Saturn

"Its 100th Review Time! That Means a Console, and A Good One at That!"

After playing my uncle's Sega Genesis for seven years before finally inheriting it, and then owning it for a further two more years, I felt it was time to bring another console into my life, and so I started to save up my money. Once I had enough to buy it at a local shop, someone stole my hard saved money(!). Then my birthday came along, and my uncle surprises me with a Sega Saturn! How did he get it? With my money. So I guess I got myself my present... hmm... I had played the Saturn for many years at friend's houses or in stores, but it was not nearly as big and popular as the the PSX, or (amongst the people I knew) the N64, so when I owned it, I was still a bit raw. Where was I in 94 when this came out? I was only five, and was still being introduced into the Video Game world, and I remember a lot more hype for the 32x than the Saturn. My sister and I always wondered about the cartridge slot; "could we play Sega Genesis games on it too?" No was the answer, as I eventually learned, and the size of it was also another reason for our curiosity. And that too, will start off this review.

Design: 8/10

Following in their tradition of all (or predominantly) black consoles, the Sega Saturn was a nice little black box that had two models; an oval based button design, which was the model 1, and a round based button design (similar to the Dreamcast) which was the model 2. Two controller ports adorned the Saturn's shell, which could be upgraded (see peripherals), and aside from the disk drive in the middle of the console, there was a cartridge slot at the back, which could be used for additional memory, or for RAM carts. Inside the black box sat two 32 bit processors that ran at 28 mhz, which was significantly less powerful than the Saturn's successor, the Dreamcast. The Saturn also had 1 mb of RAM, and loads of additional other RAM that weren't quite as powerful as other consoles, but still good enough. Aside from the big bulkiness, and lots of internal parts, the Saturn was notorious for being hard to program for third party developers, and this was a major reason why it did not have the success of other consoles. Great design holds just as good results on screen.

Graphics: 8/10

Let me start off by saying this: the Saturn can do 3D just as well as the PSX, contrary to massive popular belief. Of the fifth generation consoles, the Saturn comes out somewhere in the middle. Some games such as Astal, Panzer Dragoon Saga, and Virtua Fighter 2 look simply stunning, and truly show the power of the console. S-Video was the best the console could do, however that is not a problem as the other consoles in the generation did not have better output either. While 3D was hard to accomplish on the Saturn, 2D was no problem at all, as the best looking (and best versions outright) versions of Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy (amongst many others) were on the Saturn. Is the sound as good? You bet it is.

Sounds: 9/10

Ok, so nothing is truly as perfect sounding as the Dreamcast, PS2, or any console after it, however the Saturn is a shade below. There's not much to say about the sounds really... the dashboard and loading screen have nice sounds if they count! The Virtua Fighters sound fantastic, but that has to do more with the games themselves than the console. Like the Dreamcast, the next section of this review has innovation.

Controller: 10/10

The second most comfortable, and most responsive controllers I've ever used; the Saturn trio. The first model, was very similar to the official Sega Genesis 6 button controller, though it was not as long, and a bit taller, plus it added L and R shoulder buttons. Of the three controllers, this was the most tedious, though it was not bad by a long shot. The second model, was sleeker, and looked even more like the Genesis 6 button controller. This was the second best of the controllers, and it has awesome response and feel. The third controller, was created just for the NiGHTS Into Dreams games, however, they started a revolution. With a round base, the button layout on the right was the same as the other controllers, with the 6 buttons, the start button in the middle, and the two triggers on both sides. On the left side had a slightly smaller d-pad, but what's this? And analog stick? That is correct. The analog/d-pad controller was born, and is still used to this day on every controller (save for the Pee-mote). Accessories and peripherals are up next!

Accessories/peripherals: 8/10

The Saturn did not have as many accessories as the Dreamcast, though it still has a fair amount. You have your standard memory carts, RAM carts (Japanese games only), ROM cart(s), and the importing devices: the Gameshark cartridge, and the Pro Action Replay Cartridge. With these two carts, you could play any import, and that expanded the playing field by over 200 games! (even though many were all in Japanese). The few peripherals for the Saturn were fantastic, including the Virtua gun (which I deem to be the best light-gun ever; lightweight, and highly responsive), and the Saturn Multi-tap, which adds six controller ports to your Saturn. There was also the Netlink adapter, that could allow you to play someone online, however only on certain games (Duke Nukem for example). Speaking of titles...

Game Titles: 9/10

If I could include Japanese titles, this would have gotten a 10, however many AAA titles were kept in Japan, and not released in NA or in PAL territories. A lot of solid RPGs were released for this console, as well as a lot of great fighting games, and great driving games. Some examples are the Virtua Fighters (and its spinoffs), Panzer Dragoon and its sequels, Daytona USA and its sequel, Burning Rangers, Sega Rally, and one of the greatest games ever, Guardian Heroes. Third party support was with the Saturn from the get-go, until the end, though big-time developer EA put out many poor sports titles on the Saturn, which was a small reason for them to back out of developing for the Dreamcast. The Saturn has a solid lineup of games, though many of the best have to be imported, which is not a problem!

Buy?

Well, the Saturn is quite expensive, as well as the games for it (especially Panzer Dragoon Saga and Guardian Heroes), it is a very good console for the hardcore gamer. The casual gamer may not approve of it though...

The Saturn is my third favourite console, behind the Genesis and the Dreamcast, and it is probably the third best Sega console, after the same two aforementioned machines. After all the negative rep. this console has gotten (especially a terrible article written recently by a CNET writer), the true gamers see its worth, and the fact that it is just as good a console as the PSX. With all of its positive points, a fantastic opening screen and dashboard, and great games, the Sega Saturn will be a console I will play for a long time.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/06/09

Game Release: Saturn Hardware (US, 05/11/95)