Hallo there! First time poster, long time lurker here!
I'm trying to research games that have that cool 90's sci-fi anime aesthetic. Saturn, PS1, Dreamcast era stuff that maybe took inspiration from Eva etc. I'm talking specifically UI, character/vehicle design etc, not necessarily game play.
The only one I've come across so far on Saturn is Bulk Slash which is super cool. I love the green maps, big anime portraits of the different pilots that pop up, all the kinda wireframe targetting effects and things and the weird S for your speed meter. Also so many blue skys 💖
Anyone able to recommend other games of this era with similar vibes? I've been slowly going through the list of western Saturn releases but finding very little that is hitting that spot. Ghost in the Shell on PS1 is on my list to check out (if i'm remembering correctly, it's been 20 odd years since i played it and that was only a demo disc). Were they all cool Japanese games that we didn's get in US/Europe?
ps, bonus points if they have that awesome anime music with cool slap bass, stabs and jazzy electric piano (like the IC podcast music)
Sidenote, this is an excellent thread of rad mechanical stuff from eva
Thanks!
(ps, as this is my first post, please let me know if ive done it wrong or not conformed to some community guideline or something. so many threads are very broad, keeping one topic in one place rather than a lot of small more specific posts so I'm not sure if this is a good post 😅)
I’ve been digging into the PS1 library on the ol MiSTer lately and the games that immediately jump out at me are Love and Destroy and Ghost in the Shell. GitS has obvious inspirations but Love and Destroy has some really wild animations. Very evangelion-esque enemies and stuff.
One day I‘ll have to break out the list of stuff that I’ve favorited on my Raspberry Pi, but for whatever reason Download on the PC Engine comes to mind (you'll find a lot of this on the PC Engine in general):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=502rwzIgYas
And it wouldn't be the Insert Credit forums if someone didn't say Valis -- you can get good versions of the first three easily now on the recently released Fantasm Soldier collection:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx_mBMUXqJ4
EDIT: Whoops, I forgot the sci-fi part on Valis, it's more 90s Japan/fantasy world. I'll say Telnet's Psycho Dream instead:
Serial Experiments Lain and Soul Hackers are both good examples of more subdued 90s sci-fi anime aesthetic. Soul Hackers has a very cool vibe but Serial Experiments Lain has lots of cool UI that probably fits what you‘re after. A more tenuous example is the Silver Case as the UI shares some similarities with what you’re after but probably doesn't go far enough.
Thanks for all the suggestions folks. Got a bunch of stuff to check out now!!
I‘ve been having a poke at Love and Destroy this afternoon and it is 100% mad and rad. I have no idea what is going on, but I’m a mech and a giant ball with eyes is after me!
This game has some super nice effects too, something else I'm kinda researching at the moment.
The mech launch sequence it great. The gradients on those chunky pillars!
Also the big explosion in that last screenshot is suuuuper nice for such a simple effect!
Maybe obvious, but i love xenogears for this reason. Between the character portraits, the gear battles, and the anime cutscenes, theres a good amount of that aesthetic youre looking for. [upl-image-preview url=https://i.imgur.com/nwsE2qk.png]
I also love the character sprites in a 3D dollhouse effect.
I love the aesthetic of Motor Raid. It's a 1997 Sega arcade racer that definitely takes some anime inspirations and has a great font/UI. It even had its first rerelease outside of arcades with both Judgment and its sequel as an in-game cabinet.
Gaiaray, a ps1 knockoff of Virtual On:
https://youtu.be/Sa5CJcP_GG4
Running High, a racing game featuring sprinting robots:
https://youtu.be/ag02VjCaZLE
Also I guess nobody posted Snatcher and Policenauts?
https://youtu.be/9Ij_Oo4zIVI
https://youtu.be/hs3siRo8hQc
Then Gunparade March although it's got a very high language barrier and will probably never get an english translation (if anyone in the future reads this and it has gotten one, please let me know).
@Gaagaagiins Oh man! This is actually an excellent idea
Also, this is an excellent find!! The reason for my “research” is some pre production stuff on my next game and Patlabor is the #1 touchstone at the moment. Though this fighting game(?) is far from the short form j-style rpg im planning it still has vibbbbbes!
@JCP love the look of this. That turbo gauge is chefs kiss
@Updog i really need to play xenogears. I am a scrub jrpg player
