Corpse Killer: Graveyard Edition | Reviewing Every U.S. Saturn Game | Episode 29 of 246

Patreon: / pandamoniumnick
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/pandamoniumnick
Digital Pictures is bringing its zombie shooting interactive movie to the Sega Saturn, Jamaican sidekicks and all. Let's go down the rabbit hole, showing what they spent millions of dollars on to make this full motion video game, and how the producers and actors brought it all together. You might even hear about a little known Sega CD game that made a permanent impact on the video game industry.
Major thank you to SEGAbits for allowing me to use their Tom Zito interview for this video. Their full interview can be found at this link, please check out their channel while you're there: • Swingin’ Report Show #...
Massive thank you Brigett Butler for agreeing to do an interview. I really enjoyed hearing your stories, and will post the full interview in the near future.
Track list:
pastebin.com/raw/uR9teVbz
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This episode of PandaMonium Reviews was brought to you in part by Sega Saturn Shiro! I'm a part of the podcast crew and it is rad: www.segasaturnshiro.com/
Shiro’s KZbin channel is also rad: / @segasaturnshiro
Welcome to the series where I review every single Sega Saturn game released in North America by order of release date. I made a spreadsheet with all the games satakore.com has as American releases, listing them off by order of release date, including sources. All the games are narrowed down to the month they came out in the U.S.
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Twitter is COOL:
/ pandamoniumgr

[@pauljensen519]

Really informative video! Thanks for showing SCAT. Looks like I still have some bugs in those green screen zombies. 😁 Fun fact: The green screen zombies actually use a blue background in the game data. I changed them to green since a lot of chroma key effects default to that.

[@PandaMoniumReviews]

Yo, thanks for making SCAT!! Sorry I wasn’t able to give proper credit to you in the video. I was wondering why the videos had a green background since they were filmed on blue, this is good to know. You built a great program! Thanks for preserving such a unique old video format. :)

[@pauljensen519]

@@PandaMoniumReviews No worries! Glad to know it came in handy for you. One other thing: I had a very pleasant email conversation with Ken Soohoo years ago. Pretty cool to see him in this video, and sad to learn that he has passed away.

[@PandaMoniumReviews]

@@pauljensen519 He seemed like a really great dude. Never not smiling in any of the video I watched.

[@tveye363]

I love how even shitty games can have such a fascinating backstory that most people will just never know.

[@Random-yh9tj]

i know, another case is night trap.

[@Soonjai]

The fact that you produced a movie-length review for a game that most people write of as "Yeah, it´s trash, play it maybe for a few laughs" is amazing.

[@pastelshoal]

On one hand, these 1 hour reviews make me worry you will never get to the good stuff on the system, but on the other, those games have been talked to death. It's often more interesting to see the low quality more obscure stuff get the spotlight. Overall some of the best game related videos I've seen on YT period

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

That "We've been playing this game for years" attitude describes the ambitions and hubris that destroyed FMV games as a genre. Kudos to you for showing off the best and worst of the mediocre. Anyone can trash a terrible game or praise a great one. You see the story in why things are the way they are, and what they might have been. Edit: Also, these documentaries do a great job of letting the subjects tell their story. Even when they don't talk to you, you go out your way to listen through other means. That's a skill I don't expect to see anywhere, much less a game review. You're that rarest of creatures: an actual videogame journalist.

[@YosefASelim]

Dang, Ms Butler has barely aged a day. Still a bombshell. 😅

[@lbnFadl]

For real. Very likeable too 😄

[@G18999]

Mans is committed! 1 hour 20 minute review of a terrible game. Gotta love the dedication!

[@innoclarke7435]

Wow, I gotta give Brigett Butler some credit - it's been 27 years and she honestly has barely aged at all. Incredible genetics on display there. I went into this particular episode not sure if I'd commit to the full running time, but man, this ended up being so much more interesting than I expected. I'm kind of conflicted. On one hand, damn, the pace of episodes is seriously slow and I don't feel like this pace is something that can be maintained if there's any hope of getting to the end of this series, but on the other hand, this was such a fascinating episode and it's truly something special. However things continue to go, I at least know we're getting really, *really* great content.

[@PandaMoniumReviews]

Thanks for the kind words!! I don’t plan on stopping ever, I’ll always need a hobby. Just might have some slower output at times. :) Yes, Brigett is a gem of a human. She was great to talk to, and was able to answer some long unanswered questions about the game. It would be interesting if she ever got back into acting!

[@beefquiche]

I would treat Brigett Butler like I stole her. Brigett, if you're reading, let's make this romance happen. I can be found on the bench on Hollywood and N Highland.

[@jonbourgoin182]

1:06:37 You are the only reviewer I can think of (and I watch a lot of them), that actually goes back to the past (lol) to see what people were saying back then, and I really appreciate that. It's so damn fascinating knowing what the average gamer thought back then compared to now.

[@Krass.Estranged]

This video is great. When Winston says "Foopa" I believe he means "Faux Pas".

[@lutfimakarim8258]

Kinda wished Night Trap came out at Sega Saturn so this review could be in two parts 😊

[@PandaMoniumReviews]

Thanks for watching! If you think I earned it, you can support this project on Ko-fi. All proceeds will go directly to equipment and other things that will help improve the series: ko-fi.com/pandamoniumnick

[@RetroGamerBB]

I may have a biased opinion here but I the the 3do versions of these FMV games are the best ones. Could be the nostalgia talking. *Edit after taking a look, the Saturn video takes up the whole video frame, the 3do stops at the HUD.

[@zanychelly]

Schiavelli was also on the Ghost movie, as a angry ghost that totally didn’t jump into incoming train.

[@SamuraiSam]

I can't wait for PandaMonium to review Pandemonium

[@sirsinnes]

This is the best retro video game series currently being produced on KZbin.

[@nerosmith2578]

How Kenneth Soohoo was so enthusiastic about the future he saw for interactive movie games was really bittersweet. Especially with the hindsight he wouldn't do game development after these 90's FMV games, but he worked managing servers for things like the Dreamcast and kept them running till 2010, apparently very well liked within that community. He passed away a few years ago.

[@TheLandofObscusion]

It's so interesting to see how much money Tom Zito & Digital Pictures were throwing out for their games, literally millions of dollars per game, because when I interviewed the founder of fellow FMV developer American Laser Games back in 2015, he mentioned that none of ALG's games ever cost close to a million dollars, & the original Mad Dog McCree was even made for just ~$70,000; I bet Zito wouldn't even know what to do with that little money. Not to mention how Lethal Enforcers was one of the games brought up by the Senate, yet Mad Dog McCree was looked at as completely novel just a couple of years prior & was even showcased on The Today Show, despite being even more blatantly about shooting realistic people with a gun.

[@DiGiValentine]

Bravo!! Amazing work! I've never even heard of this game and yet i came away from this video appreciating everything i learnt about it. It's incredible how you can spend 20 minutes talking about Night Trap and the birth of the ESRB Rating just to provide context for the game you're going to be talking about. The level of depth you provide is crazy. It's also really cool that you managed to get Brigett Butler in for an interview, she seems really nice and it was great hearing her take on everything. Thanks for all your hard work, Panda man! ~

[@PandaMoniumReviews]

Glad you liked it Digi! Again, thank you for that most generous shoutout. :)

[@1515jet]

I feel like when something is 1 hour and 20 minutes long, it's no longer a review and has become a feature length movie.

[@robertdanker6193]

No surprise but this is by far the DEFINITIVE review of Corpse Killer!!! The amount of content is amazing!! Plus the interview with Brigett was really cool!! A++++👍👍👍👍

[@Eugenes84]

Insanely top tier quality video. You don’t just make reviews but also documentaries.

[@user-xn3kt6bn5r]

holy crap, this series is amazing. I can honestly see it becoming the definitive starting point for anyone looking to learn more about their favorite Saturn game. It's even made me want to go out and find a Saturn, and I've never even owned one! I wouldn't bat an eye if you'd have told me this was sponsored by Sega and the ghost of Chairman Segata himself.

[@Pimpeaux]

A few years ago, I remember thinking it'd be a funny joke to comment "I'd bet the Panzer Dragoon Saga video will be two hours long!"

[@metronome8471]

Pander dragoon saga will be a mini series lmao.

[@Edexote]

Let's just hope he gets that far while I'm not too old to see it xD

[@worsel555]

As one of the sole people out there who loves FMV games I have been waiting for this one, not only for the amazing quality you continue to put forth into your videos but learning more about Digital Pictures and how this came to be. Personally I can't wait to see what you dig up about my favorite DP game Double Switch when it comes up in the eventual list :) Will be watching about half of it on my lunch today, can't wait to get home from work and finish the rest.

[@Imgema]

This is quickly becoming my favorite gaming channel.

[@alix_was_here4602]

The content of your channel is just crazy! I look forward to each episode so much. It's unexpected the level of detail they wanted to achieve during filming, when you see the result in the game... One thing to mention are the problems of proportionality between zombies and sets 😅! Strangely, the automatic English subtitles are disabled on this video, it was tough for the French that I am 😁. In French we call this kind of game a "nanar", a term for "bad but cheesy", it is not such a bad category, after all these games are not forgotten unlike many others.

[@onomatopoeia7505]

Hot on the heals of the AVGN episode regarding this game! Awesome video once again. I cannot overstate how good your videos are, thanks to your diligence in your research and presentation thereof. Keep it up!

[@TheThisk]

I never thought I'd prefer a different review over AVGN... but yet here I am

[@jankmedia1985]

Corpse Killer is brilliant, just gotta take it for what it is and have fun with it. Reminds me of cheap mid-90s TV movies on the USA channel.

[@jhawkzzz]

YES!! Your channel has quickly become one of my favorites over the past couple months. Thanks for keeping this up, I check every day for new episodes from ya!

[@BennLivid]

Once again you have a knack for making me invested in a game I wouldn't have cared about otherwise. Your videos are fantastic and I can't wait for more!

[@NoelComiX]

This is one of my new favorite channels!

[@tidq]

This kind of turbo-niche content is what I crave. You even got to interview the actress to a game almost nobody remembers from 28 years ago. I love it.

[@TectonicImprov]

I don't think I've ever given an FMV game the time of day, and I dunno if I ever will, but I will say those re-releases of the Digital Pictures games having tons of behind the scenes footage packed in is like a goldmine. It seems like they were having a lot of fun making Corpse Killer.

[@barry-allenthe-flash8396]

Once again, the effort you have gone through to document these games is _so_ impressive. There's just something about this format, actually hearing the stories from the people who made it, that makes stuff I otherwise _completely wouldn't care about_ just really endearing. Before watching this, I was like, "Eh, whatever. FMV games." After watching this? I'm like, "Hell yeah, FMV games! I should try this!" Your channel is magic, lol. Seriously, top-tier stuff. The retro game community could really use more guys like you who do this kinda legwork to make sure more interesting games get their due.

[@yourMoonstone]

So happy I discovered these. I love and appreciate all the effort you've put into all of these retrospectives. Your pacing and structure of this one is immaculate. I love how much time you were able to dedicate to the historical context of this one in particular! Great stuff and eagerly looking forward to all of these!

[@GameplayandTalk]

Man, it's insane how much effort was put into the filming of these Digital Pictures titles. I never would have guessed. It looks like they went all-out on the miniature sets alone. Really makes me appreciate what they were going for even though I wasn't a big fan of the game (never had the Saturn one, but I did play a good bit of the 32X CD version). Looking forward to seeing your take on Double Switch later on down the line!

[@PistNRods]

Found your channel last night starting with the NBA Jam doc, then went through Night Trap and then this. These are the games I grew up with, and the back story is amazing. I still revisit these games every now and then, and your vids are so much more than other reviewers. Can’t wait to go through the back log and see what I find.

[@elZorroN16]

Outstanding, Lieutenant.

[@aortaplatinum]

Incredible work you're doing, man. All these crazy long, heavily edited videos, the passion is insane. Keep it up man, I love this. I thought you addressed the Jamaican character and potential controversy surrounding him very well, speaking about it a bit, but leaving it alone for the most part. Both Night Trap and Corpse Killer added to my Steam wishlist. It's kind of funny that FMV style story games have been coming back around a bit in the past decade or so, between Detroit Become Human, the Telltale games, and Until Dawn, it's really sick to see that this genre is being given a second chance, even if there is no delightfully cheesy, campy, live action footage.

[@evanjenkins1620]

Wow, outstanding job addressing the touchy subject of the actor and the Jamaican character. Very eloquent and respectful, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard such tact before

[@MilesTFBaxxter]

Great and impressive work! I remember drooling after this on the Mega-CD back in the day.

[@deku812]

Wow, Ken SooHoo worked on this game. I love the in-depth almost documentary approach to these later reviews.

[@ILikeWindows]

You have one of the best channels on KZbin. Every time I hear someone say Fun Fact I now hear in repeated in my head in your voice lol

[@adamsfusion]

It'd be so easy to call this game goofy FMV garbage; a remnant of the 90's, and move on. You give every review so much enthusiasm and attention, and you go into every interview, every piece of research with an open mind and the excitement that reminds me of my childhood. I feel like a kid watching a TV show about a game that I really want to play, barely even noticing how dated the graphics are. Watching all of these long reviews has been more than a treat.

[@DaveVoyles]

0:05 the man in the green shirt is Ken Soohoo, one of the programmers behind this game, and many other from Digital Pictures. He also went on to work on the browser and networking for the Dreamcast. He unfortunately passed of cancer in 2016.

[@PandaMoniumReviews]

It is a shame he’s no longer with us, Mr. Soohoo seemed like a cool guy. There’s a lot of video of him in this review, he seems to always be smiling and making the people he’s talking to happy.

[@DaveVoyles]

@@PandaMoniumReviews Agree completely. I ported Night Trap to the browser 5 years ago, and my plan was to reach out to him immediately after, to illustrate how his work from years ago could still live on. I see that you cover him a lot more in this documentary, now that I'm half way through. Of course right after I finished writing the game, I learn that he had passed, just months prior :/

[@pauljensen519]

@@DaveVoyles I had an email conversation going with him around that time. I never got a response to an email I sent him around the time of his passing. I had no idea he had cancer. ☹

[@MattGreer]

A new PandaMonium video? This weekend just got awesome.

[@ThickpropheT]

Really glad you put as much time and effort into the lesser known games as you do the well known. Every game has an interesting story, but most people only care about the stories of the big titles. This is a game I'd never heard of before, but hot damn does it have an interesting back story. I'm for sure interested now. I bet it's a Saturn title under $300 too, so I'm really into that.

[@peterbruin5154]

Seriously great job. Keep up the good work!

[@tomober2889]

Unbelievably great video. Interviewing a cast member, weaving in the bonus content...you told the story in a flowing, engaging way.

[@chanhjohnnguyen1867]

Commenting for the KZbin algorithm

[@davidknight9758]

Oh man I was so happy to see this drop my subscriptions. Thanks so much for all the work - you’re pulling out basically full length documentaries and I couldn’t be happier with that.

[@Nathan-rb3qp]

I unironically like the live action Cat In The Hat film. And to find out that the makeup artist behind it also worked on Corpse Killer and those various other films was a neat surprise.

[@Gorkab]

This is truly a blast to watch and learn just how Digital Pictures rose and felt so quickly! Again, thank you so much for doing this!

[@metronome8471]

Every review about any videogame has been crushed by this documentary on corpse killer of all things. Other videogame reviewers are last gen.

[@Mitsuraga]

And now, the four-and-a-half-hour-long masterpiece about Virtua Cop has set the new standard.

[@jrod75]

An excellent biography on a campy FMV game. It looked like that everyone on the production knows this was a “B” type movie and embraced it. You need to do a shorter video about the fabled Saturn video card and how it could have helped FMV games like this. Kudos for interviewing the main actress and respecting the wishes of the other actor who declined your interview request. Keep up the great work!

[@martinevans1206]

Great documentary - well done!

[@NathanxLaMontagne]

Can't wait to sink my teeth into this review! Been looking really forward to each upload. I gotta figure out a little overdraft situation with my bank Monday but the second I do I'll be jumping over to your Ko-Fi. You really deserve all the support. Salutations, Mr. Panda Sir.

[@ohayes86]

Another amazing video thanks for your hard work

[@ricardoediza2690]

You should also realize that this game has a connection to two Best Picture winners: One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest and Amadeus

[@planescaped]

So they basically made the game goofy AF and kind of dumb because they were still scarred/traumatized by the whole Night Trap/Lieberman debacle. Explains a lot actually. Let's make a zombie shooting game that not even an out-of-touch moron on the senate can take seriously!

[@nomadbitmad]

Wow! The amount of work you put into these reviews is unfathomable, and they are so interesting and fun to watch! I am loving your channel - thank you so much for putting the time and effort into these videos; I'm praying that you continue this series because I am hooked!

[@RussellSenpai]

I have to actually wonder if this review is longer than all the movie clips in the game. Great video though all around man.

[@crtglow7947]

Another outstanding piece! Never knew how drawn in I'd be on a long review of a throw away game. This was fascinating from start to finish. Really appreciate your work!

[@mysega]

Yes. Another great video😉

[@BryanTruong]

Amazing work man. You deserve more than my Kofi donations for this level of quality lol

[@ZidaneSAID]

One of your videos randomly showed up as a recommended video and I have been having a blast watching your "reviews". I put the " " because they are way more than reviews. I want to compliment you on the great work perfectly mixing a lot of research, 90s humour and a lot of dedication. Thanks for such a great work.

[@nickperri6322]

This series makes me appreciate owning my Saturn collection, I wish there was some way I could help beyond support. This series deserves every praise it gets and more

[@PandaMoniumReviews]

The kind words do help a lot! :) Glad you’re liking the series.

[@agentemerald5545]

Man that was an interesting documentary on game ratings and WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S A REST OF THIS VIDEO. Man, it's really cool how much behind the scenes stuff was just in the game itself and see all these notable names in the acting business worked on it. I didn't think the man responsible for my childhood trauma and the pigeon man from Hey Arnold worked on the same project. Also, when will people learn not to challenge Craig Stadler in his home dimension?

[@ABuffWizard]

Absolutely fascinating video, Panda. Your extensive knowledge and high level of production is nothing short of sensational. Hope to see you get the recognition you deserve soon, you truly earn every sub!

[@braincrassedaudiofilled9776]

incredible in depth documentary about a good piece of video game history right there, I will never probably play this game but just wanted some background story on it and, man, it delivers! automatically subscribed.

[@DevilDante92]

When did these videos change from simple review to full blown documentary. Not complaining though. This was amazing, thank you for that!

[@Random-yh9tj]

really diggin into this project

[@eSPy86]

"Rated as one of the top 20 games of the year"

[@joniivee]

Finally got around to watching this one in chunks and the attention to detail is as good as ever. I like that you put in the effort to tell the complete story of even the strangest, worst games. And I'm even more impressed you continue to work in Craig Stadler jokes that get me every time. Another classic!

[@apollosungod2819]

That Zito was unable to see nor feel the power difference in the Nintendo NES hardware and game software totally explains why he believed that "graphics" equaled "live action FMV" even when real videogame players just did not agree. There was a "wow" factor of seeing live action FMV as a video in the videogame systems but once you as the game player spend your hard earned money and time... the novelty will eventually wear off and you'll crave the actual real videogames with actual gameplay... Konami's Lethal Enforcers did have gameplay a light gun shooter but that game was also just a novelty that in the long run wasn't as memorable as some the actual videogames, especially pure 2d graphics games released that same year.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Happy to see a new upload

[@retromod6488]

I never had a Saturn but I'm sure I would have loved this game, especially for the FMV's. My dad got me a few American Laser Games on PC and I played those to death, I liked the idea of almost being inside a movie with the game. Another great doc to help preserve lesser known titles and shine some light on dev efforts from almost 30 years ago.

[@joaogrrr]

The worst part is that Digital Picture games did blow my mind when I was an impressionable 6-7 year old and couldn't afford a Sega CD. People miss the point that thesegames look like shit today because they're being played in big LCDs. Back when all we had was a small CRT TV that shit hit different

[@vergilf.9003]

Your videos have been really fun and informative to watch! It's been making me laugh and keeping me interested while I'm getting over this flu. I can't wait to see what games you cover next! :) Also, a couple years back at a MAGFest (2017?) convention, I actually laid eyes on a Nintendo Playstation prototype console. It couldn't play discs at all, but its cartridge slot worked! I remember seeing some ppl playing SNES Street Fighter 2 on it :)

[@RetroTechUSA]

I love seeing PVMs in vintage Senate hearings from the early 90's. Fantastic work!

[@sweeper13]

Amazing work as always and while Bridget Butler was a good get, but I think I heard the “well actually” guy who is very tough to land.

[@Bofner]

Never stop being you

[@poncho828]

This is great!

[@AssaulteedOne]

A real shame we didn't see more FMV games evolve the way the Tex Murphy adventures evolved into its most recent title "Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure". I hope Ken Soohoo, Tom Zito, and the rest of the minds behind these FMV games saw that & appreciated the ways in which the FMV genre died, yet somehow continues to live on in different titles like it & Alan Wake. You never know where video games will take us next.

[@ricklucas6216]

First! So happy for new content from you! The count continues!

[@Clay3613]

WTF this should be getting 10 times the views!

[@davidgjam7600]

I love how everyone seems mildly annoyed that someone is shooting a BtS documentary during production.

[@SegaCDUniverse]

I miss Vincent Schiavelli

[@Gatorade69]

I didn't know he was the pigeon dude on Hey Arnold. I knew I recognized his voice.

[@michaelmojica9057]

Just excellent...

[@cowboywaingro7259]

This is terrific

[@steffennilsen2132]

Man I've never even heard of Nemo, a VHS based console, holy crap. I mean, it never reached general public so I guess it makes sense

[@flumphflumph6021]

I think I'll get the Steam version for my Friends this Christmas :)

[@CatsEyethePsycho]

Long Video, but I’ll try to watch it all. 👍

[@TheBoneHeadClan]

This has to be my favorite one yet, and you were right I really did enjoy the Virtua Racing video. You continue to do amazing research and have a lot of funny humor and good writing and good editing. I'm sad to see there's only like four episodes left; how often do you make these videos?

[@PandaMoniumReviews]

Thanks!! As for how often? It varies a ton. Though my next one is almost finished.

[@EsperHubb]

I find it funny that the US Government can force the videogame medium to make an age rating but now they can't even deal with the built in gambling that is in games now and these days.

[@link13thedude]

I swear i didn't get the notification for this, but i know what I'm doing now

[@flumphflumph6021]

I did get the Steam version for my Friends this Christmas :)

[@PandaMoniumReviews]

They will love it, brah.

[@TomVanDeusen]

Absolutely incredible video. This is actually the best resource I've found on the Hasbro Nemo system too, the fact it's buried into an hour+ long review of Corpse Killer on Saturn is hilarious to me.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

"My nephew's a wiz!" I wish I could've had a conversation with a woman in the 90's lol

[@cinnamondan4984]

You’re doing the Lord’s work.