Racketboy

The RetroGaming 101 series is aimed at gamers who are just starting out in the classic gaming scene or are curious about an older console that they don’t know much about yet. Those of you that are especially knowledgeable about the featured console, I encourage you to add any information that you think would be beneficial into the comments section. If you are new to the featured console, and still have questions, you can also use the comments section and I will do my best to help you out.

Historical Impact

• After Sega’s giant success with the Genesis/Megadrive, the company want to get a jump on the 32-bit generation and beat newcomer Sony to the market.
• The Saturn was Sega’s third home video game console and was sold between 1995 and 1998.
• The Saturn ran into a number of issues leading up to its launch such as a betrayed fanbase (Sega CD and 32x failures), a surprise early launch date, and a high price of $400 USD (about $525 in today’s money).
• The Saturn’s 3D processor was added on as an afterthought to help it compete with the Playstation. Not only was it not quite as powerful as the PS1’s, but having two main processors in the Saturn made it much more challenging for game developers. This ultimately resulted in most games going to the Playstation.
• The Saturn’s “3D Controller” (bundled with NiGHTs Into Dreams) is one of the first controllers with an analog stick. There is some debate as to weather it was designed before the Nintendo 64 controller.
• The Saturn may have been a commercial failure, but it remained a cherished console by its diehard fans.
• More Sega Saturn History from Wikipedia
• You may also wish to read Games That Defined The Sega Saturn

Strengths

• The Saturn has one of the best 2D processors in 2D gaming.
• The console was blessed with many excellent old-school games such as 2D fighters, shooters, and platformers. Most of these 2D games that received Platstation ports were inferior in a number of ways.
• The Saturn also had a number of quirky and engaging games from Sega’s development houses that were never ported to other consoles. For the best examples, see The Best Sega Saturn Games For Today.
• The Saturn’s second-generation gamepad is still touted as one of the best controllers ever for old-school games. It is essential a more polished version of the six-button Genesis controller. It has a solid directional pad, a six button layout (great for fighters), along with trigger buttons and a comfortable fit.
• The Saturn also had an optional 1MB/4MB RAM Expansion cartridge that gave it more graphical capabilities over the Playstation. It allowed near-perfect ports of many of the hottest arcade titles while the Playstation had to cut out frames of animation and certain gameplay elements to be able to handle the game. (See list of games that support additional video RAM)
• With the Multi-Tap add-on, the Saturn can support up to 10 players on games like Saturn Bomberman. See the Saturn Multiplayer libary for additional titles.
• The Saturn is one of the most well-built and durable game consoles of all time.

Weaknesses

• As with the Playstation, load times can be rather long on the Saturn (however they are improved over the Sega CD and Neo-Geo CD).
• The Saturn had a small amount of game save memory. The memory is also lost when the internal battery dies. External memory cartridges are rare and have been relatively expensive.
• The 3D processing is not quite as impressive as later Playstaton games. However, some titles such as Virtua Fighter 2 and Dead or Alive are quite impressive considering the limitations of the system.
• Many third-party developers such as Electronic Arts left the Saturn platform early so many of the major titles went to the Playstation.
• The Saturn library is especially lacking in the RPG genre. There are only a few top-notch titles such as Shining Force III, Dragon Force, and some favorites from Working Designs.

Imports

• The Saturn had strong support in Japan also provided collectors with a wealth of excellent games to choose from when almost everyone else had given up on the system.
• A mod chip by itself does not allow for booting of imports.
• There are, however, three different ways to boot imports: an Action Replay Cartridge, a Sega Saturn Modchip or Swap Trick teamed with region-patched games, or a specific hardware modification to enable imports.

Emulation

• If you would prefer to play your Saturn games on your PC instead of the actual console, you may need to wait a bit longer for perfect compatibility. While you may get to have a handful of games playable if you have a modern PC, many games are quite glitchy if playable at all.
• Available emulators include Satourne, SSF, Saturnin, Yabause, and the hacked GiriGiri emulator.

Affordability

• A Saturn console is relatively inexpensive, but the value of the consoles has been gradually increasing the last couple of years. More people are discovering the great games that are only availible on the Saturn and snatching them up on eBay. You can usually find one around the $50 range.
• There are a few of the more common games that can be found for a few dollars, but most of the more popular games are becoming collectors items. Many of the most worthwhile games are now ranging from $25 to the $100 ballpark.
• To find the best Saturn games on a budget, read The Cheapest Sega Saturn Games Worth Your Time.