I am a huge fan of both Sega's 32x and Atari's Jaguar.
While they don't initially seem similar, both represent the awkward transition into three
dimensional gaming.
Both were met with high expectations, and both ended up being miserable failures, discontinued
in 1996 after the proper next-gen machines, captured gamer's hearts.
In today's face/off, we will take a look at, and compare, 5 games from each system's library
to determine obscurity superiority, again.
Iron Soldier is a flagship Jaguar game of sorts, and shows off some of the power lurking
inside the system.
The graphics are a mix of flat shaded polygons, with a few textures here and there, and the
frame rate is surprisingly smooth.
Even more impressive are the controls, allowing full movement of your giant mech with just
three buttons and the d-pad.
Though item selection does use the number pad.
Metal Head on the Sega 32x is also impressive from a technical standpoint, featuring a fully
texture mapped polygon world.
Unlike Iron Soldier, Metal Head’s world is far more limited, with tight corridors
and simpler controls.
In fact, Metal Head plays more like a watered down first person shooter and doesn’t really
give you the feeling of piloting a massive mech through city streets.
I still like Metal Head though and the mission-based gameplay, voice acting, weapon upgrades, and
smooth controls make for a fun game.
But there is little doubt Iron Soldier is the better game.
There is a much better sense of scale, and you actually feel like you are piloting something
massive, the draw distance is far superior, and the gameplay mechanics are simply deeper
than Sega’s offering.
Both are worth a look, but the first point goes to the Jaguar.
If mechs aren’t you thing, perhaps what you want is a hovertank.
Of course both the Jaguar and 32x have you covered.
On the Sega 32x we have T-Mek from Atari Games.
How’s that for irony?
Being a port of an arcade game the controls are simple and the gameplay straightforward.
Simply select one of 6 different tanks, and then complete the objective outlined at the
beginning of the level.
Complete the objective, such as scoring the most points or killing your enemy, and you
move onto the next round.
Hover Strike on the Jaguar is much more ambitious.
Rather than small arenas, Hover Strike has large 3D worlds.
Your objectives are outlined in the menu screen, and then you are dropped into the world, literally.
Your radar is your friend here, and you have to use it to find the targets needing to be
destroyed, to complete the level.
There is no doubt the Jaguar game is the better looking of the two with decent textured polygons
compared to T-Mek’s entirely sprite based affair, but I find T-mek to be far more enjoyable.
The battle arena style gameplay is just more fun, and has aged better than Hover Strike’s
vast swathes of nothingness.
Hover Strike is still fun, and you can actually drift in your tank, like a real hovercraft.
The texture mapped polygons and mission-based gameplay is much better than say, Cybermorph,
so it has that going for it, which is nice.
But I still prefer the arcade centric combat arenas of T-mek.
Point goes to, the 32x.
Virtua Fighter was a revolutionary game when it debuted in arcades in 1993, using a 3D
engine to offer a unique fighting experience with unmatched smoothness and realism for
it’s day.
While the Sega 32x version is not arcade perfect, it is surprisingly good.
The flat shaded polygons are extremely charming and the animation is as fluid as ever.
Fight for Life on the Jaguar was released in 1996, and is essentially the last first-party
game ever released by the real Atari.
Unfortunately, the game sucks.
While the textured fighters look pretty good, they don’t move as fluid as the fighter’s
in Sega’s offering.
Worse yet, the moveset is limited, the controls are clunky, and the gameplay is slow and awkward.
It is clear the developers were fans of Virtua Fighter, but it doesn’t seem Atari gave
them enough time to finish the game before releasing it and then folding.
The Sega 32x easily wins this round and Virtua Fighter is a true standout title for the system.
The smooth frame rate, responsive controls, and deep gameplay hold up well to this day.
It really is a testament to the level of talent Sega had at their disposal in the 90’s,
and the game is a true masterpiece.
I love shoot-em-ups and both systems actually had some decent ones.
On the Atari Jaguar, we have Raiden.
This was a curious release for the 1993 launch, considering the game had been out in the arcades
for years.
Still, as a retro game, it is pretty awesome.
First, it is a unique port with all new art assets and redone music.
It is a significant upgrade over the Genesis and Super Nintendo versions, with a much smoother
frame rate.
It isn't arcade perfect by any stretch, but this vertical scrolling shmup is solid none
the less.
Kolibri on the 32x is a different kind of shoot-em-up.
Rather than forced scrolling you can traverse the game’s levels at your own pace.
Unfortunately, I find the game a touch boring.
Sure the graphics are beautiful, the soundtrack pleasant enough, and the entire hummingbird
shooter concept is fairly unique, it just doesn’t really grab me.
There is no progression with the weapons and the level design is average at best, with
few, if any, truly clever moments.
Raiden on the other hand is an exciting game with weapon upgrades, frantic bullet dodging,
challenging bosses, and is just a blast to play from beginning to end.
When it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
While Kolibri scores points for being original, Raiden is the better game.
Point for the Jag.
For our final round we arrive at another pair of super-scaler games.
In a time before polygons, arcade games used scaling sprites to simulate three dimensions
offering up some truly exciting gameplay experiences.
On the Atari Jaguar we have Val d’Isere Skiing and Snowboarding.
This plays like a racing game of sorts, except you are on skis or a snowboard and shredding
down a ski resort.
This is a race against time to reach the bottom of the mountain, and unlocking all of the
different runs will require plenty of practice and memorization.
The controls also have some weight to them, and momentum is carried left and right as
you race down the mountain.
Unfortunately, the game is brutally difficult.
Val d’Isere Skiing and Snowboarding moves insanely quick, and the game’s frequent
hills often mean it’s impossible to see what is coming up next, resulting in plenty
of collisions with trees.
Space Harrier is not a snowboarding game, but rather a third person shooting game.
Like Val d’Isere Skiing and Snowboarding there is a ton of sprite scaling going on
giving an awesome feeling of depth.
It’s fairly easy to tell when enemies and projectiles are close and when to get out
of the way.
Despite being a decade older, Space Harrier has fewer flaws and more fleshed out gameplay.
Flying around the screen is a fun experience and the fantasy art style is still visually
appealing.
It to is quite difficult, but there is a higher level of polish here, and something about
the gameplay is far more addicting.
Both games are fun for sure, but Space Harrier is a classic, and scores the match point.
So there we have it, in a direct match up of 5 popular-ish genres from the 90's, the
Sega 32x comes out ahead.
But don’t take these results too seriously.
We could just have easily swapped in some other games and flipped the results.
Instead, take this as a playful comparison from two incredibly underappreciated systems.