Neon Genesis Evangelion (Sega Saturn)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Shin Seiki Evangerion, also known as Neon Genesis Evangelion: First Impression) is a 1996 video game released exclusively for the Japanese. It was the first Video Game based on Evangelion. It features a new angel, the Unnamed Angel. A newer edition was released in 1997, and a DVD version of the game in 2004, advertised as a OVA-like, but non canon "Episode X".

Story
While Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Sohryu, and Rei Ayanami are in battle against the Unnamed Angel, The Evangelion Unit 01 suffers a psychological attack from the Angel and Shinji loses his memory. He completely forgets what an Evangelion is and is forced to relearn how to pilot it. After a stint at NERV headquarters, Misato Katsuragi leads the pilots to school. Upset by what happened to him, Shinji walks in the evening in Tokyo-3 where he finds Rei. The next morning, the Unnamted Angel returns. Shinji manages to defeat the Angel and thus regains his memory.

The player can have several ends according to his choices:


 * Vagrant Scenario: It's the bad ending where Shinji, desperate to have lost his memory, feels guilt. He does not go to school and wanders around the city.
 * Combat Scenario: Shinji shows in the combat simulation the same abilities he had before losing his memory. The NERV then decides not to let him out of the HQ so that he can intercept the Angel as soon as he returns.
 * School Scenario: At school, Shinji finds Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida who uses his memory loss to make him believe things like being a clown at school or having a relationship with him Hikari Horaki.

Overview
This is the only game that came out during the broadcast of the animated series. Because of this, some mistakes like the fact that the Evangelion Unit-00 still keeps its yellow armor.

Since the game was released before the end of the series, the story of the game is different from the series by revealing a new Angel: Unnamed Angel.

The game lasts about 30 minutes, during which the player must take action to advance the unseen story of an unseen animated sequence, especially for Eva's fights where the player must correctly perform a key combination. In non-combat sequences, the player may also be dealing with choices that will determine the end. The game can be treated like a kind of personal episode with at the beginning of each part the credits of the series.

The game also includes a "replay" mode to rewatch parts as an episode of the series.

Gameplay
The game is divided into scenario mode and combat mode with multiple purposes depending on the player's actions.

Battle Mode
The fights are organized in turns. Before each turn, a slot machine triggers. The result is to determine who, the Evangelion or Angel is attacking first. If the player loses, he can still attack and do a lot of damage. But he must react faster on orders. If he makes the commands in time, he can attack.

The R button is used to make an attack if the enemy is far in the distance, the L button is used to attack when the enemy is near. If the enemy has an Absolute Terror Field, then the player must draw the Progressive Knife of the Eva by pressing the left button of the directional cross. If the enemy does not have an AT Field, you must press the right button to use a firearm. The down button is used to execute a melee attack. It is mainly used when the player does not know what action is performed and therefore serves especially the novice player. There is a synchronization gauge that gets filled up as the fight progresses. If the synchronization rate between the Eva and his pilot reaches 85%, the player has the option to perform a special attack by pressing the up button. This powerful attack consumes the sync gauge and must therefore be reached to recharge it to run again. Once the actions on the controller are done.

The effectiveness of the attack is determined according to the time that the player will have to choose the action to perform. Between each round, the player also has the possibility to move his Eva away from the enemy with a map representing Tokyo-3.

If the Angel makes an attack, the player must press up, down, right or left to dodge the attack. To choose which button, a "DANGER" announcement will appear at the top, bottom, right or left of the screen. Depending on the type of attack (physical attack, radius, etc ...), the player can also deploy his AT Field or perform other actions. He can also counterattack if he is fast enough.

Characters

 * Shinji Ikari
 * Rei Ayanami
 * Asuka Langley Sohryu
 * Hikari Horaki
 * Tōji Suzuhara
 * Kensuke Aida
 * Misato Katsuragi
 * Ritsuko Akagi
 * Maya Ibuki
 * Shigeru Aoba

Evangelions

 * Evangelion Unit-00
 * Evangelion Unit-01
 * Evangelion Unit-02

Staff

 * Scenario: Hiroshi Yamaguchi
 * Director of Animation: Ikuo Shimazu
 * Angel Design: Ikuto Yamashita
 * Animation Production: Tatsunoko Production

Books

 * Neon Genesis Evangelion Sega Saturn Perfect Guide: Published in September 1997, it's a strategy book for the game Neon Genesis Evangelion and Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Impression. It also contains an interview with Hiroshi Yamaguchi, the game's writer, about Mayumi's character.