I am a big 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.
Both systems utilized an aging medium, cartridges, and both made poor attempts to embrace CD
technology.
The Jaguar had an add-on, and and the 32x was an add-on.
Both machines were 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.
You can not do a comparison of the Jaguar and 32x without looking at Virtua Racing Deluxe
and Checkered Flag.
Checkered Flag is such an obvious rip-off of Virtua Racing in nearly every way.
Both games feature open wheel racing and flat shaded polygonal graphics.
Both games were released in November of 1994.
Coincidence?
I think not.
This comparison is particularly interesting because it summarizes the cards each company
had to play.
Sega had talented programmers like Yu Suzuki and his AM2 team at it's disposal.
The kind of talent that could squeeze power out a system like the 32x.
Atari did not.
Instead they were pinching pennies and shelling out projects to the lowest bidder.
Which often meant inexperienced development teams ill-equipped to handle the challenging
architecture of the Atari Jaguar.
Virtua Racing features a smooth frame rate, and relatively detailed levels, despite the
lack of texture mapping.
Checkered Flag looks similar, especially in screen shots.
But it is once you see the game in motion that Virtua Racing trumps Checkered Flag in
every way.
Checkered Flag is a dog.
The framerate chugs along somewhere below 10 frames per second.
The tracks are all flat, and don't have the same complex geometry as the Virtua Racing
tracks.
Virtua Racing shows off the 3D prowess of those twin SuperH-2s.
Oh yeah, Virtua Racing Deluxe is fun.
Checkered Flag is painful.
Score one for the Sega.
I loved Super Mario Kart growing up.
For years it was the benchmark of what a fun racing game should be.
It was often imitated, but few games could hold a candle to the original.
So it is no surprise both the Jaguar and the 32x each got a mascot racer.
BC Racers comes to us from Core, a company who consistently pumped out quality titles.
Core was known for squeezing every last ounce of performance out of Sega's other add-on,
the Sega CD.
Atari Karts comes from Miracle Designs, and this would be their freshman effort.
So who will win out?
The upstart from Belgium or the Brits from Core?
Atari Karts is a gorgeous game, featuring full screen graphics, a fast frame rate, and
excellent sprite scaling effects.
It really shows off the 2D capabilities of its respective machine.
It makes Mario Kart look dated and old.
BC Racers runs in a bordered window, and can hardly keep up with itself.
Graphically, BC Racers has more roadside objects, and may even look better in screenshots, but
Atari Karts moves along at 60 frames per second while BC Racers looks like a slide show.
Picking the winner of these 2 is a no brainer.
BC Racers is half finished.
Atari Karts is extremely polished.
The problems with with BC Racers do not stop at the graphics.
The controls feel more like a suggestion for your kart, rather than an input.
Atari Karts is damn near perfect, and superior to the plumber's efforts.
Atari Karts looks and feels more like a next-gen game than BC Racers.
Atari Karts looks effortless, while BC Racers looks like its choking the 32x.
Point goes to the Jag.
Back in the 1980's, Sega created a line of Super Scaler games; arcade games with special
processors made for scaling sprites to simulate 3D environments.
Classic titles like Hang-On and Space Harrier ushered in exciting new graphics that did
a respectable job creating a 3D world by smoothly scaling sprites as they got closer to the
screen.
The Sega 32x and Atari Jaguar had enough processing power to finally toss around large amounts
of scaled sprites.
Sega chose to flex it's muscles with a port of After Burner.
Atari has an original title, Super Burnout, which was inspired by the classic Hang-On.
Your preference in title will likely depend on whether you prefer racing games or arcade
shooters, and both titles are excellent.
But alas, we must choose a winner.
This comparison really shows off the raw power of the Atari Jaguar when programmed properly.
Instead of utilizing the Motorola 68000, the 16-bit processor also used in the Sega Genesis,
Shen Technologies programmed all of the code on the "Tom" and "Jerry" 32 and 64-bit silicon.
The title screen music, for example, features music with a higher sample rate than a compact
disc.
No lie.
The developers also managed to throw more than 1,000 sprites on screen at once, three
times more than what is possible on a Neo Geo!
Do the math.
Super Burnout's frame rate is silky smooth, never wavering from a solid 60 frames per
second.
After Burner is also excellent, and a near perfect arcade port, but it runs at 30 frames
per second due to presumably ram and bandwidth limitations.
The Atari Jaguar gets another point.
Supercross 3D for the Atari Jaguar and Motocross Championship for the Sega 32x are two very
different games accomplishing the same task in very different ways.
Both games are often panned, but I enjoy them both none the less.
Motocross Championship uses a strange 2D graphics engine.
It gives a convincing sense of height as you climb up and down the track.
The opponent sprites also scale as well, giving a sense of depth.
Overall, it moves beyond what the 16-bit systems were capable of, but is not mind blowing by
any stretch.
Supercross 3D goes with a full 3D engine powering the tracks.
There is a nice blend of textures defining the course, and flat shaded polygons for the
non-course areas.
There is even a large real-time jumbo tron in the background, quite the technical feat.
The riders themselves are scaled sprites, and of the high res variety.
Also interesting is the sound in both games, which is terrible.
Both racers features one looping track of generic synthesized rock and average at best
sound effects.
Strange.
So which game wins?
Which game loses would be more appropriate.
Supercross 3D has a terrible frame making the game unplayable to most.
It also has some wonky physics, which send you off course and then immediately crash.
Supercross 3D was released at the end of the Jaguar's life span, and in many ways sums
up the Atari Jaguar.
It was clearly rushed and not finished, and disappointing.
Motocross Championship is not a stellar title by any stretch of the word, but it is a lot
less broken.
The frame rate is solid as are the controls, and overall there is more enjoyment to be
found.
Another point, for the Sega 32x.
The score is tied at 2 a piece, and we're down to our final face off.
So which of these two acclaimed platformers will take home the prize?
Atari never had a mascot, and Sega never graced the 32x with a Sonic title.
Therefore both ended up receiving second tier mascot platformers.
The Sega 32x got Knuckles’ Chaotix while the the Atari Jaguar got Rayman.
Interestingly enough, both characters still live on, 20 years later.
Up first is Knuckles Chaotix.
What started as a sequel to Sonic & Knuckles, ended up as a Sonicless platformer, for reasons
no one may ever truly know.
While graphically pleasing, Knuckles’ Chaotix from a technical standpoint rarely looks like
more than a souped up Genesis game.
Where it does show some pizazz is in the hexagonal bonus stages.
With a nod to Sonic 2's half pipe bonus stage, Knuckles’ Chaotix features a smooth 360°
hexagonal pipe bending and twisting through space.
The flat shaded polygons are big and chunky, but the framerate is smooth and it is fun.
Rayman on the other hand truly looks like a next gen title.
The graphics, particularly in the earlier stages, are gorgeous, dripping with animation
and color.
Rayman himself himself is well animated.
There are no gimmicks here, just well drawn, jaw dropping, 2D graphics.
While Knuckles’ Chaotix has an amazing soundtrack, 2-player support, and some polygon pizzazz,
the level design is pretty sparse with few challenging moments and even fewer enemies.
So my nod goes to Rayman.
The game still feels fresh and has aged very well.
Controlling Rayman is a breeze, the chip-tunes are catchy, and the level structure is far
more satisfying.
The match point, goes to the Jaguar.
So there we have it, in a direct match up of 5 popular genres from the 90's, the Jaguar
comes out ahead.
But don’t take these results too seriously.
We could just have easily swapped in some Virtua Fighter and flipped the results.
Instead, take this is a playful comparison from two incredibly underappreciated systems.