Magic School Lunar #BestOfSaturn
Sandwiched between the two mainline games, Lunar Magic School is a remake of the Game Gear original, releasing exclusively on Saturn in Japan in late 1997 with obvious audiovisual enhancements….
Sandwiched between the two mainline games, Lunar Magic School is a remake of the Game Gear original, releasing exclusively on Saturn in Japan in late 1997 with obvious audiovisual enhancements….
A hugely important game in Saturn history, 1995’s Virtua Cop was the first of Christmas 1995’s “Big Three” arcade conversions meant to showcase that the Saturn had what it took…
Enix published the graphic adventure Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari / Tale of the Island of the Seven Winds exclusively on Japanese Saturns in late 1997. With gorgeous hand-drawn visuals,…
Konami’s Parodius saw Saturn release in Japan and in Europe in late 1995 — a planned North American release was ultimately cancelled. A side-scrolling shmup consisting of two older Parodius…
Part of a long-running series of Genki-developed racers, Tokyo Highway Battle ’97 / Shutokou Drift ’97 is a racing game through the streets of Tokyo. Race in six different cars…
First of Capcom’s “vs.” series, X-Men vs. Street Fighter released in Japan in late 1997 to critical acclaim. Utilizing the 4MB expansion cartridge, the game retains nearly all of the…
The 1997 expansion pack to the first Tomb Raider, subtitled Unfinished Business, finally hit Saturn in 2023 courtesy of Retro Raider John. The Atlantis levels pick up from the conclusion…
One of the most acclaimed traditional JRPG games, the SEGA CD remaster of Lunar 2: Eternal Blue hit the Saturn mid-1998 in Japan. While the Goddess Althena sleeps, a mysterious…
Did you know that the folks who brought us Pebble Beach Golf Links developed another four golf games on Saturn?? Their 1997 Japan-only JunClassic C. C. & Rope Club is…
Time Gal and Ninja Hayate is a double-pack of two mid-’80s Taito Laserdisc quick-time event arcade FMV games. Time Gal tells the story of Reika as she tries to stop…
Valhollian hit the Saturn in 1998 courtesy of Datt Japan. A strategy RPG game in the vein of Shining Force III, you take the role of Rey Brightforce and fight…
Best MMA game on Saturn? Step up to Savaki, a mid-1998 Japan-only hidden gem from one-hit wonder studio Cynus. Choose from 14 fighters, each with their own martial art ranging…
An early 1996 Japan-only release, Konami’s Gradius Deluxe Pack features straight conversions of the mid-1980s arcade classics Gradius and Gradius 2. In these side-scrolling shmups, you take control of the…
Sports titles were a huge reason for the success of the Genesis in America, so it was perplexing that the Saturn didn’t follow suit. The system was sorely lacking a…
A bit of a hidden gem, Impact Racing sees you combat-race on large courses, with the condition of winning being not only crossing the finish line in first place, but…
NBA Jam: Tournament Edition “pumped up the Jam” from the title’s first iteration, retaining its progenitor’s 2-on-2 over-the-top, exaggerated arcade-style basketball fun while adding player substitutions, in-game commentary by the…
Compilation games were of varying quality on the Saturn, but Digital Eclipse’s Arcade’s Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1 is one of the best. Six classics: Missile Command, Tempest, Breakout,…
The Psygnosis releases continued with Assault Rigs hitting the Saturn in late 1997, this time only in Japan. Again performing markedly worse compared to the PS1 original, the game features…
SEGA briefly basked in the positive news that Psygnosis games — some of the flashiest early PlayStation exclusives from the Sony-owned studio — were all coming over to Saturn. Then…
G Vector is a 3D, third-person shmup that reminds of games like Space Harrier and Panzer Dragoon. You are equipped with both a standard shot and a lock-on laser, and…
This is the third week in a row showcasing a Saturn shmup, and this time it’s TechnoSoft’s Blast Wind. Released in Japan in January 1997, its limited print run means…
Partly inspired by the ThunderForce series, Hyper Duel is a 1993 TechnoSoft arcade horizontal shmup that got a Japanese Saturn release in late 1996. Man one of the highly experimental…
Oh, Cave. Your bullet hell shmups are such a delight, and DoDonPachi is no exception. Hitting the Japanese Saturn in late 1997, players choose from three ships each with a…
Based on the Cthulhu mythos created by HP Lovecraft, the 1995 PC and Mac point-and-click Prisoner of Ice got a Japan-only Saturn release at the very end of 1997. Presented…
Based on a very long-running Japanese period drama, Hissatsu! is a side-scrolling action game very much in the vein of the Shinobi series. You and your associates travel from town…
Ohh, what a game. Coming in at a massive eight CDs, the recently fan translation patched Phantasmagoria has you, as writer Adrienne Delaney, solve the mystery of the creepy old…
A Japanese MYST-style point-and-click horror adventure, Horror Tour (Zeddas: Servant of Sheol for the PC and Mac English release) takes place in the maze-like Rodvydel Castle. The castle was taken…
A red label title, the Japan-exclusive Haunted Casino is an odd mix of castle exploration and gambling. You arrive at the haunted casino and must find the gambling rooms —…
Released exclusively in Europe in 1997 as a port of the PC original, Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster is a point-and-click adventure. You take on the role of…
Virtua Fighter Remix was an AM1 attempt to remake the Model 1 original on the ST-V Titan arcade board. This Saturn conversion hit worldwide in mid-1995. Gameplay remains unchanged from…
Gunbird is a Psykio arcade conversion released exclusively in Japan very late in 1995. One or two players choose from five characters and blast their way through this vertical scrolling…
Developed by Cave and hitting the Japanese Saturn courtesy of Atlus in early 1996, DonPachi is a bullet-hell shooter and the first game in the DonPachi series. Select one of…
Early 1996 saw Johnny Bazookatone land on the Saturn. A tough little 2D platformer with some run-and-gun elements, it sports pre-rendered visuals that scream “made in the 1990s.” Johnny’s out…
November 1995 was bountiful for Digital Pictures fans, as the firm released what would be their entire Saturn catalogue that month — including the peculiar Quarterback Attack. Essentially an FMV…
In mid-1998, SEGA collaborated with Enix to bring you the delightful Soccer RPG: the crossover you never knew you needed. (Full title: Nippon Daihyou Team no Kantoku ni Narou! Sekaihatsu…