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A Nostalgic Look at Vectorman – Culture of Gaming

A NOSTALGIC LOOK AT VECTORMAN by Rob Coffin May 17, 2022

It’s 2049 and Earth’s cities, forests and icecaps are fouled with toxic sludge.” That is the first sentence in the opening image of the Sega Genesis classic Vectorman. It’s 1995 and my brother and I are playing Vectorman for the first time. Passing the controller back and forth, and fighting the helicopter boss at the end up level one until we had the whole stage memorized. Now it’s 2018, and with the help of an emulator, I have just completed Vectorman for the first time.

Video games have always been an important part of my life growing up. One of my earliest and happiest memories I have is of me, my father and my brother staying up far too late trying to beat the final castle in Super Mario 3. My parents bought me and my brother the Sega Genesis one Christmas in the mid nineties. Several games were packaged inside, including Vectorman. 

The Game Itself

Image result for vectorman

Anyone who has played a Genesis game will tell you how unforgiving they are. Vectorman is no exception. The first level is not so bad. Set against the backdrop of rafters and cat walks, Vectorman makes his way from platform to platform, destroying “orbots” as he goes. At the end of the stage, there is a helicopter dropping bombs that needs to be dealt with.

Stage two is where things become difficult. Stage one is a great opening to a game. It’s got tight platforming, the shooting feels meaningful and a difficult but fair boss fight at the end. Stage two is the opposite of all that. Vectorman transforms into a train car and a giant “orbot” is trying to knock him off the track. You can no longer aim your shots or control your movement. The only thing you can do is jump, mash on the fire button and hope that the bad robot dies before the good one.

This is where my memory of the game ended. Seeing Vectorman run and shoot at the old Sega logo brought me right back to childhood, but I did not remember any of the game past stage two. I spoke to my brother about this project and he assured me that we did, at least once get to the third stage. I guess, as a child, I was so surprised by the tonal shift in the second stage that my mind latched onto that.

The Cracks Beneath The Surface

Now, as an adult, I have something I didn’t have as a child. Save states! Being able to save my progress makes this game a breeze. The third level begins an odd trend that continues on through the next several levels. It’s a partially underwater level. Now Vectorman being a robot means that he does not have to breathe. All this addition does is make the platforming feel floaty and bad.

The underwater stages continue until you get to another linear level which feels like a breath of fresh air. But just as soon as you finish it, you get another weird transformation stage like the one where Vectorman is a train for some reason. This time, he is a terrifying spider robot clinging onto a bamboo wall. You have to navigate this maze as two stone fists try to crush you. It took me several attempts before I realized I could still fire my weapon.

This is the game play loop of Vectorman. There are a few linear stages in a row. Some better than others. Then there is one of these strange levels where you have to defeat a boss in a transformed state that is very inconvenient for the task at hand. These are the worst part of the game. Fortunately, the final stage is not one of these.

The Finale

The final level has Vectorman getting sucked into a massive tornado that takes up multiple screens. It’s very technically impressive. As he flies into the air, destroying any debris that might collide with him, he finally sees what is waiting at the top. It’s not a tornado at all. It’s Warhead, the biggest and the baddest “orbot” of them all.

The tornado that has formed beneath Warhead has torn the roofs off of several homes. These conveniently serve as great platforms for you to jump on. You jump from roof to roof, shoot Warhead in the head, repeat until Warhead is dead. It’s a simple fight but still satisfying considering the grand spectacle it’s set in.

I’m glad I beat Vectorman after all these years. But in the end, I didn’t get the feeling of completion I was hoping for. I don’t put much belief in nostalgia. However, this game has always held a special place in my heart. Now that I really examine it though, maybe it’s not the games, or the movies, or the books that we loved so much when we were kids. I’m visiting my brother and his wonderful family tomorrow. I can’t wait to tell him about the final boss fight in Vectorman. 

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