Genesis Gems: Ristar

Released: 
Feb 16, 1995 in North America
Feb 17, 1995 in Japan
Feb 18, 1995 in Europe
Dec, 2006 on the Virtual Console

Publisher/Development: 
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega

About The Game: I'm sure most of you by now know I love platformers, and the Sega Genesis has tons of them. Ristar was one I over looked when it was released due to the fact the Saturn was on its way to North America, and the console was already on sale in Japan. I actually didn't play this game until my first Saturn bit the dust 4 months after purchasing it, and I went back to the Genesis until I could afford another Saturn. I rented it from Blockbuster one weekend, returned it and took some of the money I was saving for another Saturn and immediately purchased this game. I found it instantly addicting with the fun gameplay, catchy music and colourful graphics. Ristar is a side scrolling platformer similar to all games of the same genre. Focusing less on jumping and speed abilities like other games. The Developers went with stretchable arms that reach out in 8 different directions. His arms are used to attack enemies by simply extending them, grabbing the victim, and pulling them towards him in a head butt type motion to dispose of the object. Another way his long arms are used is to throw and reach higher things, open various treasure chests through out the game, and to get to the elevated platforms. Once you master these controls the game gets extremely fun and the hours of gameplay fly by. Ristar has 6 planets with each one containing 2 levels with your typical boss battle at the end of the stage. After you have completed this the game ends with a final boss fight for all the marbles. One cool thing about Ristar I never knew as a kid was after the final credits, the game gave you four passwords you could enter when you played the game again.

Conclusion: Overall Ristar is worth picking up and has very high replay value. Although I kind of wish he had better jumping ability but thats just me. If you're a Sega Genesis collector this game should be in your collection. A loose cart will run you around 15-20 bucks, and CIB 20-40 dollars. Playstation and Xbox Genesis compilations have nice versions worth checking as well, and they both have game saving features which the cart doesn't.