Pulseman

Pulseman (パルスマン) is a 1994 Japanese platform game developed by Game Freak and published by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive. It was released in North America for the Sega Channel in 1995. It was re-released on the Virtual Console for the Wii in 2007 and 2009, and the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack in 2023.

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

Development
When first announced, the game was titled Spark. It was directed by Ken Sugimori. Much of the staff who worked on Pulseman would later work on the Pokémon series, including Sugimori, designer Satoshi Tajiri, artist Atsuko Nishida, and composer Junichi Masuda.

Release
The game was released in Japan on July 22, 1994. The North American version was released in 1995 via the Sega Channel. Pulseman was re-released for the Wii on the Virtual Console in Japan in 2007 and in North America and Europe in 2009. The game was added to the library of Sega Genesis games as part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service's Expansion Pack subscription tier on April 18, 2023.

Reception
Upon release, Famitsu 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 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 gave it 7/10. Nintendo Life gave it an 8 out of 10.