Need opinion

[juggernaut]

Hi guys.
I need your opinion on a specific topic. Recently i have collected myself a nice MVS collection. Just bare carts, a converter and the AES. Fully happy with it (hate those fighters) but otherwise no problems. One of my friends sold me a modded Saturn system and i purchased Layer Section. I have never been interested in a Saturn but i must admit that this game is so cool. Now i just want to have more.
See, money is the issue here. Father of two and a house owner, there is more than enough to spend the money on. Then i got this freaky idea and it might be stupid, but I'm seriously thinking about selling my MVS stuff to finance some Saturn gold.
Am i way off here or would you do the same thing?

[malchitos]

while I've always wanted a MVS setup and collection(I have money issues as well)...there really aren't that many shmups there....but the Saturn had a ton of them and most of them very good...I mean for most peeps the only reason to have a MVS is the fighters and you dislike them.

I think if I had the money, I'd choose a Japanese Saturn over a MVS setup. In fact I'm thinking of saving for one(that and a pc-engine)


Though I'm wondering how both hardwares are holding up after all these years. I'm thinking the MVS is like 23 years old and the Saturn is going on 18 years now. Since the Saturn is an early cd system I wonder how those drives motors are doing now.

[Jeneki]

MVS has Blazing star, Last Resort, Pulstar, Aero Fighters series, Metal Slug series, Prehistoric Isle 2 (was there ever a 1?), Zed Blade, etc.

Saturn has Batsugun, Battle Garegga, Soukyuguentai, Radiant Silvergun, Guardian Force, Rayforce series, Blast Wind, Hyper Duel, etc. There's also a bunch of good stuff that's also on PS1 which you may or may not already have.

Both have awesome shmups. I prefer the Saturn ones myself, but honestly I'd keep the MVS stuff for now and pick up Saturn games slowly over time. One game every couple months shouldn't be an unreasonable splurge, and you'll end up with most of the good stuff over the course of a few years. Plus you'll have time to play and appreciate them between purchases.

[Skykid]

There's nothing wrong with a Saturn collection if you want variety, shmups and some of the best 32-bit games of the generation.

Oh and you're bang on, Layer Section is incredible. Word of warning tho Daddyo: serious Saturn collecting can be pricey.

[HydrogLox]

Saturn has Batsugun, Battle Garegga, Soukyuguentai, Radiant Silvergun, Guardian Force, Rayforce series, Blast Wind, Hyper Duel, etc. There's also a bunch of good stuff that's also on PS1 which you may or may not already have.

Both have awesome shmups. ... Plus you'll have time to play and appreciate them between purchases.

Given that money is an issue titles like

• Battle Garegga (~$150)
• Radiant Silvergun (~$150+)
• Blast Wind (~$150+)
• Hyper Duel (~$200)

are probably off the table - even Batsugun runs around $70+. And these are just going to get more expensive as time goes by.

Value Saturn gaming tends to go to titles like:

• Darius Gaiden (~$20)
• Detana TwinBee Yahoo! Deluxe Pack (~$20)
• Strikers 1945 (~$25)
• Gokujou Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack (~$25)
• etc.

Now it is expensive to ship an NTSC-J Saturn from Japan - but it can avoid some headaches. For example you can get by with the regular Soukyugurentai (~$35) instead of the more expensive Soukyugurentai Otokuyo (~$60) as the glitch only happens when a non-japanese region code from the system board is encountered (which the Action Replay 4-in-1 does not alter).
I got my NTSC-J Saturn from Japan Games Stock for a reasonable price - the shipping is the killer.

PS: Oops - Just saw you already have a modded saturn.

[Friendly]

Saturn is a great system, I'd take it over MVS any day (not a big fan of fighting games myself).

It should be mentioned that most of Saturn's best games are arcade ports, but many of them feature additional game modes (eg. Hyper Duel has a mode with improved graphics) which are a nice addition and in my opinion make them preferrable to the original arcade releases (eg. Radiant Silvergun* with its Saturn mode). And there are not just shooters; Saturn has other awesome stuff as well, for instance Taroumaru.

*Radiant Silvergun recently got a slight graphical update and was released via digital distribution on XBLA.

[juggernaut]

Thanks for the replies so far. Appreciate them Let 'em come!

It's a damn hard decision to make. First of all, the MVS games i've got so far, are not the most expensive ones. However i enjoy playing most of them. Money Puzzle Exchanger for instance. A real treat for people who loves puzzle games. And just pure ace if you dig the 2 player mode. BUT.. All the games can be bought again if i decide to. On the other hand i might miss out a heck of fine titles if i choose to stay true to my MVS.
I never had a system with so many great shmup titles as the Saturn represents. And that really is weird since it my favorite genre.

I can see the sense in keeping my MVS and make a slow progress in my humble Saturn collection. Thing is, i just don't have the patience (right now) to make a collection over the years.

[Casper<3]

Saturn has Battle Garegga.

If I owned a Saturn, I would buy Battle Garegga & my Saturn collection would be complete. lol

You could buy a stick & play a lot of games in mame. I play Garegga in mame because I can't justify spending 400+ to play 1 game. (Satun, Garegga, compatible stick, converter to play on my monitor)

[TransatlanticFoe]

Most Saturn games can be had for very little, so yeah you can just dip in now and then.

Batsugun is definitely worth pushing the boat out a bit further for though.

[blackoak]

A model 2 saturn can be modded fairly easily, too. Relatively low point of entry to gauge your interest in further collecting.

[Friendly]

Of course if this is just about playing the games: If your PC is reasonably fast you can play most of these games emulated. I for one don't use emulators because I prefer the original hardware. But I have owned my Saturn (and most of my other consoles) for many years, and had a long time to collect the games, most of which weren't as expensive back in the day as they are now. If I had to start over now, I'd probably think about it long and hard... Then again, there is something special about owning the real thing

[Jeneki]

Battle Garegga (~$150)
Radiant Silvergun (~$150+)
Blast Wind (~$150+)
Hyper Duel (~$200)

are probably off the table - even Batsugun runs around $70+. And these are just going to get more expensive as time goes by.

Wow, seriously? I picked up most of my Saturn stuff many years ago so I haven't paid attention to prices. Blast Wind and Hyper Duel are definitely not worth paying that much imo, is it a rarity thing? 360 may a better way to go with Radiant Silvergun. That leaves Battle Garegga, which is definitely worth it even at that price imo.

Hopefully the MVS games I listed are not on the high end. I really have no clue when it comes to MVS pricing.

[Friendly]

Both Hyper Duel and Blast Wind are relatively rare, Radiant Silvergun not so much.

[xbl0x180]

YOU NEED BOTH. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY

[Bee Cool]

I'm not a fan of many Neo games, so if I were in your shoes I'd sell most if not all of your MVS collection and sink my money into some saturn/dreamcast/x360 shmups.

But obviously my interests are not a mirror of your own, so you should use emulation to try out some games first.

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

Just check out the games you are interested in with mame before you sell. I would say that shmups have the best replay value. It's the only type of game that I never seem to want to sell.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Sonic Wings Special is pretty cheap for a Saturn shmup (and, unlike with the PSX version, you don't risk buying the bad PAL convertion). It is different enough from the MVS ones (vertical screen and reworked planes) to be played even if you own both systems.
Hyper Duel is very well emulated by MAME, but the Saturn port is worth a go for the Saturn mode.
A question - will the American Saturn output an RGB signal via SCART lead without modding?

[Friendly]

A question - will the American Saturn output an RGB signal via SCART lead without modding?

Yes, the same goes for Japanese Saturns, as well.

[Captain]

Saturn also has Thunder Force 5

[juggernaut]

Only tried Thunder Force III on the Genesis. To be frankly, i never understood the hype about that game. It's good looking and nice music, but it just didn't do it for me. Im aware that Thunder Force V is a lot better in terms of reviews, and i would be more than happy to give it a go, but at the moment its not a must have for me.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Not surprised about Japanese units outuptting RGB as, apparently, Japan had a shot at RGB TVs. Japanese (rare) leads may brick Euro TVs (according to some internet people), but then again, who with a Euro TV has a Japanese SCART cable?

[Shelcoof]

love both neo geo and saturn but I'd go with the saturn anyday due to variety of games available

Saturn games can be pricy but at the right time they can be found for a reasonable price. Trust me on this as I've sold quit a number of my saturn games at a fairly low price

[juggernaut]

Thanks for sharing.
Actually i think i'll stick to my top MVS titles and sell the remaining common titles. Also have a boxed Super Grafx I'm selling, so that should get me a nice stack of bucks to purchase some fine shmups.

[BPzeBanshee]

Only tried Thunder Force III on the Genesis. To be frankly, i never understood the hype about that game. It's good looking and nice music, but it just didn't do it for me. Im aware that Thunder Force V is a lot better in terms of reviews, and i would be more than happy to give it a go, but at the moment its not a must have for me.

Play IV. III is considered one of the best in the series because of its accomodation for various player levels as well as what you've mentioned already, but IV trumps III in every regard. Better graphics, music and general challenge. There is some slowdown due to pushing the Megadrive a bit too far though.

[HydrogLox]

There is some slowdown due to pushing the Megadrive a bit too far though.

Doesn't Saturn's "Thunder Force Gold Pack 2" get rid of any of the Genesis/Megadrive slowdown on IV though (while also including III retooled for arcade - AC) ?

[Shelcoof]

There is some slowdown due to pushing the Megadrive a bit too far though.

Doesn't Saturn's "Thunder Force Gold Pack 2" get rid of any of the Genesis/Megadrive slowdown on IV though (while also including III retooled for arcade - AC) ?

Yup that's correct

[BPzeBanshee]

Indeed it does. It does also however makes the sound effects a bit weak.

As for Thunder Force III, it's available in mostly original form on Saturn via Gold Pack 1 as opposed to the retooled Thunder Force AC on Gold Pack 2.