Dark Savior

Dark Savior is a combination of three different gameplay genres: platform, puzzle-adventure, and fighting. Aside from one or two sections which blend platform and puzzle elements, these three gameplay types are kept distinct and separate. The fighting sections actually run in an entirely different gameplay mode; unlike the rest of the game, which features full 3D movement, these sections use 3D graphics but are played entirely in two dimensions.

During some matches in the fighting mode, the player character can capture his opponent, allowing the player to control that opponent in future matches. The player cannot capture an opponent when using a previously captured character.

The player character, Garian, is a bounty hunter tasked with escorting a dangerous monster named Bilan to a prison island where it will be interned. During the voyage to the prison, Bilan escapes and Garian races to capture the monster before it reaches the captain's cabin. The time taken by Garian to reach the cabin determines the course of the game.

Parallel I: The Hunt for Evil

Work on Dark Savior started in December 1994. Though the characters were all represented with 2-dimensional bitmaps, they were placed within a 3-dimensional environment built of texture mapped polygons. The game took what was then considered an unusually long time in development because none of the Climax team had any experience with 3D camera programming, polygonal modeling, or the Sega Saturn. Programming the adjustable camera alone took six months, and getting the game to run at a decent speed proved difficult.

Despite this, director Kan Naito felt that the decision to create the game for the Saturn rather than the PlayStation proved to be the right one: "The PlayStation may be better at managing polygons, but you can't write in assembler, you can only use C and we just don't know if Dark Saviour could be done in C. The PlayStation's polygons become easily distorted, too - especially when big polygons come close to the camera."

Dark Savior received generally positive reviews. Comments on the game varied widely, though the most common subject of praise was the large, graphically impressive polygonal environments. The fighting game segments were somewhat controversial; while Computer and Video Games, Ultra Game Players, Shawn Smith of Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Rich Leadbetter of Sega Saturn Magazine commented that the inclusion of a fighting game component is unique for an adventure game and works well, GamePro, Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot, and Smith's co-reviewers Dan Hsu, Crispin Boyer, and Sushi-X all remarked that while the ability to fight with captured enemies is an interesting novelty, the actual fighting is rudimentary and lackluster, with each character having only two basic attacks and one special attack, and Mean Machines Sega felt that the restriction of battles to a separate gameplay mode makes the platforming mode "seem empty and lifeless."

GamePro found the game too easy in general and judged the story to be simplistic and overly linear, but concluded that the variety of gameplay styles make Dark Savior "a good buy for novices". The reviewer also said the multiple endings give the game high replay value. Gerstmann commented on its "monotonous" platforming sections and unique combat style, and concluded that while the game is good overall, gamers should rent it first to see how much they are bothered by its various shortcomings. Hsu called it "a refreshing alternative to the mainstream RPGs" and Sushi-X remarked that "the story is intriguing, with a mysterious enemy, and multiple plots that all converge slowly without giving away anything."