Ristar (Game Gear)

For the Sega Mega Drive game, see Ristar.

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Ristar
System(s): Sega Game Gear
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega CS
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages: English Français Deutsch
Release Date RRP Code JP 1995-02-17 ¥3,8003,800 G-3365 US 1995-02 $39.9939.99 2543 EU 1995-02 2543-50 DE 1995 DM 99.0099.00 2543-50 UK 1995-02 £29.9929.99 2543-50

The Sega Game Gear version of Ristar, released as Ristar The Shooting Star (リスター・ザ・シューティングスター) in Japan, is a platform game released in 1995.

This 8-bit version is similar to its 16-bit counterpart on the Sega Mega Drive, but features different planets and adjusted level layouts.

A Sega Master System GG2SMS hack was released in May 2020.

Gameplay

Gameplay is pretty much identical to the Mega Drive version of Ristar, albeit scaled down to suit the Game Gear's specifications. Ristar can jump using the button, and can use his stretchy arms to grab on to enemies and headbutt them with the button. This is the only way to eliminate enemies as jumping on them will not work. Just like in the Mega Drive version, Ristar can also use his stretchy arms to climb walls, swing around poles and even swing on Star Handles to perform a Meteor Strike. Unlike the Mega Drive version, Ristar cannot swim and will instead sink to the bottom and act like he is on land, but he can still breathe.

The game uses the same health system: the player starts with 4 stars worth of health. Every time they're hit, they lose one star, but may replenish health by collecting items. Ristar also has a very basic life/continue system: once the player loses all of their lives, they'll be taken to a continue screen where they can choose to keep going with the game or give up. The password system, which was used in the Mega Drive version to enable cheats, is traditionally used to save the player's progress, and the player is given a password if they choose not to continue when they run out of lives.

Items

Some of the items listed here are exclusive to this version of the game, such as the Big Stars and the Super Star:

	Big Star
	Collecting 100 of these will award the player an extra life.
	1 Up
	Awards the player an extra life.
	Life Star
	Restores one star to Ristar's health.
	Tri-Life Star
	Restores up to three stars to Ristar's health.
	Super Star
	Makes Ristar invincible and increases his movement speed for a short while.
	Yellow Diamond
	Worth 1,000, 3,000 or 5,000 points.
	Helmet
	Dropped by certain enemies. Can be thrown as a projectile against other enemies.
	Spear
	Dropped by certain enemies. Can be thrown as a projectile against other enemies, or against walls to act as a spring.
	Orb
	Grants access to the Bonus Round after defeating the Round boss when collected.

Rounds

Note: the level names were changed when brought to the West.

	Round 1 - Planet Flora/Neer
	Planet Flora is the first level of Ristar, and is set in a tropical island/jungle setting just like the Mega Drive version. Most of the Round is the same, except the mini-boss in the first area has been replaced with a wall of glass blocks to break through, and the second area will require Ristar to use spears to overcome trees. Riho remains in place as the boss of Flora, and is just as easy to defeat.
	Round 2 - Planet Terra/Fanturn
	The second Round replaces Planets Undertow and Scorch with a completely different planet that serves as a very large oddity. It is a dream-themed world that has the player go through a sky-themed area with fluffy clouds, rainbows and beanstalks to climb, and an area set on a pirate ship with masts to climb up and hooks to swing down on. By Sega of America's request the first area of this Round has been dummied out in the Western releases, stripping the planet down to one area and the boss, but it can still be accessed by cheating. The boss is a tapir-like creature who heals himself by sleeping and altering the world around him. The player has to first take out the bat that covers his lantern so he cannot sleep, then throw his pillows back at him. Defeating him causes the world to transform into a decrepit nightmare.
	Round 3 - Planet Sonata/Neuos
	With the absence of Planet Scorch in this version of the game, Planet Sonata is now the third Round. Like with Flora, Sonata is much like its 16-bit counterpart, complete with having to deliver metronomes to songbirds in order to proceed. Both of its bosses are intact, though the mini-boss has one less mechanical head to deal with due to the smaller screen.
	Round 4 - Planet Freon/Timu
	The second Game Gear-exclusive Round is also an oddity in that its first area is an ice level similar to the 16-bit game's Planet Freon, albeit with time-themed decorations, and even has the same name in the Western versions. The second area, however, is very different as the player will navigate a large clock tower. The central gimmick of this Round is the presence of timed gates throughout both areas. When Ristar passes through one of them, a time bomb will be stuck to him, and the player must rush to a pool of water to get the bomb off Ristar before time runs out. The boss is a rabbit fought inside an hourglass, who will attack by either bouncing on Ristar or stopping time to shoot projectiles from his belly.
	Round 5 - Planet Automaton/Rewope
	Planet Automaton is the third planet to be ported from the Mega Drive version and is the fifth Round of this game. Most of it is the same as in the Mega Drive version, except the anti-gravity section in the first area has had its anti-gravity gimmick removed, and the mini-boss is replaced with a cluster of Big Stars for the player to grab. Uranim is fought in the same way as the Mega Drive version.
	Round 6 - Planet Greedy
	Castle Greedy holds the final fights against Inonis and Greedy just like in the 16-bit version, however the first section is different in that the player must ride an elevator and defeat a shower of enemies, with Adahan (the boss of the 16-bit version's Planet Scorch) making a surprise appearance as a mini-boss.
	Bonus Stages
	Bonus Stages are accessed in a different manner than the Mega Drive version in that the player must collect hidden Orbs within both areas of a Round and then defeat the boss at the end of the Round. If these conditions are met, they will be transported to a Bonus Stage. Whereas the Mega Drive version would task the player with getting to treasure within the time limit, the Game Gear version instead has the player bounce about in a confined arena and collect as many Big Stars as possible without falling into a pit, and will be awarded 100 points for each star they get at the end. If the player manages to collect every Big Star, they will be awarded a Perfect bonus.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Ristar	Ristar
English (US)	Ristar	Ristar
Japanese	リスター・ザ・シューティングスター	Ristar The Shooting Star

Production credits

• Game Planner: Nencoo Gutoku
• System Programmer: Alice Kagamino
• Ristar Programmer: Mika Muraoka
• Boss Programmer: Haruo Nakajima
• Enemy Programmer: Ezachan
• Effect Programmer: Masami Tezuka
• Demo Programmer: Hanamogera.D
• Character Designer: Francis.N, Pixy Monty
• Planet Designer: Mauo.S, General Kusumi
• Music Composer: LKJ.Chikayo, Tomoko Sasaki
• Sound Programmer: Kazune Hiiragi
• Project Director: Capt.Jinguji
• Art Director: Nencoo Gutoku
• Lead Tester: Matt Underwood
• Assistant Lead Testers: Carey Camacho, David Dodge
• Special Thanks to: Nag, Bryan.M, Wadachi, Tarachan, Chikyuchan, Tamachan, Nana Kusunoki, Ristar MD Staff and Genesis Staff
• Producer: Rhonda Van
• Assistant Producer: Erik Wahlberg
• Marketing: Chrissy Huneke Kremer
• Presented by: ©Sega 1995

Magazine articles

Main article: Ristar (Game Gear)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #23: "February/March 1995" (199x-xx-xx)
also published in:

• GamePro (US) #68: "March 1995" (1995-xx-xx)
• Sega Visions (US) #24: "May 1995" (1995-xx-xx)

Artwork

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Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Consoles + (FR) 87 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 76 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 75 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 63 Freak (IL) 90 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 81 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 88 Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL 91 Hobby Consolas (ES) 85 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 84 Mega Play (US) NTSC-U 77 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 82 Player One (FR) 90 Play Time (DE) 84 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 81 Sega Power (UK) PAL 87 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 81 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 68 Todo Sega (ES) 88 Video Games (DE) PAL 71

	81
Based on 20 reviews

Ristar (Game Gear)

Game Gear, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
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?	CRC32 a1c214bd MD5 2b302f29d4f6d87e4250329a8dba0739 SHA-1 f746e8e99f4fca811a32716d96a4e6528ec930eb	512kB	1994-09-09	CD-R disc				Page
?	CRC32 672d38d5 MD5 cb722a42fa9995fd68b01c6b75d4ed4d SHA-1 ac6d5e7f5c3fbd828876a12e10d89274025f3924	512kB	1994-10-19	CD-R disc				Page
?	CRC32 a302413c MD5 b59ba59eeeda353d1d63fba20a263cfe SHA-1 b13c32f50e7eb7d8147b7ad1d310e89e690ba6b2	512kB	1994-10-24	CD-R disc				Page
?	CRC32 44fa6ae6 MD5 e6d0bc904b7c7114eff0a7e3e750f7e9 SHA-1 e2a06327647d9ad2358e34aae069d7789bc70e65	512kB	1994-11-01	CD-R disc				Page
?	CRC32 302d2b4b MD5 e93b6e37cb8b6caf6c62262cf63a7d8a SHA-1 cf2a646d5c4b3f717a5c2a29d193210abbf770ca	512kB	1994-11-02	CD-R disc				Page