Great Saturn games for cheap

[The Elite MYT]

I think there is an old topic somewhere that covers this idea, but it was really old and most of the stuff is now really expensive. How about an update?

I think the format should be to say the name and a brief synopsis. Maybe give a general price range too, but bear in mind that the current valuation is probably going to change. I´ll start:




Gundam Side Story - It´s a mech game, and each one can be picked up for about a fiver at the moment. I don´t like mech games, but these control smoothly and don´t feel infuriatingly slow. The missions also try to have some variety. Well worth the price.

Alien Trilogy - I can´t imagine this will ever get too much of a price increase, It´s a fun Doom clone with an Aliens skin. It doesn´t do anything revolutionary, but it´s still loads of fun and really cheap.

Sega Rally - Any SEGA fan will have at least played the arcade version of this. The content is bare bone, but what´s there is really fun and worth replaying. It´s also dirt cheap so worth picking up. I´m not a racing fan, but I like SR.

Sky Target - Really cheap Afterburner successor, with a hint of Lylat Wars-style gameplay mixed in. Really fun and the music is great.

Theme Park - It´s Theme Park. If you like it, get it. It´s only a tenner and it controls pretty well.

The Tower - Dirt cheap management sim. If you like the Sim series, this is pretty much in that style. Very slow paced, but enjoyable. One word of warning though: you can´t speed up time. That means there´s a lot of waiting. Dirt cheap.

Lemmings 3D - The loading times are abysmal, but if you like Lemmings games, this is pretty fun.



I´ll periodically update the first post with people´ssuggestions to keep them all together for reference. Hopefully it should be alright for a few years before becoming outdated

[davyk]

I might be wrong but I'd guess that most of the main titles Sega released are still cheap. Virtua Fighter, Nights, Virtua Cop, Fighters Megamix etc.

[pocketpocket]

Not as many now unfortunately, but there's still a few:

Puyo Puyo Tsuu: In my eyes the best vs puzzle game to date. Learning curve is steep but once you get the hang of setting up elaborate chains and countering your opponent the game quickly becomes an extremely intense battle of strategy that is incredibly addictive. Replay value is high, two campaigns to play through, a secret boss fight if you're somehow good enough to 1CC the arcade campaign, and of course multiplayer.

Magical Drop 3: Might be the better choice if you want something more accessible. Magical Drop 3 is still a very competitive game with a large focus on huge chain combos, but here it's less about strategically planning everything out in advance and more just moving fast enough to keep up. Less Puyo Puyo, more Panel de Pon/Tetris Attack. Tons of characters and a decent amount of content. Arcade mode is very English friendly, but you might have a little more trouble with the Adventure mode at first, but that's some extra content if you can brave the menus.

NiGHTS into dreams... (NTSC-J version): Still a wonderfully dreamy and surreal trip which there is nothing else like. Due to the game having no dialogue you will have no issues with the NTSC-J version at all. The game's short, but replaying levels for high scores is fun and I often find myself revisiting it just for how unique and fun it is. OST is wonderful too.

Virtua Fighter 2, Fighters Megamix, Fighting Vipers Putting these all together, they're all great high quality and smooth 3D fighters from SEGA which can be found for under $10 easily. Go for Virtua Fighter 2 if you want the most balanced gameplay with realistic movesets. Go for Fighting Vipers if you want something faster with crazier characters. Go for Fighters Megamix mainly for the humour, insane amount of characters and bizarre unlockables, but note that while it's still fun it's kind of an unbalanced mess.


Also, this might be considered a little too pricey for this list (generally around $20), but I'd also like to throw out a recommendation for the Detana Twinbee Yahho Deluxe Pack. As far as I've seen it's the most affordable Saturn shmup by far, comes with two games and they're both high quality Konami gems. Probably best for those who are into 1CC runs though, since with unlimited continues you can easily beat both games in one sitting if you're not concerned about playing elegantly.

[bultje112]

sega rally has got to be the most bang for your buck. I would go even as far as to say it's worth it alone to get a saturn for. holy shit is that game still a blast to play.

imo also the original daytona is still worth it for it's great controls.

manx tt is also still cheap and very much worth it if you have a 3d controller

[barryburton]

Also still fairly cheap and great in PAL, normally under £10/ 10 Euros.
Athlete Kings
Winter Heat
Virtua Cop 1,2
Baku Baku
Sega Ages
Last Bronx
Steep Slope Sliders
Duke Nukem
Command and Conquer


Or... use one of the ways to play burned games and play whatever you want for nearly free from then onwards

[davyk]

I think Layer Section is still quite affordable. It's one of the better shmups. It makes top 10 lists over at shmups.com every year.

Saturn also got a great port of Fantasy Zone as part of the Sega Ages series - think that's still well priced.

Columns Arcade Collection is worth a look if you like puzzle games.

[HennessySlick]

Completely agree with OG Daytona, NiGHTS Into Dreams... and Virtua Fighter 2, which I prefer to Virtua Fighter.

Virtua Cop is a great game, but with the cost of the Virtua Gun constantly on the rise, it's soon to be out of the cheaper games section imo.



Alien Trilogy is arguably best on Sega Saturn in terms of controls. Doesn't make use of the 3D control pad unfortunately, but still manages to control very well.



I've said it before and I'll say it again: Gun Griffon. The second game is only available in NTSC-J but is still a great looking game.

Oh and of course who could forget the greatest of all budget titles: Panzer Dragoon Saga.

[bultje112]

yeah be sure to get virtua cop 2 with a gun. absolute blast and a lot better than virtua cop 1 although both are worth it and 1 is cheaper I think.

[nevermind]

Some of the European sports games are great and very cheap

Nhl powerplay ~£8
Swws97 (98 can be more expensive} ~£3
Jona lomu Rugby ~£8
Dead or alive JP version is about £5
Blazing dragons
Command and conquer
Gun griffon
Manx tt
Tomb raider

There are plenty of JP games for cheap of you look around

[bultje112]

jonah lomu is actually an amazing sports title. one of the best rugby games ever made

[dtss]

Apr 8, 2017 8:42:15 GMT bultje112 said:

jonah lomu is actually an amazing sports title. one of the best rugby games ever made

Really??
Maybe I have to give it another go. Picked it up not long ago. Couldn't get into it. Personally I preferred Rugby World Cup 95 on the Sega Mega Drive.

[nevermind]

Apr 13, 2017 9:08:31 GMT dtss said:

Apr 8, 2017 8:42:15 GMT bultje112 said:

jonah lomu is actually an amazing sports title. one of the best rugby games ever made

Really??
Maybe I have to give it another go. Picked it up not long ago. Couldn't get into it. Personally I preferred Rugby World Cup 95 on the Sega Mega Drive.

I actually played it for hours when I bought it. Really well crafted game from what I remember. Horribly under appreciated

[bultje112]

Apr 13, 2017 9:08:31 GMT dtss said:

Apr 8, 2017 8:42:15 GMT bultje112 said:

jonah lomu is actually an amazing sports title. one of the best rugby games ever made

Really??
Maybe I have to give it another go. Picked it up not long ago. Couldn't get into it. Personally I preferred Rugby World Cup 95 on the Sega Mega Drive.

oh man, go back and try it! the game has gotten tremendous cult following and many still see it as the best rugby game ever made. it's entirely based around the 95 world cup and jonah lomu is a f'n god in the game like he really was.

[bultje112]

[dantemdie]

I find it strange when you refer to Nights or Baku Baku as "cheap". It's starting to be pretty hard to find a complete copy of these games in good condition below the 30£ mark.