Random Saturnday IV Snippet: Columns Arcade Collection

🪐💎 Written: December 21st, 2024 💎🪐

Hello, gamers and readers alike, welcome to my blog and thank you for taking the time to tune in today, I really appreciate it!

At the end of 2023 I started work on Random Saturnday IV, the fourth entry in my Random Saturnday series of posts where I share my brief thoughts on what new titles I got for the Sega Saturn console, which I've been a happy owner of since April of 2022 after I turned 31 and has quickly grown to become one of my top favorite video game consoles.  What I'm saying, of course, is that I love the Sega Saturn.  Unfortunately, I did not get much of it done.  The original plan was just to cover my thoughts on games 21 to 27*, but then I decided to add Hudson Soft's Saturn Bomberman (JP) to my collection making for 28.  I ended up not meeting my goal to cover it by the time 2024 rolled around, but I had hoped to have it done sometime in 2024.  Again, no such luck.  I only managed to get the screenshots I needed for five of the new games I added to my collection (like everything, it takes time especially with the games that have a wider screen resolution, especially when trying to be consistent with the size dimensions as best as I can plus I have to be in the right frame of mind for it, especially since I want to articulate myself very well with a thorough grasp on research and just looking for the right words to convey my thoughts and feelings on these titles), but only completed my brief thoughts on one game.  I had a hard time continuing Random Saturnday IV because I slowly added more to my collection, as of writing my Sega Saturn collection comprises of 39 games (I got 11 in 2023, including I got that Christmas, and as of writing I got 8 in 2024 thus far), which by the time I get it together and finally compile Random Saturnday IV it'll be more than 40 games in my collection (and 20+ games to share my brief thoughts on, I will not split that one into two parts like I did the last one).  Basically I got carried away (and when writing I set impossibly high standards for myself, it's one thing if I do a review for a solitary game but it's another thing entirely when I have to cover multiple titles in the same post or compilation review), and for those who enjoyed reading my previous Random Saturnday incarnations I'm sorry that there won't be a full Random Saturnday IV for a while (on top of that, 2024 was a crazy year in real life). 😔 I don't want to say when because I don't wish to make promises I don't think I'll be able to keep, I'm at that point in my life when I know better than to do that, but I hope it will be some day.  Particularly a Saturday, of a random choosing, where I give my impressions on Sega Saturn fare.  A... Random Saturnday, if you will.  But since I got my thoughts on one game done, I figured I might as well share the impressions I wrote for Sega Ages: Columns Arcade Collection.  The reason I decided to do it now is two-fold: with the year almost coming to a close I was hoping to wrap up 2024 with a review of a big title that I really like that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year (I'll just say it right now, it's Monster World IV) but I'm afraid I won't be able to meet that quota (and I so wanted to, but ultimately I feel it is better to take my time with my reviews and posts than to rush them out... as much as it might annoy me in certain cases to take longer than planned) but also I did not wish to leave 2024 on a downer because of my review of Affect's Phix: The Adventure (that was not a good game, at all, but all things considered I found it comparably tolerable to talk about than to actually play) last month despite trying my absolute best to sound healthy and cool and collected when articulating my thoughts on that belated PlayStation One platformer.  While I would've preferred to end 2024 on a high note, anything's a better alternative than bookending the year with a negative review.  Again, I apologize about the lack of overall progress on Random Saturnday IV post, but I do hope to get to that ... eventually.  In the meantime, I hope this snippet from what little I did get down is appreciated and thank you in advance.

* I'm just going to reveal those titles in particular right now, in the order that I got them: Sonic! Software Planning's Shining the Holy Ark, Sonic Team's NiGHTS into Dreams..., System Sacom's Gale Racer (JP), Sega's Sega Ages: Columns Arcade Collection (JP), Team Andromeda's Panzer Dragoon II Zwei, Ancient's Thor: Seireioukiden (JP), and Perfect Entertainment's console port of Clockwork Games' 3D Lemmings (JP)

The following was written in the period between late 2023 to early 2024:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On April 28th [2023] I got my twenty-fourth Saturn game.  Some of you might be familiar with Sega's palindrome brand Sega Ages, but for those who are not it's a series of video game compilations, ports, and remakes of classic Sega fare.  Sega Ages got its start on the Sega Saturn in 1996 for during the console's run there were thirteen Sega Ages iterations with the last one coming out in 1998 (almost exclusively and largely in Japan, though... sorry, triskaidekaphobes).  Among the contents with the different Sega Ages CDs were Bonanza Bros. spinoffs, very old Sega arcade titles, individual releases of Space Harrier and Out Run and After Burner II and Fantasy Zone, and the original Phantasy Star turn-based RPG quadrilogy of games, bookending the run on the Saturn with none other than

No, I'm not going to get Volume 13, I'm satisfied enough owning Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse and QuackShot starring Donald Duck on the Sega Genesis, but I like the idea that they're bundled together in the same package

classic 16-bit titles I Love Mickey Mouse: Fushigi no Oshiro Daibōken and I Love Donald Duck: Guruzia Ou no Hihou in a rare release for a system that was otherwise completely devoid of Disney content (proper Disney, I mean, and not through ownership post-acquisition of 20th Century Fox later down the line).

The Sega Ages installment I own is 1997's Volume 8 Columns Arcade Collection which houses four arcade installments in the iconic match-three puzzle series: Columns, Columns II: The Voyage Through Time, Stack Columns, and Columns '97.

Originally conceived as a little project worked on by Hewlett-Packard software engineer Jay Geertsen as a means for him to practice programming (and nothing more), the story behind the making of Columns is a very fascinating one to read.  After having created the game in 1989, a couple HP employees asked Geertsen if they could port it to the Mac and MS-DOS formats, he said "yes", which caught the attention of an independent lawyer who saw its potential and looked to buy the rights from him which in turn led to Sega seeking out said lawyer aiming to turn it into a marketable product as well as have their puzzle equivalent to compete against Tetris (which Nintendo owned the rights to) while making their own implementations (like using jewels, a change which Geertsen appreciated).

Setting aside that it is exactly Columns but in name and motif, it's a pleasantly enjoyable puzzler

Little did Jay Geertsen know that Columns would become a hugely successful puzzler, in its 1990 arcade release and in its subsequent home formats (including the Game Gear as a launch title) that is still revered as a timeless classic even to this day.  Its success would spawn a franchise as well as inspire clones and knockoffs, such as Signum Victoriae's Coloris and Hwang Shinwei's Magic Jewelry, the latter of which was my introduction to the Columns formula as a child when playing on one of my cousins' plug-and-play systems in Italy.

I first played the original Columns on Digital Eclipse's Sega Genesis Collection on my PlayStation Portable in 2006, for which the Sega 16-bit port is almost identical to the arcade game (right down to the sound and color palette).  The simple yet intuitive gameplay as you maneuver and positoin a stack of three jewels at a time while trying to clear three or more same-colored sets "Tic-Tac-Toe" style (which served in part as Jay Geertsen's influence when making it) horizontally, vertically, or diagonally (sometimes potentially leading to chain reactions), Tokuhiko Uwabo's entrancingly soothing soundtrack ("Clotho" ... 😭), and exhilarating rush as the difficulty slowly ramps up over time, Columns is an undisputed puzzling classic in my opinion and is always a great time no matter the format.  I literally cannot say anything about it that has not already been said a million times by others.

Columns II was originally a Japan-exclusive, and for a while this compilation was the only way to play it at home until 2019 when it was released worldwide through the Sega Ages line on the Nintendo Switch... Sega didn't even try to hide that the second game was never localized, even with the release of Minato Giken's Columns III (which did get localized)

Luckily the sequels don't have that distinction, so I can say a lot more about those instead.  Following the success of Columns, a sequel was fast-tracked right away with the arcade-bound Columns II: The Voyage Through Time which ended up coming out in 1990, several months after its predecessor.  This time around (on single-player mode) the goal is to eradicate flashing tiles in each playing field as you cycle through four different time periods (be it prehistoric, futuristic, or Ancient Rome and/or Greece modeled after the first game), sometimes requiring that you get to them by matching as many of the same colors as you can.  It's not without obstacles, for eventually after dropping just enough stacks of three you'll receive a warning of a skull tile that will take the place of a random on which you must be wary of for aligning a set of three or more of the same color with a skull will give you the penalty of slightly reducing the space of your playing field by slightly raising the platform from the bottom each time it happens.

After every three stages you'll be taken to a bonus portion where you must shoot the corresponding color upward in the allotted time you're given for a chance at points by trying to clear as many jewels as you can.  In terms of sound, I found it to be hit and miss compared to the first game, but the core gameplay is still great while doing just enough to keep things fresh and I appreciate the visual aesthetic variety as you cycle through four different themes and motifs each and every time (it'll always starts at a random one whenever you start a new game).  I still slightly like the first Columns more, but Columns II is also fun to play.

Next up is 1994's Stack Columns, a Japanese-only arcade venue where its story mode has you compete against different faces in the different continents of the world in a tournament-style competition.  Its classic Columns gameplay, but with an added twist: when you start off the game you can choose whether to enable or disable it, but basically any time you do away with a line of three or more jewels you'll be given some coins which at the press of a button will not only have the opponent's platform raised little by little but counteract the current stack they're using so they have no recourse but to use a different set... the same thing could happen to you if you're not careful, so bear that in mind as you play it.

The whiplash as you play level after level against foes with realistically drawn and shaded portraits only to randomly be followed up by an anime character, thought the only thing terrifying about Colum is Colum's losing face when you reign victorious

Stack Columns is my least played game out of the four available in this compilation, but I still like and appreciate it as the gameplay is still enjoyable with a solid visual aesthetic, pleasing soundtrack, and lots of character (both when they win or lose against you).

Last but not least, we've got Columns '97 (developed and copyrighted in 1996) which is another Japan-exclusive and is the prettier and flashier-looking puzzler of the bunch with a mesmerizingly fluid framerate.  It's essentially the first Columns (with the choices of three difficulty settings) but given a brand new makeover with a beautifully colorful presentation (which almost gives it a casino quality) and prerendered jewel sprites with the right playing field alternating between showing the title, replay if you performed a series of chain reactions, and occasionally showing the leaderboard complemented by an emotionally meditative and soulful piano melody.  Almost as fun as the original, I feel.

I didn't move my camera in-between takes, Columns '97 really does have different screenshot dimensions than the other three games (and Sega Ages screen) which caught me off-guard, which is why it's its own image and not a part of the .gif slideshow of the preceding three games

Columns Arcade Collection has also got enhancements for each of the four games, provided you accumulate a requisite number of jewels (regardless of the game, it doesn't matter which) where once unlocked you can alternate between original jewels and/or sounds and new ones to your heart's content.  If you feel like, you can change the jewels to marbles accompanied by the sound effects of horror (Columns), cat-related imagery accompanied by combat noises (Columns II) including an unnerving battle cry, life objects accompanied by jokey sounds (Stack Columns), and sweets accompanied by animal noises (Columns '97).  It's all completely optional, but it's nice that you're given a sense of variety (and the Egyptian theme in the options screen is very nice and quite apropos for the series) and adds more to the fun.

My birthstone's a diamond, what's your birthstone? 💎

All in all, a very enjoyable compilation plus it was a real pleasure to play the original Columns on my TV. 😃 The extra features are appreciated, I love that the game disc doubles as a soundtrack so you get to hear music from all four titles, and as puzzlers are among my top favorite video game genres I'm glad to have Sega Ages: Columns Arcade Collection as part of my slowly growing Sega Saturn collection.  Thank you, Jay Geertsen! 🫡

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for reading my Random Saturnday post, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think (neither spam nor NSFW is allowed); hope you have a great day, be a kind human, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and take care! 😃