2016-17 Sega Saturn Japan Explorers Club (schedule released)

[mjmjr25]

Greetings,

Japanese Sega Saturn games were released at a 6-to-1 ratio (245 US titles, 1,270 JP titles). While Japan traditionally has more games - it has never been on this scale in regards to console releases. As such - the JP SAT to this day, nearly 20 years later, has not been fully discovered, discussed, or otherwise enjoyed by the vast majority of gamers.

In July 2016 this group will make some efforts to change that. Each week there will be a JP exclusive SATURN title to be played. Hopping in and out week to week is completely expected - anyone can come in and play at any time.

The first 5 months of this year will be to source titles that we will be playing (emulation is fine too) but for many; the searching and sourcing titles is a large part of our enjoyment in the hobby.

I have about 90 games in mind I want to narrow down to 52 for the list. Please feel free to nominate other titles!

Criteria:
-No US SAT release
-Playable for non-JP speakers
-Only port, or considered to be the best port

Schedule:
May 16:
1. Daitoride
2. Bulk Slash
3. Goiken Muyou
4. Steamgear Mash

June 16:
1. Heisei Tensai Bakabon Susume!
2. Arcade Gears: Gun Frontier
3. Pretty Fighter X
4. Touge King the Spirits 2

July 16:
1. Tadaima Wakusei Kaitakuchu!
2. Skull Fang
3. Sokko Seitokai Sonic Council
4. Top Anglers Super Fishing Big Fight 2

August 16:
1. Assault Suit Leynos 2
2. Rabbit
3. Prikura Daisakusen
3. Street Racer Extra

September 16:
1. Blue Seed
2. Astra Superstars
3. Hansha de Spark!
4. The Hyper Golf: Devil's Course

October 16:
1. Columns Collection
2. Shippu Mahou Daisakusen
3. Deep Fear
4. Jewels of the Oracle

November 16:
1. Tenchi Muyo Rensa Hitsuyou
2. Elan Doree
3. Ninpen Manmaru
4. All Japan Pro Wrestling Featuring Virtua

December 16:
1. Choro Q Park
2. Princess Crown
3. Groove on Fight
4. Dinosaur Island

January 17:
1. D-xhird
2. Psychic Killer Taromaru
3. Guardian Force
4. Waku Waku Monster

February 17:
1. Hyper Duel
2. Savaki
3. Tryrush Deppy
4. Linkle Liver Story

March 17:
1. The Game Paradise
2. KyuKyuko Tiger II Plus
3. Crows the Battle Action
4. Keio Yugekitai

April 17:
1. Elevator Action Returns
2. Bubble Symphony
3. Vatlva
4. Digital Pinball Necronimicon

May 17:
1. Keriotosse
2. J-League Go Go Goal!
3. Super Tempo
4. Hissatsu!


Suggested games so far:

(i've put appx. prices next to each if you are interested in sourcing them. These are based on forum sales and ebay completeds)
Puzzlers:
Chibi Maruko-Chan Taisen Puzzle-Dama ($10)
Columns Collection ($15)
Daitoride ($8)
Heisei Tensai Bakabon Susume! ($10)
Pukunpa ($6)
Tadaima Wakusei Kaitakuchu! ($5)
Tama ($5)
Tenchi Muyo Rensa Hitsuyou ($10)
Waku Waku Monster ($15)

Shooters:
Arcade Gears: Gun Frontier ($100)
Assault Suits Leynos II ($20)
Blast Wind ($175)
Bulk Slash ($75)
DeZaemon 2 ($20)
Guardian Force ($120)
Hyper Duel ($325)
KyuKyuko Tiger II Plus ($175)
Shippu Mahou Daisakusen ($65)
Skull Fang ($60)
Stellar Assault ($120)

Fighters:
Astra Superstars ($90)
D-xhird ($10)
Elan Doree ($50)
Final Fight Revenge ($120)
Goiken Muyou ($10)
Groove on Fight ($25)
Ninku: Tsuyokina Yatsura no Daigekitotsu ($7)
Rabbit ($35)
Savaki ($20)
Seifuku Densetsu Pretty Fighter X ($15)
Sokko Seitokai ($35)

Action/Adventure:
Elevator Action Returns ($175)
Hansha de Spark! ($20)
Prikura Daisakusen! ($50)
Princess Crown ($35)
Psychic Killer Taromaru ($350)

Beat 'em Ups:
Dungeons and Dragons ($80)
Crows the Battle Action ($120)
Hissatsu! ($60)

Platformers:
Bubble Symphony ($50)
Keio Yugekitai ($65)
Ninpen Manmaru ($25)
Steamgear Mash ($15)
Super Tempo ($150)
TryRush Deppy ($150)
Willy Wombat ($25)

Sports:
J-League Go Go Goal! ($10)
The Hyper Golf: Devil's Course ($10)
Top Anglers Super Fishing Big Fight 2 ($5)
All Japan Pro Wrestling Featuring Virtua ($7)

Other:
Blue Seed (card battle) ($8)
Clockwork Knight Peparucho no Fukoburuko (C-Knight 1, 2, with mini games and other additions) ($20)
Choro Q Park (racing) ($10)
Deep Fear (survival horror) ($10)
Dinosaur Island (Interactive animation) ($10)
Digital Pinball Necronimicon (pinball) ($20)
Gale Racer (racing) ($5)
Jewels of the Oracle (point and click) ($10)
Keriotosse! (melee fighting) ($65)
Linkle Liver Story (action rpg) ($7)
Street Racer Extra (racing) ($10)
Touge: King the Spirits 2 (racing) ($10)
Vatlva (party) ($10)

[noiseredux]

this is quite possibly the most exciting thread you've ever made. I'm gonna start brainstorming on titles... 2017 is a long time away, though.

[ElkinFencer10]

Can we have CIB price estimates included? I'm really anal about playing everything on original hardware rather than emulation, so I'm going to want to order a lot of these (I LOVE the Saturn but have a sadly small collection), so having even a rough estimate would help for budgeting. I can always Google it on my own, but I figured I'd be nice to have along with the recommendations.

Awesome idea, btw, mjmjr. I'm totally on board with this.

[mjmjr25]

As we form the list i'll include both forum prices and ebay completeds.

A lot (but certainly not all) of these are VERY pricey now, but if you wait for auction, or can find on the forums, they are much more reasonable.

@noise - yeah, 2017 is a ways off, but that is design (see the point above) - some of these are very expensive. So taking a year or so to acquire the ones you really want to play will take some budgeting considerations. I do think part of the fun will be slowly grabbing 15-25 titles or so that you really want to try out. Posting about your finds here can be half the fun.

[fastbilly1]

Will you consider titles like Elevator Action Returns, which got its only true port on the Saturn, but was emulated on later consoles via compilations?

[JoeAwesome]

Import friendly, Sega Saturn, and in 2017? Count me in. I can imagine what the list is, but I can't wait to see what you have in mind. Some I'm sure I already have.

[mjmjr25]

Will you consider titles like Elevator Action Returns, which got its only true port on the Saturn, but was emulated on later consoles via compilations?

Yes, something like that would definitely meet the criteria.

Something like Cleopatra Fortune or Noon wouldn't meet the criteria - they are lesser known, it is english-language friendly, but it was also released at the same time on PS1.

I'm not going to let price be an indicator of what does and doesn't make the list though - doing that would eliminate a good percentage of titles, but that said, there will be a conscious effort to make sure a certain number of titles are budget friendly. Things like Steamgear Mash ($10), Rabbit ($40), or Ninpen Manmaru ($20 (ignore current ebay $227 price tag on buy now) are lesser known SAT-J exclusives that can all be had for under $50.

[Ghudda]

This whole idea definitely sounds rad. The cost of the Saturn library is really getting absurd, but I'm real interested in exploring it. I've been on the lookout for the pinball game Necronomicon, so that comes to mind.

[noiseredux]

here's a few that I thought of...

Culdcept (board/card) - English voices
Dezaemon 2 (shmup maker) - icon driven interface
Digital Pinball: Necronomicon (pinball) - Ghudda beat me to this
Groove On Fight (fighting)
Jewels Of The Oracle (FMV/puzzle - like "Myst") - full English option
Linkle Liver Story (ARPG) - is this import friendly?
Shadows Of The Tusk (strategy) - English menus
The Unsolved (FMV mystery) - English video clips - looks to have Mature content

[mjmjr25]

The cost of the Saturn library is really getting absurd, but I'm real interested in exploring it.

Unfortunately this is true of just about every "retro" system now. NES, SNES, SAT, PCE, NEO, etc...everything is just going up. I definitely would like to physically own as many of these games as I can, but there are some titles i'm not willing to pay the entry fee for - so i'll emulate those, or just watch the discussion as an interested observer. I don't want cost to be a reason we don't try something out though either - some of the very best exclusive titles are bound to be pricey.

Necronimicon is def. one of the titles I want to try out and it will be on our list.