Orguss-Sega SG-1000 Review

Released in 1984 for the Japan-only Sega SG-1000, Orguss is based on the 1983-1984 anime series from Big West. Comparisons between Macross and Orguss have been made for decades, and Orguss was once considered as a possible third story arc for the American version of Macross, Robotech. However, Orguss would only receive a partial dub of its 35 episodes in English in the early 1990s. Few care about the anime outside of Japan, and even fewer know there was a Sega game based on this underrated anime. Let's take a look and see if the game needs to be played, or can be left behind in 1984. Before the game let's take a quick look at the Sega SG-1000.

An abject failure from a commercial stand-point, the Sega SG-1000 was released only in Japan and Australia/New Zealand. Released very close the Japanese release of the Famicom, Sega's first 8-bit machine couldn't even come close to the sales of Nintendo's Famicom. The system is largely forgotten today.

In Orguss, you take control over a flying mecha called Orguss. Your aim is to get the end of the level and beat the boss before the timer runs out. You have two modes, robot or fighter/plane. In robot mode, you can take more hits. However, you are much slower in this mode. You can also fly lower on the screen to hit the targets on the ground. In plane/flier mode, you move faster but take far less hits.

Gameplay is rather basic, even for 1984 standards. If you are lucky enough to make it through the level (the game is tough), you will play another level of mostly the same. Enemy sprites vary very minimally, and you will fight the same baddies over and over. The amount of enemies seem to come in greater amounts as you progress through the game. Backgrounds are simple, and you are treated to mostly either forests/mountains or checkerboard patterns (I don't remember this from the anime).

You will likely lose interest in this game before you complete all of the rounds. Not terrible, but very primitive in terms of every aspect of sound, graphics, and gameplay. Think Atari 2600 in terms of sounds, bleeps and bloops dominate the soundtrack, and a grating "engine" type sound is omnipresent. Its easy to see that the SG-1000 wasn't even close to the Famicom in terms of graphic capabilities, and the game resembles a ColecoVision game (the SG-1000 and ColecoVision are almost identical internally).

If you are one of the few Sega die-hards to own an SG-1000 (SG-1000 games will also play on a Sega Mark III, the Japanese version of the US Master System), you could do worse than Orguss. Overall, there is little reason to seek this game out.













+Based on the anime
+Gameplay is adequate for the time
+Two variable modes for your ship

-Basic sprites and backgrounds
-Sound can be grating and irritating
-Repetitive gameplay and backgrounds

RATING-6.6/10