Difference between revisions of "Blog:Gale Racer (Saturn)"

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[[File:Palm.png|thumb|Seen here: Chicago's world-famous palm trees]]
 
[[File:Palm.png|thumb|Seen here: Chicago's world-famous palm trees]]
  
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The first game released for Sega's System 32 arcade hardware, ''Rad Mobile'' was pretty impressive when it came out in 1991. It would be three years until there was a home machine powerful enough to contain it. Enter ''Gale Racer'' for the Saturn.
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The first game released for Sega's System 32 arcade hardware, ''Rad Mobile'' was impressive when it came out back in 1991. Three years would pass before there was a home system powerful enough to contain it. Enter ''Gale Racer'' for the Saturn.
  
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Does it succeed? Not really, in all honesty. It's an early Saturn game, and it shows. The draw distance is lower, and the frame rate just isn't as smooth. They also decided to turn the other vehicles into 3D models. The whole thing has kind of a janky, held-together-by-duct-tape look to it.
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The object, like the arcade game, is to drive from Los Angeles to New York and claw your way to first place. But does this Saturn version perfectly replicate the arcade experience? Not quite.
  
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[[File:Moon.png|thumb|The moon from Sega CD ''Mansion of Hidden Souls'' (left) appears as an emblem in ''Gale Racer'' (right). That may be because ''Gale Racer'' was largely outsourced to ''Mansion'' developer [[System Sacom]].]]
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[[File:Moon.png|thumb|The moon from Sega CD ''Mansion of Hidden Souls'' (left) appears as an emblem in ''Gale Racer'' (right). That's probably because both games were developed by System Sacom.]]
  
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The gist of ''Gale Racer'', and the original ''Rad Mobile'', is that you're driving across America, trying to claw your way to first place. While ''Rad Mobile'' moves seamlessly from locale to locale ala ''Out Run'', ''Gale Racer'' pauses the game between stages to show you your time and load the next section. This really changes — some might say even ruins — the flow of the game.
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While ''Rad Mobile'' moves seamlessly from locale to locale ala ''Out Run'', ''Gale Racer'' pauses the game between stages to show you your time and load the next section. This really changes — some might say even ruins — the flow of the game.
  
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There is one thing that hasn't changed: Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic made his first appearance in ''Rad Mobile'', and he's still here, hanging from the rearview mirror. In ''Gale Racer'', however, you earn mascot characters as you race. Earning enough mascot characters will turn Sonic into Tails and other characters in the Sonic universe.
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Other vehicles on the road are made of polygons instead of sprites, which looks a little janky. The draw distance is lower, and the frame rate is not as smooth. The whole game seems a little buggy and a little glitchy.
  
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Sega of America was at one time planning to release this in the States; they name-dropped it in [https://segaretro.org/Press_release:_1995-05-11:_Consumer_demand_drives_early_release_of_Sega_Saturn a press release announcing the Saturn's early release]. According to [https://archive.org/stream/Gamefan_Vol_3_Issue_02#page/n71/mode/2up an issue of GameFan], the US version was supposed to "be completely repaired to mimic the arcade game perfectly." Not sure what they were planning to do to fix it, but obviously nothing came of it.
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''Gale Racer'' was handed off to a company called [[System Sacom]], which was known mostly for adventure games. Former Sacom programmer Hiroshi Ogino wrote [https://hipparchus.booth.pm/items/874445 an e-book about his time there], and he devoted a chapter to his experience porting the game. Not surprisingly, it was quite difficult; the arcade game and image/stage data were made available, but not the source code.
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Sega of America was at one time planning a US release, as it was mentioned in [https://segaretro.org/Press_release:_1995-05-11:_Consumer_demand_drives_early_release_of_Sega_Saturn a press release announcing the Saturn's early launch]. [https://archive.org/stream/Gamefan_Vol_3_Issue_02#page/n71/mode/2up ''GameFan''] reported that the US version would "be completely repaired to mimic the arcade game perfectly." I asked Ogino about it, but he seemed to have no recollection. [https://twitter.com/honda_ken/status/1148267809161351168]
  
  
 
{{#ev:youtube|Q1Db7NotLbs}}
 
{{#ev:youtube|Q1Db7NotLbs}}
  
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''Credit to the creator/uploader of the video above''
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<small>Post updated October 27, 2019</small>

Revision as of 23:37, 27 October 2019

CRV (talk) 05:33, 3 August 2016 (CEST) [permalink]

Seen here: Chicago's world-famous palm trees

The first game released for Sega's System 32 arcade hardware, Rad Mobile was impressive when it came out back in 1991. Three years would pass before there was a home system powerful enough to contain it. Enter Gale Racer for the Saturn.

The object, like the arcade game, is to drive from Los Angeles to New York and claw your way to first place. But does this Saturn version perfectly replicate the arcade experience? Not quite.

The moon from Sega CD Mansion of Hidden Souls (left) appears as an emblem in Gale Racer (right). That's probably because both games were developed by System Sacom.

While Rad Mobile moves seamlessly from locale to locale ala Out Run, Gale Racer pauses the game between stages to show you your time and load the next section. This really changes — some might say even ruins — the flow of the game.

Other vehicles on the road are made of polygons instead of sprites, which looks a little janky. The draw distance is lower, and the frame rate is not as smooth. The whole game seems a little buggy and a little glitchy.

Gale Racer was handed off to a company called System Sacom, which was known mostly for adventure games. Former Sacom programmer Hiroshi Ogino wrote an e-book about his time there, and he devoted a chapter to his experience porting the game. Not surprisingly, it was quite difficult; the arcade game and image/stage data were made available, but not the source code.

Sega of America was at one time planning a US release, as it was mentioned in a press release announcing the Saturn's early launch. GameFan reported that the US version would "be completely repaired to mimic the arcade game perfectly." I asked Ogino about it, but he seemed to have no recollection. [1]


{{#ev:youtube|Q1Db7NotLbs}}

Post updated October 27, 2019

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