Exploring the Sega Saturn

The Sega Saturn (launched 1994, discontinued 2000) is a 32-bit, CD-ROM media game console with a library of about 1,100 games. Since I discovered it a few years ago, it's quickly grown on me and has become one of my favorite retro game machines. Underestimated in its own time and sometimes forgotten today, this system boasted an impressive catalog of arcade-perfect shooters, fighting games, and racing games, which still holds up well today.

My eventual goal is to try out and appraise as many Saturn games as I can, and I've already burned or bought a number of them. My collection and my gameplay progress are recorded here!

Alien Trilogy (1996)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Astal (1995)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: I've only gone through the first few levels so far, but this is a genuinely beautiful and stylish 2D platformer.

-/-

Asuka 120% Limited BURNING Fest (1998)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Burning Rangers (1998)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: A fun platformer with some really impressive 3D dynamics, considering the Saturn's poor reputation in that department. Cute, and I want to play more of it. Just can't get past that big stupid plant boss yet.

-/-

Akumajou Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku / Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1998)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: It's said that this is an inferior port compared with 1997's PlayStation original. True enough, the slowdown in places is noticeable and speaks to corners cut during development. I do enjoy the additional character options, however, so I'll continue to reserve my judgement until I get further into the game.

-/-

Cotton 2 (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: A classic cute-'em-up, but too hard at higher levels for my wimpy skills to surpass. I have the Switch release now too!

-/-

Darius Gaiden (1995)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Dark Savior (1996)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Daytona USA (1995)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-U, Sega Sports - not Championship Circuit)
Played: ✓
Finished: ✓
Thoughts: The fact that this is arguably the worst home release of this famous arcade racer speaks to the game's inherent quality. This version of Daytona USA is still charming and fun even with the graphical issues. I love the sound and design of the cars, and the Hornet is fun to handle.

4/5

Deadalus / Robotica (1995)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: A somewhat vexing game, but with some interesting art design and gameplay. Will finish one day.

-/-

Dead or Alive (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

DecAthlete (1995)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ✓
Finished: ✓
Thoughts: One of the most fun games in the Saturn library for couch multiplayer. Looks great as well.

4/5

Dragon Ball Z: Idainaru Dragon Ball Densetsu (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Dragon Force (1996)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: Through the fire and the flames, I'll carry on...

-/-

Dungeons & Dragons Collection (1999)

✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: On an interesting note, this is the latest-released game in my Saturn collection at the moment. There were not many games for it in 1999 to put it mildly.

-/-

Fighting Vipers (1996)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J & NTSC-U)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Gex (1995)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-U)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: Not yet finished... Improved over the 3DO version, the 2D graphics are nice, and Dana Gould's jokes are still funny, if now a little bit dated.

-/-

Gokujou Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack (1995)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Guardian Heroes (1996)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Gungriffon (1996)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Keio Flying Squadron 2 (1996)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

The King of Fighters '97 (1998)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Last Bronx (1997)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J & NTSC-U)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Layer Section / Galactic Attack / Gunlock (1995)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Layer Section II (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-U)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: You'd think it would be awesome to run around the lush environments of Isla Sorna as various kinds of dinosaurs, but the questionable level design and frustrating combat render this one a less than impressive entry in the Saturn library.

2/5

Magic Knight Rayearth (1995)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Rockman X4 / Megaman X4 (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story II: Heir to the Blue (1996)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Mr. Bones (1996)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-U)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: I want to get off Mr. Bones' wild ride.

-/-

Myst (1995)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-U)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: What do you want me to say? It's Myst, so it's pretty good. I need to go back and finish it.

3.5/5

Mystaria: The Realms of Lore / Riglord Saga / Blazing Heroes (1995)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-U, Mystaria)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari (1997)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge / Vampire Hunter: Darkstalkers' Revenge (1996)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

NiGHTS into Dreams (1996)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-U)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: Haven't gotten far yet, but NiGHTS is breathtakingly pretty. I'm eager to see how the gameplay pans out.

-/-

Panzer Dragoon (1995)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ✓
Finished: ✓
Thoughts: Artistically, one of the most beautiful and compelling shooters ever. The worldbuilding and classic science-fiction inspiration speaks to me. I could get lost in this strange post-apocalyptic world. In gameplay terms, pretty damn good. Slightly inferior to its sequel, but worth every penny.

4.5/5

Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (1996)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ✓
Finished: ✓
Thoughts: Zwei is in every way an evolution of the first Panzer Dragoon, with better graphics, better scenery, more varied environments, and a cool (if thin) story to boot. This is most certainly one of my favorites.

5/5

Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG / Panzer Dragoon Saga (1998)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: Although I have never found the time to complete this RPG all the way, the online gameplay videos I've seen have backed up my initial impressions: what a gorgeous game. It evolves the world from the first two in a big way and introduces a more compelling story to go along with it. The gameplay takes some getting used to but is quite fun.

5/5

PowerSlave / Exhumed (1996)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Princess Crown (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Puyo Puyo Sun (1996)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: Cute. I'll need to spend more time with it to give it a rating.

-/-

Quake (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Radiant Silvergun (1998)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Saturn Bomberman (1996)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Sega Rally Championship (1995)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ✓
Finished: ✓
Thoughts: A really strong arcade racer. I only have Daytona to easily compare it with, but this is the better of the two.

4.5/5

Shienryu (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Shining Force III - Scenario 1 (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Shining the Holy Ark (1996)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: Classic dungeon crawler. I've only played a little bit, but what I've played so far has been pretty solid.

-/-

Shinobi Legions / Shin Shinobi Den / Shinobi X (1995)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: Honestly, I enjoy the new gameplay elements added to this game vis a vis the Genesis Shinobis. The graphics are a bit of a downgrade which is too bad when it's a new console gen we're talking about. Music is also vastly inferior except in the EU version. Still need to finish and rate.

-/-

Shutokou Battle '97: Tsuchiya Keiichi & Bandou Masaaki (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Sonic Jam (1997)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ✓
Finished: ✓
Thoughts: As far as compilations go, this is one of the best. The three (and a half) Genesis games play great on this system, and the 3D world you can explore as one of the bonus features is a fascinating look at what might have been.

4.5/5

Sonic R (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: Can you feel the sunshiiine

-/-

Soukyuu Gurentai (1997)

Owned: ☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Steeldom (1996)

Owned: ✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Street Fighter Alpha 2 / Street Fighter Zero 2 (1996)

☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (1996)

☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Tetris S (1996)

✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ✓
Finished: ✓
Thoughts: It's Tetris. There isn't very much you can innovate on here. But the presentation is quite pretty and I enjoy the music.

3.5/5

Thunder Force V (1997)

☓ (Burned)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Tomb Raider (1996)

✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Virtual On: Cyber Troopers (1996)

✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Warcraft II: The Dark Saga (1997)

✓ (NTSC-U)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: Hey, some Warcraft representation. Nice.

-/-

Willy Wombat (1997)

✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: Amuse thyself by saying the title in the tone and cadence of the Mortal Kombat theme.

-/-

World Cup '98 France: Road to Win (1998)

✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ✓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: I am not and probably never will be a soccer video game expert. Accordingly I won't rate this one.

-/-

YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World (1997)

✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-

Zen Nihon Pro Wres Featuring Virtua (1997)

✓ (NTSC-J)
Played: ☓
Finished: ☓
Thoughts: N/A

-/-