Astal

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Astal
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Genre: Action
ESRB Sega

Astal, called Kisuishou Densetsu Asutaru (輝水晶伝説アスタル) in Japan, is a 2D platformer on the Sega Saturn released early in the lifetime of the system for Japan and the USA. However it never saw a European release. Featuring fluid 2D graphics and animation. The game featured gameplay for up to 2 players with distinct control styles for each player.

Hints on how to defeat bosses are hidden within the opening cinematic.

Story

~Astal's Tale~

My story begins on a world that's different from your Earth. This is the legend of the beginning of the world of Quartalia.

Quartalia was created by our goddess, Antowas. Out of precious gems she made the land and sea, the moutains and the trees. And finally, from her last two jewels she created us. From a green jewel, Antowas created Leda, who has the power to make things live on Quartalia. From a red jewel, she created me, and made me really strong and powerful so I could keep Leda safe. Leda and I are as different as night and day. Leda is gentle and sweet and could never hurt anybody. I have a short temper, and sometimes I overdo things. That's what happened this time.

Unknown to us, the demon Jerado had been watching Antowas work. He wanted to rule a world all his own, but his powers weren't as strong as Antowas', and he didn't have the strength to make his own world. Instead he plotted to take over Quartalia, and change it the way he liked.

Exhausted from her work, Antowas fell asleep. That's when Jerado made his move. The first part of his plan was to get rid of Leda and me, and he created a powerful warrior named Geist to do the dirty work. One day, while I was taking a nap, Geist stole Leda away. I searched and searched, and I tore Quartalia apart looking for her. I finally found her, trapped in a crystal on the bottom of the sea.

Once I rescued Leda, I thought things could get back to normal, but the ruckus I caused woke Antowas up. When she saw the mess I'd made, boy, was she angry! When Leda found out about my punishment, she was heartbroken, and gave her green jewel to me to keep. Then Antowas sent me to Quartalia's moon, where I would stay out of trouble. Finally, Antowas used up the rest of her power to deal with Jerado, then fell into another deep sleep....

Now Jerado was out of the action, but Geist was still free. One day, from my prison on the moon, I saw him capture Leda again! This was too much! I destroyed my prison, broke my chains and headed back to Quartalia.

Nothing in the world means more to me than Leda--nothing! I will find her. I will find the one who took her, and I will deal with him! It's only a matter of time.

Quartalia has changed. The demon Jerado has transformed it somehow, and none of the creatures who now live here are friendly. Except for this bird I rescued, who for some reason, just won't leave me alone....

Bird

Astal features a unique cooperative buddy, a bird, that can assist Astal in several ways. In the Single Player game, Astal can give commands to attack enemies, retrieve health or even perform context sensitive actions that are specific to certain levels.

If a second controller is connected, the Bird can be controlled by a second player. The bird can be used to perform attacks and help assist Astal (Player 1) and can also help team up and perform attacks together. The downside is that the Bird now has a health bar, and if the bird's health reaches zero, Player 1 loses a life.

USA Version

All of the voice talent in the game is performed by Lani Minella who would later lend her voice talent as Rouge the Bat in Sonic Adventure 2.

Production Credits

Planning/Original Concept: Tsuyoshi Sugai, Motomu Hayashi
Game Design: Tsuyoshi Sugai, Masahito Shimizu
Character Design: Motomu Hayashi
Original Story: Motomu Hayashi, Toshiyasu Kamiko
Art Director: Mika Okada
Music Director: Yukifumi Makino
Programmers:
Main Programmer: Kazuyuki Mukaida
Player Programmer: Kazuyuki Mukaida, Atsutoshi Takahashi
System Programmer: Yoshiyuki Kumazaki (Hitachi TS)
Enemy Programmer: Atsutoshi Takahashi, Shin Futakawame, Hiroaki Sakamoto, Yoshiyuki Kumazaki (Hitachi TS), Yasumaro Hotta
Tools Production: Takashi Ando
Special Effects Production: Takashi Ando
Programming Coordinator: Atsutoshi Takahashi
Planning:
Map Design/Enemy Settings: Tsuyoshi Sugai, Toshiyasu Kamiko, Masaru Ohnuma
Artists:
Background: Mika Okada, Naoko Hamada, Hiroyuki Kawaguchi, Masahiro Sanpei, Saori Wada
Character Production: Motomu Hayashi, Hiroyuki Kawaguchi, Naoko Hamada, Yukinobu Asai, Yuji Uekawa
3D Graphics Operator: Shiroh Kinemura
Title Design: Mika Okada, Hiroyuki Kawaguchi
Sound Staff:
Music/Sound Effects: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Tatsuya Kousaki
Recording Staff: Tatsutoshi Narita, Naoyuki Machida, Shinji Kawahira, Fumitaka Shibata, Invision Interactive (SEGA SOUND LIBRARY BY Invision Interactive Inc.)
Animation Staff:
Introduction Production/Editing: Hiroyuki Kawaguchi, Toshiyasu Kamiko, Yoshio Inoue, Mika Okada, Ryuta Ueda
Director: Toshihiko Masuda (Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., LTD.)
Art Director: Toshihiko Masuda (Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., LTD.)
Color: Tomoko Sakai (Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., LTD.)
Producer: Koji Takeuchi (Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., LTD.)
Opening/Ending Theme Music: "Let me try again!", "Shining World"
Music By: Tatsuyuki Maeda
Arranged By: Tatsuyuki Maeda
Ending/Event Animation Production: Masahiro Sanpei, Saori Wada, Tatsuyuki Maeda, Yukinobu Asai, Motomu Hayashi, Mika Okada, Hiroyuki Kawaguchi, Takashi Ando
End Credits Background: Mika Okada, Hiroyuki Kawaguchi, Masaru Ohnuma, Takashi Ando, Miho Takayanagi, Hiroshi Nishiyama
Special Thanks: Kumi Hasegawa, Kenji Satoh, Jun-ichi Tsuchiya, Hiroshi Asoh, Noriyoshi Ohba, Syu-ichi Katagi, Toshinori Asai, Koh Tanaka, Atsushi Seimiya, Kiyotaka Ogawa, Shin-ichi Higashi, Kentaroh Yoshida, Takashi Iwade, Michikazu Tamamura, Hirotsugu Kobayashi, James M. Spahn
Director: Masahito Shimizu
Producer: Makoto Oshitani
Executive Producer: Mamoru Shigeta

SEGA of America

Producer: Erik Wahlberg
Assistant Producer: Bill Person
Product Manager: Lori Von Rueden
Voice Actor: Lani Minella
Voice Producer: Mark Steven Miller
Translators: Osamu Shibamiya
Lead Tester: Gregg Vogt
Assistant Leads: Stan Weaver, Stephen Wong
Copyright SEGA Enterprises., LTD.

Physical Scans

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Astal

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc

Saturn, JP
Cover
Disc