Fun and Cheap Saturn Games?

[roflmao]

Hey all,

I've been thinking about expanding my Saturn collection and would like some advice on fun and cheap games for the system.  My system isn't modded and I don't have a Pro Action Replay to play import games, but if there are lots of good cheap games that never made it to the states, I may consider getting one.  Anyway, here's the list of what I *DO* have:

Bust-A-Move 2 (I like this type of game.  And more importantly, my Wife likes this type of game!)
Daytona USA (meh)
Dragon Force (One of my all time favorite games - I probably wouldn't have held onto the system if this had been ported elsewhere)
Mass Destruction (I find this game more fun than I probably should...)
Night into Dreams (when it was released it was pretty cool, but nowadays, meh)
Panzer Dragoon Zwei (meh)
Saturn Bomberman (Great game, but when I want to play Bomberman, I head to the TG16)
Virtua Cop (meh)
Virtua Fighter 2 (meh)
Virtual On (meh - maybe it would be more fun if I had the twin sticks?)

See?  Not a whole lot there.  Are there any other really fun Saturn games that I'm missing (that are relatively cheap)?  I didn't care for the Clockwork Knight games or Mr. Bones.  I've played through a couple of Working Designs rpgs released for the system and don't think I'd go back and play them again.

Were there any good shmups released for the Saturn?

[PunkicCyborg]

I think the Saturn is second to the PCE when it comes to awesome shmups. The only cheap ones though are going to be Galactic Attack and Darius Gaiden which can both be found for less than $15 complete.

[_joshuaTurbo]

looking at your 'mini review' I see quite a few "(meh)'s" next to some of my favorite Saturn games... :C  LOL

Yes, I would totally have to say the Saturn is 'the next in line' when if comes to being basically a 32-bit TurboGrafx.  Very similar life cycles!  And yes there are ALL SORTS of fun cheap games to be had!!  Here's a quick list of games I've found recently-

some other inexpensive FUN saturn titles-
Astal - $20
Tempest 2000 - $10-$20
In the Hunt- $20
Virtual Hydlide - $10
Scud $10-15ish
And if you ever get yourself a pro action replay to play imports:
Sonic Jam $15-20
Sonic R $15
Fatal Fury 3 $10
Gradius deluxe- $30
Salamander- $40
Parodious - $20

Happy hunting!

PS: I got my Saturn in early 1997, choosing it over PS1 and N64.  The day I picked mine up I got Virtua Fighter 2, Daytona, and Virtua Cop.  I put in Hundreds of hours into VF2 and Daytona!  I still pick 'em up today and have a blast!!  Virtua Cop...ok, that one aint all that special... and I've got a Saturn gun too....

[Necromancer]

For puzzley fun, look for Super Puzzle Fighter, Tetris, Baku Baku Animal, Puyo Puyo Sun, and Magical Drop (the latter two being import only).

[Gogan]

Galactic attack for sure. Great shmup.

Astal is very good platformer too.

But yes, the best games will need an action replay as they are imports. I just got one last week and I'm very happy bout it.

[roflmao]

I think the Saturn is second to the PCE when it comes to awesome shmups. The only cheap ones though are going to be Galactic Attack and Darius Gaiden which can both be found for less than $15 complete.

Holy cow, those two games look awesome.  I'll be keeping my eye out for them.  Thanks!

looking at your 'mini review' I see quite a few "(meh)'s" next to some of my favorite Saturn games... :C  LOL

LOL.  Back in the day when I got them (relatively) new they were pretty cool and some, like Panzer Dragoon Zwei) really showcased the system's capabilities.  But, I don't think they stood up to the test of time, imo.  Virtua Cop is pretty good, with a friend, but I think I only have 1 light gun these days. :p  The other games I'll load up and be ready to move on after five minutes.  A good trip down memory lane, but they don't drive me to keep playing, like a lot of Turbografx-16 games.

I didn't know Tempest 2000 was released for the Saturn.  Cool.  That was about the only reason I wanted to get my hands on a Jaguar.   In the Hunt looks pretty awesome as well.

For puzzley fun, look for Super Puzzle Fighter, Tetris, Baku Baku Animal, Puyo Puyo Sun, and Magical Drop (the latter two being import only).

Excellent.  I had Super Puzzle Fighter for the PS ages ago and dug it.  I'll keep my eyes out for those.

Thanks everyone for your recommendations!  Looks like there's a fair amount of Saturn goodness out there that won't break the bank.

[_joshuaTurbo]

I have to go through my collection, but I think I got loosey's of both Darius Gaiden and Galactic Attack at The Midwest Gaming Classic for $5 each.  Damn, I wonder...  If I have them both, and haven't played them yet, I know how I'm spending my Friday night...lol

[PunkicCyborg]

yeah can't go wrong with galactic attack, it has a nice Tate mode too and controller rotate so you can play it as a horizontal shootie with the controller right or flip your TV for full resolution. Great soundtrack and nice 2d graphics. Darius Gaiden is a beautiful looking game but isn't as much fun but it too has a great soundtrack and some nice 3d/2d mixed graphics.
Getting the pro action replay and some imports is definitely the way to go or get a US and a Japanese Saturn, can't have too many Saturns.

[guyjin]

As others have said, many of the games you rate "meh" are my favorite games for the system. Saturn Bomberman, in particular, is the best Bomberman game ever, IMHO.
There is also a control scheme in Virtual on that lets you roughly emulate twin sticks with a regular pad (don't remember which mode it is offhand)
Darius Gaiden is a great shmup, and cheap. I'm not familiar with any other shooties on the system, though.
Golden Axe: the duel is a good 2D fighter that can be had for cheap, but it doesn't quite live up to the Golden Axe name.
Fighting Vipers and Battle Arena Toshinden remix are good and cheap 3d fighters.
Robopit is a bit unconventional and unpolished, but fun if you can overlook those things.
Blast Chamber is a pretty good and cheap party game.
Grid runner is also amusing and cheap.

[tsuran]

Most of my favorites are meh on your list too lol! Most of the best and most well known shooties on the saturn are import only, so you can't do wrong with a card, as for us games, a lot of the really good ones tend to be expensive, but there are lots of good platformers like rayman and astal, and some good fighters a la the street fighter series, xmen children of the atom, and even streetfighter the movie the game for some laughs.

[roflmao]

So this is a little funny.  I was digging through a box in one of my closets and found this:



I don't think I've ever used it.  In fact, I don't even remember getting it!  Does anyone know if this will allow me to bypass the region protection on the Saturn?  I'm assuming that why I picked it up in the first place.

Now I'm really tempted to hook up the Saturn and see if this thing works!

[SignOfZeta]

VO is a lot more fun with Twinsticks, but honestly after playing VOOT on DC the Saturn game is pretty friggn boring. Once you get used to air dashing...its hard to go back, IMO. So, if you have a DC and VOOT then by all means get the Twin Sticks and the adaptor that lets you use them on DC. If you don't care about DC, then skip it.

Saturn Bomberman is the bees knees. Respect!

I don't see Guardian Heroes on your list. I'm sure that thanks to eBay the US version is probably twice as expensive as the JP one so get the JP one. I paid $15 for mine, but that was a long-ass time ago.

Almost all of the CPS2 based Capcom games are cheap as hell now (as imports). I particularly like Vampire Savior, Puzzle Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes Versus Street Fighter, and Street Fighter Zero 2, but they are all great.

Regarding Magical Drop: 3 is gorgeous, 1 is ugly as sin.

If you don't already have Puyo Puyo Tsu for 9 different systems like I do, pick it up on Saturn. Its possibly the cheapest version, plus it has the cool/dorky music video.

Shooters: Thunder Force V and Galaxy Force II. I don't think these are probably all that expensive.

If you can hack playing simple strategy games in Japanese: Yuna 3, and Sakura Wars 1/2.

If you can play complex Japanese RPGs, Tengai Makyo: The Apocalypse IV.

If you don't have a Neo Geo: KOF 95-97, SamShow IV, Waku Waku 7.

BTW, pay someone to install a switch mod. PAR carts are unreliable junk.

I'm pretty sure the Game Shark lets you play imports, I can't remember. It doesn't have any RAM expansion though so eventually you will want to get something better.

[Joe Redifer]

Wow, someone sure likes to say "meh" a lot.  Is that even a real word?  Do people actually say it aloud?

That Game Shark will destroy your cart port.

[roflmao]

Wow, someone sure likes to say "meh" a lot.  Is that even a real word?  Do people actually say it aloud?

That Game Shark will destroy your cart port.

lol, apparently I used to say it all the time without noticing.  Someone at my last job got me a button that just said "meh." on it as a joke.  Since then I've become a little more aware of it's use.

What do you mean the GS will destroy the port?  How so?  Should I not even bother trying it?

[Joe Redifer]

The Game Shark (and other similar devices) will work fine, but they are made with a thicker board than the Saturn cart port is made for.  Official Sega carts will have a hell of a time working and the Saturn cart port is very fragile.  And no, that Game Shark will not act as a region bypass.