"And they said cute little stars couldn't save the galaxy..."

Although I was only 6-7 at the time I got this game, I still remember how it happened. My Mom was willing to get me one game, and I had the choice between Ristar or Sonic the Hedgehog 3. I chose Ristar, and I haven't looked back since.

Ristar was a sleeper hit, a great game that somehow never got noticed. I still don't know how it happened; the Fates might very well have conspired to the point where Ristar Heroes had been released for the Xbox instead of Sonic Heroes. (And that is not a joke in the slightest sense. Ristar was created by the Sonic Team. Indeed, there are some general similarities in both games, and I make several allusions to the Sonic series in this review. However, Ristar is as different a game to Ristar as... Tekken is to Dead or Alive, for lack of a better analogy.)

Ristar gets a bit of revival due to its recent inclusion as an unlockable in the GameCube/PS2/Xbox game Sonic Mega Collection. In addition, Ristar has been confirmed as a game to be launched on the Wii's Virtual Console, over 10 years after its original release. Does this mean a return of the yellow star in a future game? Only time will tell...

So what exactly is Ristar about?

In a far off galaxy... An evil alien force is at work. The evil tyrant Greedy has corrupted the planet leaders and enslaved the populace. Even the legendary hero has been captured. A desperate plea for help is made, and answered, by the hero's own son.

That's the exact game quote. As you can see, it's not exactly the most impressive of stories, but it more than suffices for a Genesis platformer. Just when all hope for the galaxy has been lost, just when the most powerful hero in the universe has been defeated, his own little son Ristar comes in to save the day. The first thing you notice? Ristar is, well, small... and cute. Hardly anyone's first choice to save the galaxy. But try he does. Throughout the game, Ristar quests to save his solar system by traveling to six different and wonderous themed planets (well, the game was made by the Sonic Team), meeting all kinds of bosses and enemies on the way.

Ristar has a style of play not found in any other game... we've all jumped on top of enemies to defeat them before, but trying to do that in this game only gets you killed (and Ristar's jump is less than impressive). Instead, Ristar attacks with arms over twice the length of his body. But even that isn't the catch. When Ristar's arms reach an enemy, he grabs on tight and pulls himself toward the enemy, killing it with a headbutt. The art of this game comes when you notice that almost everything, including walls and ceilings, are grabbable. While most terrain traversal will still be done on foot, Ristar has amazing mobility, as he can use his arms to attack, swim, ascend tree branches, hang and swing from airborne enemies, and much more. Strange if you ask me, but hey, it works.

Because of the more technical nature of Ristar's moves, the game plays at a much slower pace than other platformers. Careful and methodical players are rewarded with bonus items, and all kinds of goodies, including bonus stages, can only be found by players who stray off the obvious path. There is a minuscule puzzle solving element in the game, as some of the mid-level and planet bosses must be defeated in creative ways.

The controls are fluid, and the player has complete control over Ristar, which makes the game a joy to play, yet it also introduces a learning curve. Ristar has the ability to grab in all eight directions, and control over how far his arms go and how long he holds them out is done by holding the grab button for different lengths of time (much like the player controls the height of Sonic's jumps). The player can instantly turn Ristar in the air, which may cause problems for some people, but this is still a game in which any player can jump in and play after 5 minutes, yet still spend literally a year mastering Ristar's moves in every situation.

While there is no (real) dialogue in the game, careful attention on the part of the player allows him to see all the subplots and character developments along the way. You meet bosses that aren't exactly as evil as they seem, and in the credits you see shots of him making amends with Ristar. Or, the little kid that tries to act tough and picks a fight with Ristar... Only to be reprimanded by his friends after the game. The game designers did an excellent job in pulling the player into the story. Unlike some other platformers (Sonic included), Ristar is given a purpose for his otherwise random world hopping, with the planet transition scenes being one of the most beautiful video game scenes I have ever witnessed.

And the graphics? Perfect. Just perfect. The player sees this from the moment the customized Sega logo appears and the opening cutscene plays. Each world has been brilliantly done; and the color palettes fit the mood perfectly. The opening planet of Flora (a la Green Hill Zone) is bright green and vibrant, and plays in the outdoors, while the underwater planet of Undertow is a dark blue/purple, and has the dreary feel of a run down castle. Each level has its own scrolling background (unlike Sonic where you'd have the same background for three acts). Enemy sprites are great, but what the player can't help but notice is the attention paid to Ristar. He has completely fluid motion, and he has his own idle movements for each planet. Watch the ending credits to fully appreciate the amount of work put into this aspect of the game alone.

If the graphics are excellent, however, the music is divine. Most games have a few songs that annoy the player constantly (in a good way) by sticking in their head even if they haven't played the game for a few days. Ristar is an exception; you'll have the majority of the songs in your head for years. At the risk of sounding too complimentary, Tomoko Sasaki has completely outdone himself on the soundtrack of this game. The songs are the epitome of the best way to use music to set the mood. Toe-tapping techno plays on the robotic planet of Automaton, a harder rock plays on the action-packed fiery planet of Scorch, and a soft, pleasant tune plays on the peaceful ice planet of Freon. Ristar manages to make music an integral part of the game, as evidenced by the planet Sonata, whose entire theme revolves around music, one of the more creative things I've seen in a video game. Anyone who appreciates music as much as I do will frequently find themselves in the Sound Test room listening to the game soundtrack.

As I have said before, this game does have a learning curve. This is because Ristar is a decently hard game. There is no Easy mode to be found here, only Normal and Hard. For players who find Hard mode easy, an even harder challenge awaits (I won't spoil the surprise). And for the best of the best, passwords are given to try Boss Rush and Time Attack modes, which allow you to try to beat set times in the boss fights and bonus rounds. These challenges will test your gaming ability to the limit, and will make you completely rethink the way Ristar traverses a level. I've beaten Metal Gear Solid 2 on Extreme, I've beaten Ninja Gaiden Black, and I can honestly say that they pale in comparison to these final challenges in Ristar.

Finally, the sheer scope of the game is amazing... Even now I am still discovering better and faster ways to complete boss levels and stages. You'll have fun with the creativity of the game too... you will be dodging spikes and fire on one planet, only to be sliding on ice on another planet until you reach the killer... snowball fight against the mid-level boss. Ristar offers no end to challenges, and will leave you struggling to beat it... You won't be mastering this game anytime soon.

Years (literally) of replayability, new challenges, and excellent graphics and music make this a must have game for any fan of the Genesis console. If you have a Genesis, you can easily find this game for about 10 USD on Ebay and such. For those with the Xbox/PS2/GC, the game can be unlocked on the Sonic Mega Collection disk, which can be found new anywhere for 10-15 USD. For owners of the Wii, Ristar will be able to be purchased on the Virtual Console for the equivalent of 5 USD. In all cases, Ristar is easily worth these prices and more. Simply put, there is no excuse not to get a copy of this game. This is easily the best game ever created for the Genesis... And the best sequel that was never created.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/09/05, Updated 10/23/06