maxlords
02-17-2005, 09:22 AM
Hey look! Over here! It’s a sequel to Landstalker! That’s right isometric fans, today we’re looking at Dark Savior for the Sega Saturn. For those of you who have never heard of Dark Savior, you’re in for a treat. Now, this game is a solid platformer with a bit of adventure tossed in, but it seems like almost no one played it when it was out. I’m sure plenty of people did, but man it sure wasn’t blowing off the shelves back in the day. Everyone took one look at that heinous box art and said…”um, I’ll take Sonic R please.”
But sadly, you’ve all been missing out! Dark Savior is a rather unique game. Second in the loose trilogy from Climax (Landstalker, Dark Savior, and the dreadful Time Stalkers), it’s an isometric action game, also sometimes called a ¾ perspective. You’re a sort of bounty hunter, hunting down a wanted fugitive monster on a prison island. Talk with inmates, solve complex puzzles, and fight it out with various monsters to progress through the game. For those of you that are worried, the trilogy is unrelated as far as story goes. Dark Savior is one of those action games that’s a real challenge to the mind though. The puzzles are invariably difficult and the levels are near enough to maddening that you’ll be screaming at the screen in no time. That’s not to say that it’s poorly designed though. It’s not. The game itself is actually quite well-designed, but it’s hard! In my opinion, that’s a good thing. So few games these days offer a challenge right from the start, but this one sure does.
Dark Savior has very tight controls, as precision is a necessity in later sections of the game. It’s compatible with the Saturn 3D controller (the one that came with Nights) as well, and I’ve found it to be very nice to play with that controller. The graphics are nothing special of course, as they’re showing their age, but the gameplay is fantastic. Expect to be challenged and surprised, especially by some of the more complex later levels. You’ll hate the camera occasionally, but you won’t care because you’ll be having too much fun! The levels are very, very challenging, especially in the later parts of the game, more challenging than the enemies by far. The fighting zooms in to an odd perspective and your fights are much like a fighting game with rounds and everything. It’s a neat concept, but very odd at first. I wasn’t really ready for it the first time I played the game, but it grew on me. And don’t ask about the ugly striped shirts…
One of the most unique things about Dark Savior is the Parallel system. Basically there are four ENTIRE games instead of just one. Depending on how fast (or slow) you make it through the opening sequence of the game, the entire game is different! Puzzles, storyline, it all changes! Some of the changes are minor, some fairly substantial. It makes for a unique gaming experience to be able to beat an entire game, start a new one, and have it all be different and not be randomly generated! There are four main parallels and also a hidden fifth parallel as well. I’d heard there was a sixth, but I can’t confirm it, so I suspect it’s just a rumor. Regardless, there’s a lot of gameplay to be had from Dark Savior.
Ultimately, Dark Savior is one of the better Saturn games out there. For some reason, this game (as with Landstalker) always gave me this wicked cool Indiana Jones vibe…always a good thing! Excellent gameplay, an interesting story, and a unique perspective make this one of better titles out there for the Saturn, and one a lot of you probably missed along the way! Go try it!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/fa5edf62.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/a133fc88.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/b1664cc4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/f129b4be.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/0e96d9dc.jpg
But sadly, you’ve all been missing out! Dark Savior is a rather unique game. Second in the loose trilogy from Climax (Landstalker, Dark Savior, and the dreadful Time Stalkers), it’s an isometric action game, also sometimes called a ¾ perspective. You’re a sort of bounty hunter, hunting down a wanted fugitive monster on a prison island. Talk with inmates, solve complex puzzles, and fight it out with various monsters to progress through the game. For those of you that are worried, the trilogy is unrelated as far as story goes. Dark Savior is one of those action games that’s a real challenge to the mind though. The puzzles are invariably difficult and the levels are near enough to maddening that you’ll be screaming at the screen in no time. That’s not to say that it’s poorly designed though. It’s not. The game itself is actually quite well-designed, but it’s hard! In my opinion, that’s a good thing. So few games these days offer a challenge right from the start, but this one sure does.
Dark Savior has very tight controls, as precision is a necessity in later sections of the game. It’s compatible with the Saturn 3D controller (the one that came with Nights) as well, and I’ve found it to be very nice to play with that controller. The graphics are nothing special of course, as they’re showing their age, but the gameplay is fantastic. Expect to be challenged and surprised, especially by some of the more complex later levels. You’ll hate the camera occasionally, but you won’t care because you’ll be having too much fun! The levels are very, very challenging, especially in the later parts of the game, more challenging than the enemies by far. The fighting zooms in to an odd perspective and your fights are much like a fighting game with rounds and everything. It’s a neat concept, but very odd at first. I wasn’t really ready for it the first time I played the game, but it grew on me. And don’t ask about the ugly striped shirts…
One of the most unique things about Dark Savior is the Parallel system. Basically there are four ENTIRE games instead of just one. Depending on how fast (or slow) you make it through the opening sequence of the game, the entire game is different! Puzzles, storyline, it all changes! Some of the changes are minor, some fairly substantial. It makes for a unique gaming experience to be able to beat an entire game, start a new one, and have it all be different and not be randomly generated! There are four main parallels and also a hidden fifth parallel as well. I’d heard there was a sixth, but I can’t confirm it, so I suspect it’s just a rumor. Regardless, there’s a lot of gameplay to be had from Dark Savior.
Ultimately, Dark Savior is one of the better Saturn games out there. For some reason, this game (as with Landstalker) always gave me this wicked cool Indiana Jones vibe…always a good thing! Excellent gameplay, an interesting story, and a unique perspective make this one of better titles out there for the Saturn, and one a lot of you probably missed along the way! Go try it!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/fa5edf62.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/a133fc88.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/b1664cc4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/f129b4be.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/0e96d9dc.jpg