Title - Sega Saturn
Alternative title(s) - N/A
How can a great system like the Sega Saturn get little attention?
Well, there are a few reasons why. I won't mention names. Okay, I will! (Sorry! I couldn't resist! =P)
Dag nab it Sega of America! You're one of the main reasons why the Saturn died out! You ditched the Saturn way too early and started emphasizing on the Dreamcast! The Sega Saturn had so much potential! Don't let your current system die out early!
You also were too stubborn to know anything about "Bare Knuckle" and that's why there was never a "Bare Knuckle IV" for the Dreamcast! Don't believe me on what I said there on "Bare Knuckle IV"? Just ask Koshiro Yuzo-san, the guy who composed the music of the series and other various games.
Sega of America, you're a main reason Sega only makes video games and not consoles now! Ugh! I wished I was hired by Sega of America a long time ago! Maybe I could have convinced Koshiro-san to make "Bare Knuckle IV" on the Dreamcast and have slapped some sense into my fellow workers! I would have also kept Sega alive! It's too late now! Dug gum it! I had an idea of a new system called the Sega Sapphire! Have a controller similar to the Saturn's and more! You can do lots of stuff like play DVD's and such!
*Sighs*
Okay. Well, there's other reasons why the system didn't gain a lot of attention, but it's best if I did give some background information. Yeah.
The Sega Saturn was first released in 1995 (or around there). During that time, their main competitor was the Playstation. Nintendo came out with the Nintendo 64, but that's a 64-bit system, compared to the Saturn and Playstation's 32.
Anyway, how did the consoles do? The Playstation was a big hit in Japan and America. The Saturn had a good amount of attention in Japan, but not in America. The N64 was a bust in Japan, but great in America. Go figure.
Well, I guess the other main reason why the Saturn didn't get a lot of attention was the fact that like the Neo-Geo, it didn't grab a lot of attention in America. It was a popular system in other parts of the world also. That's a darn crying shame because I must be one of the few people living in America who actually thought the Saturn was a great system. Sure, I loved the Super Famicom and Playstation a lot back then, but I dedicated a good amount of time to this system. Shoot, I don't even know if the Saturn or the Playstation gave me more fun between the two 32-bit systems. Not many people can actually say that!
Fun - 9
The library: it is so slick. Fun games here! Fun games there! What's wrong with the library?
I guess that it follows the traits of every Sega system out there. Plus, not many of the games did interest a whole lot of people. That's a darn shame.
Well, at least games like "Denn
Senki: Virtual On", the "Virtual Fighter" games, "Guardian Heroes", "Street Fighter Zero I" and "II" and others entertained me. Also, it's a shame games like "Street Fighter Zero III", "Samurai Spirits Bushid Retsuden" (the role playing game), the "Sakura Taisen" games, and the "Pia Carrot" games didn't reach America. Oh well.
The reason I really can't give it a perfect score is because of a battery chewing you up, which I will get to in a bit. That's okay, ne? Ne?
Life - 9
Like I said, it can't get a perfect because of the battery issue. Still, it's a good system. Hee hee!
Equipment - 9
This part would have gotten a perfect score if it wasn't for the fact that it ran on a lithium battery. You have to change it every year or so. The type of battery you need is a CR-2032 battery. Other than that, the one other flaw I should say is that the system started out really expensive at around $350.
The Saturn uses compact discs and that meant great audio quality as I said earlier. Oh, and did I mention that you can play your regular CD's here and still hear great quality? No other system can do this! Not even the Play Station 2 can do this! How about that?
The controller: whoever came up with the designs must be a genius! Eight direction pad, six trigger buttons on the controller and two side buttons, in my opinion, this is the best controller I have ever played on! I am not joking! For example, can you play a Capcom fighter on a Playstation with ease? Unless you're talking about "Justice Gakuen" and "Evolution", you can't. The Saturn made the button layout so nicely for Capcom fighting games! Shoot, I can say this for just about every game!
Aside from the controller, the system also had internal memory. It's good that you didn't have to buy a memory cart right away. Beside, it was large already. Oh and don't forget the multi-player adapter, the appearance of the console and the short loading times.
Audio - 10
Well, the audio has improved this time around. I can say that. There's not much else to say here.
Art - 10
No question, the graphics of the games do look good, especially at 1995. Shoot, there were cases in which some of the games looked better than those of the N64! If you were to look at a game like "Panzer Dragoon Saga", "Guardian Heroes" or "Nights", you would know what I mean.
Overall - 9
I don't know why not many of you people gave the Saturn a chance! It's not the most underrated system ever. It's a system that just didn't get a lot of attention. Really!
So, what have we learned here folks? The Saturn is one of the few systems that make me wonder why do people miss out on great systems they don't recognize early on. This is that good of a system folks and I'm not lying.
+
Astronomical art, the best controller I have ever played on, the system gave me a lot of fun.
-
It doesn't pull out an ace in the library all the time and you have to keep replacing the battery every year.
Date of creation - 3/26/04
Last update - 8/11