Battle of the Ports

A little early today guys as I'll be away tomorrow. Hope you enjoy this show as it took forever to put together.

 

A series Capcom really need to bring back on this week's Battle of the Ports.

 

A game that I loved back in the day but nobody else seed to. Aero Blasters by Kaneko.

 

One of Irem's less popular shooters but still a classic that got a few ports at least. BOTP - Xmultiply.

 

Anyone have the Air Buster glove?

 

We never got that n Japan. I wonder if anyone in the states actually received it?

 

Rip off a 70's synth track and add in a penguin and what do you get? Pengo! On this week's Battle of the Ports

 

One that you've all been asking for is finally here - BOTP Virtual On.

 

I was one of those waiting for this episode!

As someone who read every Sega-related gaming magazine I could get my hands on back in the Saturn and Dreamcast period, I vividly recall the latter half of 1996 because of how often Virtual On was mentioned as being a phenomenon in Japanese arcades (along with its stablemates Last Bronx and Virtua Fighter 3). I also fondly remember getting the Saturn conversion in early '97 along with Battle Arena Toshinden URA, and while my attention was initially drawn to Nextech's effort, it's the incredible work of CRI that's best endured as something I'll still pull out from the collection for a play even now, over twenty years later.

I've never seen confirmation of this, but it was once claimed that the original coin-op actually used two Model 2 boards, though I guess it's possible this was in reference to the twin cabinets. Either way, it's no surprise that lead programmer Toru Kujirai went on to become a key figure in bringing further Sega titles to domestic hardware - including Sega Touring Car and Oratorio Tangram - before serving as program director on the PS2 edition of Virtua Fighter 4 then assisting with OutRun 2.

Anyway, thanks for another great video, even if I'm still puzzled as to how the poorly emulated PS2 version was allowed to hit shelves in such a state. To end for now with one last comment about the Saturn treatment, I absolutely loved its soundtrack, how well the controls were adapted for a standard pad, and the splitscreen mode.

P.S. I can understand a game like Last Bronx having radio drama CDs, but Virtual On as well? I'd love to hear from someone who's got these to help explain how Sega could possibly expand out the story of a superficial-looking mech battler... What am I missing?

 

Toru Kujirai should be ashamed of the Saturn Sega Touring Car. The frame rate is awful.

 

It's funny that people requested Samurai Shodown 3 but not 4 or 2. Let's take a look at why.

 

They call it Metal Slug under the waves. It's In The Hunt on this week's Battle Of The Ports.

 

I'm really surprised its taken me this long to cover Last Bronx. An excellent 3D fighter from Sega.

 

Are you hungry! Yes? Then I guess it's Burger Time!

 

Oh look, it's the Sonic 1 bonus stages. Oh wait, no, it's Cameltry.

 

Possibly the very first arcade game to ever have a celebrity endorsement. this is Teddy Boy Blues.

 

What happens when Sega obtains a license but have no game? Dynamite Deka is what.

 

Another great video for one of my absolute favourite Saturn titles, but there are a few details I'm not completely sure about...

For one, Dynamite Deka/Die Hard Arcade was a collaboration between AM1 and the Sega Technical Institute. Indeed, it turned out to be the last game STI would release, and a former member of this team once told me the project was initiated as a way to rebuild relationships with SOJ after the in-fighting that led to Sonic Xtreme's delay then eventual cancellation (which was caused by it missing the originally planned Christmas 1996 release window - thankfully, a quick upgraded version of Sonic 3D was requested as a last minute replacement, even though it didn't reach Europe until early '97 and was inexplicably held back for the Japanese market to coincide with Sonic Adventure International, where it received new case artwork from Yuji Uekawa to bring it more in line with Sonic's redesign).

Also, you're right to suggest that the Saturn port has some minor gameplay differences when compared with the ST-V arcade original. STI's very last task before folding back into SOA* was supposedly to fine tune the console experience slightly, and I'm surprised you didn't give more time to the Deep Scan bonus game, or Periscope in the PlayStation 2 remake. Speaking of that version, I seem to recall it once being mentioned that Sega of China was only credited because the PS2 game is partially built around a Saturn emulator they'd created, which was soon further adapted for the reissue of NiGHTS. Curiously, the earlier Decathlete Collection was developed by Vingt-et-un Systems, who came up with their own solution for recreating Decathlete/Athlete Kings and Winter Heat, both originally running on the ST-V board.

Short of these relatively minor points, thanks for another great video! Who else wishes Sega had never bothered shoehorning the Die Hard license into this and instead given us a polygonal update to Streets Of Rage? Similarly, you can tell that AM1 still wasn't quite done crossing over established franchises with the beat-em-up genre, as they'd later create Zombie Revenge, which at one point was even provisionally subtitled The House Of The Dead Side Story to emphasise this very connection.

*My understanding is that most of Sega's US staff were drafted into a new hardware R&D department to help prepare the ill-fated Pluto, Eclipse and Dural specifications, while others remained on software duty, mostly continuing to test American-made sports titles such as NBA Action '98 and the localised edition of World Series Baseball '98. This small translation team also helped out with the English versions of larger titles like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Shining Force III and the completed NTSC-U build of Deep Fear, which ultimately never saw the light of day.