was not as great as a lot of us were hoping. Oh well, at least we didn't get Bubsy 3D! Moving on...

2D Platformers, just like the latter, are negligible. There's always something like Clockwork Knight, Bug, Skeleton Warrior, Bones, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Astal and a few other titles, there's really not much to speak of here. It needs to go to Symphony of the Night. There's really no other alternative answer. It's much more a 2D Platformer than a Roleplaying game, so it definitely fits comfortably in the genre along with Fantasy Horror and Adventure. 

Horror! We've had a lot to say about the Month of Saturn SPEWWWWWWWKIES when it comes to the horror genre. That's kind of the name of the game. We never did, however, come up with an absolute best title. Well, we're going to cut the grease and get right down to it. It's D. There's also no choice in the matter. Resident Evil is awesome and should be very well celebrated, there are also many other good titles such as the House of the Dead and Quake. There's even Doom and Crypt Killer (wait, the hell is that?), but D has reigned supreme ever since Planet Virtua started. It's our pick and we're sticking to it! D2 is still overrated MOVING ON!!!!

Railshooters, that's a tough one. There are a LOT of really good railshooters on the Saturn. In fact, I'm daring to say there's very few bad ones other than Death Crimson that comes straight to mind. House of the Dead, Virtua Cop 1 & 2 and the Panzer Dragoon series, we're going with Panzer Dragoon II Zwei! It can also be considered somewhat free-roaming, and high flying adventure, but that is much more Panzer Dragoon Saga's forte, as you are actually in control rather than on a rail. So, our choice for best railshooter is Panzer Dragoon II Zwei!

Time for a Planet Virtua Magazine

When you gather them all up, your Christmas stockings should be rather full. I'm sure Sonic R will look nice nestled up next to a nice big box of Light Guns and a Virtua Steering Wheel! Let's not forget that wonderful gift of Nights Into Dreams, Panzer Dragoon II and, of course, lest we forget Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop and Daytona USA. For what collection is complete without the Saturn Tri-Force?

Now, remember, we are advocating for the Sega Saturn, but no matter what console you have, make sure that you share that console with someone you love and you invest in local multiplayer games so that you can enjoy them for far longer. Remember, all of these consoles are to be celebrated in some way, but do not forget what is truly important. Video Games are a whole lot of fun and talking about them is also quite a blast, but that wouldn't be nearly as fun without someone to share them with. Whether it be playing with someone this holiday season or just getting together to have a little chat with someone, make sure you share with someone else. They'll enjoy the company and be flattered to have been included in your thoughts. Try and stay some relationships or strengthen ones that you may have lost along the way. It's never too late to get in touch with family and friends. 

This holiday season, we here at Planet Virtua, broadcasting from the home planet, wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Don't miss this chance to share the love and share the Saturn with those that you love. Happy Holidays from all of us.

Sega Sampler Stocking Stuffers!

 

 Oh, did you not know that the Sega Saturn was one of the many consoles of the era to have Sampler CD's? Oh, please, sit down and let me tell you a thing or two this Christmas Eve, lads and lasses. This is some of the greatest joy and terrible sorrows we had as a collective back in the day. The Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, early Playstations and the PC had this enormous assortment of jewel cases, paper sleeves and cardboard cutouts that held CD's in magazines, other games, or included with the consoles themselves. Now, would we like them stuffed within our stockings Christmas Eve? Of course! Can we open them early? NO! 

The games on these CD's ran the gambit of some of the greatest in their respective genres to some of the scum of the Earth pifitifulness that doesn't deserve to lick the dust off of your Gamegear. Either way, you were usually well entertained. How great or terrible a game was was normally VERY well showcased within the bounds of the demo discs because that's where you want to show your audience what you're capable of. 

Now, not all of these discs actually had playable demos. Some of them were just trailers, and even the ones with playables mostly just had the long commercials. The real problem was not so much when the game sucked, but when the game was never officially completed and/or released. Sometimes, it was regional. It'd release in Japan or PAL or America or any mix of the three. The demo would release in all three regions but then only release in Japan, this was quite a common occurance.

When you found a Sample CD with a good amount of playable demos, it also varied quite a bit with how much of the game you could actually play. This could also run quite a long gambit from one single fight, one single boss fight or one whole level of a game. If you were lucky, some of them even had two or three shorter levels, ending with it being one of the longer demos. Was this always a good thing? Absolutely not. Some games, the demos weren't even worth playing and that's great! That means you paid nothing for it (hopefully) and now you know to steer far clear. Fantastic!

This really goes to show how valuable these demo discs really were. Now, you basically need to either buy the demo disc itself (sometimes in a collection, which is what you SHOULD do) or somehow find an original console from the era, complete, fully wrapped and/or brand new. Good luck on the latter, there, because if that's the deal you got then the demo disc would be the least of your fangasm. Buying these demo discs in bulk is really and truly keeping with the spirit of their original purpose. The games you play in them, as stated early, were either never released, are extremely old and/or ridiculously rare and expensive. 

So, the true purpose of these demo discs has taken a hit. Most of these games you've either already played or already know enough about to not bother buying them. If you really and truly want to get the game footage, these titles have endless amounts of footage on streaming. These demo discs are nothing more than novelties, much like the original systems themselves in some cases. 

One great and valuable thing these discs do is they do showcase the work of many game developers that would otherwise go completely unnoticed. If the demo disc is literally the only remaining source of the game file (Sometimes quite literally. Some game developers have straight up lost the source file), then the value of that demo disc basically skyrockets and even gives it a bit of historical importance in some cases. 

We mainly had two good demo discs with good playable games on them. One was the Scream Volume 1, it featured a very good bunch of games and definitely is the star of the show. The next was the Saturn Bootleg demo disc. It had a less than impressive list of playable demos but there were some tiny gems at least. 

Bug Too! is the first that was played on Scream Saturn Volume 1 Demo Disc that came with the console. This one was played the very least because the platforming was stiff and awkward while the gameplay was rather boring. Will I ever review this full game? Maybe? If anyone really cares, please, I am all ears. 

Daytona USA: Championship Circuit, or as I called it in 1996, the lame version of Daytona USA. Yes, this opinion has not changed other than slightly. This was played once or twice because of the interesting graphics, but as far as we were concerned, it didn't hold a candle to the full free game we got with the system along with it. 

Baku Baku... going to be honest, I forgot this game existed, but now that I see it, I remember loving it. Yes, I loved this weird, Japanese, horrific fever dream of a block game. For some reason, it was rather addicting and we found ourselves actually playing a lot of what little of the game was included with Scream Saturn 1. Now, is there any actual substance or anything gained other than shallow entertainment for throwaway fun? No, don't think that going into this game.

Virtual On came with my Sega Saturn in the form of the very first fight. You fought Temjin with his laser sword and small laser cannon. He also can throw laser bombs with some rather large laser explosions. The variety in the enemy wasn't good but you were able to literally fight him with any of character you chose. This was a great alternative. I'd rather play mutliple characters than play one character against multiple enemies. Both options are fine but definitely went the high road here. Because of this, I was able to know that Raiden was my cream of the crop that rose to the top and allowed me to win 3rd Place in a Virtual On tournament. That's right, this was the practice I needed to succeed. This, and then Virtual On for the Dreamcast gave me that edge and the arsenal to blast my enemies into metal dust!!!

Then there came Three Dirty Dwarves. This was the boss level where you literally throw things and jump at a building. Once you've gotten the enemy down enough, the building will come out on legs as the patrons inside (it being a bodybuilding gym) carry it while still throwing dumbells and whatever else at your three dudes. This was hilarious and it was so much fun. This game was really, really hard to find, but that just made it that much more rewarding when I finally was able to play it in its fullest. It's a great game, for certain. 

Once we get into the Bootleg Saturn Demo, we see that Bug! is a trailer while Bug Too! was available to play on Scream Volume 1. Weird crossovers happening on a few of these titles, actually. World Series Baseball. Guess what it was? It was batting practice! That's it! Guess how much we played it! RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS! We literally had tournaments to see who could get the most home runs between us. For some reason, that one single batting practice thing took up TONS of time on our console. Why? I don't know, we weren't even teenagers! Stop judging!

Sega Rally Championship is said to be one of the best racers on the Saturn for its control, graphics as well as its track designs. To me, it was a car game and I wasn't great at car games, nor did I like them all that much. Not to mention, Daytona USA had already taken up anything that I actually liked about a racing game. I liked to crash the car and maybe beat my record sometimes, so the subtleties of excellence were lost on me with this title. Now, I can enjoy it to that extent.

Clockwork Knight II was kind of just a nothing experience at this point. I wasn't fond of the first one, nor did I find the old graphics all that endearing. They're a little too shiny if I'm really being honest. This demo did nothing for me other than show me that this title had a very boring first level. Moving on.

The Horde. No, this game is not nice and not cool. This was a single demo on a disc, coming off of Scream Saturn Vol. 1 and Bootleg. You can like it all you want but with the FMV cut scenes, the stiff and awkward gameplay and controls along with all of the cheesy tongue-in-cheek humor, this was less than a stellar experience. I do not remember what disc this came on but I do remember playing at least the first level on it. It made it quite clear that I should not rent it, let alone purchase it. 

Alien Trilogy was on a single demo disc and I watched my brother play it. The problem was that it froze and went crappy because the disc it was on was absolute garbage. It was a shame because I feel like if I played it more, I could have appreicated it a bit more today. Life goes on. 

Sadly, none of the demos I received were interesting on the level of being extremely obscure or never being released and/or lost to time. While that did happen, it was still pretty rare in the grand scheme of things. Still, finding these for a retro console you own is actually an exciting experience, especially if one of the games it demos is something like Burning Rangers or Panzer Dragoon Saga. It gives you the chance to play games you wouldn't otherwise, no matter in how much of a small way. That much is something we can be thankful for.

This Christmas, remember to share the joy of Saturn, even if it's just playing the game with someone. Give the gift of a good Saturn game and a good friend to go with it. Get a fire going if you can and get warm with family in front of the TV with your controllers of choice and have a good old time. Waiting for Santa can be a long sit, but for now, let's keep each other company and have a great holiday season warm with loved ones. Now is a good time to open the Christmas Eve presents, just remember to be grateful for what you get or you will pay next time we get to the next holly jolly fighting game! Virtua Yuletide Slap!