Gaming Bits: Sega Saturn (56k WARNING)

This Gaming Bits Segment is brought to you by the A. Yoshi Patreon...

If I had to pick my favorite Game Companies of all time (regardless of any past or current Drama), Sega would be in the Top 3, along with Konami (#REDANDORANGEBACONSTRIPSFOREVER), even if they've been involved in some major BS in the past couple of years, and the Big N themselves, Nintendo, in which you can expect a mega sized, Nintendo Double Diamond Retrospective Daizenshu (or Complete Works), but as of right now, Sega's in critical condition, with them making sub par games based off of recent movies, and 3rd rate Sonic Games. But once upon a time sega made good s**t, they made memorable consoles, and they enjoyed every last second of it. In this 2 parter, we'll see just what went wrong, the positives amongst the negatives, and if their consoles of that time were really that bad...







In 1994, Sega (especially their American division) was reluctant to let go of their classic console the Genesis/Mega Drive even after a mystery console was just along the horizon, so they released the totally unneeded 32X, which was yet another parasite leeching off the Genesis' open slots, along with the Sega CD/Mega CD, Hey, while we're at it, why not we'd stack a Game Genie, plus Sonic & Knuckles, and a game along with it. If they really needed to make the 32X, why couldn't it have been it's own console. So that's $150 along with the $300-$400 you spent on the Genesis and Sega CD, and you need a library of games to support the damned thing, but there really isn't one, it's practically slightly prettier looking genesis games, along with Jaguar level 3D. The Saturn was already out in japan, so Gamers knew it was a better idea to wait.

In November of 1994, Sega released the saturn to the Japanese public, It had 3 processors, 2 for the Graphics (for 2D and 3D graphics), and one for the sound. Thanks to these processors, games looked better in 2D (compared to the later released Sony Playstation), and the best sound for any console at the time. However, these multiple processors made it difficult to program games for, so 3D games don't look as good as they could be (See below). The US Saturn (which was released for an initial cost of $400) launch was rushed, originally intended for 20 years ago today (9/2/1995), it got pushed forward to May 11, 1995, this move irritated developers and retailers, and there was only 3, rushed saturn games for the american launch (Virtua Fighter (which looked so bad compared to the 32X Version, gamer's got a free copy of Virtua Fighter Remix as an apology), Daytona USA (which is viewable below compared to Ridge Racer for PS1, and we got 20 different versions of said game to fix the damage), and Panzer Dragoon (which was probably the best of the 3 launch games, but inferior to Zwei))...

And below is a comparison to the Saturn and PS1 Ports of X-Men VS Street Fighter... Notice how Saturn does better 2D than the PS1...

The Saturn also had a cartridge port, this was for modems, extra memory, cheat devices (that allowed you to play imports on your saturn along with enhancing domestic games), carts that only played with a certain game, and it was a memory card slot of sorts. At one point, It was considered to have Genesis Compatibility, but that wasn't to be. I say Screw all the carts that let you do a certain thing only like these...

And Get yourself one of these...

It does Everything, 1MB/4MB Expansion, Cheats, Region Free Gaming, and a Memory Card, The only things you can't do is go on the internet and play those games that require a certain Cart to play.

Another thing you could do is play saturn games online, with BBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGG FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTT 14.4k Speeds, It was 1996, you were lucky not to get an Illegal Operation Error While Browsing the web. Only 5 games supported it, Daytona USA, Sega Rally, Virtual On, Saturn Bomberman, and a S**tty Port of Duke Nukem 3D, complete with a level called Urea 51.

You also had a Video CD card, Which Enhanced your cutscenes for certain games (Japan only games), it also allowed you to play Video CD's on your Saturn (Video CD was a format that didn't catch on it the US, but was popular in parts of asia, It was a Disc format better than laserdisc and VHS, but not quite as good as the later released DVD).

The Saturn Also had a variety of different controllers for Different Play styles, special mention goes to the 3D Control pad, that allowed you to play 3D games...



NOW ONTO GAMES:

There was a great abundance of great Sega Arcade games like Virtua Fighter 2, Daytona USA, Virtua Cop 1 & 2, Last Bronx, Sega Rally, House of the Dead, and Virtual On.

If you aren't talking NiGHTS into Dreams, you might as well not be talking saturn at all. With it's excellent use of the 3D Pad, This Platformer almost made up for the lack of a proper sonic game (Keyword: ALMOST)...

Thanks to companies like Working Designs, we've got a bunch of cool little Niche games. RPG's (like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Shining Force III), and anime inspired games (like Burning Rangers and the 6 player Guardian Heroes) thrived on the Saturn.

Saturn Bomberman, A Great 10 Player Party Game...

Thanks to the 1MB and 4MB expansions, we've got arcade perfect ports of Capcom Fighters Like X-Men VS Street Fighter, Vampire Savior, and Street Fighter Zero 3.

The Saturn had a ton of great Spaceship Shooters, Like the HARD AS ADAMANTIUM BALLS RADIANT SILVERGUN!!!!

The Saturn Had a ton of other Japan only games, some that received a watered down port on the Playstation or other game consoles. But there's a reason that it failed in the US, Actually a few...



WHY DID IT FAIL IN THE US?

Several Reasons, from a lack of a true Sonic The Hedgehog game, To Bad Marketing,  To It's ASS Being Kicked by the PS1 and Nintendo 64, to a S**ttard of A CEO who Said that RPGs Can't Sell in the US of A. In Japan it was almost completely different, with Saturn Being in 2nd Place, and the N64 being in 3rd, to RPGs always being popular there, to them NOT Having a total F**KWAD OF A CEO, to a great marketing campaign for commercials...

SEGATA SANSHIRO, SEGATA SANSHIRO, SEGASATURN SHIRO!!!

(THE MAN WHO COULD HOLD HIS OWN AGAINST CHUCK FREAKING NORRIS)

WHAT IF PLAYSTATION WASN'T A FACTOR?

Back before the PS1 took the world by storm, There was the possibility it could Fail or not come out at all. Let's say that was the case, if it was solely Nintendo VS Sega again, it would've been a battle for quality (NIntendo 64) vs quantity (Sega Saturn), games being exclusive, and the medium not really growing, and there's a possibitly we could've seen something close to a crash. Thank Arceus Miyamoto Christ for the middle ground of the Playstation. Then again we could also have Sony's competition stop making dumb decisions, ah well, I guess not all consoles can be winners, right?



HOW CAN I EXPERIENCE IT FOR MYSELF?

There's 2 ways, 1) Buy a console and games (which is a risky move, since while they were cheap for quite a while, they've came up in price in recent years, so strike sooner rather than later if you plan to start any sort of collection for this thing, because they're not getting much cheaper, if at all), or you could 2) take the artificial route, AKA Emulation (in which the Saturn Emulation scene's kind of a mess with the best saturn emulator requiring real CD's or a virtual drive to play games, and hasn't updtaed in years, and the most promising Emulator being not even close to completion. I'll let you guess in the comments what they are), So in closing the saturn's a interesting system with a massive cult following, but in part 2 we discuss...



NEXT TIME:

^My Favorite Sega Console of all time^

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