Grid Runner

Living off the Grid

B-sides. In the days of records and cassettes, these were the lesser, lower-end, ‘secondary’ tracks of an artist’s album. The idea was to have the best work on the A-side – the work that would be featured, highlighted, advertised, and most importantly, receive airplay. Times may have changed, but the concept of a B-side still holds cultural relevance.

Video game libraries contain a whole sub-section of releases that could be considered ‘b-side’ titles. Not poor quality titles, and certainly not rubbish titles, but rather games that perhaps never had the largest development or advertising budgets, never used well-known intellectual properties, or never had the widest pressings or retail distributions. As a console’s library matures, it is from this segment of titles that hidden gems emerge.

Enter Grid Runner (simply Grid Run in PAL territories). Developed by Radical Entertainment (the NHL PowerPlay games) and published by Virgin Interactive (who peaked in 16-bit to be honest), this curious title is the result of an idea that had been kicking around at the software house for a decade. The premise was to produce a fun and engaging 2-player competitive title that wasn’t a sports or fighting game. The resulting game is a fascinating amalgam of tag and capture the flag that released in all major regions on Saturn (it also appeared on the PlayStation and PC) in late 1996. There was little fanfare upon the game’s release; consequently, it is not a title that people generally associate with the Saturn.

The game is set in a time where humans have become a space-faring race. Trouble is brewing in the shipping lanes of the Gridonian Asteroid Field, situated in between Earth and the Nether Planets. Ships, vessels and freighters alike travelling through the field are vanishing, and the Galactic Government  decides that action is needed. Should they send in the mighty Galactic Army, or a small, elite unit of specially-trained Space Commandos? Neither, of course! Instead, galactic budget cuts dictate they hire freelance space exploring duo Axxel and Tara (think urban explorers of the 35^th century) to ‘scope out’ the situation.

Upon arrival, the pair find a seemingly abandoned alien ship adrift in the asteroid field. The ship is transmitting a distress signal! After ignoring all of the usual, prudent safety precautions because of course they would, they dock and Axxel boards the mysterious ship to investigate. As soon as he wanders a few steps away from his shuttle, massive hangar doors slam shut and he comes face to face with the evil Empress Vorga. The gig is up! All the mysterious disappearances have been the handiwork of the vile Empress herself! Envisioning a cruel, drawn out death at her hand, or perhaps a life of hard labor and slavery, Axxel quickly learns that he must suffer an even more horrifying fate: Vorga forces him to compete in level after level of the galactic game of Grid Running, because… reasons!

So the story is far out there and perhaps somewhat embellished by SEGA Saturn, Shiro for your reading enjoyment, but what about the gameplay? Happily, far better. The game is essentially a space-age combination of capture the flag and tag, albeit with bells and whistles. Each arena is a square playfield entirely consisting of a series of suspended paths and platforms arranged in a crossword-like pattern. Dotting the grid are white flags as well as a variety of power-ups and nuisances. Axxel and his opponent begin at a starting position in relatively close quarters, and attempt to be first to turn the pre-requisite number of flags from neutral white to their color. Now… only one player can turn flags at a time. Whomever out of Axxel or his opponent turns the first flag is ‘not it’ and the other is ‘it’. You must be ‘not it’ in order to capture flags; if you are ‘it’, your mission is to tag your opponent as quickly as possible. Once you tag, you can then capture flags and your opponent must tag you back before being able to capture again, and so on. Tagging an opponent knocks them back a little ways so that there isn’t endless tagging back and forth. Depending on how the paths are laid out on the grid, the player being knocked back after a tag will either have a clear path back to their opponent, or not. That’s a very clever design element which adds a factor of luck – in a fun, good way – to the proceedings.

So far this sounds quite simple, and in a way, it is. The goal of turning flags and avoiding your opponent is deceptively straightforward, but as with all good games, once the basics are mastered there are details and nuance to become familiar with.

To help in the game, Axxel is equipped with what the game calls magic spells, better thought of as special abilities. There are six in total, and four of them use up magic points:

• Speed: you run slightly faster; the effect is cumulative. The more often the spell is cast, the faster Axxel will run.
• Slow: use against your opponent,
• Mine: leave a mine to ‘discourage’ your opponent if they are trailing you,
• Teleport: random warp to one of a number of predetermined, specially-colored squares on the grid. Handy if you need a desperate escape, but very random so you must place considerable faith in Lady Luck.

Using any of these abilities consumes magic points from the magic meter, but luckily the meter refills ever so slowly as time passes. Axxel can speed up his magic meter recovery by picking up red orbs scattered across the grid. Luckily, power-ups can be picked up whether you are ‘it’ or not.

There are two more abilities that consume no magic whatsoever and are always available:

• Fire: Shoot a bullet at your opponent, very temporarily slowing them down,
• Build: Create a one-square platform directly in front of you. Handy in making quick escapes, or creating bridges to flags or power-ups on islands that are otherwise unreachable.

Fire is limited in usefulness as it only stuns your opponent for a very brief moment. Neither yourself nor your opponent can be destroyed in the game, which limits what can be done with this ability. Its best use is in chasing down an opponent.

The Building skill is essential. Many paths are separated by a chasm only one square wide, so it is easy to link paths and create shortcuts. Also, several items and flags are on islands requiring a path be built to reach them.

Cleverly, casting a Build spell isn’t instantaneous and takes a precious few seconds. During this time, you are immobilized, becoming a sitting target for your opponent. You must Build carefully and plan your moves wisely. Also, any squares you Build are useable by both players. That means building a path to a flag only to be tagged at the last moment and sent flying back in the grid happens a lot! Watching your opponent effortlessly pick up the item or flag you worked so hard to get is charming, in a sadomasochistic sort of way. This is devilishly fun in 2-player mode.

Littering the grids are various power-ups and nuisances. Thankfully, there are typically more power-ups than nuisances.

• Red Orbs increase your magic meter,
• Green Orbs slightly increase your speed,
• Weapon Boosters give you a stronger shot, or a protective spike orb,
• Hourglasses give you 5 seconds in the bonus round.

Bonus round? Why, yes! This is where Grid Runner takes on a slight RPG flavor.

In the one player campaign, Axxel must grind it out against the same opponent in three consecutive contests before completing the world and moving on to the next. The grid boards are different each time, but are themed the same whilst in the same world. At the end of the world, Axxel gets access to a bonus level where he can run around and collect speed, magic, or athletic power-ups which permanently increase his abilities. The length of time Axxel spends in the bonus level is dependent on how many hourglass icons he picked up in the three levels of the world he just finished. This adds incentive to use strategy and go for a more complete playthrough in each level. Excellent.

Audio visually, the game is competent. The game plays from a slightly angled, top-down overhead view, with no ability to change the perspective. The background is a 2D still image which slowly shifts as the player moves about, the grid is a polygonal construct made of very simple geometric shapes, and all active assets such as the player models, power-ups and nuisances are animated 2D sprites. The backgrounds are varied and relatively clean, although sometimes are too sharp and somewhat fail to contrast effectively with the polygonal grid. The 2D sprites are relatively small and serviceable – they animate just well enough to be acceptable. The grid itself is extremely simple, geometrically speaking. It uses few colors and displays in the Saturn’s standard resolution. There is absolutely nothing memorable in the visual department. The same is true with the sound, which provides a very average soundtrack and sound effects. To be clear, there is nothing at all wrong with either the visuals or the sound, but they will both be forgotten as soon as you put the controller down. Even the enemy animations on the versus screen, which were stop-motion figures ultimately programmed into the game, are utterly unremarkable. It must be said that Grid Runner is one of the rare games where graphics and sound are entirely secondary to the gameplay, much like with a game like Tetris.

The length of the single player campaign is 15 worlds, each split into three levels. The worlds are diverse, and environmental effects come into play – on the ice world, for example, Axxel will slip around and have a hard time maneuvering. His opponent on this world, Bitchface, is remarkably slow, but can turn on a dime, and this makes a massive difference. Generally speaking, the enemy AI ranges from incompetent to tough, depending on how far Axxel has progressed in the game.

Fifteen worlds is a fair long time to play through, and Radical implemented a robust save system to bookmark Axxel’s progress. Both Internal and Cartridge RAM is supported with multiple save slots, and the game can be saved at the conclusion of each level. Additionally, a password feature is also implemented so that players can save their game without having to allocate any Saturn memory at all… players can simply memorize the password and activate the memory in their brains! This is in stark contrast to early and even mid-life Saturn titles such as Bug! or Sonic 3D Blast which offered a hefty chunk of gameplay but no save features to speak of. Radical must be applauded here for avoiding a critical mark against the game.

As a one-player affair, this game is a nice distraction when there is nothing better to play. It will surprise with depth and challenge, and is the sort of game that one can really get into if one is tired of NiGHTS or SEGA Rally. However, once complete, there is precious little to draw a player back.

There is only one remaining mode left to explore with Grid Runner: the 2 player mode. The entire concept of Grid Runner was based on a 2 player experience, and the game truly shines in multiplayer. Everything from the tag system to the slight delays in Building to the kick-back once a tag has been made seems to be tailored towards a chaotic 2-player experience. A really good comparison to make here is competitive Bomberman – there are individual goals for each player to achieve whilst minding your opponent’s progress and trying to mess them up whenever possible. To be clear, Grid Runner is no Bomberman, but that’s the sort of competitive vibe the game exudes. It is very much a case of one more match! when two players compete. Functionally, the game splits the screen vertically, which was not common for the time but quite effective considering the layout of the playfield. The Saturn plays well in this mode, with no noticeable slowdown or other technical issues. The fast, frenetic, and strategic nature of the 2-player mode easily makes it the highlight of the game.

One missed opportunity with Grid Runner is the lack of LAN or NetLink play. The game is absolutely tailor-made for multiplayer experiences, and the inclusion of a full range of ways to experience multiplayer would have been mind-blowing. To be fair, the number of NetLink units sold was underwhelming and the Battle Cable was never released outside of Japan, and even there, it saw only minimal support. For what was clearly a low(er) budget title, global multiplayer was likely never a feature that would have resulted in the kind of sales boost to justify the programming investment. Still, the Saturn’s robust offering of optional expanded abilities were aggravatingly sparsely used, and one can’t help but notice missed opportunities in retrospect.

Ultimately, Grid Runner offers a solid gameplay experience that is strongest in 2-player mode. Reviewers of the time were surprisingly generous with their scores considering this is a title that so few people have heard of; most review scores came in the high-70 range. Arguably, that score holds true to this day. The weakest aspects of the title – visuals and audio – are competent, whereas the highlights – concept execution and the satisfying 2-player affair – are surprisingly robust and fun. One could do a lot worse on the Saturn. There is nothing earth-shattering in Grid Runner, but what you are left with is a good low-budget title that, whilst not quite a hidden gem, is still a very solid ‘b-side’ entry in the Saturn’s library.

Shiro Challenges!

• Try to collect enough hourglasses to get the maximum time in each bonus round. Those permanent upgrades really make a difference!
• Find a human friend and play this game with them. Just do it! This is the best way to enjoy the game.

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The Saturn’s Underutilized Battle Cable:

The Saturn had a plethora of expansion options that offered an enhanced end-user experience. The sad reality is that the vast majority of these were so underutilized as to be an afterthought – or perhaps a curiosity – for all but the most discerning of Saturn gamers, and this can be said of the Floppy Disc Drive, the various video cards, and the ill-fated Battle Cable (Taisen Cable in Japan):

The Battle Cable is a system-to-system LAN cable. This allowed two Saturns to interface for full-screen, full-speed and most importantly lag-free competitive or cooperative gameplay. Very few games made use of this feature. The advantages seem obvious: do away with restrictive, processor-intensive split-screen affairs and say hello to full-screen, full speed 2 player gaming! The disadvantages were mostly practical: in order to take advantage of the setup, two Saturns, two displays, and two copies of the game were required in the same general area, as were of course two human players. Outside of tournaments or get-togethers, there are very few cases where all of those conditions can be satisfied, especially in 2020. In an age where the Saturn faithful are a dwindling breed, the entire concept is perhaps somewhat obsolete and utterly supplanted by modern online gaming. Still, it is an amazingly cool concept for the mid-1990s, and perhaps the purest way to experience 2-player gaming.

Officially released only in Japan, a mere handful of games made use of the Battle Cable:

Daytona USA Circuit Edition

Daytona Circuit Edition (Japanese release only) The American version featured NetLink support whilst the Japanese game supported the Battle Cable, featuring 2-player racing with each player having a full-screen display. Multiple options are available such as speed boosts, delayed starts, and various conditions to finish each race such as one player getting a certain distance ahead of the other. What’s more, there are also drone cars for both players to contend with, aside from just each other, on the race track. Choose from Remixed or Original music – featuring Mitsuyoshi’s (in)famous Daytoooonaaaa vocals – and even enjoy races in the sunrise, evening, and night. Excellent.

GunGriffon 2

GunGriffon 2 Take your mech into battle against a human opponent in Game Arts’ spectacular sequel to the excellent original! Conceptually similar to Virtual On (and compatible with the Twin Sticks!) but with much more of a technical, almost simulation feel. Featuring several locales, satisfying weapons, and massive arenas, this game is well-crafted. This lacks the immediacy of Daytona but is an excellent ride nonetheless. Those familiar with the first GunGriffon will know just what to expect.

Hyper Reverthion

Hyper Reverthion is a title developed by Technosoft. This is another Virtual On style game where the mechs are various natural creatures, such as crabs or butterflies. You guide your character in search of Sentien: a mythical being that will grant you ultimate power over all creation and the title of The Reverthion. The playfields are square arenas with minimal architecture to hide behind. Very pixelated background graphics yet decent player models and smoothly animating playfields. Each mech has a variety of special attacks. Beware ring-outs!

Hyper 3D Battle Taisen Gebockers

Gebockers by Riverhillsoft. Similar in concept – again – to Virtual On featuring ‘cute’ characters. No ring-outs here, and all assets are sprites instead of polygonal constructs. Jump, attack, and zip around at scandalous speeds. Well animated, colorful, and making full use of the VDP2’s infinite plane for the arenas, it will instantly remind of a Mode-7 Super NES title. This was the very first Saturn title to make use of the Battle Cable, and was available both as a standalone title as well as a package with the cable.

Steeldom

Steeldom Also a Technosoft title, this is the fourth Virtual On clone. Very similar visually to Hyper Reverthion, this features humanoid mechs, weapons and large square arenas. The mechs have both short and long range weapons and can even briefly grapple and throw each other about! Plays much slower than either Gebokers or Reverthion, yet feels very much like an arcade game with attractive presentation, continue screens, etc.

Doom

Doom (European and Japanese version only) The North American version was rushed out first and is missing Battle Cable support. The European and Japanese versions were released later, and the feature was added in. Doom features not only deathmatch mode, but also a co-operative mode where two separate marines tackle the levels of Doom. Shame that the game is so esoterically programmed, as a better-running version would have made this all the sweeter.

Hexen

Hexen Initially planned for Battle Cable support, this was eventually dropped for reasons unknown (although, programming deadlines and lack of marketing for the cable are likely culprits). That said, the code was written but never completed, and can luckily be accessed via a secret cheat menu! The deathmatch is a buggy experience running at a stunted frame rate with lines of code displaying in the upper portion of the screen for both players. To make the experience bitterly useless, the two players cannot actually see or interact with each other – the best you’ll do is see evidence of the other player picking up icons or opening doors. Incomplete and nothing but a novelty to get running in link-up mode. To access the cheat menu that opens up Battle Cable option, enter Up, Down, Left, Right, Y, Y, Z, Z, A, X, Up, Down, C, B at the option menu.

There you have it… six titles (seven if you count Hexen) and four of them are very similar one-on-one mech type combat games.

What could have been: SO MANY POSSIBILITIES. Had the Battle Cable seen widespread release and software support, every single racing game could have conceivably seen an amazing 2-player (or more) mode. FPS games like Quake, Alien Trilogy or Hexen could have seen proper deathmatch modes. Grid Runner would have certainly benefited, as would have the seminal Virtual On. Whilst practical constrains would have remained as limiting as they are today, there is no doubt that this would have been a strong differentiation compared to the PlayStation (itself featuring an under-supported LAN cable) and Nintendo 64. As time went on, SEGA positioned the Saturn as the hardcore gamer’s machine, and robust Battle Cable support would have certainly underscored that identity.

Other applications for the Battle Cable that never came to fruition: chaining multiple Battle Cables together for MML (massively multiplayer local, LOL) gameplay, or even the rapid transfer of memory files from one Saturn to another.

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Fun Fact! Did you know that Grid Runner started life as a SNES game titled Eurit, but was eventually cancelled and rebuilt for the 32-bit machines? An early build of the SNES title was ultimately leaked.