Virtual On: Cyber Troopers Review (Sega Saturn, 1996)

Something must be said for the quality of Sega’s arcade titles in the mid 90s. They were simply incredible. Seriously, the house of Sonic released banger after banger in this time period. The major issue with these games is that as far as home console ports go they were stuck on the Sega Saturn. Anyone familiar with retro video games knows this system was a failure, and so unless you were big into arcades chances are you probably didn’t play their biggest titles. I always thought the Virtual On arcade machine in particular was an attention grabber. It’s a genre bending title that is somewhat of a fighting game and a shooter. It’s an interesting combo to say the least. Today I’m going to take a look at the Sega Saturn port. Let’s blast off!

Virtual On takes place in a dystopian future ruled by corporations. People have begun to seek freedom on other planets and discovered an alien technology which allows them to create giant mecha soldiers. These are called Virtuaroids. Unfortunately the super computer running the testing ground has gone haywire and activates an ultimate weapon called the Sun Cannon in a bid to destroy civilization. The Virtuaroids, and their top pilots set out to stop it. The story is relegated to the background but at least developer AM3 tried.

Describing the gameplay in Virtual On: Cyber Troopers is a little tricky. It’s a one-on-one mecha combat title which has elements of both shooters and fighting games. Each of the machines has three separate moves, a dash, and the ability to hover. It’s similar to a fighter in that you face off against a foe in a 3D arena, and win by completely depleting your foe’s life bar. You have eight different mechas to choose from and each has three separate weapons at their disposal. These range from projectiles, melee attacks, to bombs and missiles. They have largely similar the same effect but the nuances make each ability feel mostly different from one another. Despite all of these being kind of the same thing on paper you wouldn’t be able to guess it while playing. AM3 did an amazing job with making a very in depth combat system.

Virtual On released at a time when 3D gaming was in it’s infancy. This is when developers were struggling with camera control and controls in three dimensional space. It was a time before Super Mario 64. Somehow AM3 did an absolutely incredible job of managing this problem. You always view the action from behind your mech no matter where they move. When the enemy is on-screen your attacks are automatically locked on to them. Because you can move in 3D space (as can your foe) they aren’t always going to be in front of you. Thankfully there are options. You can pivot left or right slowly with the shoulder buttons. I’m actually surprised that Sega and AM3 didn’t make this more useful because I only used it when safe behind an obstacle to figure out where the foe is.

Instead you have a few other methods to target your foe. At first these seem like drawbacks but when I first dug in I found that they add to the strategy. You can jump at any point, and even hover. When your mech goes airborne the camera and your targeting reticule automatically focuses in on the foe no matter where they are. You can freely attack while in the air as well. This means that there’s a real tactical advantage to jumping. Small jumps still target your foe but leave you vulnerable. Your three weapons can only be used a specific number of times before they need to be recharged. Some of these, namely the more powerful ones, only once which makes them somewhat of a gamble. I absolutely love all of these mechanics and they set Virtual On apart from all other similar titles.

Gameplay is fast and frantic. You can dash in any direction and you’ll need to do so when piloting mecha robots whose basic attacks are more powerful when they turn to melee strikes up close. Like most fighting games you can win by simply mashing buttons against an inexperienced foe. If you actually know how to play, and are familiar with the character you control, it’s going to be a bloodbath. This is why I loved to play the game in the arcades. Virtual On lured in hapless gamers who wanted to mash buttons to victory, and because I knew how to hide and target foes I could put them down with no damage almost every time. The same goes with this version. The subtle nuances give experienced players a clear edge. Playing against an experienced player is absolutely sublime.

Now we get to the controls. The arcade cabinet had two players sitting side by side with a twin stick set up. Clearly this is the best way to play because both participants have a full range of view. On the Sega Saturn, this version we’re reviewing today, things are a bit different. The controller here is a six button set up with two shoulder buttons. Don’t get me wrong; it’s perfectly functional. This is how I know the game best. Sega did however release a twin stick controller for the console. In typical fashion however it was only available in Japan. If you want to play Virtual On as it was intended you have to import, and I did. Virtual On is perfectly playable with a standard controller but it’s so much better with the twin stick set up. I’m sorry to report that it’s super expensive now.

The Sega Saturn was not well known for it’s 3D graphics. Thankfully Virtual On is one of the better offerings on the platform. It’s almost arcade perfect as far as I can tell. The framerate holds steady even with various explosions occurring on-screen. When playing in single player the dips are infrequent and the action is downright chaotic. There are few 3D games from this era that weren’t on the Nintendo 64 that run quite as well as this one. Despite being a futuristic mecha title Virtual On is super colorful and features elaborate outdoor environments. For a Sega Saturn game it looks downright amazing. Better than most 32-bit titles at the time. The soundtrack is absolutely divine. It consists mostly of electronic rock and is a clear sign of the times. I’ll be darned if it doesn’t make me hyped however. It’s all very fun and bouncy.