• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

The games that defined the Sega Saturn...

RAIDEN1

RAIDEN1

Member
...According to Game Sack! Detailed video at looking at the titles that made Sega's most successful console* (*in Japan only) the system that it was... and when you look at games like X-Men vs Capcom, it reminds you it was the most affordable way to experience Neo Geo like games, but at an more affordable price...

 
I would argue either Dragon Force or Guardian Heroes are the definitive game on the system.

Both are exclusive, pixel graphic power houses that are doing unique things with sprite scaling that couldn'tbe done on the PS1. Gorgeous art design and music and good stories. Tons of replay ability in both games.

They are both the best games of their genre (Belt Scroller beatem'up and Tactical Risk-map RPG) released up until that point across all systems. Guardian Heroes is arguably still to this day the best beatm'up ever.
 
Last edited:
CashPrizes said:
I would argue either Dragon Force or Guardian Heroes are the definitive game on the system.

Both are exclusive, pixel graphic power houses that are doing unique things with sprite scaling that couldn'tbe done on the PS1. Gorgeous art design and music and good stories. Tons of replay ability in both games.

They are both the best games of their genre (Belt Scroller beatem'up and Tactical Risk-map RPG) released up until that point across all systems. Guardian Heroes is arguably still to this day the best beatm'up ever.
Click to expand...
All these years, I've never figured out as to how do you actually save your progress on the port of Guardian Heroes to the 360, to me it looked like one of those games you had to sit through the whole playthrough and there was no save system?
 
I remember my mom buying me a Saturn because it was super marked down at EB and it came with like 5 games or something lol.

So the definitive saturn games for me will always be like Virtua Fighter, VF Remix, VF2, Daytona, and Virtua Cop lol
 
Never owned a Saturn, but I always thought Nights into Dreams looked fantastic whenever I'd see it somewhere. Still one I haven't played to this day but it was advertised pretty heavily back in the day.
 
I would argue Panzer Dragoon Saga (Azel RPG) > Zwei, but overall a solid list, Game Sack provideth once again
 
Last edited:
For me, the game that defined the Saturn was Daytona. When I realized that the console couldn't even run the developer's own games, I had already made up my mind.
 
NiGHTS into Dreams is probably one of the most charming games I've ever played. Out of all of the underrated consoles out there (Wii U, Vita, GameCube, etc), I think the Saturn probably is the king of them all, there's an absurdly good library behind this console, and its not just like 10-20 good games like the Wii U and GameCube, its like easily 40+ games that are genuinely fantastic, counting the JP-only stuff. Its from a time where game development wasn't prohibitively expensive, so there's so many cute niche titles on it.

SEGA in the 90s/early 00s kicked so much ass, its unreal. Its a shame the Japanese management was so goddamn stupid, they really tarnished so much good talent.
 
Shinning Force 3. It's arguabily better than what Fire Emblem was back at the time, more strategic oriented.
Dragon Force is also a strong candidate, althought it falls short in some aspects.
 
Saturn is a great system especially if you include the Japanese library.

I agree with some posts above, Zwei, Dragon Force, Nights into Dreams, Guardian Heroes and of course Virtua Fighter were the defining games.

But Japanese library was so much stronger it's crazy.
 
CashPrizes said:
I would argue either Dragon Force or Guardian Heroes are the definitive game on the system.

Both are exclusive, pixel graphic power houses that are doing unique things with sprite scaling that couldn'tbe done on the PS1. Gorgeous art design and music and good stories. Tons of replay ability in both games.

They are both the best games of their genre (Belt Scroller beatem'up and Tactical Risk-map RPG) released up until that point across all systems. Guardian Heroes is arguably still to this day the best beatm'up ever.
Click to expand...
Is Dragon Force available anywhere else? I've always wanted to play it.
 
The Saturn had an incredible, extensive library.
Its main problems were 1) it leaned too heavily into the Japanese side of things when the PS1 went straight for the western market's throat, and 2) it missed a bunch of crucial third-party IPs - mainly Tekken, FF and MGS - that literally made that entire generation of gaming, and the one after that. I'm slowly exploring the Saturn's library and sometimes I'd kick myself for thinking this console was shit all this time. I remember playing Radiant Silvergun around 2003 or 2004 and getting my face completely melted by that game.
 
Hawk The Slayer said:
Deep Fear and it also needs a remake.
Click to expand...
Deep Fear is a good pick! The premise for the story is original good characters the underwater setting is still original even for today but the game definitively needs a remake it's super flawed and miss so much opportunities, there's little payoff for a huge scenario moment that leads to no boss but just a single weak enemy that just leave you wondering what the hell they were thinking, the cardinal sin is having UNLIMITED ressources in a SURVIVAL HORROR (health and ammo pick ups) who cares if the monsters are scary or the atmosphere is creepy, the tension is gone when nothing can punish you and you don't experience the fear of dying especially with the already easy encounters. The game plays itself and you're just here for the story.
We could have a REMAKE mixing Xbox 360 Hydrophobia's gameplay and PS2 Cold Fear with submerged paths / manage the oxygen level system / contamination mechanic like Extermination on PS2.

Imagine movies like Abyss / Virus / The Thing but at the bottom of the sea, who got the rights to the Deep Fear IP? With survival horror being super trendy nowadays one could dream...
 
That's a pretty good video tbh, from the known big hits to the more obscure ace stuff and recently fan translated gems, 3D and 2D alike. Lots more goodies where those came from though, like this less renowned stuff (hopefully we'll get more of the Japan only releases translated eventually).

Trolls who still fight console wars 30 years later just harp on early misses but Sega Rally, VF2 & much more launched (especially in the west) early enough to show everyone who isn't a fanboy or casual buying into a paid off media blitz the system could do much more than that & was on par.

Though I dislike FM despite the VF3 sidestepping and moves and tons of characters, because its courses are meh with just 7 fights, only 4 have semi-serious characters only (counting Rent-A-Hero), they didn't even put an ultimate one with all badasses. Now if it came after & with Last Bronx...

The system has many cool games, arcade & longform, 2D & 3D, in tons of genres folks miss out on now, never mind then when they didn't give the system a chance as if they'd ever play thousands of games on the PS when the best attach rates were like 1:10 with some rentals on top of that.

But an early port from Model 2 didn't match a PS port from a weaker board so, shit sux (even if other ports, exclusives & multi-plats proved it capable within a few months, not to mention having both SNK's & Capcom's & more 2D gems but, PS had declared 2D dead, yet it's still here in '26)!​
 
Last edited:
Awww man…. So many. The sega games. The treasure games. All the capcom and SNK beat 'em ups…..and so much more. too many to list! Honestly .



All always remember hitting up X men VS street fighter with the RAM cart. A couple of my friends had the game on PS1 but the Saturn version was in another league. That was the era where I really honed my fighting games skills and would go to the arcades and test myself against other players. Good times.

Virtua fighter 2 had no equal. Mastering Akiras stun palm of doom combo or tormenting other plates with Kage's juggle combo prowess meant you was better than everybody else at fighting games. Panzer dragoon saga was the game that put me on to JRPGS. Sega rally was just magical. Street fighter alpha 2 gold was peak capcom fighting game prowess. The Saturn was where you finally figured out geese Howard' supers and acted like a vet when you pulled up at trocadero.


Great. Fucking. Times!
 
Last edited:
List starts with Fighters Megamix.
Nodding Yes GIF
 
NeoIkaruGAF said:
The Saturn had an incredible, extensive library.
Its main problems were 1) it leaned too heavily into the Japanese side of things when the PS1 went straight for the western market's throat, and 2) it missed a bunch of crucial third-party IPs - mainly Tekken, FF and MGS - that literally made that entire generation of gaming, and the one after that. I'm slowly exploring the Saturn's library and sometimes I'd kick myself for thinking this console was shit all this time. I remember playing Radiant Silvergun around 2003 or 2004 and getting my face completely melted by that game.
Click to expand...


Trust me it was a special machine to own in the 90s. I had a black one that was chipped to play Japanese games, then I got a white Japanese one just for import games. I loved my PS1 and N64 but my Saturns were my babies. My friends were always impressed with the fighting games especially. Endless winner stays on king of fighters, street fighter, last bronx etc.

Even it's 3D games had a look about them that just even now takes me back. What an era
 
Geometric-Crusher said:
For me, the game that defined the Saturn was Daytona. When I realized that the console couldn't even run the developer's own games, I had already made up my mind.
Click to expand...

Daytona USA was the reason why I wanted a Sega Saturn in the first place, and I did end yup getting one in late 1995. It was the unit that came bundled with Virtua Fighter 2 (a classic), Daytona USA and Virtua Cop. While Daytona USA does capture some of the magic of the arcade game, especially in the control department. It was still a disappointment in many ways.

The game runs at a locked 20fps, in comparison to the launch release of Ridge Racer on the PS1, which is locked at 30fps. The draw distance in the original Daytona is abysmal, even back then magazine reviews would point this out. The game looks chunky.

Daytona should have been a system seller for the Saturn, given how popular the arcade game was in North America. Daytona USA cabs were far more common than Ridge Racer arcade cabinets. Daytona USA was one of Sega's most profitable arcade games, to the point where they even re-released it as 'Sega Racing Classic' without the Daytona USA branding.

When you look at the old TV adverts for Daytona USA, you could tell that even Sega of America was borderline embarrassed by the port. They barely advertised Daytona USA at launch of the Sega Saturn, and when they did show off the game, they would only show maybe a couple seconds of footage at most to hide the bad framerate and pop-in. Sega of America would generally prop up Panzer Dragoon, Bug! and Virtua Fighter over Daytona USA. Which is odd, given how popular stock car racing is in North America. Daytona USA should have been the centerpiece of the North American launch marketing, and it was not.

Meanwhile, Sony was doing the complete opposite with Ridge Racer and would show off large portions of gameplay in ads. Ridge Racer was a huge pull for the original Playstation. Namco really became Sony's weapon against Sega and their arcade ports during that 32bit generation of 1995. Namco really helped legitimize the Playstation early on.

 
MrCunningham said:
Namco really became Sony's weapon against Sega and their arcade ports during that 32bit generation of 1995. Namco really helped legitimize the Playstation early on.

Click to expand...

Sega knew that the console market would mirror the arcade market. Make no mistake, Namco was always the leader in technology in this sector. In 1982, while TTL technology was still used by some companies, Namco already had a 16-bit arcade machine. Sega only got its 16-bit arcade machines in 1985. In 1988, Namco had the first 3D arcade machine, capable of 1000 polygons per frame at 60fps. But nobody cared about this technology; it was ugly, it lacked textures. Then Sega invented the Model 1 (at this point in history, Sega shot itself ) because it spurred Namco to make a new arcade board capable of textures. Therefore, 3D technology became inevitable, accelerating the rise of 3D consoles, a field where Sega couldn't compete.

Regarding Daytona, I sometimes think that in an alternate timeline where Sega has a console that isn't primitive, they sold millions of units of this game, making it Gran Turismo before Gran Turismo. The Saturn unfortunately doesn't have the computational power for 3D, and I'm serious here, and when it does, it's at 15fps, which in practice is the same thing ( transparency, shadows, lighting effects, textures etc, you know, in short, everything that makes a 3D game look good on a CRT monitor looks worse on the Saturn). Sega's engineers got everything wrong in this project, but the biggest mistake was investing in 3D games and advertising them, because by doing that they were selling PlayStation.

Guardian Heroes and Grandia, they should have made dozens of clones of those games, changing only the theme until one of those clones became a hit, and to have avoided basically all the games that they made.
 
The games that defined the Saturn are the console's biggest budget games (just like with any other console), but in my opinion, the games that truly defined the system are the SNK and Capcom games using cartridges. When you talk about the Saturn, those two companies are the first that come to mind. If I could define the Saturn, I'd say it was a cheap way to play Neo Geo.
 
nush said:
How so? It had great ports at the time and they were really cheap back then. King of Fighters 95 was even released in Europe with the ROM cart.
Click to expand...
Not the first games that spring to mind when i think of what defined the Saturn though. Not even close.

VF2, Rally,Virtua Cop Radiant Silvergun, Burning Rangers, Nights, Guardian Heroes, Panzer, etc etc.
 
Last edited:
clarky said:
Not the first games that spring to mind when i think of what defined the Saturn though. Not even close.

VF2, Rally,Virtua Cop Radiant Silvergun, Burning Rangers, Nights, Guardian Heroes, Panzer, etc etc.
Click to expand...
I get you now, but it was a cheap way to play Neo Geo fighters and Capcom fighters. 2D games do make up part of the Definitive Saturn games. PlayStation shit the bed in that department.
 
nush said:
I get you now, but it was a cheap way to play Neo Geo fighters and Capcom fighters. 2D games do make up part of the Definitive Saturn games. PlayStation shit the bed in that department.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Still have both the OG UK one and a white JP import in the loft. Street Fighter 3 Alpha port was tremendous, pretty sure I have that lying around up there somewhere as well.
 
Last edited:
RickMasters said:
Trust me it was a special machine to own in the 90s. I had a black one that was chipped to play Japanese games, then I got a white Japanese one just for import games. I loved my PS1 and N64 but my Saturns were my babies. My friends were always impressed with the fighting games especially. Endless winner stays on king of fighters, street fighter, last bronx etc.

Even it's 3D games had a look about them that just even now takes me back. What an era
Click to expand...
Interesting point about Sega Saturn 3d games. Here's a quote from one of the developers about the Panzer Dragoon games.

"Futatsugi said it would have been impossible to develop on the PlayStation, as he felt Saturn's "cloudier" palette gives the Panzer Dragoon series its atmosphere".
 
Last edited:
Geometric-Crusher said:
The games that defined the Saturn are the console's biggest budget games (just like with any other console), but in my opinion, the games that truly defined the system are the SNK and Capcom games using cartridges. When you talk about the Saturn, those two companies are the first that come to mind. If I could define the Saturn, I'd say it was a cheap way to play Neo Geo.
Click to expand...
Awesome way to play Neo Geo games, especially in the US where not a single game was released. Europe got only one: KOF 95. Pure genius.
 
Missing: Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, Tomb Raider (OG console).
But for just exclusives: Shining Force 3, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Die Hard Arcade, Last Bronx, Virtua Cop 1&2, Manx TT, Sonic R (janky but great visuals and... soundtrack?).
...House of the Dead if you want to include shit ports

Also the pad was awesome, best button layout for 2D fighters- none of that trigger nonsense.
 
Last edited:
For me the Saturn draws a line in the sand. It felt like a system that sure, it had a lot of limitations, but the creativity was still there. The Dreamcast was okay, but consoles after the Saturn felt blander to me.
Saturn, favorite console of all time.
 
Saturn has an amazing library, but it's hard to say the games that defined it. What's the criteria? Sales? Recognition? Legacy?

If it's sales, then Virtua Fighter 2 is the definitive answer, it was the game who sold the Saturn and set a standard for the fighting genre as a whole. Daytona USA and Sega Rally can't hold a candle against it.

Recognition and legacy? Now it's a tough question, there's plenty of Saturn games widely regarded as landmarks: Nights into Dreams, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Guardian Heroes, Grandia, Fighters Megamix, Radiant Silvergun, Shining Force III, Dragon Force, the system was a beast for fighting, J-RPG, shumps and platform titles, one of the best games ever for those genres are in there.
 
Last edited:
As far as I am concerned, as a PAL player, I loved my console. Games that defined the console for me, from its early days until the release of the Dreamcast are the following.

Sega Rally
Fighting Vipers
Fighters Megamix
Tomb Raider
Mystaria
Dragon Force
Shining Force III
Shining the Holy Ark
Panzer Dragoon (all three games)
Resident Evil
Destruction Derby
Wipeout 2097
Die Hard Arcade
Guardian Heroes
Story of Thor 2
Worms
Virtua Cop 2
X-Men COTA
Night Warriors
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Dark Savior
Hexen
Duke Nukem 3D
Nights
Burning Rangers
Golden Axe the Duel
Deep Fear
Dragon Ball Z
Digital Pinball Last Gladiators
Nascar 98
FIFA 98
Road Rash
Steep Slope Sliders
 
Last edited:
cireza said:
As far as I am concerned, as a PAL player, I loved my console. Games that defined the console for me, from its early days until the release of the Dreamcast are the following.

Sega Rally
Fighting Vipers
Fighters Megamix
Tomb Raider
Mystaria
Dragon Force
Shining Force III
Shining the Holy Ark
Panzer Dragoon (all three games)
Resident Evil
Destruction Derby
Wipeout 2097
Die Hard Arcade
Guardian Heroes
Story of Thor 2
Worms
Virtua Cop 2
X-Men COTA
Night Warriors
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Dark Savior
Hexen
Duke Nukem 3D
Nights
Burning Rangers
Golden Axe the Duel
Deep Fear
Dragon Ball Z
Digital Pinball Last Gladiators
Nascar 98
FIFA 98
Road Rash
Steep Slope Sliders
Click to expand...
Yeah the PAL system missed out on loads of quality games, especially later on. Crying shame really.
 
Saber said:
Shinning Force 3. It's arguabily better than what Fire Emblem was back at the time, more strategic oriented.
Dragon Force is also a strong candidate, althought it falls short in some aspects.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend SFIII as well, tho Scenario 2 has some drops here and there for me (mainly in the second half). Nothing at all severe, but there are a couple sections where I think Scenario 1 beats it in the latter half.

But FWIW my issues came because I didn't promote anyone until the second battle in Chapter 4, which is probably not the best time to promote (nor the 1st battle in that chapter, since it's an escort mission and I don't like replaying escort missions in general). But it's generally best to level up a few past Level 10 before promoting party members to get better stats once you promote, and unless you're replaying battles in the first three chapters that's not something you're likely gonna do naturally before getting to Chapter 4 in Scenario 2.

Still love the hell out of the game tho; need to finish it soon and play Scenario 3.

cireza said:
Awesome way to play Neo Geo games, especially in the US where not a single game was released. Europe got only one: KOF 95. Pure genius.
Click to expand...

That gen it was basically the only sensible way to play Neo Geo games; Neo Geo CD was underpowered and sold very low. Neo Geo AES wasn't necessarily expensive by then (I think), but the games definitely were.

Even so, still needed a modded or import Saturn to really get all of those Neo Geo games.

Sorcerer said:
Interesting point about Sega Saturn 3d games. Here's a quote from one of the developers about the Panzer Dragoon games.

"Futatsugi said it would have been impossible to develop on the PlayStation, as he felt Saturn's "cloudier" palette gives the Panzer Dragoon series its atmosphere".
Click to expand...

I mean, he's gonna say that of course because he worked at SEGA! Saturn did have a different way of handling colors than PlayStation; I think it's a combination of how it performed color math between VDP2 layers, VDP1 -> VDP2 pipeline passing, and VDP2 using on-chip CRAM (Color RAM) that was ~ 4 KB IIRC and stored maximum 2048 entries depending on the color mode. You could do color cycling too between vertical blanking intervals (you could do this on PS1 as well tho, and probably N64 too).

Saturn games in general did have a "chunkier" look to their colors, more saturated on average too. PS1 had support for more alpha blending operation types in hardware, and better lighting support, but those things can also change the characteristics of a pixel's color value. I wouldn't be surprised if Saturn also had a sharper/higher-quality video encoder for DAC output, considering the same thing happened with Dreamcast vs. PS2 (strikingly so in that case).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Why did only 2D games use the RAM expansion of the Sega Saturn? Did it make no sense for 3D games?
2 3
133
2K
iidesuyo replied
DF Retro: Sega Genesis's Most Defining Games
39
1K
Holammer replied
The secret that Capcom knows and Sega has forgotten
2
50
786
Hadoukens replied
Sega Megadrive/Genesis most defining games..
Opinion Analysis Hardware 
3
264
Saber replied
The strategy that Sega used against Nintendo would never work against Sony.
35
476
RoboFu replied
Top Bottom