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| Sony Imagesoft attempts to clear out excess inventory of their Sega CD wares. | The latest in the "Ultimate Gaming Rig" contest series. |
Working Designs / Game Arts CD-ROM The second game in the Lunar series improves on its predecessor with expanded animation sequences, more voice acting, and better graphics, and became the second-best selling Mega CD title of all time in Japan. This success was overshadowed somewhat for the game's North American release, however, by controversy surrounding its English translation. Although he initially praised Eternal Blue's story in early previews, GameFan writer Nick Rox was extremely critical of the game in his final review, accusing Working Designs of draining the drama out of the story by injecting too much contemporary humour into it. A legendary dispute on usenet ensued between Working Designs president Victor Ireland and GameFan editor Dave Halverson, in which Halverson defended Rox's Japanese linguistic skills against accusations from Ireland that the writer wasn't qualified to judge the accuracy of Eternal Blue's translation. Working Designs ultimately pulled all of their advertising from GameFan, which was a shame as the magazine had been an ardent supporter of the company, and the practice of translating Japanese RPGs for release in the West in general, for years. Working Designs continued to bring Japanese RPGs to North America throughout the Saturn and PlayStation eras, including an updated version of this game called Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete for the original PlayStation. "I won't reveal too much about the plot except that it's incredibly involving and ingeniously written." "Reviewing this undeniably almighty RPG is painful for me, as I am faced with the greatness of Game Arts' staff of ultra-talented artists, musicians, game designers, and scenario writers, and the pain of Working Designs' writers." "While the game packs in plenty of humorous asides... the tone is decidedly less goofy, with more of an emphasis on drama and storyline." |
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Sega 24 megabits A spinoff of sorts from Sonic Team's wildly successful hedgehog series, Knuckles' Chaotix puts the echidna centre-stage (along with an assortment of "buddies") and features a weird tethered gameplay system. Contemporary opinion on the game was divided, but given the thin release schedule for the 32X at the time it was a welcome addition to the system's library nonetheless. "Scary scrolls numbering in double-digits, extremely cool tethered gameplay and some of the best music ever heard in a video game (On 32X!) adds up to the title I'm buying a 32X for just to play." "The much too colorful backgrounds, unimpressive attempts at showing off, and tiring gameplay leave Knuckles as a great game — five years ago." | ||
Acclaim 16 megabits Probe struck again in 1995 with Judge Dredd, another multiplatform movie-licensed run and gun game. The SNES version is generally considered the superior one. "Yes, Acclaim has done it again. However, with Judge Dredd it's actually done a few things right." |
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Time Warner Interactive 16 megabits Another hockey game for the Genesis, in this case lacking an NHL license but featuring Wayne Gretzky's endorsement instead. PC and Atari Jaguar versions of the game were promised but never released. "The graphics are colorful, nicely drawn and animated, and the control is not only easy to get a grip on, but quite precise." | ||
Acclaim 32 megabits For all three players who weren't already sick of NBA Jam, Acclaim came to the rescue with this pumped-up 32X version. "To date, this is the best version of the Jam I've ever played at home." |
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Acclaim 16 megabits This D.C. superhero free-for-all was released for both the Genesis and SNES, but neither version seems to have lit the gaming world on fire at the time. | ||
Sega 16 megabits This scrolling action/platform game received praise from the gaming press for its fantastic graphical effects that pushed the limits of what a stock Genesis could achieve. Unfortunately, lacklustre controls and punishing difficulty ultimately dragged the game's review scores down. "Is it just me or is 16-bit shaping up to be more than anyone bargained for? I simply cannot believe the visuals they are achieving on the Genesis hardware. It's a crying shame that this fantastic looking Genesis cart is nearly impossible to enjoy. Just when you think you have it dialed the game goes berserk and throws so much at you at once you experience total meltdown." |
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Sega 16 megabits Billed as the "first truly interactive comic book ever", Sega's Comix Zone received rave reviews upon release (even Next Generation liked it!), and has since become something of a cult classic. "CZ is an uncommonly original game that plays like a fighting/action game hybrid. The character is huge, animated to perfection and has fighter-style moves but he's in an action game environment... very cool!" "Some awesome visuals, a solid soundtrack, and the extremely unique idea make Comix Zone an interesting game." |
