Don't apologize for 2D graphics. Gaming is so varied that it's just another style of game design. Secondly Panzer Dragoon Shooters have always been better than Starfox shooters. Fact.
I've been watching a ton of these top saturn videos lately since I got my fenrir, and I love how your list has more deep cuts than a lot of the more common recommendations. Thanks!
Really great to see some love for the Saturn. It really annoys me when I see videos titled 'why the Saturn failed' - ask any Saturn owner if they agree with that (nope) ! I have a game that is a bit unusual called Torico (Lunacy) and it was a 3d mystery where the protagonist had completely forgotten his memory and has to unravel the clues to figure it out. One of Saturn's many, many gems....and so I must ask...why no Sonic R? I love love LOVE that game! Great video :)
I got the Japanese version of Saturn Bomberman for about 50 bucks. As long as you can navigate the menus in Japanese, you're good. It is insane how much the US version costs.
I understand the appeal for sure, but for me personally, I’m just not interested in trying to navigate menus in a language I don’t understand or find translations online. If there is a US version of the game, I’m buying that. If it’s Japanese only- then I will import out of necessity if it’s a great game and try my best to navigate the UI.
Great list and new subscriber. Re: Grandia, where did you download the English patch? And in general, can you recommend a good site to burn Saturn games?
Grandia was one of my favorites- I beat it in Japanese back in the day (the gameplay is that intuitive). I also beat it on the PS1 and the Switch HD remaster. I still have all 3 copies lol, this game is like a good book- I haven’t played the fan translation on the Saturn yet, but I will next time I revisit it.
@@thedigitaldivide3958 yeah it’s based on the PS1 port, so it’s missing a few details but it gets the better spell effects. And of course it runs way better than either of the 32 but versions!
Grear list! In The Hunt Japanese version you can continue even if you loose all your 1 ups. I do have Bomberman Japanese version and it and In The Hunt is completely playable and dont have to know Japanese lol. Very much more affordable too.
@@thedigitaldivide3958 Just watch it. You missed Hercs Adventures. It was a open world rpg coop as a comedy parody of the Hercules mythology. It was very funny. You could play as Hercules, Jason or Atlanta. I spent hundreads of hours playing that masterpiece.
I had the Saturn and my experience was mixed. I really loved Virtua Cop and Dayton Racing but finding good games here in the US was tough. I rented games from blockbuster to try out before buying and they just had a very slim selection at any given time. The last game I rented was Independence Day and it was ASS. That was the point where I said enough and switched to PS1.
Elevator Action Returns is good but you will need a special cart to play it due to it being Japanese only. If you own the original copy, all you need is the Action Replay Plus cartridge or a Pseudo Saturn Kai cartridge.
Nights is hard on your left thumb with how you move on the Sega Saturn controller. I have to stop every so often because my thumb starts to hurt from trying to move.
I was about to get a Saturn for the first time ever. But really for the money it cost to collect would not be good. I got a ps2 instead and I’ll be able to play ps1 & 2 games and those two consoles have a huge library plus the games for the PlayStation 1 is usually a better version of it. For example mortal kombat trilogy, tomb raider and resistant evil was a bit better on the PlayStation. I’m sure the Saturn is good console and if it wasn’t so expensive I would get one. Mortal Kombat trilogy for the Sega Saturn is over $400 while for the PlayStation it’s around $70 as an example.
Three dirty Dwarves, hm? So the tall, lanky, green-skinned beardless guy with the prominent lower incisor is a dwarf, huh? Some console games really had the most creative names... Spelling dragon with two o's must also have seemed like a bright idea cooked up in some PR department's laboratory.
Videos like these always remind me of the terrible price sega fans in english speaking territories paid for the in-fighting between sega of america and sega of japan during this time. The very best saturn games of any genre are locked away in the japanese library. Note to anyone interested in collecting japanese Saturn games. Do it now that many of the titles featured here are about 20 bucks. Some like astal or in the hunt are over 50. Many importers use dhl international shipping at about 20-25 bucks and will usually let you ship about 5 games before they increase the shipping charge.
Not sure if I agree with that, no offense. If there was both a US version of a game and a Japanese version of the same game, it made little sense for me to import it. If your goal is to save money, then yes- Japanese copies of Saturn games are much cheaper than their US counter parts, that is true, but the best games for the platform are overwhelmingly available in the US as well as Japan. I made a part 2 video that covers a number of additional titles. It will take me 3-4 videos to cover them all- but I cant think of many worth importing that are locked away to Japan only aside from maybe Cotton, Grandia and handful of others.
@@thedigitaldivide3958 fighters that use the 1 meg ram cart, fighters that use the 4 meg ram cart, shmups, umm rpgs like suikoden, langriser series, sakura wars series, princess crown, terra phantastica, tengai makyo 4, dragon force 2... Do you know what a 'handful' means? like a half dozen. You put marvel vs capcom, but that's an import. And what does it matter that grandia was on the ps1? It wasn't in the stateside saturn library.
In my opinion, Dragon Force 2 is a half-hearted rehash of the first title. I did not find it particularly noteworthy. Suikoden was great, but I played that on the PS1. I suppose if you were limited to only owning the Sega Saturn and did not own other 32 bit consoles of the era I can see where you're coming from- but many of the Japanese only Saturn ports were inferior to their counter parts, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night being a prime example. I owned all of the consoles of that era (N64, Saturn, PS1, etc). For the Saturn I tended to gravitate towards games that were made for it specifically, for the most part.
@@thedigitaldivide3958 the entire snk library on the saturn are the very best versions of those games on any 5th gen console including the neo cd. The best 2d capcom hits at the time were better on the saturn by margins large and small in comparison to the ps1 ports. The only shmups on both consoles that played better than the saturn port is in the hunt, donpachi, and strikers 1945 ii. Hell, you even admitted that the best version of daytona circuit is on the import saturn. There is more than enough evidence to say that a lot of the best games for the system ARE locked to the japanese library. And what does you owning a bunch of 32 bit systems supposed to prove to me?
Daytona USA CCE was released in the USA, it was not a Japanese exclusive. The Saturn was the king of 2D fighters, correct- pretty much every 2D fighter was better on the Saturn, especially with the Ram expansion. Most of those great 2D fighters were released in the US though. I’m not an SNK fan personally, so not my wheelhouse. All of this is subjective- as everyone has different tastes. My point is that I don’t feel like the Saturn’s US library of games were lacking, there are so many great ones. Every single game on both of my “Best Of” list of Saturn games were released in the US except for the 2 or 3 that I specifically call out.
Wonderful list of games and memories!
Glad to see someone else appreciate and recommend Daytona CCE. It's a great game.
awesome game, the Jap version of it got longer dev time and thus looks better.
Don't apologize for 2D graphics. Gaming is so varied that it's just another style of game design. Secondly Panzer Dragoon Shooters have always been better than Starfox shooters. Fact.
Agreed, Panzer games are close to perfection when it comes to on rail shooters. StarFox 64 was a standout though
@@thedigitaldivide3958 omega boost was cool.
The Dev team for In The Hunt left Irem following the release of In the Hunt in arcades to form Nasca Corp who created Metal Slug for SNK
I've been watching a ton of these top saturn videos lately since I got my fenrir, and I love how your list has more deep cuts than a lot of the more common recommendations. Thanks!
Cool Video. The SEGA Saturn is one of my all time favorite consoles.
Same
Truly great list of games.
Nice list ! Great video 😀
Nice video... I like fighting games the most. I still intend to play any RPG game for Saturn... But first, i need to know how it works.
Really great to see some love for the Saturn. It really annoys me when I see videos titled 'why the Saturn failed' - ask any Saturn owner if they agree with that (nope) ! I have a game that is a bit unusual called Torico (Lunacy) and it was a 3d mystery where the protagonist had completely forgotten his memory and has to unravel the clues to figure it out. One of Saturn's many, many gems....and so I must ask...why no Sonic R? I love love LOVE that game! Great video :)
Got here from my recommendations and subscribed already. You deserve some light!!!
I agree, all are fun games and many were super impressive in the 90's.
Great list! Should try Galatic attack!
I just started playing Albert Odyssey today, I love the way it looks so far. I don't know why people don't talk about this game more it's a decent rpg
Guardian Heroes is another good one
Yes, see part 2 & 3 of this series
Great list!
Nice selection, but you forgot Deep Fear, one of the most beautiful "resident evil clones" ever.
Great video! 🌟
Never played that one- I’ll have to check it out
8:07 my favorite game on this console.
I got the Japanese version of Saturn Bomberman for about 50 bucks. As long as you can navigate the menus in Japanese, you're good. It is insane how much the US version costs.
I understand the appeal for sure, but for me personally, I’m just not interested in trying to navigate menus in a language I don’t understand or find translations online. If there is a US version of the game, I’m buying that. If it’s Japanese only- then I will import out of necessity if it’s a great game and try my best to navigate the UI.
Great list and new subscriber. Re: Grandia, where did you download the English patch? And in general, can you recommend a good site to burn Saturn games?
I don’t really burn games unless it’s a situation where it’s the only way to play it, but thank you for the sub
Great list
Grandia was one of my favorites- I beat it in Japanese back in the day (the gameplay is that intuitive). I also beat it on the PS1 and the Switch HD remaster.
I still have all 3 copies lol, this game is like a good book- I haven’t played the fan translation on the Saturn yet, but I will next time I revisit it.
I had no idea there was a Switch release! Buying that asap. Thanks for the heads up
@@thedigitaldivide3958 yeah it’s based on the PS1 port, so it’s missing a few details but it gets the better spell effects. And of course it runs way better than either of the 32 but versions!
Grear list! In The Hunt Japanese version you can continue even if you loose all your 1 ups. I do have Bomberman Japanese version and it and In The Hunt is completely playable and dont have to know Japanese lol. Very much more affordable too.
Nice! I have the US versions of both. I got them before prices went crazy
saw this on my feed and drawn towards the thumbnail
You missed Shinning the Holy Ark, Guardian Heroes and Hercs Adventures. Those were my favorites back when I had a Saturn
This was part 1 of 3. Check out the other videos 😉
@@thedigitaldivide3958 Just watch it. You missed Hercs Adventures. It was a open world rpg coop as a comedy parody of the Hercules mythology. It was very funny. You could play as Hercules, Jason or Atlanta. I spent hundreads of hours playing that masterpiece.
I had the Saturn and my experience was mixed. I really loved Virtua Cop and Dayton Racing but finding good games here in the US was tough. I rented games from blockbuster to try out before buying and they just had a very slim selection at any given time. The last game I rented was Independence Day and it was ASS. That was the point where I said enough and switched to PS1.
Great video, thank you!
I have a part 2 published as well and the final part 3 video will be out today
@@thedigitaldivide3958 I'll absolutely check it out
This is the only console I have never owned at at point of my life . I wish I could of got one.
JOUABILITE, INDOMPTABILITE, ET INDÉPENDANCE
Saturn like Gamecube is one to emulate sadly it's becoming to expensive to collect for awesome list though
Gamecube isn’t that bad if you look in the right places. Saturn prices are ridiculous though
Elevator Action Returns is good but you will need a special cart to play it due to it being Japanese only. If you own the original copy, all you need is the Action Replay Plus cartridge or a Pseudo Saturn Kai cartridge.
I have both of those
Więcej tego poproszę!
Nights is hard on your left thumb with how you move on the Sega Saturn controller. I have to stop every so often because my thumb starts to hurt from trying to move.
Yeah thats why it is best to play it with the analog controller
If you love dragon force Then you should check out its sequel that also has an English translation :)
I was about to get a Saturn for the first time ever. But really for the money it cost to collect would not be good. I got a ps2 instead and I’ll be able to play ps1 & 2 games and those two consoles have a huge library plus the games for the PlayStation 1 is usually a better version of it. For example mortal kombat trilogy, tomb raider and resistant evil was a bit better on the PlayStation. I’m sure the Saturn is good console and if it wasn’t so expensive I would get one. Mortal Kombat trilogy for the Sega Saturn is over $400 while for the PlayStation it’s around $70 as an example.
Yeah- it is a very expensive system to collect unless you import everything form japan
Nice video!
Thanks friend
Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter is a Japan exclusive. You’re thinking Marvel Super Heroes. I’m sure someone already said that.
did u beat mmx4? the last part was hard for me, i never beat it.. loved the rest of the game tho
I did, eventually- not an easy game
@@thedigitaldivide3958 the last boss seemed ridiculous.. ur definitely good at games if u beat x4 and gradius
AKA “What to download to your MiSTer in 2024”
Quality list.
Quality comment.
How does one not mention Death Tank Zwei (I want a direct PC port online version of it real bad)?
Not an official game, also did not find it particularly noteworthy- but to each their own
@@thedigitaldivide3958Ah I see. Played "duels" every weekend vs my dad on it for a couple of years. As a 1v1 game it's awesome.
The team for in the hunt left Irem and went to work on metal slug
Thats awesome, did not know
No mention of Panzer Dragoon Saga though.... sad times
I have 2 more videos on the Saturn. Watch episodes 2 & 3
@@thedigitaldivide3958 nice will have a butchers
Three dirty Dwarves, hm? So the tall, lanky, green-skinned beardless guy with the prominent lower incisor is a dwarf, huh? Some console games really had the most creative names... Spelling dragon with two o's must also have seemed like a bright idea cooked up in some PR department's laboratory.
The team literally thought the words "Armored Dragon" were cooler in German, mr snarky.
It should have revolutionized 2d games at home. Oh well. Still had great games.
Swap Croc out and put in Winter Heat, Decathlete, Die Hard Arcade, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Legend of Oasis...
See my other videos.. this was part 1 of a 3 part series
Guardian Heroes missing 😊!
This is part 1 of a 3 part series, check out the other 2
Ohio goodwills just have crusty copies of madden/ gears of war 2 and pop cds /thread
Yeah sometimes there are long droughts here as well
after watching this video wish I never gave my Saturn away I had every game on this list
Check out part 2 & 3!
I still have every game. US copies. They sit in storage :(
In the hunt plays like an amped up version of Hunt for Red October on the nes.
Saturn is a failed console, nevertheless you found some good games for it, I'd like to play.
It was actually considered a success in Japan.
@@evshrug this ^ It came second and beat the N64
You messed up by one big title , and no not panzer dragoon saga
Street Fighter Zero 3
That is all. ….
I have a part 2 coming out today that will help explain it’s absence
N64 players rlly don't have a personality 👀
?
The BGM is so annoying, why is it Necessary?
Most prefer it over awkward silence
@@thedigitaldivide3958 Strange Mayority.
جهاز فاشل جدا كعادة سيجا افضل جهاز نزل هو جينسيس
Failed, yes- but thats because of previous mistakes. The system had some great games
Videos like these always remind me of the terrible price sega fans in english speaking territories paid for the in-fighting between sega of america and sega of japan during this time. The very best saturn games of any genre are locked away in the japanese library. Note to anyone interested in collecting japanese Saturn games. Do it now that many of the titles featured here are about 20 bucks. Some like astal or in the hunt are over 50. Many importers use dhl international shipping at about 20-25 bucks and will usually let you ship about 5 games before they increase the shipping charge.
Not sure if I agree with that, no offense. If there was both a US version of a game and a Japanese version of the same game, it made little sense for me to import it. If your goal is to save money, then yes- Japanese copies of Saturn games are much cheaper than their US counter parts, that is true, but the best games for the platform are overwhelmingly available in the US as well as Japan. I made a part 2 video that covers a number of additional titles. It will take me 3-4 videos to cover them all- but I cant think of many worth importing that are locked away to Japan only aside from maybe Cotton, Grandia and handful of others.
@@thedigitaldivide3958 fighters that use the 1 meg ram cart, fighters that use the 4 meg ram cart, shmups, umm rpgs like suikoden, langriser series, sakura wars series, princess crown, terra phantastica, tengai makyo 4, dragon force 2... Do you know what a 'handful' means? like a half dozen. You put marvel vs capcom, but that's an import. And what does it matter that grandia was on the ps1? It wasn't in the stateside saturn library.
In my opinion, Dragon Force 2 is a half-hearted rehash of the first title. I did not find it particularly noteworthy. Suikoden was great, but I played that on the PS1. I suppose if you were limited to only owning the Sega Saturn and did not own other 32 bit consoles of the era I can see where you're coming from- but many of the Japanese only Saturn ports were inferior to their counter parts, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night being a prime example. I owned all of the consoles of that era (N64, Saturn, PS1, etc). For the Saturn I tended to gravitate towards games that were made for it specifically, for the most part.
@@thedigitaldivide3958 the entire snk library on the saturn are the very best versions of those games on any 5th gen console including the neo cd. The best 2d capcom hits at the time were better on the saturn by margins large and small in comparison to the ps1 ports. The only shmups on both consoles that played better than the saturn port is in the hunt, donpachi, and strikers 1945 ii. Hell, you even admitted that the best version of daytona circuit is on the import saturn. There is more than enough evidence to say that a lot of the best games for the system ARE locked to the japanese library. And what does you owning a bunch of 32 bit systems supposed to prove to me?
Daytona USA CCE was released in the USA, it was not a Japanese exclusive. The Saturn was the king of 2D fighters, correct- pretty much every 2D fighter was better on the Saturn, especially with the Ram expansion. Most of those great 2D fighters were released in the US though. I’m not an SNK fan personally, so not my wheelhouse. All of this is subjective- as everyone has different tastes. My point is that I don’t feel like the Saturn’s US library of games were lacking, there are so many great ones. Every single game on both of my “Best Of” list of Saturn games were released in the US except for the 2 or 3 that I specifically call out.