Astal (Saturn) Playthrough
333A playthrough of Sega's 1995 platformer for the Sega Saturn, Astal.
8:00 to skip straight to the gameplay
Released in the early fall of 1995, Astal was part of the Sega Saturn's first wave of games, and if you were keen to see how well Sega's new 32-bit machine could push 2D graphics, you couldn't have asked for a better showpiece than Astal. UbiSoft's Rayman, however, came out a few weeks prior and had everyone fawning over its graphics, while Astal got no hype whatsoever. Sega had put out one of the most visually impressive big-budget 2D platformers of the decade - a game with a presentation that far outclassed Rayman's - but the media didn't seem to care.
Astal was a beautiful game that demonstrated how huge a leap the Saturn was over the Genesis. The multi-layered, effect-laden backdrops look like they've been yanked from a Disney film; the huge character and enemy sprites are sooo smoothly animated; and the FMV cutscenes, animated by TMS, look fantastic. The soundtrack is killer (those guitars!), and all the dialogue is voiced. Sega poured a lot of resources into making Astal a next-gen showcase title, and it shows.
As for Astal's lack of popularity, I think that it's safe to say that the gameplay didn't live up to the quality of the presentation. It controls well and it's fun while it lasts, but it's extremely simple, easy, and short. There's less than thirty minutes of gameplay total, and no matter your skill, you'll blow through it in no time. Astal would've made for a great rental, but it lacked the substance to warrant spending $50-60 on a retail copy. That being said, if you're a fan of hop-and-bop platformers, or you just fancy basking in the glow of 90s pixel eye candy, Astal's worth some attention.
_____________\nNo cheats were used during the recording of this video. \n\nNintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!