by We're always intrigued by retro games launching on Xbox for the first time, and we've got something from the SEGA Saturn era arriving on Xbox One, Series X and Series S this Tuesday in the form of Culdcept The First Saturn Tribute!
This is a self-described "classic fusion of board and card games" that first debuted on the Saturn in 1997, followed by PS1 and even Nintendo DS versions over time, although it's never been released in the West until now.
However, you may be more familiar with Culdcept on the PS2 from 2001, and most likely Culdcept Saga on the Xbox 360, which did actually get a North American release in 2008.
This new release of The First Saturn Tribute, however, is intended to bring the original game to modern platforms:
The classic fusion of board and card games from 1997 is back and better with modern features! The original Culdcept was released in 1997; a combination of digital board game and deck building, it saw numerous sequels, but that very first game never left Japan, until now!
You'll find a few new features in Culdcept The First Saturn Tribute compared to the original SEGA Saturn version as well, including quick save and load options, the ability to rewind, and the ability to get more reward cards after a match.
Looking at the Steam version (which released in July), the game has a "Mostly Positive" average rating as things stand, with most of the negative reviews appearing to have occurred before a recent patch that ironed out some bugs.
We'll leave you with more details on the game itself down below, and it's also worth noting that Culdcept BEGINS — a new entry in the series that recently launched on PC and Nintendo Switch — doesn't show any signs of coming to Xbox as things stand, although we're hopeful that'll change in the not too distant future.
Culdcept The First uses a die (or two sometimes!) to move around the game board, with the aim of gathering a target amount of magic, then returning to the castle to win. The spaces on the board are land which can be claimed by summoning a creature to defend them. Land comes in four different colors representing terrain types; these in turn match the creatures’ alignments. Land can also be upgraded, granting additional advantages to its owner.
If an opponent lands on your space, they can either pay a toll or attack your creature with one of their own. In these battles, players can also use special item cards to maximize their chances of winning. Your deck or “book,” consists of 50 cards of various types, with a total of over 300!