Rastan Saga II
From Sega Retro
| Rastan Saga II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Mega Drive | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publisher: Taito (JP)
Taito America (US) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developer: Opera House[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Original system(s): Arcade boards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developer(s) of original games: Taito | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sound driver: SMPS Z80 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre: Action[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of players: 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rastan Saga II (ラスタンサーガII) is a 1988 arcade platformer by Taito and the sequel to Rastan Saga. Opera House ported it to the Sega Mega Drive in 1990.
The branding of this port is unusual; the Rastan Saga name was never used outside of Japan otherwise, as the first game was called Rastan outside of Japan, and this second was called Nastar or Nastar Warrior (in the US).
In Japan, Sega released a version of Tetris as a conversion kit for Nastar cabinets.
Contents
Story
Rastania is a land known for its towering temple, called the Skyscraper. A "wicked group" of evil monsters tries to take control of the Skyscraper, knowing that succeeding would make them rulers of Rastania. A barbarian warrior called "Rastan" who must stop them before they succeed.
Gameplay
The game is a side-scrolling platforming game where the player takes the role of a barbarian who tries to defeat an evil wizard. There are a total of five rounds. Rounds start with two long, linear levels filled with demons, followed by a castle hall where Rastan must confront a boss. Levels are linear and have no vertical scrolling.
Rastan moves with 
and 
. The screen locks, so the player cannot backtrack. Rastan jumps with 
and can pull his legs up while jumping with 
. When he is not attacking, Rastan holds his shield (or weapon) in a defensive posture. He blocks high attacks while standing but can kneel with to block low attacks. He can also hold his shield over his head with 
to block falling objects.
Rastan attacks with 
. He is initially equipped with a short sword and a shield, but these can be exchanged for a long sword, which is slower but has longer range, or a pair of claws, which are faster but have short range. Many demons take multiple hits to defeat. Like Rastan, some demons carry long weapons or shields that can block attacks, so Rastan can attack high while standing or low while kneeling and can also attack while jumping. He can thrust his weapon up into the air with +. While in midair, he can thrust his weapon up with + or jabs it downwards with +. Rastan has a level, starting at zero, that increases by one each time he defeats a boss, increasing his attack power.
Rastan has ten health points and loses one when he is attacked by or touches an enemy or hazard. He loses a life if he loses all of his health points but revives immediately if the player has extra lives left. Rastan reverts to his short sword and shield if he dies while carrying another weapon. Lava also instantly kills him. There is also a time limit for each section, and the player loses a life and must restart the section if time runs out. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but it can be continued a limited number of times.
Items
Items are dropped by demons when they are defeated.
| Shield and Sword | |
|---|---|
| Reverts Rastan to his starting sword and shield. | |
| Long Sword | |
| Arms Rastan with a long sword, which is slower but has longer range and blocks a larger area. | |
| Iron Claws | |
| Arms Rastan with a pair of hand claws, which are faster but have shorter range and block a smaller area. | |
| Crest of Lightning | |
| Augments Rastan's weapon with sparks of lightning when he uses it, which makes his attacks unblockable. Lasts until Rastan loses a life or reaches the boss. | |
| Crest of Flame | |
| Augments Rastan's weapon with fireballs, which shoot out whenever he attacks. Lasts until Rastan loses a life or reaches the boss. | |
| Crest of Time | |
| Restores 50 seconds on the timer. | |
| Crest of Hegemony | |
| Destroys all of the demons on the screen. | |
| The Fang of Hidler | |
| Surrounds Rastan in bones that protect him from one hit. | |
| The Cowl of the Wizard | |
| Halves the damage taken by Rastan. Lasts until Rastan loses a life. | |
| The Light of the Blue Power | |
| Restores one health point to Rastan. | |
| The Light of the Yellow Power | |
| Restores three health points to Rastan. | |
| The Light of the Red Power | |
| Restores all of Rastan's health points. | |
| The Dark Jewel | |
| Transforms up to four demons on the screen into the Light of the Blue Power items. | |
| Stone of the Wise | |
| Increases Rastan's level by 1, which increases his attack power. Dropped by bosses when they are defeated. | |
| Goddess | |
| Gives the player an extra life. |
Rounds
| Round 1 | |
|---|---|
| Round 2 | |
| Round 3 | |
| Round 4 | |
| Round 5 | |
History
Development
A Game Gear version was reportedly scheduled to be published in North America by Taito around late 1991.[4] Only mentioned once in the June 1991 issue of New Game Release Information,[4] it was ultimately never heard from again. It is speculated that its inclusion in New Game Release Information's Game Gear listings is just a simple error.[5]
Reception
Both versions were poorly received.
Magazine articles
- Main article: Rastan Saga II/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
- Main article: Rastan Saga II/Promotional material.
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
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52 |
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| Based on 13 reviews | |
| Mega Drive, JP |
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 Cover
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  Cart |
| Mega Drive, US |
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 Cover
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 Cart  Manual |
Technical information
- Main article: Rastan Saga II/Technical information.
References
 NEC Retro has more information related to Rastan Saga II
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- ↑ http://opera-house.co.jp/works.html (Wayback Machine: 2011-07-22 09:43)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
- ↑ https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video/c/GDpfIzq1loM/m/DB6fWbCOaikJ
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sega of America New Game Release Information (1991-06-20), page 8
- ↑ https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads%2Fthings-to-mirror.39197%2Fpage-27#post-1087175 (Wayback Machine: 2024-12-08 10:38)
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 185
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "September 1990" (JP; 1990-08-XX), page 25
- ↑ Famitsu, "" (JP; 1990-xx-xx), page 1
- ↑ Joystick, "Octobre 1990" (FR; 1990-xx-xx), page 122
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 94
- ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "November 1990" (JP; 1990-10-08), page 63
- ↑ Power Play, "11/90" (DE; 1990-10-12), page 144
- ↑ Raze, "December 1990" (UK; 1990-10-25), page 32
- ↑ Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 54
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 66
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
- ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 141
- ↑ User, "Ioúlios-Ávgoustos 1991" (GR; 1991-0x-xx), page 86
| Rastan Saga II | |
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Main page | Comparisons | Maps | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Reception | Promotional material | Region coding | Technical information | |
