Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
Steven
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by Steven »

MJR wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 2:03 pm
Steven wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 1:59 pm How is your Japanese?
It's fine as long as I can outsource it to the google lens app! Meaning, I probably wouldn't want to try to read all of berserk with it, but I wouldn't mind occasional text prompt.
Okay. I don't know how good that is, but a lot of the things I would normally recommend, assuming Japanese proficiency good enough to play anything on the system, are text-heavy, so cool obscure things like The Conveni are probably not going to work. Saturn also has the best version of Tokimeki Memorial, too.

That said, TokiMemo has a cool puzzle game, Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Puzzledama, which is absolutely worth checking out. It's not quite arcade perfect because they changed some stuff for the home conversions, but it's an excellent game and better than the PS1 version. Mikado has weekly tournaments for the arcade version because it's so good. Stay away if you don't like hard games, though; if you thought Tatsujin Ou was difficult, the AI of MemoDama's normal difficulty makes Tatsujin Ou look like an entry level game in comparison. I highly recommend it for both arcade puzzle game-loving humans and masochists of any species.

Unfortunately I have some games to anti-recommend: first up is the Japanese version of Powerslave or whatever it's called in Europe, which is 1999 in Japan, lacks the glorious voice of Michael Dorn. This version of the game is perfectly fine otherwise, but if you want your Dorn (and who doesn't?), you'll have to go with some other version instead. The new PC version from last year or whenever isn't quite the same as the Saturn version, I guess, but I've only ever played the Japanese Saturn version.

Also worth skipping is Kaitei Daisensou. This game is super badass, as you'd expect from Irem, but I've heard that the Saturn version sometimes just doesn't boot. Don't risk it, especially when ACA has you covered for this game.

What Saturn do you have? Depending on the motherboard revision, earlier prints of Space Harrier and Out Run will not work. Pretty sure it's not a grey Saturn vs. later versions thing as many would have you believe, it's the actual motherboard, as I believe the earliest motherboard revision white Saturns might be okay, but without some actual research, don't risk it. There are fixed versions of the discs that work on all Saturns. You can identify them by the codes on the discs. I think I have the codes somewhere, so I'll go try to find them when I can. Until then, skip these.

I'd also skip Darius, Layer Section, Garegga, and Batsugun, not because they are bad on Saturn, but because M2 ShotTriggers and Bitwave are the ways to go with all of these. I'd probably say the same about most things that are on ACA.

For recommendations, here you go:

Soukyuugurentai is the best STG on Saturn that actually works (sorry, Kaitei Daisensou, you are the best but you are unreliable!) and you need it! Fortunately, it's also somehow one of the cheapest! You can get a complete copy for about 6000 yen, and you should! Toyama-san told me the ST-V version is bugged and that the unspecified bug was fixed on Saturn, and that the Saturn version is the only version that should be played. I wasn't sure about this for a while, but I recently did some research and found that there are actually 3 versions of the game on Saturn. Most people who know about it know that there is the original and Otokuyou, but there is also a (probably obscure) revision of the original non-Otokuyou version. What's the difference? Well... I don't know lol. Hopefully someone can figure it out.

MemoDama, as mentioned above. Hanagumi Taisen Columns is also really good, and it plays differently enough from its moderately more complex Dreamcast-exclusive sequel to warrant having and playing both of them. It's also only like 500 yen complete.

I know Japanese isn't really practical, but if it is possible, Princess Crown.

After Burner II. This is the best home version of the game, partially because of the Mission Stick. Get the Mission Stick and play this and Space Harrier. This is the best you will get for this awesome game outside of being fortunate enough to find the deluxe cabinet, which you won't.

Saturn also has the best versions of Thunder Force IV and V. No, the Switch version of IV is not better, although it does remove one of the two infinite point milking spots that I am aware of. Scoring is messed up on Saturn, but Saturn benefits from higher audio quality and no slowdown or sprite flicker at all, ever. Even the scoring doesn't really matter much in the end because Switch still has an infinite milking spot.

DecAthlete is also a must-have. Great arcade sports game and it runs in the Saturn's interlaced mode and it looks super sharp, but make sure you have a deinterlacer if you are not using a CRT.

Cotton 2 and Boomerang are different games, but try them both. Boomerang is ridiculously expensive.

Kyuukyoku Tiger II is... uh, yeah. If this game didn't have the Kyuukyoku Tiger title, nobody would remember it even exists, but it has an exclusive Saturn mode. Check it out on Saturn if you can rotate your screen. Skip it and play the arcade version however you see fit if you can't.

Panzer Dragoon and Zwei are required. If you have a Saturn, you need both of them, but if you can only have one, get Zwei. Panzer Dragoon plays moderately better than its remake, too! Hopefully Zwei's remake's development hell will result in a better game this time.

Sonic Jam is one of the best ways to play Sonic 1-3&K. As far as I know, aside from the 90s PC versions, this is the only rerelease of these games that is a port and not emulated, or remakes in the case of Sonic Origins. There are some audio differences, so if you like that sort of thing this is worth checking out. Sonic 2 has an odd amount of additional slowdown compared to the MD version for whatever reason, but they otherwise generally run much better than the MD versions.

The Asuka 120% on Saturn is the last one made by the original dev team. It's really simple compared to what it inspired (the ridiculously complex Arcana Heart) and in Japan everyone prefers the black dot revision of the PS1 Asuka 120%, but it might be worth checking out.

For stuff you probably will have difficulty with without Japanese other than Princess Crown and Tokimeki Memorial, there is Snatcher, Policenauts, Langrisser Dramatic Edition, Langrisser III, IV, and V. Skip Sakura Taisen and Sakura Taisen 2 and play them on PC or Dreamcast instead, as those are the best versions, and the Saturn versions' use of the 320x240 resolution makes the Japanese text harder to read than on Dreamcast or PC.

Dracula X is questionable. I don't like the game to begin with because it's unbelievably boring no matter where you play it, but if I am going to suffer through playing it (and drop it immediately once I get to the inverted castle), I will almost always play the Saturn version because it's the most complete. The loading times are greatly exaggerated, but the slowdown is not. It runs SUPER TERRIBLY at times and for no good reason as far as I can tell. Get it if you want it, I guess.

There's probably some more stuff. I'll probably remember something important later.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by guigui »

Steven wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2024 9:41 am
Most people who know about it know that there is the original and Otokuyou, but there is also a (probably obscure) revision of the original non-Otokuyou version. What's the difference? Well... I don't know lol. Hopefully someone can figure it out.
Definitely interested in this part about a "revision of the original non-otokuyo version" of Souky.

I am a quite big JP Saturn collector, own most games on it, but never heard anything about this revision. The Satakore website did not either :

https://www.satakore.com/sega-saturn-ga ... i-JPN.html
https://www.satakore.com/sega-saturn-ga ... u-JPN.html

So I would be greatly interested in any bit of more informations you can share about it.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

Interesting, all that about Toki Memo Pazurudama. Never thought it would still be played like that. There's a home exclusive "spin-off", Tokkaedama, which may well be easier, though different mechanics.

Dracula X upscales the original graphics horizontally so that babies wouldn't cry for not being full-screen. For a game so reliant on its pixel art to keep itself interesting enough, I would not call that version the most complete, specially for somebody with a PS1. Besides, isn't the added area pretty much hated by all the people who really like the game?

I wouldn't count on Kaitei Daisensou having all the pixel animation from the original version, either. And reportedly, slowdowns are quite different and stage order is changed as well? Anyway, the PS1 port was not better in these regards at all, though if you like the slowdowns totally removed it's the version to play, if I recall.

For deep cuts needing some Japanese proficiency, Tengai Makyou - Daiyon no Mokushiroku is the RPG everybody wants translated right after Princess Crown for a reason. The SAT version of Madou Monogatari would be the third were it better known thanks to a Youtuber or something. A revised and improved Chaos Seed is exclusively on SAT, and Terra Phantastica is supposedly a really good Tactics Ogre-like. Stuff like Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari or Cyber Doll are quite unique as well and likely will end up getting translations by fans, so an ODE is a must these days as mentioned. You can play the best version of Grandia in English with it it right now, and Silhouette Mirage, which I forgot to mention as it's better than the PS1 port, also got one recently, though not really needed to play it.


ryu wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2024 3:53 am
Bassa-Bassa wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 9:10 pm
ryu wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 7:49 pm All I know is the saturn's normal mode adjusts the rank system to make the normal shot viable.
Wait, you mean you don't get that as well if you put the difficulty level one step below on the STV version?
No idea to be honest. Does anyone play on non-default difficulties anyways?
Well, for home ports, half the times you should, in my opinion. Better try first to mimic the original version as much as possible in order to know it well, and that many times requires doing some configuration changes, check also the Psikyo ports.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by Steven »

guigui wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2024 10:21 am
Steven wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2024 9:41 am
Most people who know about it know that there is the original and Otokuyou, but there is also a (probably obscure) revision of the original non-Otokuyou version. What's the difference? Well... I don't know lol. Hopefully someone can figure it out.
Definitely interested in this part about a "revision of the original non-otokuyo version" of Souky.

I am a quite big JP Saturn collector, own most games on it, but never heard anything about this revision. The Satakore website did not either :

https://www.satakore.com/sega-saturn-ga ... i-JPN.html
https://www.satakore.com/sega-saturn-ga ... u-JPN.html

So I would be greatly interested in any bit of more informations you can share about it.
The Saturn core for the MiSTer was finally officially released, but rather than dump my own discs, I decided to be lazy and download them instead. To my surprise, I found a Rev A for the original release. I don't know what that is about, but it's certainly there. Perhaps that is the bug fix version that Toyama-san was talking about.

Some more research and a look at my disc suggests that the original version was only in production for about two weeks before the change to the Rev A, and that I do indeed have the Rev A disc. You can tell it's the Rev A because the original has P1K on the disc and the revision has A-P1K instead. I wonder if anyone has documented the difference anywhere.

I did remember one other game to recommend, though: SONIC R

Yes, it's terrible, technically, but it's so fun because of that!
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by ryu »

I played Sonic R with a friend once. We caused a glitch that we're still making jokes about almost 15 years later. Great game. :lol:
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by MJR »

Steven wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2024 9:41 am
MJR wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 2:03 pm
Steven wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 1:59 pm How is your Japanese?
It's fine as long as I can outsource it to the google lens app! Meaning, I probably wouldn't want to try to read all of berserk with it, but I wouldn't mind occasional text prompt.
Okay. I don't know how good that is, but a lot of the things I would normally recommend, assuming Japanese proficiency good enough to play anything on the system, are text-heavy, so cool obscure things like The Conveni are probably not going to work. Saturn also has the best version of Tokimeki Memorial, too.

That said, TokiMemo has a cool puzzle game, Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Puzzledama, which is absolutely worth checking out. It's not quite arcade perfect because they changed some stuff for the home conversions, but it's an excellent game and better than the PS1 version. Mikado has weekly tournaments for the arcade version because it's so good. Stay away if you don't like hard games, though; if you thought Tatsujin Ou was difficult, the AI of MemoDama's normal difficulty makes Tatsujin Ou look like an entry level game in comparison. I highly recommend it for both arcade puzzle game-loving humans and masochists of any species.

Unfortunately I have some games to anti-recommend: first up is the Japanese version of Powerslave or whatever it's called in Europe, which is 1999 in Japan, lacks the glorious voice of Michael Dorn. This version of the game is perfectly fine otherwise, but if you want your Dorn (and who doesn't?), you'll have to go with some other version instead. The new PC version from last year or whenever isn't quite the same as the Saturn version, I guess, but I've only ever played the Japanese Saturn version.

Also worth skipping is Kaitei Daisensou. This game is super badass, as you'd expect from Irem, but I've heard that the Saturn version sometimes just doesn't boot. Don't risk it, especially when ACA has you covered for this game.

What Saturn do you have? Depending on the motherboard revision, earlier prints of Space Harrier and Out Run will not work. Pretty sure it's not a grey Saturn vs. later versions thing as many would have you believe, it's the actual motherboard, as I believe the earliest motherboard revision white Saturns might be okay, but without some actual research, don't risk it. There are fixed versions of the discs that work on all Saturns. You can identify them by the codes on the discs. I think I have the codes somewhere, so I'll go try to find them when I can. Until then, skip these.

I'd also skip Darius, Layer Section, Garegga, and Batsugun, not because they are bad on Saturn, but because M2 ShotTriggers and Bitwave are the ways to go with all of these. I'd probably say the same about most things that are on ACA.

For recommendations, here you go:

Soukyuugurentai is the best STG on Saturn that actually works (sorry, Kaitei Daisensou, you are the best but you are unreliable!) and you need it! Fortunately, it's also somehow one of the cheapest! You can get a complete copy for about 6000 yen, and you should! Toyama-san told me the ST-V version is bugged and that the unspecified bug was fixed on Saturn, and that the Saturn version is the only version that should be played. I wasn't sure about this for a while, but I recently did some research and found that there are actually 3 versions of the game on Saturn. Most people who know about it know that there is the original and Otokuyou, but there is also a (probably obscure) revision of the original non-Otokuyou version. What's the difference? Well... I don't know lol. Hopefully someone can figure it out.

MemoDama, as mentioned above. Hanagumi Taisen Columns is also really good, and it plays differently enough from its moderately more complex Dreamcast-exclusive sequel to warrant having and playing both of them. It's also only like 500 yen complete.

I know Japanese isn't really practical, but if it is possible, Princess Crown.

After Burner II. This is the best home version of the game, partially because of the Mission Stick. Get the Mission Stick and play this and Space Harrier. This is the best you will get for this awesome game outside of being fortunate enough to find the deluxe cabinet, which you won't.

Saturn also has the best versions of Thunder Force IV and V. No, the Switch version of IV is not better, although it does remove one of the two infinite point milking spots that I am aware of. Scoring is messed up on Saturn, but Saturn benefits from higher audio quality and no slowdown or sprite flicker at all, ever. Even the scoring doesn't really matter much in the end because Switch still has an infinite milking spot.

DecAthlete is also a must-have. Great arcade sports game and it runs in the Saturn's interlaced mode and it looks super sharp, but make sure you have a deinterlacer if you are not using a CRT.

Cotton 2 and Boomerang are different games, but try them both. Boomerang is ridiculously expensive.

Kyuukyoku Tiger II is... uh, yeah. If this game didn't have the Kyuukyoku Tiger title, nobody would remember it even exists, but it has an exclusive Saturn mode. Check it out on Saturn if you can rotate your screen. Skip it and play the arcade version however you see fit if you can't.

Panzer Dragoon and Zwei are required. If you have a Saturn, you need both of them, but if you can only have one, get Zwei. Panzer Dragoon plays moderately better than its remake, too! Hopefully Zwei's remake's development hell will result in a better game this time.

Sonic Jam is one of the best ways to play Sonic 1-3&K. As far as I know, aside from the 90s PC versions, this is the only rerelease of these games that is a port and not emulated, or remakes in the case of Sonic Origins. There are some audio differences, so if you like that sort of thing this is worth checking out. Sonic 2 has an odd amount of additional slowdown compared to the MD version for whatever reason, but they otherwise generally run much better than the MD versions.

The Asuka 120% on Saturn is the last one made by the original dev team. It's really simple compared to what it inspired (the ridiculously complex Arcana Heart) and in Japan everyone prefers the black dot revision of the PS1 Asuka 120%, but it might be worth checking out.

For stuff you probably will have difficulty with without Japanese other than Princess Crown and Tokimeki Memorial, there is Snatcher, Policenauts, Langrisser Dramatic Edition, Langrisser III, IV, and V. Skip Sakura Taisen and Sakura Taisen 2 and play them on PC or Dreamcast instead, as those are the best versions, and the Saturn versions' use of the 320x240 resolution makes the Japanese text harder to read than on Dreamcast or PC.

Dracula X is questionable. I don't like the game to begin with because it's unbelievably boring no matter where you play it, but if I am going to suffer through playing it (and drop it immediately once I get to the inverted castle), I will almost always play the Saturn version because it's the most complete. The loading times are greatly exaggerated, but the slowdown is not. It runs SUPER TERRIBLY at times and for no good reason as far as I can tell. Get it if you want it, I guess.

There's probably some more stuff. I'll probably remember something important later.
Well there was a lot to consider, thanks! And thanks to everyone else as well.

I didn't even know that Batsugun is available for Saturn. I'm a TOTAL CRT tv whore, so I may consider getting them even though I have Bitwave versions. There is just no beating the feeling when playing on CRT tv. And I also enjoy ports for more often than emulation, since often japanese ports, at least, have somewhat adjusted difficulty level. I can play Capcom's Dungeons and Dragons games much further on the Saturn than I can the arcade version on Xbox or Mame (or I was able to PCB for that matter)

My new Saturn is the grey modded japanese one. Revision 1.01. My PAL copy of Space Harrier works fine with it; actually better since it's now fullscreen as it's forced onto NTSC. My old modded Saturn was PAL machine, which forced all the games into PAL mode. Some games that were intended to run on 60hz felt bit slow.

Sexy Parodius / Parodius deluxe pack also tempt me a lot. All the games mentioned in this thread at least interest me. I guess I need to bookmark :)
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by DMC »

Three dirty dwarves is very fun in case you're three players looking for some casual fun, each player controlling their own dwarf. The health system is perfect, it's pretty standard coop system by today's standards but I don't think it was so common back then? not with three players at least. If you take a single hit, your dwarf becomes unconscious, no health bar or anything. You then need any of the other two players hitting/tagging you to fully recover. You lose your credit, of course, once every dwarf is knocked unconscious at the same time.

So the game is pretty chill most of the time with three players kicking a lot of ass andthe game providing lots of humorous moments, but as soon as one dwarf becomes unconscious, stakes are rapidly increased. It gets really tense when two players are knocked out, as your friends will start screaming at you to come help them NOW while enemies are more aggressive than ever.

Shining the holy ark is a very solid old school RPG, turn-based dungeon crawler. I remember it as very immersive playing it as a teenager. Some very atmospheric locations (haunted houses, cemetaries, mystic labyrinths and some quite esoteric places) and at least I thought it was quite challenging and ruthless (e.g., not that easy to resurrect character, so labyrinths can trap you).

Nights is pretty amazing as well, nice twist on the Sonic formula.

Souky is not that expensive, and a stellar game still. Another great vertizontal is Twinbee Yahoo, included in the deluxe pack. With RSG that's three top tier games to cycle when your TV is horizontally oriented.

When I put back Souky on the shelf I will give Burning Rangers a try. How do you ladies and gents like that one?
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

MJR wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2024 7:19 pm
I didn't even know that Batsugun is available for Saturn. I'm a TOTAL CRT tv whore, so I may consider getting them even though I have Bitwave versions. There is just no beating the feeling when playing on CRT tv.
And there's always the input lag thing. SAT versions even beat the PCBs in some cases (Guardian Force, Garegga...), according to some reports.

And I also enjoy ports for more often than emulation, since often japanese ports, at least, have somewhat adjusted difficulty level. I can play Capcom's Dungeons and Dragons games much further on the Saturn than I can the arcade version on Xbox or Mame (or I was able to PCB for that matter)
That's likely because on SAT they're set at level 1 (of 8 ), whereas it's at 4 on the PCB's factory settings. (It's a clear case of a port where the player should change the default difficulty instead of assuming the port team really knew what they were doing in every regard - these are not games too hard to clear). But there're indeed cases where the SAT version is intendedly easier, like Parodius Da!, Gokujou, Puzzle Fighter or Magical Drop 3.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by TransatlanticFoe »

+1 on the Kingdon Grand Prix recommendation. The shmup-only cheat mode is good for learning stuff because the racing element is mad as a box of frogs. Nothing else like it, so definitely worth a look.
Sima Tuna wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 2:41 pm Get Gungriffon and Gungriffon 2.
Also this. Decent hybrid of arcade and simulation, first one got a localisation which is probably a good introduction point. 2nd is JP only but shouldn't be too hard to work out what to do. If you enjoy that kind of thing there's also the three Gundam Side Story games - they're cheap and short (about 45 mins each!), though if you aren't fluent in Japanese it's just whizzing around in mechs because reasons.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by Bloodreign »

I have PS1 and Saturn versions of Toki Memo Puzzle Dama, I find absolutely no difference between them at all. Now the PS1 sequel, Toki Memo 2 Puzzle Dama seems Konami got a little cheaper for the spritework, but it's still a solid game.
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Critical Missive from Nippon

Post by Lander »

Excuse me. You appear to have had Shinrei Jusatshsin Taromaru brought to your attention, yet do not appear to have dropped everything in a fervent attempt to aqcuire and play it immediately.

Here is a brief visual aid outlining why you should make resolving this grievous error in judgement a matter of utmost priority:

Image

Really though, it's a tremendous action game - on par with Alien Soldier. One that presents a deliberate defensive twist to the tried-and-true runner gunner, and follows through on it with a confident underscore; yet to be imitated, successfully or otherwise. Well worth Treasuring, if you can find a copy!
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Re: Critical Missive from Nippon

Post by MJR »

Lander wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 1:06 am Excuse me. You appear to have had Shinrei Jusatshsin Taromaru brought to your attention, yet do not appear to have dropped everything in a fervent attempt to aqcuire and play it immediately.

Here is a brief visual aid outlining why you should make resolving this grievous error in judgement a matter of utmost priority:

Image

Really though, it's a tremendous action game - on par with Alien Soldier. One that presents a deliberate defensive twist to the tried-and-true runner gunner, and follows through on it with a confident underscore; yet to be imitated, successfully or otherwise. Well worth Treasuring, if you can find a copy!
On par with Alien Soldier?! I hope you understand the full extent of the gravity of that statement :)

Sounds interesting, definitely. Thanks!
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Re: Critical Missive from Nippon

Post by BIL »

MJR wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 5:33 pmOn par with Alien Soldier?! I hope you understand the full extent of the gravity of that statement :)

Sounds interesting, definitely. Thanks!
Absolutely is. Image There are two action games I'd put on par with Soldier's rare triad of intensity, creativity, and finesse. One of them is Treasure's own Sin & Punishment. Taro's the other - and despite its medium's far greater scope for CD-ROMantic distraction, it's as diehard as anything on a cart. Or in a cab!

Incidentally, Hiroshi Iuchi worked on Taro's formidable BGs, superb as he always is. Michio Okano and the rest of the staff were also just that damn good. (invaluably translated by Jonny2x4)
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ala NEW Corp of Little Ralph renown, just hardcore GESEN passion to the bone, marketplace trends be damned. Image

Speaking of distractions, I totally forgot Silhouette Mirage and Guardian Heroes. They're great games worthy of their cult acclaim, though they do suffer a little for excessive chatter. SM's decidedly better on Saturn, performance-wise. Better graphics, and IIRC, less loadtimes.

Mirage has a bit of the same "combat shooter" physicality as Gunstar and Soldier. I always imagine Shyna squeaking her best Joe Pesci while slapping and body-slamming baddies for their coins. Image "Gimme your money! *BAP* Gimme all your fuckin money!*BAP BAP BAP*" :lol: But the hardcore run/gun focus isn't really there; it's more akin to Dynamite Headdy's marginally milder pace, saddled with scene transitions and talky cutscenes unheard of on MD.

A more meandering trip, still worth taking - the scenario and boss designs are superb, the polarity system is elegant, and you've quite the selection of big guns. Lasers, grenades, landmines, lots of goodies. The faintly menacing chibipocalyptic tone is quite inimitable, too. Lovely OST, wistfully catchy, sometimes deranged. Image
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Re: Critical Missive from Nippon

Post by Lander »

MJR wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 5:33 pm On par with Alien Soldier?! I hope you understand the full extent of the gravity of that statement :)
Oh certainly - it's charged with roughly 68,000 MEGA SHOCKS, and I stand by it! :mrgreen:
BIL wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 5:49 pm Mirage has a bit of the same "combat shooter" physicality as Gunstar and Soldier. I always imagine Shyna squeaking her best Joe Pesci while slapping and body-slamming baddies for their coins.
Bahaha :lol: fitting that the western release is the one with a bonk economy. God damn shop rabbit stood off to the side egging her on like Jimmy Conway - Did you hear what he just called you, Messiah? You gonna take that?

I have a soft spot for SM's Jr. Gnosticism (might well have been first contact, now I think on it...) though would call it of the less focused Treasure works - kinda wide and unrefined, like they threw in a lot of moving parts and options, but didn't quiiite have them all click into perfect harmony come the end.

Still, plenty of room for weird and wonderful in the Saturn pantheon, and the experience is a lot of fun. Notable: Energy draining a boss to the point of pathetic ineffectiveness, and feeling a little bit bad about it.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by GaijinPunch »

No point in relisting stuff, but I will

Keio Yuugekitai
Assault Suit Leynos 2
Space Harrier (Sega Ages)
Princess Crown

just to name a very few
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by hazys »

Astra Superstars is a very cute and unique fighter where every character flies. You can "jump" over or under the opponent. It's a quality game, kind of the magnum opus of the Galaxy Fight/Waku Waku 7 guys (and far better than either of those).

You can also get the best version of Baroque, an atmospheric real-time dungeon crawler, though it's JP-only. But if you can read Japanese you may as well get the Switch port, which as far as I know is completely faithful to the Saturn release.

Steamgear Mash is a pretty neat isometric platformer that goes a little overlooked, I think.
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Lander
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by Lander »

Oh, if you're up for something strange, experiential, and only somewhat torturous to actually play, Dark Savior deserves a second vouch.

Image

Intriguingly off-kilter contemporary dark fantasy from the Landstalker people - an isometric platformy overworld meets meaty (if workmanlike) best-of-three street fighter battles.
Notable for letting you stuff burly dockers into a pokeball to fight on your behalf.

Goes fascinating, weird places if you dig in far enough to root out all the story paths, though it's arguable that the metatheoretic fanon speculation which happens afterward is the most interesting part.

File under 'Strings Attached' and 'Mileage May Vary'.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by SuperDeadite »

The Langrisser series (except part III, fuck III) is bloody amazing. Though if you only gonna play one of them, go with IV.
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AyeYoYoYO
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by AyeYoYoYO »

Non-shmups ?

1. SATURN BOMBERMAN - Battle Mode - 8p Soccer stage

2. SATURN BOMBERMAN - Battle Mode - 7p soccer stage

3. SATURN BOMBERMAN - Battle Mode - 6p soccer stage

4. SATURN BOMBERMAN - Battle Mode - 5p soccer stage

5. SATURN BOMBERMAN - Battle Mode - 4p soccer stage

6. X-Men vs Street Fighter

7. Street Fighter Zero 3

8. Vampire Savior

9. Marvel Super Heroes

10. Pocket Fighter

11. Guardian Heroes

12. Dungeons & Dragons Collection

13. Warriors of Fate (Tenchi Wo Kurau 2)

14. Samurai Showdown IV

15. Silhouette Mirage

16. Bubble Symphony

17. Super Tempo

18. Metal Slug

19. Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo

20. Wrinkle River Story
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AyeYoYoYO
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by AyeYoYoYO »

Shmups ?

Cute ‘Em Up:
1. Cotton Boomerang (2p)
2. Cotton 2: Night Dreams
3. Twinkle Star Spirits 2 (2p)
4. Game Tengoku: The Game Paradise!
5. Detana TwinBee Yahho! Deluxe
6. Bokan To Ippatsu! Doronbo kanpekiban
7. Sexy Parodius
8. Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius: Forever with Me
9. Fantasy Zone - Sega Ages 1986
10. Gunbird (2p) Psikyo
11. Gokoujo Parodius : Fantastic Journey Parodius Deluxe (PAL)




Horizontal:
1. Thunder Force V (1p)
2. Darius Gaiden (2p)
3. Hyper Duel (2p)
4. Sengoku Blade
5. In the Hunt
6. Fantasy Zone - Sega Ages
7. Sol Divide
8. 3 Wonders: Chariot




Shoot Em Up-Vertical:
1. Radiant Silvergun (2p)
2. SoukyuuGurentai - (2p)
3. Battle Garrega - (2p)
4. Steam Hearts - (2p) OST (uncensored)
5. DoDonPachi
6. Blastwind
7. Batsugun
8. Donpachi
9. Gekirindan OST
PC Engine Fan X!
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by PC Engine Fan X! »

What are some of the better arcade-spec arcade sticks recommended for the Sega Saturn?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
Steven
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by Steven »

If you REALLY want arcade spec, it doesn't get any more glorious than the HSS-0130.
Bassa-Bassa
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

^A friend still has that one, and I can't recommend it for the price it goes for. You'll want to mod it since the pushbuttons are questionable at best and modding it requires a lot of effort and not few sacrifices.

Easier and safer getting a custom-made one or an adapter for another system stick.

Also, MSH on SAT is crap.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by DMC »

Steven wrote:Toyama-san told me the ST-V version is bugged and that the unspecified bug was fixed on Saturn, and that the Saturn version is the only version that should be played. I wasn't sure about this for a while, but I recently did some research and found that there are actually 3 versions of the game on Saturn. Most people who know about it know that there is the original and Otokuyou, but there is also a (probably obscure) revision of the original non-Otokuyou version. What's the difference? Well... I don't know lol. Hopefully someone can figure it out.
Can you find an image or anything confirming this third Saturn version of Soukyugurentai? That would be very interesting info to me.

From the Shmuplations interview (https://shmuplations.com/raizing/):
Toyama (translated) wrote:Also, I personally regret the bug in the arcade version where by collecting bombs you can get an abnormally high score. The loop counter in the program code was off by one, and no one noticed it…
This is a well-known scoring "bug", the famous bomb bonus, which gives you a huge bonus for the 11+ bomb you collect even though the visual display only counts up to 7. All WR-tier players exploit it, and I have myself exploited both on STV hardware and the non-Otokuyou Saturn version, I also think I earlier exploited it on the Otokuyou version as well, although I don't recall clearly because it was so long ago. Certainly I have never heard of anyone missing the bomb bonus bug there. The Otokuyou version supposedly fixed some other bugs, however, like the game freezing with action replay.

I have played both STV and Saturn a lot this year, and I see no differences in gameplay except tiny, tiny slowdown differences. So Toyama's recommendation to skip the STV when there's barely any notioceable gameplay differences seems odd. UNLESS, this third version you talk about fixed the scoring bug, that would be big news, but I doubt it highly.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

DMC wrote: I have played both STV and Saturn a lot this year, and I see no differences in gameplay except tiny, tiny slowdown differences.
Where do those happen, exactly? Does the SAT port has less slowdown?
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by DMC »

I think one example is stage 6 the big two green carriers, about 5:21 into the clip you can see the slowdown right after KTL-NAL throws the bomb. https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1ot411j7bA/?p=2
For comparison, in my Saturn replay I use the same bomb strat and there is less slowdown there from what I can tell. https://youtu.be/nNSEc7M2-Tk?si=s3R4kosq4oG3QfxA&t=1241
This was one of the few times the timing threw me off switching from Saturn to STV - but I haven't noticed much else. So far, I consider the two versions interchangeable but of course there could be differences I have missed.
(prickly has claimed that there is more slowdown in the Saturn version in some places (if you shoot intentionally))
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by Steven »

DMC wrote: Fri Jun 27, 2025 4:31 pm
Steven wrote:Toyama-san told me the ST-V version is bugged and that the unspecified bug was fixed on Saturn, and that the Saturn version is the only version that should be played. I wasn't sure about this for a while, but I recently did some research and found that there are actually 3 versions of the game on Saturn. Most people who know about it know that there is the original and Otokuyou, but there is also a (probably obscure) revision of the original non-Otokuyou version. What's the difference? Well... I don't know lol. Hopefully someone can figure it out.
Can you find an image or anything confirming this third Saturn version of Soukyugurentai? That would be very interesting info to me.
Speaking strictly chronologically, the third and final Saturn revision is Otokuyou. In total, redump has data for three Saturn versions of the game: a version 1.003, a version 2.000 that was created 15 days later, and Otokuyou. I believe I have a version 2.000 disc. It's easy enough to identify, as it has that extra A in the code on the disc. I'll go check it out when I go home. Given the relatively short time difference between builds 1.003 and 2.000 of the original, it's possible that version 1.003 has less copies than version 2.000, so it's also possible that most Saturn version players have not played 1.003 at all and instead played either 2.000 or Otokuyou. Both non-Otokuyou versions' build dates predate the game's Saturn 1997/2/7 release day, which makes it especially interesting.
DMC wrote: Fri Jun 27, 2025 4:31 pmFrom the Shmuplations interview (https://shmuplations.com/raizing/):
Toyama (translated) wrote:Also, I personally regret the bug in the arcade version where by collecting bombs you can get an abnormally high score. The loop counter in the program code was off by one, and no one noticed it…
This is a well-known scoring "bug", the famous bomb bonus, which gives you a huge bonus for the 11+ bomb you collect even though the visual display only counts up to 7. All WR-tier players exploit it, and I have myself exploited both on STV hardware and the non-Otokuyou Saturn version, I also think I earlier exploited it on the Otokuyou version as well, although I don't recall clearly because it was so long ago. Certainly I have never heard of anyone missing the bomb bonus bug there. The Otokuyou version supposedly fixed some other bugs, however, like the game freezing with action replay.

I have played both STV and Saturn a lot this year, and I see no differences in gameplay except tiny, tiny slowdown differences. So Toyama's recommendation to skip the STV when there's barely any notioceable gameplay differences seems odd. UNLESS, this third version you talk about fixed the scoring bug, that would be big news, but I doubt it highly.
Yeah, this is the problem, and what makes it confusing. As far as I know, the bomb bug is in every version of the game that is on Sega hardware, but I know nothing about the PS1 version beyond it having an extra ship. The other, biggest problem is that Toyama no longer remembers what bug it was that was fixed on Saturn. At this point, it's possible that he's thinking of something that got fixed between versions 1.003 and 2.000 that wasn't the bomb bug and isn't remembering correctly, or even a different bug that is present on ST-V but did get fixed on 1.003, but if you didn't notice any differences, maybe not. It's also possible that he did mean Otokuyou, but I think he probably would have specified Otokuyou instead of just saying to play on Saturn if that's what he meant.

Too bad you didn't ask about this last week; I just talked to him 6 days ago! Fortunately, the dude is inescapable. One of my friends who knows him swears that you can wake up at 0400 and go to any convenience store in Japan and somehow Toyama will be there. I'm basically guaranteed to see him again on September 14, so I will try to not forget to ask him. I somehow doubt that he'll remember what the supposed bug is next time, but it's worth trying. Believe me, this is something that I have been wondering about ever since he told me to always play on Saturn and never on ST-V, and I want to get a definite answer if I can, but...
Last edited by Steven on Sat Jun 28, 2025 9:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
sunnshiner
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by sunnshiner »

Bassa-Bassa wrote: Thu Jun 26, 2025 3:09 pm Also, MSH on SAT is crap.
I've got a soft spot for these games on Saturn because they kind of kept me sane during a particularly shitty time and despite CPS2 games basically running on a potato now, the Saturn versions are still my favourite ways to play them.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by DMC »

Thanks for the info Steven, I just checked the CD of my Saturn copy and it's version 2.0 I have, so clearly they didn't fix the bomb bonus bug by then.
Steven wrote: Sat Jun 28, 2025 6:15 am Too bad you didn't ask about this last week; I just talked to him 6 days ago! Fortunately, the dude is inescapable. One of my friends who knows him swears that you can wake up at 0400 and go to any convenience store in Japan and somehow Toyama will be there. I'm basically guaranteed to see him again on September 14, so I will try to not forget to ask him. I somehow doubt that he'll remember what the supposed bug is next time, but it's worth trying. Believe me, this is something that I have been wondering about ever since he told me to always play on Saturn and never on ST-V, and I want to get a definite answer if I can, but...
I also want to randomly bump into Yuichi Toyama in convenicence stores. :cry:

One thing that is unclear to me is whether there are two separate rank systems, one for end-of-stage bonuses and one for other things like power-ups and deaths. The reason I suspect this is that getting 100% of the enemies on a stage will lead to some boss attacks on the next stages regardless if I die or powe-up. toyama probably forgot or don't care about those details now though.

Another thing I'm curious about is how much he and Yagawa influenced each other. Since Battle Garegga and Soukyugurentai were developed around the same time, was Toyama influenced by Yagawa and vice versa?
Since neither of them is credited on any of the other's game I presume the influence was rather small.
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Re: Got japanese Sega Saturn, recommend me games!

Post by PC Engine Fan X! »

Tried out the Sega Saturn JPN version of Layer Section II (aka Raystorm) and it seems to run at 30fps and at other times at 60fps whereas with the USA region PSX port of Raystorm from video game publisher Working Designs & developer Taito, it seems to running at 60fps throughout the entire game (did WD optimize Raystorm to run at that particular framerate?).

The arcade pcb of Raystorm runs on Taito's FX-1B arcade platform and runs at an "arcade-spec" 60fps framerate indeed which I own as well.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
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