It’s fair to say that the last few games in the Sega Ages series have been a little underwhelming. Not that they’ve been particularly terrible games, of course – we’re still dealing with classics from a legendary company’s archives – but the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Puyo Puyo 2 are hardly providing us with journeys rarely ventured.
The series is definitely at its best when it focuses on Sega titles that haven’t enjoyed many home releases in the past, or even any at all: this is particularly true when we’re treated to arcade ports like Virtua Racing, Fantasy Zone and Puzzle & Action: Icihidant-R. Happily, G-LOC very much falls into this category; in fact, this is the first time the original arcade version has ever been available to play on a home system.
Although it was ported with varying levels of success to the Mega Drive, Master System, Game Gear and home computers in the early ‘90s, the original coin-op edition of G-LOC stands head and shoulders above them all because of how downright incredible it looked. It used Sega’s Y Board, an arcade board also used for the likes of Power Drift and Galaxy Force: this allowed for some nifty tricks, like sprite rotation and high frame rates. The result is a game that still looks pretty ruddy good to this day, despite its age.
At first glance, G-LOC looks like an advanced version of Sega’s other jet fighter classic, After Burner. Although it’s mostly played from a first-person perspective rather than that game’s third-person viewpoint, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it may as well have been branded with the After Burner name. In reality, there are notable differences between the two that arguably make G-LOC the more action-packed game.
In After Burner the main aim was survival; you had to make your way through its 18 stages without losing all your lives, and though shooting down enemies made this easier, it wasn’t essential. At the risk of being controversial, After Burner is a game where cowardice is a legit strategy because you can make your way through each stage by simply avoiding things.
G-LOC is different because it’s about attack, not defence. Each of its stages asks you to destroy a certain number of enemies within a time limit. The quicker you kill them, the more your time is extended for the next stage. In this sense, it’s closer to a racing game like Out Run than it is to After Burner. Rather than simply trying to make it to the end, then, you have to actively hunt down your enemies and kill them as efficiently as possible.
To do this you’re armed with two weapons: a Vulcan Gun (which is basically just a big machine gun) and an infinite supply of homing missiles. While the Vulcan Gun is okay for taking out some of the closer planes, it’s the missiles that make up the game’s main mechanic. Get an enemy in your sights for long enough and your cursor will turn red, locking onto them. A voice will shout “fire” and if you fire a missile at this point you’ll get a guaranteed kill. A good G-LOC player, then, is efficient at lining up enemies and firing off missiles in speedy fashion.
There are three difficulty levels to choose from, with the Beginner option limiting how much you can roll your plane and making you fly at a constant speed. When you bump it up to Medium or Expert your roll controls are completely unlocked – making your turns far wilder and letting you fly upside-down at will – and you gain access to a thrust and afterburners to give you a speed boost should you need to catch up to enemies. This makes things far more exciting.
That said, the more advanced control method does lead to the game’s most notable annoyance: the occasional stage where you swoop along the bottom of a winding canyon, avoiding the cliff edges. The sharp turns in these levels are just about manageable in Beginner mode, but in the harder difficulties simply navigating them with the extreme roll controls is a challenge in itself, let alone having to aim and lock onto enemies at the same time.
The difficulty levels don’t just affect the handling, they each represent a completely different set of stages: 9 in Beginner, 13 in Medium and 16 in Expert. This gives at least some replay value to a game that frankly doesn’t have much: since it’s an arcade game your main reason to keep playing is to try to beat your previous best score, which in this case entails trying to clear every stage with as short a total time as possible.
When it comes to extra features and options, the Sega Ages series generally offers a healthy selection, with only a few entries underwhelming a little. G-LOC certainly isn’t one of those disappointing ones: there are a number of interesting additions designed to both make the game more accessible to beginners and add new challenges for experts. In terms of gameplay aids, a faster lock-on is available, along with options to automatically fire your machine gun at all times and centre the screen whenever you’re aiming off-course.
Arguably the most appreciated new feature, however, is the Ages Mode. This is a whole new set of 16 stages with a single difficulty level, which starts off fairly easy and eventually becomes extremely difficult. It’s the mode we’ve found ourselves playing most and the addition of online rankings for both this and the standard arcade mode have ensured we’ve been playing for longer than expected.
In terms of presentation, M2’s quality shines through as always. As ever, there are a bunch of different display options, giving you the choice to play with a smoothing filter, scan lines, both or neither, as well as the option to scale the picture in a number of ways. It also adds a couple of fun cabinet-based viewpoints: the standard upright one probably won’t keep you occupied for long but the option to play in the game’s deluxe moving cabinet is genuinely great fun, and the ambient arcade noise accompanying it is a nice touch.
Sadly, though, there’s no option – at least that we could find after a lengthy playtest – to unlock the insane R360 cabinet. This insane construction made players strap themselves in and rotated 360 degrees, leading to some wild movements that turned you upside-down and made vomiting all but guaranteed. Only 100 of these cabinets were made – the Trocadero in London had one, Michael Jackson owned another – and since it’s unlikely many of us will ever get to try one out today, a simulated version would have been great. Fingers crossed it’s an unlockable we just haven’t uncovered yet.
This aside, we’ve been enjoying G-LOC. It’s nice to see another Sega Ages title dedicated to a game that never had a home release, and the fact that it’s an entertaining one means it’s more than just a curio that will only appeal to historians. It’s not without its issues – those canyon stages are a nightmare and unless you like beating your personal best, its appeal might be limited – but those points don't take away from the fact that it's yet another strong entry in the series.
Conclusion
An action-packed arcade title with a greater focus on offensive play than the likes of After Burner. G-LOC's first-ever home release is a welcome one. It's got a couple of frustrating stages and, as is the case with most arcade games, it has longevity issues, but as long as you don't mind playing the same short series of stages over and over again to edge yourself up the online rankings, it's a good way to pass 10 minutes at a time.
Comments 69
This does feel very limited outside of a flashy cabinet, but I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed it, having only experienced the Mega Drive port previously. And like Chris says in the review, it's great that we're getting these perfect coin-op conversions for games that have never been released in their original form previously. Keep it up, Sega and M2!
They haven't announced any further games yet have they? I do hope they keep going.
Yes more from M2 the better, Sega Star Wars please!!
I'm definitely going to support this, partly because it's a legitimate classic that's never been done justice on home consoles, and partly because it's another opportunity to vote with our wallets and let Sega know we're interested in their (non-Sonic) IPs that have been lying dormant for decades. I've filled out multiple surveys (you can find them in the sub-menu for each Sega Ages game) asking for the likes of Shining Force III (or a new, proper SRPG SF), Dragon Force, Daytona USA 2/SCUD Racer, Skies of Arcadia, and many more. I'd even love to see some of the older coin-ops like Zaxxon, Pengo, or Congo Bongo make it in at some point. I don't know how much they're actually listening to user feedback on those surveys, but we should take every chance we're given to show Sega that we truly want to see much more than the drip feed of titles we've been getting thus far.
@GrailUK No recent announcements, but we still have Thunder Force AC and Herzog Zwei coming.
@GrailUK and Atariboy,
That's exactly why it's so important to take the time to fill out those surveys in each Sega Ages game that I mentioned above. It takes just a few minutes and gives you at least some voice in telling Sega we want more of this series.
The low pace of Sega Ages releases right now gives me hope that they are working on parallel on some new more audacious releases, like Saturn & Dreamcast games. Fingers crossed !
And cool for G-Loc.
@AtlanteanMan : I will support the cause too !
Where's that revenge of death Adder release???
Will pick this for sure.
I had this on the Game Gear, obviously not a patch on the Arcade version
I fear we won’t get more Sega Ages announcements if the current games are not selling.
Not normally one to tell people what to spend their money on, but if you want more Ages, you need to buy what is currently available
@YANDMAN
Have you played "Revenge of Death Adder"? It's not a good game. It was so mediocre that they decided not to let it out of Japan.
I'm going to buy this as soon as it is released in the west.
Man, this looks great. The two Ages releases I've bought — Thunder Force IV and Virtua Racing — are really great, with Virtua Racing in particular being, legit, one of my best gaming experiences of the last few years. (Never played the arcade or any of the home ports before, so it was a revelation for me). I'm always excited for more!
> Sadly, though, there’s no option – at least that we could find after a lengthy playtest – to unlock the insane R360 cabinet.
Very apt and very true.
But damn, I’m definitely looking forward to getting this when it’s released outside Japan!
@scully1888
That tagline is truly the work of an utterly deranged mind. I love it! 😆
@Ooyah I can't decide whether it's one of my best or one of my worst: I'm leaning towards the latter 😉
I've just bought a Japanese eshop voucher from playasia. Looking forward to playing it tonight.
Last time I played was in an R360 cab at the Metrocentre Gateshead at least 25 years ago.......God, i feel old saying that!
I really don't understand why it always takes Sega so long to bring these to the west.
I guess i'll have to get this one from the JP eShop again.
I'm confused...
How could one 'unlock' the 360 arcade cabinet?
This is a digital download game on the Switch.
Does that version of the game play differently somehow?
@GamerDad66 The game lets you play in the Deluxe arcade cabinet, which sways from side to side as you play. This view takes place in an arcade and your screen moves as the plane does (you can see it in some of the screens in this review). If the 360 cabinet could be unlocked that would mean the arcade background spinning upside-down as you played.
@CurryPowderKeg79 It was released in Japan on the 26th of March. No release date for rest of the world, yet.
@TheWingedAvenger Revenge of Death Adder WAS released internationally. It was the coin-op only sequel to Golden Axe, and is lots of fun. Maybe you’re thinking of Golden Axe III, which was not released on cartridge outside Japan?
@GrailUK Herzog Zwei is on the way complete with online play, which could very well make my entire millennium.
@TheWingedAvenger What nonsense is this?! Not a good game? Are you thinking of the right game here?
Classic Sega arcade gaming goodness! Gotta love it!
@scully1888 does trocadero still happen to have that R360 cab? Might be worth a look in after this lockdown blows over (if it blows over)
‘This is a whole new set of 16 stages with a single difficulty level, which starts off fairly easy and eventually becomes extremely difficult.’ 🤔
Yezzzz, this is what we want Sega, more releases like this.
@RadGravity
You're right about Death Adder being released in the west. Sorry, I meant that it had never been released on home systems. When I say it's not a good game I mean the graphics are ugly and the screen crunch (when compared to previous games) makes it claustrophobic. Adding to the claustrophobia is the fact that, of the already small visible area, only a small portion can be walked on. Add to that the huge monsters you can ride on, and the navigatable area is extremely limited. You can hardly move! The gameplay is the same as the other games, but so many other things were worse. I can see why this never came out on the Mega Drive or Saturn.
@Damo
Yes, see my mini-review right above this comment!
@TheWingedAvenger yes many times and i absolutely love it. it;s just been released an an arcade 1-up so it has been re-licensed and i'm hoping consoles finally see some of that action. You either don't like good games or you haven't played it.
@TheWingedAvenger We'll have to agree to disagree on this one; Revenge of Death Adder is amazing!
@YANDMAN
You didn't even read my review to the end. I played Death Adder, and I even said that the gameplay is just as good as the prior games in the Golden Axe series. It's the screen crunch that I don't like, and the ugly graphics. There's no reason to play it when you can just play the superior Golden Axe and Golden Axe 2 instead.
@TheWingedAvenger Yeah, I'm with @Damo here... Revenge of Death Adder is a scrolling beat 'em up classic!
@Damo No lies found
Can't understand anybody preferring GA 1 or 2 over Death Adder. They just feel boring now, whereas Death Adder still feels exciting and fresh.
A working JAMMA PCB just sold on ebay for £400. I think it sounds a good investment.
Loved G-Loc on Game Gear. Take my cash!
@TheWingedAvenger What the hell are you talking about? I am talking about revenge of death adder the arcade only game that has never bene ported to any home systems. i din't see you're revier or read/watch it, you are correct. But i think you're confused. Revenge of Death Adder is an incredible game and pretty much anyone who has played it says the same. There are no Golden axe 2 and 3 in the arcade.
Man, I've been waiting over 25 years for a proper home port and it's great! The moving cockpit background is pretty cool, and even the danger light flashes when someone's on your six, nice detail! It also bears mentioning that missiles, damage, and fuel are reset between stages, so feel free to go all out! (missiles CAN run out during a stage if you're too trigger happy, so watch out) And AGES mode is intense! I love the quick lock-ons and the generally faster gameplay.
My only gripe is the lack of Joy-con motion control like they implemented in SEGA AGES Space Harrier, where you hold one Joy-con like a flight stick. It would actually help immensely since G-LOC was meant to control more like a flight combat simulator, with smoother flight stick movements as opposed to the 'wilder' handling of AfterBurner. That would make it easier to navigate the canyon sections, as @scully1888 mentioned in the article. It's already too easy to overshoot your movements with the thumbsticks, and do a lot of unintentional barrel rolls.
I definitely recommend picking this up when it comes out, as well as some of the others that are on sale right now. Because, as @Gerald mentioned, if you want more SEGA AGES, you gotta buy more SEGA AGES.
@YANDMAN
Yes, we have both been talking about Revenge of Death Adder. Congratulations on figuring that out. And I know that you and 99% of people are convinced that it's good. Unfortunately that doesn't mean it's good. It's garbage. Read my review on this very page. Golden Axe 2 and 3 are on the Mega Drive. I thought you would know that.
@TheWingedAvenger Why would i even remotely care to read a review by someone who clearly has no idea what they are talking about or what a good game is. Plus you already said you don't like it so i guess that's your review. Everybody else is clearly wrong and two very average 16bit home console games are better. O.k cool.
I just saw this for the first time it looks really cool
For an authentic "up close and personal" arcade experience, especially with the Sega Ages collection, play them through your PSVR headset (yes, you can use it with your Switch, though will still be a 2D image, not VR) and headphones.
I'd forgotten Power Drift was a Sega game. Can we have that next please Sega/M2?
Hey, it's another G-LOC arti- wait a minute...
Déjà vu, I've just been in this place before (higher on the street)...
I would love to get these SEGA AGES collection on cartridge!
I'll grab this when it goes on sale. Now what I'd love to see get the M2 treatment??? How about Congo Bongo or Zaxxon? Those would be day one buys for sure. What do you think @Banjopickles ?
I love the way they’ve captured the essence of the arcade cabinet. Short game but well executed!
@KnightRider666
Both Zaxxon and Congo Bongo would be day one buys for me too! I completely forgot about a few arcade games I would love to see: Tapper, Robotron 2084, Q-Bert, Berzerk, Gauntlet, Rampage......
Man, I didn't realize how hardcore I was about arcades until I started creating a wishlist of arcade games I want on Switch.
@Banjopickles : I've always loved arcade games since I had my first Atari 2600 at 5 yrs old lol. Donkey Kong is my favorite game of all time.
I remember finding Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder at a seaside arcade in 1992. I was with two friends, so we played it 3-player. We loved it at the time, although I don't know how much of that was because of the brilliant graphics and new ride-ons. I found it again in subsequent years and possibly do prefer the slower, more deliberate gameplay of the original, but it's certainly a good game.
My opinion on why it never got ported was because this was 1992 and no home console could run it. 32-bit coin-ops were incredibly advanced compared to the Mega Drive and SNES (Spider-Man: The Arcade Game never got ported either). By the time the Saturn was released in 1994, things had moved on and become more polygon focused. Of course, that doesn't mean it couldn't have been ported - many of us wanted it - but as I say, things moved quickly in the '90s and most of Sega's System 32 catalogue just became forgotten at that point, unfortunately.
@KnightRider666
I always loved DK, but I was never good at it. I remember my grandparents getting me DK Classics on NES when I was six or seven, and I played it to death!
@banjopickles : I got DK Classics and SMB3 for xmas as a kid. Great memories!
Wow, flashback for me too! Takes me back the SNES Top Gun game where you had to land on the aircraft carrier to continue the game, and a pinch of old skool mall arcade with the jet fighter arcade game that the seat would gyroscope with your stick moves.
Great review, first game I ever completed! Finished it on the game gear, god I loved that console ❤
@rSp8 They did release Power Drift on the SEGA 3D Classics physical release for 3DS. So it wouldn’t take much to port it to Switch.
I have had the pleasure of playing the R360 cabinet back in the 90s. It was amazing. Might pick this up just for the memories.
Surprised someone has a negative opinion of 'The Revenge of Dead Adder' (Which for the record did get a US arcade release).
The golden age arcade classics from the Sega library that I'd most like to see M2 tackle would be Monaco GP (And Pro Monaco GP) and Turbo.
Monaco GP would pose an interesting challenge for M2 since it's the last big discrete logic arcade game. No microprocessor running software code in that machine, which means emulation as we know it is impossible.
So it would either have to be an old fashion port written from scratch that has the look-and-feel of the original arcade game, or a simulator that virtually replicates the physical wiring and TTL circuitry of the original machine.
This is a good game, and it's the only good version of it!
On the Sega Ages website, there is a list of games that are "out now"; G-LOC is on the list but Panzer Dragoon is not.
It is not a deep game but thoroughly enjoyable in the arcade. I may pick this one up.
Having a blast with this game, haven’t played it for so long, reminds me english summer holidays from the late eighties
Games I’d like M2 to release as part of Ages:
Super Hang On
Turbo Outrun (Arcade)
Power Drift (Arcade)
Sega Rally (Arcade)
Daytona (Arcade)
Virtua Fighter (Arcade)
Virtua Fighter 2 (Arcade)
Virtua Cop (Arcade)
Golden Axe (Arcade)
Super Monaco GP (Arcade)
Shenmue
Chu Chu Rocket
Starwars Arcade Model 1
@Atariboy A port written from scratch, most likely. It shouldn't be too hard to do. But would there be enough of a demand for EM's? I know I'd play the hell out of Turbo since I had the Colecovision version (but even as a kid, I knew it wasn't the same as the arcade).
@TheWingedAvenger Panzer Dragoon isn't part of the SEGA AGES lineup, though. AGES games are only the ports that were worked on by M2 specifically (which they've been handling since the mid 2000's starting on PS2, or rather, members that would eventually become the porting gurus of M2).
@masterLEON Thanks for letting me know that Panzer Dragoon isn't part of the SEGA AGES lineup!
@TheWingedAvenger Because Panzer Dragoon isn't a Sega Ages release. It's a remake from a completely different developer and isn't even being published by Sega themselves.
I hope the Sega Ages series continues to provide arcade games that were not released in the excellent 3DS series of 3D Sega Classics. Daytona USA and Star Wars Arcade would be awesome on the Switch!
@TheWingedAvenger Daytona USA already had an excellent HD remaster/port, so I'm personally not too interested in seeing M2 tackle that for the Switch when it's on my 360 and XB1 already. But I can see how those that may not own a PS3, 360, or XB1 would want to see it.
I don't fully agree with them skipping 3DS content. We in the west never even got Turbo Outrun like Japanese 3DS gamers did. And Afterburner II, Galaxy Force II, Power Drift, and Thunder Blade all deserve another shot on the Switch.
I personally didn't view the 3DS controls as the best for several of these, Afterburner II has been AWOL on consoles outside of Shenmue and Yakuza for many years, and only import gamers ever got arcade accurate home console ports of Power Drift and Galaxy Force II.
And Thunder Blade and Turbo Outrun have both never gotten an arcade accurate release on a home console. Only on the tiny screen of the 3DS can they be officially played (And like I said, the latter only on a Japanese 3DS).
These are all familiar subjects to M2. Sprinkling these throughout like the previously released Outrun is a good way to keep up the pace of releases while keeping the budgets reasonable, since M2 doesn't have to reinvent the wheel to get these out.
So I think these Super Scaler arcade games haven't wore out their welcome and are viewed positively when they appear, unlike retreads of Genesis games that no matter how great, have been rereleased many times before in the 2000's.
@Atariboy You read my mind - I was thinking of buying an XboxOne just to be able to play certain classic games, chief among which is Daytona USA.
I've got to say, games like this one were straight up better on the 3DS. The 3D effect made up for the lost excitement of playing these sorts of games in deluxe cabinets. I can't help but thinking G-Loc would have been a better 3DS release.
It's quite saddening this series with so much potential has been abandoned by Sega. That aside, it seems that Namco took this as their inspiration for the Ace Combat series.
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