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The Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO

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The Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO
North American cover art
Developer(s)Telenet Japan
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Keita Amemiya
Producer(s)Eric Quakenbush
Hori Nagafumi
Satoshi Kubo
Artist(s)Takahashi Akihiko
Writer(s)Merle Kessler
Noboru Sugimura
Shotaro Ishinomori
Composer(s)Kawamura Eiji
Platform(s)Sega CD
Release
Genre(s)Interactive movie
Mode(s)Single-player

The Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO[a] is a video game developed by Telenet Japan and published by Toei Video in Japan and Sega in North America for the Sega CD.

Gameplay

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The Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO uses video footage ported from the film Kamen Rider ZO.[3] It is an Interactive film game.

Development and release

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The Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO was developed by Telnet Japan (also known as Wolf Team) as part of the Sega CD TruVideo line of interactive film games.[4] It is an adaptation of the 1993 movie of the same name, which itself was the 13th iteration of the long-running Kamen Rider media franchise from Toei Company.[5] The Masked Rider contains extra footage that was either cut from the original 48-minute feature or shot specifically for the adaptation.[6] The game was released in Japan by Toei on May 13, 1994.[2] A North American version featuring English-dubbed voice acting and translated text was published by Sega around November 1994.[1][7]

Reception

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Review scores for The Masked Rider were very mixed. Critics disagreed on the overall quality of the game due to its reliance on full-motion video and its limited playability as an interactive movie. Many writers compared it to the Sega CD version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, another interactive movie based on Super Sentai. Chris Bieniek of the magazine VideoGames was complimentary of the monster footage and of Sega of America's willingness to release a localized version of the Kamen Rider adaptation for the franchise's North America fanbase. However, he stated that like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, The Masked Rider was not as much fun to play as it was to watch.[11] The Brazilian magazines VideoGame and Gamers were both highly complimentary of its visuals and sound though the latter publication subtracted praise for the game's lack of challenge.[13][15] Likewise, GamePro, Sega Pro, and AllGame all commended its presentation as an FMV game but felt it lacked replay value due to its cinematic structure.[5][8][10]

Laurie Yates of Electronic Games conversely criticized its FMV sequences as "visually tired and fuzzy" but similarly concluded that that this aspect was "sloppy and haphazard for a piece of software that is more movie than game."[12] Next Generation proclaimed, "It's guy-in-rubber suit action at the "Ultraman" level which has a certain appeal to some folks I know. But as a game, it's almost worthless."[3] The French magazine Joypad found the costumes cheesy, the special effects tasteless, and its stupidity proportional to its fun factor. The reviewer assumed the game would be a hit in Japan and that it would never be released in Europe.[14]

Notes

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  1. ^ Also known as Kamen Rider ZO (Japanese: 仮面ライダーZO, Hepburn: Kamen Raidā ZO) in Japan.

References

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  1. ^ a b EGM staff (December 1994). "Fact File: Masked Rider". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Vol. 7, no. 11. Sendai Publishing. pp. 306–7. ISSN 1058-918X.
  2. ^ a b c Beep! MegaDrive staff (June 1994). "Be Mega Dog Race" (PDF). Beep! MegaDrive (in Japanese). SB Creative. p. 18.
  3. ^ a b c Next Generation staff (January 1995). "Finals". Next Generation. No. 1. Imagine Media. p. 99. ISSN 1078-9693.
  4. ^ Sega Visions staff (December 1994). "Sneak Peek: The Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO". Sega Visions. No. 22. Infotainment World. p. 54. OCLC 794192137.
  5. ^ a b c Hill, Mark (August 1994). "Review: Masked Rider ZO". Sega Pro. No. 35. Paragon Publishing. p. 53. ISSN 0964-2641.
  6. ^ Horvath, George (November 29, 2010). "Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO". Sega-16.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Game Players staff (December 1994). "First Glimpse: Masked Rider". Game Players. No. 66. Imagine Media. p. 24. ISSN 1087-2779.
  8. ^ a b Baker, Christopher Michael (2014). "Review: The Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  9. ^ Famitsu staff (May 20, 1994). "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 285. ASCII Corporation. p. 38.
  10. ^ a b Uggs the Bugg (February 1995). "ProReview: The Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO". GamePro. No. 67. IDG. p. 54. ISSN 1042-8658.
  11. ^ a b Bieniek, Chris (February 1995). "Power Reviews: The Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO". VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 73. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 63. ISSN 1059-2938.
  12. ^ a b Yates, Laurie (March 1995). "Reviews: Masked Rider". Electronic Games. Vol. 3, no. 6. Decker Publications. p. 62. ISSN 0730-6687.
  13. ^ a b Gamers (1995). "Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO". Gamers (in Portuguese). No. 5. Editora Escala. pp. 32–3.
  14. ^ a b Joypad staff (July 1994). "Import: Masked Rider ZO". Joypad. No. 33. Yellow Media. p. 39. ISSN 1163-586X.
  15. ^ a b VideoGame staff (April 1995). "Review: The Masked Rider: Kamen Rider ZO". VideoGame (in Portuguese). No. 48. Editora Sigla. p. 8.
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