Two of the rarest US Saturn games...

[Steven]

IMHO are 3D Baseball and BattleSport. I hardly see these Saturn games around. Panzer Saga, Burning Rangers... even though these titles were released on a limited amount, you can always spot a copy or 3 making its rounds on eBay daily.

3D Baseball and BattleSport... good luck finding these games.

Well I finally played 3DB recently. Man let me just say, the 2 and a half year search was worth it. No, it doesn't topple the almighty World Series Baseball '98 but it definitely comes in a not too distant second place. I'm not too shocked it plays so well, I have read good things about 3DB and always got the feeling it would be a game I would instantly mesh with.

I highly recommend it but it has a limited appeal obviously.

#1 it's hard to find
#2 it's a baseball title
#3 it's an OUTDATED baseball title

But if you love playing the sport virtually, and you love your Saturn, check it out. The best way for me to describe it gameplay-wise is.... a meeting of WSB II and WSB 98.

The only negative really is that it has four fake stadiums, which does hurt its grade quite a bit. Other than that it's a fine, fine game.

As for BattleSport, I have yet to play it but will do shortly and report back here. I get the feeling I won't be as big a fan of it as I am of 3DB. I'll probably be right...

BTW, 3DB got an R6 (well deserved) and it shocks me PD Saga is an R6 too. I duno, I see it every day on eBay... or at least once every week.

BattleSport got an R5... but methinks it should be an R6... but hey what do I know? Besides, everyone's a critic. :D

(oh yeah, last thing, Rampage, Norse By Norsewest and Herc's Adventures all got 5's too. They are pretty tough to find... but BattleSport tough? Not so sure on that... also I'm not so sure I'd classify Pandemonium! or Steep Slope Sliders as 5's either... 4 at most... but that could just be me)

[Ed Oscuro]

Norse by Norsewest would be a game I'd like to find, quite a bit :)

[Steven]

Norse by Norsewest would be a game I'd like to find, quite a bit :)

Great game. You won't be disappointed. The voiceovers are hilarious. Never have I looked forward to voiceovers more than I did in NBN.

Gets incredibly tough by level 24 or so (of 31). I am still stuck on level 25 I believe it was... I'll have to try and finish this game. I'm sure I forgot everything so I might as well start over. With the fun brain-teasing gameplay and smooth controls, that won't be a chore. ;)

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh, didn't know about voiceovers. Awesome! It's kept the good looks of the older games, and pumped them up a bit, right?

[Steven]

Oh, didn't know about voiceovers. Awesome! It's kept the good looks of the older games, and pumped them up a bit, right?

Pretty much. You know that Gilbert Godfrey guy right? The weird guy who always has that look on his face that says "I just drank sour beer"? The guy in that Problem Child movies and the guy who does all the animal voices?

I *SWEAR* that's his voice in NBN... either that or a damn good impersonator... you'll see (er, hear) for yourself some day. (he does the voice for the werewolf, who you can use... you can also use a dragon that breathes fire)

Graphics aren't that terribly spruced up, but I like it a lot.

[drummy]

Norse by Norsewest would be a game I'd like to find, quite a bit :)
Weird, I see it quite often.

[chadtower]

PDS actually is rarer, but you see a lot of turnover for copies of it. I remember when they were released, 3D Baseball sat on the shelf and eventually the clearance bin, but I had to preorder PDS at 5 stores in order to get 1 copy. Most stores never even got PDS, or Burning Rangers, or Magic Knight Rayearth.

[fishsandwich]

Indeed, you are correct. These ARE two of the Saturn's rarer games. Neither was produced in high quantities at all. 3-D Baseball has remained low profile because it's a mediocre sports game, and Battlesport first appeared on the 3DO before moving onto Saturn (and PSone?) I do believe Battlesport was Acclaim's last game for the Saturn and it had a very limited print run, but it hasn't aged well and most peeople don't know it's rare. It certaionly isn't sought-after.

:/

[vulcanjedi]

PDS actually is rarer, but you see a lot of turnover for copies of it. I remember when they were released, 3D Baseball sat on the shelf and eventually the clearance bin, but I had to preorder PDS at 5 stores in order to get 1 copy. Most stores never even got PDS, or Burning Rangers, or Magic Knight Rayearth.

Interesting

I pre-ordered PDS at 3 stores and also found it at 2 other places. Ended up selling all but one. Now I could kick myself for not picking up the other end of life saturn titles at the same time.

I actually play NHL powerplay hockey for the saturn more than any other hockey game I have because it plays so well. It's been a while since i have played a good baseball game.

VJ

[blissfulnoise]

PDS actually is rarer, but you see a lot of turnover for copies of it. I remember when they were released, 3D Baseball sat on the shelf and eventually the clearance bin, but I had to preorder PDS at 5 stores in order to get 1 copy. Most stores never even got PDS, or Burning Rangers, or Magic Knight Rayearth.

Which is ironic because I purchased PDS two days after launch just walking into our Babbages and picking it up off the shelf.

I bought Street Fighter vs X-Men (import) the same day.

I'm kicking myself for not getting Radiant Silvergun at the same time....

[fishsandwich]

I bought Panzer Dragoon Saga at Toys R Us, not really knowing what it was. I bought Burning Rangers at an EB or was it Babbages? I searched long and hard for House of teh Dead, though. Got Shing Force 3 on Ebay. You can still get new copies of Magic Knight Rayearth, the very LAST of all Saturn games.

Ugg. :/

[Steven]

MAN! I just had the craziest experience with 3D Baseball! The more I play this game, the more my overall score on it goes up! It's really a fine fine baseball game. The 2 and a half year search was definitely worth the wait.

Game 1: Cinncinnati (me) vs. New York Yankees (CPU)

A crazy slugfest! I scored a career high 7 runs on SIX Home Runs. Four of which came off the bat of sweet ole ERIC DAVIS. One of his Homers was an Inside The Parker that came with him sliding JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME! Man that was sweet. New York belted out 3 homers of their own, for a crazy total of 9 bombs combined in one game. I won 7 to 3.

Game 2: Same teams

The EXACT opposite! I was dealing a PERFECT GAME going into the 9th inning! The only problem? I scored 0 runs! But had many chances! For example, in the bottom of the 8th I opened the inning by hitting a single with the PITCHER! Right up the middle for a crisp single. Of course I couldn't take him out, I wanted to pitch the perfect game with him. How story book like would it be if he scored the game's only run???

Well next up was Bret Boone and he singled. Runners on first and second zero outs. Up next was Eric Davis! What will happen? Ooooh the drama.

He hit into a double play and then the next guy got out.

Rats.

So on to the top of the 9th.

Derek Jeter, Mariano Duncan and David Cone were the hitters looking to break up my perfect game.

TRY AGAIN PAL!

Man, there were so many diving catches in this game it was unbelievable. I got out one guy by literally HALF A STEP! There were at least 8 outs where I was like "Oh no way I'm catching that" but I guess it was in the cards....

Bottom the 9th, Kevin Mitchell opened with a single. Reggie Sanders then doubled. Runners on 3rd and 2nd no outs. Up next was Eddie Taubensee.

The pitch comes....

*SMACK!*

It's HIGH!

It's DEEP!

The center fielder runs back and back... I get big Kevin Mitchell ready to tag in case the center fielder corals the ball safely in his mitt.

The ball sails downward as Bernie Williams makes a last-ditch dive to catch the ball.

NO GOOD!

Balls meets grass!

One inch away from Bernie's glove!

His Sportscenter moment ruined!

And in comes Kevin Mitchell whose happy to walk home!

I won 1-0 and pitched a perfect game... to a deadly lineup!

Game 3... I won 3-0. Not as dramatic as the first two, but a nice little compact game.

So yeah, 3D Baseball has really came onto my good side. I love this game. You can actually score from 2nd base on a single! Baseball games back then you just rarely ever saw that. Nothing like running home from 2nd on a crisp single only to just BARELY beat the tag to win the game... ahhhh.

Yeah... I seriously doubt I'll enjoy BattleSport as much, but I'll let you guys know... :D

[chadtower]

I actually play NHL powerplay hockey for the saturn more than any other hockey game I have because it plays so well. It's been a while since i have played a good baseball game.


Man, that could have been a great game... except every player is right handed. As a lifelong hockey player (and lefty), that pissed me off.

[Steven]

I actually play NHL powerplay hockey for the saturn more than any other hockey game I have because it plays so well. It's been a while since i have played a good baseball game.


Man, that could have been a great game... except every player is right handed. As a lifelong hockey player (and lefty), that pissed me off.

Check out the very underrated NHL All Star Hockey '98. That is an awesome fun hockey game and improves everything ten-fold. Yes, there are lefties in NASH 98. Sega knew how to make sport games.

[chadtower]

Eh, I have that one too, it's not nearly as good as Powerplay, if you don't consider that dumbass issue.

I mean, who wants to use a right handed Lemieux or Gretzky.

[goatdan]

Someone already mentioned this, but I would like to just agree:

3D Baseball is super rare, but since it isn't sought after, people tend to keep it. PDS, which is equally rare if not more so is highly sought after, so people buy the game, play it and sell it to get their money back. That's where all the eBay copies come from.

By the way, what is the deal with Batman Forever? I have seen it sell for as much as $40.00 recently. Did it suddenly "get rare" or something?

[Arcade Antics]

By the way, what is the deal with Batman Forever? I have seen it sell for as much as $40.00 recently. Did it suddenly "get rare" or something?
It's uncommon, but it hasn't gotten more uncommon of late. I'd speculate that the impending release of the Batman prequel may have something to do with Batman collectors getting more involved in ebay stuff, including the wretched Batman Forever game. :)