Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend
| Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend | |
|---|---|
 Genesis cover art. | |
| Developer(s) | Data East |
| Publisher(s) | Data East |
| Composer(s) |
Masaaki Iwasaki Taihei Sato Seiji Momoi Shogo Sakai |
| Series | Side Pocket |
| Platform(s) |
•Sega Genesis •Sega Saturn |
| Release date(s) |
Sega Genesis Sega Saturn |
| Genre(s) | Cue sports |
| Mode(s) |
•Single-player •Multiplayer (up to 2 players) |
Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend (released in Japan as Side Pocket 2 (Japanese: サイドポケット2 Hepburn: Saido Poketto 2)) is a pocket billiards video game for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn, featuring famed billiards player Minnesota Fats (as portrayed in "real-life" form by Rudolf Wanderone). It was released as a sequel to Data East's earlier success, Side Pocket. The objective in the game is to defeat AI-controlled competitors. The player can also take on another human player in order to prove his worthiness at the pool table.
The Saturn version of the game largely plays the same as the Genesis version, but includes a training mode, a short documentary on Minnesota Fats, and a completely different plot in the story mode. In the Genesis version the player takes the role of an unnamed rookie pool player seeking to challenge Minnesota Fats, while in the Saturn version the player takes the role of Minnesota Fats himself, and live action FMVs are used for the cutscenes.
Development
As was typical of live action FMV in video games, the cutscenes in the Saturn version were shot on a minimal budget. Some of the opponents were portrayed by staff from Data East's marketing department.[2]
Reception
GamePro gave the Genesis version a generally negative review. While they praised the "authentic" sound effects and the story mode, they commented that the overhead view makes the balls look small and flat, all the available music tracks are elevator music, and the controls are imprecise.[1] A reviewer for Next Generation, in contrast, said Minnesota Fats improved upon the already excellent original Side Pocket by adding new modes and the ability to play eight-ball, "the staple of any pool game that was mysteriously absent in the original." He added that the cue-ball shaped cursor is more accurate, the physics are more realistic, and the opponent AI, while prone to making miraculous shots and missing easy ones, provides an overall decent challenge. He deemed it "easily the best pool game for a home system - though it still can't beat a smokey bar", and gave it three out of five stars.[3]
On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the Sega Saturn version of the game at 28 out of 40.[4]
References
- 1 2 "ProReview: Minnesota Fats: The Pool Master". GamePro. IDG (69): 46. April 1995.
- ↑ "Minnesota Fats: The Pool Master". Next Generation. Imagine Media (6): 70–71. June 1995.
- ↑ "Tricky". Next Generation. Imagine Media (6): 112. June 1995.
- ↑ NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: サイドポケット2 ~伝説のハスラー~. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.329. Pg.32. 7 April 1995.