This one originally came to me in a job lot from eBay, you know, those ones where a Japanese seller bundles a bunch of common games together and they usually sell for more than they would on their own. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, I was hoping for a 2D Streets of Rage style game but in actual fact, it’s a Streetfighter-esque based on an ST-V arcade game, where 12 fighters aim to become the toughest SOB to impress some Gods who are getting off watch you fight… Or something like that.
I found navigating this one super easy, you can choose from an Arcade mode or Special mode, of which I picked when recording the gameplay, there are options to balance things out and test music etc, but onto the main game is where we need to be – you pick your fighter and curiously, who you’ll be fighting first too and then into the action – at first, I thought this game wasn’t much to write home about but playing it this time around, I really really enjoyed it! The graphics are large and detailed with plenty of scrolling effects, there are rivals that have a larger sprite fighting with them as demonstrated in the video which is very reminiscent of Capcom’s ‘VS’ series of games, there’s plenty of colour and variation to the stages, perhaps some criticism could be laid at the door of a little slower pace than some of the better known fighters on the system.
The music is great and sound effects are on par, nothing offensive on the ear and balanced nicely, some of these tunes may stick with you for a while too. The gameplay is good here, the bottom three buttons seem to control your kick moves and the upper three assigned to punches, naturally using different D-pad and button combinations will allow for evasive and special moves where required, as it stands, even for a novice – there’s enough move variation to make it look like you’ve played it before.
From an import view, would this game be worth importing? Of course! I mean you could get the USA version which is called Dark Legend, but for PAL players, grab the Japanese one as it’s far cheaper and easier to obtain with little-to-no difference aside the name. If you like beat em ups, which being a Saturn collector, lets assume you do – it’s very much a game worth owning.
Released :
11/08/1995 – Japan
01/10/1995 – North America
Rarity vs Price :
common – £10-£12 (NTSC-J)
common – £30-£40 (NTSC-U)
Sega Saturn Import Friendly Channel 