Saturn Saturn appreciation thread

[Mechablade-X]

 

[Ikagura]

So in a way they've done the same game twice, this may explain why Sega couldn't endure anymore after 2001.

This reminds me that Duke Nukem Forever has been done at least three times (if the Quake II engine game was a full one).

 

[UnDubious]

So in a way they've done the same game twice, this may explain why Sega couldn't endure anymore after 2001.

This reminds me that Duke Nukem Forever has been done at least three times (if the Quake II engine game was a full one).

The Saturn version wasn't complete, I don't think we know how far ahead it was in development. It's pretty common for a game development to start on one console and then end up on another, though.

 

[bcdusk]

Yeah Super Mario 64 started development without even having the Nintendo 64 prototype ready for example.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

The Saturn version wasn't complete, I don't think we know how far ahead it was in development. It's pretty common for a game development to start on one console and then end up on another, though.

So, to explain, Virtua Fighter RPG was a long rumored and talked about game on Saturn. It was nearly talked about as much as Virtua Fighter 3 for the Saturn. When the Dreamcast launched, it got a home port of Virtua Fighter 3TB, which was its most popular launch game, and that game’s Japanese version includes a disc called “Project Berkley”. That disc is where this footage is from, as it contains a full documentary with Yu Suzuki, going over his directorial history, before he proudly unveils the re-named “Shenmue” to the world, as well as promising it for the Dreamcast by the end of 1999.

One of the most legendary moments for announcing a game formally, even if they missed that deadline by a full year.



Shenmue, a game that I love, certainly didn’t help keep SEGA alive. It’s the kind of experimental game you green light when you’re rolling in money. However, by the time of the announcement of “Project Berkley”, SEGA had done their accounting and found that SEGA of America had actually mostly lost them money due to poor financial decisions and gross business practices by American retailers (such as forcing SEGA to overproduce stock, lest stores refuse to do business with them, and then forcing SEGA to buy back unsold stock after holiday seasons). Shenmue cost $65 million to make, the most expensive game ever made at the time. It was poor financial decisions but amazing artistic decisions like that which define classic SEGA, for better or worse.

 

[Ikagura]

Surprised to see that in 2026:

 

[UnDubious]

(explanation)

Virtua Fighter RPG was my dream game. Shenmue is cool, but it's not Virtua Fighter, and it's not a RPG. Virtua Quest is not that either - it's really mostly a brawler with some small RPG, adventure and platforming elements, and it's only tangentially related to Virtua Fighter in a weird way (it's surprisingly decent, though, despite the somewhat lame Digimon-ish aesthetics). To this day, if I could magically make a game exist, a proper, mid-to-late '90s Virtua Fighter RPG would be it. Specifically, legit Virtua Fighter combat, no random encounters, full 3D.

 

[bcdusk]

Without Shenmue, the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games wouldn't exist.

So something good came from it.

 

[Quiggling]

I'm actually sad Sega sold Shenmue to Suzuki's team. Always wanted them to work Ryo and Lan-Di in as guest characters for Virtua Fighter. Could have even one day had a middle aged Ryo Hazuki pop up in Like a Dragon as a party member? Would love to see the interactions Ichiban Kasuga (#1 best boy) could have had with him. Maybe Nozomi tracked him down in China and dragged him back home by the ear before he could get his revenge and now he's a bitter alcoholic running a beat up failing dojo still pining for his revenge.

 

[Masterofthefalcon]

Been meaning to buy a Saturn. Bought a Japanese one for cheap when I was younger to play Baroque, but it stopped working a few years ago. I didn't get that far since I still can't read Japanese. A few years ago I emulated Shining in the Holy Ark. I really enjoyed it! It's a quirky first person dungeon crawler. The UI design made me think of Golden Sun for the GBA.

 

[PhaseJump]

View attachment 147957

Been meaning to buy a Saturn. Bought a Japanese one for cheap when I was younger to play Baroque, but it stopped working a few years ago. I didn't get that far since I still can't read Japanese. A few years ago I emulated Shining in the Holy Ark. I really enjoyed it! It's a quirky first person dungeon crawler. The UI design made me think of Golden Sun for the GBA.

Golden Sun was a followup game from the same team in charge of the original Shining franchise. Camelot left working under Sega to go work under Nintendo. The Golden Sun trilogy was closer to being a proper Shining series, than any of the absolute garbage Shining titles that Sega produced and published later, with Tony Taka designing things.

 

[Masterofthefalcon]

Golden Sun was a followup game from the same team in charge of the original Shining franchise. Camelot left working under Sega to go work under Nintendo. The Golden Sun trilogy was closer to being a proper Shining series, than any of the absolute garbage Shining titles that Sega produced and published later, with Tony Taka designing things.

Oh cool, no wonder I've been really enjoying the older Shining series then! I haven't played any of the newer Shining games, but yeah they do look like a completely different series. I'll steer clear of those.