The Sega Saturn is now considered a forgotten classic. No, it didn’t sell as well as many other consoles of the era, but it shouldn’t be ignored. Sega’s first full-on CD-based console came before the Dreamcast, and it had some truly incredible games available on it.
Unfortunately, many people never played these games, and while there have been a few re-releases for the games we talk about below, nothing will fully emulate the experience of playing these games in the dark while huddled around a small CRT TV.
If you want to experience the best games on Sega Saturn, then you should start with the games we have in this list. If you want more of the best retro games, take a look at our list of best N64 games, best PS1 games, or best Dreamcast games.
Panzer Dragoon Saga
The Panzer Dragoon series had already made a name for itself by the time Panzer Dragoon Saga launched in 1998, but this was a bold new direction for the series. Instead of being a simple 3D rail shooter, Panzer Dragoon Saga was a full RPG, with visitable towns and a deep story to go along with it. This is a far more complex and deep game than the previous entries in the series, and is considered to be the very best RPG on the console.
Radiant Silvergun
A classic Treasure shoot-’em-up (commonly referred to as SHMUP), Radiant Silvergun is thankfully now coming to Nintendo Switch. Radiant Silvergun sees you shoot through a variety of foes and dodge a lot of bullets while blasting enemies and dangerous machines that are modeled in full 3D, setting it apart from contemporaries at the time. Still a classic SHMUP that holds up to this day.
Guardian Heroes
This is a fantasy side-scrolling beat-’em-up (never referred to as a BMUP) with some truly charming anime-inspired sprite art. It’s similar to Streets of Rage or Golden Axe, but when it comes to boss battles especially, Guardian Heroes feels much closer to a fighting game than your average beat-’em-up, which sets it apart from the rest, and makes it refreshing to revisit even today.
PowerSlave
PowerSlave, or Exhumed as it’s known outside of U.S., is a Doom-like, which is what we used to call first-person shooters. There were plenty of Doom-style shooters during this era, but PowerSlave is considered to be one of the best of this console generation. It has loads of weapons, plenty of enemies, and even a world map to chronicle your journey, which is good since all the levels seem to have the same floor texture in different shades.
Virtua Cop 2
There’s nothing quite like a quality lightgun game. CRTs being old-hat means that we don’t get lightgun games anymore, and the closest modern equivalent is Virtual Reality shooters. If you do still have a CRT TV and a Sega Saturn though, you can’t go wrong with Virtua Cop, a classic action-packed shooter that feels like a Die Hard movie with an unlimited budget.
Sega Rally Championship
Yes, the Sega Saturn had a version of Daytona playable on it, but nothing quite lives up to the raw thrills of Sega Rally Championship. A near-perfect arcade conversion of one of Sega’s all-time great racing games, it may look outdated by today’s standards, but it’s still a classic. Visually it’s old-school in every sense, but those physics are still perfect.
NiGHTS Into Dreams
Once you see Nights Into Dreams, you’ll understand where the visual inspiration for Balan Wonderland came from. Nights is the mysterious creature you play as, and you fly around the world while collecting items and racking up high scores. In many ways, Nights is a platformer without the platforming, and is still a totally unique and strange experience.
Fighters Megamix
Consider this Sega’s Smash Bros. Fighters Megamix brought together the world of Virtua Fighter with Virtua Cop, Fighting Vipers, and even Daytona USA. Yes, you can fight as a car in this game. Yes, there are obscure Sonic the Hedgehog characters in here too. Clashing art styles be damned, Fighters Megamix is practically an official Sega Mugen game, and that’s incredible, even today.
Saturn Bomberman
Ah, the simple thrills of Bomberman. Bomberman is best played in multiplayer with friends that can shout at you after you corner them. The formula has stayed the same for years, but playing never gets old. Saturn Bomberman is simple enough, but it is the Bomberman formula perfected, and many hardcore fans would rather play this version over any other.
Shining Force 3
The entire Shining Force trilogy is beloved, and Shining Force 3 is considered by many to be the pinnacle. A turn-based strategy game with a hybrid of 2D characters and 3D environments, Shining Force 3 may have been overshadowed by Panzer Dragoon Saga when talking about the Saturn’s legacy and best games, but it shouldn’t be ignored.
Written by Dave Aubrey on behalf of GLHF.
