On Wednesday, April 26, 1995 at 1:00:00 AM UTC-6, Joe Cataudella (Tronix) wrote:

OK - played a bit of ASTAL on the Saturn this evening . It's a
platform-style game, where you control this bizarre, well-animated
character through a series of (so far) lush, DETAILED,
watercolored-looking landscapes. You basically have a number of
different moves, like grabbing enemies and throwing them overhead
until they burst into smaller crystals (the creatures are crystalized)
. Astal can also take a deep breath (his stomach grows as air fills),
and once he's at his max - a blast of sparkling wind shoots out,
blowing all enemies away in his path. This technique is amazing, as
some of the creatures acutallly SPIN and destort to half size
(can't explain the effect - but ya' gotta see this). I've only been
through the first segment (first three areas, leading up to the first
boss), but all I can think about is the amazing scrolling!

There are a lot of scaling effects - like a huge flock of one-eyed,
bat-like creatures flying overhead; some are seen flying really up
close (you can see them sort of de-rez), and others further in the background. At one point, Astal's path is blocked by a huge tree. He
can crouch down, and pull the tree out from the ground, as the entire background scales OUTWARD, showing you just how big the tree is in perspective to your little creature. Yep - and you get to throw the
large sucker at the oncoming creatures. The sound is first rate, with excellent music, and very sharp sound effects (Astal's audio
commentts are in Japanese btw). Overall - I'm impressed already!

If you have an S-video cable, prepare for some eye-bulging sessions.
Oh, there is also some kind of magical bird you meet on the first
level. At this point, the bird stays your side to aid you in your
quest. You can send him out for special items which this little
fellow returns, and so far I was able to turn him into some kind of smart-missle as he shot around the entire screen, decking everything
in his path (don't know which button I pressed to perform this).
Meeting the first boss is quite a spectacle on its own - but I'm so
burnt out - I'm going to cut this short. ( hope to get a full-blown
review of this game by the end of the week. Oh, the color (had
to just get this in) - will simply blow you away.

Check the Tronix Web page for a full-blown review this weekend
(hopefully by Sunday). :)

Astal didn't get much critical or commercial acclaim when it was released. Gamers wanted 3D titles to compete with whatever the competition consoles were releasing at the time. Anything, even the lush 2D worlds of Astal at the time, that resembled
gameplay from the early 90s was trashed. However, in today's age, its value is around $70 (complete) and it's worth it. It's a very charming, tight 2D platformer that many Saturn collectors want in their collection.

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