Official Sega Saturn Thread

[digitalpress]

In the Retrogaming Roundtable continuing series of classic system homage... let us discuss the Sega Saturn, gathering everyone's personal perspective.

I'd like EVERYONE who has ever played this system to give some input here, regardless of whether you owned one, played it a lot, loved it, hated it, or wondered about it.

The 32-bit market was too rough for Sega, apparently, who bailed out on us prematurely, leaving us with just the PlayStation to play until the next gen of consoles arrived a few years later. The Saturn has a rich variety of arcade, role-playing, and original titles, including many exclusives that have etched the Saturn legacy into video gaming history.

Surely you have something to say about this system.

- What is your favorite game on this system?
- What are some of your other favorites?
- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?
- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
- How many games do you have for it?
- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

Go time! Have fun with this, but by all means, share your thoughts!

NOTE: to jog your memory, here's our complete list of US games:
http://www.digitpress.com/lists/saturn.pdf

[chadtower]

I bought my Saturn the week it was released, paying a whopping $399 for it and spending what was approximately a month's pay at the time. I got SO MUCH play time out of it, though, and all these years later it still works like the day I bought it. A well built machine. I'm still working on a complete collection, but I will have it one day, yes I will.

- What is your favorite game on this system?

No doubt, House of the Dead. Love those gun games.

- What are some of your other favorites?

Panzer Dragoon Saga, the Clockwork Knight games, Powerslave. Virtua Cop 1/2.

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

Robotica and Virtual Hydlide. I had blown so much of my savings on the system itself that I could only afford a couple of games right off. I bought these two very early releases and was so disappointed I nearly returned the whole system. Talk about two CRAPPY games! Luckily EB had this new policy of letting you return bad games within 48 hours, so I returned those and picked up World Series Baseball and Panzer Dragoon. Much better.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

The day it was released I walked over to the Software ETC (or was it EB) at the Prudential Mall in Boston. It was playing in the window... I almost wet my pants! The demo game was Panzer Dragoon and there had never been a home game anything like that before. This was such a huge quantam leap over the 16 bit systems I didn't even know what to make of it... that game and its predecessors are still among the very best of that era.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

Yep, see above, still have that one plus another round button model I recently bought from AdamG.

- How many games do you have for it?

86!

I LOVE my Saturn... just love it, one of my very favorites.

[Oobgarm]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

A tough one, but I'd have to go with Sega Ages or Die Hard Arcade.

- What are some of your other favorites?

Burning Rangers is pretty sweet, as are the Panzer Dragoon titles.

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

Die Hard Arcade really surprised me. It had been a while since I'd seen a close-to-perfect arcade port. Sega Touring Car Challenge tweaked my melon moreso than any other racing game I've played. :/

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

First time seeing the system in action was at Funcoland, where I work. This was still back in the day, when they carried Saturn. I was a bit put-off by the graphics, as they all seemed very rough. They were a bit on the pricey side, but I managed to get one anyway and a copy of Sega Ages.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

Not at launch, no. I was still a faithful Nintendo denzien at that point. After getting my own Saturn, I played it for a while, then ended up selling it (and my copy of Sega Ages). Picked up another one on the cheap a few months later, then scored Radiant Silvergun, X-Men vs. Street Fighter(with RAM cart), and Dragon Force for $80. Once again, I played it for a while, and even got a copy of Sega Ages again. I sold that system to a coworker of mine for $40 about two months ago, and I actually just got another system last night for $15.

- How many games do you have for it?

17. I'd love to get the Panzer Dragoon games complete, including Saga.

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

I used to work in a music store in our local mall, which had a TRU across the street. TRU closed 30 minutes later than the mall, so I was able to go there and browse the game section. This was near the end of the Saturn's life cycle, and I ended up passing on those now-rare titles, with the exception of Burning Rangers. I never expected Saturn games to garner so much cash!

[ManekiNeko]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

Tough call, but I'm gonna choose Radiant Silvergun. It comes together so perfectly despite being such an unorthodox shooter. You get all the weapons from the beginning? You have to earn experience points to power them up? You get POINTS for brushing up against obstacles?! Yet somehow, it all works, and it all works brilliantly.

- What are some of your other favorites?

Just about anything Capcom made for the system. There are some great games by Sega as well, including Sega Rally Championship, Virtua Fighter 2, and the last two Panzer Dragoon games (the first wasn't so hot).

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

What surprised me about this system was its popularity in Japan. Obviously they saw something in the Saturn that we had not. I was really frustrated with Sega's refusal to properly support the system... a lot of Saturn fans got the shaft thanks to Bernie Stolar.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

Geez, I can't remember when I saw the system for the first time. I was convinced that it was going to really suck at first, but that's before I played NightWarriors. Superb translation, and one of the best fighting games ever made. My opinion took a complete 180 turn after playing game after game of NightWarriors with my friend and brother.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

If you mean 1997, then yes. I couldn't afford it in 1995. Oddly enough, I didn't get a Playstation until 1999!

- How many games do you have for it?

At the most, I had nearly fourty games for the Saturn, including imports. That number is roughly half what it was now, although it's starting to climb back up... I actually found Panzer Dragoon and Street Fighter Alpha (the first games in each series) at a garage sale for a couple of dollars each. Needless to say, I quickly snapped them up.

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

I played my Saturn so much that I literally burned out a television set during a grueling game of Earthworm Jim 2. I purchased my first Saturn game about a month before I even bought the system (NightWarriors, naturally). My next two games for the system were Street Fighter Alpha 2 and (embarassingly enough) Street Fighter: The Movie. When they showed Street Fighter: The Movie on ABC, I watched it, then played the game during the commercials! Talk about an endurance test!

JR

[DDCecil]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

That would be probably be Keio Yugekitai, my favorite 2D platformer EVER. The boss of Area 3 is the funniest boss ever, just beating out the Raccoon on Sexy Parodius.

- What are some of your other favorites?

Vampire Savior, Super Real Mahjong series (Though I still don't know how to play it), Albert Odyssey, Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Pazurudama, Time Gal/Ninja Hayate, and Sexy Parodius.

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

Surprised:

The Licensed Adult Games: I'm surprised about all the adult games that were released in Japan...

Time Gal/Ninja Hayate - My 2 most favorite Dragon's Lair-type games in one package. I was surprised that this even existed!

Infuriated:

Death Crimson - I thought this was actually House of the Dead, but when I played it, UGH!!!

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

I saw it being demoed when it was first released, and the game was Panzer Dragoon. It looked pretty good!

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

I owned a US Saturn when it was released and built u a nice collection of titles and by 1999, I had ALL the titles considered rare released for it (Panzer Dragoon Saga? Had 2 of them. Both were mint!) I slowly got rid of all my U.S. stuff (DOH!), and got a import Saturn the same year. I still have my import Saturn today.

- How many games do you have for it?

1 U.S. (Congo)
23 Import

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

I got my Import Saturn with 30 games including Psychic Assassin Taromaru and others for $200.

[Kid Ice]

Surely you have something to say about this system.

- What is your favorite game on this system?
- What are some of your other favorites?
- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?
- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
- How many games do you have for it?
- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

I bought my first Saturn circa 96, when they desparately offered up Virtua Fighter 2, Daytona, and Virtua Cop as pack ins. I quickly discovered that these games were no fun without their necessitated controllers (joystick, steering wheel, light gun). Maybe that was the idea. That Saturn was one of only two systems I ever returned to the store (the other was the X-Box). My reason for returning it: no RF cable! I had no AV jacks at the time, and I was not about shelling out another 20 bucks to get an RF cable.

About a year later I was cruising my local West Coast Video when I happened upon a load of Saturn games for sale, for a mere $5 each! So I picked up a good dozen of those babies, a system at Wal Mart for the fire sale price of 80 bucks, and the rest is history.

What really made the system for me was when the imports starting washing up on the shores of my local EBs and Babbages. X-Men vs Street Fighter, in my HOUSE? Yes!!

To this day, IMO, Saturn has the best controllers, hands down. Two excellent joysticks (the Virtua Stick and the ASCII clicker), the best ever analog pad (why didn't they use that for the DC?), even a decent stock pad (although the shoulders were a might clicky).

Since my AV box can only handle four systems, I've had to be pretty choosy about which systems to keep hooked up. Five years ago it was PSX, 3DO, Saturn, and N64. Today it's PS2, 3DO, Saturn, and DC. The Gamecube is relegated to the "family" TV. Now that's sticking it to the competition.

- What is your favorite game on this system?
Radiant Silvergun, hands down. Panzer Dragoon Saga if we're talking domestic only.

- What are some of your other favorites?
Soukyugurentai
Galactic Attack
X-Men Vs. Street Fighter
Tempest 2000
Street Fighter Zero 3
Pocket Fighter

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

Surprise- Panzer Dragoon 2 for being 100 times better than the original, Panzer Dragoon Saga for being 1000 times better.

Infuriated - Burning Rangers. Two things I don't want in videogames are fire and water. In BR you are constantly running through fire. OVERRATED.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

1st time - TRU
Game- Panzer Dragoon
Reaction - So what?

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
No and yes.

- How many games do you have for it?
48

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

For a few months back in 98, this guy showed up at my local flea market selling Saturn imports. I picked up Metal Slug, MSH vs. SF, and Deep Fear. I passed on Astra Super Stars, Vampire Savior, and Castlevania X. I also passed on giving the guy my Saturn to take back to "New York" to mod it (for 50 bucks).

For months I played X-Men vs. SF by swapping my ST Key with the 4 Meg Cart. At just the right moment, I would yank out the ST cart and slam in the 4 Meg cart to get the game to work. Luckily I picked up a combo cart before I busted my Saturn.

The battery on my first Saturn died and I had to replace it. My progress in Panzer Dragoon Saga, Nights, Radiant Silvergun, and World Series Baseball 2 was toast.

[Gamereviewgod]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

Hmm....tough one....but I'm going all out with Guardian Heroes. A take off of my all time favorite genre (the beat-'em'up), add a ludicrous amount of massive, scaling sprites, miraculous sountrack and rock solid gameplay? I'm in heaven!
- What are some of your other favorites?
Street Fighter collection is great, Die Hard Arcade is an outstanding (abliet short) brawler, Shinobi Legions is highly unerrated (except for the FMV...ugh), and of course, the Panzeer Dragoon series (though I've never played Saga)
- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?
Shinobi was certainly surprising considering digitized graphics usually suck, but then we have Batman Forever which proves the theory correct.
- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
A flea market, beleive it or not. Daytona wasn't that bad even though I had already owned a PSX for a year or 2. I though there was potential here....
- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
Got mine a few years later at a pawn shop. $20=greatest deal ever.
- How many games do you have for it?
Hell if I know....80?
- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?
Uh...um..hmm....no.

[Funk Buddy]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

Super Real Mahjong Part 7

- What are some of your other favorites?

Most of the puzzle games are fantastic and I really like the fighters/shooters. Bubble Bobble is a game I could play every day and never get bored. Some of the odd ball titles are great too, like Ohsama Game and Shutsudo! Minisuka Police.

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

When I played Panzer Dragoon for the first time I said wow. The last system I had before the Dreamcast was the Genesis/Sega CD and I never owned a PS or even played one until 99'.

The bad? There is a 4 wheel drive game which really stinks (can't recall the title) and buying the Sakura Wars Steam Radio Show game like a moron! The mini games are fun for about 5 seconds then all that's left is crappy video and Japanese that I can't understand!

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

At home when my Japanese system came in the mail.

See Sakura Wars comment above.

It was crap... until I put in Panzer Dragoon and played for several hours. All I could think was damn that looks like shit... but in a good way!

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

No, the Sega CD soured me pretty bad. All that money and only a hand full of games. I do like the CD, but man I couldn't afford many games then! When I heard about it and the cost I said no way (kind of like the 32X)!

Yes, I have 2 US and 2 Japanese. I really should sell one of them.

- How many games do you have for it?

145 US
over 300 JPN (not sure, but at least 300)

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

Not really. I'm just glad I bought one... one of the best import systems to have!

[RetroYoungen]

I had quite a bit of fun with this system. Let's go over those questions:


- What is your favorite game on this system?

I particularly enjoyed Virtua Fighter Kids, so right now I'll say that.

- What are some of your other favorites?

Dude, for a while there it was ALL about 3 Dirty Dwarves. That was such a great game, so oddball and funny. Also, Virtual Tennis Open was pretty amusing for a bit, but it didn't hold me too long.

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

The Dwarves caught me off-guard. But I was really annoyed by NBA Jam Extreme... NBA Jam was a great game, this one was an abomination.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

I don't remember the first time I saw it play.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

I bought mine used at Funco, for a measley 20 bucks. 20 of the best dollars I've spent.

- How many games do you have for it?

I've got about 15 games for it right now. I don't know where to find others; my Funco doesn't carry them anymore.

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

Naw, just the time Chun-Li jumped out of my set and we had hot sex for hours and hours until the power went out and she disappeared. Dammit.

[Dire 51]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

Radiant Silvergun, hands down. There are a ton of great games for the Saturn (mostly imports), but RS was the first one to really reach out, grab my shirt and shake me while yelling "BUY ME!"

- What are some of your other favorites?

Trying to limit myself to games that weren't released for the PlayStation at the same time... I'd have to say Bulk Slash, Guardian Heroes, Sega Ages and Galactic Attack.

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

I can't think of any games that infuriated me... most of the ones I saw that looked annoying were US releases, which I stayed away from. The game that surprised me was Bulk Slash, a Hudson Soft import. I had no idea at the time that Hudson was making games for the Saturn, and when I found it at a local retailer, I had to pick it up just to see what it was like (besides, the cover art and screenshots looked promising). It's since become a favorite of mine.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

The first time I saw the Saturn in action... I believe it was a demo for Bug! playing at the local Blockbuster. I thought it looked impressive, but I didn't really watch it that long because I was there to get a movie.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

Hmmm... I bought my system late in 1998 (for only $10 with a trade-in! What a deal!), which I guess would be the tail end of "back in the day". I still have it, and I would not part with it.

- How many games do you have for it?

Alltogether, 18. 13 of those are imports.

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

That would be how I got the system. I had been debating about it for a while, especially after seeing Radiant Silvergun in action. The local EB had several imports I was interested in getting, but the prices on the systems were still too high. However, there was a place in Daytona Beach that I frequented, and as such I got to know the owner quite well. Anyway, Saturns were selling abysmally at the time because everyone was buying PlayStations and N64s, and he'd drastically marked his Saturns down (to only $40), but still no one was buying. So one Saturday I went down there and talked to him for a while, and eventually talk came around to the Saturn. I expressed an interest in buying one, but I didn't have $40 at the time - I just had $10 on me, plus a couple of SNES games for trade (Mario Paint and Actraiser 2, I think). He looked at what I had and told me what I would get for trade (about $10 in store credit). I then told him that all the cash I had on me was ten dollars. His reaction? "Okay, deal." He even included three freebies with it, two of which I sold to my sister, the other one - Galactic Attack - I kept. He certainly made me a very loyal customer... I had been going there at the time for a little over a year, and I kept going back until I left Florida earlier this year.

[Lost Monkey]

What is your favorite game on this system? (And some other favourites...

I really like Nights, Sega Rally, Daytona (the graphics are not all that hot, but the gameplay is spot on), Xmen Vs. Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter 2 and Panzer Dragoon Zwei.

What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

The Sonic World "demo" on Sonic Jam surprises me to this day. Quake 2 Sonic R showed that the system could do some real nice 3D stuff.

The fact that Sonic World was only a demo infuriates me to this day...

Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

The first time I saw the Saturn in action was when the surprise launch occurred. I was driving by TRU and they had actually put up a huge banner over the front of the store.. so I pulled in to check it out. It was running Virtua Fighter, and as glitchy as the first release was, it was still pretty impressive next to the SNES and Genesis kiosks. I wasn't too impressed with the price though... $479CDN...

Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

I didn't buy a Saturn until late 1997, when a Blockbuster near me was selling their rental units for $80CDN.

How many games do you have for it?

I am not certain, I have most of my stuff packed up.. but I have over 100.

Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

The Saturn I bought at Blockbuster had been rented out once.. by an idiot who spilled Coke (or Pepsi) all over it and then no-one cleaned it up for months... I took a good look at it and decided to give it a try anyway. It turned out that the pop had not even reached the internals of the machine and was really only around the door release button and inside the cd tray so once it was cleaned up, it looked brand new... The best part is that it came with a spiffy hardcase.

Later on, I took advantage of NCS's Derby Skeleton sale, so I now have that as well with a territory switch.

For some reason, when I first saw the Saturn, I was already expecting to like the PSX better... To this day, I still have not bought myself a PSX.

[ClubNinja]

One of my favorites here...

- What is your favorite game on this system?


Really hard to say... Panzer Dragoon Zwei or Last Bronx perhaps, but let's not forget...

- What are some of your other favorites?


... Astal for platform goodness, Bug for nostalgic reasons, Fighting Vipers/Last Bronx/VF 2 for 3D fighting goodness, Nights and Panzer Dragoon for obvious reasons, Virtual On, just about any Capcom or SNK import, and even Sonic R.

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?


I was so very confused and floored by Nights all at once when I first saw it. This game should've ended up being considered on mainstream "Best ever..." lists everywhere. I was sad that the Golden Axe fighter kind of stunk up the room and infuriated that so many Japanese titles never made it across the sea.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?


Bug! was the first game I saw/played on the Saturn, and I still enjoy it today (though mostly for sentimental reasons.) I thought it was the most colorful, smooth, clever game I'd played in ages at the time. Poor Bug deserves more love. Too bad the sequel wasn't very hot.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?


I didn't back in the day, though my friend got one shortly after launch. We both played the heck out of it and I'd say he got his money's worth, even then. When I started collecting games, a Saturn was high on my list, and ended up being my fourth machine (Genesis, 7800, NES, then Saturn.) Since then, I've acquired most of the games I always wanted to have and even a Japanese Saturn console for easy import playing (and cool factor.)

- How many games do you have for it?


37, which includes imports. I don't really "collect" for the machine, so I only pick up games that will actually see some level of play.

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

Nothing really special in the way of stories, but the Saturn's still a favorite around these parts and pulled off wonderful 2D games like nothing else (well, the Dreamcast does a fine job too!) [/b]

[Goodwill Hunter]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

Like many others, I love RS, Nights, PDS, Saturn Bomberman, and House of the Dead, but my favorite game for the Saturn is Mr. Bones. Partly because it's unique to the Saturn, but mostly because it's an unusual and immensly entertaining platformer. Every level is different and there's a great Blues soundtrack...one of those games that made me sad when it was over. Most challenging level for me was that damn frozen-over pond!

- What are some of your other favorites?

Super Puzzle Fighter Turbo is always a blast...Christmas Nights always gets fired up around holidays...Dragon Force is the game I most want to finish on the Saturn, but still haven't...and the hidden game Death Tank Zwei is second only to Bomberman for multi-player fun.

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

I remember being amazed at all of the sprites on sceen at once in Dragon Force, and the beautiful light effects in Powerslave. Also pleasantly surprised how close the Capcom 2D fighters were to Arcade-Perfect! Hexen pissed me off...what an unplayable piece of crap!

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

The first thing that caught my eye was the splash screen where the logo is assembled from all of the flying polygons....sure it's dated now, but the first time I saw that, it knocked my socks off that a home console could do that.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

Waited till the Blockbuster rental units hit $49.99 to pick one up. They had been rented so little around here, that they were practically brand new. Hard to beat a like-new system, 2 controllers, hardcase and all the wires for under $50! Most BBs in my area still had the rental units for sale when they dropped to $29.99 each...picked up 3 more just because it seemed like too good of a deal to pass up! Still have an extra in hardcase if anyone is interested.

- How many games do you have for it?

216...about a dozen of those are imports (sounds like I need to get more of these though).

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

This is probably one of the systems that I had the best timing for in terms of picking up deals. In addition to the getting the systems from BB, I also picked up about a dozen copies of Xmax Nights from my local BBs for the princely sum of .99 each...great tradebait over the years! Also scored multiple copies of PDS, SF III and HotD when TRU dropped them to $20, which have also led to some great trades. And I'll never forget stumbling into Best Buy on a day off, right after they dropped all of their Saturn games to $10 each (except for NASCAR '98 and another '98 sports title, which I managed to get for $10 each too). I went to all 4 Best Buys within driving distance and dropped almost $300 on new Saturn games...still my record for most spent on games in one day.

One of my favorite and most played systems!

Rich

[China Warrior]

Again!

[Tetsu]

b]- What is your favorite game on this system?[/b]

Oooh, tough call. Right now I guess it would be Super Puzzle Fighter X, which is arcade perfect save for a little load time at the beginning.

- What are some of your other favorites?
Astal, Assault Suit Leynoss, Langrisser 4, Street Fighter Alpha 2, and Metal Slug

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?
I was surprised at how good a lot of the SNK and Capcom games were translated. The Playstation versions were a joke by comparison. I was also surprised by the high quality, original, quirky games, like Nights, Princess Crown, Burning Rangers, and Bulk Slash. What infuriated me was how few of these games made it out to the US.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

The first time I saw the Saturn in action I wasn't too impressed, because the 3D games on display were inferior to comparable PSX or even 3DO graphics at the time. It wasn't until my friend showed me Astal a couple of years later that I was impressed with the Saturn.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

I got one in 1997 that I got for fifty bucks, and now I have a spare as well.

- How many games do you have for it?

I have about 30 games for it, about 20 imports. Most are shooters and fighters, although I've been picking up the Langrisser titles lately (got 3 and 4 so far, looking for 5)


- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

Ok this is the last time this year that I tell this story, I promise. I bought my Radiant Silvergun on eBay for about eighty bucks shipped, with a tiny scratch in it and no spine card. A year later, I find a copy of Radiant Silvergun at a game store for $5, no instructions (but spine card?!). A month later I find another copy of Radiant Silvergun in the same store, complete except for spine card. the first game I found had a perfect disc, so I swapped out discs with my the copy I bought and put the spine card from the other in there. From 3 Radiant Silverguns I made a mint complete RS! I ended up selling the other two discs for mucho dinero that year, and sold off my last one this year.

[ubersaurus]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

Hmmm...gotta go with Galactic Attack. I friggin LOVE that game.

- What are some of your other favorites?

Saturn Bomberman, PTO 2, Dracula Nocturne in the Moonlight or whatever its called, Nights, Virtua Fighter 2

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

I never thought Galactic Attack was going to become my addiction when I picked it up for 2 bucks. How wrong I was. Now Myst on the other hand, well, Myst sucks. Alot. Burn, Myst, BURN.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

Had to be 199..5, 96? Best Buy game area, over in the sega section, they had it running Nights, and I thought it looked damn pretty. First time I had ever seen 3D that didn't look all blocky like Star Fox, and I was impressed. Not so much with the price tag, though. I was only 12 at the time ;p

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
Nope, had an N64, followed by my dad getting a Playstation. I did finally pick up a saturn last year, as some guy was selling his in the paper with about 11 games for 40 bucks, which I figured wasn't such a bad deal. Most of those ended up being crummy sports games, but whatever, I had a few gems in there.

- How many games do you have for it?
20. This place sucks for finding saturn stuff, and I don't want to go online unless I have to (which seems like I will). I am wanting the first 2 Panzer Dragoons, Tempest 2k, Sega Ages, and the import Street FIghter Zero 3, but alas, I'm lazy.

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

Umm...well my friend Derek had a saturn from back in the day, and one time he brought it with him to the University of Michigan-Dearborn Anime Night in about...99 I believe. Well, one of hte guys that came with us decided to be a dumb ass and kick around a bottle of mountain dew, which got on the saturn. Derek was about to KILL him right there, but the saturn survived and worked. He also messed up the projector and ultimately that got the anime showings shut down, but thats another story.

[Kid Fenris]

-What is your favorite game on this system?
It's a toss-up among Radiant Silvergun, Panzer Dragoon Saga, and Guardian Heroes. Radiant’s an amazingly well-designed shooter, Panzer’s a great RPG like no other, and Heroes is, in my opinion, the finest 2D beat-‘em-up ever.

- What are some of your other favorites?

Burning Rangers, NiGHTS, Sakura Wars Columns, Dragon Force, Cyberbots, Vampire Hunter/NightWarriors, Vampire Savior, Princess Crown, Panzer Dragoon, Panzer Dragoon Zwei, Saturn Bomberman, Soukyugurentai, Batsugun, and Tengai Makyo: The Fourth Revelation: The Apocalypse IV. I love that title.


-What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

At first glance, Burning Rangers looked like an ugly, slow action/platformer, but I gradually realized how unique and enjoyable (and cheesy) it was.

X-Men vs. Street Fighter also astounded me, simply because it was such an accurate port of the arcade game. A shame it was never released over here, since it was the last Saturn title that could have made a difference in the American market.

Though I was disappointed by Golden Axe: The Duel and Fighting Vipers, my most infuriating moment came during Shining Force III. Upon reaching a higher class, the game’s main character, Synbios, disappeared from the map. He was never there in any subsequent battles, and it eventually screwed up the entire game. I blame Bernie Stolar.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

It was Panzer Dragoon, playing in a kiosk at Toys R Us. I thought it looked great, but I couldn’t understand what was going on. Later, when I got my hands on Panzer Zwei, I figured it out.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

I bought my Saturn in mid-1997, on the same day that it dropped in price to $150. I later realized that I should have bought one a year earlier, so I could have been playing Guardian Heroes, Panzer Dragoon Zwei, and Nightwarriors back when I had little to do other than try to finish Chrono Trigger for the ninth time or so.

- How many games do you have for it?

32. I’m still in search of Soukyugurentai, Batsugun, Dodonpachi, Bulk Slash, and maybe a Japanese Burning Rangers.

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

The Saturn was my introduction to the world of doomed systems. Through Sega’s big black box, I came to know what it must have been like for those who dug the Sega Master System or the TurboDuo when everyone else wanted no more than the NES or the Genesis/SNES industrial complex.

I liked my PlayStation and didn’t mind the N64, but I always went out of my way to support the Saturn. I’d show the games off to friends, I’d defend the system if someone disparaged it, and I’d stop at EB or Babbage’s once a week, just because none of the other stores stocked new Saturn stuff on a regular basis.

And eventually, I snatched up all kinds of cheap games and accessories when retailers started clearing out their Saturn stock. It was depressing, like looting a palace not because you’re greedy, but because the king you've served is dead and it would break your heart to leave treasures like Dark Savior and Panzer Dragoon Zwei to the thieves.

Sheesh, I’m a Saturn fanboy. And I always will be.

[YoshiM]

- What is your favorite game on this system?
Hmm, choices. Probably Burning Rangers.

- What are some of your other favorites?
Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cops 1 & 2

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?
Panzer Dragoon Saga really surprised me. Good looking game with action and RPG elements mixed in wonderfully. Infuriated? Nights. To me it's like it runs on automatic with little control from me. Ticked me off.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
I saw it at a BlockBuster Video played Panzer Dragoon. Played it, shrugged, and moved on. It really didn't appeal to me at that point.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
No. My group was looking to buy a system collectively so we checked out the major systems. Playstation got passed by due to the crappy controller and nothing interested us. Saturn got passed by due to nothing on the system looked good for us. We got an N64 instead when it came out because of watching the Mario 64 game.

Now I do own one, but it's stored away. I picked it up for $30 at a BlockBuster sale.

- How many games do you have for it?
I think I have 7 or 8

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?
This system got me in hot water due to a selfish act. I went to Blockbuster to get Yoshi's Story for my wife was they had a used copy for a good price. I saw they had a tent sale and discovered the Saturn. My collector side kicked in at high gear and I bought the system and a few games over the Yoshi's Story. I told my wife they didn't have Yoshi but they had this. She was okay but the next time we stopped at Blockbuster for some reason I went to see if Yoshi's story was still there and it wasn't. My wife questioned me as I was intently looking and figured out that I dissed the little dino for a has been planet. I went out into the tent and got her Bust a Move 2 for the Saturn. That saved my bacon as she loved the game.

[Biohazard]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

That's a very tough question, but I'd have to say Sega Rally and Panzer Dragoon Saga

- What are some of your other favorites?

Burning Rangers, Sonic Jam and Battle Garegga

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

Well, to be honest Sonic R quite surprised me. When I first heard of the game I though It could never be a "playable" game, with the characters running around a track instead of using a car. When I played, I was surprised how well the game felt and played, and up until this day it remains one of my favorite Saturn games

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

Yeah, I remember the first time. It was in a local gamestore called Games 'R Fun, and the game was Bug!. My first reaction was "wow", because I hadn't actually seen any ingame movies or whatever, so I was quite impressed with the quality of the graphics. However, I didn't get to play the game

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

I didn't own it immediately after launch. I bought it with Virtua Fighter Kids and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, because I was a HUGE fighting fan at the time. I'm not quite sure when this was, but I do know Tomb Raider wasn't released yet.

- How many games do you have for it?
83, not counting duplicates
Most of my Saturn games are PAL, with the rest of my Saturn collection consisting of a fair amount of JAP import and 2 USA titles.

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

Well, not really. Except that the Virgin Megastore in Amsterdam cleared out their Saturn titels, which I managed to miss ofcourse
And I'd like to say that the Saturn is my favorite console of all-time, together with the Dreamcast.

[Mr Mort]

The Saturn is my absolute favorite system of all time.

- What is your favorite game on this system?
Without question, Street Fighter Zero 3. Arcade perfect, even more so than the DC version, very short loading times, perfect control, the sprites aren't all pixelated like the DC version, and the depth of the gameplay is like chess.


- What are some of your other favorites?

Wow, so many to mention...
Sega Rally, Night Warriors, Vampire Savior, Thunder Force V, Panzer Dragoon Zwei, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Fighter's Megamix, Virtua Fighter 2, Metal Slug, Virtual On, Radiant Silvergun.

- What games surprised you? Infuriated you?

I remember Sega Rally and Virtua Cop impressing me because Sega Rally had an amazing frame rate, tight gameplay, and Virtua Cop actually looked better than the arcade version, and of course Night Warriors blew me away with its amazing animation and visuals. Nothing really infuriated me, other than the fact that Sega of America would not bring out all the amazing games that were available in Japan.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
The first time I saw the system in action was at the local EB a few days after the surprise launch, running Daytona. The instant I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I was (and still am) a huge fan of Sega's arcade games, and wanted to have that arcade experience at home, and finally, the Saturn could do it.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

I got the system about a month or two after the surprise launch. I paid $400.00 for the system alone (which came with VF) and got Daytona, and a spare controller with it. I don't regret it, it was worth every penny, I was the only one among my friends who had a Saturn for over 2 years, but the enjoyment I got out of it was priceless. Today, I have 3 Saturns, and I'm always looking for more.

- How many games do you have for it?

Last I counted, I have 51 games, about a third of which are japanese imports.