Console Debate #28 Sega Saturn

[Brickman | 3,983]

58 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

I never owned a Saturn and have only played a few games at my cousin's house when I was a kid. I'd love to get into it someday. Perhaps when I'm an old man with no responsibilities.

Good idea, blow all your retirement money on Saturn games  haha. Hopefully by then Panzer Dragoon Saga isn’t worth a million dollars.

[Nintegageo | 582]

9. Great console, it did 2-D so well and had some awesome games. I was pretty enamored with NiGHTS when I was a kid as it just seemed super awesome. Panzer Dragoon games, Guardian Heroes, Burning Rangers, Legend o Oasis, the Working Designs games, the shooters, the arcade games.. seriously, what a console. I own 2 arcades, a Neo Geo and  an ST-V (Sega Titan) which is essentially a Saturn with cartridges.

[Gloves | 11,761]

I've never touched a Saturn, and likely never will.

[asmikace | 68]

I had trouble rating it in my opinion. The Saturn has some amazing games and its like the TG16 for me as it was a blast discovering games on a system I never played younger. However, the fact the games are more uncommon than Playstation or N64 and good amount of the gems are japanese make me give it a 7 even though I should have gave it a 8. As much as it is a fun console, its accessible really does prevent me from enjoying it more.

[fox | 1,665]

Saturn didn't have the same levels of hype as the Playstation or the wow factor of the N64, so it was easy to overlook.  The system is a powerhouse for 2D games and not bad with 3D either, has a super comfy 6 button controller, and a killer software library.

Guardian Heroes, Saturn Bomberman, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Nights are among the all time greats for any system.  Saturn really was one of the first times you really fought like they brought the arcade home with tons of arcade ports, who doesn't want to go a couple rounds of Daytona?  It was also super import friendly, all I needed was a gameshark and a trip to Babbages and was able to play Symphony of the Night and more.

[Strange | 1,700]

I don’t have too much to say but I really like the console. When I first started collecting, this one and Sega CD were the weird consoles that I wanted to explore badly but the funds weren’t there for me yet. The Panzer Dragoon games are top notch (the rail shooters, I haven’t played Saga).
 

It’s a console I sold in the past when I needed money and I regretted it. I recently re-bought it.

[nrslam | 474]

You all are giving me the urge to hook mine up. I've had one for years, and probably 90% of the US library, but haven't ever played it (other than verifying it works). I can say I'm not a fan of the oversized and overly-fragile game cases.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

SUCH nostalgia for the Saturn. Long story short, I really wanted an N64 for Christmas, and the salesman convinced my mom to get a Saturn instead. I was quite disappointed. 

However, I'm so glad that happened in retrospect. Because I got an N64 later anyway, and I probably never would have got a Saturn, which means I would have missed out on finding some of the games I'm most nostalgic for like Nights into Dreams, Fighting Vipers, Resident Evil, WWF In Your House, Last Gladiators Pinball, Daytona USA, Virtua Cop, and freaking Die Hard Arcade!

I love my Saturn. 7/10.

[JamesRobot | 5,786]

I had some experience with the Saturn when it was contemporary.  I had a friend in high school that swiped a display model from Circuit City.  It wasn't in a case or anything.  He just unhooked it from the tv and walked out the door with it.  No one said a word.

Anyway, my most memorable experiences are with Virtua Fighter.  I had played it in the arcade and it was the SF II and MK killer for me.  And then Tekken came out and it was pretty great too, though it seemed derivative at the time.

So my group of friends would go back and forth between the VF and Tekken series on the Saturn and the P.  Then Sony released the dual analog joysticks as well as Tekken 3 and the Saturn was left in the dust.

5

[MegaMan52 | 2,441]

6/10

I used to have the Saturn version of Mega Man 8 in 2004 (which I believe was $40-$60 at the time). I played all the way through it, found Cutman and Woodman, and looked at all the extras in the bonus mode (including the animation test that is unlocked with a button code). I enjoyed hearing the different music for Tengu Man's stage (which is better than the PS1 version in my opinion), and liked the added visual effects (rippling water, the alarm in the Duo mini-stage). However, I was a little disappointed that the FMV's and voices were more compressed than the PS1 version. Also, the inside of the case doesn't have the Japanese cover art while the PS1 version does. I sold the game to a local game store years ago, not knowing that it would basically become a collector's item.

As I mentioned in the Sonic Adventure debate topic, I imported a 2-disc Sonic Adventure soundtrack from Japan. I believe I imported it in 2004 (the same year I got the Saturn version of Mega Man 8), and would sometimes listen to it using my Saturn. I liked the different options for changing the music's pitch, as well as looping certain parts of a music track.

Last year, I imported the Japanese re-release of the Saturn version of Tomb Raider. I haven't had a chance to play it yet but from what I've read it was actually optimized for the Saturn and has much less framerate issues than the American release, possibly making it the definitive version of the game.

I think Sonic R is actually a decent game and has an excellent soundtrack like the Saturn and PC versions of Sonic 3D Blast. However, I think I'd prefer playing it in Sonic Gems Collection since that version is a port of the updated PC version from 2004.

I *kind of* regret selling the Saturn version of Mega Man 8, but don't miss it a whole lot. Honestly, the only things about it that I really miss are the Cutman and Woodman battles. I'm just glad I was able to play all the way through it once. If I still had it I'd probably still be playing it, but I don't and really don't want to spend somewhere between $600 to $1000 for another copy. Also I still have my original copy of the PS1 version that I've had since 2000, as well as Mega Man Anniversary Collection for GameCube and Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 for Switch.

The Saturn isn't a bad console, but I haven't bought anything for it in a while. Due to my interest in imports, maybe someday I'll import Mega Man/Rockman X3 and Super Adventure Rockman. Also, the Rockman X4 Saturn cover looks pretty cool.

Edited May 17, 2021 by MegaMan52

[final fight cd | 186]

15 hours ago, Nintegageo said:

 it did 2-D so well

This is constantly being echoed. What are some exemples of games of this? Were there any 2D games that the Saturn did better than the ps1?

[Sumez | 2,933]

1 hour ago, final fight cd said:

This is constantly being echoed. What are some exemples of games of this? Were there any 2D games that the Saturn did better than the ps1?

Pretty much any fighter, especially ones using the RAM expansion. Street Fighter Zero 3 and X-Men vs. Street Fighter stand out, but there's a bunch of them.

It's hard to compare though, because a lot of the most impressive 2D games on Saturn never had a PS1 version.

[LastCat | 246]

1 hour ago, final fight cd said:

This is constantly being echoed. What are some exemples of games of this? Were there any 2D games that the Saturn did better than the ps1?

A few examples I can remember on the top of my head are Grandia and Soukyuu Gurentai. Both ran much better on the Saturn than their PS1 counterparts. Also pretty much almost every 2D fighter runs better on the Saturn than the butchered PS1 ports.

Edited May 15, 2021 by LastCat

[Tabonga | 2,314]

On 5/14/2021 at 12:34 AM, Shmup said:

 The US cases are rubbish but I like the Japanese small CD cases.

Heresy!

[Tabonga | 2,314]

The RPG lineup on the Saturn was mightily impressive:

Albert Odyssey
Dark Saviour
Dragon Force
Legend of Oasis
Magic Knight Ray Earth
Mystaria
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Shining Force III
Shining the Holy Ark
Shining Wisdom

Plus a few lesser ones and games that had some rpg elements that was a decent lineup.
 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Tabonga

[GPX | 1,369]

2 hours ago, Tabonga said:

The RPG lineup on the Saturn was mightily impressive:

Albert Odyssey
Dark Saviour
Dragon Force
Legend of Oasis
Magic Knight Ray Earth
Mystaria
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Shining Force III
Shining the Holy Ark
Shining Wisdom

Plus a few lesser ones and games that had some rpg elements that was a decent lineup.
 

The Pal library was much more bare in the RPG department, missing:

- Magic Knight Ray Earth

- Albert Oddysee

What’s there is definitely some solid titles from what I’ve read. Come to think of it, I think the Saturn was a relative commercial failure due to a lack of developer support rather than its inability to churn out good stuff.

[Tabonga | 2,314]

11 minutes ago, GPX said:

The Pal library was much more bare in the RPG department, missing:

- Magic Knight Ray Earth

- Albert Oddysee

What’s there is definitely some solid titles from what I’ve read. Come to think of it, I think the Saturn was a relative commercial failure due to a lack of developer support rather than its inability to churn out good stuff.

I have long considered the Sega CD, Saturn and Dreamcast to be a doomed trilogy of sorts.  None of them lasted long enough to build up a solid user base - in fact some of what should have been among  each of their best selling titles  came out when it was known that the platforms were history and were produced in pretty limited numbers (it was hard to find most of them even when they were brand spanking new) - one of the reasons that Panzer Dragoon Saga is so pricey - they just didn't make that many. 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Tabonga

[GPX | 1,369]

4 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

I have long considered the Sega CD, Saturn and Dreamcast to be a doomed trilogy of sorts.  None of them lasted long enough to build up a solid user base - in fact some of what should have been among  each of their best selling titles  came out when it was known that the platforms were history and were produced in pretty limited numbers (it was hard to find most of them even when they were brand spanking new) - one of the reasons that Panzer Dragoon Saga is so pricey - they just didn't make that many. 

This all ties in with the lack of developer support. Every company was jumping on the PS1 ship, leaving Sega with too big of a hole to fill. This then created a lack of confidence in other developers to produce too many games for it, or many numbers of the later productions. If people actually compare the Saturn to the PS1 in its earlier years (when the Saturn was active in US and Pal territories), then I think the systems would compare very similar in quality and library content. That’s just my hunch.

[Robot_Ninjutsu | 122]

On 5/15/2021 at 6:57 PM, Tabonga said:

I have long considered the Sega CD, Saturn and Dreamcast to be a doomed trilogy of sorts.

I agree with this.  You had some fantastic hardware that wasn't able to shine, because of the turmoil at SEGA.  The Dreamcast did everything right (except have a DVD drive), but it still sunk.

[fcgamer | 4,719]

On 5/14/2021 at 2:32 PM, DefaultGen said:

A bunch of top end Sega games, 90% of a library everyone pretends doesn’t exist...

Oh that's quite alright it seems, I was told we shouldn't be considering the entirety of the library when ranking consoles.

[Brickman | 3,983]

4 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

Oh that's quite alright it seems, I was told we shouldn't be considering the entirety of the library when ranking consoles.

I definitely do take the whole library into consideration when I do my scores. It just makes sense to me. The gaming world is bigger than just PAL or US releases.

[fcgamer | 4,719]

4 minutes ago, Shmup said:

I definitely do take the whole library into consideration when I do my scores. It just makes sense to me. The gaming world is bigger than just PAL or US releases.

Yes, I feel the same way.

I think it's especially important on some libraries such as the N64, where each region's library is really small.

[DefaultGen | 5,400]

1 minute ago, fcgamer said:

Oh that's quite alright it seems, I was told we shouldn't be considering the entirety of the library when ranking consoles.

Ha, some of the few, few games considered top stuff is still a bit overblown IMO.

Some Working Designs and Sega games get an automatic admission to the hidden gemz hall of fame. Man... Albert Odyssey?? Who the hell cares about Albert Odyssey? It's a generic ass, too-many-encounters RPG that just has the shiny pink collector logo. Nowhere near what other consoles have in top spots like the Final Fantasies, Chrono Triggers, and Personas of the world. Great consoles don't need to try to sneak C-listers into their beloved top game lists 

[fcgamer | 4,719]

On 5/15/2021 at 10:03 AM, Gloves said:

I've never touched a Saturn, and likely never will.

Oh I touched one, but I promptly sent it downstream to @OptOut. Never played the machine, but I'd like too.

[Brickman | 3,983]

1 hour ago, DefaultGen said:

Ha, some of the few, few games considered top stuff is still a bit overblown IMO.

Some Working Designs and Sega games get an automatic admission to the hidden gemz hall of fame. Man... Albert Odyssey?? Who the hell cares about Albert Odyssey? It's a generic ass, too-many-encounters RPG that just has the shiny pink collector logo. Nowhere near what other consoles have in top spots like the Final Fantasies, Chrono Triggers, and Personas of the world. Great consoles don't need to try to sneak C-listers into their beloved top game

There is definitely more than a few games that are top tier.

As mentioned already the great fighters and SHMUPS but also some fun platformers like tryrush deppy and keio flying squadron 2. Then some great action games like Shinobi, Dungeons & Dragons Collection and psychic assassin. 
The Japanese RPG library is very big and has two SMT games.

There’s also heaps of great puzzle and Sega racing games.

All of those games easily go head to head with with PS & N64.