Pulseman

Pulseman (Japanese: パルスマン, Hepburn: Parusuman) is an action platform game developed by Game Freak and published by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive in 1994. The game was released in cartridge format only in Japan, with the North American version being released via the Sega Channel as an "exclusive". Pulseman was re-released worldwide for the Wii on the Virtual Console in Japan in 2007, and in North America and Europe in 2009.^[1]

Story

In the 21st century, noted scientist and computer engineer Doc Yoshiyama had succeeded in creating the world's most advanced Artificial Intelligence. He called his creation C-Life and managed to make her aware, thinking, and feeling. However, he soon found himself in love with this C-Life girl and wanted to be closer to her, so he digitized and uploaded himself into his computer core, where the two "made love" by combining his DNA and her program core. The end result of their love was the birth of a half-human, half C-Life boy named Pulseman. Pulseman was unique in that he didn't need to remain inside a computer to survive, and had the power to channel electricity through his body, using it both as a weapon and as a means of quick transport through the power of Volteccer.

Unfortunately, living in the computer world for so long twisted Doc Yoshiyama's mind, corrupting his brainwaves and his body. Doc Yoshiyama emerged back into the human world, but twisted and changed into the evil Doc Waruyama. Using a system known as EUREKA, which allows for C-Life beings to manifest in the human world, Doc Waruyama establishes the Galaxy Gang, spreading a new wave of cyber-terrorism across the world, and Pulseman must fight his own father and put an end to his gang for the sake of the free world.

Characters

Pulseman

The main hero of the game. Pulseman is a teenage boy born from a human father and a C-Life mother, thus granting him the powers of both worlds. From his father, he can survive outside of computer terminals and roam through the human world, and from his mother he has the power of electricity. He can slash out electricity from his hands, and gather up the current to shoot through the air using his powerful Volteccer attack, where he changes into a ball of electricity and ricochet through the stages like a pinball. He is also very agile and acrobatic, and can attack using powerful kicks. His prime weakness is water, which shorts out his powers.

Beatrice

A young C-Life girl who was once held captive by the Galaxy Gang until Pulseman freed her. She quickly became his girlfriend and supports him on his quest to stop Doc Waruyama. Although she has lost her access to EUREKA, she appears on the Stage Select screen to inform the player of the stages that they will be entering, and also appears during gameplay to inform Pulseman of hazards in the stages, as well as warning him when a boss is near. She has spiky pink hair and a red and white dress with black leggings. Pulseman's nickname for her is Rice, pronounced "Ree -chay".

Lisa Hartfield

A star news reporter from Tokyo; Lisa's constantly on the story of Pulseman. She has shoulder-length red hair and wears a professional looking red dress suit. She only appears during cutscenes and unconscious in the background of the first stage in the TV Studio section.

Veil

A mysterious C-Life being whose loyalty is only for Doc Waruyama. Veil looks like Pulseman but colored dark violet and red, with large wings on his back and "horns" jutting from his visor. He has all of Pulseman's powers, as if he were an evil twin. He is the Stage 5 boss.

Doc Waruyama

Once known as Doc Yoshiyama, Doc Waruyama was twisted and corrupted by the computer system he uploaded himself into to be with the only love of his life. He is also the creator of a device known as EUREKA, which allows C-Life beings to manifest themselves in the real world. He leads the Galaxy Gang to destroy the cyber-world, and appears several times throughout the game, where Pulseman fights him as a boss.

Development

When first announced, Pulseman was originally named Spark.^[2] Most of the staff members who worked on Pulseman would later work on the Pokémon series, including director Ken Sugimori, designer Satoshi Tajiri, and composer Junichi Masuda.

Reception

IGN reviewed the Virtual Console version of Pulseman, giving it a score of 8.0 out of 10, therefore receiving IGN's Editor's choice award. In the review, the author praises its graphics as "one of the cleanest, most crisp and most attractive platformers on the Genesis" and that the game "isn't just fun, it's electric."^[3]

References

External links

• Pulseman at MobyGames
• Sega's page for Pulseman, Virtual Console release (Japanese)
• Pulseman at Sega Voice Vol. 65 (Japanese)
• Volteccer! Game reference (Web archive)
• Pulseman.co.uk Game reference