Maybe Space Channel 5 Part 2 isn’t often considered to be one of the Dreamcast’s top titles — especially since it wasn’t even released on that console stateside — but it should be remembered as one of its most ambitious. Just take a look at the rhythm game’s brutal ending, the one you get when you fail on the final stage, in the video above.
Ouch, man. After spending an hour or two helping intergalactic reporter Ulala rescue the citizens of Space Channel 5’s station, everything comes to a head in the final battle. It’s the lengthiest level by far, with some complex dance moves to follow along with as fast as you can. It’s a challenge to make it through, so to finish it and nearly hit the end credits, only to flub the final note and be greeted with this? God.
Space Channel 5: Part 2 is full of abrupt endings like this, all to hilarious and painful effect. Ulala’s what you’d call a sore loser, which is part of her relatable charm.
Her sense of defeat is palpable. Just like the motion-captured dance moves, Ulala’s painfully dragged feet are super realistic.
It all adds up to what’s one of the strangest games of the last 15 years. As much as it stinks to have the satisfaction of a real ending scene preceding the credits, that Sega didn’t even bother — that it basically told the player it didn’t deserve to get a good ending, since they didn’t play the level properly — shows the developer had some real chutzpah.
