is a 1994 Japanese action

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action game, action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform game ...

developed by

Game Freak is a Japanese video game developer, best known as the primary developer of the mainline ''Pokémon (video game series), Pokémon'' series of role-playing video games published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. History Predating the vide ...

and published by Sega for the

Sega Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

. It was released in North America for the

Sega Channel The Sega Channel is a discontinued online game service developed by Sega for the Sega Genesis video game console, serving as a content delivery system. Launched on December 14, 1994, the Sega Channel was provided to the public by TCI and Time ...

in 1995 and has been released on the Virtual Console for the Wii.

Story

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 and Pulseman must fight his own father and put an end to his gang for the sake of the free world.

Development

When first announced, ''Pulseman'' was originally named ''Spark''.D GEN – Beta> The game was directed by

Ken Sugimori is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is best known as the primary character designer and art director for the ''Pokémon'' franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, in ...

. Most of the staff members who worked on ''Pulseman'' would later work on the ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' series, including Sugimori, designer

Satoshi Tajiri is a Japanese video game designer and director best known for being the creator of the ''Pokémon'' franchise and one of the founders, and president of video game developer Game Freak. A fan of arcade games, Tajiri wrote for and edited his o ...

, artist

Atsuko Nishida is a Japanese graphic artist who previously worked at Game Freak and TOYBOX Inc. She designed a number of creatures for the ''Pokémon'' franchise, including one of the most well-known Pokémon species, the franchise's mascot Pikachu. Career N ...

and composer

Junichi Masuda is a Japanese video game composer, director, designer, producer, singer, programmer and trombonist, best known for his work in the ''Pokémon'' franchise. He was a member of Game Freak where he was an employee and executive at the company since ...

Release

The game was released in Japan on July 22, 1994. The North American version was released in 1995 via the

. ''Pulseman'' was re-released for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

on the

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Un ...

in Japan in 2007 and in North America and Europe in 2009.

Reception

Upon release, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the ...

'' gave the game a score of 24 out of 40. Brazilian magazine ''Super GamePower'' gave it a 3.5 out of 5 score. Italian magazine Computer+Videogiochi (CVG) gave it a score of 71/100. German magazine ''Mega Fun'' gave it a 69/100. When it was released on the Virtual Console, it received praise from multiple publications. ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...

'' reviewed the Virtual Console version of ''Pulseman'', giving it a score of 8.0 out of 10, therefore receiving IGN's Editor's choice award. In the review, the author praises its graphics as "one of the cleanest, most crisp and most attractive platformers on the Genesis" and that the game "isn't just fun, it's electric." ''

EuroGamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...

'' gave it 7/10. ''

Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...

'' gave it an 8 out of 10.

References

External links

*
Sega's page for ''Pulseman'', Virtual Console release

''Volteccer!'' Game reference
(Web archive)
''Pulseman.co.uk'' Game reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pulseman 1994 video games Game Freak games Side-scrolling platform games Sega Genesis games Virtual Console games Artificial intelligence characters in video games Video game characters with electric or magnetic abilities Video game superheroes Single-player video games Sega video games Video games set in the 21st century Video games scored by Junichi Masuda Video games developed in Japan