Rastan Saga II

[SEGA-Jorge]

I've been playing this a lot lately. The more I play it, the more I like it... It's by no means a great game, but I'm happy I own it, and I enjoy it way more than I probably should. I should probably make a video of the intermediate/advanced movement/attack techniques. They really make the game much more enjoyable, especially for speed running.

[OverDrone]

I keep my collection pretty tidy as far as poor games go, but this one snuck in at one point (around the time I made my post on the previous page), and it's probably the worst MD game I own. Taito's Saint Sword isn't great either, but it's better than this (I think). I don't appreciate games that move you a set distance just by tapping the directional pad, and RSII does that.

It's painfully mediocre at what it does and would be buried to time if it wasn't for the fact that it ruined what could have been an awesome sequel.

Having said that I did enjoy my playthrough of it anyway, much like yourself.

[Gogogadget]

This is one that despite it's rock-bottom reputation i've tried to find the good in it a few times, but it's really slow, it's visually unappealing to the max (not the sprites or anything, the fact that the landscape is just so uncreatively a bunch of blocks), and the controls are rather clunky.

That being said, it's really not unbelievably bad (certainly not Top 10 worst material) but it really isn't Revenge of Shinobi either... or Rastan 1.

[MathUser]

Boy did they really drop the ball with this one. It was nothing like the first game and wasn't fun at all.

[SEGA-Jorge]

Yeah, I think that I can see all the things people dislike about it. But most of those things don't bother me. I played this in the arcade, and granted there is a rather massive difference in the level designs from the first Rastan to Rastan Saga II, I still enjoy my time with it. Rastan had a great mix of level heights and platforming segments, while Rastan Saga II really banked on the sword play, which I imagine is much more noticeable in higher difficulties. The MD version only has the single difficulty, which ultimately makes for a much more flat experience.

Music
I really like the music in this game. Granted, it's not the best music as far as showcasing the MD's potential, but it does a rather good job of recreating the original arcade soundtrack, which had much higher percussion samples, some voice overs, and cleaner string samples. The MD version tried it's best to stay close to the original, and I really appreciate that because I really like both the Rastan/Nastar soundtracks.





Both of them are fun soundtracks, and again, I applaud Taito for going with a recreation of the arcade game OST.

Gameplay
As far as gameplay goes, it's really a mixed bag. The game is really hampered by low difficulty. The game has a great amount of potential in it's mechanics, and if they would have been fully explored/utilized, the game would be seen a much different beast altogether. I honestly think that the game DOES have those elements explored in greater detail, but I imagine this happened at higher difficulties in the arcade version which didn't make their way to the home port. I hope that someday someone finds a damn secret options menu in this game... It needs a higher difficulty setting to really showcase the game's mechanics and potential. Nastar had a difficulty select available via dip switches. (easy, normal, hard, hardest) I would imagine there had to be a similar approach here. I can't find any references to the arcade board's dip switches, but it would be great to investigate that further via mame.

Edit: Here are the Arcade Dip Switch settings... I need to play this on Hardest...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nastar Warrior (US) dip switch settings:
----------------------------------------

Dip bank #1:

UNUSED: (dip 1)
- Off* OFF
- On ON
FLIP SCREEN: (dip 2)
- Off* OFF
- On ON
DEMO SOUNDS: (dip 3)
- Off ON
- On* OFF
COINAGE: (dips 4-5)
- 4 Coins/1 Credit ON ON
- 3 Coins/1 Credit OFF ON
- 2 Coins/1 Credit ON OFF
- 1 Coin/1 Credit* OFF OFF
PRICE TO CONTINUE: (dips 6-7)
- 3 Coins/1 Credit ON ON
- 2 Coins/1 Credit OFF ON
- 1 Coin/1 Credit ON OFF
- Same as Start* OFF OFF


Dip bank #2:

DIFFICULTY: (dips 1-2)
- Easy ON OFF
- Medium* OFF OFF
- Hard OFF ON
- Hardest ON ON
- 3 Coins/1 Credit ON ON
BONUS LIFE: (dips 3-4)
- 100k only* OFF OFF
- 150k only ON OFF
- 200k only OFF ON
- 250k only ON ON
LIVES: (dips 5-6)
- 1 ON OFF
- 2 OFF ON
- 3* OFF OFF
- 5 ON ON
ALLOW CONTINUE: (dip 7)
- Off ON
- On* OFF
UNUSED: (dip 8)
- Off* OFF
- On ON

* - default setting

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mechanics in the game (Blocking high/low/overhead/jumping) and all the fast attack options (there's ways to RIP in this game.) Jump heights/angles and overall looseness of the controls really lead me to believe that under the right circumstances, (IE enemy placement/enemy patterns/etc.) there could be some really interesting, challenging, and fun game play to be had. As it is, I can see the seeds of it in the MD version. It leads me to believe that the team that ported the game knew the game, but not like the original designers knew the game/mechanics.

It's very similar to Altered Beast, in that the team that ported it to the Genesis kinda ported it based on a single difficulty, then build off that base difficulty, rather than following the original difficulty options/patterns/enemy behaviors laid out by Makoto Uchida. The arcade Altered Beast has a superb range of difficulty settings, enemy variations and enemy patterns. They are all different, entertaining, and challenging in their own ways. Luckily, the Genesis/MD port of AB had the looping mechanic, so there was some fun to be had there. (I used to dislike the MD port of AB, now, it's probably one of my favorite games on the console. Seriously, Altered Beast is up there for me.)

I really urge people to mess around with this game more, it's really opened up for me, and I enjoy it more each time I play it. It's by no means a great game, but I don't think it deserves to be anyone's worst of list. It is what it is, then it's not...

-SEGA-Jorge

[cabear]

i like the art of rastan 2, the graphics look simple but are detailed. i just don't like how everything is square and blocky. I've only gotten to level 3 so far but i'm not hating it.

[SEGA-Jorge]

So Taito Legends 2 on the PS2/XB have Nastar Warrior (Rastan Saga II) on the compilation. I either have that game laying around somewhere, or will get my hands on it soon. It seems to have options menus that allow you to access some of the original dipswitch settings. Just watching videos of it I could see some interesting differences:

Levels were not separated into phases/peices. The first level for example, went directly from the intro section with the floating tree platforms to the stacked block section found in scene 2 of level 1 on the Genesis/PCE versions. The layouts/enemy placement and power ups were similarly placed, and so far, outside minor differences, both the Genesis and PCE versions were pretty solid ports of the the Arcade game. (The Genesis/MD version had better music, the PCE actually looks a bit better in my opinion. I need to see a full run of it to really compare.) I think the arcade version is a bit faster than the Genesis/MD and PCE versions. PCE version has a level select, Genesis/MD version has an infinite credits code. I haven't tested it, but from what I hear, most people won't need it.

Infinite Continues (Taken from GameFaqs)
For infinite continues, at the title screen press Left, Right, Left, Left, Right, Left, Right, Right. There is no confirmation sound. When you run out of continues, it will always say 0 continues left instead of game over.

I think that if there is any underlying major differences in gameplay and content, it will be due to the possiblity that Operahouse developed the MD port, and Taito developed the PCE port. If that is the case, then I would imagine that the PCE would be the more accurate version.

Another thing I noticed on the arcade and PCE versions was that there was additional attacks. The skeleton for example had the standing block, a standing stab, and crouching stab. This kinda proves my theory that some of the depth of the game is in the combat. I imagine that the arcade version at higher difficulties might mix up those attacks and blocks with some movement to really create some interesting interactions. Just the skeleton enemy for example would be able to set up interesting patterns:

High Attack > Block > Low Attack
High Attack > Walk Back > Low Attack

if the patterns can be timed/tuned, the frequency of attacks and movement could really create all kinds of fun enemy engagements. Imagine if the Skeleton had an overhead attack, like a leaping chop, the player would have to block it high. Maybe the skeleton bounces back on block, which would really make things interesting...

Either way, researching the game has been enjoyable. It's a fun experience.

[Shanobi]

Hi! First post!
I keep trying to dig Rastan 2, and I think maybe if the character had the proportions of the original, this may have been easier to enjoy. My thought was always that the character was made in two perfectly well drawn pieces, which unfortunately were stuck together in the wrong place. His upper torso should be pinned at least a few pixels higher, which would eliminate the legs looking like they are coming out of his obliques. Everything else, as I recall anyway, looks so good! I'll give it another go today, because now I can't remember if you can wall jump.
The original SMS game is one of my favorites. What I like to do is play Legendary Axe 1 and 2, pretending they are the Rastan sequels.
Great review!

[SEGA-Jorge]

Shanobi: There is no wall jumping. There's really no walls to jump off, or any obstacles placed in such a way as to require wall jumping. It's an incrdibly flat level design model. Think Altered Beast. There are obstacles, but there is very little actual platforming.

I can definitely agree that the way Rastan is animated in this game is really robotic. Even more than the original.

-SEGA-Jorge

[Bloodreign]

As much as I love Taito, I was so disappointed in this game, how could a sequel feel so wrong and look so terrible compared to it's prequel, and have another sequel that is actually good, but plays differently from the first two games. Yeah I have the PS2 Taito collections from both US and Japan, and the Genesis version of Rastan Saga II (bought out of curiosity, and for collection purposes), hardly ever feel the need to ply the first game, but thankfully the US and Japanese collections also contain the first game, and the Japanese collection, the third game.

[SEGA-Jorge]

I think the first game is a better ballanced game overall. There is a nice ratio of combat, platforming, and level traversal. (there's multiple areas that split off then meet up with the main path throughout the game.) But I don't dislike Rastan Saga II. I can see the direction they were going, and I am sure the game is more enjoyable at higher difficulties.

Anyone who has it on Mame/Taito Legends able to do a differences test? It would be great to just get an idea of the first level differences between normal and hardest difficulties.

-SEGA-Jorge!

[SEGA-Jorge]

Update:
I spent some time with the arcade/coin-op version of Rastan Saga II (Nastar Warrior). The dipswitch settings were set to hardest, I played on a pad.

Misc. Graphics & Sound
Getting the easy/obvious stuff out of the way, the graphics and music are much better in the coin-op version. That being said, Opera House did a great job on the port. Considering the cart size, console limitations, and misc. circumstances, the Genesis version of this game is pretty darn good.

Colors are noticeably more muted on the Genesis port. There's less colors, larger swaths of bland colors, and overall more murky look to the game. Still a goodish looking game, but could absolutely use a color hack. PYRON! DO THIS!

Graphics take a hit, simpler backgrounds, more tiled areas, less tile sets. Enemies and player sprites are smaller, but are really good representations of their arcade counterparts. I had the games side-by-side, the designs, animations, key frames were all on point. Good work here.

There's missing images here and there. The intro image is missing. Screen space is used differently. The Genesis version has black bars on the top and bottom, so it's at a different resolution I imagine. UI elements are colorful and more styled. The life bar for example is a sword that gets shorted as you get hit. On the Genesis version you just get these tiny yellow blocks.

As far as sound goes, the arcade version sounds awesome. Great sounding music, good arcade sound effects, some good use of voice. (When you insert a credit is says "Yes we can!" pretty silly...) There's occasional voice in the songs, and a crazy laugh that comes in and out.

Game Play
So here is where things get interesting. The arcade was running on hardest difficulty. It wasn't really that different. The enemies seemed to do more damage. There was more small enemies such as the crawling monsters in the first level, and more bats. Enemy behavior was almost exactly the same for the most part, with the exception of path finding. Enemies would simple walk into you more freely in the arcade version, which was leading to tons of cheap feeling damage scenarios. It was actually less fun because of it. Enemy attacks were exactly the same, albeit, faster. Enemies in the Genesis version seemed to cycle between defense and offense in a more appealing, fun way. The Skeleton for example DOES attack on the Genesis version, and will totally get in a small sword fight with you. The Arcade version, while able to show the same behavior, walks into you more readily.

The first boss has a funny glitch in the Genesis version: If you don't attack it, it just sits in front of you. If you walk away it just chases you. It only attacks if you attack it. The Arcade version has the same problem. It's hilarious. Occasionally it DOES try to just walk through you, but you can in theory just stand and stare at each other. Opera House totally knew this game really well.

The major difference was in the real of Rastan. He feels soooooooooooooooooo much better in the Genesis version. You read that right. There is a faster base attack speed in the arcade version, but the mobility, responsiveness, and overall feel of Rastan is WAAAAAY better on the Genesis. Here's why:

Jumping in the arcade version has variable startup based on the strength of the jump. Short taps result in a really short hop that stays low to the ground and has very little input lag. Medium and long jumps have a significant startup pause which make the game feel like Rastan is stuck in mud. Couple this with weird hit detection, enemies that have no issue just walking into you, and the weird jump attack timings (more on this later) and you get some really frustrating game play. The arcade version of Rastan Saga II is just more rigid.

The Genesis version is responsive as hell compared to the arcade version. Add to that all the advanced jump attack stuff, and you have a much more dynamic Rastan. You can rapid-fire jump attacks in the Genesis version, which makes up for the slower base attack. Additionally, you can jump-cancel a crouching attack recovery and perform crouching attacks in the air. Combine that short jump and the rapid-fire jumping attack trick, and you have a low height fast attack. Additionally, The Genesis version lets you choose to do multiple jumping downward strikes, or hold the strike down. This makes down attacks more reliable, or you can try to time multiple stabs. ORRRR you can rapid-fire down attacks.

Arcade Version can walk-cancel up-attacks, crouch/stand/jump cancel all attacks. (it's worthless, outside of timing a block, you're actually canceling out of your attack before the hit frames are out.) There's no rapid fire jumping attacks, no jumping-crouch-attack, etc. It's just more rigid overall.

Anyway, I'll play it some more. I like the Genesis version more than the arcade version at this point. Opera House should have just used the assets from the arcade game, made new levels, and had multiple difficulty settings. This game would have been much more well regarded. The building blocks for a fun game are there.

-SEGA-Jorge

[cabear]

its funny you post this, because i too played rastan 2 through mame and while i didn't go into as much detail as you did (it definitely feels different but i couldn't articulate it as well as you) i did notice a difference. i gotta say though the arcade uses great voice sample, with that crazy lady laugh before bosses and the power up voice is just cool. it really is a shame that the game is so robotic and flat, those crawling skeleton witches look badass and the bosses are pretty snazzy.

[SEGA-Jorge]

its funny you post this, because i too played rastan 2 through mame and while i didn't go into as much detail as you did (it definitely feels different but i couldn't articulate it as well as you) i did notice a difference. i gotta say though the arcade uses great voice sample, with that crazy lady laugh before bosses and the power up voice is just cool. it really is a shame that the game is so robotic and flat, those crawling skeleton witches look badass and the bosses are pretty snazzy.

Yeah, I actually dig all the boss fights. They are relatively fun. I like them better than the boss fights from the first game. Voices are indeed good in this game. The music is just a great continuation of the original sound as well. I get a lot of the music from this game stuck in my head.

[bigladiesman]

On one hand, I don't like this game: slow, boring, unfair and silly. On the other hand, the arcade was like this, too, and if we take this into account, my opinion is that Rastan Saga 2 can be taken as a competent port of a game that was already bad, so I can't blame the developers, far from it: they really made a good job.