Ultraman : Hikari no Kyojin Densetsu

*Originally Written: 12/28/2000, Rewritten: 3/21/2002

While I remember watching Ultraman as a kid, I haven't seen it in many years, so I don't know much about the series. So, you'll have to keep in mind that this review is being written from a game player's point of view, not an Ultraman fan's. Before I get into the meat of the review, I've got a warning for potential importers lacking a Japanese or Switch modified Saturn. Ultraman Densetsu comes packed with, and requires a ROM cartridge, not to be confused with a RAM cart. ROM carts are game specific, they store extra data, not present on the disc, such as backgrounds. In other words, your 4-in-1 cart will do you no good when it comes to games that use ROM Carts. So, if you've only got a US Saturn, you are out of luck. Of course, you can always swap carts, but that is very dangerous to your Saturn and this game is far from worthy of risking your Saturn's well-being for.

Ultraman Densetsu plays like your standard 2D fighter with 3D backgrounds, only not as well. You move left and right, on a singular plane and fight each other. Kind of like Street Fighter, with Monsters and Super Heroes. Only, in Ultraman Densetsu, the backgrounds aren't just for show. Like in King of the Monsters, you often fight in civilized areas and those areas can get pretty messed up when a large monster gets knocked on them. The backgrounds are quite large and the destruction looks pretty good. The fighting is accomplished through a shoddy control system. You can punch, kick, throw and use a projectile move. It is also possible to perform a finishing move. I am unsure how exactly, but one time, I decapitated a monster. There is no blood and it looks really cheesy, I just figured I'd mention it.

You've got a couple modes at your disposal. They are Story, VS CPU and VS Human. The supposed Story mode is an utter joke. You are limited to five variations of Ultraman, you cannot choose any of the monsters. Strike one. There is a timer that you cannot disable. If it runs out, you lose automatically. It doesn't matter how much health you have. This wouldn't be as bad if the game wasn't so slow and clunky. Strike two. Finally, there is no "story" to speak of. You fight through some monster opponents one on one ala all other 2D fighters and then you can see the credits roll. Strike three, you're out! Oh, not to mention, there are no endings. After the last fight in story mode you see a short animation of your Ultraman. Don't get excited, this same exact animation plays when you choose your character! The VS CPU mode allows you to use not only the five Ultramen, but it also gives you control of the ten monster fighters, resulting in fifteen playable fighters. Sounds promising right? Wrong. This is basically like playing VS mode, but with a CPU opponent. "Well, duh" you all gasp. What I mean is, you pick a character, than pick your opponent, fight it out and it returns you to the select screen. I just would've liked to have played a one player mode as the monsters. You know, like the "story mode", only without the timer. The Vs human mode is where you can take on a friend. That is of course, if you can fool someone into playing this game.

The control, as mentioned above, can be described only as shoddy. Ok, you've got me, clunky and unresponsive also fit. This game is a pain to control. I could elaborate, but I feel those three sentences speak volumes. Shoddy, clunky and unresponsive sum up the controls quite nicely. Nothing more to say here.

The graphics didn't fare much better. The game places pre-rendered characters on 3D backgrounds. I, for one, do not enjoy the "plastic toy" look of pre-rendered graphics and it doesn't help any when they are so poor. Get this, Donkey Kong Country for SNES looks better than this! The animation is quite choppy, we're talking Atari 2600 choppy. The 3D backgrounds are also a mess with clipping and pop up here and there. The backgrounds are large, and the destructible parts are cool, but I really don't see the need of the ROM cart. I am pretty sure this game could've been done without the cart. This is definitely not something to impress your friends with.

The music is reminiscent of old Japanese movies with men in rubber suits. In other words, it fits perfectly! I'm not sure if it is music from the series but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Some will like it and feel nostalgic while others will be reaching for the mute button. The music at the character select screen is strange, funny and just begs to be heard. The sound FX are average and suit the game.

Strangely, this game is almost 100% in English. I know it is a fighter and all, but I just figured that since it starred a character that is unquestionably more popular in Japan that it'd have more Japanese. Well, a game being in English never hurt anyone. Well, maybe someone who can't read English.

Replay value, as with most fighters is sparse. Two player modes can add to the replay value but for that you need someone else that is willing to play the game, and in Ultraman's case, I don't see that happening. There is nothing to unlock and since the game isn't that fun to begin with, there isn't much reason to play it. It might be fun for a bit, but once the initial "cheese" factor wears off, you won't find yourself pulling it out again. Oh, and by fun I mean, "fun to point and laugh" type of fun, not "Wow this game plays good" fun.

In the end, Ultraman: Hikari no Kyojin Densetsu ends up like most licensed games, a piece of junk. It is good for a laugh, but not much more. Even if you are a huge Ultraman fan, stay away. Especially if you are looking for a serious game experience. Of course, you probably already have the game if you are that big of a fan. Anyway, if you must have this game, I recommend not spending more than $20 new for this game. Also, if you are buying it used, make sure it includes the ROM cart. It is not playable without it, and I repeat, your 4-in-1 carts and RAM carts will do you no good. Oh and for those of you that use a cart to play imports, make sure you heed my warning about the ROM cart issue stated at the beginning of this review.

©2002 Ed Finnegan

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