Sometimes a console introduces itself best not with muscle but with beauty. Astal from 1995 by SEGA itself is a 2D platformer created with a clear goal: to show that the Saturn can do more than polygons and 3D effects, that it can be a visually lavish showcase of hand-drawn graphics. And it excels at this task.
The game enchants with a richly painted world, smooth animations and a colorfulness that can still please the eye today. Astal belongs to the console's early-era titles whose main asset is aesthetics — every screen feels like a moving illustration. The gameplay builds on the genre's classic principles: you advance through levels, overcome obstacles and face enemies, with the emphasis placed on atmosphere and the visual experience.
Astal came about at a time when the 2D genre was starting to be pushed aside by the arrival of three-dimensional graphics, and its determination to prove that carefully drawn 2D still has something to offer resonates all the more strongly. Together with other early Saturn platformers it formed proof that the console could handle the "beautiful old" genres too, not just experiment with new technologies.
Thanks to its visual quality and its standing as an early showcase title, Astal earned a reputation as a game that platform fans remember with love. It's a title worth showing to anyone who doubts that the 32-bit era took 2D art to its peak.
Why play: For the hand-drawn splendor that ranks among the most beautiful 2D platformers of the early Saturn era and still delights the eye today.
Game 27 of 90 for SEGA Saturn
