Good adventure games? (For Saturn and Dreamcast)

[Gamingking]

I recently bought a Sega Saturn and I was wondering whats some really good adventure games for it? And the Dreamcast?

[Sniderman]

I edited your thread title so more folks would know what systems you're fishing for rather than the generic one you posted. You may also want to check out the Best Games threads for each system. The threads will have more than just adventure/RPGs, but there will be some good recommendations to check out:

Top 20 Sega Saturn Games (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1509&highlight=saturn)
Top 20 Dreamcast Games (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1490&highlight=dreamcast)

And we have two "official" threads where the expert collectors/players discuss the games of the systems:

Official Sega Saturn Thread (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17831&highlight=saturn)
Official Dreamcast Thread (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62880&highlight=dreamcast)

[j_factor]

The Dreamcast's only real adventure games are Shenmue, Shenmue II, and Omikron. And even those are debatable as being "true" adventure games.

Saturn has a few:

Atlantis: The Lost Tales
Blazing Dragons
Cyberia
Discworld
Discworld II
Lunacy
Mansion of Hidden Souls
Myst
Riven

[BetaWolf47]

Saturn also has PowerSlave, which is an FPS/Adventure hybrid.

[A Black Falcon]

The Dreamcast's only real adventure games are Shenmue, Shenmue II, and Omikron. And even those are debatable as being "true" adventure games.

Saturn has a few:

Atlantis: The Lost Tales
Blazing Dragons
Cyberia
Discworld
Discworld II
Lunacy
Mansion of Hidden Souls
Myst
Riven

You don't count D (Saturn) and D2 (Dreamcast)? And how about survival horror games? Those I would definitely consider adventure games, for the most part... and of course dating sims/visual novels are pretty much an adventure game spinoff genre, though all of those games on Saturn and DC are Japanese-only.

[j_factor]

I would not count survival horror games in general, like RE. I guess D does qualify, but D2, not so much. Dating sims and visual novels definitely do count, but these kinds of games are really not worth talking about if they weren't released in English (unless you're fluent in Japanese).

[Leo_A]

I'd consider Ecco the Dolphin to be an adventure game and worth checking out on the Dreamcast.

[A Black Falcon]

I would not count survival horror games in general, like RE. I guess D does qualify, but D2, not so much. Dating sims and visual novels definitely do count, but these kinds of games are really not worth talking about if they weren't released in English (unless you're fluent in Japanese).

Why not D2?

Survival horror games are definitely mostly adventure games, though. I mean, the genre was created by Alone in the Dark, which most people would agree is an adventure game... RE and such are different from other kinds of adventure gaems sure, with lots of action and simpler puzzles, but I do think they count, if perhaps in a somewhat different category...

[j_factor]

Why not D2?

Have you played D2? It doesn't really play like the first one. It has a lot of shooting, and multiple boss battles. I tend to think of boss battles as being fairly antithetical of adventure games. Shenmue does have a boss battle, but it's relegated to its own separate "mode" in gameplay, whereas in D2, the action is fairly integrated.


Survival horror games are definitely mostly adventure games, though. I mean, the genre was created by Alone in the Dark, which most people would agree is an adventure game... RE and such are different from other kinds of adventure gaems sure, with lots of action and simpler puzzles, but I do think they count, if perhaps in a somewhat different category...

Survival horror games in general are action-adventure, rather than adventure. If you're running around with a gun and have enemies coming at you, it's not really an adventure game. Even if you're doing more running away than killing, you're still under constant threat of danger. In an adventure game, you might be able to die from a booby trap, or making the wrong selection, but not from being killed by an enemy that suddenly jumped out at you. Alone in the Dark is action-adventure, and for what it's worth, even it drew from previous games, such as Project Firestart.

[Gamingking]

Anymore? I'm definatley wanting to grow my Saturn/Dreamcast collection.

[shopkins]

Enemy Zero for the Saturn is the indirect sequel to D and kind of an adventure game. It's mostly an adventure into frustration, though. But even though it has clunky and terrible bits where you shoot at invisible enemies and try to solve confusing, featureless mazes with no map, it does also have some of the puzzle solving FMV gameplay from the first D.

As for my impressions of some of the ones already listed:

Blazing Dragons is just okay. Good voicework but the actual gameplay seems derivative and doesn't set itself apart from the standard Lucasarts and Sierra stuff that much. It also has some annoying pixel hunting, I was stuck for a long time because I was clicking in the wrong place to get an object.

Mansion of Hidden Souls is just kind of weird. It's more like an art installation with a crazy, creepy story and bizarre voice acting than a game. I didn't enjoy it that much at all.

The original D is well worth playing. It's short and it has at least one fiddly action bit where you have to follow a sequence that I had trouble completing, though.

Cyberia probably wowed em with its pre-rendered 3D when it was first released for DOS in 1994, but it doesn't hold up that great today and might look a little stiff. I liked the adventure parts well enough, but this one really seemed to be focused more on the FMV shooter parts which are just okay. The fact that it features one of the vehicles in combat on the cover should tell you something.

As for Dreamcast, I think Shenmue sort of counts as adventure game, and I really enjoyed it so I would say pick it up if you can tolerate a bit of walking about and downtime and the fact that most of the puzzles are based on finding things in the city. Shenmue II seemed to have more fighting in it, to me, but also has a lot of searching about and is an even more immersive experience.

Omikron is kind of like Shenmue in a way, in that you explore a big city. It has shooter and fighting gameplay, though, so it's also not a traditional, straight-up adventure game. Omikron centers around a really neat mechanic that includes hijacking people's bodies, you'd be surprised at how much not caring if the character you're controlling dies can change your approach to mission objectives. There's also a crazy art style reminiscent of European comic books and a David Bowie soundtrack.