Slot Off, Frag-Face! Let's Play Sega's Shadowrun

Hey everyone! It's time for me to espouse the virtues of a decades-old video game which is available for sale roughly nowhere. Of note is the fact that this is the first time I've done so in this form - so it's now time to start this Let's Play - Shadowrun for Sega Genesis.



This game came out back when I was but a teenage lad, and made sure to head over to my friend's house to play it often. (This was back in the day when having more than one console was considered dark majick. Thus, he got this and Gunstar Heroes, and the Sonic games, and I got the other Shadowrun, Super Metroid, and the Mario games. But enough looking back with 20/20 vision - what's important is that we both got to play the good stuff whenever it came out. Well, after a bit of ribbing about Mortal Kombat I.) Sadly, few magazines shared our enthusiasm. The normally seminal Game Players gave it a 62%, for crying out loud!

Their loss. You see, Shadowrun on the Genesis is one of the earliest open-world games - giving the player multiple options about how to tackle things. Guns, magic, hacking, social engineering - any one of these things can crack a particularly troublesome secret, computer, or skull. Sure, it had a few rough edges (which I'll be sure to elaborate on. A lot.), but by and large was a great game bringing forward a new frontier.

With said frontier being largely unnoticed by the public until 2001 when GTA3 came out. Sigh.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's launch Genesis Plus power on our Genesis!



Ah, nothing like a custom Sega animation to whet the appetite. I think the only thing that came close in those days was Konami's laser-etch logo.



And let's not forget The FASA Corporation, who started this whole darn mess. They're...somewhere now. I dunno. Apparently they got bought out by Wiz kids or something.



Here we are, with a command to Press Start. Why yes, I do believe I will.

Well, obviously. I mean, do we really know anyone anymore?





While technically true, I don't think the fact that he died sixty years later from a bladder infection should really merit the dramatic desk assault.





After all, that's what the guide says you need to do.





Starbucks, you're going down first. Microsoft, you're next. Boeing, we're gonna have words. Nintendo...oh, you just wait.





It's no "BUY SOMETHING WILL YA?", but I think it will suffice. Anyway, first things first - let's pick up Mike's stuff. I hear he got one of those MP15 players last week.





Turns out that both conversation options there lead to the same result. Maybe Joshua here should've hitchhiked to Seattle instead. Ah well.



And here we are, outside the hotel where gameplay begins. But what type? That's where you guys come in. See, you can pick between one of three character types to play the game as. (Well, actually, you need to do that before the intro started, but then this post would've been mostly me talking about my childhood and "WHAT DO I DO???!!?!" It harshes my flow, man.)



The Samurai is a powerhouse character. He starts out with some extra strength as well as a piece of body-modifying Cyberware: Hand Razors. These little babies are blades that slide in and out at will from under your fingernails, significantly increasing your melee damage. Unfortunately, he's too much into brute force to use this piddling magic stuff.



The Decker is a smarty-pants character. He starts out with extra intelligence and computer skill as well as the Datajack Cyberware, which essentially allows him to plug his brain into the internet. However, as someone who rolls his eyes and changes the channel whenever Ghost Adventures comes on, he can't use magic either.



Finally, the Shaman is a magician. With extra magical power, he has the ability to learn any spell he's offered. He starts out with the Mana Zap spell, which causes a jolt to his opponents' minds. Unfortunately, there's a caveat to this - while he (and everyone else) can use Cyberware, his magical power decreases with every piece he installs. Granted, everyone else's does too, but since he's a spellcaster, this is where he gets the short end of the stick.

So now it's time to make your choice - who will step into the shadows?

My usual suggestion is decker, because the matrix is the best (and it's a very well-done version of the 1st/2nd edition incarnation of the rules), but I'm pretty sure you can just hire a decker NPC and not gimp yourself in the combat.

So.. I vote shaman. 1) Magic is fun, 2) I can't remember if there's a particularly interesting assortment of cyberware anyway, so what do you have to lose, and 3) gator shaman is so goddamn rare to see in Shadowrun that it's worth it just for the novelty factor.

Shadowrun trivia 1: hand razors are come to via Gibson's Molly Millions character, from Neuromancer. But you also have spurs, which are essentially Wolverine claws, which is what the samurai's portrait there is showing.

i love this game so so much, and played it on the sega channel. And then i played in a shadowrun campaign last year, and loved it even more.

I vote decker.

So, I've always wanted to try this setting! But I never found anyone who would play it.

I know there are different shamans based on animals. What are they like?

You know, I think the closest analog for this game is Pirates! Gold, weirdly.

I vote Shaman.

I always play Decker and recruit 2 Samurai later on so my vote goes to Gator Shaman.

Heh- tried the SNES version for abit and got stuck pretty quickly...
This vote belongs to Shaman

I can't remember if the shaman types matter in the Genesis game (I know they didn't in the SNES game, it was more just for personality there), but...

In tabletop, shaman all have an animal totem. The animal can be either urban, wilderness, or both; for instance a raccoon could be an urban or a wilderness totem, obviously, but so could a gator (due to livin' in sewers). Each totem gives you an advantage (usually a bonus to one or two spell times, sometimes a specific kind of action), and a disadvantage (which is typically a restriction of some kind). Gator shaman have to make a willpower test to break off a fight, Raven shaman have a penalty to actions when they're indoors, and so on.

There are also insect shaman, but that's.. something else...

No wonder Vulcan Raven was such a wimp the second time around.

Oh man, I've been looking forward to an LP of the Shadowrun I've never played, and I don't mean that subpar FPS game.

Looks like shaman's winning, but I'm gonna vote decker. Leave the major violence stuff to the guys you hire, and put your own skills into going on a hacking spree. Of the computery kind. To hire better guys and get better computer hacky stuff.

Yeah, let's go with the shaman.

Post Cyber Neo Seattle has probably never even seen a Gator Shaman, drawing on the rich native magical lore of the pre-Industrial-Revolution Everglades. You'll be unstoppable.

I gotta say Decker too. Gator Shamans sound cool and all, but come on. This is cyberpunk. Are you cyberpunk enough to cyberpunk?

Decker. This is Shadowrun!

You can go to Puyallup in this game, can't you? I've never played it, but the fact that my hometown--a place most of you can't even pronounce--actually appeared in a videogame is kind of exciting.

I'll vote Decker, I guess. I don't have a strong preference, but since I'm jacked in from the Redmond Barrens right now I feel I should contribute.

I hope you aren't fond of it. It... hasn't aged well.

I vote for decker, and that we refer to him as Crash Override.

I also vote Decker since I don't have much of an interest in the magical elements of Shadowrun.

Although, when I emulated this years ago I used to play as a Samurai.

Oh, so it's realistic.

Shaman.

I always played a Shaman and then picked up a datajack when I started to bust into the net. It only costs .1 essence, not a huge hit to your magikal prowess. Shaman really gives you the most versatility, since you could completely ignore magic and get all cyberwared up if you wanted.

Anyway, really looking forward to this!

Decker. The fun of Shadowrun lies in attaching the word "cyber" arbitrarily to as many of your body parts as you possibly can.

The game doesn't truly start until you get a cyberduodenum.

I'm not really familiar with the mechanics of that edition, but in current Shadowrun essence loss is rounded up, so that really works out to a 17% drop in magic. On the flipside, that means you can cyber-up that other .9 without penalty.

Gator Shaman sounds awesome. Do that.

Decker!

Man, I wish I had a group of RPers to play Shadowrun with... I'm enjoying the Fading Suns campaign I'm in but I need more rping...

Yeah, something to note is that the Shadowrun Universe is more or less pulled whole cloth from loosely based on Neuromancer. There are a few cheeky reminders of this in the game, with some of your clients names coming up as "Billy Gibson" or "Nero Manser".

The voting is now, believe it or not, in a dead heat! Both Crash Override (supported by shivam, MetalManMaster, Kalin, Nodal, Kevin, Comb Stranger, StrawberryChrist, Posaune, and Falselogic) and Merlin Haggard (supported by nunix, KCar, Balrog, recentteen14, Mazian, RedSilvers, StriderDL, Lucas, and Turnip) have nine votes each, with Big McLargeHuge bringing up the rear with a whopping zero. So I'll leave the polls open a little longer for you to go vote, because your vote matters! (Unless, apparently, you vote Samurai.)

I would vote for Crash if his last name was "Bomber." As it stands, Merlin Haggard gets my vote.

- Eddie

Gotta vote for MERLIN HAGGARD, the wizard. Everyone loves wizards.

You gotta run with a Gator Shaman, Chummer.