Daytona USA returns to XBLA and PSN!

There's been a lot of love for the Saturn from Sega as of late, what with the release of Guardian Heroes on XBLA just recently complete with that brilliant Saturn avatar shirt (now can we have this game on PSN too please?) and in just a couple of weeks we also have the racing classic that is Daytona USA on the way!

As you can see from the trailer, it's a straight up port of the original arcade machine, now in wide-screen, HD and with no pop up! As Saturn gamers, we all know about pop up for this game hahaha. Saying that the first Saturn port was probably the closet to the arcade we ever got until now; this was the only version that got the handling and atmosphere down to a tee! Even with the wonky graphics it was still highly playable, I know I put a tons of hours into it! Also it is unknown as of yet if this version will have the unlockable playable horse!

Read my previous gush about this re-release over at Sega Memories! What's next from Sega, can we expect some more Saturn goodness?

Classic Game Room HD - Sega Saturn PS3 Controller

Forgive me if I'm posting stuff you've seen here before, but I've been away for while. I've been trawling the internet for youtube Saturn videos from the last year or so and this was at the top of the list. Lazy, I know, but I promise to get something posted that's a bit more personal, in terms of Saturn gaming in 2010/11... (that means playing the thing and reflecting on the experience, like I did in the early days of this esteemed organ!)

Hope you find it informative at least!

Saturn tribute in Dreamcast game on the PS3 (!)

Something rather wonderful has happened as a result of my recently accquired PS3. I've just downloaded, played and completed Sonic Adventure in two days! I've had lots of copies of this game on the Dreamcast over the years, but never played it further than the first level. I've always admired it for it's visuals and thought of it as one of the best looking game on the Dreamcast. But it never grabbed me and I've dabbled with Sonic Adventure 2 loads more in the past.

But for some reason, the idea of having Dreamcast games on my next gen consoles really appeals. I've had Ikaruga and Rez off XBLA, (and Powerstone and Crazy Taxi on my PSP) even though I've had copies for my Dreamcast for years. But Sonic Adventure has held me captivated all weekend in way that none of those other ports have.

Sonic and Sega Allstars Racing kicked off the latest Sega revival in my gaming tastes, (not that it takes much for me to get Sega-obsessive, but the strength of my passion comes in waves). Sonic Adventure is the first and only Sonic game I've ever played to completion - although I've dabbled with many of them. Others have been abandoned when they got frustratingly hard, but thanks to the convenience of having this on the PS3 hard drive, and with a bit of free time on my hands, I saw it through to it's conclusion!

The game left me swinging in opinion, somewhwere between feeling it is a masterpiece (visuals and music) and a catastrophe (story, gameplay, camera, voice acting). It had moments of beauty, but it also got me swearing a lot! I loved the soundtrack, most definitely some of the best gaming music ever to accompany a Sega title. Check out the NiGHTs '90s house remix'!

I nearly had an orgasm when I played the NiGHTS pinball machine in Casinopolis. So much Sega/Saturn fan service crammed into one level! It was the first time I had seen the Saturn tribute and I was left close to tears by the beauty of this gesture from Sonic team to it's Saturn predecessors.

As we all know, NiGHTS is now scattered far and wide from titles as divergent as Sega Superstars Tennis, to the Wii Nights sequel, in Sonic Pinball on the GBA, and is probably right now trying to sell his psychedelic concoctions to impressionable minors in a Chao garden near you! But this must have been pure joy to those Saturn nostalgics who had begrudgingly swapped there big black Sega boxes for a slightly smaller off-white one and were patiently awaiting Dreamcast sequels to great games like Burning Rangers, NiGHTS, Clockwork Knight, and Manx TT Super Bike.

I have to say, Sega did as shocking a job of porting the title to it's new incarnation on the PS3, as it did when it rush released it for The Dreamcast. It's flaws are absolutely hideous. No attempt has been made to tidy up the games bugs and glitches, which I would have to admit is slightly annoying. And there's no way to get your Chao onto a PSP or online to race against other owners. Come on Sega!

But I'd reccomend this title to all you Sega junkies with shiny PS3s/360s if only for the Saturn fan service alone!

Is the PS3 the new Saturn?

I was reading this article over at defunct games when that question hit me...

http://www.defunctgames.com/shows.php?id=feuds-125

This is of course not the first time this has come up. Many people are actually making this connection.

http://valve.1up.com/flat/Themeweek/Valve/video5.html

So basically they are comparing the marketing and such. But as much as people have ragged on the Saturn, it still has a pretty wide retro fanbase. Will the PS3, with it's dwindling supple of exclusive games, have such a fanbase in a few years? Considering the fact that I can't play RE Outbreak online anymore I wonder how those cool little PS3 features and games will age? When it comes down to it I think that the Saturn is a much better retro gaming system than the PS3 will ever be.

I would have to say that if someone offered me a Saturn in box or a new PS3 in box right now (And I couldn't sell the PS3 right away for cash) I might actually pick the Saturn (If it were a Dreamcast there would be no question, Dreamcast). PS3 games and accessories are obscenely priced (as is all current generation stuff) it might acutally be cheaper to get NiGHTS, Panzer Dragoon and Shining Force games then to pay for new unproven PS3 ones. Plus the PS3 has a bunch of options I can't use since I can't get a decent ISP where I live currently.

In conclusion I would have to say that comparing the PS3 to the Saturn at this point is an insult to the Saturn. The PS3 might very well pick up and "win" the current console wars. It might have some cool games that could turn into classics. But, will it be as cool as the Saturn in it's retro years? I really don't think can be. Real lovers of retro video games have loved the Saturn because it spawned some the best classic video games ever made. To automatically assume that some PS3 games will become as coveted is stretching the lines of reality a bit.

Oh and don't think that I like any of the other current consoles just because I picked up on this thread. I don't have any of them and I won't consider buying any of them until the price goes under $100.

And don't compare the PS3 to the Dreamcast. The undead king of consoles kicks the PS3's ass... That's a proven FACT in my mind.