Bulk Slash

Bulk Slash[lower-alpha 1] is a third-person action mecha simulation video game developed by CAProduction and published by Hudson Soft for the Sega Saturn exclusively in Japan on July 11, 1997.[1][2] Taking place on a futuristic science fiction setting, where military chief Alois Gardona and discriminated inhabitants of the fictional planet Blau plots a coup d'état against their oppressors, players assume the role of SDF fighter pilot Cress Dawley in order to win the war against Gardona and his army. The game has been met with mostly positive reception from video game magazines and online publications alike since its release; critics praised various aspects of the title such as presentation, soundtrack, gameplay, replay value and graphics.

Bulk Slash
Developer(s)CAProduction[1]
Publisher(s)Hudson Soft
Platform(s)Sega Saturn
Release
Genre(s)Action, mech simulator, third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot.

Bulk Slash is a third-person action mecha simulation game reminiscent of Virtual On: Cyber Troopers where players assume the role of SDF fighter pilot Cress Dawley taking control of a transforming flying mech through seven stages levels, each with a boss at the end that must be fought before progressing any further, in a effort to overthrow the army of military chief Alois Gardona of planet Blau alongside his planetary coalition as the main objective.[3][4][5][6] The game takes place in a future where Gardona and discriminated inhabitants of Blau plots a coup d'état against their oppressors, which won a galactic war, to bring power back on their home with the aid of a planetary coalition.[4][6] During gameplay, players tackle multiple objectives across each stage while fighting airborne and ground with a diverse number of weapons such as bombs capable of obliterating any enemy caught in its blast radius.[4][6]

A notable gameplay feature is the Manageable Intelligent Support System (M.I.S.S.); on every stage, a female navigator is hidden on certain areas and after being recruited by the players, with each one providing their own special abilities.[4][6] Each navigator players bring alongside during stages gain experience points that are separate from the score and for experience points gained, they are leveled up and alters the game's ending.[4][6] Players initially take control of the main character at the start, while extra M.I.S.S. navigators are recruited through gameplay and any of them can be switched to between missions:[4][6][7]

Development and release

Bulk Slash was developed for Sega Saturn by CAProduction, who previously worked on projects such as Hagane: The Final Conflict and Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire for Super Famicom and PC Engine Arcade CD-ROM² respectively.[1][8][9][10] The game made use of pre-rendered graphics for its sprites, similar to Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country series.[11] The title was published by Hudson Soft exclusively in Japan on July 11, 1997.[2] To promote its release, a radio commercial was created by Hudson Soft.[12] It was re-released under the Satakore budget label in Japan on August 20, 1998.[13]

Reception

Bulk Slash has been met with mostly positive reception from video game magazines and online publications alike since its release.[17] Famitsu gave the game an overall mixed score.[14] The Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine rated the title with a 8.0 out of 10 score.[16] Nicolas Gavet of French gaming magazine Consoles + praised the presentation, graphics, sound design, gameplay and replay value, rating it with an 85% score.[15] James Price of British magazine Saturn Power commended its large scale, 3D polygon visuals, consistent framerate, stating that the "Saturn's oft-maligned 3D visuals are better than many critics would have us believe".[18] GameSetWatch's Danny Cowan noted that the graphics took advantage of the Saturn's hardware, as well as the colorful presentation and controls.[19] Retro Gamer's Steve L. regarded it as "one slick action game on the Sega Saturn that all Saturn diehards should seek out".[20] Hardcore Gamer's Jahanzeb Khan claimed that "very few games showcased the true potential of the underutilized Saturn hardware, and Bluk Slash is one that will still turn some heads", while commending it as "an addictive and highly re-playable mech action game".[21]

Notes
  1. Japanese: バルク スラッシュ, Hepburn: Baruku Surasshu
  2. Kuresu Dōrī (クレス・ドーリー)
  3. Aroisu Garutonā (アロイス・ガルドナー)
  4. Rīzen Ravu~ia (リーゼン・ラヴィア)
  5. Reone Rōdesu (レオネ・ローデス)
  6. Rira Hāto (リラ・ハート)
  7. Metikaru Fureā (メティカル・フレアー)
  8. Naira Sabēji (ナイラ・サベージ)
  9. Rupia Rūdo (ルピア・ルード)
  10. Koron Sutainā (コロン・スタイナー)

References
  1. "GAMES developmental achievements (1993-1999)". CAProduction (in Japanese). C.A.Production co.,ltd. 1998. Archived from the original on 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  2. "SEGA SATURN Soft > 1997" (in Japanese). GAME Data Room. Archived from the original on 2018-08-18. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  3. "Sega Saturn Press! Coming Soon Soft - Bulk Slash". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 58. SoftBank Creative. July 4, 1997. pp. 130–131.
  4. Bulk Slash manual (Sega Saturn, JP)
  5. "Bulk Slash". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 61. SoftBank Creative. July 25, 1997. pp. 148–149.
  6. Szczepaniak, John (July 14, 2017). "Bulk Slash". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  7. "Sega Saturn Press! Coming Soon Soft - Bulk Slash". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 56. SoftBank Creative. June 20, 1997. pp. 108–109.
  8. "Sega Saturn Press! New Release Title - バルクスラッシュ". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 45. SoftBank Creative. March 28, 1997. p. 67.
  9. "Sega Saturn Press! New Release Title - バルクスラッシュ". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 53. SoftBank Creative. May 30, 1997. p. 106.
  10. CAProduction (July 11, 1997). Bulk Slash (Sega Saturn). Hudson Soft. Level/area: Staff roll.
  11. "Japon Previews - Bulk Slash". Consoles + (in French). No. 65. M.E.R.7. May 1997. pp. 40–41.
  12. "HCD-7082 | Caravan on the Radio". vgmdb.net. VGMdb. Archived from the original on 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  13. "SEGA SATURN Soft > 1998" (in Japanese). GAME Data Room. Archived from the original on 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  14. "バルクスラッシュ (セガサターン) - ファミ通.com". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 448. ASCII. July 18, 1997. p. 32. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  15. Gavet, Nicolas (October 1997). "Test Saturn - Bulk Slash". Consoles + (in French). No. 69. M.E.R.7. p. 150.
  16. "Sega Saturn Soft Review - BULK SLASH". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 60. SoftBank Creative. July 18, 1997. p. 171.
  17. Sheffield, Brandon (December 16, 2015). "Gamasutra's Best of 2015: Brandon Sheffield's most surprising 90s games". Gamasutra. UBM Technology Group. Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  18. Price, James (November 1997). "Saturn Power Preview - Bulk Slash". Saturn Power. No. 6. Future plc. pp. 16–17.
  19. Cowan, Danny (April 7, 2006). "COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Bulk Slash". GameSetWatch. UBM plc. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  20. L., Steve (October 5, 2008). "Bulk Slash". Retro Gamer. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  21. Khan, Jahanzeb (February 8, 2015). "Hardcore Gamer Presents: Sega Saturn 20th Anniversary (Page 3) - Bulk Slash (Hudson, 1997)". Hardcore Gamer. Hardcore Gamer LLC. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
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