The Last to Fall

The Playstation cast its lot with high-tech
compact discs, while Nintendo was content
to stick with damage-resistant cartridges for
its N64. Meanwhile, the Sega Saturn asked,
"Why not both? Like, at the same time?"
(image from Fully Retro)

Funny how being deprived of something makes you all the more determined to get it, even if what you want with all your heart and soul isn't actually all that great. Take for instance King of Fighters '95 and Ultraman: Hikari no Kyojin Densetsu for the Sega Saturn. I've played roughly a hojillion games for this system, but these two titles were always the odd ones out, since they both rely on special ROM cartridges that were paired with each game. You couldn't make copies of the discs, because they were only half of the equation... without the cartridges, they just wouldn't run. You couldn't even buy the games from Japan and play them on your US Saturn, because although you could technically use a Pro Action Replay to circumvent the system's region locking, uh... where would you put the ROM cartridge while the Pro Action Replay is in the slot?

For years, I had to go without these two vexatious games. Not anymore, though! Thanks to the coding skills of YZB, who you might recognize as the guy who helped bring most of the Atomiswave library to the Dreamcast, we now have hacked versions of KOF '95 and Ultraman which put all of the cartridge data on the disc, then transfer it to the obscenely common Pro Action Replay before the game begins. What this means is that if you've got that cartridge and a mod chip, or a Pro Action Replay with Pseudo Saturn KAI installed on it, KOF '95 and Ultraman are now as easy-peasy to run as any other Saturn game.

AHHH! Sideshow Kusanagi!
(image from RetroGames.cc)

That's great! The games, well... that's another story. King of Fighters '95 is as hyper-competent as any other Neo-Geo port on the Sega Saturn, but the problem is that you're getting a strong conversion of an underwhelming arcade release. It's better than KOF '94 for sure, with the option to build a custom team and slightly less block-crazy opponents, but it's still an early entry in a fighting game series that didn't find its footing until the latter half of the 1990s. Seriously, compare this to the later games in the Orochi saga, and you're going to notice a gap in quality that's better described as a gorge. Completionists will be happy to have this, but with YZB also making 4MB-enhanced versions of KOFs '96 and '97, there's little point for less dedicated fans of the series to partake.

Ultraman on the other hand is an objectively worse game, but also a more tantalizingly unfamiliar one. It's from a pre-Namco acquisition Bandai, so if you've played any of their games on the NES, you already know to keep your expectations ankle-high. However, if you've got a sense of humor, an appreciation for the Ultraman television series, and perhaps a drunk friend you can trade punches with, you'll wring some amusement out of this title.

The gameplay is pretty straightforward... you choose from five different Ultraman characters (including personal favorite and late night Turner network staple Ultra Seven) and battle against giant monsters, including the apparent love child of Godzilla and a flying squirrel, and a butterfly chrysalis that willed itself arms and legs. Your scarlet clad hero fights with punches and kicks, and can use a guard button to block incoming attacks, make a hasty retreat, or throw a nearby monster. Special moves are governed by a charge bar under your hero's life bar, and the more punishment you dish out, the more quickly it fills. There are also super moves that shred a quarter of your opponent's health, but mercifully, you won't need to finish your opponent off with them. That alone makes the Saturn version of Ultraman a big improvement over the Super NES game released years earlier. (Did you know there was also a Genesis version of Ultraman available in other territories? I can't even fathom why. I guess Bandai felt like spreading the misery around.)

One of the game's more visually arresting
stages, with a ring of pine trees circling the
arena and a sheet of rolling clouds
looming overhead.

Ultraman on the Saturn also uses a splash of polygonal graphics for visual depth, turning each stage into a shoebox diorama. Your battles are framed by trees, mountains, and buildings, and when you're thrown by a freaky crawdad creature, the camera briefly shifts perspective for a more dramatic view of your fall. The action is locked to a single plane, but there's enough sleight of hand to sell each stage as just that, instead of a flat background. Sure, it feels like you're stomping through a set of flimsy cardboard buildings, but you'd have to expect that kind of low-budget cheese from a game based on Ultraman. It's just not tokusatsu without bad special effects and the occasional exposed costume zipper.

So there you have it. That's two Saturn games you'll never have trouble playing again. You may not even want to play them again, but you can at least satisfy your curiosity about them after all these years.