A much criticised and maligned system the Sega Saturn also happens to be a personal favourite of mine (second only to the Super Nintendo), this is mainly because of the deluge of fantastic 2d games available for the system, many of which the majority of gamers here in the UK had no idea about as unfortunately a very large percentage of the games stayed in Japan!
With the Saturn, Sega unfortunately didn't anticipate the industry's move to 3d and built a machine which was an absolute 2d powerhouse. I could write for ages about the console wars of that period but i won't, basically the Saturn got trounced in the West, where we were more interested in the N64 and the Playstation, but the console fared much better in it's native Japan where the more arcade orientated 2-d genres such as fighters and shmups are still very very popular.
In the West it was the wrong time for the Saturn, the traditional Arcade scene was dying on it's arse and industry was moving towards a "hip" mainstream direction due to the clever advertising of Sony and the general "new" feeling produced by the first wave of 3d titles to hit the home. Had the Saturn appeared instead of the Mega CD add-on a few years earlier then it would've no doubt wowed and have had a couple of years to cement a market position, because at that stage 2d titles were still very much the mainstream.
Of course with the market moving the way it was Sega were wary to publish certain 2d titles in the West due to their supposed limited appeal, leaving "the hardcore" with importing as their only option if they wanted to experience these gems....
And what gems they were, here's a few of the best imports...
Soukyugurentai (Raizing)
Better than Radiant Silvergun..enough said. Awesome graphics, stunning Sakimoto score. A must play for anyone with a modded or import Saturn
Battle Garegga (Raizing)
Brilliant conversion of one of the greatest arcade shmups ever released. One of the greatest, most pumped up first levels in a shoot em' up.
X-Men V's Street Fighter (Capcom)
The best of the Capcom V's series, converted flawlessly from the arcade and played next to the pitiful Playstation version it shows off what a 2d powerhouse the Saturn really was.
Vampire Savior (Capcom)
The best game in the Darkstalkers series again converted brilliantly to the Saturn. This game plays best with an arcade stick to pull off some of the button combos
Radiant Silvergun (Treasure)
Over hyped, overated but still bloody good! First time i played this game my jaw literally hit the floor. The impact it had on me was outstanding.
And this is only the tip of the iceberg, there's many more great titles available, some even got released in the West
Dragon Force (US/UK) - a true classic! (vid here)
Guardian Heroes (US/UK)
Astal (US/UK)
Kingdom Grand Prix
Donpachi
Dodonpachi
Strikers 1945 II
Marvel V's Street Fighter
Darius Gaiden (US/UK)
Nights Into Dreams (US/UK)
Gunbird
Shining Force III (US/UK)
Cotton 2
Cotton Boomerang
Panzer Dragoon 1, 2 & Saga (US/UK)
Magic Knight Rayearth (US)
Thunderforce V
Burning Rangers (US/UK)
Street Fighter Zero 3
I love the Saturn, it's a old school game fans wet dream!
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