Developer: Atlus Publisher: Atlus Release: 11/15/96 Genre: Shooter
My early years on the internet circa 1998 were spent learning a great deal about the video game industry. As silly as it sounds I did not know you could buy arcade boards for home use. Another was learning about so many great import games for the Saturn. I had some small hope for the Saturn at first but by 1997 the writing was on the wall. The system was supported far better in Japan than the rest of the world with a uniquely diverse library. That means there are all kinds of gems waiting to be discovered like Purikura Daisakusen. This rare action game charms the pants off you with its action and sprite work and is solid.
Purikura Daisakusen was originally a ST-V arcade game and is a spinoff form the Power Instinct series. Power Instinct is one of my gaming blind spots so the nuances and fan service are lost on me. As they essentially use the same hardware the Saturn port is arcade perfect and adds a few quality of life improvements to boot. I wish it had more content but what is here is good enough.
I cannot stress how obscure this game is. We all know the Saturn library is host to a variety of treasures. But this one flew under the radar hard. The only reason I even know of its existence is due to the Graveyard section in Diehard Gamefan. That article stuck with me all these years so it certainly made an impression. Is the game as good they said? No, but it is a solid game overall with a beautiful art style that is eye catching.
As one of three characters (Clara, Kirara, and Grey) your mission is to rescue the queen of Miracle World. Each hero has three attacks: a weak ranged shot, a stronger melee attack, and the pure egg special attack. Killing enemies with shots will release animals like Sonic the Hedgehog. These animals build up the power gauge to use your special attack. Melee attacks on the other hand create gems that raises your score and influences the evolution of your pure egg. This attack has even more nuance. Bashing enemies will push them into others, creating a chain combo of explosions that exponentially multiplies your score as well as clears the screen. This is the key to making it through this tough game.
Balancing your attacks between bashing and long range shooting to build resources gives Purikura Daisakusen an interesting flow. It is clear the game wants to focus on melee as waves spawn in large groups to topple like dominoes. It almost feels like a shooter at times. As an arcade game it is optimal to time your attacks to create massive chains to increase your score multiplier. If you are trying to evolve your pure egg along the ranged path it is harder as the game becomes chaotic as early as stage two. Purikura Daisakusen’s action is unlike anything I have played and I like it a lot, especially the gorgeous art and animation. But it is not without its share of problems.
As much as I like it there are a few niggling issues that keep Purikura Daisakusen from being great. The perspective, while unique, brings issues with judging distance and dodging attacks. This mainly manifests during boss battles where it is hard to tell if an attack is on the same lane. The biggest however is how weak you are overall. Even with a maxed out egg companion your special attack feels feeble. You can evolve your gun two ways but even then it only offers more convenience and not power. This is a manic game and while ricocheting enemies helps it is not always a viable solution. Cheap hits abounds and the game is stingy with life restoring items; it is an arcade game after all. With some balancing outside of lowering the difficulty level this one could have been special.
This is an arcade experience through and through and that means it is sadly a short game. With only five levels the game is far too brief. I would love two or three more stages to fully explore the pure egg transformation system as it is cool. There are multiple endings but they are only slightly different. The Saturn adds a few extras like an animated intro, fully voiced character introductions, and the ability to remap the controls, including putting dash on its own button. Alongside the difficulty slider it does wonders at making the game more accessible. I just wish there were more of it.
In Closing
Purikura Daisakusen is a solid game. The action is unique and fun and it shows the Saturn’s strengths when it comes to 2d games. But it is criminally short and very hard. A little more content would make this an excellent title. But with its brief length and insane price it is hard to recommend no matter how likable it is.
