Puyo Puyo Sun - It's Always Sunny on the SEGA Saturn!

I hit the local retro video game store today, and boy did I get some good stuff! I picked up the Limited Edition Shenmue (complete with the Jukebox CD) for $17, Alien Front Online in box with mic for $15 and a Shenmue strategy guide. But I'm not going to focus on those goodies, this is the Saturn Junkyard! While I only picked up one Saturn game, I cannot wait to play it. It's Puyo Puyo Sun!

The Saturn import selection was surprisingly large, despite many of the games not being priced and sitting in boxes on the floor. Still, I dug about, chose a few games and requested their prices. Puyo Puyo Sun was a very reasonable $8, so into my invisible cart it went!

Japanese manuals, particularly for Saturn and Dreamcast games, are stunning. Full color, tons of artwork, mini comics, developer profiles! It's a shame western releases are so bland by comparison.

The booklet was crammed with tons of little bits of paper. Registration cards, some flyer promoting... something and best of all: glow in the dark stickers!

I couldn't capture them in a photo, but trust me, they glow a brilliant green hue. So far the game has been great, and I haven't even played it yet! I've just been paging through the manual and holding the stickers under the lamp. Good times.

My favourite imports

Inspired by Martin's post about Japanese imports for the Saturn, I decided to make a little post about my favourites. The keyword here is "favourites". This means that this is in no way a comprehensive list, just a handful of games that came to my mind, they're not necessarily cheap and they're also not necessarily excellent, although I like them. A lot. So, let's go:

DonPachi/DoDonPachi/Batsugun


I put these games together because they're basically all the same, bullet hell shmups were you dodge almost impossible bullet patterns while building your ship up to some ridiculous levels of firepower. This means that they're all great, fast-paced games with greatgraphics and awesome gameplay that are sure to keep you hooked up to your tv. And that's great.



Sengoku Blade


Also a shmup, but a horizontal one. If you're not a fan of the genre they may all look the same to you, but vertical and horizontal shmups play quite differently. Vertical shmups have more emphasis on reflexes while horizontal ones reward memorization of the levels. The unique thing about Sengoku Blade is that, while having an horizontal orientation, it actually plays a lot like a vertical shooter. And then there's something about the gameplay... I don't know, it's just so damn addictive... Usually I beat a shmup once and then put it in the shelf, maybe having a go at it once in a while, but with this game not only did I beat it with almost every character, I sometimes beat it two times in a row. It's just that addictive!



Tryrush Deppy


A little, hidden gem of a 2D platformer, in the likes of Rayman or Astal. It's a pretty fun game and...welll, there's not really much more to say about it. It's not groundbreaking, but it's just adorable and pretty fun while it lasts.



Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru


Also known as Psychic Killer Taromaru, this game is more famous for its rarity status and the outrageous price it can hit, than for its gameplay. The surprise is, this game is actually pretty good! It's basically a side-scrolling beat em up, but with more mid-level bosses and less regular enemies. The gameplay has some rather original mechanics and so do the graphics, a mix between 2D characters and 3D levels with no loading times between areas. Of course, it's not worth the outrageous price most people ask for it, but if you're lucky enough to find it cheap, or if you can get it through "other means" (*cough*piracy*cough*), it's well worth checking out.



Dead or Alive


You've all heard of DoA already, so I'm going to keep it short. Of all the versions of this game, the Saturn port was the one chosen by Itagaki to be remade for the Xbox. 'Nuff said. Okay, not quite, but overall this is a pretty good version of DoA, superior in many ways to the latter PSX version, the one most of us played. Get it if you can. Wasn't too expensive last time I checked.



Honorable mentions:

- Savaki: an interesting fighting game in the vein of Virtua Fighter, featuring some of the best graphics I've seen on a Saturn. Too bad it's short on game modes and has only one (!) arena
- Princess Crown: looks awesome, but without understanding Japanese I never went too far
- Strikers 1945 I and II, Gunbird: if you like shmups, these games are simple yet a lot of fun
- Nekketsu Oyako: a completely fucked up beat em up, Streets of Rage-style. There's a level where you fight squid-man...inside a whale...WTF...

Games you need in your import collection pt1

I thought it might be useful to collate some of my import collection for those of you new to the scene. It's easy enough to get games in your own territory, but people often rave about Japanese games circa 1990-2000. 

The thing is, a lot of these games are now overhyped or just plain old expensive. Let's hit on a few that are great games, but won't break the bank. Welcome to part 1 of my import special.

Saturn Bomberman Fight!

Oh yes. It's Bomberman! What a cainer. Blow the crap out of your opponents. The best part? Having a sleep over? No problem. With a multi-tap or two, you can have up to 10 players. 10 players. Most teenagers these days don't have that many physical friends*. Anyway, this is a great game. You all know bomberman and this is one of the best. Get it!

Layer Section

This is an often overlooked shooter. Everyone raves about Radiant Silvergun. It's often sold for over £100. Sod that. Don't bother unless you are a collector - which you would have to be to pay that for it. It's a good shooter, but overratted. Layer section is pretty old school but feels really tight and can be found cheaply.

Panzer Dragoon

Yes, this can be found PAL for cheap cheap cheap, but... look at the artwork on the Japanese game. Worth the price of an import Saturn if you ask me. Which you aren't, but I am telling you anyway. Gorgeous.

Great game too!

This concludes the round up of the games you should own on your import Saturn. Part 1. Stay tuned!

*complete guess and probably quite offensive. If you're a teen, write in to let us know.

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...

That's Incredible! (Toons)

First, let me apologize for being derelict in my duties. I hope I can make it up to you all with a brief review of a Saturn game few know exist, and even fewer have tried. It's Nazomakaimura Incredible Toons, a peculiar hybrid that brings together the creepy characters of the Ghouls 'n Ghosts series with the Rube Goldberg-inspired gameplay of Dynamic Software's Incredible Toons computer game.

This time, you're not playing as the brave knight Arthur, his hated foe Lucifer, or even those annoying little red demons who somehow got their own game. This time, you've got a behind the scenes role, strategically setting objects on the playfield that cause comical chain reactions. The only games that even come close to playing like this one are Lemmings and the Japanese Super NES release Mario and Wario... and unlike either of those titles, Nazoma Incredible Toons doesn't have a set objective.

If you're Japanese, this means you'll need to carefully read the instructions at the beginning of each round before you can proceed. However, if you're reading this without the aid of Babelfish, you won't have that luxury, and will have to feel around a bit to reveal the goal of each stage. Sometimes you'll want to do what comes naturally to the seasoned Ghouls 'n Ghosts player and humiliate Lucifer with whatever you can find. However, it's not always that simple. In some stages, you'll want both Lucifer AND Arthur to meet a comical end. In others, you won't see either of them, and will have to randomly drop objects on the playfield in the hopes of stumbling upon the solution.



Here's a video of the game in action, supplied by YouTube user OpticalHaze. Even he was stumped by the tenth stage, which requires the player to hit two coffins with a handful of bouncing balls. I had a little more luck, but hit a brick wall after reaching a stage which required the player to hit a trigger multiple times with a single catapult. So the game is tough... not in the the traditional "pull your hair out because the damned Red Arremer shoved you into the river AGAIN" Ghouls 'n Ghosts kind of way, but in a way that taxes your brain rather than your reflexes.

Even if that kind of gameplay doesn't appeal to you, you've got to admit that Nazo Incredible Machines has its charm. The graphics are pleasant enough, with squishy super deformed characters set against gorgeous still artwork depicting scenes from the Ghouls 'n Ghosts series. However, it's the music that really puts this game over the top. In addition to the haunting refrains you've come to expect from the series, you're offered pepped up jazz and new age remixes that you wouldn't expect at all, but work pretty well with the game's lighthearted theme. The control is probably the game's weak point... it's clear that Nazo Incredible Toons was designed to be played with a mouse, and there's no indication if it's actually compatible with one. However, since the pace is so laid back and there's no action to speak of, the stiff, awkward control can be tolerated. Just expect to hit the pause button by mistake a lot when you goof up and need to reset the playfield objects.

Nazoma Incredible Toons has got to be one of the most bizarre gaming hybrids ever, ranking right up there with Battletoads vs. Double Dragon and that time Squaresoft put Mario characters in a turn-based RPG. However, it's worth a shot if you'd like to give your noggin a workout and don't mind scaling the game's ten foot high language barrier. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a puzzle to solve!

A Japanese Oddity

I'm taking a little break from shmups since after a while it gets somewhat repetitive. Don't worry, though, I'll come back to that in a second, but for now I'm here to talk about a little hidden gem that few Saturn fans have played, not only because it is a rather obscure title, but also because it's one of the rarest, if not THE rarest, Saturn game. Forget Radiant Silvergun, that's cheap compared to this one. In fact, lucky for us, there's one on ebay right now (the auction ends in 16 hours, so it will probably be over by the time you read this), with a starting bid of $399,95!

So, is this game made of WIN and GOD to deserve such an high price? Well, as usual, the only thing the price tells you is the rarity of the game, not it's quality, and this game is no different. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty good game, but definitely not worth selling a kidney for. Anyway, let's start to talk about the game itself. This is an action game that plays somewhat like Castlevania or Sega's own Shinobi, in the way that you go from point A to point B killing everything in your way and occasionally have to jump through a lot of platforms, but unlike in other games, here point A is the beginning and point B is the end of the game. This is a continuous adventure with not stages and no pauses for loading times. Just beat a boss? Then move on, because the next level is already in front of you.

Talking about bosses, this game is full of them. There's not only the usual end-stage bosses, but also a shit-load of "mini-bosses" that appear throughout the whole game, each of them more weird and freaky than the previous. There's giant skeletons, demonic spiders, angry trees, giant "ogres" (or whatever the big red guy in the boat was), giant toads , some kind of hindu priest, a guy that cuts off the head of a kid and then a giant snake comes off from his beheaded body,....well... I think that's enough for now...


Those guys must've been high when they came up with ideas for the bosses... About the gameplay, you can attack, jump, defend, and there's also a special attack that let's you turn a lesser enemy into your personal bodyguard (the guy is mostly useless, but it's always nice to have company). Your main attack consists in some kind of lightning bolt that you can also charge to deal more damage, but you can't just go out shooting everything. Before your character is some kind of symbol that, when an enemy approaches, acts as some kind of lock-on. This obviously fails at times, when you want to shoot some guy and it locks onto another, but most of the time it gets the job done. Another problem with the attacks is that you have to be constantly hammering the B button, since the bosses in particular have a really long life bar. I hear that this can be solved with a turbo pad, but I haven't tried it myself. I just know that some times I feared for the safety of my beloved pad...

Now, about the graphics, this is where this game really shines. At first it seems like any other 2D scrolling game, with really nice backgrounds nonetheless, but then, wait...what was that? Did the screen just moved?? Oh yeah! 3D backgrounds, baby! That's right, the "2.5D" graphics as they're known nowadays were already kicking ass in the Saturn a long time ago! Unfortunately the selection of videos on youtube is rather limited, because you really have to see this game in motion to admire it in all it's glory, but have a taste here:



Overall this was a game I liked. A lot, in fact. But is it worth it's hefty price tag? Definitely no (unless you're a millionaire, of course). But I really recommend everyone to try and find a way to play a backup, whether through an emulator, a modded Saturn or using the swap-trick, because in my opinion this game truly deserves to be played by every Saturn fan out there.

More racing goodness

By now you should all know that I have two passions when it comes to the Saturn. The first is obvious, Japanese imports, since every Saturn fan knows that there are so many awesome games those selfish bastards kept for their own. The other is racing games. Due to the immediate nature of those games, where you just put the cd in the console and in a matter of seconds you're already burning tires in the highway, they're perfect for a busy gamer like me. Recently I acquired two new racing games, and after playing them for some time, here is my opinion of them.


The first is Street Racer, an Europe/Japan exclusive (sorry caleb). Needless to say me version is the european one, since I only have Japanese games that are exclusives. Don't be fooled by the name, though. I now what you're thinking, "street racer", where there tuning games for the Saturn, where you compete in street races to earn cash and "pimp your ride"? No, and this game definitely has nothing to do with that.


This is in fact a rip-off of Mario Kart, so expect cartoon-like characters riding little cars in wacky tracks covered with powerups. This games isn't anywhere near the greatness of Mario Kart (or Crash Team Racing, my other favourite), though, for the controls are complicated, the powerups are shit and the CPU drivers race like Airton Senna. In multiplayer the game is better, of course, and the graphics have same charm to them, but overall this is a game to avoid, considering the many great racers the Saturn has.


My other game is much better, and even combines my two passions for this is a Japan-only release and, obviously, a racing game. I'm talking about Drift King '97. Doesn't sound familiar? Well, let's put it this way, know the Tokyo Highway Challenge games for the Dreamcast? This game is part of that series, so you can expect similar races against a rival in some busy Tokyo highways.


I haven't played much yet, maybe because I suck at it and wasn't able to win a single race, but fortunately for me, even if I lose I still earn money. This money is then spent in upgrades for the various components of the car, like engine, exhaust, brakes, etc... This is where the Japanese origins of this game kick in, because the names of the various parts are all in japanese and I can't understand shit. Fortunately the menus and stuff are all in English.


The handling of the cars is pretty good, but more realistic than a sega rally or daytona, so don't expect the car to turn so easily. As the name implies, drifting plays a big role, to the point where there is even a button just for it! Of course you can still try to do it manually, but it's just more practical to simply press the button. It doesn't do all by itself, though, so if you're not careful your car will be out of control in no time.


Graphically this game is just great, simple as that. You see a lot more pop-up than in other games, but this is due to the tracks being based on highways, allowing you to see the buildings surrounding it, unlike most games with "tunnel" tracks, with barriers along the road that prevent you from seeing much, thus saving the graphics processor.


Being as it is you can expect lots of buildings, including some pretty interesting ones, like the Tokyo Tower, for example. The traffic is also well done, with "neutral" cars being numerous and nicely modelled. There's also a retro flavour to this title, with the time passing by as you race (from afternoon to sunset and then night) just like in OutRun, Hang-On and other old SEGA racing games. On top of that there is also a great attention to detail, like the speedometer lighting up whenever you enter a tunnel.


Definitely a must have for any import/racing fan.