Saturn Longplay [163] Quake (US)

http://www.longplays.org

Played by: MadMatty

Conversion of ID Software's Quake for the Sega Saturn, developed by Lobotomy Software and released in 1997 utilizing the slavedrive engine developed for the game Powerslave.

"Warp through the slipgates and enter the world of Quake, the fastest, most intense 3D world yet created. From the creators of Doom comes a polygonal shredfest of epic proportions with untold horrors seeking your annihilation. A massive hit on PC, Quake rocks even harder on Sega Saturn."

Quake for the Saturn, quite the technical curiosity as you wouldn't think the game could run as well and as smoothly as it does. The game has been rebuilt in Labotomy Software's Powerslave engine and while its mostly faithful to the original pc dos game, there are differences, most notably more lighting effects. Most of the level maps are largely the same with some outside areas scaled back (which you couldn't get to anyway) and some secret area placements slightly different. Most jarringly though is E1M1. The opening level to showcase the game, maybe the smallest level in the game yet it looks like its had the least amount of time spent on it during the transfer. Parts of the map missing or working differently and a secret area removed. The 4 secret levels have not been transferred and instead replaced with 4 Saturn exclusive levels.

The game has no multiplayer support. You can choose between Normal and Easy difficulty at the start. I'm not sure if Hard mode is accessible without a cheat code but Nightmare is accessed in the usual way in the episode 4 gate room. Controls have a few config options. I chose poorly and went with analogue which messed with strafe function. I should have just stayed with digital control so movement might look odd/bad in the playthrough. I didnt find a function for swimming down so I'm just left to fall slowly which can be a problem for the air supply. Aiming can be a little annoying as the aim assist will often redirect your fire causing you to miss if the enemy is slightly behind a wall. Other times it can seem like the enemy is a bullet sponge as even when right in front of you, you seem to be shooting at their feet and need to use the look up/down to fine tune it for hits to register. Interestingly, Shamblers are not that threatening and can be dealt with quickly. The fiends however can tare you apart quickly if cornered. Damn annoying that they can leap at you from the other side of the level! I had one instance where 3 of them seemed to be taking up the space of one. Episode 4 is the most annoying and least fun to play. The maps are like mazes which loop round and those exploding blobs, why!!.

Overall though, a very good conversion to the platform. It is thought that the game was also completed for the PS1 but no publisher wanted it so maybe, just maybe a complete version is waiting to be found in a drawer or a loft somewhere. For this longplay, I show all the levels with the aim of showing all secrets. I'm not looking to break any records and am playing on Normal to keep the video length sane. Mapping the Saturn '3D Pad' analogue controls are challenging enough. The Saturn exclusive secret levels are also shown with an unlockable (E4M3) 'Dank & Scuz' comic extra at the end.

00:00:00 Intro / Title Screen
- The Doomed Dimension --
00:02:00 E1M1 - The Slipgate Complex
00:06:00 E1M2 - Castle of the Damned
00:09:50 E1M3 - The Necropolis
00:15:35 E1M4 - The Grisly Grotto
00:21:25 E1M8 - Purgatorium (Secret Level)
00:28:25 E1M5 - Gloom Keep
00:34:40 E1M6 - Door to Chthon
00:39:55 E1M7 - The House of Chthon
-- The Realm of Black Magic --
00:43:40 E2M1 - The Installation
00:49:15 E2M2 - Ogre Citadel
00:54:30 E2M3 - The Crypt of Decay
01:00:50 E2M7 - Hell's Aerie (Secret level)
01:07:20 E2M4 - The Ebon Fortress
01:16:35 E2M5 - The Wizards Manse
01:23:25 E2M6 - The Dismal Oubliette
-- The Netherworld --
01:34:25 E3M1 - Termination Central
01:40:25 E3M2 - The Vaults of Zin
01:45:10 E3M3 - The Tomb of Terror
01:49:55 E3M4 - Satan's Dark Delight
01:56:25 E3M7 - The Coliseum (Secret level)
01:59:08 E3M5 - Wind Tunnels
02:05:35 E3M6 - Chambers of Torment
-- The Elderworld --
02:15:15 E4M1 - The Sewage System
02:20:20 E4M2 - The Tower of Despair
02:27:30 E4M3 - The Elder God Shrine
02:35:35 E4M4 - The Palace of Hate
02:44:40 E4M5 - Hells Atrium
02:52:55 E4M8 - Watery Grave (Secret level)
03:00:50 E4M6 - The Pain Maze
03:08:15 E4M7 - Azure Agony
-- Shub-Niggurath's Pit --
03:18:45 Endgame - Shub-Niggurath's Pit
03:22:20 Special Credits (for all secrets?)
--- EXTRAS ---
03:24:40 Dank & Scuz Comic (Unlocked in E4M3)
03:30:25 Standard Credits