Saturn comes back around to show you everything...

Lets you choose what you will not see then,

drags you down like a stone or lifts you up again,

spits you out like a child, light and innocent."

I have not become a poet. Far from it. These are lyrics to a Tool song called "The Grudge" but somehow when I was listening to it during a transpennine train journey with my Chao, it struck me that I had neglected the Saturn somewhat. (Also, I was thinking it's about time I wrote on here again!). See Tool perform the Grudge live below:

At 128-Bit, the Dreamcast is clearly the console that modern gamers on a budget would pick up - especially if they saw the games on offer. Great games, great graphics. There is however, an often overlooked console also from SEGA: Sega Saturn. And there's still a compelling reason, or two, to buy a Saturn in this century.

Most people will remember it, either fondly or with disdain, but most will remember it. Games such as Virtua Fighter, Panzer Dragoon and the excellent SEGA Rally Championship cannot be forgotten. 

NiGHTS is another excellent game that is often subject to over-hyped nostalgia, but is actually still an excellent game, though it looks somewhat dated when played on a TV with a screen larger than 14".

Most PAL gamers will have these games - and they damn well out to get them today if they haven't! There are some import gems that don't require you to master Japanese - or even learn any of it (why have I been wasting my time and money...). There are some fantastic PAL games that everyone raves about, some import games that people rave about. I thought it would be more value to list a few of my own favourite games, that I currently play, rather than just another "Saturn Top Ten". So, without further ado, I present to you a list of a few of my favourite games that I think should be in anyone's 2009 Saturn collection:

Twinkel Star Sprites:

 Forget Radiant silvergun. Unless you have serious money, don't even bother. It's a good game, but it's not worth the high prices. Find something else to play. There's better for cheaper. This is not dirt cheap though - that tells you something!

Elevator Action Returns! 

Absolutely great game. Picked this up without knowing what it was and have really enjoyed playing it with my brother. It's a great two player coin-op co-op, with tons of replay value and is great for a quick blast.

Saturn Bomberman

Amazing game. Haven't played it much recently, but there's nothing quite like bomberman!

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

X-Men vs. Street Fighter

RAM Cart (4MB) needed for both of those bad boys above.

King of Fighter's '97

Burning Rangers

Metal Slug

Chase HQ and SCI

Strikers 1945

So, there you have something to get your teeth into! Get these great games as they are still great fun today and could give your Saturn a new lease of life! Worth getting your system modded or picking up that sexy white Saturn...

Video Game Vault - X-Men: Children of the Atom

Yup, it's time for another VGV. Ok, I know I've been posting VGV's like crazy, but hey, it's not my fault that those guys over at Screwattack have been making lot's of videos directly or indirectly related to the Saturn, and I feel like it's my duty to post them!

This time around they didn't pick up a good game...they picked up a game full of awesome! (yeah, I'm starting to get infected by their unique sense of humour...) Anyway, what they say in the video is nothing new here at the Saturn Junkyard. Our most beloved Father Krishna talked about this very game here, J shared his thoughts on one of that article's comments, and even I made a little post about it here.

I guess finally we all agree about a game's quality :)

X-Men: Children of the Atom - my humble opinion

As i said earlier, i have borrowed this game and played for some time, so here's what i think of the game.

For a start, I pretty much agree with everything J said. This game is indeed great, but bloody difficult! You can choose one from 8 or so difficulty levels, but even in the easiest setting I start to loose at the 2nd or 3rd stage (there's 8). Ok, I must admit that, although I like fighting games, I usually suck at them, mainly because I don't have the patience to memorize 50-button combos, but even as it is I think that starting to lose so early means something about the difficulty of the game.


After you beat the crap out the first 6 "regular" fighters, there comes Juggernaut, so make sure your character has a missile attack, otherwise you wont live long (I beat the fucker using the Sentinel with the missile attack). Finally comes the boss of bosses: Magneto! If you thought the game was hard to this point, well, it just gets harder!

The beginning of the fight is your chance to deal the most damage, cause after a while he creates a shield around him that prevents you from attacking, although he can still beat you up. Eventually the shield disappears, but don't rest just yet, for he's probably about to use his special attack, nothing less than a torrent of lasers that consume more than half of your energy bar. I'm usually dead by now...

To tell you the truth, I actually won one round, using Psylocke, I think, but I just won 1 of 2 rounds, and I never won again...


Talking more about the game now, you probably already know about the huge sprites, the fluid animations, the great gameplay and all that, but what I bet most of you never heard about is the interactive backgrounds! Oh yeah, when I read this off the cover I thought they were exaggerating, after all how can a 2D background be interactive?

Well, I guess it can! The thing is, if you smash the arena hard enough (don't ask exactly how you do that because I really don't now) you start to see the scenery breaking and after a while the floor collapses below your feet! Wow! The effect is different from arena to arena, but it usually goes like I described. Well, guess Dead or Alive 2 wasn't that original after all...


Well, I guess that's it, can't remember anything more to add. If you like beat'em ups, specially the 2D ones, be sure to track this game down and buy it when you have the chance. Just make sure it's the Saturn version, because the PS1 port is so inferior that it makes the little console cry. The Saturn is the king of 2D, no question about it, and that 6-button controller really makes the difference. I really can't imagine myself playing this with just 4 face buttons, and if you play this game in particular you'll understand why. And for those of you that didn't know, the Saturn port is considered 99% arcade perfect. :)

X Men: Children Of The Atom!

There are few Saturn games that are really stunning to behold in 2007. Sure, with rose coloured spectacles and the nostalgic affection of recollection, some Saturn games can really still bowl you over. But in terms of looks, the graphical presentation of most Saturn games seems somewhat pixellated and blocky.

Fortunately, 2D fighters produced for the Saturn by Capcom and SNK, still look as fresh today as they did in 1996. Be it the Street Fighter series, or case in point X Men: Children Of The Atom, the choice of animation, and the classic animated background, 2D characters and bright vibrant colours, have stopped them from looking as ancient as say, Virtua Fighter or Virtua Fighter 2.

The 2D beat 'em up still has many fans today, myself included. Be it SNK's King Of Fighters franchise for the PS2, or the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise for the Dreamcast, the games were pretty much formulaic and similar in appearance. The Saturn's six button control pad, allowed for the maximum combination of special moves for the game's fighters, reminiscent of the six button/joystick format of the arcade original.

And talking about special moves, what turbo charged stunners those moves are! Characters 'power up' and unleash a torrent of damage to their opponents, which is one of the most satisfying elements of the game.

But what about plot and storyline... Well it's X Men, so you'd be right in thinking the ultimate goal is to beat Magneto. But you've got to get through an army of foes before you get to the old spoon bending evil mutant! Let's compile a list of 'good guys' and 'bad guys' shall we?

Batting for 'Team Good' are... Cyclops, Psylocke, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus and Iceman.

Batting for 'Team Bad' are Omega Red, the mutant hunting android Sentinel, Spiral (lackey of Mojo), and Silver Samurai as well as Juggernaut.

What's nice for all you evil types out there, is that rather than just playing as the X Men, you can play as the villains. I don't of course... It would be wrong for a 'man of the cloth' like myself to side with the forces of darkness... LOL! :)

I'd be a liar if I said I was any good at this game, however. I just mash buttons and hope for the best! But what I do enjoy, time after time, is how luscious the graphics and animations are; even in the 21st century with the graphic spleandour of the 360 and PS3...

Remember people, this game is based on the original Marvel Comics 'X Men', not the Halle Berry Hollywood film crossover... Therefore the characters look very different from the current perception of the black-suited 'beautiful people'...

In order to keep the title close to its roots, the game features voice acting from the actors in the original animated series, which appeared on American TV.

As usual, one of the best features about this game for me, was it's price! I picked it up for the paltry sum of £1.50! (from Gamestation) Sure the box is falling apart and the manual is missing, but hey! It's got immense pick 'up and play' potential and if you like 2D fighters, then its a reson in its own right to go out and buy a Saturn!

For a fantastic review of other Saturn games that still have the WOW! factor today, look here. For a much better review of this game look here. For the definitive history of this game look here, and for a much under appreciated review of an X Men title for the DS, look here.

On a side note, my youngest 'Ginger', Ted (9), has decided he wants to follow in his Father's footsteps and have his own gaming blog... Its called 'Ted's DS Page' and if you'd be kind enough to nip over and leave a comment on his launch post, (a review of Pokemon Diamond & Pearl), I'd really appreciate it...

Cheers! FK