Sega's "Big Three" of 1995

[tempest]

There's no doubt that all three of Sega's "Big Three of 1995" games were awesome, and that all three are essential purchases if you own a Saturn. Virtua Cop was nigh-on identical to the coin-op and a real blast (excuse the pun!). Virtua Fighter 2 was a great technical achievement for the Saturn, and more importantly, contained the all-important, indepth gameplay that made it a legendary arcade game to begin with. Sega Rally looked and ran at a brilliantly smooth update (a real surprise after the poor Daytona conversion), and the addictive "one more go" gameplay of the coin-op made it to the Saturn intact.

So it's true that all three are brilliant Saturn games. But which of the three is your favourite? Which of the three did/do you play the most? What makes it better than the other two games?

[tempest]

Sega Rally gets my vote. It puts me in the zone, and I can come back to it again and again just to shed tenths of seconds off my lap times and course records. It's the type of game that's easy to pick up and play any time. Sure there's depth to be learned, like the intricacies of the circuits, which provide you with better lap times, but at the same time even joe-average-gamer can pick it up and have a blast. Two player mode is a blast, although a link up mode would have been icing on an already delicious cake.

There's something to be said about the balance in this game - whether it's the circuits themselves, moving from the relatively easy desert course, through to the intermediate forest (my personal favourite track in the game), and then the expert mountain course. And of course there's also the hidden course, Lakeside - one of the hardest courses I've had the experience of playing, yet also one of the most beautiful ones, and not just graphically. Try getting a perfect run on the course (not an easy thing to do) and then watching your run in replay. It's just surreal!

The cars are finely balanced for the game too, with each being equal in different attributes. The Lancia Delta has the smoother handling for beginners, while the Toyota Celica has the power for advanced players. Then you have the hidden car, the Lancia Stratos, which combines the best attributes of both cars and even ups the ante. Anyone who can get perfect laps with the Stratos on the Lakeside course has mastered Sega Rally in my opinion.

I've tried to find a racing game that betters Sega Rally, and whilst some have come close, twelve years later nothing does it as well. All the courses, cars, and options in the world can't equal a finely balanced game like Sega Rally.

As for the other games, well I appreciate Virtua Fighter 2's technical brillance, and the incredible depth of the fighting system, but I feel too far out of my depth with this game. With a friend who is at the same skill level as myself, this game is a ball, but I find myself getting pounded by the CPU far too often in this game!

As great a game as Virtua Cop is, compared with it's sequel, Virtua Cop 2, the game feels slow and dated. Still, it's great when you tire of VC2 and still want some great light-gun action. Also the training mode is awesome fun, and something sorely lacking from VC2.

In order of preference, I'd rate them Sega Rally, Virtua Cop, then Virtua Fighter 2. Still like I said in my first post, all are great games, and I'm proud to have played all three and to have them as part of my Saturn collection.

[superdeadite]

Sega Rally for me as well.

[mick_aka]

I almost instinctively went for Sega Rally, but I think VF2 gets my vote.

[RealBlue]

i love all 3 but sega rally is my favorite

[nofear]

tempest said:

Sega Rally gets my vote. It puts me in the zone, and I can come back to it again and again just to shed tenths of seconds off my lap times and course records. It's the type of game that's easy to pick up and play any time. Sure there's depth to be learned, like the intricacies of the circuits, which provide you with better lap times, but at the same time even joe-average-gamer can pick it up and have a blast. Two player mode is a blast, although a link up mode would have been icing on an already delicious cake.

There's something to be said about the balance in this game - whether it's the circuits themselves, moving from the relatively easy desert course, through to the intermediate forest (my personal favourite track in the game), and then the expert mountain course. And of course there's also the hidden course, Lakeside - one of the hardest courses I've had the experience of playing, yet also one of the most beautiful ones, and not just graphically. Try getting a perfect run on the course (not an easy thing to do) and then watching your run in replay. It's just surreal!

The cars are finely balanced for the game too, with each being equal in different attributes. The Lancia Delta has the smoother handling for beginners, while the Toyota Celica has the power for advanced players. Then you have the hidden car, the Lancia Stratos, which combines the best attributes of both cars and even ups the ante. Anyone who can get perfect laps with the Stratos on the Lakeside course has mastered Sega Rally in my opinion.

I've tried to find a racing game that betters Sega Rally, and whilst some have come close, twelve years later nothing does it as well. All the courses, cars, and options in the world can't equal a finely balanced game like Sega Rally.

As for the other games, well I appreciate Virtua Fighter 2's technical brillance, and the incredible depth of the fighting system, but I feel too far out of my depth with this game. With a friend who is at the same skill level as myself, this game is a ball, but I find myself getting pounded by the CPU far too often in this game!

As great a game as Virtua Cop is, compared with it's sequel, Virtua Cop 2, the game feels slow and dated. Still, it's great when you tire of VC2 and still want some great light-gun action. Also the training mode is awesome fun, and something sorely lacking from VC2.

In order of preference, I'd rate them Sega Rally, Virtua Cop, then Virtua Fighter 2. Still like I said in my first post, all are great games, and I'm proud to have played all three and to have them as part of my Saturn collection.

My friend, that is an awesome post!

Sega rally for me.

[rossi46]

Rally for me too. Awesome handling and gameplay that transcends time, fashion and trends. It's always going to be a retro-title that won't be embarrasing to show future generations.

[nofear]

It surprising actually. With games like this why the system actually flopped

[marc]

Feeling kinda sorry for Virtua Cop, but................Sega Rally. Been playing this a lot recentley, can't place higher than 3rd at the mo, gettin better though. Puts most driving games to shame!!!!!!

Need to get a jp copy, I am sick of using my import cartridge to play pal games on a jp saturn. (I have a pal saturn but hate borders)

[ironmonger]

Sega Rally has stood the test of time best for me, and was always my favourite back in the day. I enjoy Virtua Cop still but never had much interest in the Virtua Fighter series. Mainly because I suck.

[32bitfighter]

I never played Sega Rally so I can't really comment on it, but out of the other two; I would have to choose VF2. Virtua Cop is fun and all, but it has just not aged well, and I much rather play the HoTD series these days. VF2 was a technical marvel when it came out years ago, and it still plays great today, and retains its original wow factor in terms of graphical capabilities.

[Nick1984]

Swear Virtua Fighter 2 didn't come out over here til January 1996.

CVG called these 3 games the Big Three in 1995 though.

[32bitfighter]

I think you're right that VF2 wasn't on the Saturn until 1996; I'll just clarify that...yes, Europe got the game in January 1996; US 1996 (no exact date), Japan however got a Saturn port in December 1995.

[mick_aka]

I think im right in saying that originally the 'Big Three' term was originally used for these games when they all still had an 'expected' '95 release date.

[32bitfighter]

Well, even then you can still say VF2 is a 1995 game because the first available port of it was released in the end of 1995. The arcade game itself was also a 1995 release; I was more or less confirming the release dates in each region, it's still a 1995er since the original version of the game was ready that year.