A YEAR OF SATURN

One year ago (February 2021) I suddenly had a lot of free time on my hands, which is rare for a full-time working, thirty-something dad. But there I was thinking… “What now?” I thought to myself, not being someone who’s ever had any problem finding something to do in my spare time. “I shouldn’t let this opportunity go to waste (I should actually commit to a project instead of just mindlessly watching YouTube or whatnot…)”. The year before I had completed Dragon Quest I through V, so I figured that something similar would be appropriate. Enter the Shining series…

For 2-3 hours a day I played Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force and Shining Force 2, taking my time so that I wouldn’t get burned out. But halfway through Shining Force 2, I realized that I still had a lot of time left to fill before the summer. Since I was now pretty invested in the Shining series, the logical step would be to play the Saturn games. But how would I go about it? I knew that only one scenario from Shining Force 3 had been translated/officially released and that there had been a dedicated group of people translating the entire trilogy into English, but how would I play these games on a console? A burned copy? Where to get a hold of that? I started to dig around…

This is how I encountered SHIRO!, and I soon realized just how much had happened since I first got into Saturn back in 2004-2005. Back then, I mainly played shooters, fighting games and a few classics like NiGHTS: into Dreams and Sega Rally Championship, but I was way more invested in the Dreamcast and ended up selling my Saturn eventually… So I had some basic Saturn knowledge, but that was over 15 years ago!

Now there was the Satiator, Pseudo Saturn Kai, a group of people who had a podcast about the system and much more… I started listening to the podcast during the latter half of Shining Force 2 (I was fed up with the music anyway) and worked my way through every episode in the upcoming weeks. I purchased Shining the Holy Ark and started thinking about the best way to play Shining Force 3. A few days later the Satiator was released to the public. The stars had aligned.

I actually still had a Saturn lying around from 2018. A friend of mine had helped me fit a 50/60 Hz switch onto a PAL console so I could play Panzer Dragoon Saga. Even though the Shining series was my primary focus, I started looking at what else I had missed on the Saturn and made an effort to pick up copies of PAL games that could be forced into 60 Hz with little to no issue (thank you to Randomised Gaming for that extensive list!). I also picked up a few Japanese games, a Virtua Gun, and got an amplifier for my PVM to plug in my headphones when the rest of the family was asleep. I finished Shining Force 2, and so it began… a year of Saturn.

At first, it felt good to return to a few old classics. I played through the Saturn Bomberman campaign, which is the definition of a relaxing playthrough for me (I’ve beaten it many times now, and I really enjoy the variety in the level layout – not just square maps) with the relaxing music and the many power ups. This time around I managed to beat it with a single credit, which felt good (those heart powerups stacking makes it quite easy). I also played through Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon Zwei for a second time (first time was in 2018 before I played Saga), and both are fantastic action games (Zwei being a top 10 Saturn title in my opinion)! The assault on Shellcoof (Episode 6) is such a thrill! To me, it’s exciting in the same way as the assault on the Death Star in A New Hope. It really puts you at the edge of your seat…

Next up was Exhumed. I had watched the streamer Aquas (long time fan of his channel) play through this one along with a few Saturn titles, and this game really piqued my interest… Apart from the setting being very 90’s-cool with a beefy, silent protagonist that saves a region from aliens, I was amazed at how well the game balanced puzzles and action. The first tutorial stage, and the first hub area (I forget the name) really taught you how to play and what to look (and look out) for when navigating the stages. I liked the backtracking and making mental notes which areas I needed to go back to when I received new skills, and I rarely had to resort to a guide which is a plus in my book (here I will say that I’m fairly impatient when it comes to figuring out where to go, so I will use a guide if I feel really stuck). A big thumbs up from me!

As a side note here, I managed to buy two large bulks of the Official Sega Saturn Magazine around this time, and picked up individual issues throughout 2021. I finally managed to complete the collection before Christmas. As a personal goal, I’ve tried to use social media and the internet less and less when I’m in between activities, so filling those small moments with reading articles, previews and other assorted goodies from OSSM have been really helpful in combating internet addiction. I figured it was a good thing to mention because if there’s one thing I’ve noticed from reading OSSM is that they love their Exhumed (even now when I’m at issue 30, they still go on about how good it is). When they listed their top 50 games for the Saturn in 1997, Exhumed was at #8! Well deserved if you ask me.

Aside from playing a bit of Nights: Into Dreams here and there (I played it a lot in 2005, so I was familiar with it, and I have little to add to perhaps the greatest Saturn game of all time), it was time to move on to a game that I’ve always been fascinated with but never got the hang of… Dark Savior. This, in my mind, is a criminally underrated game, much like it’s predecessor Landstalker (best game for the Mega Drive next to Alien Soldier, don’t @ me). This game feels so unique, from the starting mission which dictates the rest of the playthrough, to all of the weird characters and their different backgrounds promising a much larger world than what’s on display… But aside from the battles being fairly mediocre, what really makes this game tick is how well the action and jumping sequences work.

A shining example of this is the Silver Castle – basically a huge level with no solid ground underneath, meaning a lot of restarts when you fall. It was daunting at first glance, but after a while it dawned on me that all of the jumps made sense… Usually a stone, a corner or some other indicator will let you know which line you’re supposed to take, then it’s usually just a matter of not jumping too far (most of the time). Don’t be afraid of the isometric perspective. This game plays really well, and the jumps are not as hard as they might seem at first. I managed to get all five parallels done (the final gauntlet in parallel four had me sweating like crazy) and had a blast doing so (except for those minecart sections – talk about frustrating)!

Then finally, it was time to tackle Shining the Holy Ark. I enjoyed Shining in the Darkness quite a lot actually, but what a leap in quality this game was! I’d easily place this game in my top 5 games on the Saturn – it has everything! In RPGs, at some point it’s easy to stop caring about the random battles, but with the inclusion of fairies in this game, you actually get rewarded by being active and reacting correctly in each battle. The game never feels dull. Also, the inclusion of a solid map was a blessing (in Shining in the Darkness I drew my own maps which took some time to say the least). It also has great music, functional graphics (wouldn’t necessarily call them beautiful, but they do the trick), an engaging storyline and a decent challenge. Apart from a few fairies being placed (what seems to be) completely at random and the puzzle to enter Mirage Tower being very obtuse, this was a very smooth playthrough which kept me engaged from start to finish. PLAY IT!

I’ve never been a huge fan of the Resident Evil series, but even so, I’ve played a lot of it in my day… One game I hadn’t played much, however, was the original, so this seemed as good a time as any to change that. I started out with Jill (as I recommend everyone should if you’re not familiar with this game) and had a fairly easy time beating this one by playing cautiously. I will say that Resident Evil is one of those games that I keep thinking about when I shut off the console (“Okay, when I get to play tomorrow I’ll start by going back to the kitchen area with four slots empty in my inventory so that I can pick up …”) which I think is commendable. After Jill it was time for Chris to go through the cursed mansion, and oh boy, was this a challenge! Good thing I was somewhat familiar with the layout of the mansion, because there were many times I ran low on ammo with Chris. It’s quite refreshing that a popular game like this is really difficult. In recent years it feels like games have gone the opposite direction…

I managed to pick up a copy of Burning Rangers around this time, which was perfect for the time. Work was picking up a bit so I had less time for long sessions but rather 20-30 minutes here and there, which fits this game perfectly. At first I played through it with Shou and Ellis and enjoyed it – the graphics and the navigation system are very impressive and Sonic Team sure knows how to make colorful and innovative games. After beating the game, I set a goal to get all S Ranks and find all of the survivors, thus making the game last a little longer… This is when I realized how well-designed this game was – alternate routes opening up, finding more and more secret areas, and overall getting the hang of the controls which does get easier with subsequent playthroughs (they are stiff at first, admittedly). I managed to get some good scores, but after many attempts, I still haven’t found all the survivors, and at this point I’m not sure I have the patience for it (on Stage 1 I’m missing one person and playing through that stage for a 30th time just for a chance at finding that person isn’t very appealing at the moment). I’m hoping to return to this one some day in the future…

Summer was coming around, and my daughter got real feverish for a few days which affected everyone’s sleep. How much did my sleep deprivation influence what I thought about Swagman? I distinctly remember enjoying it, but at the same time feeling a bit nauseous from the Tim Burton-esque soundtrack and the wacky visuals (all those spinning backgrounds behind the floor cracks…) The challenge was a bit all over the place in this game – the first boss was tough, and in some parts there was a severe lack of health items which meant you could save in a bad spot and then be quite screwed for the upcoming sections. Still, a unique game for the system, and the aesthetics is what really stands out for me in this one. Try it, you might like it.

Before heading out of town for a week or two I had time to go from one spooky game to another – Deep Fear. Well, not very spooky perhaps, but at least they tried. I had a lot of fun with this one. I enjoyed everything from the level design to the cheesy voice acting to the well paced action. One thing I thought was neat with this one is that, where Resident Evil was one expertly crafted maze, Deep Fear was more of a series of levels that you could travel between at times (think Metroid Zero Mission compared to Metroid Fusion) which I think was a smart move since much like the different Metroid games, there are strengths and shortcomings with each game. Bonus points for the creepy underwater setting and some disturbing visuals (I will stand by that it’s somewhat creepy when people turn into monsters in this game).

Coming back from a small trip, I channeled my inner Mark Ruffalo from Spotlight and said to myself: “IT’S TIME!” I started Shining Force 3: Scenario 1, and I was immediately hooked… Scenario 2 and Scenario 3 followed shortly thereafter (I had one break though, but we’ll get to that in the next paragraph). This was quite an undertaking, but I was happy to have done it since it’s the ultimate Shining experience in my eyes. The story really took a turn from Shining Force 2, going from goofy and light-hearted to heavy political intrigue, and I was all for it. I will say though, it’s not all doom and gloom as certain sections of this trilogy are pretty upbeat and fun, and I think back on these sections fondly. There are many standout battles that I still think about from time to time – the arrival of the Rainbloods, the penultimate battle of Scenario 2, the battle at the railway switching point… Too many to mention here.

At the same time, there were quite a few battles that outstayed their welcome, particularly the ones where the enemies and the environment played an active role – it could take a long time before you could even act because all the enemies needed to move first, or the temple lightning-towers having to fire a few times before everyone can move. Still, nitpicks aside, this is about as epic as you can get on the Saturn (save for Grandia perhaps) and it was a pleasure to be able to finally play these games, so thank you to everyone involved for making these games available.

I should mention that after Shining Force 3: Scenario 1, I took a brief pause from thinking about my next moves and pulled out the Virtua Gun. It was time for Policenauts. I’m still amazed that I was able to play this – a patched rom on my Satiator, connected to my PVM, with an external amplifier to give sound, a controller in one hand and the Virtua Gun lying next to me on the floor. Not being very good with technology, at least I was stunned that I was able to play a game like this in 2021. And what a game it was. “It’s like, you’re a detective, looking for clues on this colony. And all of a sudden you pull out your gun in game, and then I get to pull out my gun as well. It’s really cool, very immersive! I feel like I’m a blue-haired Mel Gibson!” I told my wife. She was not as impressed (still married though!) As for the game, it felt like a one-time deal – story was somewhat predictable and gameplay was solid, and the shooting sections were definitely fun, but I don’t think it’s something I’ll go back to anytime soon. But boy did I enjoy this one.

Halloween came around and I felt the need to replay Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I have beaten the game a few times on Playstation but I wanted to check out the new areas. Even though they were quite disappointing, I had fun playing around with some unorthodox weapons this time around (double Chakra!). My gripe with this game has always been the lack of challenge, but it was a fond revisit anyway and I managed to get 208,5% map coverage which I was happy with. And the soundtrack still slaps!

Christmas rolled around, so every Saturn fan knows what that means… After spending some time with Christmas NiGHTS and unlocking all the presents, I decided to tackle Pat’s all-time favorite game – Mr. Bones. I had originally intended to play this one for Halloween (the SOTN itch got the best of me), but now I had no excuses… As a platformer, Mr. Bones is mediocre at best – it lacks precision at times (those Bat-levels in the woods – no thanks!), and the mechanic of losing limbs when you’re low on life and jumping from certain heights is only fun in concept, not so much in game. Even so, this game is so creative that I couldn’t stop playing it because I had to see what came next. The out-of-this-dimension levels were great, the bongo drum stage as well, and the stage when you’re flying through a cathedral was something I’ve never seen before. I almost quit the game after having spent an entire evening trying to beat The Icy Lake but I’m glad I stuck with it. Not perfect by any means, but consider me a fan of Mr. Bones (sorry Pat!). Now if only I could get a hold of a nice PAL copy at a decent price…

So far, I’ve mainly talked about games I played and enjoyed. Were there any duds during this year? I had a few games that just didn’t click with me – not terrible games by a long shot, but I just couldn’t get invested in them. After Exhumed, I wanted to try out Alien Trilogy for some more FPS action. Unfortunately I found the game’s layout a bit monotonous and the progress between stages was a little brutal for my taste – it was easy to miss guns, ammo and health, and these things carried over to the next stage meaning I played super conservative and restarted stages if I didn’t play them well. I also tried out Tetris Plus which I thought felt off in comparison with other Tetris games I’ve played – something about the timing. The additional puzzles didn’t excite me either – I’ll stick to Tetris DX on my Gameboy I think. I tried out both Daytona CCE and Manx TT and they’re cool, but I realized that I’m pretty content with Sega Rally and Outrun when it comes to Sega racing games. A few sports titles came and went – Steep Slope Sliders, NHL Powerplay ‘96 and NBA Jam T.E. – all cool games but I don’t have a second player to play with making these games a bit lackluster for my current gaming situation (I mainly play World Series Baseball ‘98 if I’m in the mood for sports anyway).

I love platformers but many Saturn titles disappointed me in this genre – Pandemonium (platforming felt pretty generic and there were many cheap deaths in those first 6-7 stages that I played), Rayman (fantastic visuals, but this game felt real cheap to me – brutally difficult and not in a good way) and Tryrush Deppy (a very basic platformer that promotes exploration, yet you can’t backtrack through stages?). Finally, I gave Pinball Graffiti a shot. The game’s story is hilarious, but when I started playing I realized that I think digital pinball is pretty pointless. I can obviously see the quality of these titles but they just weren’t for me. 

So we entered 2022, and I started feeling that I had played most of the titles I set out for. Still, a few games to go. I felt bad for putting off Bulk Slash for so long but now it was time to give this amazing localization a go. I was familiar with the game having watched Aquas play through it a few times, so I had a rather easy time picking this one up. I understand why this is a fan-favorite and it was a fun playthrough, but I feel that the hit detection is a little sketchy in this game and many of the action sequences felt a bit rough to me, so after beating it I didn’t really feel the need to go back to it straight away. Maybe in the future? Hats off to the localization team on this one – what an undertaking, and what an end result.

It was now time to try and slay one of my gaming demons – 1CC:ing Sega Rally. In 2005 I had reached Lakeside once and finished in second place, so I knew what I was in for. I read the guides in OSSM. I set up goals for each course (finish 9th on Desert, 5th in Forest for a somewhat easy 1st place in Mountain) and started practicing methodically. Eventually I was able to reach Lakeside pretty consistently, but that stage is so brutal that I almost quit again. However, one afternoon I got very lucky with the cars behind me mainly giving me bumps for the first half of the stage, and I managed to keep a decent speed for the final half. I jumped up in excitement when passing the finish line – finally I had done it (with the Celica). As a fan of arcade games, I don’t feel done with Sega Rally – after the 1CC is done, the next step is to get better times, or become more consistent in beating the game. Or just 1CC it with the other cars. My favorite racing game ever by far. I’ll see you again soon enough.

Around this time I started to play through whatever platformers I had lying around (see the paragraph above regarding duds). Silhouette Mirage is a cool game, but I think it’s a bit unbalanced – once you get the hang of the stages it’s mainly the final boss gauntlet that poses a massive challenge while the rest of the game is pretty easy. My attempts ended at the final few bosses a few times, so we’ll see when I return to this one. I also managed to beat Astal which proved to be a decent challenge (I played the Japanese version which felt like a decent challenge). A pretty game with some neat ideas, but it’s a little slow for my taste.

As I entered 2022, I didn’t have as much time as the previous year, but I could still set aside a few hours a week for Saturn-games. Then all of a sudden everyone caught the Omicron variant, and being the last one in my family to get it, I was stuck at home for four days with a stuffy nose and no real plans… This seemed as good of a time as any to play through Panzer Dragoon Saga. First time I played it was in 2018 and I enjoyed it, but I didn’t think it was better than many other RPG favorites of mine. But opinions sure can change. Having played mainly Saturn-games for a year, the graphical stunts this game pulls off is nothing short of amazing. The aesthetic consistency and the sense of desolation in this game is unmatched. When you’re in Zoah, it feels like it’s the only town left in the world. The mood is so hopeless and grim, yet you also have the beauty of Uru and the Forest of Zoah to show that there’s still beauty and life to the world. I had so much fun with this one this second time around, arguably more fun than the first time as I really took my time and tried to go for 100% completion (I failed, but it doesn’t matter). Believe the hype on this one – one of Saturn’s finest moments and it now ranks highly on my best-of-all-time list.

It felt like a good send off to my year of Saturn by finishing Panzer Dragoon Saga – the reason I picked up a Saturn back in 2018 in the first place. But I had one more game to go – Dragon Force. If anyone wants to get into this game, I highly recommend watching Gamemaster Chaz’s tutorial video for it. It’s spoiler-free and will teach you the basics (and most of Chaz’s strategies I used for the entire game). The game started slow – a few skirmishes here and there, searching castles for some decent weapons, and a lot of moving back and forth between the 2-3 castles that I had. But once I beat my first member of the Dragon Force the game really got going. I was hooked – I must’ve played for 3-4 hours a night for a week. “When I get to play tomorrow, I need to move into the southeast region quickly while also sending troops to defend against Reinhardt, which will then let me …” I had some issues with the final few battles of the game (you only get to use a select few characters which the game didn’t hint at properly, so the final battles were way tougher than the battles before) but apart from that I can’t wait to get back to this game at some point in the not too distant future.

But first I need a little rest. Putting back the Dragon Force into its slip case, I looked over the games, hardware and magazines I had collected over the past year. What a ride! And I still feel that there’s more Saturn for me out there – I still haven’t 1CC’d Virtua Cop 1 and 2, and I should really get to 1CC-ing Silhouette Mirage as well. My Satiator is loaded with Legend of Oasis, Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru, Keio Flying Squadron 2, Dragon Force 2 and Grandia. And there are probably more titles that I haven’t discovered yet or translations that people are working on. Sega Saturn feels like a gift that keeps giving…

A big thank you to SHIRO! for being a pillar in this community and to everyone who is working on patches, translations and everything else. The Saturn truly is our future and the future is bright. Thank you for reading and I’ll see you all again soon enough. YOU MUST PLAY SEGA SATURN!

Signed,

youngmoneySWE