Pulseman

Pulseman
Developer(s)	Game Freak
Publisher(s)	Sega
Director(s)	Ken Sugimori Satoshi Tajiri
Designer(s)	Ken Sugimori Satoshi Tajiri
Programmer(s)	Michiharu Nishihashi Takenori Ohta Junichi Masuda
Artist(s)	Atsuko Nishida Motofumi Fujiwara
Writer(s)	Ryousuke Taniguchi
Composer(s)	Junichi Masuda
Platform(s)	Mega Drive Virtual Console
Release	Mega Drive JP: 22 July 1994 NA: 1995 (Sega Channel)
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

Pulseman (Japanese: パルスマン, Hepburn: Parusuman) is a 1994 Japanese platform game developed by Game Freak and published by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive. It was released in North America for the Sega Channel in 1995.[1] It was re-released on the Virtual Console for the Wii in 2007 and 2009, and the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack in 2023.

Plot

In the 21st century, noted scientist and computer engineer Doc Yoshiyama had succeeded in creating the world's most advanced Artificial Intelligence. He called his creation C-Life and managed to make her aware, thinking and feeling. However, he soon found himself in love with this C-Life girl and wanted to be closer to her, so he digitized and uploaded himself into his computer core, where the two "made love" by combining his DNA and her program core. The end result of their love was the birth of a half human, half C-Life boy named Pulseman. Pulseman was unique in that he did not need to remain inside a computer to survive and had the power to channel electricity through his body, using it both as a weapon and as a means of quick transport through the power of Volteccer.

Unfortunately, living in the computer world for so long twisted Doc Yoshiyama's mind, corrupting his brainwaves and his body. Doc Yoshiyama emerged back into the human world, but twisted and changed into the evil Doc Waruyama. Using a system known as EUREKA, which allows for C-Life beings to manifest in the human world, Doc Waruyama establishes the Galaxy Gang, spreading a new wave of cyber-terrorism across the world. Pulseman must fight his own father and put an end to his gang for the sake of the free world.

Development

When first announced, the game was titled Spark.[2][3] It was directed by Ken Sugimori.[4] Much of the staff who worked on Pulseman would later work on the Pokémon series, including Sugimori, designer Satoshi Tajiri, artist Atsuko Nishida, and composer Junichi Masuda.

Release

The game was released in Japan on July 22, 1994.[5] The North American version was released in 1995 via the Sega Channel.[6] Pulseman was re-released for the Wii on the Virtual Console in Japan in 2007 and in North America and Europe in 2009.[7] The game was added to the library of Sega Genesis games as part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service's Expansion Pack subscription tier on April 18, 2023.[8]

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	80%[9]

Review scores

Publication	Score
Beep! MegaDrive	6.5/10[10]
Eurogamer	7/10[11]
Famitsu	24/40[5]
IGN	8/10[12]
Jeuxvideo.com	14/20[13]
Mega Fun	69%[14]
Nintendo Life	8/10[7]
Super Game Power	3.5/5[15]
Computer+Videogiochi	71/100[16]
Mega	68%[17]
Mega Console	75/100[18]
Sega Pro	81%[19]

The Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine ranked the game eighth in popularity in its October 1994 issue, and it received a 20.9/30 score in a poll conducted by Mega Drive Fan and a 7.72/10 score in a 1995 readers' poll conducted by the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine, ranking among Sega Mega Drive titles at the number 178 spot.[20][21][22] Pulseman received generally favorable reviews from critics when it was released on the Virtual Console for the Wii, holding a rating of 80% based on four reviews according to review aggregator GameRankings.[9]

References

1. Gazza, Brian (November 27, 2008). "The Sega Channel". blamethecontrolpad.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
2. "News". Game World (in Korean) (5). 1994.
3. monokoma (October 4, 2010). "Pulseman [MD GEN – Beta] at Unseen 64". Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
4. バーチャルコンソールで登場する幻の名作『パルスマン』ディレクターの杉森建氏に開発当時の裏話を聞く！. Sega Voice (in Japanese). Vol. 65. Sega. 2007-04-26. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28. (Translation Archived 2015-09-03 at the Wayback Machine)
5. "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: パルスマン". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 293. ASCII Corporation. July 29, 1994. (Transcription by Famitsu.com. Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine).
6. "The SEGA Channel". IGN. 2008-06-11. Archived from the original on 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
7. van Duyn, Marcel (July 5, 2009). "Pulseman (Wii Virtual Console / Mega Drive) Review". Nintendo Life. Nlife Ltd. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
8. "You Can Now Play Game Freak's Pre-Pokémon Platformer, Pulseman, On NSO's Expansion Pack". Nintendo Life. 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
9. "Pulseman for Genesis". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. 2008. Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
10. "BEメガドッグレース: PULSEMAN". Beep! Mega Drive (in Japanese). Vol. 10, no. 8. SoftBank Creative. August 1994. p. 19.
11. Whitehead, Dan (July 26, 2009). "Virtual Console Roundup Review: 17 games including Ogre Battle, Kirby Dream Land 3 and Smash Bros". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
12. Thomas, Lucas M. (July 23, 2009). "Pulseman (Gen) Review". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
13. OldSchoolBobby (January 13, 2011). "Test de Pulseman sur Megadrive par jeuxvideo.com". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on 2011-01-25. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
14. Hellert, Stefan (October 1994). "Test SNES/MD: Pulseman (Import Game)". Mega Fun [de] (in German). No. 25. Computec. p. 97.
15. Carnicelli, Roberto (December 1994). "Mega: Pulseman". Super Game Power [pt] (in Portuguese). No. 9. Nova Cultural [pt]. p. 26.
16. Secco, Gabrio (October 1994). "Review: Pulseman". Computer+Videogiochi [it] (in Italian). No. 41. Gruppo Editoriale Jackson [it]. p. 98.
17. "Mega Drive Review (Import): Pulseman". Mega. No. 24. Maverick Magazines. September 1994. pp. 56–57.
18. Crosignani, Simone; Merenda, Pier-Franco (October 1994). "Review Megadrive: Pulseman". Mega Console [it] (in Italian). No. 8. Futura Publishing. pp. 84–85.
19. Hill, Mark (October 1994). "Review: Pulseman". Sega Pro. No. 37. Paragon Publishing. pp. 58–59.
20. Nishibe, Masako (October 1994). "メガドライブ". Micom BASIC Magazine [ja] (supplement). Super Soft Hot Information (in Japanese). No. 148. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation [ja]. pp. 23–24.
21. "メガドラ読者レース". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 11, no. 9. SoftBank Creative. September 1995. pp. 82–85.
22. "超絶 大技林 '98年春版". PlayStation Magazine [ja] (Special) (in Japanese). Vol. 42. Tokuma Shoten Intermedia. April 15, 1998. p. 872.

External links

• Pulseman at MobyGames
• Sega's page for Pulseman, Virtual Console release (in Japanese)