Space Channel 5
From Sega Retro
Space Channel 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
System(s): Sega Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher: Sega | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer: United Game Artists | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distributor: Sony Computer Entertainment (EU) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peripherals supported: Dreamcast VGA Box, Dreamcast Jump Pack | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genre: Action | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of players: 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Space Channel 5 (スペースチャンネル5) is a video game for the Sega Dreamcast released in Japan on the 16th of December, 1999, North America on the 6th of June, 2000 and in Europe on the 8th of October, 2000. It was the first game to be developed by the newly opened United Game Artists studio within Sega, spearheadded by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, although the UGA name had not yet been adopted by the original Japanese release.
The game stars Space Channel 5 reporter Ulala, tasked with upping the ratings of the channel, and stopping the "evil" Morolians, who are forcing the galaxy to dance.
Contents
Gameplay
Space Channel 5 is a rhythm game built similarly in nature to electronic memorisation games such Simon, and video games such as PaRappa the Rapper. Throughout the game the computer shows a sequence of moves—dance steps in this case—and the player must copy them successfully to advance. Repeated failure will force the show to be cancelled, effectively triggering a game over.
Space Channel 5 utilises six different commands - "Up", "Down", "Left", "Right", "Shoot" and "Shoot". The button corresponds to the aliens raising both paws or Ulala raising both hands. Pressing causes Ulala to lower only her right hand as her left hand contains a microphone. When either the or button are pressed she moves her hand in that direction. The Morolians will mimic Ulala's moves so pressing the directional pad will affect them also.
The "shoot" button is used for shooting at the Morolians or simply to perform another dance move. The "shoot" button is usually used for rescuing hostages. There also appears to be mispronunciation of "shoot" when the player presses either the or button. In the manual, it says "shoot", but the Morolians say words that are quite similar to "kiss", "chin". Ulala, Pudding, Jaguar and Evila say "chu', while Fuse says "shoot" or "chu".
In between these scenes, Ulala appears to be taunting the opponent (if the player gets all the moves correct) or have messed up the dance (if the player gets incorrect moves or misses a move). Ulala is given a certain number of hearts in case she misses a move or get an incorrect move. Performing a incorrect move will cause her to lose a heart. If she loses every one of her hearts she will then hunch over and become upset, with Fuse shouting at her.
History
Development
According to Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the Space Channel 5 project was born after a request from Sega to produce a game which appealed to "casual female gamers". Unaware that such a group in society existed, Mizuguchi spent much of the design phase interviewing young girls, ultimately coming to the conclusion that the puzzle genre was most suited to this demographic. However, in a bid to also appeal to a male audience as well, the game was designed to be competitive.
Space Channel 5 is primilary inspired by western culture of the 1960s, particularly a mix of fashion and espionage thriller movies such as James Bond. Its main theme, Mexican Flyer was originally released in 1965 (the same year Mizuguchi was born) by British composer and trumpeter, Ken Woodman.
Originally Space Channel 5 was said to simply be an interactive music video. Pressing buttons in time with the music would change the video, but little else would occur. Displeased by the lack of "fun", Tetsuya Mizuguchi demanded that elements inspired by the dance troupe, Stomp were implemented to liven up the gameplay. UGA's staff at the time struggled to comprehend some of the more radical ideas Mizuguchi put forward, so a pantomine was brought to UGA to lift spirits, ultimately inspiring the numerous "strike a pose" segments within the game.
Half way through production, Mizuguchi was contacted by Shuji Utsumi, who informed him that Michael Jackson was interested in taking part in the game. Utsumi had shown the star a 60-70% complete version of the game, set to be finalised within a month, and after some negotiations, "Space Michael" was put into the game. Mizuguchi and Utsumi would later found Q Entertainment in 2003.
Because the player has no control over Ulala's movement through stages, much of Space Channel 5 relies on pre-rendered backgrounds, leading to arguably more detailed visuals than what the Dreamcast could achieve in real-time.
Release
To promote the game, Sega put on a display outside the Q-Front tower in Shibuya, demonstrating the game in action on three large screens. Sega executives had their photos taken alongside Tetsuya Mizuguchi and a human representation of Ulala[4].
Sequels and re-releases
Space Channel 5 was followed by a direct sequel, Space Channel 5: Part 2, and then ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2002. In the US, the PlayStation 2 port was bundled with Part 2 in Space Channel 5: Special Edition, published by Agetec.
However, apart from a Game Boy Advance adaption, Space Channel 5: Ulala's Cosmic Attack, released in 2003, the game has yet to be re-released for newer systems. Part 2 was released as part of Dreamcast Collection in 2011 (before separate releases on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Steam), but the original game has not received the same treatment, presumably due to its heavy reliance on pre-rendered video. Ulala has cameoed in a number of Sega games, however, and is playable in the likes of Sega Superstar Tennis and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.
Production credits
- Producer: Tetsuya Mizuguchi
- Director: Takashi Thomas Yuda
- Art Director: Yutaka Minobe
- Programming Director: Hitoshi Nakanishi
- Story & Game Design Director: Takumi Yoshinaga
- Game System Supervisor: Yoshiyuki Okitsu
- Game Designer Unit: Takao Esaka, Mika Satou, Toshihide Ozeki
- Space Programmers: Ise Susumu, Yuuki Hatakeyama, Ko Midoro
- Technical Support: Osamu Hori, Koji Kaifu, Satoru Takeshima, Michio Yokomizo, Kyosei Yukimoto, Keiichi Noda
- Technical Director: Takeshi Hirai
- Character & Background Modeling Design: Mayumi Moro, Ken Okazaki, Yutaka Minobe, Shiro Kinemura, Deen Guns Project, Jake Kazdal
- Character Modeling Supervisor: Mayumi Moro
- Character Modeling Unit: Ken Okazaki, Nanako Yarimizu, Chisai Abe, Shinkichi Tanahashi
- Character Animation Supervisor: Ken Okazaki
- Character Animation Unit: Takanori Ohnuki, Makio Kitahawa, Yusuke Kashiwagi, Jake Kazdal, Kenya Suzuki, Shigeru "Pigeon" Arkai
- Choreographer: Nahoko Nezu, Shigeru "Pigegon" Araki
- Motion Capture Set Up: Kenichi Suzuki
- Visual Effects Designer: Taro Hino
- Film Editor: Ryutaro Sugiyama, Taro Hino, Kanji Sutou, Kenichi Suzuki
- Camera Operation Unit: Mika Satou, Kanji Sutou
- Sound Director: Naofumi Hataya
- Sound Producer: Yukifumi Makino
- Sound Technical Director: Tatsuya Kouzaki
- Music Composers: Kenichi Tokoi, Naofumi Hataya
- Sound Effects: Takashi Endo
- Sound Programmers: Kazumi Suyama, Yoshiaki Kashima
- Recording Director: Fumitaka Shibata
- Recording Engineer: Hirokazu Akashi, Yoshitada Miya, Sawako Sogabe, Syuhei Muaki
- Trunpet: Isao Sakuma, Mitsukni Kohata, Naohito Watnabe, Masahero Kobayashi, Koichi Suzuki
- Trombone: Yuji Shimoda, Gakutaro Miyauchi
- Sax: Yo Shibano, Toshimichi Imao
- Drum: Masashi Matsumoto
- Bass: Koji Motosugi
- Guitar: Chew-Taro Moritake
- Chorus: Miho Fujiwara, Yoko Akama, Wornell Jones, Triad Project
- Sctore: Hiroshi Aso
- Recorded Coordinator: Hidetaka "Carl" Shibata
- Recorded And Mixed At: SEGA Digital Studio
- Special Thanks: Jun Senoue (Sonic Team USA)
- Very Special Thanks To: Tomoko Sasaki
- Ken Woodman & His Piccadilly Brass (Woodman)
- CG Movie Producer: Masaaki Taira
- CG Movie Directors: Hiroyuki Takagai, Shinji Naka, Mika Ando, Yumiko Takahashi
- Producer: Terumi Hamamoto, Makoto Baba
- Manager: Yusuke Aoki, Yoshiya Nagata, Hiroyuki Ishiguro, Hiroyuki Motai
- Manager: Toshio Shinma, Daiji Hori
- Special Thanks: Hiroko Natori, Hironobu Kuwana, VFX Studio Loop Hole Ogawa 3D & Visual Factory
- Localization Team: Michael Hanna, Jake Kazdal, Koji Kuroki, Shinobu Shindo
- Localization Producer: Mari N. Schaal
- Localisation Manager: Osamu Shibamiya
- Voices (Extra): A. J. Briones, Ray Craig, Roger Faso, Heather Hawkins, Teri A. Higgins, June Honma, Jason Kuo, Christopher Lucich, Asha Reddy, Mari N. Schaal, Robert Schonfisch, Jane Thompson, Klayton Vorlick
- Director Of Product Development: Naohiko Hoshino
- Producer: Daniel Lewellyn
- Assistant Producer: Akiko Koutstal
- European Product Marketing Manager: Jim Pride
- European Product Marketing Execituve: Mathew Quaeck
- Translators: Angelika Michitsch, Dave Thonpson, Caroline Ruiz, Roberto Parraga-Sanchez
- Test Manager: Jason Cumberbatch
- Senior Lead Tester: Darren Lloyd
- Lead Tester: Nick Bennett
- Assistant Lead Testers: Pete O'Brien, Daniel Slater
- Localisation Coordinator: Roberto Pattaga-Sanchez
- Promotion Art Director: Masahiro "Magic" Kobyashi
- Desk Support: Yumiko Mouri, Akihiko Nagao, Sayuri Yajima
- Technical Support: Osamu Hori
- Production Management: Hayato Watanabe
- Special Thanks: Charles Bellfield, Peter Leichert, Peter Moore, Nobuhiko Shimizu, Shinobu Toyoda, Katsuhiko Yamada, AM R&D 9 Staff, Multi R&D Section
- Team Pheromone: Yumiko Miyabe, Yumiko Mouri, Mineko Okamura, Sayuri Yajima
- Technical Producer: Ryuichi Hattori
- Executive Producer: Shuji Utsumi
- Very Executive Producer: Sadahiko Hirose, Hisashi Suzuki
- Very Very Executive Producer: Shoichiro Irimajiri
- Very Very Very Executive Producer: Isao Okawa
- Assistant Producer: Mineko Okamura, Hayato Watanabe
- Created By: United Game Artists
- Presented By: Sega
Magazine articles
- Main article: Space Channel 5/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
also published in:
- Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #132: "July 2000" (2000-06-06)[5]
Television advertisements
Artwork
- Sc5 ulala 01.jpg
- Sc5 ulala 02.jpg
Physical scans
Dreamcast version
82 | |
---|---|
Based on 35 reviews |
Dreamcast, US |
---|
Dreamcast, JP |
---|
Dreamcast, JP (Dorikore) |
---|
PlayStation 2 version
Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
76 | |
---|---|
Based on 11 reviews |
PlayStation 2, UK |
---|
|
PlayStation 2, IT |
---|
|
PlayStation 2, AU |
---|
|
External links
- Sega of Japan catalogue pages (Japanese): Dreamcast, Dreamcast (Dorikore), PlayStation 2
- Space Channel 5 on PlayStation.com: JP
References
- ↑ File:ODCM US 07.pdf, page 94
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 File:CVG UK 225.pdf, page 114 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name ":File:CVG UK 225.pdf_p114" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://sega.jp/ps2/sc5/ (Wayback Machine: 2003-08-11 00:48)
- ↑ File:Edge UK 080.pdf, page 128
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "July 2000" (US; 2000-06-06), page 162
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 File:ConsolesPlus FR 105.pdf, page 108 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name ":File:ConsolesPlus FR 105.pdf_p108" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ File:DCM_JP_19991224_1999-39ex.pdf, page 26
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 File:Dorimaga JP 20021011 2002-18.pdf, page 33 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name ":File:Dorimaga JP 20021011 2002-18.pdf_p33" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ File:Edge UK 081.pdf, page 84
- ↑ 576 Konzol, "Október 2001" (HU; 2001-xx-xx), page 48
- ↑ Bonus, "5/2000" (YU; 2000-07-04), page 52
- ↑ Click!, "4/2001" (PL; 2001-02-15), page 48
- ↑ Dreamcast Monthly, "October 2000" (UK; 2000-08-31), page 22
- ↑ Dreamcast: Le Magazine Officiel, "Septembre/Octobre 2000" (FR; 2000-0x-xx), page 62
- ↑ Dreamcast Magazine, "1999-39 extra (1999-12-24ex)" (JP; 1999-12-10), page 26
- ↑ Dreamcast Magazine, "No. 6" (UK; 2000-02-24), page 76
- ↑ Dreamcast Magazine, "No. 14" (UK; 2000-10-05), page 46
- ↑ Dreamzone, "Mars 2000" (FR; 2000-02-18), page 104
- ↑ Edge, "February 2000" (UK; 2000-01-26), page 85
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "August 2000" (US; 2000-07-04), page 146
- ↑ Entsiklopediya igr dlya Dreamcast, "Izdaniye chetvertoye, dopolnennoye" (RU; 2002-xx-xx), page 222
- ↑ Famitsu, "1999-12-24" (JP; 1999-12-10), page 31
- ↑ Fun Generation, "06/2000" (DE; 2000-05-17), page 88
- ↑ GameFan, "Volume 8, Issue 3: March 2000" (US; 2000-xx-xx), page 13
- ↑ GamePro, "August 2000" (US; 2000-0x-xx), page 102
- ↑ GamesMaster, "November 2000" (UK; 2000-10-02), page 94
- ↑ Game Informer, "July 2000" (US; 2000-0x-xx), page 71
- ↑ Gamers' Republic, "July 2000" (US; 2000-xx-xx), page 93
- ↑ GameWEEK, "May 29, 2000" (US; 2000-05-29), page 16
- ↑ Hyper, "May 2000" (AU; 2000-xx-xx), page 64
- ↑ Incite Video Gaming, "July 2000" (US; 2000-0x-xx), page 34
- ↑ MAN!AC, "11/2000" (DE; 2000-10-04), page 78
- ↑ Mega Fun, "08/2000" (DE; 2000-07-05), page 56
- ↑ Mega Fun, "12/2000" (DE; 2000-11-02), page 47
- ↑ Next Generation, "August 2000" (US; 2000-07-18), page 90
- ↑ Official Dreamcast Magazine, "November 2000" (UK; 2000-10-05), page 58
- ↑ Play, "Grudzień 2000" (PL; 2000-xx-xx), page 30
- ↑ Sega Magazin, "August 2000" (DE; 2000-07-03), page 14
- ↑ Strana Igr, "Mart 2000 1/2" (RU; 2000-xx-xx), page 71
- ↑ Strana Igr, "Sentyabr 2000 2/2" (RU; 2000-xx-xx), page 21
- ↑ Video Games, "10/2000" (DE; 2000-09-06), page 96
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 File:ConsolesPlus FR 122.pdf, page 125 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name ":File:ConsolesPlus FR 122.pdf_p125" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 576 Konzol, "Február 2002" (HU; 2002-xx-xx), page 42
- ↑ Consoles Max, "Mars 2002" (FR; 2002-0x-xx), page 101
- ↑ Digitiser (UK) (2002-03-04)
- ↑ MAN!AC, "04/2002" (DE; 2002-03-06), page 99
- ↑ PlayStation 2 Official Magazine - UK, "March 2002" (UK; 2002-02-22), page 100
- ↑ Players, "4/2002" (DE; 2002-02-27), page 66
- ↑ Play, "Maj 2002" (PL; 2002-xx-xx), page 15
- ↑ PlayZone, "04/2002" (DE; 2002-03-06), page 102
- ↑ PlayStation World, "April 2002" (UK; 200x-xx-xx), page 82
- ↑ Power Unlimited, "Jaargang 10, Nummer 4, April 2002" (NL; 2002-03-22), page 83
Space Channel 5 series of games | |
---|---|
Space Channel 5 Ulala The Movie (1999) | Space Channel 5 (2000) | Space Channel 5: Part 2 (2002) | |
Ulala no Channel J (2001) | |
Space Channel 5: Part 2 (2002) | Space Channel 5 (2002) | Space Channel 5: Special Edition (2003) | |
Space Channel 5: Ulala's Cosmic Attack (2003) | |
Space Channel 5: Part 2 (2011) | |
Space Channel 5 VR Kinda Funky News Flash! (2019) | |
Space Channel 5 related media | |
Space Channel 5 Ulala The Movie (1999) | Space Channel 5 Mexican Flyer (2000) | Space Channel 5 Planet Dance (2000) | Space Channel 5 Original Soundtrack (2000) | Mexican Flyer Remix Tracks Inspired by Space Channel 5 (2000) | Space Channel 5 Part 2 Soundtrack Volume "Chu!!" (2002) | Space Channel 5 Part 2 Soundtrack Volume "Hey!!" (2002) | Space Channel 5 Part 2 Uki Uki ★ Non Stop Mega Mix (2002) | Space Channel 5 Part 2 Moji Moji ★ Can't Stop Remix (2002) | Space Channel 5 Part 2 Uha Uha ★ Readymade Remixes (2002) | Space Channel 5 20th Anniversary "GyunGyun Selection" (2019) | |
Space Channel 5 Gyun Gyun Book (2000) | Prima's Official Strategy Guide: Space Channel 5 (2000) | Space Channel 5 Part 2 Sugoku Sugoi Guide Book (2002) | |
figma Ulala: Cheery White ver. (2017) | figma Ulala: Exciting Orange ver. (2017) |
- Pages with broken file links
- Pages with reference errors
- Dreamcast VGA Box-compatible games
- 1 player games
- JP Dreamcast games
- US Dreamcast games
- EU Dreamcast games
- Dreamcast games
- 1999 Dreamcast games
- All 1999 games
- Dreamcast action games
- All action games
- JP PlayStation 2 games
- EU PlayStation 2 games
- IT PlayStation 2 games
- AU PlayStation 2 games
- PlayStation 2 games
- All 2002 games
- 2002 PlayStation 2 games
- Old content rating field
- All games
- Credits without source
- Credits without reference
- GalleryPrintAd file defined
- Old-style rating (cvg)
- Use magref
- Old-style rating (consolesplus)
- Old-style rating (dmjp)
- Old-style rating (dmjp r)
- Old-style rating (edge)
- Old-style rating (ew)
- External rating reference
- Old-style rating (famitsu)
- Rating without PDF source
- Old-style rating (gamefan)
- Old-style rating (gamepro)
- Old-style rating (usatoday)
- Update ratings template
- 10 old ratings
- Old-style rating (consolesmax)
- Old-style rating (gi)
- 4 old ratings
- Space Channel 5 (franchise)