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For almost two decades, the Valis franchise has been turning heads, be it for its solid action, incredible cut scenes, or even its recent foray into the world of hentai. All of this controversy had to begin somewhere, and Sega-16 takes a look at the game that started the famous storyline, Valis: the Fantasm Soldier. It may not stack up to its Turbo Grafx-16 CD-ROM counterpart, but Genesis gamers didn’t get off all that bad.
Renovation took advantage of the massive storage capacity of CDs to port a few arcade laser disc games. One of the lesser-known (and weaker) of the bunch was Revenge of the Ninja. Having to share shelf space with more prominent titles like Road Avenger and Time Gal, it seems to always be forgotten… and with good reason.
Todd’s Adventures in Slime World first debuted on the Atari Lynx but was eventually ported to the Genesis. I guess people just couldn’t get enough of dark, slimy environments filled with nasty creatures. Hmm, not everyone has a gas station restroom nearby, I guess!
FMV games – love ’em or hate ’em, they’re a big part of the Sega CD’s history. Some were actually worth playing, although your mileage may vary as to how much. One title that is worth a play or two is Wolf Team’s humoristic Time Gal, which sends the player on an obstacle-filled romp through different periods in history. It didn’t set the world on fire, but it didn’t burn anyone’s house down either. If you’re looking for another disc to spin in your Sega CD, this one’s good for a few hours.
Despite two other releases, Genesis owners were lucky enough to get a great port of Valis III. Sure, it’s missing some levels and a few cut scenes, but this is essentially the same game, and it was one of the big draws from Renovation upon its debut. Moreover, it has perhaps one of the best endings of the pre-CD era, a perfect cap to the awesome storyline that unfolds between stages (complete with Engrish and everything!).