Saturn Saturn Recommendations?

[superFreak420]

Hi it's me the guy who recommends Vampire Savior in every Saturn & arcade fighter thread I see. You should play Vampire Savior or Rabbit. Laura Croft is slightly thicker and kind of tan in this system's Tomb Raider port, so it's the best one- also something to consider. If you're drunk or sleep deprived play Funky Head Boxers.

 

[RebelofDaNeonGod]

I've come back to this thread to add to the list of recommendations. Play Blast Wind and Shadows of the Tusk

 

[Ikagura]

I haven't played much on that hardware sadly but I could say that at least I've finished Radiant Silvergun, Panzer Dragoon, Burning Rangers and Nights into Dreams on it.

I've yet to try much more games but usually I prefer playing on the PSX if I could have the choice.

 

[Parasite_Steve]

The Saturn had quite an impressive library in its home country, but alas only there.

It did quite poorly outside of Japan and a lot of that boiled down to terrible business decisions. I don't actually know a single person who had one in the 90s and the only reason I knew it even existed back then was a brief mention of a special version of Battle Arena Toshinden that was built specifically for it, in a playstation magazine special on fighting games in 98.
Having said that, here are some of my personal favorites:
Radiant Silvergun. Hands down one of the most creative shmups on any system. I don't regret horribly overpaying for it back in 2009 at Super Potato.
Layer Section. Where RS trumps with complexity Layer Section/Galactic Attack focuses on simplicity. One of the fairest shmups on the system. The excellent 2D graphics and soundtrack will make you come back for more even if you suck at it.
Wachenröder. A fairly linear but beautifully atmospheric tactical rpg. There's a fan translation iirc. Gameplay wise it's pretty standard fare but I love spending time in the game's dark, melancholic but oddly calming steampunk world. Bonus points for the lovely miniatures in the intro.
Panzer Dragoon series. On aesthetics alone an absolute masterpiece. Thankfully fun to play too. As much as I was and still am a playstation kid these games would definitely have made me turn my head back then.
Virtua Fighter 2. Feels almost too obvious to mention but it's a milestone in the fighting game genre that was followed by many imitators. As much as I love Tekken and consider it ultimately the better series, there's no denying it wouldn't exist without the continuing innovations of the virtua fighter games.
Nights into dreams/christmas nights. One of the more famous unique titles on the system, It's not for everyone but I love it personally
Shinobi X. Not the strongest entry in the Shinobi saga but better than its reputation. The gameplay is fun (if a step down from Shinobi 3) the soundtrack is atmospheric and the mortal kombat style digitized actors combined with low budget live action cutscenes make for a beautiful cheese fest.

 

[SaebaSan86]

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?

Yumimi Mix Remix

 

[Krazy Kat]

shining series and record of lodoss war is a must for saturn

 

[Clippy]

If you're into 2D fighters then pretty much anything Capcom made back in the day was best represented on the Saturn (though you'd be better off emulating the arcade originals these days I reckon)

Other than that Albert Odyssey is a decent, if by the numbers, JRPG and Bulk Slash is a short and sweet action romp that got a fan translation a little while back.

 

[Heretic]

My guy, you must play Dodonpachi. the saturn version.... I'm sure people will say the real arcade version is better, or like saturn version is a port, or something, but like the saturn version of this game is jsut like... If I could do one of those little chef kiss emoji, that perfectly describes what it's like to play Dodonpachi on sega saturn.

 

[APoorNoob]

Asuka 120% Burning fest Limited

 

[ATenderLad]

I don't see it mentioned yet, Bulk Slash is a really creative little mech action title.

 

[spectresfrommercury]

devil summoner

 

[Poltergeist]

I've recently tried Baroque, it's a first-person roguelite RPG with an obscure storytelling. You should definitely try it if you enjoy that kind of games.

 

[TJtheEevee]

This might be odd, but I'd like to suggest Bug, 1 primarily. Had the game growing up. Also recently played Deep Fear, which is essentially Resident Evil in an underwater base, with a focus on oxygen levels. While it's not great, I think it's a hell of a ride, and the voice acting, while it doesn't reach the levels of OG RE1, it has it funny moments. Pretty interesting creature designs too.

 

[RetroGameMaster]

The Saturn has a shit ton of hidden gems!

I'll give a few that I've enjoyed.

For some Mech action, I recommend
Bulk Slash
Virtual On
Gun Griffion 1 and 2

Some action recommendations
Burning Rangers
Psychic Killer Taroumarou
Mr. Bones

Some good platformers
Pandemonium
Astal

Some good FPS games
Powerslave
AMOK
Alien Trilogy

My fav genre SHMUPS
Battle Garegga
Radiant Silvergun
Thunderforce V
KingdomGrandprix
Sengoku Blade

Fighting
TONS on the system but some lesser-known ones
Waku Waku 7
Rabbit
Golden Axe The Duel
Astra Superstars

That should be enough to get your feet wet, especially with what everyone else has listed. I hope you enjoy some of them :).

 

[deluxebucket]

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.

Oh lord. Many people have no idea what a truly bad video game is until they've witnessed Death Crimson. A good friend of mine actually owns a physical copy of this """game.""" I never knew that light guns could feel that terrible & inaccurate. It's too funny to actually care and I truly do love Kusoges. The explosion sound and animation when you shoot something is something to behold.

Post automatically merged: Dec 9, 2024

Shining the Holy Ark is my personal favorite RPG on the Saturn and one of my favorite games on the console as a whole. First person dungeon crawler that has a very 90's art style to it and some fun depth in the mechanics.

Gungriffon 2 is a neat first person mech game that vastly improved upon the first game in terms of mechancis, but only stayed in Japan. Also has a co-pilot multiplayer mode, which is very fun when you get the hang of it. Basically, one person moves the legs while the other person aims and shoots.

Another one that hasn't been mentioned here is D, a Kenji Eno classic. Fun point n click style adventure that's great to play with the lights off. Kenji Eno is also one of the beloved oddballs in the world of game development and his scheming is a fun read.

 

[RageBurner]

I'm not sure if you are into the RPG/SRPG side of things, but Shining Force 3 and Dragon Force 1 and 2 are no brainers. I feel Astal (2D platformer) also deserves a mention, despite being an early title and not exactly groundbreaking.

 

[Kovariszt]

Really depends on how good your Japanese is, the majority of the best games were Japan exclusive since the console got discontinued prematurely in the west. There's translation patches for the first Sakura Wars, Grandia, Policenauts and Bulk Slash. The Saturn also has some really good arcade ports, playing the Saturn version of Virtual On with the twin sticks is probably the closest experience to the arcade version you can get at home without owning some sort of arcade cabinet. SMT Devil Summoner is pretty good as well.

 

[Somnia]

What genres are you looking for primarily and do you care if they're Saturn exclusive?

For racing games I recommend Sega Rally, Sega Touring Car Championship and Sonic R. All 3 are super light on content but have great music and pretty impressive production for their time while playing pretty well. Wipeout and Wipeout XL are also great but are still best experienced on PS1. Initial D requires more investment in terms of time and patience but is a great time and I also swear by that version of Virtua Racing even if better alternatives exist these days.

For RPGs there are loads. All Shining games are great, with Holy Ark being a first person turn based dungeon crawler and the 3 trilogy being strategy RPGs. Dragon Force 1 & 2 are unique and super thrilling SRPGs with incredible sprite presentation and accessible mechanics. Grandia 1 is still best on Saturn visually and has an English translation. Sakura Wars is also super nice and has a fan translation!

For platformers/side scrollers I'd mainly recommend Psychic Killer Taromaru, Shinobi Legions, Astal and Bug Too.

For fighting games you're spoiled for choice. The less appreciated but imo still worthwhile cuts would be Fighters Megamix, Last Bronx, Final Fight Revenge and Astra Superstars. Those first 3 are just great examples of early 3D fighters and Astra Superstars is a really unique 2D fighting game that takes place in midair. Nothing controls quite like it!

I could go down and list more genres or recommendations for each genre but I'll keep it here for now.

 

[Koreandr]

Reccomended Sega Saturn games

 

[Eclipse14]

To name something I haven't seen on the thread yet, Hyper Duel. An awesome Shoot-em-up.
I also completed Linkle Liver Story pretty recently. Neat Action-RPG, and it has a fan translation.

 

[Viviana Santos]

 

[Auriiya]

Shining force 3 all scenarios
Shining wisdom
Burning rangers
Guardian heros
Albert odyssey legend of elden

 

[Sladerift]

I'm just here to also say Shining Force 3 (all of them) and Shining in the Holy Ark.

 

[PhrawzT]

I'm just here to also say Shining Force 3 (all of them) and Shining in the Holy Ark.

I have copied the translated Shining Force games onto my Fenrir and have been meaning to try them out.

 

[Leon]

So since alot of people have mentioned the official english release games, i'll mention some english patched ones that haven't been mentioned that are available in the repo.
Make sure to read the notes on the page.
Might add in a couple of untranslated japanese ones that can be played with little japanese knowledge.

Grandia (saturn ver)
Lunar Silver Star Story (again saturn version)
Vandal Hearts (as above, though i hear this one can be finicky so i'd check the comments section)
Densetsu no ogre battle and Tactics Ogre (saturn vers,)
Thunder Force V (has official english version, just didn't see it mentioned)
Blast Wind
Bulk Slash
Princess Crown
Cotton 2
Sillouette Mirage (saturn Version)

Now for the japanese only shmups that you can play without knowing japanese.
Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius
Gekirindan (one of my favorite shmups)
Guardian Force
Gokujou Parodius
Sexy Parodius
Cotton Boomerang


Now albert odyssey gaiden is another game i would suggest (jrpg) but the game is fairly notorious for it's load times, game is good though.