You know, for a system that the would-be coroners in the gaming journalism industry have already exhumed ad nauseum and tagged, there sure seems to be a significant pulse left in the body itself. Saturn, R.I.P? Drowning slowly in a tide of quality Japanese releases, maybe, but the prognosis sure as hell ain't terminal. One things a-certain, a particular Nintendo system showing less than twenty titles at the Tokyo Game Show, the same system playing favorite son to the abusive father that is the US game industry, isn't getting great titles like Vampire Saviour, Burning Rangers, the Shining Force III Trilogy, King of Fighters '97, Sol Divide, Langrisser V, Radiant Silvergun, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Pocket (Gem) Fighters, Astra Superstars, the Capcom Generation titles, and Sakura Taisen 2, to name a *few*.

    While Sega couldn't hope to oust runaway industry leviathan Sony for attention (the parallel metaphor to the viral monstrosities in the Playstation marquee title Parasite Eve seems a bit appropriate, neh?) at Tokyo most recent gaming-oriented exposition, they held their own, spotlighting a number of what look to be top-quality releases in traditional genres, such as 2D fighting, strategy RPG, and the good old-fashioned shoot-em-up.   

  Of most interest to the current US import fanbase is the latest Capcom 2D fisticuffs extravaganza, the obscurely-titled Vampire Savior. This translation of the third installment in Capcom's lesser-known (Stateside, at least) Vampire/Darkstalkers series utilizes the 4 Megabyte RAM Expansion cartridge to bring you all the startlingly fluid character animation and screen-spanning special effects of the arcade original. Added to this graphically-lush menage are three "new" characters MIA from Vampire Savior - fan-favorite Donovan Bane, the cheezball pyrotic extraterrestrial Pyron, and Mayan mecha Phobos (Huitzil, here in the States). This baby should be in high demand when it hits shelves, so be sure to pester your local importer and snag your copy.    

  Langrisser Part Cinq was another crowd-pleaser, despite the less-than-stellar play in parts Trois and Quatre. At sixty percent complete (where DO these developers get these numbers? I have some speculation on the matter, but it isn't fit for a family publication), Langrisser V was looking a sight better than the last two installments, and, of course, retains the biggest draw over other strat titles: the Satoshi Urushihara character designs. Masaya can sell 100K units just on his artwork alone, I'm convinced.

    Sol Divide is a promising release from one of my favorite companies, Atlus of Japan. From the obscenely creative talents that brought you Persona, Soul Hackers, Princess Crown, and Ronde comes a gorgeous side-scrolling shooter, featuring seven airborne medieval warriors. Massive bosses, stylized screen-combusting special effects, and intense 2P action oughtta leave some nasty skidmarks in the undies of import shooter fans.  

   King of Fighters '97, the latest installment in SNK's 2D fighting series, is also ready for a Japanese Saturn release. Most show-goers I've talked to say it's a good conversion, with improved loading times and less-noticeable animation cuts than KoF '96 (not bad, considering KoF '96 kept most of its animation, and KoF '97 is a bigger game, to boot). Fans of SNK's ever-superlative character design and fighting engine(s) should have this bad boy pre-ordered - it's set to ship March 26th.

    Radiant Silvergun is the latest title from that little development house we call Treasure. Although it will see release first as an arcade title running on Sega's ST-V Titan hardware, there's no doubt that it'll see light of day as a Japanese Saturn title, too. In other Treasure-related news, they're also developing a Playstation version of their excellent title Silhouette Mirage, which will be translated for Stateside release by love-em-or-hate-em publisher Working Designs. For those of you who were daunted by the Japanese text in the Saturn import original, and own a Playstation, you're in for quite a treat (you also get two extra bosses and better special effects, ya buggers!). Hell, from all reports, it doesn't even slow down! Scary what those kids at Treasure can do with ANY hardware (of course, considering that they cut their teeth on the biggest hardware kludge of all time, the Super Famicom, who can doubt 'em?), even one as rudimentary in 2D as the Playstation.

    There were a number of new "love/dating simulation" titles shown, so the import monkeys who get off on that stuff oughtta be frothing at the Dockers right now. Fans of the "EVE" series of anime "interaction" titles probably already know that EVE: The Lost One, a popular title at TGS, was already released, but I'll be redundant and say it again, anyways. The Saturn's still the machine of choice for those lonely teens out there; let's see the N64 claim THAT honor! ;)

    Strangely enough, Sega didn't have squat to show that wasn't already known, save for a FMV-type adventure in the "Torico" vein called "Deep Fear." Yawn. Why these titles are popular is beyond me, but making them for the *Saturn*, a machine without MPEG compatibility (save by purchasing an add-on), is downright ludicrous. Leave the FMV thriller schlock to that crackhead Kenji Eno and the Playstation.

    Of course, the biggest disappointment lay in the Katana hardware being a no-show. The occasional reference slipped through the tight-lipped miens of those Sega execs present, but there wasn't enough information collectively to add anything new to the rapidly-growing bonfire of Katana speculation. Of course, perennial vaudeville act Kenji Eno (yes, I think he's a knob. Sue me. :)) announced D2 for the Katana (Adam Sandler voice: Whoopee-de-doooo!), and Capcom denoted their intentions to bring their latest version of the lukewarm Street Fighter 3 subseries to Sega's mystery hardware as well.