TheSega Saturnwill go down in history as a failed experiment — if it hasn’t already. A handful of gaming historians will try to attribute the failure of theSega Saturnto a handful of different factors, including Sega’s decision to launch the Saturn early, its notoriously difficult hardware, and the relative strength of its competitors. While it’s often overlooked, one of the most crucial downfalls of the Sega Saturn was its roster of games. On the whole, the Sega Saturn’s offerings were fairly weak, and nowhere near the memorable libraries of the N64 and the original PlayStation.
Nowadays, the Sega Saturn might be better known for its cancelled games —which included aResident Eviltitle. The library of games that actually existed on the Saturn continues to have fans talking about what games could have or should have been on the Sega Saturn. Still, like any system, the Sega Saturn does have a few overlooked gems that were enjoyable and inventive and are ultimately deserving of a second chance.
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Dark Savior
Dark Savioris a one-of-a-kind game. To start with, it blends three distinct styles together fairly cohesively. It’s part platformer, part puzzle adventure, and even turns into a fighting game for important encounters. If that was all,Dark Saviorwould still be an interesting title, but its depth goes far beyond its mechanics.Dark Savior’s story actually consists of five parallel scenarios for the player to beat, all of them depending on how fast a playthrough was completed. A remake would have to do away with the isometric perspective and turn to anopen-world concept likeBreath of the Wild, but the blended genre approach with the parallel storyline outcomes could still strike a chord with modern gamers.
Mr. Bones
Another example of a Sega Saturn game that blended a handful of different genres wasMr. Bones.Mr. Bonesis decidedly less effective thanDark Savior, as the former relies too heavily on unexciting platforming levels with changing perspectives. Even ifMr. Bonesmisses a little in its execution, though, it makes up for it with its ambitiousness. There’s a level where players perform a solo on the guitar to a crowd of skeletons, a level where players have to time a rhythm on the drums, and even a level that centers around delivering a joke properly. With modern equipment like aRock Band guitar controller,Mr. Bonescould be polished up and presented as a gaming experience that few other games even come close to offering.
Panzer Dragoon Saga
At this point,Panzer Dragoon Sagahas achieved near-mythical status with fans of the Sega Saturn. It’s a rail shooter turned RPG that was released during the waning days of the Saturn in a deliberate effort to compete with theFinal Fantasyseries.Panzer Dragoon Sagais likely the most talked-about Sega Saturn game because of how successful it was. It’s a beloved RPG epic,one of the longest Sega Saturn gamesreleased, and, like the other games on this list, is a fairly unique amalgam of different gameplay elements. Unlike the other games on this list, though,Panzer Dragoon Sagacould be roughly polished and released to today’s audiences. Still, it would be nice to seePanzer Dragoon Sagaget theFinal Fantasy 7treatment and receive a full modern remake, as it deserves more than being stuck on theSega Saturn.
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