Sega Saturn Launch was much better than you think it was....

[WCP]

Ok, first off, let me make an argument, that 3 of the 10 best Saturn games (all-time) were available at launch. Also, a couple of other decent games were available.




Virtua Fighter - This game was packed in with the system. Here me out on this... Most people remember the original VF on Saturn being somewhat of a disappointment. Most praised VF Remix as being a much better game. Here's the thing. Play both of them today for an hour each. You'll quickly realize that the original VF holds up WAY better than Remix or VF2 or any of the other 3D fighters on Saturn. VF, with all it's technical difficulties, still to this day is an AMAZING game, and you got it free with your $399.99 Saturn purchase.. Yeah, ouch. Regardless of the price of the Saturn, Virtua Fighter, to me, is easily one of the 10 best Saturn games, and it was available day 1.

Daytona USA - Now here is some freaking next-level power. Daytona again, had technical issues. There was lots of pop up and other minor issues, but overall, again, play the game itself, and tell me how much it holds up today. I think this game stands the test of time, warts and all. Again, this game belongs in the top 10 all-time of Saturn games, and it was available at launch.

Panzer Dragoon - I don't even need to argue for this one. Everybody should already know that this game is top 10 all-time Saturn material.




Bug! - Ok, contrary to popular belief, I think this game was actually available at launch. If it wasn't on launch day, it was within about 5 or 6 business days of launch, cause I remember this game very early. I'm not going to try to make an argument that Bug is one of the best Saturn games, but it wasn't a total piece of crap. It's a pretty solid game, especially for somebody playing it in the Summer of 1995.

Clockwork Knight - I actually feel like Clockwork Knight is a pretty damn good Saturn game. Way too easy ? Yes, absolutely. Ridiculously easy. Still, if you avoid using continues, and try to just stick to the base lives, it's pretty decent. It's worth a play-through. It's not very long, and the bosses are mostly entertaining and unique. Music and sound effects are decent. Again, way too easy, but not a horrible game by any stretch, and a decent little 2D platformer to mess with

Worldwide Soccer - Ok, this one wasn't exactly the best game to come along. Wasn't totally horrible if you like soccer games, but definitely nothing to get excited about


Astal - This game may have come out a week or two after launch, I can't remember, but it can still be kinda considered a launch game. It was VERY early in the arrival of the Saturn in the US. Pretty beautiful game. Amazing music. Gameplay is decent, but can get very frustrating. This is one of those love them or hate them type of games. I happen to love it, but I can understand somebody hating it. The gameplay can be very frustrating at times. Still, very beautiful game with great 2D visuals and awesome music.






3 of the 7 launch games are amazing games, worthy of a top 10 of all-time Saturn list : Daytona USA, Panzer Dragoon & Virtua Fighter
3 of the 7 launch games are interesting, solid, next-generation launch games: Bug!, Astal & Clockwork Knight
1 of the 7 launch games was an unremarkable soccer game that was halfway decent at the time of release


Not a bad launch if you really think about it.

[Polygon]

The launch titles were not the problem with the Saturn's launch to be honest.

[WCP]

The launch titles were not the problem with the Saturn's launch to be honest.

Certainly, it was Sega pissing off all the other retailers with the surprise launch, etc, etc.

But let's not worry about that. That has been discussed to death. Seriously, consider the quality level of the 7 launch games:

Virtua Fighter
Daytona USA
Astal
Bug!
Worldwide Soccer
Clockwork Knight
Panzer Dragoon




That was a pretty strong lineup if you ask me (yes, I know Astal came maybe a week later or something, but still well in the launch window)

[Melf]

Neither Bug! nor Astal were launch titles. IIRC, Bug! arrived about 2 months after the launch, with Astal following shortly thereafter. Worldwide Soccer came later, so there were only Virtua Fighter, Clockwork Knight, Daytona USA and Panzer Dragoon.

That was the problem with the launch. Since it took everyone by surprise, there were no games but those Sega had near completion that could be released. You could tell that even Sega was pushing games out the door by the quality of Virtua Fighter and Daytona. Both those titles needed more time in development.

[WCP]

Neither Bug! nor Astal were launch titles. IIRC, Bug! arrived about 2 months after the launch, with Astal following shortly thereafter. Worldwide Soccer came later, so there were only Virtua Fighter, Clockwork Knight, Daytona USA and Panzer Dragoon.

That was the problem with the launch. Since it took everyone by surprise, there were no games but those Sega had near completion that could be released. You could tell that even Sega was pushing games out the door by the quality of Virtua Fighter and Daytona. Both those titles needed more time in development.

I could have sworn that there was 6 total games. Bug! and Worldwide Soccer was the 5th and 6th game.

I'm nearly 99 percent positive that Worldwide Soccer was there on launch day. I'm not too sure about Bug, but I'm 99 percent positive that Bug wasn't two full months later. Maybe two weeks later.

I'll try to do a bit of investigating and report back. Don't believe all the wikipedias and Giant Bomb's and stuff. They are way off sometimes regarding accuracy.

[gameofyou]

I bought a Saturn in 1995, and man, I played the crap out of Daytona USA for months! People always complain about the graphics, but the gameplay is perfect. I still think its a fun game, even playing it today.

[ShinobiMan]

If my memory serves me well, Bug! did not launch but rather was released in the weeks following. Astral did not release til sometime later, months seperate.

At the time in 1994 before the release of Playstation, the Sega Saturn was a marvel to behold. And yes, Virtua Fighter holds up remarkably well!

[Melf]

I could have sworn that there was 6 total games. Bug! and Worldwide Soccer was the 5th and 6th game.

I'm nearly 99 percent positive that Worldwide Soccer was there on launch day. I'm not too sure about Bug, but I'm 99 percent positive that Bug wasn't two full months later. Maybe two weeks later.

I'll try to do a bit of investigating and report back. Don't believe all the wikipedias and Giant Bomb's and stuff. They are way off sometimes regarding accuracy.

I bought the Saturn at launch (with no games) and a friend of mine bought the three launch games (with no Saturn), which is why I remember. I didn't use Wikipedia or anything, but my memory might fail me and WWS may have been there. None of us were soccer fans so we may have just ignored it, but I'm pretty sure it came out later.

[Polygon]

Certainly, it was Sega pissing off all the other retailers with the surprise launch, etc, etc.

But let's not worry about that. That has been discussed to death. Seriously, consider the quality level of the 7 launch games:

Virtua Fighter
Daytona USA
Astal
Bug!
Worldwide Soccer
Clockwork Knight
Panzer Dragoon




That was a pretty strong lineup if you ask me (yes, I know Astal came maybe a week later or something, but still well in the launch window)

I can't argue with that.

[wiggyx]

Certainly, it was Sega pissing off all the other retailers with the surprise launch, etc, etc.

But let's not worry about that. That has been discussed to death. Seriously, consider the quality level of the 7 launch games:

Virtua Fighter
Daytona USA
Astal
Bug!
Worldwide Soccer
Clockwork Knight
Panzer Dragoon




That was a pretty strong lineup if you ask me (yes, I know Astal came maybe a week later or something, but still well in the launch window)

Panzer and Astal are the only games on that list which manage to get more than "meh" in my opinion.

[Atarileaf]

Weird, I always thought Sega Saturn was a car division.

[ProjectCamaro]

I was 12 years old when the Saturn came out and my parents bought one for the family for Christmas that year. I remember playing Panzer Dragoon for hours.

Actually Bug! was the first game I ever bought on my own with my own money. I really enjoyed playing it for hours on end.

[WCP]

Panzer and Astal are the only games on that list which manage to get more than "meh" in my opinion.

I think you need to try Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA again. To me, both of those games really stand the test of time. Not graphically, but gameplay wise. both still have great gameplay, and even better music. Also, I think Virtua Fighter, while very flawed technically, I think it's simpler look holds up better over the years. Daytona is one of those games that you'll appreciate more when you see the intricacy of the gameplay that takes a number of hours to notice. You can't just pop it in and play for 20 minutes and see the beauty of that game.

[FieryReign]

I think you need to try Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA again. To me, both of those games really stand the test of time.

No they don't. Virtual Fighter 2 is a much better overall game so I'd rather play that.

Daytona was a fun game for it's time but there are better racing games on the same system. And it's quite disappointing if you've ever played it in the arcade. I played the hell out of the arcade and Saturn port.

Sounds like you just have a case of nostalgia-fever. I do think Panzer and Clockwork hold up quite well. I like Astal but that wasn't a launch game.

Those are all Sega games, that was the problem, no quality 3rd party games were released for quite awhile. Secretly releasing a console so nobody knows, after hyping up "Saturnday" was quite retarded. Costing $100 more than the Playstation didn't help either. And this was coming off the heels of the 32X debacle.

[WCP]

No they don't. Virtual Fighter 2 is a much better overall game so I'd rather play that.

Daytona was a fun game for it's time but there are better racing games on the same system. And it's quite disappointing if you've ever played it in the arcade. I played the hell out of the arcade and Saturn port.

Virtua Fighter 2 might have texture mapped characters, but to me it's obvious the Saturn just doesn't have enough horsepower to do a legit version of VF2 and the game just seems kind of phony to me. Basically, it's like they tried to use smoke and mirrors to make it seem like the Saturn could run VF2, but the Saturn really can't handle it very well. I don't think it looks as classy as the flat shaded polygons of the original VF.

Yes, we all know that Sega Rally is even better, but again, we are talking about another top 10 all-time Saturn game. So what if Daytona isn't ranked as high as Sega Rally. It's damn close and easily one of the best 32 bit era racing games.

[wiggyx]

I think you need to try Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA again. To me, both of those games really stand the test of time. Not graphically, but gameplay wise. both still have great gameplay, and even better music. Also, I think Virtua Fighter, while very flawed technically, I think it's simpler look holds up better over the years. Daytona is one of those games that you'll appreciate more when you see the intricacy of the gameplay that takes a number of hours to notice. You can't just pop it in and play for 20 minutes and see the beauty of that game.

No, I really don't. I know good and well that I don't like them.

[M.Buster2184]

Panzer and Astal are the only games on that list which manage to get more than "meh" in my opinion.

My sentiment exactly. Nothing agains the other games, but Astal and Panzer Dragoon are two games I actually enjoy taking the time to play.

[Tron 2.0]

I think you need to try Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA again. To me, both of those games really stand the test of time. Not graphically, but gameplay wise. both still have great gameplay, and even better music. Also, I think Virtua Fighter, while very flawed technically, I think it's simpler look holds up better over the years. Daytona is one of those games that you'll appreciate more when you see the intricacy of the gameplay that takes a number of hours to notice. You can't just pop it in and play for 20 minutes and see the beauty of that game.

I don't know about that i all ways saw daytona usa,as a poor port for the saturn.Then again i played it allot in the arcades so i was disappointed with it.While i was a early adopter of the console,those early release that impressed me the most was astal and panzer dragoon.Still i all ways thought the (sega saturn)was launched to early beside throwing off retailers with no date at all.

[Little Miss Gloom]

I love my Saturn. But man. I dunno, I've never been very good at Daytona USA, and Virtua Fighter is an experience over in ten minutes. *shrug*

Although, my Saturn also came with copies of Quake and Panzer Dragoon, so I guess I can't complain.

Now if only the market for decent Saturn games wasn't so damn inflated.

[FieryReign]

Virtua Fighter 2 might have texture mapped characters, but to me it's obvious the Saturn just doesn't have enough horsepower to do a legit version of VF2 and the game just seems kind of phony to me. Basically, it's like they tried to use smoke and mirrors to make it seem like the Saturn could run VF2, but the Saturn really can't handle it very well. I don't think it looks as classy as the flat shaded polygons of the original VF

So you're saying you like flat shaded polygons with massive clipping? Virtua Fighter didn't compare to the arcade version either so what are you saying? VF2 was a better OVERALL game, I don't care about graphics. Smoother gameplay, more characters, more moves etc. It certainly wasn't a top 10 game for the system. VF2, Megamix, and Last Bronx were much better.