Are there enough games to justify a purchase of a Saturn?

[Damaramu]

A co-worker just gave me a:

1. Saturn (ver. 2, I think)
2. Controllers, including the analog
3. 3rd party light gun
4. A cd spindle full of badly scratched games.

I have yet to test the system out or the games (co-worker said he could never get them to work).

But that makes Saturn #3 for me, and now I have 2 light guns. Time to go John Woo style on VC 1 & 2!



Ps. Hi, btw! I'm a noob here, but don't let that fool you! Yoroshiku!!

[bargora]

Galactic Attack is an ultra-sweet Saturn exclusive. Super Puzzle Figher II Turbo is excellent and can be had for about a third of what it'd run you on the PlayStation. If you like Capcom's 2D fighters, Night Warriors (the second Darkstalkers title) is neato, and was only released in the U.S. for the Saturn. For 3D fighters you have the venerable Virtua Fighter 2, another Saturn Exclusive. And I like being able to play Duke Nukem without having to figure out how to work a ten-year old computer again. Also, Panzer Dragoon and PD Zwei, both Saturn Exclusives, something to see, even today. I'm one of the few that don't "get" Nights, but maybe I just need to give it another chance. It really is a cool-looking game, though.

All of these titles are domestic. I really bought my Saturn for the imports, but the games I listed above made me doubly glad I picked one up (and then another, and then a third--it's a disease, I tell ya). Since you don't want to hear about the imports, I won't tell you more than that I have about fifteen domestic titles, but about twenty imports.

To conclude, there are definitely some good games for the Saturn, even if you don't want to import.

[Damaramu]

When people talk about the Saturn, the discussion always turns to importing. Sure, many of the best games are import-only, but the selection of US released titles is more than decent. Here are some of the awesome US-released titles in my collection- in all cases the Saturn version is either exclusive or better than the competing version(s):

Yeah, I imported heavily for my Saturn back in the day. But the one game that convinced me that I HAD TO HAVE a Saturn was Guardian Heroes.

I remember seeing those screen shots in DIEHARD GAMEFAN magazine for the first time. Oh nostalgia....

[dj898]

see my sig for some of Saturn stuff you can collect...

[dbiersdorf]

What's Guardian Heroes even like?

[Steven]

If you are not going to import, is a Saturn worth it? Hmm, tough question to answer. But personally, if you really enjoy video games you should buy it and a few US games to get you started. Then, later on, you might buy a 4-in-1 adaptor and explore the Import world.

The US library isn't half shabby though. Just, to get the UTMOST out of the Saturn, your system should be able to play any region of game (US, JP or PAL).

Some US games I enjoyed:

2D fighters
----

-Night Warriors
-Street Fighter Alpha 2
-Street Fighter Collection
-Mortal Kombat Trilogy
-Primal Rage (hey, I liked it)
-Dark Legend (ditto)

3D fighters
----

-Virtua Fighter 2
-Fighters MegaMix
-Last Bronx

Platformers
----

-Pandemonium!
-Gex
-Astal
-Clockwork Knight 2
-MegaMan X4
-MegaMan 8
-Sonic Jam

Adventure
----

-Herc's Adventures (kinda like a Zelda meets Zombies Ate My Neighbors)
-Legend of Oasis
-Resident Evil
-Tomb Raider
-Burning Rangers

Shooters
----

-Quake
-Duke Nukem 3D
-PowerSlave
-Galactic Attack
-Darius Gaiden
-In The Hunt
-Panzer Zwei
-Virtua Cop 2

Misc
---

-Saturn Bomberman
-Worms
-Norse By Norsewest: The Lost Vikings 2 (very underrated IMO)
-Die Hard Arcade
-Hyper 3D Pinball

Puzzle
----

-Puzzle Fighter
-Bust A Move 2
-Bust A Move 3
-Baku Baku

Sports
----
-World Series Baseball '98
-Slam N Jam '96 (I really enjoy this game, reminds me of Konami's Run N Gun!)
-Worldwide Soccer '97
-NHL All Star Hockey '98
-Sega Rally

etc. Saturn's my favorite system by far.

[Push Upstairs]

What's Guardian Heroes even like?

Think "Streets of Rage" but with magic & some minor RPG-ish stat stuff.

It is a must buy if you enjoy beat'em ups (Double Dragon, SOR, Final Fight)

[-hellvin-]

Well I've amassed a large saturn collection in quite a short time and it's probably my favorite system. Here's a list of us copy games that I personally own that I play A LOT:

Albert Odyssey - RPG
Astal - Platformer
Bust A Move 2 & 3 - Puzzle
Darius Gaiden - Shooter
Die Hard Arcade - Beat em up
Earthworm Jim 2 - Platformer (I like it a lot more than the genesis version)
Fighter's Megamix - Fighter
Galactic Attack - Shooter
Guardian Heroes - Beat em Up
Marvel Super Heroes - Fighter
Mr Bones - Platformer
Night Warriors - Fighter
Panzer Dragoon Zwei - Shooter
Powerslave - FPS
Sega Ages - Arcade Compilation
Sega Rally - Driving
Shinobi Legions - Platformer
Spot Goes to Hollywood - Platformer
Three Dirty Dwarves - Platformer/Puzzle
Xmen: Children Of The Atom - Fighter

So right there is a list of a good mix of different genres and they're all great games and I highly recommend them. There is of course QUITE a few more wonderful gems in the us ntsc set, but I decided to stick with ones I actually own. I think it's quite an underrated system and if you're a 2d shooter/fighter addict like me, the import world will be glorious.

If you're really worried about the money aspect in importing, don't be. You can buy a mod chip and check out tons of great import games since some of them do actually run very high (Sengoku Blade, Radiant Silvergun), but often you can find imports in more plentiful supply and sometimes a lot cheaper than some of the hard to find us games. Get one, you must.

[Steven]

What's Guardian Heroes even like?

Think "Streets of Rage" but with magic & some minor RPG-ish stat stuff.

It is a must buy if you enjoy beat'em ups (Double Dragon, SOR, Final Fight)

Let me also add a touch of "Real Bout Fatal Fury" as well (3 plane system!)

[Iron Draggon]

OMG, if you never get any imports for your Saturn, you are so missing out! There are so many great imports for it that are all in English or almost all in English, and you would never know that they weren't domestic releases, if you didn't know that they were imports. And once you play them, you will not only never ever regret it, you will wonder why you didn't start importing sooner. But most of all, you will wonder why so many great games for the Saturn never got an official American release. It's just unbelievable how many totally awesome Japanese games Sega of America foolishly passed on in their suicidal efforts to kill the Saturn prematurely in America. Trust me on this, the only reason I can see for not wanting to get tons of imports for your Saturn is the expense of buying them all. Most of them really don't cost anymore to import than the typical common domestic releases will cost you now, but the massive number of top quality imports can surely break your bank very quickly if you catch a severe case of the importing bug like I did last year! This time last year, I only had about 5 imports for my Saturn, and I thought that I had almost all the ones I wanted. Then I found a couple more that I wanted, and a couple more, and a couple more. Now I just can't seem to stop myself, I have about 35 imports for my Saturn, and I'm getting to the point where most of the imports that I want now have triple digit prices! So some of them can get very expensive, but believe me, I have a very limited income, and I was still able to buy dozens of top quality imports, all brand new and still factory sealed. So if you're willing to go with used imports, you could really go nuts on them, because you can get even better deals that way. Having a Saturn without having any imports for it is almost a sacrilige. (sp?) Of course you should only buy what you want, but seriously the import scene for the Saturn is one of the most rewarding import scenes there is, and it is well worth investigating, even if you're totally new to it. Plus, there are plenty of us hanging out in Import Mania to help you with any questions or problems that you may have with it, and there are many great reviews there to help you make well informed choices on what to buy and what to avoid. I write reviews of almost every import that I buy, both for the Saturn and for other systems. And I can't read a word of Japanese, so I for one can tell you that you don't have to know a thing about the language to be able to have an extremely enjoyable import experience. Importing for the Saturn is one of the greatest joys that a gamer or a collector can know!

[Raedon]

The Saturn is easily EASILY the best disc based system to collect for that is 3D. I wouldn't collect for it because it isn't my style (I hate movable part systems) but right now there is a feeling out there that people missed something in the Saturn but prices are not going up yet like $15 SMB3 carts.


Personally the only optical system I collect for is the Neo-Geo CDZ and I have problems bringing myself to spend $100+ for the 2-3 rare games.

[evildead2099]

Is the Saturn port of Duke Nukem 3D censored like the PSX / N64 versions?

[OldSchoolGamer]

1. Go to www.ncsx.com

2. Buy an Action Replay 4 in 1

Can that boot backups?

NO! it merely boots imports (IE: any region) a modchip is required to boot backups!

[crazyjackcsa]

The Saturn is the Only system I really actively collect for. and I only collect U.S Releases. It has the best version of Duke that isn't edited. And Tones of great games, Most of which have already been mentioned. Also the system is very, very sturdy and doesn't have many of the problems associated with most disc based systems.

[Mr Mort]

Is the Saturn port of Duke Nukem 3D censored like the PSX / N64 versions?

If you're refering to the strippers that take their tops off, and the vulgarities, then no, the game is NOT sensored. That stuff is in there.
The graphics engine in the game is pretty impressive, it's the same engine used in Quake and Powerslave, developed by Lobotomy.
And the Saturn version of Duke Nukem can be played online with the Netlink adapter.


As for the topic itself, the Saturn is my favorite system of all time, I highly recommend it, although you'll get much more enjoyment out of it if you're willing to import. Even if you're not though, there are plenty of domestic titles to warrant the investment.

[evildead2099]

... The graphics engine in the game is pretty impressive, it's the same engine used in Quake and Powerslave, developed by Lobotomy.
And the Saturn version of Duke Nukem can be played online with the Netlink adapter.

That would mean that the Saturn version of Duke 3D is technologically superior to the PC version in terms of graphics. Quake is a 'true' 3D game since its characters are composed of polygons, whereas those featured in Duke 3D are mere sprites. Is that in fact how the Saturn version of Duke 3D plays?

Are there any reliable Saturn emulators out there that would allow me to play this particular version of Duke 3D?

[dj898]

there are couple but don't expect PSX kind of compatibility...
Some will run at reasonable speed while others either will at 5fps or won't at all...
still nothing can beat the real thing...

[crazyjackcsa]

Is the Saturn port of Duke Nukem 3D censored like the PSX / N64 versions?

If you're refering to the strippers that take their tops off, and the vulgarities, then no, the game is NOT sensored. That stuff is in there.
The graphics engine in the game is pretty impressive, it's the same engine used in Quake and Powerslave, developed by Lobotomy.
And the Saturn version of Duke Nukem can be played online with the Netlink adapter.


As for the topic itself, the Saturn is my favorite system of all time, I highly recommend it, although you'll get much more enjoyment out of it if you're willing to import. Even if you're not though, there are plenty of domestic titles to warrant the investment.

Ummm the engine is different. Those are spritesi n Duke, just like the PC version. I'm sure the engines have their similarities, but they are different.

[Mr Mort]

... The graphics engine in the game is pretty impressive, it's the same engine used in Quake and Powerslave, developed by Lobotomy.
And the Saturn version of Duke Nukem can be played online with the Netlink adapter.

That would mean that the Saturn version of Duke 3D is technologically superior to the PC version in terms of graphics. Quake is a 'true' 3D game since its characters are composed of polygons, whereas those featured in Duke 3D are mere sprites. Is that in fact how the Saturn version of Duke 3D plays?

That's exactly right. The game uses a 3D engine (the enemies are sprites, the levels are 3D, except for Quake where it's all 3D). That's part of what made Powerslave so great. The game engine allows for multi-tiered rooms, etc. The frame rate is also very nice, although it sometimes drops a bit in Quake. I highly recommend picking up all 3 games if you can, especially Powerslave if you're into Egyptian mythology & architecture.

[Rogmeister]

It's ironic that we're talking about the Saturn now because Joe's Collector's Corner in the newest Tips & Tricks magazine discusses this very system. Many consider World Series Baseball '98 for it one of the best baseball games. It's one of my favorites though I'm one of those with just a limited library of Saturn games (so far).