Release Date: December 16, 1999
Developer: SEGA Enterprises Ltd.
Publisher: SEGA Enterprises Ltd.
For all the negatives you can heap on SEGA of Japan – and I can spout out about 20 negatives off the top of my head – playing it safe with their games is not one of them.
As followers know, the SEGA Dreamcast is one of my favorite consoles of all-time. SEGA’s snake bitten 128-bit box was the home of some of the most original and most innovative games of the sixth generation of consoles. Among them was the subject of this week’s Retro Review: Space Channel 5. While not a great game by any stretch of the imagination, the setting, premise, and utter CAMP are something special.
The game is set 500 years in the future. Television is big business here, and interstellar stations are fighting for ratings. Among them is Space Channel 5, a station that features star reporter Ulala and her popular show, Ulala’s Swingin’ Report Show. When the Morolians, a dancing alien race, invade Spaceport 9 and force everyone there to dance. Space Channel 5 sends Ulala to investigate and help save the victims.
The game from there is essentially a trippy game of Simon set in a futuristic 60s revival. Ulala looks like a go-go girl let loose from Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, a variety show from the 60s, right down to her dance moves. The music almost seems to include unused tracks from the Austin Powers soundtrack. When she encounters a group of Morolians, they engage in a Simon-like series of “battles” where Ulala must mimic their moves. The inputs are easy at first but ramp up in complexity and speed quickly. To complicate things, these inputs have to be made in time to the campy music in the background. Successfully mimic the moves in time and Ulala’s ratings climb. Mess up and her ratings fall. She loses a heart, and she may lose hostages.
The only inputs used are up, down, left, right, and the X button, which is shoot. Of course, in the sheer campy silliness that is Space Channel 5, the characters pronounce it as “chu”. I promise you that “chu” will be stuck in your head long after the game is turned off!
To complicate things even further, there are rival NPCs that want to wreck Ulala’s fame. One of them is Pudding, a reporter for rival Space Channel 42. She was the most popular once upon a time, but Ulala has taken what little popularity she has left. In addition, a Pirate broadcaster named Jaguar keeps gumming up the works. He says he’s only seeking the truth, and you’ll run afoul of him and Pudding along the way. They will challenge you, preventing you from continuing your broadcast.
I keep returning to the word campy because EVERYTHING about this game exudes an amazing amount of camp. SEGA was known for taking chances with unique concepts back then, and those concepts turned into one cult classics like Jet Set Radio and Shenmue. Here, their concept has mixed results. There is no doubt that visually, Space Channel 5 stands out. Ulala struts around like a time-displaced diva and her moves look like something out of a Deee-Lite video. In fact, Ulala does remind me of Deee-Lite’s lead vocalist, Lady Miss Kier. Her movements, dance steps, and overall FIERCENESS are just the lead in this game’s awesome camp!
(Fun fact: Lady Miss Kier sued SEGA, claiming SEGA offered her $16,000 to license her name and image, which she refused. Her claim says that SEGA used her image anyway as the foundation of Ulala. She ended up losing that lawsuit and an appeal. For those of you too young to know, THIS is Deee-Lite!)
The game itself is not fun gameplay-wise, however. Although SEGA should be commended for taking chances, those chances sometimes didn’t result in any good games. Anyone who plays this game will get bored of all the d-pad presses and “chus” long before the ending, which is relatively short. But the game’s presentation is everything here! From Ulala’s dancing, to the bright, colorful stages and enemies to the extremely entertaining music, this game seems to be about presentation first. And the presentation is top-notch. Too bad the game is not up to snuff.
Does the game hold up? Not really. Once past the initial novelty, the game becomes pretty tedious. It’s a blast to see even today, but that can be resolved simply by watching a YouTube video. Still, I think this game is worth a go just for the experience.
For those who want to experience this firsthand, there aren’t many options. The game was ported to the PlayStation 2 and the Game boy Advance. While the PS2 version is a great part, the GBA version is weak. Despite its gameplay faults, Space Channel 5 is a great game to at least pop in and experience once.
Good: Fun, campy presentation; bright, vivid colors and graphics; amazing music
Bad: Gameplay does not keep up with presentation
Final score: 5.5/10
