The Sega Saturn was one of the best consoles ever released. It had so many great games that have held up surprisingly well today. I want to take a look at 7 games in particular ( in no set order) that I feel stand out the most.
Guardian Heroes
One of Treasure’s best games, Guardian Heroes is a beat em up that adds in RPG elements and a deep story mode. This was a major step up for beat em ups and a large divergence from the usual Capcom fare. Not to disparage those games, but Guardian Heroes had a more epic feel and you wanted to replay it several times to experience everything. With amazing visuals and music, this is one that aged like a fine wine.
Fighting Vipers
Sega is known for Virtua Fighter as their premiere fighting game series, but they also have this fun title. It has similarities to its older sibling, but has more flash to go along with the substance. I think of this one as the middle ground between Virtua Fighter and Street Fighter and it is one that more people should experience.
Radiant Silver Gun
Another Treasure game, Radiant Silver Gun may be the best shoot em up on the system. As with Guardian Heroes and beat em ups, Treasure changed the game forever when it comes to shooters after this was released. There were no powerups to get, but you were given a set of weapons to use and mix up. With a deep story that gets more involved as you go, this became an influence on all subsequent games in the genre.
Die Hard Arcade
This game was actually a localization of a Japanese game that had the Due Hard license slapped on when it came to the west. It worked though, because the game was already inspired heavily by Die Hard. This is a 3D brawler that was surprisingly advanced for its time. It brought in Quick Time Events ahead of Shenmue and the combat had a surprising amount of depth to it. It may not have kickstarted a rush of 3D beat em ups, but it was a truly epic game.
Nights into dreams
The Saturn may not have gotten a proper Sonic game but it did receive this unique gem. A genre-busting experience that Shigeru Miyamoto described as the one game he wished he had made, Nights Into Dreams saw you play as three distinct characters, each with their own play style. Of note was the titular Nights, whose flying sections are still fondly remembered today. This was not something we expected, but was something much better instead. I wish Sega had continued this series on the Dreamcast, but the Wii game was decent still.
Virtua Fighter 2
I couldn’t forget Sega’s premiere fighting game series. VF 2 was bigger and better than the first entry and fixed all the issues. The graphics were much better, the controls were tightened and felt more precise and now there was an actual story. While it’s not my favourite in the series ( that’s still 5), VF 2 did so much right, that it ensured that the Virtua Fighter series was not just a gimmick. It showed there really was a deep and engaging game within and one that would endure for years.
X-Men vs Street Fighter
My favourite Saturn fighting game, X-Men Vs Street Fighter was the first taste of real crossover action between franchises, that had only been teased before, Containing an excellent tag system, amazing visuals and music and the best 2D fighting of its era, this game did everything right. Street Fighter Alpha 3 was great on Saturn, but X-Men vs Street Fighter had more of an impact in my opinion. A great mix of characters, gameplay that can still be enjoyed today with the same wonder that we had back in the day. makes this a legendary title.
These were just my favourites, what were yours?