As far as success stories go, the Saturn proved about as useful as a pair of sunglasses on a bloke with one ear. Coupled with the disastrous financial flop that was the 32X and Mega 3D, SEGA’s beleaguered black beast stands as one of the company’s least successful forays in to the home console market in its entire stint as a hardware manufacturer. While moderately successful in Japan, the console just didn’t pull in the punters when it came to Western territories. Of course, going toe-to-toe with the PlayStation didn’t exactly help matters, but placing the blame squarely on Sony’s door is a bit of a cop out; after all, the Saturn was notoriously difficult to develop for, lacked the mammoth third-party support of its competitors, and cost an arm and a leg to boot – not exactly the springboard you need to sway folk in to parting with their hard-earned cash. For all its mishaps and shortcomings though, you can’t deny one thing – the Saturn was home to some bloody brilliant games.
With SEGA recently commenting that it is looking in to bringing Saturn titles to the PlayStation Network, here’s seven Saturn titles we’d love to see make the transition to Sony’s online service.
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Virtua Fighter 2
Ah, the carefree days of the mid-‘90s. 3D visuals were still in their infancy, with magazine covers adored with images of square-fisted protagonists with LEGO-brick hair. CDs were becoming the medium of choice for the latest home consoles (unless you were Nintendo, that is). When it came to beat ‘em ups during this time, punters pretty much adhered to one simple religion – Tekken or Virtua Fighter – and quite rightly so. If there’s one brawler that deserves a place in SEGA’s plans for Saturn PSN re-releases, its Virtua Fighter 2. Sure, the graphics may seem archaic compared to today’s standards, but it still packs in that trademark and gratifying precision we’ve come to know and respect, plus a comprehensive move set and diverse cast of combatants to sink your teeth in to. It’s also worth noting that this remains the only game in the series, bar the Kids edition, to allow gamers to adjust the size of the arena, which can make for some particularly grueling matches depending upon how you wish to customize the fighting ground. Brilliant stuff.
Die Hard Arcade
A prime example of the Saturn’s capabilities for churning out some of the juiciest arcade ports of the mid-late ‘90s, Die Hard Arcade is a personal favorite here at PSU HQ, remaining one of our all-time favorite arcade brawlers to date. While the game is in fact a totally disparate affair when compared to the Bruce Willis action flick its name is derived from, it has the basics down (a skyscraper, a bloke in a dodgy white vest, and copious amounts of big guns) and an excuse to batter tons of bad guys (they’ve kidnapped the president’s daughter, didn’t you know?). Interestingly, the game also boasts some of the earliest use of QTE’s that we can recall, which sees your character(s) bombing down a hallway and knocking out incoming foes before they have a chance to retaliate. Flashy stuff. Throw in a heap of moves to master, a truckload of weapons of both melee and firearm variety, hulking bosses, plus a stellar two-player mode, and you’ve got one of the best multiplayer beat ‘em up outings of the ‘90s.
SEGA Rally
Game Over Yeaaaaaahhhhhh! Sorry, had to get that out of our system. Indeed, if SEGA Rally’s iconic Game Over screen doesn’t tap in to even just a small measure of nostalgic, adolescent pleasure, then perhaps it’s just as well you’re reading this – after all, the 1995 classic rally romp deserves a place in anyone’s retro collection. A pioneer in the racing genre, SEGA Rally was the first of its kind to incorporate the now standard ability to drive on different surfaces, with your chosen motor’s handling properties changing according to the type of track you happen to be cruising on. Renowned for its superb handling and immaculately designed courses, SEGA Rally remains an exceedingly challenging, intelligently crafted rally affair that stacks up admirably against even the most competent of today’s racers, and comes highly recommended to anyone with a penchant for arcade rally games or those just itching to catch a glimpse of the genesis of one of the most venerable racing franchises to have graced a home console.
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Yeah, fat chance of seeing this gem end up on PSN, eh? At least not until Sega can locate the original source codes, that is. Still, if there’s a chance of getting Panzer Dragoon Saga re-released as a digital download, we’d take it over any of its predecessors in a heartbeat (not that the original or Zwei were nothing short of triumphant efforts, but still, Saga trumps them all). Developed by SEGA’s now defunct internal studio Team Andromeda, Panzer Dragoon Saga deviates considerably from its predecessors, ditching the formulaic shooter mechanics and branching in to more RPG-orientated territory – an area where the Saturn was decidedly lacking in comparison to the PlayStation. As such, the series’ traditional shooter elements were assimilated in to an RPG battle system and players were given more freedom to explore the world around them. Renowned for its distinct visuals and superbly crafted musical score, PDS is the quintessential mid-‘90s RPG and quite frankly, it’d be scandalous if it were never to see the light of day again in the form of a digital re-release.
Saturn Bomberman
Let us make something abundantly clear from the start – Saturn Bomberman is unequivocally one of the greatest multiplayer games ever conceived, on any platform to date. Ask any Bomberman aficionados to name their favorite entry in the 2D franchise, and you’ll find that most gamers tend to gravitate towards this stellar Saturn outing. Aside from being one of the most aesthetically pleasing entries in the series – featuring some charming 2D visual work – Saturn Bomberman accommodates up to a whopping 10-players attempting to blow the crap out of each other simultaneously on one screen, making for some of the most frantic, action-packed and downright compelling multiplayer shenanigans you’ll ever likely to experience. If ever there was a Saturn game made for online gaming via PSN, this is it.
NiGHTS into Dreams
You may have noticed a distinct lack of a certain blue Hedgehog on this list, and with good reason – SEGA didn’t actually release any worthwhile Sonic games on the Saturn during the course of its lifecycle. Instead, the chaps responsible for the speedy anthropomorphic Hedgehog – Sonic Team – crafted NiGHTS; an innovative, aesthetically striking adventure that combined both 2D and 3D gameplay, masterminded by legendary developer, Yuji Naka. Transitioning between an open landscape to an on the rails flight-based system, NiGHTS is a majestic trip through a compelling and beautifully realized world rich with challenge and intrigue, where players must work their fingers to the bone if you stand any chance of bagging those high-scoring bonus point combos. Oddly enough, NiGHTS was re-released on PS2 in Japan but never saw the light of day in Western markets, so this would be the ideal opportunity for SEGA to expose the Sonic Team extravaganza to a whole new audience via PSN. Make it happen, boys.
The House of the Dead
Arcade shooters have always found a welcome home on Sega consoles, and House of the Dead is no exception. The inaugural entry in the long running zombie blaster hit Saturn in 1998, and is particularly noteworthy for its innovative use of multiple pathways, which were something of a breakthrough in the late ‘90s for light gun titles. While the plot is a fairly inconsequential jungle of mad scientists, warped experiments and damsels in distress, the core fundamentals for a thrilling action-packed undead shooter are all there, with House of the Dead serving up rotten chunks of mammoth bosses, a huge diverse cast of undead monstrosities to battle, superb multiplayer and a unique, Saturn-exclusive play through offering up the chance to play as different characters, each sporting their own special attributes in terms of weapon capacity, firepower and available credits. While it would benefit from PlayStation Move to simulate the effects of a light gun, House of the Dead works well enough with a regular pad to warrant interest regardless of the absence of the Saturn blaster peripheral.