Cosmic Carnage
Eight survivors fight for the last escape pod.
In 1994, Sega released Cosmic Carnage for the 32X, a fighting game co-developed by Almanic Corporation and ALU. Set in an unknown star system, it pits eight fighters from two opposing groups against each other. Critics gave the title a mixed response.
Quick Facts
- Publisher
- Sega (WW)
- Programmer
- Takashi Shichijo
- Composer
- Hikoshi Hashimoto
- Platforms
- 32X
- Released
- December 1994 (NA); 27 January 1995 (JP); February 1995 (EU); BRA; 1995
- Genre
- Fighting
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Cosmic Carnage is a fighting game similar to Mortal Kombat. Players fight one-on-one matches, with the first to win two bouts declared the winner. Each round is timed, adjustable or deactivatable in options; if time expires, the fighter with more health wins. The game has five difficulty levels and hidden characters accessible via cheat code. In single-player mode, players choose from eight characters and fight computer opponents. Achieving a good ending depends on how quickly the player defeats opponents, leaving more time to escape to a life pod. Special and death moves are performed via button commands with the d-pad. A notable feature allows customizing a character before matches: four characters use armor, and players choose light or heavy options for body, leg, and arm armor, each granting unique special moves. The camera zooms in or out based on character movement, similar to the Samurai Shodown franchise.
Synopsis
In an uncharted star system, prisoners en route to a celestial space mine overpower the ship's guards and take control, but damage most controls during the breakout. After drifting for days, the criminals realize their only hope is to hijack another ship, using their distress signal to lure a military vessel. They ram their own ship into the military ship, but the impact badly damages both, destroys all but one escape pod, and kills all except four from each ship, leaving eight survivors. The survivors fight for the final escape pod and a chance to survive. All soldiers use Light Armor and can equip Heavy Armor before fights; none of the fugitives use armor. The eight fighters are: Cylic, an alien red ant (in the Japanese version, a brown-haired human soldier named Jake); Zena-Lan, a female soldier with a flaming head (Japanese version: blond-haired human soldier Ray); Naruto, a shadow being (Japanese version: brown-haired human); Tyr, a man with metallic skin in samurai-like armor; Talmac, a tall dark figure with a skull-like face, spiked red hair, and sharp claws; Yug, a gorilla-like humanoid possibly a robot; Naja, a female snake-shaped siren with a cobra's head and a tail used as a battering ram; and Deamon, a vicious alien with large claws and a scorpion-like stinger on the back of its head.
Development and release
Cosmic Carnage was built by Almanic Corporation alongside ALU. The programming was handled by Takashi Shichijo and the music by Hikoshi Hashimoto, though the game’s credits do not list them in those roles. Former Sega employee Takayuki Kawagoe noted that the project originally targeted the Mega Drive but was hastily shifted to the 32X to bolster that system’s lineup. ALU’s website confirmed that development kits arrived just three months before the final release. The game debuted in North America as a 32X launch title on November 21, 1994. Michael Latham, a former Sega of America executive producer, recalled the company was under pressure to meet the 32X’s launch window, and when Cosmic Carnage arrived, they were reluctant to ship it. It later reached Japan on January 27, 1995 under the name Cyber Brawl, and arrived in Europe in February 1995.
Reception
Cosmic Carnage received a 4.6969/10 score in a 1995 readers' poll by Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine, ranking 476th among 32X and Mega Drive titles. Critics gave mixed reviews. Electronic Gaming Monthly's four editors found it disappointing for a launch title, failing to surpass the Genesis in graphics or audio, though they praised the armor mechanic as innovative but felt gameplay was mediocre. GamePro praised the armor and sci-fi graphics but criticized slow action and limited originality, concluding more exciting Genesis fighters existed. Next Generation called it a sad mockery of a fighting game. Flux's Jeff Kitts described it as a second-rate fighter with sluggish action, awful sound, and overly detailed graphics, though he praised the characters and movesets. In a retrospective, IGN's Levi Buchanan applauded the large, colorful character sprites but felt the zooming effects ruined them, and criticized the audio as horrid crunchy music with weak sound effects.
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