A short, small 2D Fighter Arcade releassed for the Genesis.
Primal Rage was released at a time when, temporary obviously, blood and gore were featured in games as if it was okay. It was games like these (though Mortal Kombat was the prime offender), that made ESRB into what they are today.
Like any 2D fighting game you would find, you basically have a choice of characters to fight off to conquer championships. In this case, you choose beasts and dinosaurs that will fight to the death to their foes and conquer their land. The basic plotline is to kill all the creatures and conquer all lands to beat the game, which can take 10-15 minutes. And that's it. You may choose any kind of difficultly to vary the feel, and you may choose different settings, but for the most part, you're just dueling with others. 2P support is here as well, and can be fun if you and you're friend never really played the Arcade original.
When you are fighting, you have techniques that vary on each creature. For example, Diablo, a red fire-breathing T-Rex, can punch, kick, charge its head, and even use its tail. There are some combos that make your creatures do special technique that can beat your opponent easily. Diablo can shoot fire from its mouth, and even disappear in flames if you do a combo correct. The combos are usually done by pressing more then one button at the same time, or pressing a pattern of buttons.
There are no unlockables found in this port of the Arcade original. All you do is fight and fight. The gameplay itself is fun and addicting the first time you play, but will start to get old after a while.
Graphics:
Since the Genesis is inferior to what the Arcade original could do, the graphics had to be dumbed down. The opening animation sequence before you fight is taken out for the Genesis version. Also, the sprite animations have reduced frames unlike the Arcade version. Despite all the dumbing down from the Arcade, this is an impressive looking Genesis game. The frame rate is good and the backgrounds still look fine, even if they were dumbed down too. A nice visual package for a Genesis game.
Sound:
The audio from the arcade version also had to be dumbed down for the Genesis. Now some sound effects don't sound as clear as they used to. Still, like the graphics, it’s impressive the developers pushed the limit of the sound chip of the system. In general terms, the music is pretty forgettable. The audio wasn't that special to begin with anyways.
Conclusion:
In addition to 2P mode, Primal Rage supports the 6-button control pad released late in the Genesis' life. It's definitely the best one to go, compared to the standard 3-button controller. It's much easier to perform technique with it. Primal Rage, like most arcade ports, is very short in length and replay value. There are better 2D fighters on the Genesis, so you're better off playing the Mortal Kombat games or something. If you truly are a die-hard fan of the arcade version and want a console version, check to see what the other console versions are like. The Genesis version is definitely not the best one to go, since it was dumbed down to be programmed on the old processor. This version is only recommended if you have no choice.
Pros:
-Addictive arcade fun (for a while)
-Despite the dumbed down graphics and audio, they look and sound clear for a Genesis title
Cons:
-Though the audio is clear, the music itself is nothing to take notice of.
-A curse for most Arcade ports, it's very short and has little replay value.
-No Extras
-Because of the limited specs of the Genesis, Primal Rage is best recommended elsewhere.