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    Battle Arena Toshinden Remix

    Game » consists of 3 releases. Released November 1995

    A port of Battle Arena Toshinden on the Playstation. This new version of the game features new content, including an exclusive character: Cupido, as well as a story mode.

    loopy_101's Battle Arena Toshinden Remix (Saturn) review

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    Average Back In 1995, Awful by 1996

     If you're already familiar with Takara's Playstation launch title, Battle Arena Toshinden, chances are you'll think Toshinden Remix on Saturn is almost completely the same game. Now while it is obvious there are going to similarities between Remix and the original itself, the developers Nextech ought to have seriously worked up the formula when they remade this game on the Saturn, By 1996, Toshiden was already fast becoming a dated, if not mediocre, fighter as the likes of Tekken 2 and Virtua Fighter 2 began to surface on home consoles.

    Regardless, lets look at the positives. From the get-go, Toshiden lets you play as one out of eight unique fighters while you challenge the rest of the cast in typical Street Fighter 2 fashion. Each stage is different and memorable. Out of all of the new fighters out on the market, Toshiden one feels most 3D compared to the rest as you use the environment to your advantage by avoiding attacks and striking people to get ring outs or KOs. You can also win by timeout as well depending on what options you set.

    Graphically, the textures of the characters and the models themselves look better on the Saturn than they did on Playstation. The clothes and features are richer in detail and the clipping, plus flashing polys, are far less of an issue in this edition of the game. The presentation of Toshiden has also been vastly revamped with a new cinematic opening to replace the narrative one featured on Playstation. Takara have also added a story mode to this version of the game which helps develop the plot of the game easier and there is a new character to play as, along with the usual bug fixes and of the sort.

    Perhaps the most impressive out of all the updates mentioned has to be the story mode, on paper. Many fighting games, such as Tekken, are very vague when it comes to their story which makes it hard to make out without reading the instructions included, it is nice for once that a fighter, like Toshinden Remix, has filled those details out for you in the game itself. Despite these positives however Battle Arena Toshinden Remix is drenched in problems that overall can't be made up for no matter how great the graphics are or how much extra the game offers in exchange. The controls, first and foremost, are absolutely dreadful. The controls are unresponsive and commands are often delayed, sometimes not even working at all on first try which is poor considering the accuracy of controls in games such as Virtua Fighter or Street Fighter Alpha.

    Furthermore, the fighting mechanics themselves lack depth and the combo system is just as simplistic as it was on Playstation back in 1995. This isn't helped either by the fact that the computer is cheap in its tactics and overly dependent on using special attacks in order to make the combat more fluent and natural. These efforts are still in vain though. While the computer is undoubtedly not as thick headed as it was on Playstation, the collision detection is seemingly off. Attacks in Toshinden are also unrealistically possible from a metre away in space and this is with characters who use short ranged swords and of the sort.

    The game also feels far slower on the Sega Saturn than it did on Playstation and drags on when it really shouldn't. If it wasn't for the terrible voice acting and script also, perhaps the game would've been as less enduring as it is in the final version present. Unfortunately as well, while the detail is superior for the characters on Toshiden Remix, the stages have suffered greatly and are no longer 3D like they were on Playstation, Nextech have rather opted for pre-rendered bitmap images instead. Not much has been done either to make this more appealing, and as a result, backgrounds look drab and poor in comparison to those featured on other Saturn games like Daytona USA.

    Unlike other fighting games as well, the replay value in Battle Arena Toshinden Remix stinks simply because of the overwhelming problems the game has from beginning to end. Interestingly, while the story mode offers replay value to see the story from the other characters perspectives, it is weak without CGI endings like on Tekken despite how beautiful the hand-drawn characters are during those cut-scenes between fights. There are unlockables, three characters however these characters can unlocked within minutes of play and enough skill.

    So it is best to ignore Battle Arena Toshinden Remix on Sega Saturn. Its weak controls and slow gameplay make the game bone white pale in comparison to Virtua Fighter and other fighting games on Sega Saturn. The developers of this Saturn version have done a poor job in re-delivering the experience of the Playstation version to the Saturn and they've made what could've been a fun game despite its aging problems a wasted opportunity that deserves little attention. 

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