Returning to the main topic, I thought I would post some screenshots of "impressive 3D games" for Sega Saturn. This does not necessarily mean "3D graphics that are better than Sony & Nintendo" or "the absolute cutting edge," because that's just a waste of time. These are examples that I think show off the hardware and still impress me today.
Most of these photos were taken by me with an iPhone or iPad aimed at a Trinitron CRT or Bravia HDTV, and some were captured directly from Youtube videos. Let's see if you can recognize them all, and hopefully there will be one or two new discoveries for you. Each of these games comes highly recommended--obviously, you should buy a Saturn if you don't already own one. In fact, I think it should be your main console, but that's because I'm a crazy old person who's in early stages of Alzheimer's. Enjoy!
Madden NFL 98: The best US football game for Sega Saturn and one that still plays very well.
Wipeout XL: Released in Japan and PAL territories as Wipeout 2097. Fairly expensive & rare but looks fantastic. Analog control supported.
Resident Evil: Survival horror classic that hasn't aged a day, and I say it's just as good as the PSX original.
J.League Go Go Goal: Tecmo arcade soccer game runs at 60 fps and sharp resolution (possibly 480?) that looks breathtaking in action.
World League Soccer 98: Saturn's best soccer game? Spectacular visuals & presentation. Just wait until you see the crowds in the stadium stomping.
J.League Jikkyou Honoo no Striker: Konami arcade soccer game that reminds me of the 16-bit ISS classics. Super detailed & smooth 30 fps.
Pebble Beach Golf Links: Ya know what? I love this game & don't care about the haters & the pixely trees. It's worth it for Stadler & the elevator music.
Steep Slope Sliders: Snowboarding classic with legendary course designs & controls that perfectly anticipate Tony Hawk. Love it, love it, love it.
Shining Force 3 Trilogy: Adventure epic that shows off Saturn to its fullest. Everything just looks glorious, polished, pristine.
Sega Ages: Galaxy Force 2: Outstanding translation of legendary arcade classic, some of the best 3D sprite graphics you'll ever see. Kudus, Appaloosa!
Grandia: I'm just going to leave this animated clip from Grandia here. Those VDP2 water effects have never been replicated anywhere before or since.
Virtua Fighter Kids: Cutesy version of VF2 boasts 480/60 high-res visuals & impressive facial animations. Games like this was Saturn's bread and butter.
Tomb Raider: To heck with the haters, I say TR on Saturn looks great, especially the high contrast lighting & amazing water effects.
Jonah Lomu Rugby: Terrific rendition of rugby that's fast, furious & looks great. It has a strong SWOS groove and that's only a good thing.
Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story Trilogy: Fantastic mech shooter, blazing speed & action, plays like Virtual On as a 3D shoot-em-up. Love it!
Sonic Jam: Sonic World: Glorified tech demo that uses all the Saturn's hardware tricks, as well as paving the way for Sonic Adventure.
NHL All-Star Hockey 98: Sequel to NHL Powerplay 96, they're both excellent hockey games for Gen-5. Nice mo-cap animation & player models.
K-1 Fighting Illusion: Kickboxing sim with highly impressive 3D arenas plus lighting & shading effects. And it plays well. A really good showpiece.
Gungriffon: Game Arts really outdid themselves with this killer mech shooter. Weighty, powerful, visually dazzling. Sequel is also worth playing.
Virtual On: Mech arena fighter just blazes. Action is relentless, furiously tense & packed with wild explosions. How did AM3 pull this off?!
NBA Action 98: The original 2K basketball game from Visual Concepts that still looks and plays great. Kobe's first videogame cover, too.
Bulk Slash: Anime-styled mech shooter from the studio who gave us Gate of Thunder. A cult Saturn classic & great showpiece for the hardware.
Thunder Force 5: What's to say? It's Technosoft's final masterpiece & one of Saturn's finest show-off games. Curb-stomps the PSX version.
Dark Savior: Isometric Action-RPG from the creators of Landstalker. Highly impressive use of polygons & bitmaps to create immersive 3D worlds.
Panzer Dragoon Saga: What else is there to say? It's Panzer Freaking Saga. That's all you really need to know.
Panzer Dragoon Zwei: This might be the best technical 3D showpiece for Sega Saturn. The water stage alone remains unsurpassed, then or now.
Shining the Holy Ark: Best dungeon crawler of its era, a richly detailed & involving world you'll love to explore. Love the art design.
Wipeout: Visuals are slightly below PSX original, but the controls & vehicle collision physics are better. Great sense of speed & motion, great fun.
The House of the Dead: Crazy hard but crazy fun and you're grateful for the trip. Get over your whining over the Minecraft textures and enjoy the ride.
Virtua Cop 2: Honestly, I have no idea how Sega AM2 pulled off this Saturn conversion. Those cats ran with Hitachi Assembly code in their bones.
Radiant Silvergun: That's "Radiant Fucking Silvergun" to you, mister, and don't you ever forget it. That's the game's full name and it fits like a glove.
Powerslave: Lobotomy Trilogy Part One. The greatest 3D adventure not named Zelda, Metroid or Goldeneye. "Can't Doo Three Dee?" Seriously?! Do this.
Duke Nukem 3D: Lobotomy Trilogy Part Two. Fast & furious, tough as nails, gritty & smooth just where it needs to be. You can still play online matches.
Quake: Lobotomy Trilogy Part Three. Sensational use of lighting, mood & dread. So much better than N64 version that it makes your teeth hurt.
Worldwide Soccer 97/98: Premier soccer franchise on Saturn, boasting smooth 30fps speed & sublime animation. Still looks & plays like a dreamboat.
(...to be continued...I need to go to sleep...)