Snapshot: Game Players. June 1996
Title: Game Players
Issue: #85. June 1996
Cover: Sonic is gearing up for launch on the Sega Saturn.
Highlights:
The cover story (and 4 page feature) looks at Sonic’s much anticipated jump to 32bit. Unfortunately, things are looking pretty rough in the preview shots. The game would ultimately be cancelled :(
It’s 1996, and the 32bit generation is officially underway, but the readers Top-10 list still has a distinctly 16bit vibe. The first five slots are all SNES titles (Chrono Trigger, Donkey Kong Country 2, Mortal Kombat 3, Killer Instinct and Final Fantasy 3). Both the Saturn and Playstation have two games listed. The Mega Drive / Genesis is missing in action.
The Mega Drive / Genesis may be dead at this point but there’s an ad for the Nomad - Sega’s portable, battery guzzling Mega Drive handheld.
Mario 64 is yet to be released, so the Bubsy 3D preview is embarrassingly positive.
Final Fantasy VII gets its second 4-page preview in consecutive issues. This one might be big…
Sega’s Panzer Dragoon 2 is the highest rated tile in the reviews, but the ratio of Saturn to Playstation titles tells the real story :\
Review round-up:
Panzer Dragoon 2. Sega Saturn: 90%
Battle Arena Toshinden 2. Sony Playstation: 83%
Battle Arena Toshinden Remix. Sega Saturn: 81%
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Sony Playstation: 73%
Shellshock. Sony Playstation: 78%
The Raven Project. Sony Playstation: 52%
Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV. Wall of Fire. Sony Playstation: 82%
Rise Resurrection 2 (Rise of the Robots 2). Sony Playstation: 37%
William’s Arcade Greatest Hits. Sony Playstation: 71%
Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals. SNES: 85%
Congo. Sega Saturn: 59%
MoHawk: The Headphone Jack. SNES: 71%
