It's time to load torpedoes and open launch bays. The enemy is at full mobilization. Get ready for the wildest underwater action yet. Down periscope and blow them to squid spit!

Discussion
I love the copy on the back of the box. They could have completely ignored trying to make it sound like some sub simulation game and just wrote “STUFF BLOWS UP GOOD.” Because it does, a lot.

If that’s not enough to warrant a look, let this soak in; this is for all intents and purposes,the original Metal Slug. Some of the staff from Irem left to form Nazca, the makers of the Slug series. You can see almost all of Slug’s origins here - the palette, the explosions styles, the over-exaggerated but still artistically beautiful vehicle designs, and more.

Game play is pretty basic, simply move, shoot, and survive. Your submarine has three angles of fire including front, upwards and downwards. You earn power-ups that will help build up your armament, and can also find bonus items for extra points.

There are 6 total levels, each with its own boss. Enemies can range from boats and other submarines, to helicopters, planes, creatures, and would you believe a giant rock golem? Graphics are in absolutely gorgeous 2D Sprite based images, with some amazing color shading and vibrant accents to each area. You’ll travel from the arctic, to an underwater temple, to a factory, and even underwater caves. Only during a level title card sequence is there a moment to rest - the game throws everything at you, all at once. Animation is top notch on everything but your submarine...it’s oddly still except if caught in some sort of turbulence.

Music and sound effects are fairly standard and nothing truly memorable, with one important difference: in the PlayStation version you can choose between the original and a PSX remake of it. Saturn only gets the arcade soundtrack.

None of this matters though - the game is pure action and explosions from start to finish, and there is never a dull moment. The boss fights are tough, but fair, and there are so many little animation touches that you’d have to play the game two or three times to catch them all. Whether its the little people running scared in the city stage, or sailing past a submerged urban ghost town, no sprite is wasted. You could probably beat the game in an hour or so total without dying, but then this is arcade game. It’s all about the replay value and score chasing, of which it has in droves. Especially with the 2 Player action going on.

Speaking of, I was planning on doing a Battle Mode for this, but there’s not really that huge of a difference between the two. Essentially, Saturn is great but with some slowdown, but the PlayStation has more options and the ability to save your high scores to a memory card. You’d be fine with either version, as it’s a must buy.

No, seriously - go buy it right now. You won’t regret it.

Go.

Now.

• If placed in a CD-Rom / DVD Drive, the game's file name is actually of it's Japanese Name: Kaitei Daisenso.
   
• Surprisingly enough, this is inferior to the PlayStation version. Mainly due to more slowdown and some missing options.
   
• Graphic Designer rant: For a game that throws freaking everything at you, with nary a moment of stillness or lack of explosions, the original marketing and design people seriously took the most boring screenshots. Action people, show me the action!
   
• The screenshots above show off each of the 6 stages, with all getting one snapshot of the stage, and then one of their boss.
   
• If the artwork, vehicle design, and color palettes look insanely familiar, they should. Several team members of Irem broke away and formed Nazca - the people that brought us Metal Slug!
   
• This version has an extra CG Movie intro that isn't on the PlayStation version.
   
• You can only save your Initials on Saturn, on the PlayStation you have many more letters to work with. You can also save to a Memory Card on the Sony deck.
   
• Saturn version has a peculiar glitch that makes no sense. If you find your copy not booting up, unplug your controller, then reset. The game should finally cycle to the CG movie, which you can then plug your controller back in and play.

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