Game: Ristar (Gen, GG/1995)
Mascot for: Sega
Developed by Sonic Team, Ristar is a character who can stretch out his arms in eight directions and grab enemies. This simple mechanic is used brilliantly, not just to attack, but also to grab objects, levers, chests, and whatever else is grabbable. The game is gorgeous, with lively environments to behold (such as a Fauna level, a water level, and even a music level with giant instruments). The story is that Ristar must travel to different planets in order to defeat the leaders, who have been mind-controlled by the evil Kaiser Greedy. The music is also a real standout. What's cool about Ristar is that he was an early design for Sega's main mascot. He was scrapped in favor of Sonic, but Sonic Team decided to bring him back for his own game. Although more slowly paced, Ristar is just as good as any of the Sonic games on Genesis.
What happened: Over the years, Ristar has been rereleased on many of Sega's compilations, although the game was omitted for the more recently released Sega Mini (which is baffling). He did appear as a cameo in a downloadable track in Sonic & All-Stars Racing. He was also the flagman in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Unfortunately, we might never get another Ristar game. Ristar designer Akira Nishino said this in a 2006 interview: "Will Ristar come back? Probably not. Of course, as a game developer, I would love to see it happen. At the time of the original, I was thinking of a sequel. It got as far as a character design for that sequel, but it didn't happen for various reasons."
Comments