Advice on buying a Saturn

[SoulBlazer]

So I've been hemming and hawing about this for a while, and I'm wondering if it's time to add a Sega Saturn to my 'old consoles I never played back in the day' collection, with my Sega CD, TurboGrafix, and 3DO. :D Emulation of the system apears to have hit a dead end and there's several games unique to the system I'd like to try.

The main question is can I do it cheaply enough and still find enough games to warrent the time and hassle involved (some of you may remember the fits I had trying to get a working Sega CD collection).

So, my first question -- not knowing anything about the system, what should I be looking for in terms of hardware and making sure its complete? How much should I expect to pay for a Saturn on EBay? And how can I check to make sure I've got everything I need for it?

My second question -- what do the games normaly go for on EBay? I know that some games, like the Panzer series, are way out of my pricerange, but I'm not looking to spend more then $40-50 on any single game.

My third question -- are there enough games to intrest me? I'm primarly interested in RPG's, adventure games, simulations/strategy, and the like. They have to be North American releases. I don't want to spend more then what I said above for a single game. I also don't mind checking out shooters or action games if they are REALLY good. :)

I plan to get the WD games -- if I can get at least 6-10 games for the system, about the same ammount I have for my other 'old' systems, then it's a worthwhile investment.

Finally, any other words of advice or encourgment? :D

[chadtower]

Dude, do some research. None of that info is hard to find.

That said, if you have a $40-50 limit and you want all the WD games... good LUCK.

[Arcade Antics]

Only advice is to get one ASAP. It's that good. :)

You should be able to pick up a complete working Saturn for no more than $20-25. There are plenty of excellent Saturn games that would interest you, as indicated by your post, and some will turn up quite cheaply. Others, well... won't be as cheap. ;) But you should have no problem finding lots of good games under your price threshhold, especially if you can get them outside of ebay.

[SoulBlazer]

I did do some research -- but could'nt find what I really wanted, so I thought I would ask here, and pick your brains. :) Why do you have to sound so rude?

And I forgot to mention that I'll go over my price limit when it comes to the WD games. I just don't want to make a habit of it. I'm a gamer, not a collector, and paying more then $50 for a game years out of print just to PLAY it and not even sure if I'll LIKE it is too much to ask for.

Some suggestions on game titles would be great also. :D

Oh, and if anyone knows any other place that I might check for games outside of EBay (no good thrift or used shops in my area), then by all means, say so. :) EBay is just how I built up my game collections in the past.

[Raedon]

If you plan on using the Saturn to play burned games then your choices are pretty limited. Only one version can be modded. I only mention this as you mentioned emulation which implies burned games.

[SoulBlazer]

No, I have no intention of playing burned games....I mentioned emulation cause I was hoping someone would make a good Saturn emulator, and then I can just buy the games and save some money. I've done that for a couple systems. But it seems I'll just spend the extra money and get the system.

[Arcade Antics]

One game that you'll definitely want to get your hands on is NiGHTS. Super nifty little adventure title, not available on any other system.

I'm a fan of the arcade type stuff on Saturn, so I'd suggest House of the Dead (under $50 even on ebay) and the Virtua Cop games (VC1 should be darn near free, VC 2 may be in the $10-$20 range depending on where you find it) - some fine light gun action there.

I'm not an RPG player, but even I have to tip my hat to Panzer Dragoon Saga. Though pricey, it will keep you very entertained for a good long while. :)

[chadtower]

Basically, if you aren't going to mod the hardware, it doesn't really matter which version you get. They're pretty much the same from most perpsectives. The Saturn has tons of great games in all categories and a nearly unlimited import library as well. There's no way to go wrong with it.

The logic behind paying $80 to play a game is faulty... since you still own the game after having finished it and are not a collector, you could turn around and resell the game for that same $80 on ebay having only paid shipping to you when you bought it.

Saturn games don't pop up in thrifts and yard sales... I've been trying a long, long time. I'm working on a complete US collection and I never ever see Saturn games in the wild. Only a rare spotting at an out of the way video store or something.

[Anthony1]

I recently got a Saturn and I can give you some advice. I was at a GameCrazy (Hollywood Video's version of GameStop) and they had a old Saturn for $19.99. I thought, WOW what a deal! So I snapped it up really quick.

However, I discovered that I should have bought mine off of Ebay instead. It seems like I could have payed an extra 20 bucks and gotten like 7 or 9 games with it, in addition to the system.

So my advice is to buy a package on Ebay, that would cost less than 50 bucks with shipping and everything, and to get about 6 or 10 games thrown in with it. Make sure that out of those 6 or 10 games, there are at least 3 or 4 that you would buy individually if you were at a store.

Now, regarding the games. I personally won't pay more than $7.56 for a Saturn game off of Ebay, and that includes shipping. I always try to get the guy to ship it first class or media mail, for super cheap shipping. If the guy ships it Media Mail, it usually costs $1.06 for him to ship it to me. That allows me to do a maximum bid of $6.50.

I've gotten a number of good Saturn games this way. I got Bug Too! for my $7.50 limit. I just got Clockwork Knight 1, for under 5 bucks. I got Virtua Figher 2, for 4 bucks. Virtua Cop for $3.95 . I got SCUD, Sega Rally and Daytona CCE for 6 bucks each. I got Mr. Bones and Last Gladiators Digital Pinball for $5 combined! All of these prices include the shipping fee's! I got Skeleton Warriors at GameCrazy for $4.99. So you just have to be patient, and keep your eye on the shipping prices. Also ask the guy if he would be willing to ship Media Mail or first class too. I still want Astal, the first Bug and Clockwork Knight 2, but they have yet to drop into my strike range. But I'm patient.

Anyways, I think the Saturn is a great buy for the price. You can get them very cheap, and the games are pretty cheap as well, except for a few specific games. Just make sure you don't overpay for common games.

[chadtower]

Mr. Bones for less than $5 shipped? That's a great deal. I still don't have that title.

[buttasuperb]

Get an import system. 99% of the good games are imports.

[Drexel923]

heres some advice...buy from me :D

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15844&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

its yours for $110 shipped

[SoulBlazer]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll start looking around on EBay tonight for a bundle. A bundle WOULD be the way to go as long, as one person said, there's games in there I want.

And thanks for the offer, Drex, but I don't want any of those games. :D I'm sure you can sell it, though.

Why would I want a import? 99% of the games I am interested in are games I would HAVE to get in English due to the high ammount of text (RPG's, simulations, etc.). Not that I won't rule out buying a Japanese Saturn if it's been modded to play American games, but I don't plan on buying any Japanese games.

[bargora]

It's very easy to play Japanese games on a U.S. Saturn. All you need is an ST key, which you should be able to get for less than $20. And butta was only exaggerating slightly when he said that 99% of the good games are Japan-only. But even if you don't get into imports, get Galactic Attack for your U.S. Saturn. It's a nice 2-D vertically scrolling shooter.

[E Nice]

A GameShark also works to play imports on Saturn.

[omnedon]

They can be switch modded also quite easily, so they become a true dual region system. Frees up the cart slot for saves. :D

[SoulBlazer]

Well, the $20-30 price for a system with the hookups on EBay seems right about -- and there's no shortage of systems being sold. :)

What ticks me off is when I went to GameFAQ's and checked the Saturn FAQ's, trying to find a listing of all the games that came out the in USA, like I had done for every other system I have.

Yeah, they have the LISTINGS, but no CATAGORIES -- so I don't know which games are action and which are RPG, etc., and the name of the game is'nt enough to tell me.

Does anyone know of a list online that has all that broken down? I'm just trying to get a list of RPG's, Adventure, Simulation, and Strategy games that were released in the USA for the Saturn, total.

[Lost Monkey]

This site has mini write-ups on (I think) all of the US released games.

http://www.sega-saturn.com/software.htm#saturn

[SoulBlazer]

Ah, that's what I was looking for. Thanks. :-D

I think I'm just going to wait and see if a better bundle comes up on EBay with at least a couple games I want.

[Atari7800]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll start looking around on EBay tonight for a bundle. A bundle WOULD be the way to go as long, as one person said, there's games in there I want.

And thanks for the offer, Drex, but I don't want any of those games. :D I'm sure you can sell it, though.

Why would I want a import? 99% of the games I am interested in are games I would HAVE to get in English due to the high ammount of text (RPG's, simulations, etc.). Not that I won't rule out buying a Japanese Saturn if it's been modded to play American games, but I don't plan on buying any Japanese games.


The domestic Saturn game libaray contains many stategy and role-playing games. It's certainly the best console for 2-D graphics. The importer gets the best shooters, fighters, and action games.

Since you want English RPG and simulations, these spring to mind. I don't know why people keep suggesting other genres except maybe to help others looking into the Saturn.

RPG's and Simulations in English for Saturn...

Albert Odyssey
Command & Conquer
Dark Savior (great game, maddening music)
Dragon Force (the best Saturn game?)
Heir of Zendor
Horde, The (addictive)
Iron Storm (great WW2 simulation)
Legend of Oasis, The
Lunacy (what Myst should have been, very Japanese)
Magic Knight Rayearth (the last Saturn game)
Mysteria (also known as Blazing Heroes)
Norse by Norsewest: The Return of the Lost Vikings
Panzer Dragoon Saga (best Saturn RPG?)
Shining Force III (fantastic strategy/RPG)
Shining the Holy Ark
Shining Wisdom
Theme Park (addictive)
Virtual Hydlide (awful)
Winning Post (horse racing strategy)

[Saturn Sensei]

Why not get a nifty Special Edition Saturn?? There are a few really cool ones, like the "This is Cool" Saturn or the Derby Stallion SE. At least the This is Cool one can be had fairly cheaply.

Get a memory expansion/memory card/region mod cartridge and you are good to go.

If you want a good way to sort Saturn games by category, check out www.videogameimports.com and then in the three options at the top of the page. Select Saturn, your category of choice, and then "all" for regions. They have thousands of Saturn games in stock for all three regions. Even if they only have the japanese version of a specific title it will at least give you a good description of the genre and game.

Some good titles:
Puzzle Fighter
Metal Slug
Battle Garegga
Sexy Parodius
Dodonpachi
Sengoku Blade
Strikers 1945 1 and 2
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Magic Knight Rayearth
etc.
etc.
etc.
ad nauseum.

[bargora]

I just bought another Saturn today at GameCrazy for $20! While I could sense that the clerks had no idea why I would want such a thing, they were polite enough not to say it. So that makes it my third Saturn, although one of the ones I already have has a burned out on-board memory (yes, I tried another battery).