“I think when it comes right down to it, the Saturn WILL have the best games no matter what Nintendo does. We've put an enormous amount of effort into providing games for all different kinds of players throughout the holiday season, and that effort starts with Tomb Raider II and we're going to keep right on going. We have an enormous amount of faith in our developers and in our marketing team to let people know that the Sega Saturn is the number one system out there. Just like in 1996, the Saturn is the system to own and we're going to keep making games well into the future. Count on it.”
-Tom Kalinske, talking to a reporter about the upcoming launch of the Ultra Nintendo in an October 1997 news report
"And while we gear up for the Ultra Nintendo, Sega has launched a three-pronged pre-emptive attack: Tick and Tock: Time Tricksters for families, Planetary Probe for hardcore RPG fans, and Tomb Raider II for everybody else. Sega is clearly coming out with both barrels, and those who love video games are the clear winners here."
-excerpted from the Review Crew introduction of Electronic Gaming Monthly's November 1997 issue, their 100th
“Mortal Kombat is not only the most brutal, bloody, fun fighting game franchise out there, it's also the one with the best storyline, and Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth is going to show that.”
-Ed Boon, in an interview on the October 28, 1997 episode of GameTV
“You're pretty smart, Nash. I'm gonna give you that. But are you smart enough to know when to quit before somebody you care about gets hurt? Somebody like....Miki here?”
-Dashiell Gant, Victory 2
-
*A brief snippet of a cutscene showing Lara Croft standing over a sprawling jungle is shown.*
Narrator: Lara Croft is back.
*Scenes showing the game's combat system with Lara punching and kicking thugs are interspersed with critics' reviews of the game: “One of the richest combat systems ever. -Edge Magazine”, “A true masterpiece.- GamePro”, “It's official, Lara Croft is the greatest action hero of all time.- Game Informer”, “9.0/10- Electronic Gaming Monthly”, “A GameTV Recommended Title- GameTV”*
Narrator: And this time, the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Lara Croft: *exiting a temple* Well now, it's always the world at stake, isn't it?
*More brief action scenes from the game are shown, followed by Lara facing down an enormous dragon while slowly removing her sunglasses.*
TOMB RAIDER II
October 16
Play it first on Sega Saturn.
*The SEGA! scream is heard*
-the television commercial for Tomb Raider II
Tomb Raider II: The Basics
Tomb Raider II is the sequel to the hit adventure game Tomb Raider from 1996. Once again, Lara Croft returns to stop bad guys and hunt for treasures in ancient labyrinths. Unlike Tomb Raider, which had a plot quite different from OTL's, Tomb Raider II follows the OTL game a bit more closely. The game, as IOTL, starts out in Lara's mansion with a series of quick tutorials before starting you on your mission proper. And, as in IOTL, Tomb Raider II expands on the original game's play controls, with an improved combat system involving counters and an improved exploration system as well, giving Lara additional ways to get around the game's larger temples and landmarks. As IOTL, the game involves the legendary Dagger of Xian, an item said to give its wielder unnatural powers. However, this game's villain is changed from the OTL villain. IOTL, Tomb Raider II featured the villain Marco Bertoli, but in TTL's version, the villain is a Cambodian warlord, Cheng Din, who is basically an expy of Pol Pot. He has the same goal as OTL's Bertoli: Find the dagger and use it to gain enough power to take over the world. Lara chases Cheng Din and his personal army all over the world, from a remote island in the Indian Ocean to the Cambodian jungles, to China itself. Finally, Cheng Din is able to use the dagger and transform himself into a hideous dragon, whom Lara must defeat in the final boss fight. The game does not mention Jade Bessemer, the villain from the first Tomb Raider, in dialogue, though a news paper clipping in the background of a scene does reveal that Bessemer survived. After Lara defeats Cheng Din, she returns to her mansion and takes a shower, teasing the player by going black just before Lara's full body is shown.
October 16, 1997
Tomb Raider II is released in North America amidst massive hype, though Sega does not push the game quite as hard as it was initially planning to, due to the fact that it is widely known that the game will eventually receive an Ultra Nintendo release. Still, it becomes the fastest selling title to date that year, even outselling Turok: Dinosaur Hunter in release date and release week sales. The game's media coverage somewhat mutes coverage of Race'n'Chase in the headlines, though Tomb Raider II itself receives a small amount of controversy for its violence and sensual content (despite only having a T rating). Tomb Raider II's positive reviews (not QUITE as good as Tomb Raider's but still considered very good) earn the game a great reception from fans, and the game for the most part lives up to the hype that the first Tomb Raider game had generated for it.
-
King's Field III
Dan: 6.0
Shoe: 5.0
Crispin: 4.0 (quote: “While the classic difficulty of this series still remains, this game shows that the series has grown awfully stale.”)
Sushi-X: 4.0
Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth
Dan: 7.0
Shoe: 8.5
Crispin: 8.0 (quote: “An outstanding beat-em-up with all the familiar Mortal Kombat action you love.”)
Sushi-X: 8.5
NBA Live 98
Dan: 7.5 (quote: Yet another solid entry in this basketball series.”)
Shoe: 6.0
Crispin: 7.0
Sushi-X: 7.0
X-Men vs. Street Fighter
Dan: 8.0
Shoe: 8.0
Crispin: 9.0
Sushi-X: 9.0 (quote: “The sheer variety of characters makes this an incredibly rewarding fighting game. It's a bit of a flawed port but it's still fun enough to overlook those flaws and have a great time.”)
Victory 2
Dan: 9.5 (quote: “This is one of the best top-down shooters out there.”)
Shoe: 9.0
Crispin: 8.5
Sushi-X: 8.5
Hammercraft
Dan: 7.0
Shoe: 7.5 (quote: “If you love customizing weapons, this is a must-play.”)
Crispin: 7.0
Sushi-X: 7.5
-Electronic Gaming Monthly's reviews of October 1997's SNES-CD games in the November and December 1997 issues
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“Five years after humanity won its freedom from the secret web of extraterrestrial oppression that had gripped it for decades, Nash Grieves had finally settled down, having devoted those last few years to rebuilding what had been lost. Now, the people of Earth could live in peace and freedom, with a bright future ahead of them. But there were still those who couldn't let go of the past. Those who believed humanity didn't deserve a future.”
-the introduction to Victory 2
“Aha...Nash, I can help you. Just give me access to the mainframe and I will stop this virus. You'll need to fight your way to the server room but I can help you get there. Please, just trust me...you won't regret it, I promise.”
-Miki (Alyson Court), Victory 2
The summer and fall of 1997 saw a wave of sequels that pushed the Super Nintendo CD to their limits and carried Nintendo all the way up to the release of the Ultra console. Tales Of The Seven Seas 2 and Dog Dash 2 were highly acclaimed, but it was perhaps Victory 2 that was the best of the lot in terms of gameplay, graphics, and storyline. The game took place a few years after the events of the first Victory, after Nash Grieves and his buddy Jett Sharklund wiped out the aliens who were secretly ruling Earth. While the first game took cues from sci-fi classics like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and They Live, the second title was an homage to action films, particularly the Die Hard series. The villain of Victory 2 was Dashiell Gant, another of Nash's war buddies who Nash reluctantly allowed to be captured and tortured some 15 years prior to the events of the game. Now, Gant was out for revenge, executing a series of terrorist attacks designed to disrupt the fragile peace that had emerged after humanity threw off the alien yolk. Nash and Jett received help from a new ally: Miki Akayama, a young hacker woman who helps Nash and Jett throughout the game by detonating traps and helping them break into locked areas and computer systems. During the final level of the game, Gant kidnaps Miki and takes her to an enormous tower, which Nash must fight his way through to stop Gant and save Miki. The game's 18 levels were punctuated by numerous cutscenes in which Nash contemplates his role in the new world and if there's truly a place for soldiers like him, especially in contrast with a girl like Miki who'd never known fighting and who doesn't have any of the anger or resentment that veterans like Nash and Jett feel when reminded of the way the world used to be. The action of the game is vastly improved even from its excellent predecessor, with a surprisingly intuitive lock-on system that allows multiple enemies to be targeted at once. When combined with the ability to set and program traps and lead enemies into ambushes, Victory 2 was a game ahead of its time.
The game was even compared favorably to Operation Zero, which debuted that month for the Sega Saturn (and later came to the Ultra Nintendo). The two games had somewhat similar run-and-gun styles, and even though Zero had the superior graphics and was also a bit longer, it received average review scores around 7 or 8, while Victory 2 scored consistently in the low 9s, similar to its predecessor. Zero's stealth elements (which Victory 2 largely lacked, being a more action-oriented game) won it praise, but once Metal Gear Solid came out, Zero looked instantly dated in comparison, while Victory 2 remains a timeless classic, beloved by most gamers. It also elevated Victory to one of Capcom's signature franchises, joining Mega Man, Street Fighter, and later, Resident Evil at the top of the company's pecking order and making the next generation Victory installment one of the most anticipated titles in the years to come.
-from an article on the website Capcom Chronicles
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“As the first JRPG to fully utilize the Sega Saturn's impressive 3-D abilities, Planetary Probe is a thing of beauty. From the very first opening cutscene showing the vastness of space and to the impressive shots of the main ship, the Arcus, the game blows the player away with amazing visuals we've never seen in such a game before. Is it dated now? Yes. But back then, it was gorgeous, and it beat Final Fantasy VII to the gate by one month. Did that win it many sales? It's hard to say, the game was never close to being the mega hit that Final Fantasy VII ended up being. But did it prove that Enix was fully capable of matching Squaresoft in terms of cinematic RPGs? Yes, it did.”
-Forum user SegaStillGotIt on the RPGamer.net forums, October 7, 2005
Before you embark on your intergalactic journey, get to know the crew of the Arcen, the ship that will carry you from planet to planet as you play through the game.
Lance: The ship's captain, a brave, noble young man who wields a glowing energy sword (George Lucas, don't sue!). Over the course of the game, he comes to realize that there is a universe beyond what he and his crew have experienced, and must become more than just a commanding officer if he is to save his friends and the universe.
Atria: A young woman and the most recent member of the Arcen's crew, she's a military researcher who joined the ship to explore more worlds beyond the military base she's used to. Carries a laser pistol that converts into a massive cannon for more powerful foes.
Brent: The ship's junior officer, who frequently clashes with Lance over certain orders. Carries an energy spear and is quite athletic. His conflicts with Lance are a recurring thing throughout the game.
Fennoc: The ship's medical doctor, he's seen more planets and stars than anyone on the crew, but is mostly quiet and tries to stay away from conflict. His weapon is somewhat unorthodox: a hypodermic needle that can be loaded with different chemicals.
Burnum: The ship's weapon specialist, a mountain of a man with a great sense of humor and a huge laugh. He wields a pair of gatling guns that seem way too big for the other crewmembers to even pick up.
Shannora: Fennoc's research assistant, a quiet woman with a very dark personality. She uses explosives in battle and wears a pair of thin-lensed glasses.
(…)
Planetary Probe is a gorgeous game with some stunning visuals, but ultimately, it's a fairly by the numbers RPG with a battle system similar to Phantasy Star. Though the game's graphics and voice acting show that a lot of time and effort went into the game, those looking for a new take on the classic genre might be disappointed. The game's storyline relies heavily on how you feel about its characters, which we felt were some of the strongest we'd ever seen, all of them, even the stoic hero Lance, have hidden depths to their personalities that made us care deeply for them by the time we were finished playing, some 60 hours later (though that time is a lot shorter if you don't go after all the sidequests like we did). Ultimately, Planetary Probe doesn't tread any new ground or boldly go where no RPG has gone before, but it was still a hell of a ride and if you want to play the best looking RPG the Saturn has to offer, this is it.
Score: 8/10
-excerpted from the October 1997 issue of Official Saturn Magazine
Shannora barely counts as a “villain” more than Kain from Final Fantasy IV really does, but since Shannora had full control of her actions the entire time and Kain really didn't, she counts as a villain for the purposes of this list, even though she ultimately proves herself to be a good person in the end. Over the course of Planetary Probe, the crew of the Arcen ultimately explores seven planets over the main quest (it's ten if you do all the side quests, but for storyline purposes, it's seven). And during that time, we see Shannora get deeper and deeper into her own research. It's clear even from the start of the game that she's a disturbed individual, but what she does on planet Belcrant a little more than halfway through the game is nearly unforgivable and has kicked off internet debates over whether or not she deserved to be punished or redeemed that continue to this day. Essentially, her experiment leads to the deaths of thousands of innocent people and directly contributes to the rise of the game's true (but much less interesting) villain, Nachtmahr. Shannora's motives, while not 100% selfish, are still pretty bad, and the game does some very interesting gymnastics to justify how Shannora's experimentation and sabotage of the Arcen's crew was well-intentioned. Ultimately, the game's fanbase is evenly and bitterly divided over whether Shannora's goals were justified, but whether you believe they were or not, in the end she ultimately realizes the horror her actions have caused and helps the party to defeat Nachtmahr at the Black Nebula. Still, before she comes to her senses, she's a positively nasty villain. While not a gloating or cackling type, she definitely makes you hate her guts, or love to hate her, whatever the case might be, and that's why she made this list of the top 10 RPG villains of all time.
-”Top 10 RPG Villains: #6- Shannora”, a list posted on Gamefaqs.com, July 15, 2014
-
*As a song begins to play, the two main characters, a young girl and a young boy, are shown in various scenes using their time powers to navigate the world and defeat enemies.*
Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! Tick Tock Tick Tock!
*Both characters are now shown, navigating a vast 3-D world. The girl slows down time to allow the boy to land a few crucial blows on a fast moving enemy.*
When there's time trouble, just call their names! They can get the bad guys off their games!
*The boy is firing an oversized cannon device at enemies, completely stopping them in time before rushing past them all to pick up a spinning gold watch item.*
Slow down time or speed it up! 'Til the bad guys have had enough!
*The main villain of the game, a fat guy in a silly looking king outfit, is angrily pounding his fists and throwing a temper tantrum.*
King Clockwork: I've had ENOUGH of those two!
It's nonstop fun until you drop! You can even make time stop!
*A huge array of missiles are being fired at the boy, who is comically struggling while tied to a pole. The missiles stop just before hitting him and he looks to see the girl, holding a big stopwatch and giving an excited thumbs up.*
A boy and a girl with all the time in the world!
*The boy and girl stand on a big hill full of enemies, jumping up and down excitedly while using their time powers.*
Announcer: Tick and Tock: Time Tricksters, only on the Sega Saturn!
A boy and a girl with all the time in the world!
*Cue the “SEGA!” scream*
-the television commercial for Tick and Tock: Time Tricksters
While Tick and Tock: Time Tricksters was probably the most kid-friendly of the Sega Saturn 3-D platformers, that didn't make the game any less challenging, or less fun. The game revolved around a pair of kids, a girl named Tick and a boy named Tock, who lived in a city called Tinker Town with their parents who ran a junkyard full of all sorts of neat items. One day, while playing together in a big pile of junk, the two kids find a magical watch, but while playing around with it, they accidentally stop time in Tinker Town completely and must venture out on a journey to find the Wizard of Time to figure out how to get things in Tinker Town back to normal. However, the two realize that the watch belongs to the evil King Clockwork, who used it to control time in his kingdom and now that he no longer has the watch, he's in danger of losing his power. He deploys his armies and his robots to stop the two kids as they journey through various worlds to gather gears and watches that the Wizard of Time needs to build his grand machine to reset time in Tinker Town. It's your basic collect-a-thon platformer, but the fun twist is in the puzzles and the combat, which involve manipulation of time in order to get through them. Tick and Tock's magic watch can do all kinds of things: it can slow or speed up time or it can freeze time completely. There are other strange quirks it can perform, rapid aging or de-aging, creating rips to other dimensions, that sort of thing, but the primary use for the watch is those main abilities. You do have a limited amount of power in the watch, though it does regenerate slowly and you can collect items throughout the game that make the bar longer (along with your life bar). Eventually, after journeying through eight worlds, Tick and Tock confront King Clockwork himself in his castle. Clockwork has discovered how to make a watch of his own, so in the final battle, those same time abilities you've been using throughout the game can now be used against you, making for a fairly tough (but still fun and winnable) fight. In the end, time is restored, but those mischievous tricksters Tick and Tock have decided to keep the watch anyway, ensuring that the two of them will have plenty more adventures through time in the future.
As a quality kid-friendly platformer, which the Saturn was hurting for since Sonic the Hedgehog 4, the game sold exceptionally well, giving the Saturn two huge sales successes just before the release of the Ultra Nintendo (the other was, of course, Tomb Raider II). Tick and Tock even got their own animated series in 1999, which came out along with the sequel to the game. Though Super Mario Dimensions would largely steal much of this game's thunder, it still provided the Saturn with a new franchise and a best selling game, something they'd sorely need upon the Ultra Nintendo's release.
-from ”A Timely Game About Time”, an article posted on Gamesovermatter.com on December 13, 2013
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A beat-em-up sounds like a strange diversion for the Mortal Kombat series, whose highly anticipated fourth installment is set to be ported exclusively to the Ultra Nintendo sometime next year. However, Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth treads some welcome ground for the series, whose backstory has previously only been explained through small amounts of text in the games themselves and supplementary materials in strategy guides and instruction books. In Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth, you take control of Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Sonya, and Mileena as the four make their way through their own unique dungeons over a series of levels. You'll encounter enemies and occasionally bosses, and the combat system is essentially the same as it is in Mortal Kombat, with the addition of equippable weapons at certain points during the stages. As you play, you'll discover more about each character's backstory, and the combat will get trickier, while navigating the game's fairly large dungeons becomes a test of endurance and skill. All in all, Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth is no replacement for the games themselves, but it doesn't need to be. It's a decent beat-em-up that gives lots of insight into the game's backstory and raises new questions that will hopefully be addressed in MK4.
Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth will be released for the Super Nintendo CD in October. A Saturn version is scheduled for early next year.
Graphics: 4.0
Sound: 3.5
Play Control: 4.0
Fun Factor: 3.5
Challenge: Adjustable
-excerpted from a review of Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth in the November 1997 issue of GamePro
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“Is Ken Griffey Jr. The Greatest Baseball Player Of All Time?”
-from the cover of the November 3, 1997 issue of Sports Illustrated celebrating the Seattle Mariners' 4-1 World Series win over the Atlanta Braves
“Ken Griffey Jr. is GOD!!!”
-from a post on an InsideTheWeb.com baseball forum on October 23, 1997
For the second straight year, the Seattle Mariners found themselves facing the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. But it wasn't easy. They survived one of the greatest League Championship Series of all time, a seven game slugfest with the Baltimore Orioles that saw Ken Griffey Jr. leading his team back from a 7-0 sixth inning deficit in game 7 with excellent fielding and three home runs, including the game winning one-run shot in the 11th inning (leading to a debate that still rages to this day about whether Randy Myers should've been told to walk the red-hot Griffey instead of pitching to him). Meanwhile, the Braves faced off against the Dodgers in the NLCS, and swept them easily, 4 games to 0. Going into the series, it looked like it would finally be the year for the well-rested Braves, but Griffey played masterfully in all five games of the series, particularly the first two games which took place in Atlanta. Griffey homered in all four games that the Mariners won. His astonishing 15 home runs in that year's postseason more than DOUBLED the previous record and will almost certainly never be touched. Combined with his 56 home runs in that year's regular season, and by that time, Griffey was known as one of the greatest home run hitters in the history of the game. His epic home-run race with Mark McGwire in 1998, culminating in an awesome World Series showdown between the Mariners and Cardinals, would become one of the greatest spectacles in the history of baseball.
-excerpted from “A History Of The MLB: 1995-1999”, an article on Bleacherreport.com
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And anime is gaining a rising foothold in American culture as well, particularly in the realm of video games. Ghost In The Shell, a game based on one of the most popular anime films of all time, is set to release a game for the Sega Saturn later this month, while a pair of Neon Genesis Evangelion games, one for the upcoming Ultra Nintendo and one for the Sega Saturn, have both been confirmed for localization sometime next year. Pokemon, the official Western name for the Japanese Pocket Monsters franchise, will see its popular anime series, one of the highest rated in Japan, come to North America late next year, and Hasbro, which owns the rights to the popular Tamagotchi digital toy, is exploring options to produce a joint American-Japanese animated series based on the toy. Sailor Moon is currently airing in re-runs on Fox's Saturday morning block as the network continues to ponder what to do about the controversial Sailor Moon S, which features two of its heroines engaged in a lesbian relationship. It's themes like these, considered too extreme or mature for American audiences, that have somewhat slowed anime's proper entry into the West. At the same time, however, the West is gaining a growing acceptance of these mature themes, likely due to the popularity of video games featuring these themes, which have been played by millions of American youths.
And just as video games are opening the doors for anime in the West, they continue to inspire creators of anime back in Japan, with the new series Witchery, starring a group of young witches in a magic academy, said to be influenced by popular games such as Andrekah and even the popular American video game Syrielle. Based on a manga series by Natsuki Takaya, the anime will introduce even more characters to the series, and Takaya says that she has many plans for the series to contain homages to her favorite games. Another upcoming anime series, Blader Special, appears to be heavily influenced by the popular video games Ballistic Limit and Iron Combatant, as seen in its mech suits that artfully slide and shoot their way through foes in early preview clips of the first two episodes. If these series are successful, they might make their way to America and around the world, as television stations across the globe broadcast more anime with each passing month. It's also likely that we'll be seeing more anime-based video games on the Ultra Nintendo and the Saturn than we ever did on the Genesis or the Super Nintendo.
-excerpted from an article in the October 1997 issue of Wizard magazine
October 22, 1997
Ken Kutaragi was visiting the studio where the Pocket Monsters anime was made. Though Sony had little direct input over the content of the anime, at least during the first batch of episodes, the company still occasionally observed the production of the series and offered up ideas for how certain episodes could be tweaked or improved.
The episode currently being worked on had the tentative title of “Electric Soldier Porygon”, involving the main character Satoshi, along with Pikachu, Kasumi, and Takeshi, entering the world of cyberspace and coming into contact with the criminals Team Rocket. Now, one of the climactic scenes was playing on the screen. Pikachu was to leap up and intercept missiles fired at Satoshi and his friends, destroying them in a bright, flashy explosion of blue and red light.
“This is exciting,” said Kutaragi, his eyes fixed on the screen. As soon as the lights began to flash, however, Kutaragi realized that there might be a problem. Though he suffered no ill effects from the rapidly flashing lights, he'd had a friend at university who had suffered from epilepsy, and lights like those Kutaragi knew could trigger his symptoms. “Oh....that might be a problem.”
“Hmm?” asked one of the animators, unaware of what the problem was.
“Those lights,” said Kutaragi, pointing at the screen. “Perhaps...take them out? The flashing blue and red lights, they can cause problems in epileptics.”
“Oh...” said the animator, rewinding the tape and watching the screen. “Should we....slow them down?”
“No, no, that would look silly...just...replace them with something else. A comically large explosion perhaps? Anything but those flashing lights...”
“Umm....certainly, yeah,” said the animator, nodding his head. Another animator on staff had already noted the potential problems with those lights, but his objections were dismissed. Now that the staff had a second opinion, and from someone as important as Ken Kutaragi, they realized something should probably be done. “We'll get rid of the flashing, certainly.”
“Good, good...otherwise this is a very fun episode, please continue!”
-
Brittany Saldita: So Tomb Raider II does a few things better than the first game and a few things worse. The variety of environments and puzzles has gone down a bit, I feel like Tomb Raider II relies more on movie-like action scenes to wow players instead of providing them with big open environments to explore like the first Tomb Raider did. That said, the combat system kicks ass and made getting into fights with bad guys a lot more fun.
Lyssa Fielding: Yeah, and beating up on humans is a lot more fun than beating up on tigers if you ask me. There are a lot more human fights in this game.
Brittany: Yeah, those tigers didn't deserve to get beaten up! It was Lara coming into their territory, not the other way around!
Lyssa: Also, the bad guy in this game isn't quite as interesting. It's not even a spoiler to reveal him, it's this dickish guy that you meet right out of the gate and you know right away he's a villain. It took a bit of time to reveal the villain of the last game, this guy here...I mean as soon as you meet him you know he's a dick!
Brittany: But even with those flaws, Tomb Raider II is still worth getting. It's still the Tomb Raider you know and love, Lara Croft is still awesome, and even though I said there were too many of those big action scenes in this game, some of them are still pretty awesome.
*It shows a brief clip of Lara Croft leaping out of a biplane and snagging onto a cliff at the last moment.*
Lyssa: I don't think that's possible in real life...
Brittany: You'd need some SERIOUS arm strength.
Lyssa: Guess it's time to do a few pull-ups?
Brittany: Or lift a few weights.
Lyssa: Well, we have been dragging Alex and Ted back and forth to the closet so I bet we're building some killer muscles there. *snickering*
Brittany: It must be KILLING those guys to miss out on reviewing this! We should let them watch the Spice Girls perform later.
Lyssa: *laughing* Don't you mean force them to?
Brittany: Well, either way. Anyway, I give Tomb Raider II a 4.5. It majorly improves on the gameplay mechanics of the first, even if some of the exploration elements have been dialed back.
Lyssa: I agree, a 4.5 is the perfect score!
Brittany: Coming up next, we've still got the Spice Girls, we're counting down the top 10 female heroes in video game history, AND we're gonna make Gary and John review Barbie's Lamborghini Adventure for the Game Boy! And I still don't know how Barbie has a better car than I do.
Lyssa: Well, she is a doctor AND the president of the United States...
-excerpted from the October 14, 1997 episode of GameTV
(…)
Alex: Planetary Probe is a positively incredible game. It looks stunning, the gameplay is fantastic, it's absolutely huge...I couldn't find much to hate about this game.
Ted: The combat system was a bit old-fashioned for my tastes. All those pretty graphics and they couldn't come up with something like they did in Krystalshade? C'mon Enix, step up your game!
Alex: Well, I did appreciate the option to speed up the spell animations because some of them take forever.
Ted: Well, the game's gotta show off how pretty it is, and yeah, I liked that option too. I mean, it WAS a good game. I don't think I'm as excited about it as you are though.
Alex: It's not just the graphics, some of the characters in this game...
Ted: Yeah, that's what made me stick with it and enjoy it was the characters. The storyline's just superb, reminds me of a really well-written Star Trek: The Next Generation episode.
Alex: Which reminds me, we NEED a good Star Trek RPG, one with the actual characters like Captain Picard.
Ted: Kirk all the way, dude.
Alex: What are you talking about, Picard's way better than Kirk!
Ted: Picard is BALD!
Alex: So is Stone Cold Steve Austin and he's your favorite wrestler.
Ted: Hey, Stone Cold kicks people's asses, that makes a big difference.
Alex: So does Picard sometimes!
Ted: But does Picard get the girls like Kirk does?
Alex: *rolls his eyes*
Ted: Planetary Probe might not be the most original RPG out there but it IS one of the prettiest and it's got a really engrossing storyline, so I'm giving it a 4 out of 5.
Alex: And I'm giving it a 5. The Saturn's had just an amazing slew of RPGs this year, definitely check this one out if you can.
(…)
Brittany: Can we just talk about how bad of a port this was? I was really disappointed. X-Men vs. Street Fighter the arcade game, I really liked. But this was really rushed and the graphics were bad and it still had slowdown.
John: I thought it was fine for the most part. I mean, yeah, it's not as good as the arcade version but I felt like it was a decent port.
Brittany: No, no no no no no no. This was really bad, it was a completely crippled game. Look at the framerates when you're executing this move with Dhalsim...
*A clip is shown of Dhalsim executing a complicated combo and the frame rate slowing down signficantly*
Brittany: It's just inexcusable that it'd be released like this. They got rid of tag teams and just made it a standard one-on-one fighter, which was fine, but the slowdown is miserable.
John: It had all the characters, and I got through single player mode just fine. I didn't have any major problems. Yeah, the graphics got downgraded, but ultimately it is a passable game. You might not be able to run any tournaments with it, but-
Brittany: Exactly, this game isn't up to snuff for tournaments. Look, this is NOT a knock on the original X-Men vs. Street Fighter which I thought was an awesome game. But this is a piss-poor port. 1 out of 5.
John: Wow, that's REALLY harsh for a game that I still found to be really fun. I'm giving it a 3.5, if it ran better it'd be one of the best fighting games of the year.
Brittany: But it doesn't. It really doesn't. For shame, Capcom. And you were doing so well this month with Victory 2!
-excerpted from the October 21, 1997 episode of GameTV
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Ted: I liked the idea that in Hammercraft, instead of buying your weapons from some kind of dwarven blacksmith who makes the weapons, in this game you ARE the dwarven blacksmith! And he's a pretty cool dude. But...
Gary: Yeah, but, this game was still pretty flawed. The dungeons you have to journey through are really simple. There's not much in the way of variety and they compensate by just making the enemies REALLY strong.
Ted: Which means that frequently, you're backtracking to beat up on lesser enemies who hit less hard but still have a ton of HP. You CAN make powerful weapons to beat them easier but that requires you to gather components which are hard to make enemies drop. The random drops in this game are really unfair.
Gary: Right, there's so much backtracking and monotony in this game which could have otherwise been really great. THQ needed to take some cues from Blizzard and games like Diablo, this is their first crack at making a dungeon crawler type game and so while the backbone of a good idea is definitely here, the execution is lacking.
Ted: The one redeeming thing about the game is this main character, Krugg the dwarf. He is HILARIOUS. He has this ridiculous Scottish accent and says the funniest things, and makes some of the monotony of grinding a bit less unpleasant.
Gary: Krugg cracked me up. It's still not a great game but at least it's got some humor in it. I'll go ahead and give it a 3.
Ted: You know, I'm giving it a 3.5. Even with its flaws, there's enough good stuff here that I'm sure some players will enjoy this game. Just...know what you're getting into.
-excerpted from the October 28, 1997 episode of GameTV
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SNES-CD Power Charts: October 1997
1. Tales Of The Seven Seas 2
2. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Dreams
3. Tale Phantasia
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Fire Emblem: Keepers Of The Light
6. Starseekers Of Exion
7. Terranigma
8. Super Mario World 2
9. NBA Hangtime
10. Super Mario RPG
11. Intelligent Qube
12. Elements Of Mana
13. Disney's Hercules
14. Syrielle
15. Frederico 2: Garcia's Revenge
16. Syndicate Wars
17. Doom
18. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
19. Dog Dash
20. Slaughterbox 2
The Official Saturn Magazine Buzz Chart – October 1997
1. Race'n'Chase
2. Tomb Raider II
3. Sonic the Hedgehog 4
4. Ultima: Scion Of Britannia
5. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
6. Planetary Probe
7. Raigeki
8. Tick and Tock: Time Tricksters
9. SoniQuest
10. Operation Zero
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*A teenage boy is dropped into various scenes from Ultra Nintendo games as 90s rock music plays in the background. (basically, in the style of this commercial from OTL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S40fBi65U8c except with lots of games besides Super Mario 64) First, Bob-Omb Battlefield from Super Mario Dimensions.*
Boy: Ultra exciting!
*Next, a race from Ultra Mario Kart.*
Boy: Ultra fast!
*Next, a flying level from Star Fox 2.*
Boy: Ultra intense!
*Next, a summoning sequence from Final Fantasy VII.*
Boy: Ultra epic!
*Next, a castle scene from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.*
Boy: Ultra spooky!
*Next, he's seen flipping in a watercraft on Wave Race.*
Boy: Ultra tricky!
*Next, he's making a slam dunk in NBA Hangtime.*
Boy: Ultra spectacular!
*Next, he's in Mirrorlight, navigating a complicated light puzzle.*
Boy: Ultra puzzling!
*Next, he's in Nightsquad 2, following the five heroes around the city.*
Boy: Ultra thrilling!
*Next, he's in Ultra Mario Kart's battle mode.*
Boy: Ultra competitive!
*Finally, he's facing off with a huge Bowser in Super Mario Dimensions.*
Boy: Ultra...whooooooooooa!!!
*The boy then spins out of the scene and plops down on a couch, across from a TV, holding an Ultra Nintendo controller in his hand and looking like he's just experienced the most awesome thing ever.*
Boy: That was ultra amazing...
*Scenes from more games play before the Ultra Nintendo is shown on screen, spinning around as the words “IT'S AN ULTRA WORLD” appear on screen.*
NOVEMBER 21
-the first American commercial to air for the Ultra Nintendo, it began airing in late October 1997
-Tom Kalinske, talking to a reporter about the upcoming launch of the Ultra Nintendo in an October 1997 news report
"And while we gear up for the Ultra Nintendo, Sega has launched a three-pronged pre-emptive attack: Tick and Tock: Time Tricksters for families, Planetary Probe for hardcore RPG fans, and Tomb Raider II for everybody else. Sega is clearly coming out with both barrels, and those who love video games are the clear winners here."
-excerpted from the Review Crew introduction of Electronic Gaming Monthly's November 1997 issue, their 100th
“Mortal Kombat is not only the most brutal, bloody, fun fighting game franchise out there, it's also the one with the best storyline, and Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth is going to show that.”
-Ed Boon, in an interview on the October 28, 1997 episode of GameTV
“You're pretty smart, Nash. I'm gonna give you that. But are you smart enough to know when to quit before somebody you care about gets hurt? Somebody like....Miki here?”
-Dashiell Gant, Victory 2
-
*A brief snippet of a cutscene showing Lara Croft standing over a sprawling jungle is shown.*
Narrator: Lara Croft is back.
*Scenes showing the game's combat system with Lara punching and kicking thugs are interspersed with critics' reviews of the game: “One of the richest combat systems ever. -Edge Magazine”, “A true masterpiece.- GamePro”, “It's official, Lara Croft is the greatest action hero of all time.- Game Informer”, “9.0/10- Electronic Gaming Monthly”, “A GameTV Recommended Title- GameTV”*
Narrator: And this time, the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Lara Croft: *exiting a temple* Well now, it's always the world at stake, isn't it?
*More brief action scenes from the game are shown, followed by Lara facing down an enormous dragon while slowly removing her sunglasses.*
TOMB RAIDER II
October 16
Play it first on Sega Saturn.
*The SEGA! scream is heard*
-the television commercial for Tomb Raider II
Tomb Raider II: The Basics
Tomb Raider II is the sequel to the hit adventure game Tomb Raider from 1996. Once again, Lara Croft returns to stop bad guys and hunt for treasures in ancient labyrinths. Unlike Tomb Raider, which had a plot quite different from OTL's, Tomb Raider II follows the OTL game a bit more closely. The game, as IOTL, starts out in Lara's mansion with a series of quick tutorials before starting you on your mission proper. And, as in IOTL, Tomb Raider II expands on the original game's play controls, with an improved combat system involving counters and an improved exploration system as well, giving Lara additional ways to get around the game's larger temples and landmarks. As IOTL, the game involves the legendary Dagger of Xian, an item said to give its wielder unnatural powers. However, this game's villain is changed from the OTL villain. IOTL, Tomb Raider II featured the villain Marco Bertoli, but in TTL's version, the villain is a Cambodian warlord, Cheng Din, who is basically an expy of Pol Pot. He has the same goal as OTL's Bertoli: Find the dagger and use it to gain enough power to take over the world. Lara chases Cheng Din and his personal army all over the world, from a remote island in the Indian Ocean to the Cambodian jungles, to China itself. Finally, Cheng Din is able to use the dagger and transform himself into a hideous dragon, whom Lara must defeat in the final boss fight. The game does not mention Jade Bessemer, the villain from the first Tomb Raider, in dialogue, though a news paper clipping in the background of a scene does reveal that Bessemer survived. After Lara defeats Cheng Din, she returns to her mansion and takes a shower, teasing the player by going black just before Lara's full body is shown.
October 16, 1997
Tomb Raider II is released in North America amidst massive hype, though Sega does not push the game quite as hard as it was initially planning to, due to the fact that it is widely known that the game will eventually receive an Ultra Nintendo release. Still, it becomes the fastest selling title to date that year, even outselling Turok: Dinosaur Hunter in release date and release week sales. The game's media coverage somewhat mutes coverage of Race'n'Chase in the headlines, though Tomb Raider II itself receives a small amount of controversy for its violence and sensual content (despite only having a T rating). Tomb Raider II's positive reviews (not QUITE as good as Tomb Raider's but still considered very good) earn the game a great reception from fans, and the game for the most part lives up to the hype that the first Tomb Raider game had generated for it.
-
King's Field III
Dan: 6.0
Shoe: 5.0
Crispin: 4.0 (quote: “While the classic difficulty of this series still remains, this game shows that the series has grown awfully stale.”)
Sushi-X: 4.0
Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth
Dan: 7.0
Shoe: 8.5
Crispin: 8.0 (quote: “An outstanding beat-em-up with all the familiar Mortal Kombat action you love.”)
Sushi-X: 8.5
NBA Live 98
Dan: 7.5 (quote: Yet another solid entry in this basketball series.”)
Shoe: 6.0
Crispin: 7.0
Sushi-X: 7.0
X-Men vs. Street Fighter
Dan: 8.0
Shoe: 8.0
Crispin: 9.0
Sushi-X: 9.0 (quote: “The sheer variety of characters makes this an incredibly rewarding fighting game. It's a bit of a flawed port but it's still fun enough to overlook those flaws and have a great time.”)
Victory 2
Dan: 9.5 (quote: “This is one of the best top-down shooters out there.”)
Shoe: 9.0
Crispin: 8.5
Sushi-X: 8.5
Hammercraft
Dan: 7.0
Shoe: 7.5 (quote: “If you love customizing weapons, this is a must-play.”)
Crispin: 7.0
Sushi-X: 7.5
-Electronic Gaming Monthly's reviews of October 1997's SNES-CD games in the November and December 1997 issues
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“Five years after humanity won its freedom from the secret web of extraterrestrial oppression that had gripped it for decades, Nash Grieves had finally settled down, having devoted those last few years to rebuilding what had been lost. Now, the people of Earth could live in peace and freedom, with a bright future ahead of them. But there were still those who couldn't let go of the past. Those who believed humanity didn't deserve a future.”
-the introduction to Victory 2
“Aha...Nash, I can help you. Just give me access to the mainframe and I will stop this virus. You'll need to fight your way to the server room but I can help you get there. Please, just trust me...you won't regret it, I promise.”
-Miki (Alyson Court), Victory 2
The summer and fall of 1997 saw a wave of sequels that pushed the Super Nintendo CD to their limits and carried Nintendo all the way up to the release of the Ultra console. Tales Of The Seven Seas 2 and Dog Dash 2 were highly acclaimed, but it was perhaps Victory 2 that was the best of the lot in terms of gameplay, graphics, and storyline. The game took place a few years after the events of the first Victory, after Nash Grieves and his buddy Jett Sharklund wiped out the aliens who were secretly ruling Earth. While the first game took cues from sci-fi classics like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and They Live, the second title was an homage to action films, particularly the Die Hard series. The villain of Victory 2 was Dashiell Gant, another of Nash's war buddies who Nash reluctantly allowed to be captured and tortured some 15 years prior to the events of the game. Now, Gant was out for revenge, executing a series of terrorist attacks designed to disrupt the fragile peace that had emerged after humanity threw off the alien yolk. Nash and Jett received help from a new ally: Miki Akayama, a young hacker woman who helps Nash and Jett throughout the game by detonating traps and helping them break into locked areas and computer systems. During the final level of the game, Gant kidnaps Miki and takes her to an enormous tower, which Nash must fight his way through to stop Gant and save Miki. The game's 18 levels were punctuated by numerous cutscenes in which Nash contemplates his role in the new world and if there's truly a place for soldiers like him, especially in contrast with a girl like Miki who'd never known fighting and who doesn't have any of the anger or resentment that veterans like Nash and Jett feel when reminded of the way the world used to be. The action of the game is vastly improved even from its excellent predecessor, with a surprisingly intuitive lock-on system that allows multiple enemies to be targeted at once. When combined with the ability to set and program traps and lead enemies into ambushes, Victory 2 was a game ahead of its time.
The game was even compared favorably to Operation Zero, which debuted that month for the Sega Saturn (and later came to the Ultra Nintendo). The two games had somewhat similar run-and-gun styles, and even though Zero had the superior graphics and was also a bit longer, it received average review scores around 7 or 8, while Victory 2 scored consistently in the low 9s, similar to its predecessor. Zero's stealth elements (which Victory 2 largely lacked, being a more action-oriented game) won it praise, but once Metal Gear Solid came out, Zero looked instantly dated in comparison, while Victory 2 remains a timeless classic, beloved by most gamers. It also elevated Victory to one of Capcom's signature franchises, joining Mega Man, Street Fighter, and later, Resident Evil at the top of the company's pecking order and making the next generation Victory installment one of the most anticipated titles in the years to come.
-from an article on the website Capcom Chronicles
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“As the first JRPG to fully utilize the Sega Saturn's impressive 3-D abilities, Planetary Probe is a thing of beauty. From the very first opening cutscene showing the vastness of space and to the impressive shots of the main ship, the Arcus, the game blows the player away with amazing visuals we've never seen in such a game before. Is it dated now? Yes. But back then, it was gorgeous, and it beat Final Fantasy VII to the gate by one month. Did that win it many sales? It's hard to say, the game was never close to being the mega hit that Final Fantasy VII ended up being. But did it prove that Enix was fully capable of matching Squaresoft in terms of cinematic RPGs? Yes, it did.”
-Forum user SegaStillGotIt on the RPGamer.net forums, October 7, 2005
Before you embark on your intergalactic journey, get to know the crew of the Arcen, the ship that will carry you from planet to planet as you play through the game.
Lance: The ship's captain, a brave, noble young man who wields a glowing energy sword (George Lucas, don't sue!). Over the course of the game, he comes to realize that there is a universe beyond what he and his crew have experienced, and must become more than just a commanding officer if he is to save his friends and the universe.
Atria: A young woman and the most recent member of the Arcen's crew, she's a military researcher who joined the ship to explore more worlds beyond the military base she's used to. Carries a laser pistol that converts into a massive cannon for more powerful foes.
Brent: The ship's junior officer, who frequently clashes with Lance over certain orders. Carries an energy spear and is quite athletic. His conflicts with Lance are a recurring thing throughout the game.
Fennoc: The ship's medical doctor, he's seen more planets and stars than anyone on the crew, but is mostly quiet and tries to stay away from conflict. His weapon is somewhat unorthodox: a hypodermic needle that can be loaded with different chemicals.
Burnum: The ship's weapon specialist, a mountain of a man with a great sense of humor and a huge laugh. He wields a pair of gatling guns that seem way too big for the other crewmembers to even pick up.
Shannora: Fennoc's research assistant, a quiet woman with a very dark personality. She uses explosives in battle and wears a pair of thin-lensed glasses.
(…)
Planetary Probe is a gorgeous game with some stunning visuals, but ultimately, it's a fairly by the numbers RPG with a battle system similar to Phantasy Star. Though the game's graphics and voice acting show that a lot of time and effort went into the game, those looking for a new take on the classic genre might be disappointed. The game's storyline relies heavily on how you feel about its characters, which we felt were some of the strongest we'd ever seen, all of them, even the stoic hero Lance, have hidden depths to their personalities that made us care deeply for them by the time we were finished playing, some 60 hours later (though that time is a lot shorter if you don't go after all the sidequests like we did). Ultimately, Planetary Probe doesn't tread any new ground or boldly go where no RPG has gone before, but it was still a hell of a ride and if you want to play the best looking RPG the Saturn has to offer, this is it.
Score: 8/10
-excerpted from the October 1997 issue of Official Saturn Magazine
Shannora barely counts as a “villain” more than Kain from Final Fantasy IV really does, but since Shannora had full control of her actions the entire time and Kain really didn't, she counts as a villain for the purposes of this list, even though she ultimately proves herself to be a good person in the end. Over the course of Planetary Probe, the crew of the Arcen ultimately explores seven planets over the main quest (it's ten if you do all the side quests, but for storyline purposes, it's seven). And during that time, we see Shannora get deeper and deeper into her own research. It's clear even from the start of the game that she's a disturbed individual, but what she does on planet Belcrant a little more than halfway through the game is nearly unforgivable and has kicked off internet debates over whether or not she deserved to be punished or redeemed that continue to this day. Essentially, her experiment leads to the deaths of thousands of innocent people and directly contributes to the rise of the game's true (but much less interesting) villain, Nachtmahr. Shannora's motives, while not 100% selfish, are still pretty bad, and the game does some very interesting gymnastics to justify how Shannora's experimentation and sabotage of the Arcen's crew was well-intentioned. Ultimately, the game's fanbase is evenly and bitterly divided over whether Shannora's goals were justified, but whether you believe they were or not, in the end she ultimately realizes the horror her actions have caused and helps the party to defeat Nachtmahr at the Black Nebula. Still, before she comes to her senses, she's a positively nasty villain. While not a gloating or cackling type, she definitely makes you hate her guts, or love to hate her, whatever the case might be, and that's why she made this list of the top 10 RPG villains of all time.
-”Top 10 RPG Villains: #6- Shannora”, a list posted on Gamefaqs.com, July 15, 2014
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*As a song begins to play, the two main characters, a young girl and a young boy, are shown in various scenes using their time powers to navigate the world and defeat enemies.*
Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! Tick Tock Tick Tock!
*Both characters are now shown, navigating a vast 3-D world. The girl slows down time to allow the boy to land a few crucial blows on a fast moving enemy.*
When there's time trouble, just call their names! They can get the bad guys off their games!
*The boy is firing an oversized cannon device at enemies, completely stopping them in time before rushing past them all to pick up a spinning gold watch item.*
Slow down time or speed it up! 'Til the bad guys have had enough!
*The main villain of the game, a fat guy in a silly looking king outfit, is angrily pounding his fists and throwing a temper tantrum.*
King Clockwork: I've had ENOUGH of those two!
It's nonstop fun until you drop! You can even make time stop!
*A huge array of missiles are being fired at the boy, who is comically struggling while tied to a pole. The missiles stop just before hitting him and he looks to see the girl, holding a big stopwatch and giving an excited thumbs up.*
A boy and a girl with all the time in the world!
*The boy and girl stand on a big hill full of enemies, jumping up and down excitedly while using their time powers.*
Announcer: Tick and Tock: Time Tricksters, only on the Sega Saturn!
A boy and a girl with all the time in the world!
*Cue the “SEGA!” scream*
-the television commercial for Tick and Tock: Time Tricksters
While Tick and Tock: Time Tricksters was probably the most kid-friendly of the Sega Saturn 3-D platformers, that didn't make the game any less challenging, or less fun. The game revolved around a pair of kids, a girl named Tick and a boy named Tock, who lived in a city called Tinker Town with their parents who ran a junkyard full of all sorts of neat items. One day, while playing together in a big pile of junk, the two kids find a magical watch, but while playing around with it, they accidentally stop time in Tinker Town completely and must venture out on a journey to find the Wizard of Time to figure out how to get things in Tinker Town back to normal. However, the two realize that the watch belongs to the evil King Clockwork, who used it to control time in his kingdom and now that he no longer has the watch, he's in danger of losing his power. He deploys his armies and his robots to stop the two kids as they journey through various worlds to gather gears and watches that the Wizard of Time needs to build his grand machine to reset time in Tinker Town. It's your basic collect-a-thon platformer, but the fun twist is in the puzzles and the combat, which involve manipulation of time in order to get through them. Tick and Tock's magic watch can do all kinds of things: it can slow or speed up time or it can freeze time completely. There are other strange quirks it can perform, rapid aging or de-aging, creating rips to other dimensions, that sort of thing, but the primary use for the watch is those main abilities. You do have a limited amount of power in the watch, though it does regenerate slowly and you can collect items throughout the game that make the bar longer (along with your life bar). Eventually, after journeying through eight worlds, Tick and Tock confront King Clockwork himself in his castle. Clockwork has discovered how to make a watch of his own, so in the final battle, those same time abilities you've been using throughout the game can now be used against you, making for a fairly tough (but still fun and winnable) fight. In the end, time is restored, but those mischievous tricksters Tick and Tock have decided to keep the watch anyway, ensuring that the two of them will have plenty more adventures through time in the future.
As a quality kid-friendly platformer, which the Saturn was hurting for since Sonic the Hedgehog 4, the game sold exceptionally well, giving the Saturn two huge sales successes just before the release of the Ultra Nintendo (the other was, of course, Tomb Raider II). Tick and Tock even got their own animated series in 1999, which came out along with the sequel to the game. Though Super Mario Dimensions would largely steal much of this game's thunder, it still provided the Saturn with a new franchise and a best selling game, something they'd sorely need upon the Ultra Nintendo's release.
-from ”A Timely Game About Time”, an article posted on Gamesovermatter.com on December 13, 2013
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A beat-em-up sounds like a strange diversion for the Mortal Kombat series, whose highly anticipated fourth installment is set to be ported exclusively to the Ultra Nintendo sometime next year. However, Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth treads some welcome ground for the series, whose backstory has previously only been explained through small amounts of text in the games themselves and supplementary materials in strategy guides and instruction books. In Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth, you take control of Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Sonya, and Mileena as the four make their way through their own unique dungeons over a series of levels. You'll encounter enemies and occasionally bosses, and the combat system is essentially the same as it is in Mortal Kombat, with the addition of equippable weapons at certain points during the stages. As you play, you'll discover more about each character's backstory, and the combat will get trickier, while navigating the game's fairly large dungeons becomes a test of endurance and skill. All in all, Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth is no replacement for the games themselves, but it doesn't need to be. It's a decent beat-em-up that gives lots of insight into the game's backstory and raises new questions that will hopefully be addressed in MK4.
Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth will be released for the Super Nintendo CD in October. A Saturn version is scheduled for early next year.
Graphics: 4.0
Sound: 3.5
Play Control: 4.0
Fun Factor: 3.5
Challenge: Adjustable
-excerpted from a review of Mortal Kombat: Labyrinth in the November 1997 issue of GamePro
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“Is Ken Griffey Jr. The Greatest Baseball Player Of All Time?”
-from the cover of the November 3, 1997 issue of Sports Illustrated celebrating the Seattle Mariners' 4-1 World Series win over the Atlanta Braves
“Ken Griffey Jr. is GOD!!!”
-from a post on an InsideTheWeb.com baseball forum on October 23, 1997
For the second straight year, the Seattle Mariners found themselves facing the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. But it wasn't easy. They survived one of the greatest League Championship Series of all time, a seven game slugfest with the Baltimore Orioles that saw Ken Griffey Jr. leading his team back from a 7-0 sixth inning deficit in game 7 with excellent fielding and three home runs, including the game winning one-run shot in the 11th inning (leading to a debate that still rages to this day about whether Randy Myers should've been told to walk the red-hot Griffey instead of pitching to him). Meanwhile, the Braves faced off against the Dodgers in the NLCS, and swept them easily, 4 games to 0. Going into the series, it looked like it would finally be the year for the well-rested Braves, but Griffey played masterfully in all five games of the series, particularly the first two games which took place in Atlanta. Griffey homered in all four games that the Mariners won. His astonishing 15 home runs in that year's postseason more than DOUBLED the previous record and will almost certainly never be touched. Combined with his 56 home runs in that year's regular season, and by that time, Griffey was known as one of the greatest home run hitters in the history of the game. His epic home-run race with Mark McGwire in 1998, culminating in an awesome World Series showdown between the Mariners and Cardinals, would become one of the greatest spectacles in the history of baseball.
-excerpted from “A History Of The MLB: 1995-1999”, an article on Bleacherreport.com
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And anime is gaining a rising foothold in American culture as well, particularly in the realm of video games. Ghost In The Shell, a game based on one of the most popular anime films of all time, is set to release a game for the Sega Saturn later this month, while a pair of Neon Genesis Evangelion games, one for the upcoming Ultra Nintendo and one for the Sega Saturn, have both been confirmed for localization sometime next year. Pokemon, the official Western name for the Japanese Pocket Monsters franchise, will see its popular anime series, one of the highest rated in Japan, come to North America late next year, and Hasbro, which owns the rights to the popular Tamagotchi digital toy, is exploring options to produce a joint American-Japanese animated series based on the toy. Sailor Moon is currently airing in re-runs on Fox's Saturday morning block as the network continues to ponder what to do about the controversial Sailor Moon S, which features two of its heroines engaged in a lesbian relationship. It's themes like these, considered too extreme or mature for American audiences, that have somewhat slowed anime's proper entry into the West. At the same time, however, the West is gaining a growing acceptance of these mature themes, likely due to the popularity of video games featuring these themes, which have been played by millions of American youths.
And just as video games are opening the doors for anime in the West, they continue to inspire creators of anime back in Japan, with the new series Witchery, starring a group of young witches in a magic academy, said to be influenced by popular games such as Andrekah and even the popular American video game Syrielle. Based on a manga series by Natsuki Takaya, the anime will introduce even more characters to the series, and Takaya says that she has many plans for the series to contain homages to her favorite games. Another upcoming anime series, Blader Special, appears to be heavily influenced by the popular video games Ballistic Limit and Iron Combatant, as seen in its mech suits that artfully slide and shoot their way through foes in early preview clips of the first two episodes. If these series are successful, they might make their way to America and around the world, as television stations across the globe broadcast more anime with each passing month. It's also likely that we'll be seeing more anime-based video games on the Ultra Nintendo and the Saturn than we ever did on the Genesis or the Super Nintendo.
-excerpted from an article in the October 1997 issue of Wizard magazine
October 22, 1997
Ken Kutaragi was visiting the studio where the Pocket Monsters anime was made. Though Sony had little direct input over the content of the anime, at least during the first batch of episodes, the company still occasionally observed the production of the series and offered up ideas for how certain episodes could be tweaked or improved.
The episode currently being worked on had the tentative title of “Electric Soldier Porygon”, involving the main character Satoshi, along with Pikachu, Kasumi, and Takeshi, entering the world of cyberspace and coming into contact with the criminals Team Rocket. Now, one of the climactic scenes was playing on the screen. Pikachu was to leap up and intercept missiles fired at Satoshi and his friends, destroying them in a bright, flashy explosion of blue and red light.
“This is exciting,” said Kutaragi, his eyes fixed on the screen. As soon as the lights began to flash, however, Kutaragi realized that there might be a problem. Though he suffered no ill effects from the rapidly flashing lights, he'd had a friend at university who had suffered from epilepsy, and lights like those Kutaragi knew could trigger his symptoms. “Oh....that might be a problem.”
“Hmm?” asked one of the animators, unaware of what the problem was.
“Those lights,” said Kutaragi, pointing at the screen. “Perhaps...take them out? The flashing blue and red lights, they can cause problems in epileptics.”
“Oh...” said the animator, rewinding the tape and watching the screen. “Should we....slow them down?”
“No, no, that would look silly...just...replace them with something else. A comically large explosion perhaps? Anything but those flashing lights...”
“Umm....certainly, yeah,” said the animator, nodding his head. Another animator on staff had already noted the potential problems with those lights, but his objections were dismissed. Now that the staff had a second opinion, and from someone as important as Ken Kutaragi, they realized something should probably be done. “We'll get rid of the flashing, certainly.”
“Good, good...otherwise this is a very fun episode, please continue!”
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Brittany Saldita: So Tomb Raider II does a few things better than the first game and a few things worse. The variety of environments and puzzles has gone down a bit, I feel like Tomb Raider II relies more on movie-like action scenes to wow players instead of providing them with big open environments to explore like the first Tomb Raider did. That said, the combat system kicks ass and made getting into fights with bad guys a lot more fun.
Lyssa Fielding: Yeah, and beating up on humans is a lot more fun than beating up on tigers if you ask me. There are a lot more human fights in this game.
Brittany: Yeah, those tigers didn't deserve to get beaten up! It was Lara coming into their territory, not the other way around!
Lyssa: Also, the bad guy in this game isn't quite as interesting. It's not even a spoiler to reveal him, it's this dickish guy that you meet right out of the gate and you know right away he's a villain. It took a bit of time to reveal the villain of the last game, this guy here...I mean as soon as you meet him you know he's a dick!
Brittany: But even with those flaws, Tomb Raider II is still worth getting. It's still the Tomb Raider you know and love, Lara Croft is still awesome, and even though I said there were too many of those big action scenes in this game, some of them are still pretty awesome.
*It shows a brief clip of Lara Croft leaping out of a biplane and snagging onto a cliff at the last moment.*
Lyssa: I don't think that's possible in real life...
Brittany: You'd need some SERIOUS arm strength.
Lyssa: Guess it's time to do a few pull-ups?
Brittany: Or lift a few weights.
Lyssa: Well, we have been dragging Alex and Ted back and forth to the closet so I bet we're building some killer muscles there. *snickering*
Brittany: It must be KILLING those guys to miss out on reviewing this! We should let them watch the Spice Girls perform later.
Lyssa: *laughing* Don't you mean force them to?
Brittany: Well, either way. Anyway, I give Tomb Raider II a 4.5. It majorly improves on the gameplay mechanics of the first, even if some of the exploration elements have been dialed back.
Lyssa: I agree, a 4.5 is the perfect score!
Brittany: Coming up next, we've still got the Spice Girls, we're counting down the top 10 female heroes in video game history, AND we're gonna make Gary and John review Barbie's Lamborghini Adventure for the Game Boy! And I still don't know how Barbie has a better car than I do.
Lyssa: Well, she is a doctor AND the president of the United States...
-excerpted from the October 14, 1997 episode of GameTV
(…)
Alex: Planetary Probe is a positively incredible game. It looks stunning, the gameplay is fantastic, it's absolutely huge...I couldn't find much to hate about this game.
Ted: The combat system was a bit old-fashioned for my tastes. All those pretty graphics and they couldn't come up with something like they did in Krystalshade? C'mon Enix, step up your game!
Alex: Well, I did appreciate the option to speed up the spell animations because some of them take forever.
Ted: Well, the game's gotta show off how pretty it is, and yeah, I liked that option too. I mean, it WAS a good game. I don't think I'm as excited about it as you are though.
Alex: It's not just the graphics, some of the characters in this game...
Ted: Yeah, that's what made me stick with it and enjoy it was the characters. The storyline's just superb, reminds me of a really well-written Star Trek: The Next Generation episode.
Alex: Which reminds me, we NEED a good Star Trek RPG, one with the actual characters like Captain Picard.
Ted: Kirk all the way, dude.
Alex: What are you talking about, Picard's way better than Kirk!
Ted: Picard is BALD!
Alex: So is Stone Cold Steve Austin and he's your favorite wrestler.
Ted: Hey, Stone Cold kicks people's asses, that makes a big difference.
Alex: So does Picard sometimes!
Ted: But does Picard get the girls like Kirk does?
Alex: *rolls his eyes*
Ted: Planetary Probe might not be the most original RPG out there but it IS one of the prettiest and it's got a really engrossing storyline, so I'm giving it a 4 out of 5.
Alex: And I'm giving it a 5. The Saturn's had just an amazing slew of RPGs this year, definitely check this one out if you can.
(…)
Brittany: Can we just talk about how bad of a port this was? I was really disappointed. X-Men vs. Street Fighter the arcade game, I really liked. But this was really rushed and the graphics were bad and it still had slowdown.
John: I thought it was fine for the most part. I mean, yeah, it's not as good as the arcade version but I felt like it was a decent port.
Brittany: No, no no no no no no. This was really bad, it was a completely crippled game. Look at the framerates when you're executing this move with Dhalsim...
*A clip is shown of Dhalsim executing a complicated combo and the frame rate slowing down signficantly*
Brittany: It's just inexcusable that it'd be released like this. They got rid of tag teams and just made it a standard one-on-one fighter, which was fine, but the slowdown is miserable.
John: It had all the characters, and I got through single player mode just fine. I didn't have any major problems. Yeah, the graphics got downgraded, but ultimately it is a passable game. You might not be able to run any tournaments with it, but-
Brittany: Exactly, this game isn't up to snuff for tournaments. Look, this is NOT a knock on the original X-Men vs. Street Fighter which I thought was an awesome game. But this is a piss-poor port. 1 out of 5.
John: Wow, that's REALLY harsh for a game that I still found to be really fun. I'm giving it a 3.5, if it ran better it'd be one of the best fighting games of the year.
Brittany: But it doesn't. It really doesn't. For shame, Capcom. And you were doing so well this month with Victory 2!
-excerpted from the October 21, 1997 episode of GameTV
-
Ted: I liked the idea that in Hammercraft, instead of buying your weapons from some kind of dwarven blacksmith who makes the weapons, in this game you ARE the dwarven blacksmith! And he's a pretty cool dude. But...
Gary: Yeah, but, this game was still pretty flawed. The dungeons you have to journey through are really simple. There's not much in the way of variety and they compensate by just making the enemies REALLY strong.
Ted: Which means that frequently, you're backtracking to beat up on lesser enemies who hit less hard but still have a ton of HP. You CAN make powerful weapons to beat them easier but that requires you to gather components which are hard to make enemies drop. The random drops in this game are really unfair.
Gary: Right, there's so much backtracking and monotony in this game which could have otherwise been really great. THQ needed to take some cues from Blizzard and games like Diablo, this is their first crack at making a dungeon crawler type game and so while the backbone of a good idea is definitely here, the execution is lacking.
Ted: The one redeeming thing about the game is this main character, Krugg the dwarf. He is HILARIOUS. He has this ridiculous Scottish accent and says the funniest things, and makes some of the monotony of grinding a bit less unpleasant.
Gary: Krugg cracked me up. It's still not a great game but at least it's got some humor in it. I'll go ahead and give it a 3.
Ted: You know, I'm giving it a 3.5. Even with its flaws, there's enough good stuff here that I'm sure some players will enjoy this game. Just...know what you're getting into.
-excerpted from the October 28, 1997 episode of GameTV
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SNES-CD Power Charts: October 1997
1. Tales Of The Seven Seas 2
2. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Dreams
3. Tale Phantasia
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Fire Emblem: Keepers Of The Light
6. Starseekers Of Exion
7. Terranigma
8. Super Mario World 2
9. NBA Hangtime
10. Super Mario RPG
11. Intelligent Qube
12. Elements Of Mana
13. Disney's Hercules
14. Syrielle
15. Frederico 2: Garcia's Revenge
16. Syndicate Wars
17. Doom
18. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
19. Dog Dash
20. Slaughterbox 2
The Official Saturn Magazine Buzz Chart – October 1997
1. Race'n'Chase
2. Tomb Raider II
3. Sonic the Hedgehog 4
4. Ultima: Scion Of Britannia
5. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
6. Planetary Probe
7. Raigeki
8. Tick and Tock: Time Tricksters
9. SoniQuest
10. Operation Zero
-
*A teenage boy is dropped into various scenes from Ultra Nintendo games as 90s rock music plays in the background. (basically, in the style of this commercial from OTL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S40fBi65U8c except with lots of games besides Super Mario 64) First, Bob-Omb Battlefield from Super Mario Dimensions.*
Boy: Ultra exciting!
*Next, a race from Ultra Mario Kart.*
Boy: Ultra fast!
*Next, a flying level from Star Fox 2.*
Boy: Ultra intense!
*Next, a summoning sequence from Final Fantasy VII.*
Boy: Ultra epic!
*Next, a castle scene from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.*
Boy: Ultra spooky!
*Next, he's seen flipping in a watercraft on Wave Race.*
Boy: Ultra tricky!
*Next, he's making a slam dunk in NBA Hangtime.*
Boy: Ultra spectacular!
*Next, he's in Mirrorlight, navigating a complicated light puzzle.*
Boy: Ultra puzzling!
*Next, he's in Nightsquad 2, following the five heroes around the city.*
Boy: Ultra thrilling!
*Next, he's in Ultra Mario Kart's battle mode.*
Boy: Ultra competitive!
*Finally, he's facing off with a huge Bowser in Super Mario Dimensions.*
Boy: Ultra...whooooooooooa!!!
*The boy then spins out of the scene and plops down on a couch, across from a TV, holding an Ultra Nintendo controller in his hand and looking like he's just experienced the most awesome thing ever.*
Boy: That was ultra amazing...
*Scenes from more games play before the Ultra Nintendo is shown on screen, spinning around as the words “IT'S AN ULTRA WORLD” appear on screen.*
NOVEMBER 21
-the first American commercial to air for the Ultra Nintendo, it began airing in late October 1997
). Without it he would've won by several million votes. So if the Lewinsky thing still does happen, and we know by now that Clinton still slept with her ITTL, Gore's still got a chance.