Game-Ware Vol. 3

"Schick Razors, Mothra, and Japanese Gum.... What!?"

Game-Ware Volume 3 is a hodgepodge of advertisements and information on the latest movies, music, and video games. On this disk, you'll find a commercial for green gum, see data about the (then) upcoming Virtua Cop 2 Saturn version, play a game starring the Schick Razor Man, watch trailers, hear interviews, and play a few extra games. Wait back that up. The Schick Razor Man?! This is the epitome of advertising, and the point of the game is to get you excited to buy various products. Wow, and I thought current games based on licensed cartoon characters were bad!

From the main menu there are different circled options. In the upper left hand corner you can view a trailer for the Saturn game Torico. It has some nice graphics, and looks like a fairly creepy game. Moving right along, in “Interactive Advertising” you help the Schick Protector Man (of Schick Razors) become the king of space in a 3D breakout game where you kick boomerangs at crates, and then shoot boomerangs at the bosses. It's nice and colorful, and it's 3D so some crates are on top of other ones, which adds an interesting twist to the old game. Between levels, you'll see a Japanese Schick advertisement. I never knew Schick had a mascot like this, let alone a spaceman who plays breakout. Bizarre!

In the “Creator's Forum” you can view the various animations and commercials that are shown throughout the game. Every time you click on one of the main options you will see these, and they range from very abstract animations (a chicken eats your head in one called “nightmare,” to funny commercials for Japanese bread and chocolate).

The “Shopping” section is really strange. It's an order form where you look at items like Saturn games, strategy guides (oh, the one for Rockman X3 looks nice), clothing, and more. It gives you information on where to send your money to make an order, but really this is just really weird to see in a game. It goes to show that the purpose of Game-Ware is to advertise products, and here we see an extension of that philosophy where you can write down orders and buy stuff.

The “Information” section is really varied and odd. You can get information on Virtua Cop 2 and Sega Touring Car Championship. Hear creator interviews, view movies, listen to music, see pictures, and get character artwork. For super fans of these games, it might be neat. There's also information on the 1996 Mothra movie, and information on Bizzare World Creator (sic), a strange three piece Japanese band.

Finally, we reach the “Games” section of the disk. First, is the Virtua Fighter part 2: Legend of Sarah digital comic. This is pretty nice for fans of the series, and manga fans in general. It's a comic with voices and sound that you watch and read on the TV.

There's also “Pipit Boy 3,” which is a 1-2 player game where you build paths to have your characters gather keys and then reach the goal. “Big Brother” is a very offbeat point and click visual novel with a bizarre art style. Talk to cows, go shopping, and pass quizzes. There's also this weird magnifying glass game where you look for hidden things on a picture, but that was really hard and I never found anything.

As you can see, this disk is all over the place and very strange. What other Saturn “game” brings together Mothra, the Rockman X3 strategy guide, Snicker's chocolate, Schick razors, with crude animation and sounds? And that's the thing, most of the animation and graphics on this disk are amateurish at best, and very crude at worst. The commercials are certainly cool to see at first, but with only a handful they got old quick. The music in the game is an assortment of bright and bouncy tunes, but it's all forgettable as soon as you turn your Saturn off. Out of the actual games on the disk, the Schick breakout game was the only one worth playing more than once. But, at least the game is fairly accessible for those who don't speak or read Japanese, as most of the games and menus are easy to figure out.

You'll probably turn this game off after a half hour or an hour after you've seen everything. Still, it's a strange mash up of Japanese advertisements of the mid nineties, and it's an interesting advertising tool to reflect on. A curious entry in the Saturn's library, and an even stranger blip in video game history.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/07