US Saturn extras and variants

[Little Samson]

So, most US games for the Sega Saturn came simply with one disc, longbox case, manual, and insert for the back of the case, and most of these games had only one version. I'm trying to make a list of all exceptions to this: any US Saturn game that had something extra included (e.g., more than one disc, stickers), had any variants (e.g., different disc art), or came in anything other than a regular longbox case.

I searched the forums pretty hard for a thread with this information, but I couldn't find anything with the information all in one place. So if you know of a place (on this site or elsewhere) with the information I'm looking for, please let me know.

Here's what I've got so far; I'm sure I'm missing *a lot* of stuff, so please post with any information you have, and I'll add it to the list. Thanks for your help! (By the way, I'm not worrying about any demo discs at the moment.)

1. Albert Odyssey: The Legend of Eldean -- 2 disc art variants
2. Command and Conquer -- game includes 2 discs (extra plastic tray)
3. Contra: Legacy of War -- 3D glasses
4. Corpse Killer -- game includes 2 discs (and plastic tray) and a Digital Pictures ad insert
5. Creature Shock -- game includes 2 discs (and plastic tray)
6. D -- crappy plastic disc holder, game includes 2 discs (extra plastic tray)
7. Darius Gaiden -- crappy plastic disc holder
8. Daytona USA -- 2 variants: longbox version, cardboard sleeve version (came with 3 Free Game Pack and b&w manual)
9. Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Netlink Edition -- game includes 2 manuals, one w/ a b&w cover
10. Double Switch -- game includes 2 discs (and extra plastic tray)
11. Dragon Force -- came with RAM cart sticker (3 variants), 4 disc art variants
12. Enemy Zero -- game includes 4 discs (3 extra sleeves)
13. John Madden '97 -- came with giant poster featuring plays
14. Lunacy -- game includes 2 discs, a plastic disc tray, and a map
15. Magic Knight Rayearth -- came with stickers, 3 disc art variants
16. Mech Warrior II -- controller configuration card
17. Mortal Kombat II -- crappy plastic disc holder
18. Mr. Bones -- game includes 2 discs (and a plastic disc tray)
19. Mystaria -- also has goes by the name Blazing Heroes, with matching manual, disc, and case art.
20. Net Link Browser 2.0 -- came in a small case
21. Net Link Browser 3.0 -- came in a cardboard sleeve
22. NiGHTS into Dreams -- 2 variants: longbox version, small case version boxed with 3D controller
23. Panzer Dragoon Saga -- game includes 4 discs (3 extra sleeves -- usually all black or all white, but sometimes a combination)
24. Sega Rally Championship plus International Rally: two variants: longbox version, small case version (came with packaged with a console and a b&w manual)
25. Sega Rally Championship plus International Rally: Netlink Edition -- small case, came with Net Link Game Pack, comes with b&w manual
26. Street Fighter Collection -- game includes 2 discs (extra black tray OR extra sleeve)
27. Virtua Cop -- 3 variants: longbox version, cardboard sleeve version (came with the 3 Free Game Pack and b&w manual), and version packed in with a Stunner (some of these are cardboard sleeves, some are small cases)
28. Virtua Cop 2 -- 2 variants: longbox version, small case version packed in with a Stunner
29. Virtua Fighter -- small case, only came packaged with early Saturn consoles
30. Virtua Fighter 2 -- 2 variants: longbox version, cardboard sleeve version (came with the 3 Free Game Pack and b&w manual)
31. Virtua Fighter Remix -- 3 variants: longbox version w/ purple disc, small case version w/ blue disc (packaged with later systems), and cardboard sleeve version w/ red disc (mailed for free to early Saturn owners).
32. Virtual-On: Cyber Troopers: Netlink Edition -- small case, came with Net Link Game Pack (comes with b&w manual)

Miscellaneous notes (stuff that didn't really fit above):
1. Astal is the only game without the game title on the spine.
2. The Working Designs games (Albert Odyssey: The Legend of Eldean, Dragon Force, Shining Wisdom, Magic Knight Rayearth, Iron Storm, and Sega Ages) have full-color manuals with shiny covers.
3. The longbox versions of Virtua Fighter 2 and Sega Rally Championship plus International Rally are the only games that have gray (as opposed to white) box art. These also have shiny manual covers.
4. Some early Acclaim games (Darius Gaiden, Mortal Kombat II, D) came with a crappy black disc holder instead of the standard one.

[gum_drops]

Here are a few:

Contra: 3d glasses
Lunacy: Map

Update:
Corpse Killer (2 Discs + Digital Pictures ad insert)
Double Switch (Again 2 Discs, must be 2x as good then?)
Darius Gaiden has that alternate black plastic holder, same one used with "D".
Astal is the only saturn game with no mention of the title on the spine iirc.
Sonic R had a trading card from the sega foundation asking kids to be cool and not fight. I am not sure if this is an actual insert of something that was tossed in when I bought it. Maybe someone else can confirm.

[Little Samson]

Here are a few:

Contra: 3d glasses
Lunacy: Map

Sweet, thanks... added them in.

[j_factor]

Virtua Cop 2 also had a Stunner pack.

Mystaria and Blazing Heroes are the same game. Not sure if that counts as a variant.

[Little Samson]

Here are a few:

Contra: 3d glasses
Lunacy: Map

Update:
Corpse Killer (2 Discs + Digital Pictures ad insert)
Double Switch (Again 2 Discs, must be 2x as good then?)
Darius Gaiden has that alternate black plastic holder, same one used with "D".
Astal is the only saturn game with no mention of the title on the spine iirc.
Sonic R had a trading card from the sega foundation asking kids to be cool and not fight. I am not sure if this is an actual insert of something that was tossed in when I bought it. Maybe someone else can confirm.

Okay, I put in Corpse Killer and Double Switch. Do you happen to know whether the second disc came in a big tray (like D) or in a sleeve (like PDS)? And I put in Darius Gaiden. I didn't put in Astal: I think you're right that it's the only game without a title on the spine, but I'm mainly trying to include just extra stuff or variants that people trying to get complete complete collections might overlook. I didn't put in Sonic R: I'm not sure if the trading card was a pack-in, but if somebody can confirm that it is, then I'll put it on the list.


Virtua Cop 2 also had a Stunner pack.

Mystaria and Blazing Heroes are the same game. Not sure if that counts as a variant.

Okay, I added these.

Do you happen to know if the Virtua Cop 2 that came with the Stunner came in a small case or a cardboard sleeve (or sometimes either one)?

Also, I had no idea that Blazing Heroes existed. I've been playing Mystaria for years (one of my favorite games), but I didn't know about the other title. that's weird.

[Wraith Storm]

Here are a few:
Sonic R had a trading card from the sega foundation asking kids to be cool and not fight. I am not sure if this is an actual insert of something that was tossed in when I bought it. Maybe someone else can confirm.

I bought my copy of Sonic R new upon release and it did not contain a card or anything else extra.

Also MR. Bones possibly has a cover variant. The artwork is the same on both of them however one of them has a tombstone shaped sticker plastered on the manuel just to the right of MR. Bones head. It reads "Check out the monstrous Mr. Bones video game, available only on the Sega Saturn." then beneath the text is some serial number (697-124 145-2).

I thought that it was some random sticker that someone had put on the manuel (I bought it used), but then I came across another copy in the wild with the same sticker.

So I believe that either the game came with the tombstone shaped sticker and people just stuck it to their manuel, or else it was applied on early copies of the game at the factory. If need be I can take a picture of it and post it here.

[Wraith Storm]

Also, I had no idea that Blazing Heroes existed. I've been playing Mystaria for years (one of my favorite games), but I didn't know about the other title. that's weird.

Yeah Mystaria\Blazing Heroes is a fantastic Shining Force style game.

I heard Sega had to change the name because Capcom already had their D&D arcade game "Shadow over Mystaria".

Also Mystaria came with several Trading Cards of some of the main characters. The repackaging as Blazing Heroes did not contain these cards.

[Little Samson]

Also Mystaria came with several Trading Cards of some of the main characters.

Is that right? I had those at one point, but I can't remember if they came with the game or if I got them by doing the mail-in offer on the back of the manual...

[Wraith Storm]

Is that right? I had those at one point, but I can't remember if they came with the game or if I got them by doing the mail-in offer on the back of the manual...

Now that you mention it, the mail in offer does seem vaguely familiar. I'm almost positive however, that the game came with a few cards (Iv'e been wrong before though) and then maybe you could mail in to get the rest.

[grolt]

Mortal Kombat II also had the shitty black plastic holder that Darius Gaiden had.

Mystaria never came with any cards - you had to mail away for them.

Sonic R also never came with any cards as previously mentioned.

As for Mr. Bones, I'm pretty sure every version came with that tombstone sticker. I bought it new like that when it came out, and have since acquired several copies like that on the 'bay as well.

There's also just a small case only version of Sega Rally without the NetLink. I'm not sure where this came from though, but I picked it up in a lot some time back.

The NetLink Browser 2.0 came in a small jewel case, while Browser 3.0 came in a sleeve.

Christmas NiGHTS was only released in a sleeve.

[Little Samson]

Okay, I've updated all the information so far:

I didn't add the trading cards for Mystaria unless somebody is 100% certain that the cards came with their game.

I didn't add the Mr. Bones sticker yet, as I'm wondering if the stickerless ones came with stickers but were removed by their owners. If somebody can confirm that there are a lot of stickerless ones out there, though, that would suggest that there really is a variant there.

I added in the funny case for Mortal Kombat II, although if there are a lot of games like this, I'm inclined to omit them from the list...

I added in Sega Rally Championship, and I added in the NetLink Browsers.

I didn't add in Christmas NiGHTS (I'm not worrying about demos yet).

Thanks for the info... keep it coming!

[j_factor]

Do you happen to know if the Virtua Cop 2 that came with the Stunner came in a small case or a cardboard sleeve (or sometimes either one)?

I don't know, sorry. When it came out, I already had two Stunners, so I bought just the game. Apparently the VC2 Stunner pack is fairly rare, as I almost never see it on eBay or anything.

[grolt]

I don't know, sorry. When it came out, I already had two Stunners, so I bought just the game. Apparently the VC2 Stunner pack is fairly rare, as I almost never see it on eBay or anything.
I've got it. It pictures a small jewel case with smaller artwork on the front of the box, but inside it is a small jewel case without any front sleeve whatsoever. That's the only way it's been released in the Stunner set.

[grolt]

Okay, I put in Corpse Killer and Double Switch. Do you happen to know whether the second disc came in a big tray (like D) or in a sleeve (like PDS)?
Both Corpse Killer and Double Switch came with the trays.

I think it would be important to know that PDS came with either white or black sleeves.

I'd say that Astal would be a good game to add, because if this is about collecting then those looking at an eBay auction with spines only would benefit in knowing that lone game without the title on the spine is definitely Astal.

[Little Samson]

Okay, I've added in the info on Virtua Cop 2, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Corpse Killer, and Double Switch.

I added in Astal -- better to include too much information than not enough.

[gameofyou]

Nights came with extra stuff when it was first released. I don't remember everything, but it for sure came with a pillowcase (I still have mine).

[gum_drops]

I noticed we forgot an all-time classic, creature shock, which is 2 discs with a tray.

[j_factor]

Oh by the way, I can explain the VF Remix variants. The longbox version was sold in stores, the small case version was packed in with some systems (I believe it was the second pack-in, simply replacing the original VF), and the cardboard sleeve version was given free by mail to early Saturn owners.

[TurboGenesis]

I bought Darius Gaiden many years ago and thought that flimsy tray was a mistake? So for it to be proper, it should have the cheap tray instead of the standard tray?

I bought a 1 dollar madden just so I could put Darius Gaiden in a "good" case…

[Dangerboy]

"Awesome thread" comment from a PSX variant whore, keep it up :)

[Cornelius]

Today I got around to washing (don't ask) a bunch of cases. I found out an interesting variant/PITA. Most cases have a kind of fat nubby that holds the hinge in place, but some have a smaller nubby. They are not interchangeable, at least not large nub to small hole. And I have no idea which is which since I only found this after they were all taken apart. Hopefully nobody cares about this variant...

Also, I forgot to note which game had the cheapy plastic cd holder, but quite possibly two of the following did since I had two of the holders to pair with these games (I haven't had these since new, so they could be swaps):
Albert Odyssey
Astal
Battle Arena Toshinden
Black Fire
Bug
Clockwork Knight
College Slam
D
Daytona USA
Doom
Double Switch
Fighting Vipers
Ghen War
The Horde
Last Bronx
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Panzer Dragoon
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
PGA Tour 97
Resident Evil
Three Dirty Dwarves
Tomb Raider
Virtua Fighter 2
World Series Baseball
Worldwide Soccer

I know that's not very helpful. Probably not even worth posting, but I'm not gonna erase it now!

[Little Samson]

Nights came with extra stuff when it was first released. I don't remember everything, but it for sure came with a pillowcase (I still have mine).

Very interesting... I put it in as a placeholder; anybody know more about this?


I noticed we forgot an all-time classic, creature shock, which is 2 discs with a tray.

Good catch; added.


Oh by the way, I can explain the VF Remix variants. The longbox version was sold in stores, the small case version was packed in with some systems (I believe it was the second pack-in, simply replacing the original VF), and the cardboard sleeve version was given free by mail to early Saturn owners.

Sweet, added the specific info!


"Awesome thread" comment from a PSX variant whore, keep it up :)

Thanks :)


Today I got around to washing (don't ask) a bunch of cases. I found out an interesting variant/PITA. Most cases have a kind of fat nubby that holds the hinge in place, but some have a smaller nubby. They are not interchangeable, at least not large nub to small hole. And I have no idea which is which since I only found this after they were all taken apart. Hopefully nobody cares about this variant...

I've noticed that with Sega CD games as well... my guess is that it would be really hard to pin down which games have which, and I'd guess that a lot of games have some of each.


Also, I forgot to note which game had the cheapy plastic cd holder, but quite possibly two of the following did since I had two of the holders to pair with these games (I haven't had these since new, so they could be swaps):
[List of Games]

I just got D in the mail today, so I can definitely confirm that it has that crappy disc holder. And man does it suck! What were they thinking with that?

[gum_drops]

I bought Darius Gaiden many years ago and thought that flimsy tray was a mistake? So for it to be proper, it should have the cheap tray instead of the standard tray?

Yep, the flimsy tray is correct I have a sealed copy and a complete copy that both have them. Time to find that madden game and make things right.

[Cornelius]

Yep, the flimsy tray is correct I have a sealed copy and a complete copy that both have them. Time to find 2 copies of that madden game and make things right.

fixed that for you... obviously you'll need to open the sealed copy to make it right, too! :p

[grolt]

I bought the NiGHTS and 3D control pad set day and date when it came out, and it did not have any pillowcase or other additive. I suspect this was probably a regional thing, or some department store promotion. I also bought the longbox varient a year later just to have it, and it didn't have anything like that with it either.

The flimsy cases were an early Acclaim thing. I've never seen Darius Gaiden or MKII without it, but I imagine they peppered it into other releases as well.

I suppose it is also worth noting that Virtua Fighter 2 and Sega Rally Championship were the only Saturn games with grey box art, and along with all the Working Designs games, were the only games with a shiny coat (the Working Designs games were also embossed on the cover and with full color manuals).

Lastly, Madden NFL 97 also had a giant folded poster with all the offensive and defensive plays listed on it.

[Little Samson]

I bought the NiGHTS and 3D control pad set day and date when it came out, and it did not have any pillowcase or other additive. I suspect this was probably a regional thing, or some department store promotion. I also bought the longbox varient a year later just to have it, and it didn't have anything like that with it either.

The flimsy cases were an early Acclaim thing. I've never seen Darius Gaiden or MKII without it, but I imagine they peppered it into other releases as well.

I suppose it is also worth noting that Virtua Fighter 2 and Sega Rally Championship were the only Saturn games with grey box art, and along with all the Working Designs games, were the only games with a shiny coat (the Working Designs games were also embossed on the cover and with full color manuals).

Lastly, Madden NFL 97 also had a giant folded poster with all the offensive and defensive plays listed on it.

Okay, I've taken off the NiGHTS extras unless somebody can demonstrate that these were pack-ins (the dept. store etc. theory sounds plausible to me). And I added John Madden '97.

I moved some of the stuff (Astal, gray box art games, Working Designs's box art) to a miscellaneous section -- I think it fits better there than in the main section.

[Little Samson]

I don't know, sorry. When it came out, I already had two Stunners, so I bought just the game. Apparently the VC2 Stunner pack is fairly rare, as I almost never see it on eBay or anything.
I've got it. It pictures a small jewel case with smaller artwork on the front of the box, but inside it is a small jewel case without any front sleeve whatsoever. That's the only way it's been released in the Stunner set.

Okay, I just got a Virtua Cop 2 Stunner pack in the mail today! It came with the box, the cardboard gun holder thing, the Stunner, and (unfortunately) the game disc in a blank paper sleeve.

So, Grolt: you're saying the disc originally came in an empty jewel case with *no* front or back artwork whatsoever? Just trying to see if I need to get anything else or if I can just substitute in a jewel case of my choosing =3.

Also, did this set include a manual, and was it the large, color manual found in the longbox release?

Thanks!

[grolt]

Okay, I just got a Virtua Cop 2 Stunner pack in the mail today! It came with the box, the cardboard gun holder thing, the Stunner, and (unfortunately) the game disc in a blank paper sleeve.

So, Grolt: you're saying the disc originally came in an empty jewel case with *no* front or back artwork whatsoever? Just trying to see if I need to get anything else or if I can just substitute in a jewel case of my choosing =3.

Also, did this set include a manual, and was it the large, color manual found in the longbox release?

Thanks!
The stunner has a manual, the disc says NOT FOR RESALE on it and comes in a completely clear jewel case (front, back and disc holder are all transparent) a standard longbox manual is included as well. If you look in the cardboard holding for the gun, you will see a small grove on the bottom left of the board - that's where your jewel case goes! :)

Hope that helps.

[Little Samson]

The stunner has a manual, the disc says NOT FOR RESALE on it and comes in a completely clear jewel case (front, back and disc holder are all transparent) a standard longbox manual is included as well. If you look in the cardboard holding for the gun, you will see a small grove on the bottom left of the board - that's where your jewel case goes! :)

Hope that helps.

That's great news... now I just need to get a longbox manual to complete it!

By the way, do either the VC1 or VC2 Stunner packs come with any other paperwork, such as Stunner manuals?

Last of all, I guess I should keep track of any discs that say "Not For Resale" on the original list...