Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter (1993)

This is an odd bit of a gem for the mega drive. I remember seeing this games cover in my local video rental store some 25 years back, always wondering WTF is going on here... it's like a knight in armor and a skeleton in the background so I pegged it for a fantasy game but it's clearly fighting (maybe that's why i never picked it up because didnt know what it would be like) I read that This game is actually based on a Manga called Mazinger-Z and the MazinSaga is a spinoff of sorts combined with bits of Devilman.

This game is basically a very visually intense and smooth 2.5D brawler. (like its really smooth!) The animation is noticeable smooth and colors and graphics quite crisp. For some reason it reminded me a bit of alien soldier (I guess it's the stylization of the game, everything is really sci-fi or teched out, larger than life manga feel) but with much more post apocalyptic settings. I completed the game on easy but it wasn't really that easy, haha. Sure, most of the game is fairly easy but it's the boss fights that can get pretty tough. Boss fights consist of a side view that is a straight up 2D Kaiju Fighter! You and your enemy are both seemingly larger with the city you are in, in the distance. This part of the game is a bit of trial and error. All the bosses have their own weaknesses and it's up to you to find a fighting style that works to take them down. Also here is a hint: some enemies don't seem to have weaknesses but they do have ways to screw around with the AI to exploit them.

All in all i really enjoyed this game. It looks and sounds good. it runs fast and smooth. The fighting moves and controls are just enough to give you lots of options but not so much that you have to figure out secret combos and such. The Fighting genre showdowns with bosses is fresh and fits in nicely. Different enemies are easier and safer to take down in certain ways so this is a bit of a nice blend of muscle memory, strategy/proces/technique through learning and recalling what works, and a little patience with the bosses... The game only has two things that kind of suck. One of the levels is this STUPID level design where you are running across platforms and have to jump some pits... You are being chased by a T-Rex. The way 'running' in the game works is you have to double tap the right D-PAd button. you have to time your jumps and it took me about 30 minutes to get thru this needless insertion of a level. the other thing is the final boss, they are insanely hard and do a whopping ton of damage. The game also features a hard mode for those who feel this isn't hard enough. Being that there is a brawler, it would be nice having a second player join in to help, but yeah that wouldn't work for the bosses of course...

I would highly recommend this game if you like the sound of a weird Tokusatsu/manga-styled brawler with with kaiju boss fights! I really did enjoy it lol.