Modern platforms got two new Saturn games Wednesday when City Connection released Advanced V.G. and Steam-Heart’s — even in the West, for which there was no formal announcement.
They’re part of the publisher’s Saturn Tribute line of emulated Saturn games sold on present-day platforms with varying degrees of modern accoutrements.
Advanced V.G. is on Steam and the Nintendo eShop for US$14.99, although it’s $13.49 — 10 percent off — for the first week as a launch promotion. Steam-Heart’s is on Steam and the eShop for US$19.99, but it’s $17.99 at the moment after the 10 percent off promotion.
Curiously, both games are missing from the PlayStation Store in the U.S. despite being for sale on the Japanese store.
Steam-Heart’s and Advanced V.G. — the V.G. stands for Variable Geo — are a vertical shoot-em-up and a 2D fighting game, respectively, that were published on the Saturn by TGL, which still exists today under the name Entergram. Advanced V.G. hit store shelves in March 1997 followed by Steam Heart’s in September 1998, both exclusively in Japan.
The two games feature sexual content that somewhat complicated a modern release. Steam-Heart’s is particularly infamous for voice acting that depicts the protagonists sexually assaulting each stage’s boss after the player has defeated her, with accompanying still-frame imagery depicting closeups of the women with no clothing but also no nipples when breasts are visible — a small sign of censorship relative to the original release on the PC-98 in 1994, which was uncensored, nipples and all, but had no voice acting.
Advanced V.G. isn’t as lurid, but it does depict each of its all-girl cast’s clothes being shredded after losing a fight. The Saturn version is also toned down from its 1993 PC-98 predecessor, Variable Geo, which showed uncensored breasts.
City Connection didn’t further censor the Saturn Tribute release of Advanced V.G., but it did so in Steam-Heart’s. The publisher appears to have modified Steam-Heart’s graphics to add additional clothes to the bosses and change some of their expressions to look happier in the still-frame artwork during after-stage story scenes. Surprisingly, the company left the voice acting intact.
On the left are screenshots of the second boss in the Saturn Tribute version of Steam-Heart’s posted to Steam’s user discussion section; on the right are screenshots from the original Saturn release. Saturn Tribute screenshots are courtesy of Ingueferroque.
On the left are screenshots of the first boss in the Saturn Tribute version of Steam-Heart’s posted to Steam’s user discussion section; on the right are screenshots from the original Saturn release. The first Saturn Tribute screenshot is promotional while the other three are courtesy of Defective PSP UMD DISC.
It made no effort to localize either game, which both have stories and voice acting that are entirely in Japanese. Their menus are originally in English, though, and the emulator overlay with various options is in English, too.
City Connection announced in January its intention to release the games as part of its Saturn Tribute line on Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC via Steam. The publisher canceled the Xbox version in April, insinuating that the games’ lurid content couldn’t be censored enough for Microsoft to permit their release. No Western release had been announced, so the games’ appearance on storefronts outside Japan amounts to a shadowdrop.
Saturn Tribute games are the Saturn originals running on what City Connection calls the Zebra Engine, which dataminers have found appears to be a modified version of the SSF emulator. City Connection uses the “S-Tribute” label for the Saturn games that are only released digitally, while games like Cotton 2 and Suchie-Pie have gotten physical printings — at least in Japan — so they sport the “Saturn Tribute” label. The publisher uses a “Saturn Tribute Boosted” label to denote extra features that aren’t in their other Saturn efforts.
That emulator gives players features like rewind, quick save and quick load. There are additional game-specific features, too: Advanced V.G. sports a command list guide displayed on the side of the screen and a one-button Super Move system that allows automatic input of complex commands, while Steam-Heart’s has a guide display for item lists on the side of the screen, a carry-over weapon system that allows players to keep their weapons after clearing stages and an extra durability boost for the player character.
So far, 19 games have been released under the three labels: Cotton 2, Cotton Boomerang and Guardian Force, which came out in 2021; Layer Section & Galactic Attack, Cleopatra Fortune, Elevator Action Returns and the four games in the Suchie-Pai collection, which came out 2022; Metal Black, Bust-a-Move 2: Arcade Edition & Bust-a-Move 3 and Batsugun, which came out in 2023; Assault Suit Leynos 2, Wolf Fang and Skull Fang last year; and now, Advanced V.G. and Steam-Heart’s.
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