Rise of the Dragon

Released in 1993 by Dynamix, Inc. and ported to the Sega CD by Game Arts, Rise of the Dragon is a graphic adventure game set in a dark, futuristic, cyberpunk world

I recently played through the incredible Snatcher for the Sega CD. Once I finished and reviewed that great game, I didn't want to leave the realm of Sega CD cyberpunk graphic adventure. I kept hearing Rise of the Dragon mentioned in the same breath as Snatcher, so I decided to give it a try. Is Rise of the Dragon anywhere near Snatcher's league?

Hmm..."Blade Hunter" sounds an awful lot like a certain Ridley Scott cyberpunk movie I love

Nope. Rise of the Dragon has its moments, but contains several frustrating elements that sap the fun away. This 1993 game takes place in a 2053 Los Angeles that doesn't look much different from a slightly dystopian 1980's Los Angeles. The player takes control of William "Blade" Hunter, an ex-police officer, who now works as a private investigator. Blade is tasked by the mayor to investigate a deeply personal matter. Apparently, the mayor's hard-partying and rebellious daughter was experimenting with exotic substances, and died from a drug that mutated her into a horrid looking beast. Blade finds the Chinese Mafia was involved and must hit the streets looking for info...and also win back his angry girlfriend, Karen, who works at City Hall and can provide Blade with valuable info.

 

Turns out the fate of the world rests on you getting this lady to chill the hell out

On paper, this game should work. However, the execution is wanting. Rise of the Dragon is essentially a point-and-click adventure game. The player must pick up items for later use, solve puzzles, and navigate conversations with non-player characters to progress. An intuitive, well-designed interface is key in this type of game. It is immediately apparent that Rise of the Dragon's is neither intuitive, nor well-designed. The player must move a cursor around the screen, to navigate through an area, and to look for objects with which to interact. If the player grabs an item either from their inventory or that can be placed in inventory, but doesn't drag that item to their inventory, then accidentally leaves that area of the environment, the item leaves their inventory...sometimes permanently. And if that item is necessary to progress...the player can't progress. Yes, one wrong step, and Rise of the Dragon is hard-locked--there's NO WAY TO PROGRESS.

 

Yep, that about sums it up

Losing an item isn't the only way to suddenly render Rise of the Dragon unwinnable. Like most graphic adventure games from this era, conversations with non-player characters involve dialogue trees. Unlike most graphic adventure games from this era, telling an NPC the wrong thing can completely stop the player's ability to progress. The NPC will refuse to talk to you again, and there's literally no way to move on in the game. Rise of the Dragon does remind the player to frequently save, which can be done at any time, but the problem is, you don't alwas KNOW that you've made Rise of the Dragon unwinnable, and you might just save after you've done so...meaning your save file is basically a dead file. It's infuriating. Even with three save slots to back up your progress throughout, it's still tough to tell just where you went wrong...and naturally, this is one one of those games that gives absolutely no direction as to what you're supposed to be doing.

That's all I was looking for with this game too, Blade

As to the actual story, there's not really anything innovative or thematically deep here, just a drug lord intent on world domination. The only really futuristic element here is the mutagen drug. Most of the game's settings are dingy alleys and clubs that, as I've mentioned, just look like dingy 80's alleys and clubs. As for graphics, they're stylized and look pretty cool. The Sega CD version (this was originally a late 80's PC release) tints everything green, and while some players have reacted negatively to this, 90's sci-fi (and cyberpunk) did definitively climax with The Matrix in 1999, so I'm fine with it. As for sound, there's a lot of voice-acting, and it's overall not bad. I particularly enjoy the legendary Cam Clarke (Leonardo from TMNT, Kaneda from Akira, Liquid Snake in Metal Gear) as the snarky Blade. The music is hit and miss, a few solid tunes mixed in with some clunkers whose drum tracks sound like they're running into each other.

 

I guess this could technically be Neo's apartment

In a perfect world where certain random actions DIDN'T render Rise of the Dragon permanently unwinnable, I still don't think this would be a great game. Making progress is fun, but several of the puzzles aren't intuitive, and the game also features a timer that rushes experimentation. Yes, not only can you render the game unwinnable by making the wrong decision or losing an inventory item, but you can also run out of time! The joy from these types of games is generally in TAKING YOUR TIME, experimenting and trying to enjoy the world the game presents to the fullest. There are a few gnarly story branches in Rise of the Dragon the player can pursue and some big rewards for lateral thinking, but the time crunch, as well as the possibility of taking a dead end track you can't turn around from, discourages the player from ever discovering them!

 

Let me into this game, game!

Rise of the Dragon also attempts to throw a little variation at the player, by including several side-scrolling platformer segments into the game. Unfortunately, the controls for those segments are exceedingly clunky, and if the player hasn't done things absolutely as the game wanted early in, they're stuck using a lousy gun that makes these segments far more difficult (do things right, and you get a better one). There's also a first-person shooter moment here too that's not only a tiny blip in the overall gameplay, but easily missed if you don't take the longest possible path to the game's ending.

 

Side-scrolling blade maneuvers like a particularly unwieldy refrigerator

Overall, I do appreciate the late 80's/early 90's cyberpunk vibe here, even though there's little imagination in the worldbuilding or futuristic elements. Rise of the Dragon does feature scattered moments that are quite enjoyable, but again, the game's flaws suck most of the fun away. After rendering the game unwinnable several times early in, I nervously looked to a strategy guide to get to the end of the game, just so I wouldn't brick my progress again. That's no way to have to play a game. With just a little more thought toward player experience, Rise of the Dragon could have been a minor genre classic. Instead, it's a frustrating misfire whose positive moments aren't quite plentiful enough to lift Rise of the Dragon to hidden gem status. For me, Rise of the Dragon is just a minor curio to alleviate my Snatcher comedown.

Graphics: 6.5/10.0
Sound: 6.5/10.0
Gameplay: 4.9/10.0
Lasting Value: 4.5/10.0
Overall (Not an Average): 5.5/10.0

Snatcher

Released on November 30, 1994 for the Sega CD by Konami, Snatcher features graphic adventure gameplay set in a futuristic, cyberpunk world

I have more nostalgia for the Sega CD than for any other console, save maybe the NES,SNES, and Atari 2600. I'll never forget watching it boot up for the first time at my cousin's house, stunned by the high quality music, blown away by the voice-acting in the games. I felt like I was watching a high-performing CD-ROM computer game on the television. Later on, I finally acquired my own Sega CD, and immediately researched to find the best games. One game kept showing up near the top of the lists: 1994's Snatcher. There was one problem, though: a copy of Snatcher, which turns out to be quite rare, costs about as much as a down payment on a house. Thankfully, though, I was able to grab a playable copy through...certain means. Is Snatcher worth the hype?

No matter what you think about this game, you cannot deny the excellence of its fonts

Snatcher immediately immerses its player in glorious late-80's/early 90's cyberpunk atmosphere. The opening cutscene feels like Blade Runner by way of a William Gibson novel, as the player is dropped into the skyscrapers and night lights of the artificial island city of Neo Kobe, Japan. Most of the world's population was killed by disease 50 years before, and now that the survivors have rebuilt, they're under attack by an emerging threat called "Snatchers." Snatchers are essentially robot copies of existing people, who have been secretly kidnapped and murdered. No one knows what the Snatchers want, or where they came from, but the opening cutscene features Terminator-like imagery and design in regard to the titular villains, as well as a sense of neo-noir, as the game's heroes, the JUNKER's are introduced. JUNKER's are essentially old-fashioned detectives, tasked with hunting down and eradicating the Snatcher menace. The player takes on the role of the newest JUNKER agent, Gillian Seed, a man suffering from amnesia because this game was created by Hideo Kojima. Yes, THAT Hideo Kojima.

 

Just put Arnie's skin on this thing and give it a minigun

Kojima, the famous Metal Gear auteur, keeps Snatcher's story fairly simple to start. As Gillian, the player is tasked with investigating the Snatcher menace mystery, investigating crime scenes, interviewing suspects, gathering evidence, talking to informers, while also trying to regain his memory. Gillian also attempts to reconnect with his estranged wife (who also somehow has amnesia). The gameplay style here reveals the game's PC roots, as it was originally released there in 1988 ,with less bells and whistles. As Gillian, the player interacts with the world through a series of prompts, including LOOK, INVESTIGATE, TALK, and ASK. Essentially, the player uses these prompts to look around the environment, generally shown as a static, partially-animated screen, as they try to find something out of the ordinary. Conversations with informants, colleagues, and suspects follow dialogue trees, just like in a classic PC adventure game.

 

Not gonna lie...all that robot juice is making me thirsty

While Snatcher doesn't quite fall into "visual novel" territory, this isn't exactly challenging gameplay, either. Truthfully, you can just go through all of the LOOK/INVESTIGATE prompts in order, until you do the right things and progress. There's not a lot to it, but the text and dialogue is so involving and well written (and translated), this portion of the gameplay never gets tedious...and it's also not the only form of gameplay here.

You also get to shoot stuff. *SIGH* This game is so cool.

During certain portions of the story, Gillian is attacked by either Snatchers or their evil little drone minions, and Snatcher turns into a first-person shooter. These segments verge from prolonged 60-90 second shootouts, to what we'd now consider quicktime events. They keep the player on their toes, as a safe-looking crime scene can be invaded by a Snatcher at almost any moment. The player can even optionally use the famous Sega CD lightgun, the Justifier, for these segments, though I found it a bit unreliable, and preferred to just use the regular Sega control pad. With the control pad, these shootouts aren't overly difficult (just keep firing and aim everywhere!), until near the end of the game, when the Snatchers get both more plentiful and more mobile. While these moments only make up maybe 5-10% of the game, the constant threat of them happening adds a bit more excitement to the game.

 

You're terminated...

While I do think both modes of gameplay are fun, they're not quite Snatcher's main attraction. Snatcher's main draw is its neo-noir and specifically 80's/early 90's cyberpunk atmosphere. The towering buildings and spotlights, the 1940's/1950's office interiors of Blade Runner, the weird post-modern architecture of Total Recall, the post-apocalyptic civilization vibe of Akira, the "what even is human" vibe of William Gibson's Neuromancer, it's blended into something special here, and then combined with a sort of weird, goofy, self-referential, fourth-wall breaking sense of humor. 

Even with all this cool, futuristic imagery, the biggest billboard says SEGA!

The characters in Snatcher draw attention to the fact that you're playing a video game several times. Gillian makes a hilariously failed pass at every woman with which he comes into contact. Your goofy robot sidekick is called METAL GEAR! Yes, like Kojima's Metal Gear. As the humor popped up, I was a little scared it would derail the darker, violent (yes, Snatcher is violent), grittier tone of the game...but instead it only makes the game more charming.

Also, look how cute this little guy is! Who's a good robot? Who's a good robot? Metal Gear is! Yes, he is!

I've already touched upon the art design, but Snatcher's graphics are also great, a blend of top notch 16-bit work and early 90's PC graphics. They go a long way toward building the game's atmosphere, though the sound design also does some heavy lifting. Around 1/3 of the game's plentiful conversations are voice-acted, and the work, while not quite top tier, gets the job done; it won't win any awards (and it didn't), but I enjoyed it. However, the voice work, in tandem with Masahiro Ikariko's cool, jazzy soundtrack, and the game's immersive sound effects, helps Snatcher quite effectively transport the player into its world. With all that said, there is one element that keeps Snatcher away from "masterpiece" status, and it's a bit of a Kojima trademark.

 

Uh...not your nose...

Snatcher's plot, though it contains twists and turns, doesn't feel contrived for most of its run, save the amnesia angle. While it may not blow genre conventions out of the water, the story is coherent and fun...up until the final 30 minutes of this ten hour experience. Kojima games are known for overlong cutscenes, and Snatcher avoids these too...up until the final 30 minutes. I am not necessarily saying the end of this game sucks. I am saying that after a satisfying 9.5 hours of gameplay, featuring a fairly uncontrived story, which employs a cool, neo-noir, cyberpunk tone, the final 30 minutes of Snatcher is a convoluted, melodramatic cutscene. The tone shifts, the music gets sappy. Again, this last 30 minutes doesn't ruin the game. It can't. Snatcher is a cyberpunk classic...but without the final tone-shift, it could have been a masterpiece. 

 

Ironically, after its most noirish image, Snatcher turns into a Kojima soap opera

However, as I said, Snatcher is still a classic, ahead of its time, and timelessly out of time. The JUNKER station, Gillian's home base, is so wonderfully realized, a place where the player can bond with engineer, Harry, and office secretary, Mika, pick the JUNKER chief's brain, putz around in Gillian's office, and practice shooting at the firing range. Metal Gear also has a cell phone, and Gillian can makes calls to numbers he finds throughout the game, almost anytime the player wants. Gillian can also take the station turbocycle to almost any location in the game, giving the illusion of a free and open Neo Kobe City, making the game feel even more immersive. There's even a station computer, which not only includes info on suspects, but historical and cultural entries that more fully flesh out Snatcher's world. You can even go home to Gillian's apartment whenever you want, which someone gives the game even more of a cool, weird, Blade Runner/Philip K. Dick vibe. Snatcher is not quite perfect, but it deserves to be played by fans of any of the genres I've mentioned--and I can easily see myself playing through it again. Don't let the ridiculous price point be a barrier keeping you away from Snatcher...just like in any great game...there are alternative ways to play...

Uh...Google it

Graphics: 9.0/10.0
Sound: 9.0/10.0
Gameplay: 9.2/10.0
Lasting Value: 8.0/10.0
Overall (Not an Average): 9.2/10.0

Surf Ninjas (Sega Game Gear)

Released in 1993 for the Sega Game Gear by Sega of America, Inc. and developed by NuFX, Inc., Surf Ninjas is a 2D beat 'em up based upon the 1993 film of the same name.

Surf Ninjas is on a very short list of movies where the actual video game tie-in for the movie is a major plot point IN THE MOVIE. The movie itself is not great, though it does offer a nice dose of gleefully stupid early 90's aesthetics...and at least the movie is better than the video game.

 

Crazy, right?

I loved my Game Gear, despite the fact that the batteries ran out faster than a plate of bagel bites, the library was piss-poor, and the system itself was built so poorly, essentially every console that's still operating has had to have its parts replaced. Admittedly, I probably loved the TV-tuner accessory more than any of the games I owned, but none of the games I owned were as bad as Surf Ninjas. Yes, I'm ending the second paragraph the same way I did the first.

 

On the bright side, the video game version of Leslie Nielsen's character is slightly less annoying than the movie version.

The graphics aren't the problem. The game looks simplistic, but fine. The colors are fairly bright, the models and animation are rudimentary, but acceptable, and the minimalistic cutscenes conjure the goofy vibe of the film. The music certainly isn't the problem, and is, in fact, Surf Ninja's greatest asset. I'm not saying this entire soundtrack is a classic, but there are a couple tracks here that are certified bangers. However, every time you throw a punch or a kick, the music freezes for a second. Lame. As for sound effects...they're here. The production values are fine. It's the gameplay that stinks.

 

Yes, believe it or not, Surf Ninjas for the Game Gear is not great

Surf Ninjas the movie is dumb, but at least a little fun. This game is dumb and not much fun at all. The controls are simplistic and sluggish. You play as a kid ninja, moving through sparsely designed 2D environments, fighting a minimal amount of minimal AI evil ninjas. When you come across a foe, you can punch and kick or throw a limited amount of projectiles at them, though your choice makes little difference. Just mash buttons and hope for the best. There's a boss at the end of each short level, and boss fight strategy pretty much involves doing what I just said in the previous sentence, but for a longer period of time. As the game goes along, it begins to throw more platforming challenges at the player, mostly involving jumps over spike-lined pits. To succeed, you have to utilize a faulty double-jump mechanic, while praying a stupid invisible bird doesn't fly into the screen the moment you decide to try to jump. As least you get to wear a cool headband.

 

Whatup, bird? I hate you.

The game also includes stat bars and interchangeable weapons and an assist option, but who cares, they don't make it any more enjoyable. If you want to play a great Game Gear game, you have limited options, but you certainly have better options than Surf Ninjas. It's just not fun. It's simplistic, poorly executed, and boring. Surf's not up, dude. Red flag out today.

 

Go ahead and kick me. Just put me out of my misery so I can play something else!

Graphics: 6.0/10.0
Sound: 6.5/10.0
Gameplay: 2.0/10.0
Lasting Value: 2.0/10.0
Overall (Not an Average): 3.5/10.0

Batman Returns 16-Bit Showdown

Almost every major blockbuster in the early 90's received a video game adaptation. Even Domino's and Seven Up's mascots received their own video games. If the Noid got his own game, there's no way the hype machine behind Batman Returns was going to let that 1992 smash hit pass through without an adaptation...or seven. Batman Returns is a seminal film for me--at eleven years old, I fell into the film's prime demographic, and I love it to this day. With a protagonist like Batman, major villains like Penguin and Catwoman, and a clearly designed group of underlings in the red triangle circus gang, a 16-bit video game version of Batman Returns essentially designs itself. Developers just needed to put Batman on Gotham's icy streets and let him punch and kick his way through an army of circus freaks, while periodically battling with the two major foes. Toss in some Christmas trees and giant presents in the background for good measure and viola: Batman Returns game. That's just what the three 16-bit adaptations of Batman Returns do...to varying degrees of success.


Batman Returns, Sega Genesis, December 29, 1992

Sega's Malibu-developed Batman Returns game was first to market. The game is a side-scrolling action-platformer, like many movie game adaptations from the era. The speed at which the game came to market betrays Sega's "that's good enough, let's hurry up and get this thing on the shelves" approach, taken with several of their adaptations at the time. This game was clearly not play-tested enough to make sure it was actually fun, though, and...it's not very fun. The absolute first moment of the Sega Genesis Batman Returns asks the player to take a blind jump from the top of the building. You can actually die during this moment, and it's nowhere close to the only blind jump Batman Returns for the Sega Genesis makes the player take. The controls aren't great, either. You've got one button for special items, one for jumping, and one for punching/kicking. You'll also have to use the grappling hook at times (using the jump button and directional pad), but unfortunately, the grappling hook is only even fairly reliable when you're standing still, let alone trying to swing around. You've also got to solve environmental puzzles at times, often on the fly, with death often nigh. With all that in mind, this game is alarmingly difficult. However, it does not earn that difficulty. Beloved legendarily difficult games are generally beloved because the control systems for those games are tight and reliable. You aren't dying because of flaws in those games, only because of your own lack of skill. Batman Returns for Sega Genesis is not that type of game--it is balls out hard because it is not very good. As for production values, the menu screens and pause screen (where you select what special, limited ammo weapon you want to use, i.e. batarang, etc.) look fine. The actual, in-game graphics are kind of simplistic, but solid. The graphics are certainly a step above 8-bit, but nothing great. Same for the music--you've got that trademark, bass-reliant Genesis sound, but nothing much memorable. I will say, though, that the game does capture a bit of the film's dark, inkwell atmosphere...it just doesn't do very many fun or satisfying things with it. Like most Genesis games, there's no save system (or password system). You can continue when you get a game over, but you have to start all the way at the beginning of that particular stage. Each stage has multiple levels, so if you get a game over during the final (generally unfair) boss on the final level of the stage, get ready to play through the entire stage again...not very fun. A disappointment.

Graphics: 6.0/10
Sound: 6.0/10
Gameplay: 4.5/10
Lasting Value 4.0/10
Overall (Not an Average): 4.8/10.0




Batman Returns, Super Nintendo, April 1993

Storied developing house, Konami, took the reins for the Super Nintendo adaptation of Batman Returns. Konami decided to take their adaptation down the 2D beat 'em up route, ala Streets of Rage and Final Fight. This decision, along with Konami's skill as a developer, and perhaps the extra four months Konami spent on this versus Malibu's Genesis version, results in a pretty special game. In opposition to the Genesis adaptation, the controls here are tight and reliable. Tap a button to punch, tap it rapidly to combo and kick. There's a button to jump. Hit jump again to use the grappling hook--reliably. There's a button to throw the batarang, which does minimal damage, but very briefly stuns foes. There's devastating cowl twist move done by holding two buttons that takes a little health off Batman's meter if it connects. There's even the classic beat 'em up "kill everyone on screen" special item. In some games, that item, which you only get so many of, is utilized by just pushing one button, resulting in the player often accidentally unleashing it. Konami solves that problem by having the player hold down the shoulder buttons (which also cause Batman to block), then push another button--a simple solution that helps the player avoid accidentally using the attack. Of course, with side-scrolling 2D beat 'em ups, the player can move up and down in the field of play, as well as left and right. There are no control issues there. However, this game doesn't just stick to the basics. There are bunch of cool little touches. Of course, if you get close to an enemy, you'll grab them and can slam them into the ground or other enemies, but here, if two enemies approach you from opposite sides at the same moment, you can grab them simultaneously and bash their heads together. If you grab an enemy and are standing near a window, you can slam them into it and shatter it--same goes for park benches or other breakable surfaces. Each level has a boss from the film at the end, including that organ-grinder with a monkey and a machine gun. There's even an awesome Mode 7 (faux 3D, scaling sprite) Batmobile stage that looks and plays great. The graphics as a whole here are beautiful, highly detailed, with large, well-animated sprites, and great backgrounds, and it all runs smoothly with no slowdown. The music is mainly 16-bit interpretations of the score from the film, and it sounds great. The Sega Genesis version doesn't have anything like that. This Super Nintendo adaptation simply crushes the Genesis one in both production value and gameplay. That's not to say it's perfect, though. Sometimes the action does grow a little stale. You'll be in the same area wanting to move on, and enemies will just keep flooding in. The length is also at that awkward 45-60 minute mark, where there are no passwords or saves available, and you've simply got to dedicate that big of a chunk, minimum, to get through. You can toggle the difficulty level and number of lives available from the option screen, and each difficulty level feels well-balanced and appropriate. The more I played, the better I got--Catwoman kicked my butt the first few encounters, but after a number of showdowns, I was wiping the floor with her. Overall, Batman Returns for the Super Nintendo isn't just a good adaptation of the film, but one of the better film adaptations of the 16-bit era.

Graphics: 8.5/10
Sound: 8.0/10
Gameplay: 8.0/10
Lasting Value: 7.8/10
Overall (Not an Average): 8.0/10.0




Batman Returns, Sega CD, May 1993

The 1993 Sega CD port of the Genesis' Batman Returns game proved to be the film's final 16-bit adaptation. Sega CD ports of Genesis games were often derided for simply being the same game with a slapped on Redbook soundtrack. Malibu's Batman Returns port received some attention for essentially being that, while adding an entirely new element: sprite-scaling, faux 3D driving. The levels and controls are exactly the same as the Genesis game, but now there are driving levels between each stage. These play and look similarly to the Super Nintendo driving stage, except the controls aren't as good. You've got to hold down the B-button, while pushing the A button to fire discs out, and press C to fire missiles, while using the directional pad for horizontal direction/to ram into foes. The driving stages are timed, and failing to destroy all enemies before the timer runs out results in death, so you've got to constantly hold down the accelerator while firing...meaning you've got to put your hands into some arthritis-inviting positions. I did not enjoy this aspect of the game. It's remarkable that Konami nailed the single driving segment in their game, which could have just been a throwaway stage, but Malibu made driving half of their game, and it doesn't quite work. The driving stages here don't even look as good as the one in the SNES game. The Sega CD Batman Returns' updated soundtrack, while of a much higher sample quality than the other two 16-bit adaptations, only consists of a few pieces recycled over and over again throughout the game, which are seldom interesting. The game's graphics as a whole, though, do look a little bit sharper than they did on the Genesis, but unfortunately, the gameplay is exactly the same--not fun. But hey, there are some new animated cutscenes that look...adequate. Overall, this Sega CD version of Batman Returns is only marginally better than the Genesis one. The driving stages are tedious, and when added to the already tedious action-platforming, just make the game even more tedious. Beating this game in one sitting--which is the only way to beat it since you can't save or use passwords--will take so long, you'll need the patience of a saint, and the masochist nature of a Cleveland Browns fan. This should have been so much better.

Graphics: 6.2/10
Sound: 6.0/10
Gameplay: 4.8/10
Lasting Value: 4.2/10
Overall (Not an Average): 5.2/10.0



I did one of these showdowns for Jurassic Park a while ago and have to admit, I had a bit more fun doing that one because 2/3 of the games weren't awful. Batman Returns for the Super Nintendo is the only 16-bit adaptation of that film that's worth playing. The other two have attractive boxes and that's about it. An objective ranking here is easy, with far more distance between one and two than there is two and three.

Merry Christmas, and goodwill toward men...and women.

1. Batman Returns (Super Nintendo, 1993)
2. Batman Returns (Sega CD, 1993)
3. Batman Returns (Sega Genesis, 1992)

Headhunter (PAL)

Released in the EU on November 16, 2001 for the Sega Dreamcast by Sega, and developed by Amuze, Headhunter features a mix of on-foot and on-motorcycle third-person 3D action.

My copy of the final Official Dreamcast Magazine reads like a tragedy. The "game previews" section is full of optimism, ignorant of the fact that the system would be discontinued just a few months later. Even more tragic--my subscription ended with the second-to-last issue. I never even got to read the last issue because the magazine was cancelled before I could renew. But the tragedies continue! Some of those last promised Dreamcast games never even made it to America. Shenmue II is the most storied of this crew of games. While Shenmue II did eventually come to the U.S. on the XBox, faithful Dreamcast fans outside of Europe and Asia were left out in the cold. That magazine issue also featured another promising game, though. Titled Headhunter, this groundbreaking title would feature motorcycle riding and on-foot, bounty-hunting action in an open world. While many of Official Dreamcast Magazine's descriptions of the game turned out to be inaccurate, it's hype was on point. Technology eventually empowered my Dreamcast to play European and Japanese Dreamcast games--and Headhunter now holds a proud place in my collection.

I guess I just spoiled the review.

Headhunter is really a game about big ideas. Just missing beating Grand Theft Auto 3 to shelves by a month, the game gives the illusion of free-access to a huge open world Los Angeles look-alike. Players took control of super badass bounty hunter, Jack Wade, who's dealing with a strange bout of amnesia. Apparently, Jack was the greatest bounty hunter in town, but one day he wakes up in the hospital with no memory of anything, and has to start over from the beginning. This means he'll have to get his LEILA licenses all over again. "LEILA" is a progressing series, which gives Jack access to more weapons and more of the city, the greater the license he achieves. 

Jack Wade, badass.

Of course, this is where it becomes clear that despite this huge city to explore, progress in Headhunter is actually pretty linear. That's mainly due to the fact that progress (and LEILA test access) is tied to the game's intricate story and carefully realized world. Headhunter takes place in a near future, where the police have been done away with, and a group called the Anti-Crime Network have taken the reins on law enforcement. The ACN's agents are the Headhunters, who round up criminals with new weapons that fire electrical charges instead of bullets. That's because--drumroll--lawbreakers are sent to prison, where their organs are surgically removed and given to the rich. Yes, turns out this is not only a dystopian future, but one which makes insightful commentary on our own. Thankfully, this means that what Headhunter lacks in true open-world, sandbox gameplay, it makes up for with its cleverly told story and a high attention to detail in its world-building.

And you get regular updates from these ACN-mouthpiece douchebags.

And I mean high attention. No, that's not a drug metaphor, but an allusion to the fact that this game excels in fleshing out its world. Load screens are goofy, creepy ads suggesting that viewers need to augment their physical appearances.

Why...is it going to cost me? What if I'm an anti-dentite?

Breaks between the gameplay come in the form of news broadcasts that are obviously sponsored by and sympathetic to the ACN. Man, that sounds familiar. Anyway, the game does a great job of immersing you into its unique vision. The graphics are great, with environments at once exemplifying that bright, blue-sky, west coast Dreamcast sunniness, while suggesting a gritty, graffiti and trash-strewn realism underneath. The motorcycle segments are remarkably smooth and fast, without any slowdown, and Jack speeds along through the huge city environment hiccup-free. The cars and buildings around him look great, though there's a strange emptiness in the fact that there aren't people walking around everywhere--then again, maybe those folks just want to keep their organs. There is some car pop-up at a distance when Jack is going extremely fast, but that's about the only graphical blemish on this game. Indoor environments look great, with a lot of detail, and great animation for Jack, his bounties, and their henchmen. You'll be taking Jack to rundown gas stations, sewers, shopping malls...an underwater prison.

I've gotta include a whale in every review. Man, Dreamcast had to have been the most whale-friendly system out there! 

It's very important to note how great this game sounds, as well. Voice-acting and sound effects are all top notch. These guns might shoot electrical charges, but they still pop like the real thing. Meanwhile, Richard Jacques' symphonic compositions, which featured the grandest scale orchestrations of any video game up to that point, are excellent and get the blood pumping. They also add to Headhunters' cinematic feel. Thankfully, the game isn't overly reliant on tedious cutscenes to tell its story. Instead, it nearly always pulls off that excellent and immersive "you're in a movie vibe" while you're actually playing it.

Looks like a neo-noir in this shot!

The gameplay most definitely enhances that cinematic feel. The motorcycle segments really only exist for two reasons. The first is so that Jack can get from one mission to another. Belying how this isn't truly an open world game, Jack can only dismount his bike when he's reached the area where the particular mission he's on takes place. It's still a blast riding around on the bike, and thankfully, those segments often have a secondary purpose. In order for Jack to qualify for a higher level LEILA license test, he has to gain points, which can only be accumulated by driving his motorcycle very fast for an extended amount of time. If Jack crashes (thankfully, the bike can't be damaged), he loses points. Once he gets enough to take his test, he can no longer lose the points, but can drive to the LEILA offices to take his test--generally this is possible once during each of the game's major story segments. The LEILA tests put Jack into a VR chair, where he has to prove that he's mastered Headhunter's gameplay elements.

Do it, Jack! Break that VR bastard's neck!

The bike purposely controls awfully to start the game, mirroring Jack's lack of memory pertaining to how to drive it. Thankfully, as Jack acquires higher LEILA licenses, the motorcycle controls much more smoothly. Gameplay for both the driving and on-foot modes comes from a third-person perspective. The on-foot gameplay is a sort of stealth/action hybrid. Jack can hug walls with the touch of a button, while cycling through targets with a lock-on crosshair with another. You can't aim, but considering you're shooting electronic bullets, I guess that doesn't matter--plus, the lock-on firing generally works great. Jack can also roll around with another button, crouch, and of course run around like a maniac. There's a very cool option where Jack can sneak up behind a foe, and the attack button, instead of firing a weapon, will cause Jack to snap his foes neck...which I guess kind of ruins the whole organ harvesting thing. There are some frustrations coming from getting the auto-aim target onto the correct foe when there are plenty of enemies on screen, as well as the camera-centering R-trigger not always pointing Jack in the direction you'd like. Overall, though, the controls are mostly an asset.

The best place to have any type of shootout is next to a live gas pump.

Cycling through weapons and items, as well as reloading (your main, quite effective gun has infinite ammo) comes through the directional pad. You'll be picking up keys and other objects because another major facet of the on-foot missions, in addition to all the stealthing and actioning, is puzzle-solving. Puzzles are generally intuitive and fairly simple, though there are some head-scratchers tossed into the mix to make things just a bit more difficult. I enjoyed most of them. The player can save at any moment, though if you die (from taking damage from enemies) or quit and reload your file, you generally have to start back at the beginning of the last major story point. You'll lose, at the most, 10-15 minutes of gameplay, which can be frustrating at times, but at least you're not restarted at the very beginning of the mission. For instance, if you die during one of the game's awesome boss fights, you're restarted at that the start of that boss fight. In addition to giving the ability to save, pausing allows the player to look through your mission objectives, an area map, your items, a LEILA database, etc. Again, the attention to detail is pretty great.

Speaking of detail, the graphical detail in this boss fight is stunning. Check the feet splashing up rainwater here.

And the rain hitting Jack's head and shoulders here.

America should have had a chance to play Headhunter. Personally, I use an Innovation disc converter to play imported games. It's a little pricier than when I first bought it, but it's still worth it. Headhunter may not be as historically significant as its Grand Theft Auto peer, but it's a unique game that deserves to be experienced. And in the case of Dreamcast imports, it's not the only one.

This game, along with the Sega Dreamcast itself, can ride off into the sunset forever in my imagination, meaning that they might be frozen in time, but I'll never stop playing. 

8.5

Graphics

Highly-detailed, smooth operator.

8.8

Music and Sound

Adrenaline-pumping, fully orchestrated soundtrack, along with great voice-acting and overall sound design.

8.5

Gameplay

Mission-based riding, running, and shooting action delivers in a semi-open world. 

7.0

Lasting Value

It's only about 10-15 hours long, with little to come back for, but at least it's an enjoyable 10-15 hours.

8.5  FINAL SCORE

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future

Released for the Sega Dreamcast in North America on September 10, 2000 by Sega, and developed by Appaloosa Entertainment, Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future unleashes the titular sea mammal in 3D seas.

I thought I was done with video games. When I got married, I thought I wasn't supposed to play them anymore. They were one of my biggest joys, and I cut them out of my life, just like that. After several years of this, my son was born. At the same time, my sister married a guy with two young sons between the ages of five and ten. I soon found that on Sunday afternoons, due to their lackluster father, it was my job to entertain these two extremely non-lackluster boys. At some point, the oldest boy asked me, "Do you have any video games?" For some reason, I skipped over every other console I had boxed up to say, "Yes, I do. Have you ever heard of a Sega Dreamcast?" We played through a few of my old games that afternoon, but for some reason that night I went straight to eBay and ordered Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future.

Siren's call! Except it didn't lead me to shipwreck!

I won't go deep into my Ecco the Dolphin nostalgia, as I've done that before. As a fan of the franchise, I really wanted to experience Ecco's Dreamcast swansong, as 2000's Defender of the Future is still the last Ecco game ever released, even 21 years later. I'd missed Defender the first time around, since it was released right in the middle of the time I was completing a Dreamcast run of Grandia II, Shenmue, and Skies of Arcadia. Now was my chance, though. Defender of the Future arrived in the mail, and with my newborn son on my lap, and the two step-nephews at my side, we dove into what they affectionately dubbed "the dolphin game."

Which is the kind of astute minimalism of which it seems only children are capable.

The first thing I noticed, just a few seconds into our playthrough: Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future is an extremely beautiful video game. To this day, the 128-bit marvel may still be the most realistic video game simulation of the undersea world. The water, the way the sunlight filters through it and shifts with the waves, the way schools of fish bob and undersea plants tremble in the current, the strikingly natural dolphin and sea creature animations, the colors, the highly detailed sea bottom and reefs, it's all so breathtakingly beautiful still. This game is gorgeous. 1/3 of the way through, Ecco blasts through time to extra-dimensional seas, and those are just as beautiful. The graphics in Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future are amazing.

What, are you gonna tell this star-headed dolphin he's not beautiful?!

There are a few flaws in the graphics department. For one, distant objects seem to slowly fade in as you move closer toward them...then again, that's actually how things look underwater. One flaw I can't justify, though--when there's a lot going on, the game can have a tendency to slow down just a bit. Framerate dropping...not something that actually happens underwater. Still, these graphics...well, I'm out of ecstatic descriptors.

It just looks so good

Hey, sea turtle, be my friend!

As incredible as Defender of the Future's graphics are, its soundtrack might be even better. Composer, Tim Follin, has created the perfect aural accompaniment for this undersea adventure. Follin utilizes a hybrid of New Age and World Music to create gorgeous, meditative, mysterious, joyful pieces that remind of me of the 70's and 80's undersea nature documentaries I watched in my youth. I don't think it's hyperbole to say, Defender of the Future's soundtrack belongs in the best of all time pantheon. The immersive sound effects of whales singing, dolphins chirping, and water flowing are the cherry on top.

Seeing these whales + hearing these whales + Tim Follin's music equals video game bliss.

Punctuating Follin's work are Attila Heger's more militaristic, brassy musical pieces, which accompany the game's boss fights and cutscenes. They complement Follin's work nicely, and bonus of all bonuses, in the cutscenes, they are accompanied by narration from Doctor Who himself, and when I say himself, I mean THE Doctor, Tom Baker. Baker's comforting, familiar voice almost makes the game's ludicrous, nearly incomprehensible story work.

Yes, that is a giant, transparent sea-gate. I already can't remember why it's there.

Not that Defender of the Future's story is bad--it's just a lot, and a lot of it is crazy. It certainly has a pedigree, though. The developers tapped Hugo, Nebula, Locus and Campbell award-winning author, David Brin, to pen this dimension-spanning tale, as Ecco must travel from a time in our own world where mankind and humans live in perfect harmony, to different realities where dolphins are missing certain defining traits, all because of some malicious alien entity called "The Foe." You can't say that Brin didn't try.

Plus, he set up situations where you get to swim through the sky. Also, those levels are really hard...just like the ones from Tides of Time.

While I guess you can make sense of Defender's story, you may have a bit more trouble making sense of what to do in some of the game's levels. Defender of the Future is hard. Good luck figuring out what to do in the game's huge, underwater stages. It will take a player hours of exploration, trial and error, and brainstorming to get through most of these things. Often, you'll be given esoteric clues by mystical crystals, or fellow sea creatures. Sometimes, another animal might say, "Ecco, my baby is missing, please find it!" and you'll mutter a sigh of relief that your directive is so clear. Sometimes, you'll be swimming through arcane alien architecture, without a clue of what you are supposed to be doing.

I hope this time the crystal tells me more than "Figure it out."

Thankfully, the game makes swimming a joy. Ecco controls tightly, and maneuvering the determined dolphin through Defender's seas is an absolutely joy. You can tap the swim button to have him waggle his fluke more quickly, or hit the dash button to have him dart forward, which is especially effective in damaging the game's dangerous enemies (often sharks). Few game's outside of the Mario franchise offer more pure game control pleasure than this game does when you get Ecco to dive above the surface and flip through the air.

Plus, when you do that, you get to see what's ABOVE the surface!

There's also a turnaround move that makes quickly changing directions a cinch. The controls are a huge asset here. The only issue comes when maneuvering echo through some of the game's tighter, more twistier spaces. I did manage to get Ecco completely stuck once--I had no choice but to restart the level. Otherwise, though, you'll be pushing levers and crates, outracing eels, and diving through the air with the greatest of ease.

And sometimes, you'll be wearing this funny harness.

Overall, I'm gonna make a suggestion I don't generally offer, but Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future is worth the exception. When the boys and I played through this game, we had a rule: 

Swim around a level for 30 minutes. If we couldn't figure out what to do, use the guide. Yep. Use a guide.

Otherwise, what are you, gonna figure this out on your own?

Defender of the Future is too beautiful, the visuals and audio too transportive, evocative, and enrapturing to miss out on this game. Exploring and discovering what lies ahead in each new level is just too magnificent, controlling the sleek and incredible Ecco too much of a joy to not have this gaming experience. Do like we did. Give each level the college try. We beat quite a few without any assistance. The ones we couldn't, though--I'm glad we looked up how to get through so that we could experience the next level. I mean, there's a stage here consisting entirely of floating cylinders of water hovering miles up in the sky. Don't you want to get to that one? You can even revisit any stage you've completed (and saving is easy).

There are even a few awesome, Sega Genesis-throwback style, side-scrolling levels!

We beat Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future on January 1, 2011. My son, who had recently turned one, was sitting on my lap. As as the older two boys ran out of the room to get into some other trouble, my son and I watched the end credits together. A few months later, as my wife was pushing my son in a shopping cart through a Toys "R" Us, he reached out for a giant tub of plastic sea creatures they were passing, and tossed them in the buggy all by himself. He spent the next few years obsessed with sea creatures. Then he discovered that he loved video games even more. I think I know how he got into both things. Thanks, Ecco.

Who's a good dolphin? Who's a good dolphin?

9.5

Graphics

Incredibly realistic and lifelike underwater environments, with just a little slowdown and pop-up holding back from perfection.

10.0

Music and Sound

Perfect. The immersive soundtrack and sound design are among the best of all time, and Tom Baker even shows up to narrate. Absolutely stunning.

7.5

Gameplay

Controlling Ecco is a blast, but the levels range from intuitive and fun, to absolutely opaque and impossible to decipher without a guide.

7.5

Lasting Value

It's a long game, but once you're done, you're done.

8.2  FINAL SCORE