Under the Radar Saturn Games

I too enjoyed Bug! (and Bug! Too). Liked Clockwork Knight as well.


Nekketsu Oyako on the other hand, I hated. One of the absolute worst beat 'em ups on the Saturn and a true low point for Tecno Soft IMO. Just play Dungeons & Dragons or Crows: The Battle Action for Sega Saturn if you want an obscure-ish beat 'em up. Or if you need something especially kooky I guess Pulirula works

I rarely see much talk about the isometric games on the Saturn though. I Willy Wombt is solid for those who like isometric platformers, and Whizz was interesting. Prikura Daisasuken was very good, but that's not really under the radar I don't think. I also dug Dark Savior quite a bit.

 

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Yeah, I'm not big on isometric platformers myself, but I can certainly acknowledge that, for someone who loves the genre, Willy Wombat is pretty good.


And yes, Pulirula was very bizarre. The imagery and the sound in that game is just... yeah.

 

Suiko Enbu: Fuuun Saiki is better than the 1st game, but still a bit weird to play. However, there are hidden (or just 1? Not sure) characters from Fighters History Dynamite, so whoever is into that may give it a shot. I still found it a bit hard to enjoy though (Fuuun Saiki), same applies to the first game.

And while we're mentioning weird platformers, why not also talk about Super Tempo! It's one of those games that get very little attention and suffer from very bad ink so almost all copies (manuals & spines) are sunfaded The game itself is reeeeeeally weird, but once you get used to the awkward controls and the strange gameplay it's quite enjoyable. There are plenty of crazy ideas and minigames, interesting ways of beating enemies & bosses and the graphics are quite charming.

 

[h=3]Three Dirty Dwarves[/h]

 

Super Tempo is a bit rare but for the ultimate rare Saturn Platformer you want to be looking at Try Rush Deppy! That plays better than Tempo IMO but still a little stiff. However it is a good platformer for it's time with quite a nice twist gameplay wise. It looks fantastic too. But best of all, no stupid annoying pointless one liners from the main character.

Yakumo

 

Rather than start ANOTHER new thread I guess I'll ask here.

What games use the 3d Controller?

 

More games than you'd think. Here's a list: http://segaretro.org/3D_Control_Pad

 

On the import-only isometric platforming front, I find Steam Gear Mash quite enjoyable. However, if you're looking for a decent-looking 3D game (which reminds me of the Sonic World portion in Sonic Jam for some reason) that plays decently, there's also Ninpen Manmaru. For anyone worried about the potential language barrier, my own Japanese skills aren't great and yet I can play both of these quite comfortably.

 

From the platformers mentioned in this thread, I can recommend Willy Wombat and Ninpen Manmaru the most. Bug! is a bit braindead and I have not played the Clockwork Knight games or Deppy.

I'm going to recommend fighting games because to me Saturn is the ultimate console for "obscure" fighting games, and not just a home for Capcom ports of the genre.

Suiko Enbu Fuunsaiki has really interesting ideas and an amazing soundtrack. It's a surprisingly solid game that has one of the fastest speed settings I've ever seen in a 2D fighter. The Fighter's History characters can be selected without any cheats, as they are not secret characters. So, pick up Fuunsaiki, but avoid the first game on the Saturn because the port is terrible.

Zero Divide The Final Conflict is another overlooked Saturn fighting game that deserves more appreciation. After Fighters Megamix it's my most played fighting game on the system. Basically it's Zero Divide 2 with a new look and some ideas taken from VF3, like the evasion button and asymmetrical arenas. Completely worth giving a shot if you are into 3D fighters.

And Golden Axe: The Duel is an absolutely gorgeous 2D fighter that was completely overlooked 15 years ago because some people wanted a port of Golden Axe: The Revenge Of Death Adder instead. If reviewers called something a SF2 rip-off back then, it was probably a good game, and you should give it a shot. I guess the reason why this game is somehow still overlooked when talking about Saturn games is because it doesn't have cute little girls.

Those are my top three "under the radar" Saturn games.

 

Golden Axe the Duel has one major issue though. The special moves are a right pain in the arse to pull off. That sort of kills the game. Saying that, even though it was an early Saturn game it was beautiful to look at then and still is now.

Yakumo

 

No love for good ole' Astra Superstars?

 

None! Sorry, it's a bit too expensive for what it is. Galaxy Fight is my favourite from the Sunsoft bunch.

 

No argument at all about the characters - both Bug and Gex are mid-90's video game characters to the max, but when you're talking about their actual games, Gex is much, much better than Bug!. Speaking of the originals, of course. I think Gex is actually one of the best-made 2D platformers from that entire era, while Bug! is... not.

That said, Bug! Too is a huge improvement over the original, which it seems no one picked up because I only see people talking about the first Bug!. It's not the world's greatest game, but it's not dull and boring like the first game, and it has some pretty good graphics and camera tricks at moments. I would say Bug! Too is more like a poor-man's Crash Bandicoot, while Bug! was... just not fun.

That list is far from complete and inaccurate in spots as well. It looks like a list of games with the 3D Controller icon on the box, but there are games without the icon which support the controller as well. Panzer Dragoon Zwei, for example, supports the 3D pad, despite the box and manual containing absolutely no markings to indicate this.

Additionally, the link claims that, when in digital mode, it disables all analog functions. This isn't true. In fact, the analog mode on the gamepad only made the controller identify itself as a NiGHTS pad, when in digital mode, the thumbstick was recognized in games as being an analog flight stick. This means a bunch of games which support the analog flight stick will also work with the NiGHTS pad, with full analog controls, despite not being obvious. The original Panzer Dragoon, for example, won't play in analog mode, but if you switch to digital mode, you can use the thumbstick to control your cursor with analog percision. Daytona USA works the same way.

The most glaring omission on that list is the lack of Shining Force III, which uses the analog pad probably better than any game ever released on the saturn. It, essentially, controls like a proper dreamcast game, with full analog movement, as well as fully utilizing the analog triggers to let you rotate the camera at varied speeds.