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RETROREVIVAL
SATURN 1996 TECHNOSOFT
Recently I was lucky enough to pick up a very reasonably
priced PVM. It’s a Sony Trinitron PVM-20M2E and it looks
incredible and I’ve become one of those gamers that take every
opportunity to show off images of it in action. “Look at the
SCANLINES,” I’ll scream to anyone nearby, whether they’re
interested in looking at it or not.
Needless to say my time with it has been made up of throwing anything and
everything at it to see what looks great, and one of the games I’ve been spending
a lot of time with is a fantastic Saturn shooter and one of Technosoft’s last original
shoot-’em’ups on the system: Hyper Duel.
It’s instantly recognisable as a Technosoft game, too thanks to its boisterous
soundtrack, meticulous sprite and ship design and punchy looking visuals that are
considerably heightened by the Trinitron’s razor-sharp screen. In fact, if it weren’t
for the fact it features the ability to transform into a robot, you’d probably swear it
was part of the Thunder Force series at first glance. While it’s actually a conversion
of the company’s 1993 arcade game, Technosoft wasn’t skimpy with the extras,
delivering a brand new exclusive ‘Saturn’ mode, which not only enhances Hyper
Duel’s aesthetics but also adjusts the control setup for the game.
Regardless of which mode you end up playing, each version allows you the
opportunity to switch forms between a tooled-up spacecraft and a powerful, but
slower moving mech that boasts immense firepower. Interestingly for a shoot-’em-
up, Hyper Duel doesn’t feature any smart bombs. Instead it allows you to bounce
high-powered lasers around the screen, which last as long as their charge does. It’s
a neat mechanic and you’ll need to study each stage to work out when best to use
this screen-clearing effect. Another nice touch is that stages are continuous, simply
carrying on immediately from where the last one ended.
Highly collectible nowadays (you’ll be lucky to find a complete copy for less than
£300) Hyper Duel has everything you want from a shooter and while its levels are
short its inventive bosses and satisfying shooting more than makes up for it. And
did I mention it looks amazing on my new PVM?SCINTILLATING, EXHILARATING, EXPENSIVE!
Hyper Duel