Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter | |
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Developer(s) | Almanic Corporation [lower-alpha 1] |
Publisher(s) | |
Director(s) | Satsuki Mizuno Takashi Yoneda Tommy Bon Bon |
Producer(s) | Kenzi Nagai |
Designer(s) | Takashi Nagai |
Programmer(s) | Yōji Iwashita |
Artist(s) | Hidetoshi Fujioka Naoyuki Hayakawa Takehito Suzuki |
Composer(s) | Kazuo Sawa |
Series | Mazinger |
Platform(s) | Sega Genesis |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Beat 'em up, fighting |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter [lower-alpha 3] is a 1993 hybrid beat 'em up/fighting video game developed by Almanic Corporation, in conjunction with ALU and Team "Saga", and published by Vic Tokai for the Sega Genesis in North American and later in Japan and Europe by Sega. Based upon Go Nagai's MazinSaga mecha manga, [2] which is considered a combination of Nagai's Mazinger and Devilman franchises, players assume the role of Koji Kabuto wielding the Mazinger Z armor to fight against powerful 'Bio Beasts' led by God Kaiser Hell. Co-directed by Satsuki Mizuno, Takashi Yoneda and "Tommy Bon Bon", the title was created by most of the same team that worked on previous projects at Almanic such as E.V.O.: Search for Eden . It was met with mostly positive reception from critics since its release.
Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter is a cross-genre game that blends side-scrolling beat 'em up and fighting playstyles where players take control of Koji Kabuto wielding the Mazinger Z armor through six stages, each one set in a different location across the world, to fight against enemies and powerful 'Bio Beasts' led by God Kaiser Hell. [3] At the title screen, the player has access to the options menu where the difficulty settings can be adjusted between two levels. [3]
Stages are split into four sections; the first three see Kabuto using the Mazinger Z armor in a beat 'em up format and the fourth sees Mazinger Z as a giant robot to battle the boss of that stage in a one-on-one encounter. During beat 'em up segments, Kabuto has the ability to execute special moves that deals damage to enemies on-screen by performing certain button combinations. Most of the fighting is physical and Kabuto can run and perform dashing attacks. [3] Players can also collect items scattered along the way such as money, health and 1UPs. [3]
During the boss segment, gameplay changes to a fighting game format. The player must fight against the stage boss by depleting the opponent's health bar in order to progress further. As with the beat 'em up segments, players can perform button combinations to execute special moves damage the boss, although moveset differs from those in the beat 'em up format. [3]
Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter is based upon Go Nagai's MazinSaga mecha manga, which is considered a combination of Nagai's Mazinger and Devilman franchises, with characters from the original Mazinger Z series reprising their roles in MazinSaga albeit slightly different from their anime/manga counterparts. [2] Set in a different universe from the original Mazinger plot, the story begins in the year 1999 when God Kaiser Hell began an all-out invasion to control Earth using powerful giants known as 'Bio Beasts'. [3]
Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter was developed, with additional support from ALU and Team "Saga", by most of the same team that worked on previous projects at Almanic Corporation such as E.V.O.: Search for Eden, with Satsuki Mizuno, Takashi Yoneda and a person under the pseudonym "Tommy Bon Bon" acting as co-directors. [2] [4] Kenzi Nagai also acted as producer, while both Takashi Nagai and Yōji Iwashita served as lead programmer and designer respectively. [4] Artists Hidetoshi Fujioka, Naoyuki Hayakawa, Takehito Suzuki and Yasuo Wakatsuki created the pixel art, while Kunio-kun composer Kazuo Sawa scored the soundtrack and made the sound effects. [4] Other people collaborated in its development as well. [4] The game was first released in North America by Vic Tokai on 25 February 1993 and a day later in Japan by Sega. [5] [ citation needed ] Sega later published the title in Europe on July of the same year. [6] [7] [8]
Publication | Score |
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Computer and Video Games | 63/100 [6] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 36/50 [9] |
GamePro | 12.5/20 [10] |
GamesMaster | 81% [11] |
Beep! Mega Drive | 7.0/10 [12] |
Computer+Videogiochi | 90/100 [13] |
Hippon Super! | 75/100 [14] |
Mean Machines Sega | 87/100 [15] |
Mega | 65% [7] |
Mega Drive Advanced Gaming | 73% [16] |
Mega Force | 90% [17] |
Mega Fun | 74% [18] |
MegaTech | 90% [19] |
Play Time | 81/100 [20] |
Player One | 90% [21] |
Sega Force | 65/100 [22] |
Sega Power | 76% [8] |
Sega Pro | 81% [23] |
Super Game | 26/30 [24] |
Supersonic | 91% [25] |
Video Games | 62% [26] |
Publication | Award |
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MegaTech (1993) | Hyper Game Award (Megadrive) [19] |
MegaTech gave the game 90% and a Hyper Game Award. [19] Mega gave the game 65%, saying that it was not as good as Streets of Rage 2 . [7]
Former Treasure member Tetsuhiko Kikuchi was inspired by Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter to program the enemies manually rather than with mathematical algorithms during development of Gunstar Heroes . [27]
Mazinger is a long-running series of manga and anime featuring giant robots or mecha created by Go Nagai in 1972. It introduced the concept of mecha as robots which are ridden by humans and controlled like vehicles to Japanese science fiction ; it would thereby be a primary source of inspiration for the Super Robot sub-genre, particularly throughout the 1970s.
Gunstar Heroes is a run and gun video game developed by Treasure and published by Sega. It was Treasure's debut game, originally released for the Sega Genesis in 1993. The game's premise is centered around a pair of characters, the Gunstars, in their efforts to stop an evil empire from recovering four powerful gems. The characters can fire guns and perform a series of acrobatic maneuvers to fight enemies across each stage. There are four weapons in the game which can be combined with one another to create different shot types.
Streets of Rage 2, known as Bare Knuckle II in Japan, is a 1992 side-scrolling beat 'em up video game published by Sega for the Genesis/Mega Drive. A sequel to Streets of Rage (1991), the characters Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding return while the game also introduces two new characters: Max Thunder, and Eddie "Skate" Hunter, the younger brother of Adam Hunter from the first game.
G-LOC: Air Battle is a 1990 combat flight simulator arcade video game developed and published by Sega. It is a spin-off of the company's After Burner series. The title refers to "G-force induced Loss Of Consciousness". The game is known for its use of the R360 motion simulator arcade cabinet. The arcade game was a commercial and critical success upon release.
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Thunder Force IV, known in North America as Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar, is a shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Technosoft for the Mega Drive in 1992. It is the fourth installment in Technosoft's Thunder Force series, and the third and final one created for the Mega Drive. It was developed by the team at Technosoft that ported Devil's Crush to the Mega Drive rather than the team that developed the previous Thunder Force games. Like its predecessors, it is a horizontally scrolling shooter, but it also features extensive vertical scrolling with large playing fields.
Fighting Masters is a 1991 fighting video game developed by Aicom and ALU, and published for the Sega Genesis in Japan and later in North America by Treco. In the game, players assume the role of a hero to fight against an assortment of opponents on an apocalyptic setting to face against an entity known as Lord Valgasu. Co-directed by Hajime Kusano and Ramō Kobayashi, the title was created by some of the same team that would later work on various projects at Almanic Corporation such as E.V.O.: Search for Eden. It was met with mixed reception from critics since its release.
Dragon Ball Z: Buyū Retsuden is a 1994 fighting video game developed and published by Bandai and Ecofilmes for the Sega Mega Drive. Based upon Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise, it is the only game in the series released for the Mega Drive, following the Frieza and Cell sagas. Its gameplay has been described as a combination of the original Super Butōden and Super Butōden 2, consisting of one-on-one fights using a three-button configuration, featuring special moves and two playable modes.
Koji Kabuto, also written Kouji Kabuto, is a fictional character featuring introduced Go Nagai's manga Mazinger Z. He is the main character and pilot of title super robot using its powers to defeat the forces from Dr. Hell. He makes a comeback in the sequel series Great Mazinger following his defeat in the original series. He also features in Grendizer as Duke Fleed's friend and sidekick as well alternate takes of Mazinger Z franchise.
MazinSaga is a Japanese manga created by Go Nagai and based on Mazinger. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump from 1991 to 1992, with its chapters collected in three tankōbon volumes. Fushosa republished the series in 1997, and continued it with three additional volumes until 1998. The series is unfinished, although Nagai stated in 2007 that it would be resumed in the future.
Go Nagai is a prolific Japanese manga artist who has written, illustrated, or otherwise contributed to over 360 manga titles since his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi. Specializing in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and erotica, he is best known for creating the seminal works Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s.
Givro Corporation was a Japanese video game development company founded in 1989 in Tokyo, Japan by Takashi Yoneda, who was previously employed by Technos Japan and Enix. The company was originally established under the name Almanic Corporation, which it operated under for a few years before changing its corporate name in 1995. Givro would go on to produce games for home consoles such as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, 32X, Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn. Givro released their final game in late 1997 and quietly dissolved at the end of the following year.
Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!, known in Japan as True Mazinger Impact! Chapter Z, translated in the Soul of Chogokin toys line as Shin Mazinger Impact Z!, is a Mazinger anime series, directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa which premiered in Japan on April 4, 2009. According to the production staff, it has no relation to the 1970s show and should not be described as a Mazinger Z remake. The series is a "retelling" of the basic story of Mazinger Z, featuring most of the same characters, mechanical beasts, and some general plots of the original series, plus some additional material. It keeps the original plot line of Mazinger Z, but makes references to other Go Nagai works, such as Z Mazinger, Devilman, Violence Jack, Mao Dante, Abashiri Family, and others. Elements from other related Mazinger works appear in the series, such as the story of Kedora and the appearance of Energer Z, the original concept before Mazinger Z.
UFO Robot Grendizer vs. Great Mazinger is a 1976 animated short film that crosses over Go Nagai's super robots Grendizer and Great Mazinger. The movie features alternate versions of events from both series, and, as with the rest of the Vs. films, is not canonical to either one. The film was released in almost all countries where the original Grendizer and Great Mazinger series were also shown, most prominently in Italy, France and the Middle East.
Great Mazinger vs. Getter Robo is an animated short film produced by Toei based in the works of Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa. The film premiered originally in March 21, 1975 in Japan. It is a crossover between the super robot anime Great Mazinger and Getter Robo, similar to the previous crossover film Mazinger Z vs. Devilman. The events presented in the film are not considered canon to either of the two series.
Great Mazinger vs. Getter Robo G: Kuchu Daigekitotsu is an animated short film produced by Toei Doga. It is a crossover anime between Great Mazinger and Getter Robo G. It was originally shown in theaters along with Uchu Enban Daisenso. They both premiered in July 26, 1975 in Japan.
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, released as Street Fighter II Dash in Japan, is a fighting game released by Capcom in 1992. It was launched for arcades and converted to several video game consoles. It is the first of several updated versions of Street Fighter II, and part of the Street Fighter series. The main changes are the addition of the four grand masters as playable characters and mirror matches. The fighting techniques of the eight main characters from the original game were further balanced for competitive play.
Mazinger Z is a Japanese super robot manga written and illustrated by Go Nagai. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973 and Kodansha's TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974.
Mazinger, later called Mazinger U.S.A. Version or Mazinger U.S. Version to avoid confusions with the rest of the Mazinger works, is a 60 pages comic series created by Go Nagai specifically for the US market. Sometimes it is also called incorrectly Mazinwarrior or MazinSaga, since its Mazinger's design is similar to the Mazinger of MazinSaga. It features full-color graphics, text in English and left-to-right formatting. It is the second comic created by Go Nagai for the US market after Oni. It is partially inspired by Gulliver's Travels.
2月26日/マジンサーガ[Feb 26//Mazinger Saga]