27| Pulseman

Released: July 22nd,1994

Definitive Version: Sega Mega Drive; Also on: Virtual Console on Wii

Game Freak is a rockstar developer. The creator of the widely successful Poke'mon series that dominates all forms of mobile gaming, are only rivaled in their mainstream cultural success by Blizzard. For the longest time Game Freak was stuck in the "Kojima Dilemma", as they would exclusively make games for only one specific franchise. It wasn't until over the past few years that they began branching off to create other titles such as Harmoknight and Tembo the Badass Elephant. While these games were praised for being "good" they weren't exactly "great". This led to even some gamers claiming that Game Freak is a one trick pony, as they can only dish out quality Poke'mon type games. In reality, this couldn't be further from the truth, as arguably their best game was released prior to Poke'mon in 1994.

The game titled "Pulseman" played very much like most games of its era. It was an action/platformer side-scroller with a unique gimmick. That gimmick was the ability to turn into an electric ball as the title character can fly in the air and bounce off walls. It's actually a bit shocking just how accurate Game Freak got the feel and speed of this "electric mode". The game is designed like a typical 2D action/platformer. The player runs to the right side of the screen as they hop over obstacles, jump on platforms, and defeat various enemies. Like most games toward the end of this list, what makes Pulseman stand out isn't due to its innovation, but how well it executes already existing mechanics.

To be fair however, the game clearly does do a lot of unique things. For starters levels are extremely varied. The first level is very horizontal and doesn't have much vertical scaling, other levels really take advantage of Pulseman's electric ball as he bounces around the screen like a pinball, and some have disappearing floors and hidden rooms scattered about. Sure the game may not have a high level count, but it makes the few levels it does have count. On top of that, the levels can be selected in any order, which is very friendly from a replayability perspective.

While Game Freak isn't exactly Treasure when it comes to boss battles, the bosses Pulseman does have to offer are very enjoyable. From a giant hand that punches through platforms and attempts to squash the player, to a doppelganger who challenges Pulseman's abilities, many of the bosses are very well throughout and enjoyable to fight. There are eight bosses in total, though to be fair three of them or so are toward the end of the game.

Besides the gameplay, where the game really stands out are the graphics and art. Graphically the game is arguably the best looking Mega Drive game. It's a technical marvel with large sprites, smooth animation, colorful pallet, and little to no pixelation. The technical wizardry isn't just limited to the visuals though, as the game also has brief instances of English voice acting. The sprites are primarily made with Game Freak's clean and simplistic style, in which they continued on with the Poke'mon series. In fact many characters in the game are said to have inspired later Poke'mon characters. While the sprites are very "safe" in this regard, the environments are anything but. The background is often a mishmash of abstract art and objects. I believe this is due to much of the game taking place "in the internet" or something similar. There are a lot of odd shapes and transparent colors about and it all looks fantastic. The soundtrack complements these areas very well with a unique techno-like beat.

Unfortunately, this game didn't get its due. While it was technically available in America, it was only through Sega's "Sega Channel" which was a very obscure direct download game service. It allowed Genesis owners to rent and download games over the internet. In a way it was like a pre-historic version of Steam.  As a result, for the longest time the only way to own the game was through importing the Japanese version which was extremely rare and expensive. Luckily in 2009, Pulseman was released on Nintendo's Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii. Like all the other Mega Drive games, it was great port and was well suited with the Classic Controller.

In a way Pulseman is sort of like a Treasure game. Sure it doesn't have the same chaos and fast paced gameplay. However, it is a solid title that incorporates a unique gimmick. On top of that it is technical showcase that was released toward the end of its respected console's life. Pulseman showed that Game Freak was capable of developing creative high quality games, and the studio only managed to prove so as it moved into the future.