Just got a Sega Saturn!

[SkeevyStoner]

I just got a Sega Saturn. What Saturn Shmups should I get now?

[mirkvid]

Haven't played Battle Garrega yet, but Batsugun is by far my favorite shmup on the system. Enjoy, lots of great gaming ahead of you!

[mesh control]

Soukyugurentai

Sengoku Blade

[Ghetto Tate]

Dodonpachi, if you don't have it already?

[apple arcade]

BATTLE GAREGGA

[Limbrooke]

Dodonpachi, if you don't have it already?

Whoa, it's the return of ancient shinsage. Rock on, buddy!

As for Saturn, Thunder Force 5 kicks ass and can be cheaper than most shooters on the system. Galactic Attack is pretty reasonable price-wise and quite challenging for one of the few released outside Japan. If you like lock-on type of games G-Vector and Soukyugurentai are also worth a look.

[neorichieb1971]

Verts

Batsugun
Game paradise
Garegga

Horis

Any of the Parodius
Any of the Gradius


Vertizontal

RSG
Salamander
Soukyugurentai


There are others, but most are on other systems and have advantages over the saturn version.

[TLB]

Batsugun, Garegga, Soukyugurentai, Rayforce/Galactic Attack

[Cthulhu]

Just to make sure... um, do you have either a Japanese Saturn or a region-free key cart for it? Otherwise most of the suggestions you're getting aren't going to be very helpful.

I'll second a few mentioned here:

Sokyugurentai
Sengoku Blade / Blaede (or whatever funky spelling it ended up with)
Batsugun
Parodius
Gradius Collection
Salamander Collection
Rayforce / Galactic Attack / Layer Section
Thunderforce V

I'll vote against Battle Garrega unless you know _exactly_ what you're getting into, as the game frustrates me to no end.

If you have the money Radiant Silvergun is amazing. I have no idea what it sells for these days.

[Zeether]

Blast Wind.

[The Coop]

Battle Garegga (Shmup) *
Blast Wind (Shmup) *
Darius II (Shmup) *
Darius Gaiden (Shmup)
DonPachi (Shmup) *
DoDonPachi (Shmup) *
Galactic Attack (Shmup)
Galaxy Force II (3D Shmup) *
Gradius Deluxe Pack (Shmup Compilation) *
Hyper Duel (Shmup) *
Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus (Shmup) *
Layer Section II (Shmup) *
Mass Destruction (Shmup)
Metal Black (Shmup) *
Night Striker S (3D Shmup) *
Panzer Dragoon (3D Rails Shmup)
Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (3D Rails Shmup)
Radiant Silvergun (Shmup) *
Salamander Deluxe Pack (Shmup Compilation) *
Sega Ages (3D Shmup Compilation with After Burner II and Space Harrier)
Sokyugurentai (Shmup) *
Solar Eclipse (3D Shmup)
Stellar Assault SS (3D Free-roaming Shmup) *
Strikers 1945 (Shmup) *
Thunder Force V (Shmup) *
Thunder Force Gold Pack 1 (Shmup Compilation) *
Thunder Force Gold Pack 2 (Shmup Compilation) *

*= Japanese import

[Bloodreign]

Coop beat me to saying Metal Black, Darius 2, Night Striker (ooh baby that one is good) and Darius Gaiden, and someone's mentioned Rayforce/Layer Section. Also mentioned and seconded the Gradius, Salamander, Parodius, and Twinbee Deluxe Packs, Batsugun, Battle Garegga, and Layer Section II. Gotta throw in a second mention for Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus as well.

[BIL]

Excellent guide by our own Bulletmagnet. Helped me out a lot when I was figuring out what I wanted from the system.

I'd recommend Batsugun, Battle Garegga and Soukyugurentai to start with. Those alone will last you ages. Thunder Force Gold Pack 2 also deserves special mention for a slowdown-free Thunder Force IV. All of these are imports, as noted by others.

Layer Section / Galactic Attack (as Rayforce is known on the system) is an excellent game, but the Saturn port might irk competitive players since its score quota for extra lives is locked at half the arcade's. If that's not too much of an issue, it's possibly the best value option for a new Saturn gamer. Very affordable and got a US release (as Galactic Attack).

[Herr Schatten]

There's a section in the board FAQ that focuses on the more popular titles for each system, the Sega Saturn among them.

Also, there have been a couple of threads with pretty much the same question:
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 4&p=581733
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 1&p=517960
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 1&p=454592
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 2&p=395976
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 3&p=269150
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 6&p=235135
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 7&p=221766

Reading through these should give you an idea on where to start your Saturn collection.

I'm locking this thread.