Saturn must-haves

[FRO]

Since there's a Genesis "must-have" thread, I figured I should post this. I have a Saturn and own a few US-released games for it as well as 3 import shmups. I'm strictly looking for non-shmups here, but I wanted to know what games all you Saturn lovers out there would not want to be without and why (again, talking non-shmups).

Currently I have:
Shinobi Legions
Duke Nukem 3D
Daytona USA Championship Edition (I suck at racing games, don't recommend them please!)
Panzer Dragoon
NiGHTS (awesome game)
Virtua Fighter 2 (I don't get it)
X-Men: Children of the Atom

Any US releases you can think of that I should snap up would be great, as well as any Japanese games that aren't too terribly expensive.

[Andi]

Saturn US releases:

Die Hard Arcade (fantastic beat 'em up - $20)
Loaded (overhead violent gunning game - $10)
Crusader: No Remorse (mission based isometric action game - $10)
Clockwork Knight 1 & 2 (fun platformers - $15)
Grid Runner (like pac-man mixed with capture the flag - $5)
Albert Odyssey (generic but charming RPG - $?)
Shining the Holy Ark (very cool and epic first person RPG - $?)

There are some starters. I have a good handful of US Saturn games I like.

[Ord]

Guardian Heroes
Burning Rangers
Silhoutte Mirage
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Street Fighter Zero III
Exumed (Different name in the US, sorry i don't know it)
Dead Or Alive
To name but a few. There are loads of amazing games.

[captain ahar]

might me classified as a shmup (but it is definitely not one):

Prikura Daisakusen-everyone should at least see it (got mine for $30)

not too fond of the gameplay myself, but it shore is purty

[FRO]

Ord:

I have the US PSX version of Silhouette Mirage by Working Designs. I've heard a lot of arguments that the Saturn version is better, do you know anything about this?

Also, I would assume a 3-D fighter like Dead or Alive would be slightly better on PSX (and a tad easier to find) - have you played both? I've played a demo of DOA2 for DC and plan on getting that, but I'm not sure about the original.

[judesalmon]

Panzer Dragoon Zwei

Powerslave is the US name for Exhumed. My favourite FPS ever. A forerunner of Metroid Prime.

[BulletMagnet]

I've heard those arguments about Silhouette as well, though I've only played the PS version...supposedly it has more stuff in it to unlock and whatnot, but its challenge has also been cranked up. I wouldn't be able to say to what extent, but one evil thing it does (as far as I've been able to tell) is give you a set amount of 9 credits, not just for one trip through the game, but for THE GAME, period. If you use up 6 credits getting through the game the first time, guess what? You've only got 3 left for the next time. And it takes several successive trips through the game to unlock everything (including easy mode, what the heck is that about?): basically, all you can do is play through the game again and again, erasing your memory card data and starting over to get your credits back until you know it well enough to get through repeatedly on one credit without trouble. Very cumbersome and frustrating.

Maybe I'm missing something about it, but that's the way the game treated me...I'd like to get the Saturn version, but it's a lot more expensive...

[Ord]

Ord:

I have the US PSX version of Silhouette Mirage by Working Designs. I've heard a lot of arguments that the Saturn version is better, do you know anything about this?

Also, I would assume a 3-D fighter like Dead or Alive would be slightly better on PSX (and a tad easier to find) - have you played both? I've played a demo of DOA2 for DC and plan on getting that, but I'm not sure about the original.

I haven't played the PSX version of Silhoutte Mirage so i don't really know the differences. and i guess your right - If you were going to get DOA i'd go for the PSX version. It's easier to get. DOA2 is also very good on the DC. I found the PS2 rev of DOA2 to be quite ugly, with loads of jaggies(poor anti-alizing i think), yet it has more costumes and a couple of extra stages.
Oh, and if you like 2d fighters there are some great ones on the Saturn!

[LoneSage]

The thing about the PS1 version of Silhouette Mirage is that when Working Designs localised it, they also made it that the more you use weapons you bought, the weaker it gets...the lunkhead whoever thought up that idea deserves the axe, since because of that the experience for me was pretty dang ruined.

The KOF games (95, 96, 97) are pretty cheap, average price is $15. 95's pretty crappy, but 96 is the best KOF ever...amazing game, check it out. The music's so awesome, I can even play it on a CD player!

Metal Slug's rockin good fun, I got my complete copy (sans 1MB RAM) for $45. I think NLI and UFO got theirs for $60-ish. If I bought it for that much, I'd have to say it's still worth it. Blood galore, no censorship! Not to mention a cool art gallery..I found out Marco and Tarma were born in April 2005, cool beans.

Dynamite Deka (Die Hard Arcade) is also some good fun, I could never beat it at the arcades on one credit, but the home conversion's near-perfect...good 3D beat em up. Is that submarine mini-game in the US version? I like that a lot.

Samuai Shodown III & IV are both cheap games, I got IV for $15 complete and the same guy was selling III w/RAM for $20. I actually like III a lot because of the atmosphere...IV's also a real cool game.

Waku Waku 7's a crazy beat em up, I didn't start to appreciate it until I played as Rai..music's awesome, gameplay's great..the greatest thing about Galaxy Fight was that it set the stage for Waku Waku 7, since Sunsoft definitely learned from their mistakes in Galaxy Fight.

I got Strikers 1945 for around $20 complete, got Gunbird for $15 complete; S1945 is pretty damn cool. As is Gunbird. I'm a Psikyo fan.

How much does Burning Rangers go for? I got a mint complete US version for $11.60, it's a great game. Make sure you buy the US version only, tho, because the game is heavily voice-oriented!

Hope that helps.

[Davey]

I have the US PSX version of Silhouette Mirage by Working Designs. I've heard a lot of arguments that the Saturn version is better, do you know anything about this?

The general consensus is that the Saturn version is better. I actually like the PSX version better.

Here's a few differences:
1.) You can't save your game in the Saturn version. However, the PSX version overdoes it by autosaving so often that it gets irritating.
2.) The PSX version has artwork during load times.
3.) The PSX version is harder, mostly because of:
4.) The Big One: Your weapons deplete energy as you use them in the PSX version, and you refill them by attacking enemies of the same color. A lot of people think this ruins the game, but I think it makes it better because it adds a little strategy.
5.) Weapons are very expensive in the PSX version, so you really have to beat down all the enemies for money to afford anything decent. This gets pretty monotonous.
6.) Last I checked, the Saturn version ran for $30-$40, the US PSX version is less than $10.

Graphics and sound are roughly the same. I didn't really notice any differences (aside from the English ), although I'm sure they're there.


As for Saturn recommendations, if you like puzzle games, Puyo Puyo 2and Puyo Puyo Sun are must-haves. Plus, I think I paid less than $10 apiece, including shipping.

[The n00b]

I don't "get" virtuafighter 2 at all either.

Get Street Fighter:Alpha 3. The Saturn got the best home port for that game.

[Neon]

Metal Slug's rockin good fun, I got my complete copy (sans 1MB RAM) for $45. I think NLI and UFO got theirs for $60-ish. If I bought it for that much, I'd have to say it's still worth it. Blood galore, no censorship! Not to mention a cool art gallery..I found out Marco and Tarma were born in April 2005, cool beans.

It is kewl. Now that the DC neo cd emu is fullspeed with sfx, I've been considering selling and picking up the neo cd version (it's hard to find on ebay thoe)

Get Street Fighter:Alpha 3. The Saturn got the best home port for that game.

Entirely untrue. More load times than the DC and ruined sound effects/voice. Ridiculously overpriced too. All it has going for it is the better graphicz00rz.

[Ganelon]

DC SFA3 so doesn't feel like the original arcade game though. Attack frames have been totally switched up and the smaller sprites just look really weird.

As for Silhouette Mirage, I much prefer the US PS version.

1. Autosaving is not required although you're prompted to do so after every stage.
2. The Treasure president preferred the US version.
3. The loading pictures are just selected shots of the intro FMV but that's better than nothing (then again, they wouldn't be necessary if there was no autosave prompt.
3. The main weapon you'll be using the entire game, the Surosa/Sloth lv. 6, is actually cheaper in the US version.

The Saturn version is a joke for me; the US version at least has 1 difficult boss. Both have the same ingenious boss strategies so get any of it. Methinks the general consensus who spread that nonsense of WD's localization being insanely difficult didn't know how to play platformers.

[neorichieb1971]

The best saturn games imo are -

Outrun
Saturn Bomberman
Virtua cop 1 & 2
Sega Rally
Panzer dragoon Zwei and Azel (RPG)
Astal
Layer Section (galactic attack)
Batsugun (jap)
Game Paradise (jap)
Street fighter Alpha 2 and 3
Xmen
Xmen vs Streetfighter (jap)
Marvel super heroes vs Street fighter (jap)
Elevator Action Returns (jap)
Mizubaku adventure (Liquid Kids) (jap)
Bubble bobble inc Rainbow islands
Radiant Silvergun (jap)
Dodonpachi (jap)



DOA on Saturn is alot different from the PS1 version. Its like 2 completely different games (comsetically anyway). The saturn version uses 3D backgrounds and has small fighters, the PS1 version has a more 2D background look (like Tekken) but the fighters take up the whole screen. I think they play the same though.

[Ganelon]

PS DOA is a revision of DOA in fact; it's actually based on (or spawned off, I don't remember which came first) DOA++. The Saturn game is based on the original arcade DOA, meaning no Ayane.