but we really had our work cut out trying to figure out how we were going to represent the laser because its radius is so big. At first there was a delay when we tried to draw it on the screen so we had to rewrite it several times." The team used their own custom operating system to develop the conversion rather than the Sega Graphics Library. Because the Saturn cannot generate as many polygons per second as the Model 2 hardware, the polygonal backgrounds were replaced with scrolling images. Rumors which state that an early version of the Virtual On arcade version was planned to use the VR-1 headset also circulate - though these are not confirmed, the MVD design is incorporated into the Virtuaroids of the game. Reception In Japan, Game Machine listed Virtual On: Cyber Troopers on their March 1, 1996 issue as being the most-successful dedicated arcade game of the month. In a December 1995 GamesMaster preview of the arcade game, Dominik Diamond called Virtual On "a futuristic version of the old Gun Fight game." Reviewing the arcade version, a Next Generation critic described the game as "phenomenally intriguing". He found the use of full three-dimensional movement, heat-seeking projectiles, and defensive sprints to be strong innovations which set the game above rival Namco's Cyber Sled. He additionally praised the 60 frames per second frame rate, quick-moving camera, use of robots as combatants, and dynamic combat strategies, and expressed concern that US gamers would pass by the game due to its distinctively Japanese character designs and initially confusing up-close combat. The Saturn version was widely held to be an extremely accurate translation of the arcade version, but critics were divided about the game itself. One issue was the controls, which most critics said take adjusting to unless the twin sticks controller is used, and a reviewer for Next Generation pointed out that this was an expensive option, since Virtual On would in all likelihood be the only game to support the peripheral. Unlike most reviewers, GamePros The Rookie said the game looks and sounds "16-bit", though he felt it offered enough fun to be worth trying as a rental. However, the main point of disagreement was the gameplay. Next Generation, Rich Leadbetter of Sega Saturn Magazine, and Shawn Smith and Crispin Boyer of Electronic Gaming Monthly all said that while the game is deceptively simple, it offers