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.

 

[Aunt Sarah]

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.

 

[killk28]

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

Mario 64 on Saturn?

 

[bcdusk]

Mario 64 on Saturn?

No, don't be silly.

 

[Mechablade-X]

 

[stealthRUSH stealthRUSH]

 

[Aunt Sarah]

I do recall thinking Sega Saturn should have been BC with both 16-bit cart and cd games since it had a CD drive and a cart slot, alas!

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

Sonic R, Shining Force 3, Panzer Dragoon Saga… all at one show! Lots of the most famous Saturn games were still coming out in 97 and 98. Also, the editing in this is some 90’s nonsense that’s amazing.

Post automatically merged: Feb 19, 2026

Mario 64 on Saturn?

Someone could make a demo (Frogbull probably will at some point) but a full port will most likely never come.

 

[bcdusk]

As always Sega Lord X on Youtube makes a lot of Sega Saturn videos.

Top 10 Sega Saturn Console Exclusives by Sega Lord X

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

As always Sega Lord X on Youtube makes a lot of Sega Saturn videos.

Top 10 Sega Saturn Console Exclusives by Sega Lord X

It’s fascinating to look at this list, since it makes you realize how much parody there is between the Saturn and the arcade. And since SEGA doesn’t release their arcade titles from this era nearly enough, it’s still one of the best and easiest ways to play many of their arcade titles (from Model 2, to ST-V Titan, System 16, X Board, and even their early Fonz Board in the SEGA Memorial games).

It also makes you realize how special those true exclusives are, and how important it is to remember them, so that they don’t end up stranded and forgotten on the Saturn with no legacy to call their own.

 

[Nickakyoin]

I'm surprised I can find Sega Rally, Virtua Fighter and other games like that for very cheap. But then sometimes get the Mega Man X3 copies in various marketplace, see their prices and immediately think "yeah, it's cool we have other ways to preserve that stuff".

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

I'm surprised I can find Sega Rally, Virtua Fighter and other games like that for very cheap. But then sometimes get the Mega Man X3 copies in various marketplace, see their prices and immediately think "yeah, it's cool we have other ways to preserve that stuff".

I think it’s funny that Mega Man X3 and X4 are clearly some of the most desired games by new Saturn owners, since their prices are just so insane. X4 is a good game, but not worth its high price unless you intend to be an intense collector. And X3 is an underwhelming port that gets no benefits at all from being on Saturn.

In the European library, you can get a game like Shining Force 3, a much more acclaimed game in the lineup, for far less money. And, if you want a familiar IP with “man” in the title, you can get Saturn Bomberman in the same region for even less.

It’s not lost on me the importance of nostalgia and familiarity within the retro gaming community, but unless you were lucky enough to grow up with one, you should have little in the way of nostalgia for the Saturn when going in. So, why not explore the library and leave behind the safety of familiar names to go find games that are truly worth playing!
Besides, you didn’t just buy a Saturn or download a Saturn emulator SPECIFICALLY to play games you could also play on the PS1, SNES, or Mega Drive… right?

 

[bcdusk]

I wish Sonic The Fighters had a Sega Saturn Port.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

I wish Sonic The Fighters had a Sega Saturn Port.

RIGHT???
You mean to tell me that Virtua Fighter Kids was a major Saturn release, which IS because it’s connected to Virtua Fighter, but STF didn’t get a port?!???

Let’s be very clear: Sonic The Fighters is one of the only model 2 games not to get a Saturn port, the ONLY model 2 based fighting game from AM2 not to get a Saturn port, and is the only SEGA produced model 2 game from 1996 to not get a port. Also, there’s no record of a port even being ATTEMPTED, unlike Virtua Fighter 3 which had a port planned and announced. Virtua Fighter 3, by the way, was on the far more powerful model 3 hardware.

It makes no sense, unless the game was just THAT UNPOPULAR for it to have never been in consideration. It’s so strange. I know the game was unpopular, seeing as so few machines survive today, but for it to be immediately buried is almost an exclusive treatment in comparison to SEGA’s other games from the era.

 

[PhaseJump]

RIGHT???
You mean to tell me that Virtua Fighter Kids was a major Saturn release, which IS because it’s connected to Virtua Fighter, but STF didn’t get a port?!???

Let’s be very clear: Sonic The Fighters is one of the only model 2 games not to get a Saturn port, the ONLY model 2 based fighting game from AM2 not to get a Saturn port, and is the only SEGA produced model 2 game from 1996 to not get a port. Also, there’s no record of a port even being ATTEMPTED, unlike Virtua Fighter 3 which had a port planned and announced. Virtua Fighter 3, by the way, was on the far more powerful model 3 hardware.

It makes no sense, unless the game was just THAT UNPOPULAR for it to have never been in consideration. It’s so strange. I know the game was unpopular, seeing as so few machines survive today, but for it to be immediately buried is almost an exclusive treatment in comparison to SEGA’s other games from the era. View attachment 155624

Sega couldn't afford it anyway. It was going broke and sitting on unsold product it needed to abandon and liquidate at the time.