Sunday 26 July 2020

Five Platform Games On The Saturn Which Still Hold Up In 2020


Do you ever start something and think to yourself; "I really don't know what I'm doing here..."? Well I think that is the starting point for this brief consideration of platform games on the Saturn. As I started, I realised I didn't really have the exhaustive knowledge necessary to write this article, that I was unaware of all examples of the genre available for our 32 Bit obsession, and that I hadn't even played any of these games sufficiently to actually pass judgement on them.

SO - please look upon this written passage as a way for you to dip your toe in the waters of Saturn platforming, rather than an exhaustive deep dive into the ocean of up and down, left to right and occasional back and forth...

My initial consideration was about the exact type of game I should include... should I include games such as Sonic 3D, NiGHTS or Burning Rangers? Should I include Castlevania or Metal Slug - both of which contain platforming elements - the directional side to side and up & down movement, being integral to both games? Should I include Clockwork Knight - (by far my most played Saturn platformer, but also one which I had highlighted before?) In order to cover myself on all fronts, let's just re-brand this article as "5 Platform Games On The Saturn (Part 1)" implying there will be careful consideration of other games in the future!

Okay, caveat over, we'll dive straight in...