Space Channel 5

"The news was never like this before..."

Space Channel 5 is one of the Dreamcast's first musical games. Designed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and released in December of 1999, Space Channel 5 marked Sega's first foray into the music game genre that's currently the rage all over Japan.

Space Channel 5 is the standard musical game. Nice music, interesting graphics, and they typical ''Simon Says'' style gameplay. However, knowing Sega, they added little bits of originality here and there. Space Channel 5 has an amazingly high polish feel. When you play this game you know that this game had a lot of time invested into it and a very high production value. Everything from the music to the graphics are all very glossy and rich with personality.

You, as Ulala the news reporter with enough spunk to go around the world, must surive 5 stages filled with aliens (Morolians) and humans alike. Ulala, armed with only her microphone, must dance her way past the opposition.

As for the scores...

Graphics: 8

Not surprisingly, being a DC game, the graphics are really nice. Each stage and character is filled with vibrant and wacky colors. The main character, Ulala, is dressed in a very wacky, but fun outfit. The character design in this game are outstanding. They have some neo-retro flavors to them. Go-go boots, bellbottoms, but all have a futuristic twist to them with their bright colors.

The backgrounds are also splendid. Each of the decors found in the 5 different stages scream retro. You'll see oddly shaped tables that look like kidneys, strange looking couches, and everything you can imaging seeing in a cheesy retro sci-fi flick. The backgrounds vary enough to keep your interest from stage to stage. The background designers deserve a round of applause for creating such a wacky yet cool graphic style that makes Space Channel 5 such a joy to look at.

The only flaws with the graphics is that sometimes the characters' limbs and joints might look a little jagged. This is really a minor problem and one that you won't really notice most of the time, and when you do,you won't care. The other problem is that there is some slowdown when Ulala gets a crowd dancing with her. The slowdown is tolerable, and it can interfere with the gameplay sometimes, but it's nothing that will make you lose your temper over.

Overall, the graphics are well done. It has a wacky retro-70's Sci-Fi flick feel to it, and all the characters are interesting and colorful. Ulala even has different outfits she wears during the game, ranging from her trademark skirt to hot pants. Graphics is something this game has in spades.

Sound: 8

What can I say? The music and sounds in this game are great. The high production value really shines here when you hear the quality and variety of the different types of music they use during the game. The music is very well done. They are crisp and clear, and well written. The music styles you hear range from typical pop/dance type stuff, to classical. Yes classical...and it's very well implemented too. Classical may be boring to many, but this game makes classical fun to play with, but fun to listen to as well. The music are very nicely done as one would expect in a dance/music game. The music is some of the best tunes this side of Bust a Move: Dance and Rythm.

Sound is also good, though the sounds are quickly overshadowed by the music. You have to pay more attention to the music than sound effects, but that doesn't mean the sounds are useless. Voices in this game, like the music, are clear and easy to hear. The sounds play an important role in this game because you have to listen to the commands you have to input next. This helps make the sound factor much more than a ''filler'' for the music.

All in all, the sounds and tunes in this game are good. Well written and filled with variety, you won't get tired of listening to the tracks in this game for a while.

Control: 8

Rock solid control. That about sums it up for the controls in this game. Controlling Ulala is a breeze. It's simple enough for anyone to get down, but the later levels are challenging in that you must be quick with your hands and hit the right buttons. The button inputs are very responsive, much like other games in the same genre. There really isn't much to say about it other than it's solid.

The only times when your control is affected is those times where there will be a mass of Morolians and/or Humans dancing along with Ulala. This can cause some slowdown that may affect your timing and overall performance rating at the end of each stage. While this isn't a major problem, it does affect you in a negative way and is therefore a flaw.

To sum it up, controls are easy and simple. Easy to pick up, but difficult to master immediately, the control in Space Channel 5 is right up there with the graphics and sounds.

Mechanics: 7

Mechanics in Space Channel 5 is clear and simple. As you wander through the stages, humans and Morolians will be telling you the input. An example would be ''Up, Left,Up, Down, Shoot''. When you hear that, you input it. Simple. You repeat that until you beat the stage. Beginners can easily pick this game up, but only the one's that are experienced will be quick enough to beat the later stages.

One interesting thing about having the characters SAY what to do rather than have the typical ''arrows and buttons'' flash on the screen in a certain place is that it keeps your eyes moving around the surroundings. Instead of having you stare at a command bar, ala Bust a Move and Parappa, you must look around to see who is saying what. This adds a unique twist and makes things more interesting. You can actually see the dancing now, instead of staring at a command bar.

Yet another interesting mechanic of this game is the humans/Morolians thing. Ulala is armed with 2 types of attacks, one specifically for the humans (B Button), and one for the Morolians (A Button) knowing which button to use on whom is very important. Hitting the wrong button can mess you up even if you have the best rythm and timing.

Unfortunately, there are some minor flaws with the mechanics. Since it is so simplistic, it can get boring once you have beaten the game once or a few times. There's no secret commands or anything like that that Ulala can do, which limits your options while playing. The limitations in the mechanics is one of the few flaws in this game.

Aother annoyance can be blamed on the camera. Sometimes the camera shifts in such ways that they don't quite go well with what the characters are doing, and sometimes you might end up with some weird shots.

In genereal, the mechanics are fun, simple, and intuitive. The Morolians/Humans attack aspect is interesting and spices things up. Despite the limiting controls, the mechnics are thoughtful and well implemented.

Challenge: 6

Space Channel 5 while challenging at first, isn't the most difficult game for the Dreamcast. The hard part comes from the first time through, where all button sequences are new to you, and you're trying to adjust to the humans/Morolians thing. As you play, and get more practice, the game will become easier and easier. Though there are some challenging sequences in this game, none of them are brain numbingly hard. A few practices and you should be able to beat this game without too much hassle. Even though the game does make you play a stage over again if you didn't meet the quota the first time, it doesn't help make the game that much more challenging.

Another problem with the challenge is that the game is short...very short. About 5 stages short. While the stages are fun, the game, once you pick up the basics and get better, will seem like a breeze. You can beat this game in around 30 minutes to an hour, if you're good. It's unfortunate that the difficulty wasn't higher or had more stages.

Replay: 5

This is where Space Channel 5 suffers the most. Once you've beaten this game and can do well enough to consistently pass the stages, there really isn't much else. The game is pretty short, and doesn't change much. The only reasons you would probably replay it once you've gotten good and beaten it is probably to improve on your rating which is shown at the end of each stage. A 2 or more players mode would've greatly helped this game. 2 players dancing with each other helping each other out would've been a great idea for this game. Unfortunately, the game is strictly one player, and while it might be fun for someone else to watch, watching doesn't help replay value.

Overall: 7

Overall Space Channel 5 is another quality game from Sega. It combines music, graphics, and gameplay in one neat and highly enjoyable package. Both fun to play and watch alike, Space Channel 5 is a game that I would personally recommend. If you can look past it's short length, and a few of it's othe flaws, give Space Channel 5 a chance. It was a hit in Japan, and not without reasons.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/07/00, Updated 04/07/00