Saturn Journal December 25th, 3023
Merry Christmas from all of us on Planet Virtua and/or Saturn! We're happy to be among you and we're happy to bring you joy and prosperity through games and joy of the genres we enjoy. We love fighting, roleplaying, free roaming, sandboxing and shooting things! We love to shoot things! Not that we'd ever invade you. No, it's Christmas, remember? That's for later.
Now, why live on Virtua? Well, our Christmases always seem to work in the ways of Retro Gaming and we're loving to share all of this with all of you in the ways of comparisons and nonlinear competitions that come up with middle-of-the-road results and semi-obvious outcomes. Now, do I want to make this entire thing into another reward show? No, that's already here, so this is just going to be something of an article for Christmas and Christmas joy for all!
So! What do we have first on the list? Why, it's roleplaying games! Of course, we all know that the most popular roleplaying games stem toward the free-roaming aspects in the genre. Do we want to talk about Final Fantasy VII in this Saturn Christmas? No, if you want to talk about Playstation 2, that's last article. Oh, it's not Playstation 2? Oh No!
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Anyway, Panzer Dragoon Saga wins the Roleplaying Game genre, for sure. Shining The Holy Ark goes up in stock while Shining Forces III goes down. Sadly, Forces III didn't age quite so well. Guardian Heroes stands strong on the stock market, so be sure to keep those stocks nice and cozy. The Top 20 List isn't going to change much this season, honestly, but there are a few games that bear mentioning this holiday season.
Sonic R for guilty pleasures? Yes, but Doom has gone way up in that category for sure. With all of the John Romero activity and the Sonic racing game stuff that has sucked over the past few years. You may as well set your watch by these titles.
Quake has also gone way up in stock. The FPS genre in general is in dire need as far as the Saturn is concerned. Whatever wasn't considered a Railshooter was either extremely mediocre, legendary or just plain WEIRD. Quake, Doom, Power Slave (Review coming soon), and a few other titles like Alien Trilogy or DUKE NUKEM 3D have really stood the test of time far better by comparison. Duke Nukem 3D has to probably take the cake when it comes to winning the FPS genre overall. Quake and Duke Nukem 3D are very strong contenders.
Look, I know I never mentioned Hexen in my FPS Culture reviews, but that's more because Hexen and Heretic did little to impress on any port, let alone the Hexen port on Saturn. It was mediocre all around, if I'm really being honest all around. When we're being honest, there's a big reason for this lack of First Person Shooters as a whole, and it probably as more to do with the fact that the controllers only had one D-pad/A Joystick on the same side as the D-pad. This would... improve? On the Dreamcast.
3D Fighting can go to either Virtua Fighter 2 or Virtual On. Those two are way too close and too different to really contend in any meaningful way. Though, it still stands to reason that they are both fighting games and they are both in three dimensions. Power Stone would also be a strong contender, but again, we're sticking to Saturn. Battle Arena Toshinden--so anyway...
3D Platformer, it's Nights Into Dreams. That is pretty much the closest genre it has and honestly, there really isn't much else you could put it in a category for. It's really not much of a platformer either since the forms of "platforms" are neglegible at best. Other than Sonic 3D Blast, Nights into Dreams is the best we have when it comes to this Genre. Even the established render of the Sonic X-Treme for the Sega Saturn does not deter this in the slightest. Honestly, it was not as great as a lot of us were hoping. Oh well, at least we didn't get Bubsy 3D! Moving on...
2D Platformers, just like the latter, are negligible. There's always something like Clockwork Knight, Bug, Skeleton Warrior, Bones, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Astal and a few other titles, there's really not much to speak of here. It needs to go to Symphony of the Night. There's really no other alternative answer. It's much more a 2D Platformer than a Roleplaying game, so it definitely fits comfortably in the genre along with Fantasy Horror and Adventure.
Horror! We've had a lot to say about the Month of Saturn SPEWWWWWWWKIES when it comes to the horror genre. That's kind of the name of the game. We never did, however, come up with an absolute best title. Well, we're going to cut the grease and get right down to it. It's D. There's also no choice in the matter. Resident Evil is awesome and should be very well celebrated, there are also many other good titles such as the House of the Dead and Quake. There's even Doom and Crypt Killer (wait, the hell is that?), but D has reigned supreme ever since Planet Virtua started. It's our pick and we're sticking to it! D2 is still overrated MOVING ON!!!!
Railshooters, that's a tough one. There are a LOT of really good railshooters on the Saturn. In fact, I'm daring to say there's very few bad ones other than Death Crimson that comes straight to mind. House of the Dead, Virtua Cop 1 & 2 and the Panzer Dragoon series, we're going with Panzer Dragoon II Zwei! It can also be considered somewhat free-roaming, and high flying adventure, but that is much more Panzer Dragoon Saga's forte, as you are actually in control rather than on a rail. So, our choice for best railshooter is Panzer Dragoon II Zwei!
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| Time for a Planet Virtua Magazine |
When you gather them all up, your Christmas stockings should be rather full. I'm sure Sonic R will look nice nestled up next to a nice big box of Light Guns and a Virtua Steering Wheel! Let's not forget that wonderful gift of Nights Into Dreams, Panzer Dragoon II and, of course, lest we forget Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop and Daytona USA. For what collection is complete without the Saturn Tri-Force?
Now, remember, we are advocating for the Sega Saturn, but no matter what console you have, make sure that you share that console with someone you love and you invest in local multiplayer games so that you can enjoy them for far longer. Remember, all of these consoles are to be celebrated in some way, but do not forget what is truly important. Video Games are a whole lot of fun and talking about them is also quite a blast, but that wouldn't be nearly as fun without someone to share them with. Whether it be playing with someone this holiday season or just getting together to have a little chat with someone, make sure you share with someone else. They'll enjoy the company and be flattered to have been included in your thoughts. Try and stay some relationships or strengthen ones that you may have lost along the way. It's never too late to get in touch with family and friends.
This holiday season, we here at Planet Virtua, broadcasting from the home planet, wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Don't miss this chance to share the love and share the Saturn with those that you love. Happy Holidays from all of us.
