Saturn Saturn Recommendations?

[It's Thinking 2]

Dynamite Deka is a must if you like stuff like Fighting Force.
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The sequel on Dreamcast is good too!

 

[Krazy Kat]

Shining Force Series
Shining the holy Arc
Albert Chronicles
Dragon Knight 4
doukyusei
kayousei or something i can't remember
yakyuuken
can can bunny series

 

[SuperSampleStar]

Bug! - It's a mostly 2D platformer (you use all 4 directins to walk around the areas) with the art in the style similar to Donkey Kong Country (3D looking environments) except maybe not as polished? 6 Worlds in total, 3 stages for each world with the last stage of each being a boss battle. it's also one of those games where you absolutely NEED to stock up on lives because this game doesn't mess around... tough as nails and you might get a Game Over or two before you start to get a hang on how to navigate the stages (lots of moving terrain, forks in the road that have more enemies, etc...)

Dark Legend - It's the US version of Suiko Enbu (jp) and Outlaws Of The Lost Dynasty (eu). A fighting game made by Data East after Karnov's Revenge (a.k.a. Fighters History Dynamite). Think Samurai Showdown meets Street Fighter. You start off with weapons (slow attack speed but huge damage) but you can either lose your weapon or get rid of it manually to fight with your fists (low attack damage, faster attack patterns including combos). Two characters in particular have familiars that can't be removed manually but get weak and dissappear like the rest of the weapons. Special attacks also change depending on if you have a weapon or not. Has some cool mechanics...

• knocking opponents into walls which you can then attack them from
• knocking opponents to the ground, making them bounce and then continuing the attack from the air
• Desperation moves when your health is low

There's an "updated" version thatis japan only, but it's also like a downgrade at the same time? You can play as the boss character and two fighters from Karnov's Revenge, but the vs screens and cutscenes are gone. Also the three brothers have their own stages, but the two Karnov characters don't. it's weird.

 

[Honey_Ogre]

• Detana TwinBee Yahho! Deluxe Pack
• Twinkle Star Sprites
  
  

 

[It's Thinking 2]

WAKU WAKU 7, one of the zaniest fighting games EVER MADE!!!

 

[Note]

I have to throw in another vote for Shining Force III and Shining the Holy Ark. Camelot did a fantastic job with both of these games. I played the original US SF III release, but I'd like to go play the fan translations of Scenarios 2 and 3 now.

Another fun strategy game to check out on the console is Dragon Force.

A good arena fighter I don't think was mentioned yet is Virtual-On: Cyber Troopers.

And I'll also throw in a vote for Galactic Attack/Layer Section, a fun shmup with awesome 2D graphics and a great soundtrack.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I have definitely enjoyed both Sonic R and Virtua Cop, but they seem a little sluggish when compared to their PC counterparts.

I have also finished Magic School: Lunar, but with the help of a walkthrough (which also translated it from Japanese) and no shortage of frustration.

 

[solidbatman]

One of my favorite youtube people, Majuular did a really fun video on Saturn RPGs. Really worth the watch as he goes into quite a bit of detail on each game. Gave me some fun recs to try out.

 

[StarFeline]

Hello! Recently I've watched a Did You Know Gaming episode translating old Japanese gaming magazines. Apparently, the N64 did very poorly in Japan and the rest of the world compared to their expectations. On one screen I saw that the SEGA SATURN had twice as many games as the N64 did throughout its whole lifespan. This is crazy because the N64 was the very first console I've ever played with and I've been lead to believe that the Saturn was a short lived failure that got trounced by all of its competitors.

So my question is this, what are some worthwhile Sega Saturn titles that I could play right now (emulated ofc, screw ebay prices) so that I can explore this often overlooked gaming console?

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I personally recommend...

Magic School: Lunar.

Sonic R.

Virtua Cop.

Panzer Dragoon Zwei.

Yumini Remix.

 

[spicemeister]

Princess Crown
Cotton 2 / Cotton Boomerang
Shinrei Jusatshi Taromaru

3 japanese only releases but playable

 

[Strategist's iconStrategist]

No one has mentioned the actual best game on the Saturn: Dragon Force. I used to borrow a Saturn from a friend and play this game a lot. I think I've beaten it with every single country. Its like a total war game but much simpler and with anime characters. The story is pretty interesting and the characters are well designed.

 

[Smiley Cat]

As a JRPG fan, I have to mention "Panzer Dragoon Saga".

It's one of the most unique JRPG's ever made. It's not perfect by any means, but it's definitely a must play.

 

[Smiley Cat]

Nobody has mentioned this one yet, but it's really fun!

Keio Flying Squadron 2

 

[StarFeline]

Wow lots of Japanese games huh lol. I guess this will be my deep dive into JRPGS huh. I'll look over these suggestions and see which look the most interesting to me. Perhaps I will detail my experiences on another forum post

 

[stealthRUSH]

• Super Tempo - 2D platformer
• Die Hard Arcade - 3D beat'em up
• SteamGear Mash - Isometric action-adventure
• Cube Battler - 2D Puzzle
• Gebockers - 3D arena fighter
• Vandal Hearts - 2D/3D hybrid RPG
• Goiken Muyou: Anarchy in the Nippon - 3D fighter
• Astra Superstars - 2D fighting
• Willy Wombat - 2D/3D hybrid action-adventure
• Gungriffon - 3D simulator

 

[moonbits]

Elevator Action Returns
Shining The Holy Ark

 

[Adrastia]

Magic Knight Ray Earth: It's a fun action RPG. You don't need to have read the manga either. It follows the story pretty well from what I remember. Some people dislike the English voice acting. There's an undub available if you want. The script is the most Working Designsified of any Working Designs translation that I have ever played. I think they went all out because it was the last US Saturn game to be released.

Dark Savior: Isometric action game with a unique sort of fighting system and story progression. If you finish an enemy off in a particular way then you can transform into them during battles. The story can be replayed in different timelines or something like that. It's been awhile. It's made by Climax, the same developers that made Landstalker.

 

[dropsmegamega]

Saturn Bomberman (the first one, not the Fight! one), its my favorite classic bomberman, both the campaigns and versus mode are very fun to play.

Clockwork Knight 1 & 2, although far from the best platformers I've played, they are very charming.

Guardian Heroes. Haven't played it yet tbh, but I've only heard great things about it.

 

[Boo Man]

Saturn Bomberman (the first one, not the Fight! one), its my favorite classic bomberman, both the campaigns and versus mode are very fun to play.

Clockwork Knight 1 & 2, although far from the best platformers I've played, they are very charming.

Guardian Heroes. Haven't played it yet tbh, but I've only heard great things about it.

yeah i just discovered Saturn Bomberman! what a beautiful game
me & my gf have been playing 2p but we are stuck at the ninja boss

 

[Honey_Ogre]

Hello! Recently I've watched a Did You Know Gaming episode translating old Japanese gaming magazines. Apparently, the N64 did very poorly in Japan and the rest of the world compared to their expectations. On one screen I saw that the SEGA SATURN had twice as many games as the N64 did throughout its whole lifespan. This is crazy because the N64 was the very first console I've ever played with and I've been lead to believe that the Saturn was a short lived failure that got trounced by all of its competitors.

So my question is this, what are some worthwhile Sega Saturn titles that I could play right now (emulated ofc, screw ebay prices) so that I can explore this often overlooked gaming console?

-Silhouette Mirage
-NiGHTS into Dreams
-Princess Crown (very recently got translated)
-Policenauts
-Groove on Fight
-Golden Axe: The Duel

There's also a metric ton of arcade ports for the system that are all great and the Saturn version of Castlevania Symphony of the Night and Grandia are superior imo

And yea - most of the recs you're gonna get are going to be JP games. When the Saturn was brought to the states, they didn't localize much of the catalogue.

 

[stealthRUSH]

Platformer- Tryrush Deppy, Super Tempo
Isometric style- SteamGear Mash, Willy Wombat
Fighters- Rabbit, Cyberbots
Arena style- Elan Doree, Bomberman Fight!!
Shooters- Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II, Game Tengoku
RPGs- Mystaria/Blazing Heroes, Linkle Liver Story [patched]

I'd also suggest Shinrei Jusatsushi Taroumaru that is a unique mix of 2P action, run'n gun but with psychic attacks. Plenty of good puzzle games from Puyo, Tetris, Magical Drop, Gussun Oyoyo, Puzzle Bobble series to offbeat 4P action-style game Noon or the 4P Poy Poy inspired ring-out game Keriotosse!

 

[Sayo]

I am going to steer away from recommending you a good game and instead I am going to recommend

something so horrible that you will never ever forget it, Death Crimson.
Generally regarded as one of the worst games ever made, and one that has carried a cult and memetic status in the Japanese community, this on-rails shooter is truly something else, from its bizarre, dissonant BGM to its hilarious handheld camcorder opening sequence, its truly something to behold. The enemy graphics don't really resemble much of anything, the stages are some of the ugliest things you'll ever see, the entire game feels like a fever dream. I implore anyone who hasn't tried it to give it a shot or at least watch a video about it, it's just crazy in the best and worst way possible.
Perhaps more interesting is the fact that it later got a proper sequel for the Sega Dreamcast which is actually a very competent if forgettable title, and that the development studio still exists to this day and has collaborated with the development of titles such as Melty Blood (!)
Famously, Pop Team Epic parodied the game in one of their episodes, which I'll attach here.

 

[RebelofDaNeonGod]

Hello! Recently I've watched a Did You Know Gaming episode translating old Japanese gaming magazines. Apparently, the N64 did very poorly in Japan and the rest of the world compared to their expectations. On one screen I saw that the SEGA SATURN had twice as many games as the N64 did throughout its whole lifespan. This is crazy because the N64 was the very first console I've ever played with and I've been lead to believe that the Saturn was a short lived failure that got trounced by all of its competitors.

So my question is this, what are some worthwhile Sega Saturn titles that I could play right now (emulated ofc, screw ebay prices) so that I can explore this often overlooked gaming console?

Imma need you to check out Dungeon Master Nexus, it's a more slow FPS dungeon crawler than your average joint, but if you can appreciate what it's doing and how it looks, it'll be a fun trip.

Then Imma need you to check out Baroque, go through it and really immerse yourself in the atmosphere and tones that the game gives you, also an FPS rpg. (This goes for the other games I mention, but avoid any corny video essays on youtube, they're always full of bull)

Bulk Slash, just get on this immediately, no other words.

 

[BananaJane]

Lunacy