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July 1995


SATURN
Clockwork Knight
Sega   Team Aquila
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Action-Platformer   Release: May 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Easy

Clockwork Knight is the premier platforming game for the Sega Saturn. By taking the stage as the first true, 32-Bit Sega platformer, CK may raise some expectations. Best lower those, now. On the positive end, this title certainly has loads of heart. Its main character, a love-crazed mechanical toy named Pepperouchau, is in search of an abducted princess. Guiding him through a plethora of stages with impressive scaling effects, 3-D visuals, and realistic background objects is indeed a joy. But we must say this one plays it too straight. Aside from the glorious eye candy, the core of CK has been done before. In essence, this is a Mario-like coated in false depth and shallow gameplay. Enjoyable, but best as a rental only.

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SATURN
Daytona USA
Sega   Sega AM2
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Racing   Release: May 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Intermediate

Racing in from the arcade scene is Daytona USA, a spectacular and realistic experience for the Saturn. If not for the shining beacon that is Ridge Racer, we at PPM could easily dub Daytona the king next-gen racers. Now, although the graphical presentation may lose a bit of resolution and color array compared to the arcade, there is no doubt this disc will blow gamers away. Its gameplay is spectacular, retaining nearly all features that made the original such a success. Collisions are here, as are swerving competitors, powerslides, and an easy-to-learn control scheme which will prove rewarding with practice. Not to mention, the famous and uber catchy tunes also grace this iteration.

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SATURN
Virtua Fighter
Sega   Sega AM2
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Fighter   Release: May 1995
Age Rating: Teen   Challenge: Intermediate

Sega's groundbreaking 3-D game, Virtua Fighter, is now available for home console play courtesy of the supercharged Sega Saturn. The developers behind this portover sought out to generate the most faithful adaptation possible to broadcast the prowess of Saturn, and, to their credit, the final product is pretty good. All of the fighters made the transition intact, as did all moves and combos. Button entry for combo attacks are (mostly) faithfully translated, meaning arcade die-hards will have no issues. The music is phenomenal as well. Otherwise, the graphics are a clear step-down from the cab and movement fluidity is sorely lacking. You can tell some earnest effort was put in, though.

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SNES
Wild Guns
Natsume
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Gallery Shooter   Release: July 1995
Age Rating: Teen   Challenge: Intermediate

Shooter with an Old West theme. Folks that brought you Pocky & Rocky shooter have unveiled their newest sort of shooting action, this time with an Old West theme. Unlike other first-person entries, Wild Guns keeps the player character on-screen alongside the gunsight, much like Operation Wolf. Keep your character moving while trying to aim at the baddies can be a touch tricky, but it is lots of fun - especially in two-player mode. Featuring fun and frantic action, a nifty Western theming mixed with futuristic robotics, and well-animated explosions and enemies, Wild Guns is certainly a welcome diversion from the never-ending stream of fighters and platformers we SNES owners have endured.

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SNES
MMPR: The Movie
Bandai   Natsume
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Brawler   Release: June 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Easy

Cashing-in once more on the jumpsuit mania that has overtaken the world, Power Rangers: The Movie is a successor to the previous game released earlier this year. This one is a simple side-scroller. Much like a clone of Final Fight, MMPR: The Movie gives the player control over a heroic figure and lets loose brawler-style. We did get a kick out of the MMPR set pieces and familiar foes, but this is otherwise a cookie-cutter title. Attacks are rather limited with only the jump-kick move proving useful in any scenario. Levels all play the same and enemies are far too easy to knock out. The audio gets a bit irritating after some playtime as well. It's an average game, but one that the kiddos and fans will undeniably love.

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SNES
Judge Dredd
Acclaim   Cryo Interactive
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Action-Platformer   Release: June 1995
Age Rating: Teen   Challenge: Intermediate

Based on the forthcoming film, Judge Dredd is an action-platformer very much in the same vein as Alien 3. Exhibiting superb play control, moving Dredd and fighting an onslaught of evil minions is a delight. Players will have the ability to experiment with an array of different weapons as well, and even arrest some baddies for extra points and power-ups. The huge, detailed levels were lovely to explore with no shortage of secret passageways to fight in, each with good graphical styles. Boss fights, however, were just too hard. Although it does not offer anything new, JD is easily one of the better movie-license games, proving enjoyable and rewarding enough to justify the price. Dredd IS the law!

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GENESIS
Toughman Contest
EA   High Score
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Boxing   Release: July 1995
Age Rating: Teen   Challenge: Intermediate

EA bursts back onto the fighting scene with its boxing delight, Toughman Contest. The developers styled this game after the same-named amateur competition, starring the oh-so-charismatic Butterbean Esch on the cover. Fight it out in the ring against an assortment of fictitious opponents, utilizing fourteen special punches in over-the-shoulder matches to attain victory. The player character is represented by a green wireframe, making this package a direct look-a-like to the arcade version of Punch-Out!!. On the upside, the humorous background animations are neat, and the enemy AI is smart enough to pose a challenge. And yet, the short length of fighting rounds and hollow strategy often left us wanting more.

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GENESIS
Exosquad
Playmates   Novotrade
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Action-Platformer   Release: July 1995
Age Rating: All   Challenge: Intermediate

Brought to consoles by Novotrade International, ExoSquad is an all-new action title based on the eponymous cartoon series. It all kicks off with some rather wonderful cinemas to raise hype levels, but, alas, the shift to gameplay is such a letdown! ES showcases a jumble of various gameplay stylings, including side-scroller and first-person shooter segments. As the old saying goes, "Jack of all trades, but master of none." These play mechanics sorely needed some fine tuning prior to release. This cart's graphics are rather ghastly as well, perhaps even 8-Bit. None of these ruin the game, per se, yet between frustrating controls (or lack, thereof) and simplistic visuals, seek fun elsewhere.

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GENESIS
Judge Dredd
Acclaim   Probe
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Action-Platformer   Release: June 1995
Age Rating: Teen   Challenge: Intermediate

JD is less powerful on Genesis, but still a remarkably similar experience. Delve into a post-apocalyptic world with large levels filled with tricky areas to reach, puzzle-like situations. This one sports good graphics, realistic special effects, and standard Genesis musical stylings (far inferior to the SNES, per usual). Playability is where the main difference lies. Play control takes a hit in this version, making the game all-around tougher for all the wrong reasons. Acclaim still manages to create a decent title from a movie license, so kudos are deserved regardless. We only wish this one was above decent, forgoing the unnecessary degree of patience and timing required to beat up nasty bosses.

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SEGA CD
Eternal Champions
Sega  Sega IDD
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Fighter   Release: June 1995
Age Rating: Mature   Challenge: Hard

Released for the Genesis at the height of SF2-mania in '93, Eternal Champions was Sega's foray into the fighting game genre. With this upgrade exclusively for Sega-CD, Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side presents a massive improvement. It takes advantage of extra storage space to present a dozen new characters, animated introductions, and scores of bloody and gruesome finishing moves. Best of all, the fighting system has received a quality makeover. Combos are a snap to pull-off thanks to the smooth motion of CD tech, far better than the slow pace of the original. Its soundtrack is energizing and danceable, too, helping to immerse players in the action.

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32X
Shadow Squadron
Sega   Sega TI
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3-D Shooter   Release: June 1995
Age Rating: All     Challenge: Easy

Shadow Squadron from Sega TI is a combat simulator available only on 32X. Exhibiting flat-shaded, polygonal graphics on a starfield backdrop, SS will undeniably be compared to Star Wars Arcade and the pile of other such titles out there. Indeed, it does feel like an off shoot. The bright spot here is with the free roaming gameplay style. Your ship has total freedom of movement and can be directed to attack enemies in any order desired. The off-the-track gameplay, a feature we hope to see in the upcoming Star Fox 2, is only brought down by repetitious environments and enemies as well as poor sound. Playing cooperatively with two players (One gunner, one pilot!) is a joy, nonetheless.

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32X
Supreme Warrior
Digital Pictures
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FMV Fighter   Release: November 1994
Age Rating: Mature     Challenge: Easy

From Digital Pictures comes Supreme Warrior for 32X. It seems Sega cannot escape the never-ceasing tide of FMV games on their consoles. Taking place in ancient China, SW presents an expansive story rife with dramatics and sorcery. Your objective is to fight off baddies to protect a sacred treasure, within the context of full-motion video gameplay, of course. Strike according to button prompts that appear on the screen. A series of well-timed attacks will unlock special moves to quickly take out the trash. Tackling this game will take no time at all once players memorize the prompts. Adding in difficulty level options is swell, but this is merely another FMV game barely worth renting for an hour.

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