The Sega Saturn - Review - Game Sack

(upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to Game Sack. That's how it is. This time we are talking about Sega Saturn. - Good times are coming. Well, as a Nintendo fan, I don't really know much about Saturn, so maybe Joe can fill me in and you guys who don't know much either. - Okay, let's take a quick look at the system. (dream music) The Sega Saturn. (Buzz) The Sega Saturn was released in Japan in November 1994 and the rest of the world in 1995. The US release surprised everyone to no end, but you can bet I bought mine right away and loved it.

The system had a large number of processors, which made it quite difficult to program. While most people considered it inferior in 3D, it was actually a 2D monster. The console also had a cartridge slot that could be used to increase the amount of backup RAM to save your

game

s. In fact, most

game

s can be saved directly to the cartridge. There were also cards that increased system memory, but more on those later. At the rear of the system, behind a panel, you could access the internal battery and also add an MPEG video card. These cards were only available in Japan and allowed certain games to display full motion video in MPEG-1 quality.

In my opinion the Saturn had the best controller ever and then they also released a cool analog controller. In total, the Sega Saturn sold around nine and a half million units in total with almost 600 games released. (upbeat music) - Joe, that was really informative information about Saturn. - There you've given. - But you know, I don't know. - That? - Okay, I guess. - What do you mean it's okay? It's amazing, man. - Compared to the Ultra 64, you know, I don't know. - Oh wow. (laughs) Ultra 64, I can't believe you still call it that. - Well, I like that name. - It's okay, anyway. (Dave laughs) We have a few games to show you and you chose the first one. - I did, a launch title in fact. - Yes, then let's take a look. - Clockwork Knight was the launch title for Saturn in 1995.

Back then it was refreshing to see a new platformer that showed off the abilities of a new system. In 1995, this game looked fantastic. For me, it was like Donkey Kong Country had been taken to the next level in terms of graphics, as all the sprites in the game looked great. Everything is very colorful and the levels had the perfect atmosphere. The game plays well, although Pepper Chew or whatever that gentleman's name controls a little slow. He can move quickly and attack enemies without problems, but something doesn't connect in terms of control. Of course, it is nothing important and the game is still very playable.

There are no checkpoints in the levels and if you run out of lives completely, you have to start from the beginning of the world and not from the stage you were working on. The music in this game is, well, well, not good. Seriously, just turn down the volume to minimize ear pain. Replaying this game for this

review

, I felt that while it's still very playable, it just doesn't appeal to me as much as it did in 1995. (silly, upbeat music) Clockwork Knight 2 came out the same damn year. Talk about rapid change. I guess we shouldn't be surprised, since all the controls are exactly the same and nothing new has been added in this department.

Of course, there are new levels to play. Some of them even have forced displacement. Graphically, it's similar to the first and there are some nice effects here and there. Once again, the music is really bad and even shares some of the same tunes with the first game. The only thing they really added to this one is a Boss Rush mode. You can fight all the bosses in a row if that makes you feel tough. (silly, upbeat music) (Knight screeching) - Psychic Killer Taromaru is a side-scrolling action game from Time Warner. It was released only in Japan and is one of the hardest titles to find.

If you find it, be prepared to pay through the nose for it. Anyway, the game mainly uses polygons for its backgrounds and sprites for everything else. It takes place in ancient, mythical Japan and everything is really creepy. You have a little thing like a guidance system. Get close enough to an enemy and they will lock on while you press the fire button or hold it down for a more powerful attack. You can change nearby targets with the L or R buttons. This game throws a bunch of enemies at you and attacks you, but you can deflect a lot of them with a shield you get by pressing the Y button.

You'll still probably get hit a lot. Once your life runs out, you become a log because, of course, you know, that makes sense. If you choose the play as the other guy, you become what I assume is a brown tomato on a rock when you die. The gameplay here isn't horrible, but it actually could have been a lot better. It's a little frustrating at times, but they give you a ton of continues, so if you're willing to use them, you'll probably beat the game. What I like is that the game runs almost seamlessly from the beginning to the final boss.

The only time the screen breaks even for a second is when you get swallowed by this giant frog. You find yourself inside his stomach and you are still fighting him. Oh, look, even his tapeworms want to take you down. The graphics are all pretty good. I think they could have been a little better if they had stuck with 2D instead of polygons but, for the most part, it all works to give you a really creepy vibe. The music is appropriate with a lot of things sounding Japanese, but here and there it gets pretty good. So is this game worth the price?

Definitely not. However, if you can get it for $50 or less, don't pass it up, but that just won't happen. (dramatic music) (lasers firing) - Pebble Beach Golf Links is, in my opinion, one of the most fun golf games I have ever played. You laugh, but I'm serious. This game introduced one of the coolest features to a golf game that I love and I'll talk about that in a second. The game begins with the always exciting Craig Stadler. - I'm Craig Stadler. It's a great day to play golf and there's no place like Pebble Beach. - And you play on the only course available in the game, Pebble Beach.

When playing in tournament mode, you will be able to see a flyover of each hole and a description of the hole and how it should be played by the famous Craig Stadler. - Hit the ball over the gorge in your second. Relatively easy birdie. - You tell him, Craig. You choose between one and four players and a caddy and that's it. The digitized characters look pretty ridiculous nowadays, but when this game was new, they looked amazing. Setting up and performing your shot is very simple and you will master it in no time. Now the feature I liked the most and still enjoy to this day is the ball cam.

After you take your shot, the camera follows the ball through the air and, as stupid as it sounds, I can watch it endlessly. For those who don't care about that stuff, you can turn this off in the options menu. While you play and make great shots, Craig will come and tell you how he feels. - Great shot! Right in the middle! -He will even make fun of you sometimes. - Do you think you can put it inside mine? -Well, at least I thought he was making fun of me, but now I feel like he might be prepositioning me for something I'm not entirely willing to do. - Do you think you can put it inside mine? - Please don't ask me that again, Mr.

Stadler. Anyway, graphically the game is what you'd expect from a golf simulation from 1995. It's still very playable, mind you, but it's no longer nice to look at. The music is great. I like the smooth jazz soundtrack and it really fits the game. If you want a golf game for the Saturn, you can't find anything better than this one. (pleasant music) - I'm not very comfortable with this. - One interesting thing about the Saturn was its ability to use cartridges and CDs. A couple of games came on both the cart and the CD and both were necessary to run the game.

An example of this is The King of Fighters 95. It is an adaptation of the Neo Geo game where you can choose teams of three fighters. The cartridge contains all the background graphics, but the sprites and music are loaded from the CD. This helps reduce the loading time a bit and also helps keep the animation level pretty high. Obviously, if you want to play this game you'll need a Japanese Saturn or region-modified console, as cartridge-based regional spin-offs won't work. This game was great, but it needed to load every time you switched characters during combat. Then there was the one megabyte RAM cartridge that effectively allowed the Saturn to have three megabytes of RAM.

Many games used this, such as The King of Fighters 96 and King of Fighters 97. Another game that required a megacart of RAM was Metal Slug, which is a pretty good port of the Neo Geo. Unlike the weak PlayStation version, it can fit the entire level without having to stop to load. Check it out! Continue without pausing the action! Hell yeah! Many games could optionally take advantage of the RAM cart to boost animation or whatnot. For example, all versions of Marvel Super Heroes will allow you to enable a three mega RAM mode if a cart is inserted. Here is the game without extra memory.

Notice the Hulk animation. Now here is the game with the RAM car. Notice that there are more animation frames. And when Sega and Capcom got serious, they released the four-megabyte RAM wagon that allowed the Saturn to have a whopping six megabytes of RAM. The first game to use this was one of my favorite fighting games, X-Men vs. Street Fighter. The game is, for all intents and purposes, perfect for the arcade. The character animation is impressive and the stages usually have several scenes. There is practically no load when you play this game. Although I wish it had more stages. (upbeat music) (growls and screams) Capcom then released Vampire Savior, also known as Dark Stalkers 3, which required the cart.

In my opinion, this helped make the game the best version of Dark Stalkers on any console. Street Fighter Zero 3, also known as Street Fighter Alpha 3, also used a four-megabyte RAM cart. This is a great version of the game and you know what? It could be the best version. And of course, let's not forget Marvel Superheros vs. Street Fighter. This is another great game, although I think it requires too many elements of the X-Men game. The backgrounds are all almost identical and I think they could have done a little more work on that aspect, but it's still an amazing game. (upbeat music) (growls and thuds) You can also use the four-megabyte RAM cart to play games that used a one-megabyte cart, but be careful.

Some games, such as King of Fighters 96, may have some glitchy graphics when using the four-megabyte cart. Games like this require you to use a mega cart. Here is a list of all the games supported by RAM cart. I hope you can read quickly or know how to use that pause button because it's gone. (upbeat music) (growls and thuds) - Saturn Bomber Man is pretty much what you'd expect from a Bomber Man game and that's quality. I love this series, although there are probably more than just Mario games, but the thing is, you probably only need to have two or three of them in your collection.

This is because they all have almost identical gameplay, with the only major difference being the level backgrounds. Saturn Bomber Man stands out in this regard because it has a feature that really makes it different. I'll get to that in a minute. So if you haven't played Bomber Man, shame on you. It's a great game and you should feel really bad right now. Anyway, the goal of Bomber Man is to blow up your enemies and obstacles by strategically placing bombs to blow them up. As you destroy obstacles, they will randomly release power-ups that make you stronger, such as bombs, speed, kicks, extending the duration of your explosion, and more.

It's a really cool idea and it's why the series has lasted for decades. The single-player mode has a story and you must go through levels destroying illuminated pillars to open an exit, which eventually ends in a boss fight. It's fun, but anyone who's played Bomber Man knows that multiplayer is where the real fun is. So what makes this game different? They are the simultaneous battles of 10 port players. All you need is two multi-taps, 10 controllers, and of course, nine friends. It also helps to have a room big enough for all of these people. This mode is extremely fun.

The game map is expanded to wide mode and all the characters are super small. It's really fun and you should try this mode if you ever get the chance. In my opinion, one of the best games on the Saturn. (exciting music) - Oh man, I wish I had nine friends I could play that with. - No, you don't. They would just make fun of you and ask to borrow all your great games. - (laughs) That's probably true. - You do not want that. So, hey, can I borrow Radiant Silvergun? Because, you know, I know you're talking about that. - Okay, yeah.

Let's take a look at Radiant Silvergun and no, you can't borrow it. (musicYes, and thanks for watching. (singing in foreign language) - I can't believe Joe forgot about Solar Eclipse, one of the best exclusive games for this system. What an idiot. (dramatic music) - Returning fire. (laser explosion) - The real battle begins right now. - Craig Stadler, what the hell are you doing here? Don't have your own game? Get out of here, idiot. - You played better than I expected. - Well, of course I do. I'm professional. (lasers fired) Get out of here! I won't tell you again, idiot. (Laser Blast) - One small mistake can affect the entire game. - Stadler-- - I'll show you. - Show me what? - Is the pressure starting to affect you? (lasers fired) - Hi Dave, I'm going to buy some fast food.

Do you want to come? You can do it? - My God, I'm dying of hunger. Yes I can do it. - You can count on me, because I know I can achieve it. (laser blast)