Top 160+ Favorite Games of all time! (Pt 5)

We're going deep into territories of my absolute favorite titles, and this bunch is a great example of how many great games there are to choose from. There's all kinds of genres, but one look at the list shows off my deep love for the roleplaying games. Strangely enough, Final Fantasy VII is the oldest game on this segment of the list. I promise you, that will change as we move up toward the #1 position. There are still good games being made, but the mid to late 90's were a special time where games started to create franchise starters.  

79 Saints Row IV

Yes, this game is not the greatest in the series and yes, there were a lot of changes that weren't great, but this title has a lot of greatness to it still. Saints Row fell off the deep end, but it still did a very memorable send off. Hacking into the system and giving yourself super powers may not make a lot of sense, but it is a lot of fun to play out in a free roaming sandbox game. Taking out entire patrols with one explosion of your powers is just so satisfying. This game is the last great Saints Row game, and it's probably going to hold that title for a very, very long time.

78 Left 4 Dead 2

This is one of those sequels that let's you have your cake and eat it too. Not only does it introduce new zombies, new main characters, new weapons and new maps, but it also gave you everything from the first game updated with the new mechanics and old characters. This game is fun whether you're playing with other players or just playing with bots. Either way, you're working your way through zombie hordes and throwing molotovs at boss zombies to see how long it takes to kill them. If you wanted to play either game, just get the sequel. You'll get the full experience through all of it. 

77 Cyber Trooper Virtual-On Marz

While it is not quite as good as its predecessor, the sequel to Virtual On brings all of what you love about the first game and makes it ten times harder. Getting through some of these hordes of mech suits is just ridiculous at times. It's also ridiculously fun! Destroying mechs and dueling Cyber Troopers is still an amazing time. This game can be especially unforgiving but the controls and the combat are just an all around good time. Not to mention, the graphics upgrade is just flat out beautiful.

76 Final Fantasy VII

Cloud has become one of the icons of gaming, and here's where it all started. This is a long, very complicated game when it comes to its story, but the combat is simple enough for everyone to play and enjoy it. The fast paced roleplaying element is one of the most enjoyable aspects of it, as well as it's beautiful 1997 graphics. This is one of those games that revolutionized graphics and brought games to a new era of 3D polygons. If you've got a long span of time to spend playing a legendary roleplaying game, give this one a try.

75 Skies of Arcadia

A high flying, swashbuckling adventure on the sky in our big huge air ship! The combat is mixed with both sky pirates and explosions! You must make your way across the sky and take on big surprises along the way. Discover new lands as you spend hours making your way through this gigantic world and storyline. This game allows you to fight with both your crew and your ship. With magic and swords at your grasp, you need to be strategic and take down unique enemies that present challenges of their own. Do not miss out on playing this game, as it is a Dreamcast classic. 

74 Dragon Quest IX

Create your own character for a beautiful experience in the Dragon Quest universe. Fight through goblins and gain up a new party for adventures across the land. You must discover the origin of these horrible monsters that destroy the land and you must fight powerful foes and gain experience in order to face the more powerful demons that face off with you. This game can get a bit grindy but who doesn't see that coming in a Dragon Quest game? The graphics are beautiful and the 3D environment still gives you that sense of fantasy as it always has throughout this franchise of games.

73 Mortal Kombat Deception

When you must travel across the land in order to find more and more power and learn all of the fighting styles, you've got to wonder why all of the games didn't do this. Deception is not a perfect Mortal Kombat game, but the adventure mode is just priceless. The story is a bit convoluted and takes kind of a stupid turn near the middle, but the journey to get all of the orbs for what turned out to be Onaga had to be some of the best game mechanics while being a bit crude in that PS2 kind of way. The combat is still there, as it is a fighting game, and it just beats Deadly Alliance out in everything, including character roster. This is where the 3D MK Era really peaked.

72 Red Dead Redemption 2

One problem with this game is that there it can feel like there is entirely too much to do. That is not a bad problem to have. It's so easy to get immersed into this world of cowboys and shootouts. If you're a fan of the old western culture and like to see a game that takes on authenticity with some actual thought, then you could look for worse ways to spend 20 hours. It's just an all around fun sandbox experience that you can just play on and off without losing too many detail. If you forget, just do another mission and you'll come across the story again. Now git! 

71 The House of the Dead

Sleep on the Sega Saturn version all you want, but I count it along with the arcade version as a worthy port. It's one of the first 3D shooter games where the graphics are good enough to make the gore very chunky without being too overly gross or off-putting. The bosses are fun to fight and find their weak spots. 

70 Elderscrolls V: Skyrim

Skyrim is a game that I will return to time and time again, because sometimes I just want to start a quest to go somewhere, somehow. It doesn't matter where you go on the map, there is a dungeon, or a castle, or a tower, or a dragon flying around nearby. Everywhere you go, there are vampires and bandits coming to kill you. You can customize your character by how you act. Every single skill that you constantly use, it keeps leveling up and that levels up your character as a whole. Whether you want to go melee or magic or both, this game will let you become that warrior and you can join whatever side you want. Skyrim is the peak of Elderscrolls and coming off of Murrowind and Oblivian, that is saying a lot.

69 Guardian Heroes

If you want a good, challenging and different roleplaying experience, Guardian Heroes has you covered. With a very entertaining storyline, some awesome combat mechanics and fast paced roleplaying action throughout, it's just fun to play. The graphics, especially for the time, were phenomenal and have aged like a fine cask of wine that you can crack open anytime you want the full Saturn experience. That's right, this is a gem on the Saturn that is honestly not talked about a tremendous amount. If you ever have a chance to play this without paying the scalping price, do give it a go.

68 The Lengend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

That's right, the legendary N64 classic is at a fairly moderate place and not in the top 50. Well, there's a lot of great games in the netherverse and not all of them can be in the best of orders. This game is still awesome and a whole lot of fun to play. Half the time, I hardly remember what to do whenever I play this game. This game's master version on the Gamecube is also a good hike on the graphics without making it lose its identity. Hell, you can face and kill Ganondorf on the 3DS now. Ocarina of Time is now on handheld. That just proves how much people love this game. 

67 Dragon Ball FighterZ

A fighting game that is downright addictive. Playing through the various modes, story modes, power leveling modes and even the ingame online interface, this is just a fun time for anyone who was a fan of the franchise. You can customize your icon to virtually any character in the series. The fighting mechainics allow you to perform the greatest versions of the Final Flash and the most bombastic Kamehameha and explore the fighting mechanics of characters through a team fighting system! While the story is nothing close to the original series, it is nice to see them coming out with new androids rather than just constantly bringing back Cell and Freeza as some sort of threat. This game is just hours upon hours of defeat and victory!

66 Shining the Holy Ark

This game is better than the sum of its parts. The story is rather cut and paste, but the point is that it is a pinnacle of 32-bit grime. This was a pure Saturn game, one that looked like the period it came from and just gave us dungeon crawling that allowed you to live in that 32-bit world and fight some of the most charming monsters since Dragon Quest... okay maybe not that memorable or awesome but this game has an ageless charm that struck me from my original Saturn collection.

65 Power Stone

Dreamcast's most awesome fighting game, bar none! That's a very competitive arena as well, because that include Capcom vs SNK, Street Fighter III, and Marvel vs Capcom 2. Power Stone has this amazing pure arcade graphic feel that is on a much different fighting arena. The maps are so much more 3 Dimensional than your normal fare, and Power Stone pulled it off in style. Fighting to get all of the stones during the fight is just so satisfying when you unleash that power and get a full bunch of attacks into your opponent. These stones can mean victory and defeat and blasting them into a crater is a rare pleasure of gaming.

64 Sonic Gems Collection

So, yes, you could say that I am lumping all of these games together, or you can realize that half of these games would never see the light of day without this collection. How many people do you know played on the Sega GameGear, let alone having Tails 2 for the stupid thing? This also has Sonic CD, Sonic R, and a plethora of other very obscure titles for Sonic and the experience of playing these games one after another is just so wonderful when it seems like you have an endless list of games to play. Sonic has some duds and some of them are in this collection, but those are just extra trimmings to an already solid bunch of titles.

63 Dragon Ball: Xenoverse

If you want the experience of fighting different villains all throughout Dragon Ball Z and GT, and whatever else they put into the DLC, then this is your game. It is a lot of fun to create your own character, make them whatever race you want (everyone loves to reach the different levels of super saiyan) and team up with the Z Warriors to fight the evil that comes to take on Earth. You're a Time Patroller, and you're sent on missions to take down someone who is trying to destroy the timeline as we know it and make a corruption take over the dimension itself. The combat is a lot of fun and the story is very simple. Xenoverse is just a good time for Dragon Ball fans.

62 Super Smash Bros.

Yes, the first Smash Brothers is on this list because it was the first. We seriously sat on my friend's bed until my legs were numb while we smashed each other's faces in as Pikachu, Captain Falcon and Star Fox. We did all types of games, from extra items, to just rockets, to no HP items to EXTRA HP items. It was just a lot of fun to unlock characters, hold mini-competitions and just have a good time with character we love. It left a legacy that continues today.

61 Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Arguably the objectively best Wolfenstein game ever made. The graphics are perfect for its time, the bad and the good about it. While not every level is the greatest, mostly the stealth missions, there are so many great traits to love. The callbacks to Wolfenstein 3D, the sniper rifle, the powerful new weaponry all around is great as you take down the third reich! Well, now it's in true 3D for the first time and it is probably the greatest leap in quality the series would ever see again. This and the 2009 game have nothing to do with each other, but they were good separate games for their time before the big New Order reboot. This game earns its place, though.

60 Grand Theft Auto III

Where it all began for many. The sandbox genre had one place to start and this was it! While the first two were good games in their own right, this is the milestone in gaming history many of us remember as the first. Before Saints Row or Infamous brought about the running, GTA3 was already running along with them. It was that great of a leap! Being able to kill random citizens and have actual concequences where the police will aim to kill or arrest you if you get out of line and it goes up from there the more you misbehave. And misbehave many did! Killing people in a rampage is this game as a child's park vs a theme park! It's fun to play by the rules, but to just fly off the wall and be able to survive for as long as you can, there is just so much fun to be had, and even after you lose, you can gather up your stuff and just carry on as if nothing happened. You'll have less money and all your weapons will be gone, but those are easily brought back. This game is long, some of the missions suck, but overall, this game is a legend and spawned an entire genre that would bring about even better, more high quality games. It put Rockstar on the map and there is a very good reason why. Kill well, just don't question why paramedics can bring a headless guy back to life. They just can!!!

The Saturn vs The Arcade

There will be tremendous amounts of talk between gamers about what all caused the great arcade crash. Obviously, once the home consoles began to take on more power, the arcade machines, big and clunky as they were, were starting to lose their usefulness. The arcade was not just a place to play games. It was a place to go when you wanted to be alone with your headphones and thoughts, a place to go with friends to play games either apart or in local multiplayer, and it was a place to go for parties and a party-like atmosphere. 

Many houses did not have this, but then arcades were also not conveniently in your home, usually. So, over time, the convenience of the home console outweighed going out and socializing or pouring gigantic amounts of quarters into machines. Of course, today arcades have the good sense to give you free arcade machines at a door price, rather than the alternative: spend every quarter you can find. 

Once I got a Sega Saturn, everything changed. Where I loved the rail shooters of old, especially Terminator, Virtua Cop solved that problem for me immediately. I was never good at racing games, so I never was very good at reaching the checkpoint in the alotted time. Well, Daytona USA and Sega Rally Championship scratched that itch just fine. Every single 3D and 2D fighting game was matched with Virtua Fighter 2 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. The Sega Saturn was already going above and beyond. 

I never truly stopped going to the arcade. In fact, I went to the arcade as often as I could. Through high school, that grew harder and harder until the arcade finally closed. Now, of course the Saturn and the Dreamcast answered many of the problems that came about the arcade's demise. What it didn't do, was offer a proper substitute. Anyone will tell you that getting off your butt and going somewhere fun is a good way to kill an evening. You can game at home anytime you can carve out a moment to do so, but sometimes, you need to stretch your legs and check out some retro and new games at the 'cade, bro!

This was a great example of not knowing what we had when we had it. Even I was stupid enough to think that just because the games were getting more awesome and graphically inclined as the arcades, then why would I need to go somewhere to game? Well, arcades took a nap for a while, and there were some places that offered you to game on PC's in LAN settings, but those did not last very long. There were even places that let you game on a console for a door fee, but for some reason, those places were often overpriced and often did not last long at all. It seemed we were going through more experimental phases, leaving arcades in lobbies of theaters and other facilities instead of full on arcade facilities. 

It wasn't until in the past decade that arcades have started to gain more traction with the onlooking public. Real arcades with the aforementioned door fees started coming along and offering old arcade cabinets, consoles and new arcade cabinets with game menus that offer more games. The better arcades will even come back with pinball machines along with them, though they still require more expensive and elaborate maintenance. It is very nice to see people come to their senses and actually get up to go to these places, learning from their mistakes from the past. 

The arcades are just a fun place to be, whether it be with friends, family, or people you wish to get to know. Remember to not take them for granted, because they can die out as easily as they did in the early 2000's once again if we ignore them. Gaming graphics shouldn't affect our decisions on such a level that we forget we have friends and sometimes arcades just have the atmosphere we crave with a crowd we like. Just remember to not over do it on the soda and drink some Liquid Death... which is just water.

Reliving D - Back to the Horror Mind Mansion

 Next on the Ghostly Month of Virtua SPOOOOOOOKIES!!!! We're taking a look at one of my all-time favorite scary games on the Sega Saturn! Let the haunting festivities begin!!!

Of all the games that deserve a new life, it is comforting to know that D was seen as worthy. If you happen to have a Steam account, there is a small chance you know that this Sega Saturn gem was given a new port that can work on modern computers. Faced with the engine speeds of a Sega Saturn, Playstation and CDO, D had a strained performance. This slow execution actually did a little bit to help it in the ways of atmosphere. The slow movement speeds do get a little monotonous, but now this port has improved all of it. SPOILERS for D ahead.

Not only does it look cleaner, but most movement just takes about a second. It looks a lot more stable now while not getting rid of its crude charm that we fell in love with. D was a little hard to get to remember. The last time I played it fully was to review it back in 2019, so this was a little harder to get back into than was expected. The heightened movement speed did a lot to help in ways of going the wrong way as well. If you accidentally made the wrong move and had to go back, it was a lot more annoying back when movements took three to five seconds. This may not seem like much, but when you move in a point and click like this, those few seconds make a lot of difference. 

This is how a game should graphically clean up. If you remember in the Daytona Champion Circuit review, the graphics looked sterile. Sometimes, they look entirely too clean and change what made the game look so cool in the first place. D, on the other hand, keeps the grain, but there's just not as much of it. This keeps its identity as an older game while keeping itself fresher for the new systems and computer engines. 

Not going to lie, I had to use a guide more than once when I couldn't remember where to find certain answers to certain puzzles. It was better to revisit it through text so you didn't give away the visual of finding the puzzle piece in the game itself. Sometimes you'll find answers in blood and sometimes you'll find evidence in some secrets that are fun to find throughout the Crazy Mind Mansion thing you're going through. 

I made it a point to find all of the scarab beetles that bring about the flashbacks. Everyone loves finding completions and this was one of the more satisfying. It shows images that your dad erased of your mind when you kill your mother by stabbing her to death. There was only one other time I was able to do this in the game, so this was a nice little welcome surprise. 

It really isn't a long game once you know what you're doing. Take that with the enhanced movement speed and it's almost a shame the game is so short otherwise. It's short because of the game's limitations and they used that to tighten up the scare sequences throughout D. Now, it is a graphically enhanced game for the mid 90's. It's obvious that I talk about D a lot with it being in my top 10 favorite Sega Saturn games. I only thought of it as having been reviewed before, in one of my first Sega Saturn articles ever written. It turns out that I have talked about this through favorites list, the sequel comparison and game comparison. I have mentioned it in several others as well as a statement on how to do horror correctly.  There really will never be a substitute for these 32 bit games and how crudely charming they look. The new port looks great and if you're interested in playing some old games, this is one that shouldn't go overlooked if you're looking for something different. It's best played in the dark, here in the season of Halloween. Just remember to break it out during the Virtua Month of Ghostly SPOOOOOOOOOOOKIES and everyone will finish the night with both of their wings. Bring back the Saturn Spookiness this season and don't step in the spikes.

Laura!!!!

Remake for Panzer Dragoon II Zwei Announced

And the crowd goes mild. There is a very good reason why I have never really reviewed the Panzer Dragoon remake officially, and that's mostly because I forgot it existed. Seriously, this remake left such a huge non-impact on me that I never really even put finger to keyboard and stamped out any real thoughts on it. There really weren't many other than it was bland, ridiculously easy and flat out pressure washed the graphics to what looked like high definition, textureless polygons. The scenery was nice, but the Dragoon looked so generic. 

Panzer Dragoon, as a series, has left a huge impact because of its gameplay, its graphics, controls, enemies and vast, beautiful 32-bit terrains. It literally pushed the boundaries of what the Sega Saturn was capable of, and it's still celebrated to this day. Well, of course it is. Why else would they bother with remakes? The fact that they are making remakes for the Saturn is great, obviously, but I'm really hoping the Panzer Dragoon II remake doesn't go the same route as the first. The graphics should never be so smooth and flavorless. The grainy graphics were part of its real charm. 

The Quake remakes understood this. While it isn't a perfect job, they kept the core graphics the same, while making them look sharper. They never lost their dull edge, though. It still had the mud colors because of the graphics limitations it was presented. Going full 3D forced them to make the graphics more gothic and macabre. Much like Quake, Panzer Dragoon was rough around the edges in graphics, especially when it came to their horrific and amazing looking bosses. 

The next point is that, while maybe adding a difficulty meter is preferable, you should never make such a notoriously difficult game sooooooo blatantly easy. Panzer Dragoon itself is a very short game. The point is that you need to finish it in one sitting, but not at twenty minute sitting. It's made that difficult so that people can get more bang for their buck and require they try harder to beat a challenging game. Sanding off the edges of difficulty into rounded point plastic scissors barely able to cut a single construction paper is just taking away from the experience and often leaves one feeling like they could have spent their money elsewhere. 

Not everything about the remake was terrible, but it certainly didn't leave an impression and it's kind of a point of pride to say that Zwei has always been my favorite entry. The setting, the bad guys, the difficulty but also the adventure just gave the game life for me. Translating that into Steam and PS5 would be awesome, but hopefully they won't tinker with an already great game too much. It's great for a reason, and if you polish it to be too shiny you may ruin the paint! Do not make it bland and please give us a few more angles to look from, then this could be an amazing remake. We're keeping our Virtua Fingers Crossed. 

Happy 30th Birthday, Sega Saturn!

 Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Sega Saturn’s release in America and we Saturn fans will dance and sing its praise with unconditional love, even today! I count myself proudly among them and who would I be if I didn’t give it the best article I could possibly give? This is a flawed but gorgeous system that deserves all of the praise and a fraction of the criticism it has gotten over the years. Whatever your thoughts are on the Saturn are, so long as you believe that we love it, that’s all that it takes. 

Whatever genre you want to play, the 5th generation Sega system has it in spades. It has its terrible games, just like any other console but it also has its gems where it counts. Compare it to the Playstation all you want and turn your nose up toward it if you feel like it, but your opinions are your own and we will give this system the celebration it truly deserves right here! 

People love awards, and developers love to win awards for the effort they put into their games. So, since the Saturn Awards have already been taken, we’ll be presenting some games with the Golden S Awards in their own respective categories. This will be a mixture of personal preference as well as popular opinion all rolled into one big package. Please, if you have a pick for these awards, don’t be shy, talk about it in the comments and express your love for the Saturn! Be respectful and courteous while letting your love shine through.

RPG

The first category we’ll be viewing today is the Roleplaying Games! There are so many great RPG’s on the system and it’s really hard to choose from its gigantic library as such. Among such amazing titles as Shining the Holy Ark, Shining Force III, Dark Force and Magic Knight Rayearth, picking out one single title seems like a daunting task for anyone, let alone Saturn Fanatics. 

Panzer Dragoon Saga

On another note, though, some would call this a no-brainer. The Panzer Dragoon series is no stranger to greatness and many consider Panzer Dragoon Saga not only the greatest RPG on the Saturn, but the greatest game on the console, period! Flying through landscapes and fighting monsters of all shapes and sizes in gameplay so vastly different from its predecessors was pulled off with absolute grace and glory. Taking place thirty years after the first Panzer Dragoon, you are Edge. Flying on your Dragoon through treacherous landscape never looked better as it pushes the system to its very limits on four discs. Calling this an epic seems like small potatoes by comparison to its definition. If you are an RPG fan, you are depriving yourself of enormous experience if you miss this title. Do not pass this game up!

Fighting Games

If you thought the Saturn had a great selection of RPG’s, you better strap yourselves in for the Fighting Games! To say there are a lot would be the understatement of the year. Both Capcom and Sega themselves developed multiples upon multiples of titles and slapped that beautiful S on each and every single one of them. From 3D, 2D and 2.5D fighting games, there are some incredible titles to cover and we need to pick two of them.

2D Fighting Game

The first game will be less pixels but just as much action. With such titles as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Darkstalkers and SNK, you better believe choosing a title among them is going to be more than a little difficult. The greatest thing to note about the Sega Saturn’s fighters is that its controller was seemingly created with arcade fighters in mind as the button and D-pad were set up very similarly to the big machine cabinets. This makes the system ideal for competitive fighting gameplay. The 2D Fighters alone include Street Fighter Alpha, Fatal Fury 3, X-men: Children of the Atom, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and King of Fighters ‘97. The list goes on and on! However, in the end, there can be only one.

X-men vs Street Fighter

That’s right, Capcom wins the day with their amazing Marvel vs Capcom precursor and it is beyond amazing! In the world of home consoles, no one came close to the Sega Saturn version of this game. The character selection is beautiful and the animation is gorgeous, especially for the era it was created in. With 17 characters in all, the battles are fearsome and the action is non-stop so long as you have the courage to go on! Widely considered one of the best Saturn games around, this is a title to put on your shelf, ASAP!

3D Fighting Game

The Saturn’s 3D Fighters are also no slouch when it comes to choices. Some of its first games were arcade ports of arcade 3D brawlers that showed off its capacity for bone crunching action of the finest caliber. True Saturn fans will have Fighters Megamix come to mind, as well they should. With Fighting Vipers and Virtua Fighter clashing together head to head, why wouldn’t it be a top pick? Others will cite Virtua Fighter 2 as some of the finest punch and kick gameplay around, this is also a strong argument. Even its predecessor, Virtua Fighter, which launched the Sega Saturn, while lacking in graphics, still had gameplay far and away as some of the finest of its time. Then, when you want to ramp up the technology and put your fighters into massive machines of mayhem, look no further than Virtual On. 

Virtual On: Cyber Troopers

Stay with me on this one. This was top of the line fighting for several reasons. Not only did it have a complete change up of the genre but it also boasted some of the most original gameplay as far as fighters went. With your choice of vastly different cyber troopers and long range to close range combat systems, you really couldn’t go wrong with this title. The gameplay takes some practice to get use to because it’s so much faster than your run-of-the-mill fighters and you’ll be begging for more once you’ve had a taste of the lasers and missiles flying every which way on the screen! 

Platformers

While not as plentiful as the Fighters and RPG’s the Saturn boasts a healthy helping of platformers of all kinds, and I mean ALL KINDS. They may be small in numbers but they are quite unique as the genre goes. We like to celebrate those differences with praise, though, that’s for sure. With such legendary titles as Clockwork Knight, Mega Man X3, Mega Man 8, and Mr. Bones, you really couldn’t go wrong. Let’s not forget that it also houses all three of the original Sonic games (plus their Knuckles equivalent) on Sonic Jam, which is a must-own if you are a true blue fan of the Blue Blur. A close runner for the platformer genre is the amazing Nights Into Dreams, which revolutionized the system and pushed its very limits in both graphics and 3D Gameplay, it even inspired the creation of the 3D Gamepad controller! However, there is one other title that is just a little more beloved.

Burning Rangers

Saturn 3D Platforming at its finest. This rare game is among the most engrossing in every facet. There are relatable characters (that you love and hate and love to hate) that carry out daring rescues as they plunge into burning buildings to save civilians. If that weren’t enough, there’s even boss battles that will grip you like none other! Even though it’s a somewhat short game, its control and soundtrack are just icing on the cake. If you can find this at a decent price, do not let it escape your grasp! 

Racing Games

In the young days of 3D gaming, 32-bits could pull off some seriously awesome racing games! From race cars to motorcycles, there’s racing fun to be had all around! Wipeout is always there for those of you who love rocket powered racers of the future but for those of you loving the raceways with the likes of Nascar, Daytona USA and its Champion Circuit are there to quench your thirst. GT24, Sega Touring Car Championship, and the original Need for Speed are all lovely gems of this genre! If you delve deep into this group, you’ll find more than one that you’ll like or even love. Again, though, we’re whittling it down to one single diamond among the jewels. 

Sega Rally Championship

Among Sega Saturn fans, this is definitely the most popular choice as racing games go, and there is a very good reason for that! The starting race course is iconic and its graphics are stellar in the world of 32-bit delight! The best thing about it is the detail in the landscape and the control in which to make your opponents eat your dust! It’s high octane speedy fun and you can tear into the road over and over again without a single care in the world. Keep your eye on the road!

Rail Shooters

Games in which bullets go into bad guys and you’re left with the satisfaction of moving on to the next section to take on another barrage of them. Whether they be criminals, zombies or aliens, it doesn’t matter! Keep shooting that gun across the screen and you’re bound to have a good time in this uncomplicated but riveting genre of games! Sega Saturn had some titles that you may have seen in more than one arcade. I mean, Area 51 is one of the LESSER shooters on this system and that’s a high standard already! Panzer Dragoon 1 and 2 were marvels of their time and deserve more than just a mention to be sure, but as rail shooters go, they are not the kind we’re targeting (Not to mention, Saga already took home a prize). Then there’s the amazing House of the Dead, even though it wasn’t quite as good as its arcade counterpart, it’s still fantastic! 

Virtua Cop 2

You can argue this point, that much is certain. However, this title is a peak that so many gamers revel in. It’s a very close race between the first and second game, but while Virtua Cop 1 was a more pure experience, you can’t deny that the second one was better in the ways of detail and environments when it comes to the arcade shoot’em up. With the inclusion of Virtua City’s new recruit, Janet Marshall, this game has that fast pace shooter aspect that fans really crave. Those baddies need to be taken out and now you have the arsenal to do it! Pick up that light gun and dive right in! 

Are there more genres to look over? Of course, but let’s just simmer down from popular opinions and just bask in the love we have for our 5th gen system. It wasn’t the most popular console, by any means, but it certainly was full of personality and did its own thing and did it very well. This isn’t even my first game system that I played, nor is it the first Sega game system that I had as a kid. It was, however, the first 3D game system I had and I was caught in its magic the moment I opened it up on Christmas morning of 1996. Me as a 10 year old child glimpsing upon its wonder with three full games that it came with. 

Call Saturn fanatics nostalgic old farts with rose colored glasses all you want. You can talk about the Playstation all you want but get that overhyped garbage out of my face! It’s all about the Saturn for me! Not only the Saturn but the Dreamcast which can be considered a perfect sequel to an already marvelous first. Both of them together make for an experience like none other and it is just a shame that they did so terribly in the states. 

To say this system is a cult classic would be a drastic understatement! The Saturn has a loyal fanbase, and that’s enough to show that it is still a titan of its era. Under appreciated in its time but it has aged like a fine wine for those who are willing to give it a fair chance. 

I’m not the only one who feels this way. There are plenty others who have a soft spot for the Sega legend. It’s full of flaws but we love it for what it is. Now, I have invited a good bunch of folks to type up a little bit about the Sega Saturn. Read what these Saturn-heads have to say and please post your thoughts in the comments. Even if you don’t love the system, post your thoughts. Be courteous and be kind. Thanks for reading and remember to drink water.

“The Saturn is a console that time has been kind to, as gamers find a real and heartfelt connection to the system. Up against the then newcomer in Sony’s PlayStation, it was home to some genuinely unique games that some argue optimise the very pinnacle of SEGA’s creativity.

And while third party support dwindled due to the complex architecture of the system, in the hands of SEGA’s first party studios, the Saturn would sing, with titles like Virtua Fighter 2, SEGA Rally, Virtua Cop, NiGHTS, and Panzer Dragoon, providing gamers with hours of entertainment.

It’s arguable that the Saturn is THE cult SEGA console, whose collectibility and timeless blend of original and arcade titles make it a favourite for retro gamers young and old.”

--Dreamcast Addict

“Dear Sega Saturn,  It's your birthday, and I love you.  

I remember when I first got you. You were my first home console. I remember the rain animations and background animals in Sonic 3D Blast. I remember looking out into the skybox in Croc and thinking "I can see so far from up here!" Nights will always be MY first sandbox. 

 I'll never forget telling my friends, "No, I don't mean Sega Genesis." I'll never forget how cartridges on the 64 seemed like a step backwards. I'll never forget Clockwork Knight; whether or not I knew what was going on in it. 

Most of all, Sega Saturn, I'll never forget you.”

--EjFellner

Marvel vs Capcom Collection - It's a Dreamcast true (Pt 1)

 

As of late, we've been seeing a lot of callback collections, porting old games into new consoles. This is not only a port of video games that are rarely played now, but they're Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast era games. Their worth is now through the roof! For those who don't know, X-men vs Street Fighter was one of the biggest arcade blockbusters. It became very popular in the cabinet and also became one of the most beloved Sega Saturn titles. Well, they decided to keep expanding upon that idea and many great titles were a result. Well, in some amazing show of generocity, Capcom has decided to release an entire collection of these titles! 

This will be a series of reviews, for obvious reasons. There are some big titles in this collection and covering all of them in one go would just result in a big bloated post. I would rather give one or two of them my undivided attention first and foremost. Today, we'll be looking at two of the titles that I have alluded to in former reviews, but have never taken a proper look at. We'll be doing the first two in the Marvel vs Capcom titles! 

It was interesting to find out that I have barely ever played the first title in this series. Marvel vs Capcom was always overshadowed by its sequel, much in Capcom fashion, and I found out exactly why. 

Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes

When it comes to fighting games, Capcom has always been a name that you can trust. This title definitely brought the goods when it came to fighting mechanics. What it lacked, in retrospect, was characters. The first title gives you a fighting duo instead of a trio as well. It is not a bare bones roster, in fact, it has quite a few characters for a fighting game of its time. The problem is that it is covering two entire franchises. X-men vs Street Fighter could go lower in the number of characters it covered because it covered two much smaller groups. 

This is a nitpick, when all is said and done, because this game is still a lot of fun to play through. One great thing this game has going for it is that it has Onslaught as the main badguy. If you're a comic book nerd, you'd probably know that name and who it really is. Still, with what characters they do have, this game delivers with Mega Man, Ryu, and Chun-li from the Capcom side to name a few. The characters they chose were heavy hitters, especially the returning cast of X-men vs Street Fighter. Another great feature that the Collection edition brings is the option to choose an alternative Chun-li and War Machine. Both of them have special powers and are a power duo. It was a very good start to the series and even if it doesn't hold up as well as its sequel, it's still a game with a lot of charm.

Marvel vs Capcom 2

This is the Justice League Unlimited of games, especially for its time. The roster on display here was a marvel of its time, no pun intended. There are so many characters from both franchises and they are presented so well. This game was great on Dreamcast and it is still great to this day. The ability to choose three characters to fight with, along with what type of gameplay you have to choose from. You really need to stand back and take in this game. The backgrounds, especially that horrific inflatable clown background, are chiseled into gaming history. 

Playing through this game again, it became quite obvious that I was rusty as hell because it has become a bit difficult after so long of leaving it on the shelf. This is normally the title I play when I go to the local arcade here in town, and that's not on a very regular basis. It was rough relearning all of it, because it has been a very long time since I fought the final opponent, the Abyss! Of course, you had enemies spamming attacks. You also have Dan, the reject from Street Fighter. Don't ever fight with him unless you want to have a handicap to make the game even HARDER! 

This and Marvel vs Capcom were also some of seeing Spider-man in his full form fighting mode! This was before Spider-man 2 came out and showed us how great a Spidey game could be. He is one of the highlight characters to use. He and Wolverine are staples of the series and have been, no matter how many stupid iterations leave Wolverine out. 

These days, we have much later and larger iterations of the roster with Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, but you really need to appreciate where these titles started. That's why it's so good to see them releasing these games for the later consoles. This is a great way to experience all of the games, and it's going to be a joy to look through and review all of the titles as I go. The more we go into the series, the more it is apparent that adding money to a title doesn't make it better. Their rosters can be twice the size, but that doesn't take away from these two that we've looked at today. Marvel vs Capcom 2 has become a favorite among old school gamers for a reason, and it's wonderful to see that it's more accessible now. Oh, that and Punisher shooting and killing criminals. The kids will love that one! Virtua Blam! 

Virtua Neptune's Worst Fighting Games

This planet is no stranger to horrible fighting games. While we may specialize in the Saturn, there are so many subpar Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter clones out there. These games do nothing to add to the genre, but subtract from the fun factor on many fronts. Graphics may not be the biggest factor, far from it, but even that is somehow part of some of these games' downfall. We'll be covering some of the bigger titles, but also going at the games that are the largest criminals in their respective faults. This is going for games that are primarily 1 vs 1, not beat'em ups or wrestling games. The fighting games masquerading as wrestling games, however, are not off of the radar! 

These are games I've played and have at least played through the Arcade Modes/Story Modes. If you got some you hate worse, it's time to fight! Get your dukes up! Let's go! 

Sonic the Fighters (Gamecube)

Sometimes, when we say worst, we mean the ones with crap mechanics but the most charming characters. This charm goes over to the mistakes the game makes, sometimes, and this is one of those times. Sonic has a large cast and this game takes advantage of many of them. When you play as Amy, you get to use a hammer and when you're Knuckles, you get to use his fists! The gameplay is completely unbalanced, the attacks have no skill on show to put to use, so any thought of competition is out the window. You can play with a toddler and the toddler can literally win by button mashing because they button mashed with more vigor. This makes it a poorly executed button bashing fighting frenzy and that's got some playability, especially at parties. If you enjoy Sonic games, don't pass up a chance to play this terrible little gem. 

Dragon Ball GT Final Bout (PS1)

Once again, we find ourselves covering a large franchise, and once again, the game was so terrible it's loveable. The controls in this, the attacks and the blocky graphics only make fans love it more. You see characters you love (from a divisive part of the series) and you will either love or hate how they are presented here. It really helps when a friend is making fun of you, and you get the upper hand to bash their brains. Finding out the scope of these characters they cover is an utter joy, if you find a way to button mash your way through the roster. Another guilty pleasure for your consideration.

Battle Arena Toshinden 4 (PS1)

The great thing about not caring about a story or its characters is that if they are poorly used or not treated well in later sequels, it's really not a big deal. If you attempt to keep up with this story and its gameplay through the Playstation, you'll see why this was worse than Battle Arena Toshinden URA. Just because the second game for the PS1 was better does not mean that this series went a favorable route. Characters are meaninglessly killed between games and the story basically goes nowhere. The gameplay is just as bad, if not worse than all of the other ones, which is saying a great deal. Sorry if you had any sort of investment in this series, for whatever reason.

Street Fighter (Anniversary)

Fighting Games had their start in the very late 80's, but they didn't truly hit the mainstream until this very strangely nostalgic game hit the arcades. Why this drew such a crowd is anyone's guess, but it put Capcom on the map and Street Fighter II skyrocketed them through the stratosphere. How did it start like this? This game is so limited, and its controls are heartbreaking, even if you play the updated versions. They were very adamant about keeping its clumsy charm about it. I've played the original version in the arcades, previously, but this was back decades ago. I do remember comparing it very starkly to its sequel and there was only one quarter spent as I played Ken against my brother's Ryu. Needless to say, we stuck to TURBO!

Rise of the Robots (Genesis)

I mostly played the sequel, thinking that it was the worse of the two. This was false, as the first iteration was recently attempted. Well, attempted meaning I made a feeble attempt to play and dominated the entire game by spamming one attack. One thing that really puts this below Rise 2 is that you can only play one character against generic, shapeless machines that you can knock back with a light tap. You can make a pretty good joke that the most powerful opponent is the laziest bipedal hunk of chrome metal plating of all the robot things.  

Battle Monsters (Saturn)

When you play a fighting game, normally you like to actually see what you are playing. This game begs to differ. Not only does the camera have a spaz attack at a moment's notice, but the character designs and graphics are so terrible, it's hard to make out anything. You attack in the opponent's general direction and you hope that it hit something, because the detection is beyond abysmal. The candles for lifebars is charmingly dark, and there is something decently cool about the horror theme, but this was a boring and laborious experience.

Celebrity Deathmatch (PS2)

If you wanted quotes repeated over and over again, terrible controls along with gruesome graphics, you've come to the right game! Slogging through this game is like a gauntlet of what horrific images and poorly represented celebrities that you may or may not have heard of. The show was grotesque and and had stupidly funny jokes, but none of that crude charm is presented in this game. I understand that this was supposed to be fought in a ring, but did every single level need to be a ring? Yes, they differentiated them by the outer exterior, but that does not help them from feeling samey. In fact, every match is samey. 

The Simpsons Wrestling (PS2)

This is a reason why your characters need some sort of mass and physicality in your game. Each and every character in this game is made of balloons. The controls don't matter because you can just jump onto someone until they are down. If you try to actually fight someone legitimately, you will find that you are juggled over and over again. Always get the faster, smaller characters because they can swing faster and it doesn't matter that they are weaker, they still do tons of damage. Fighting in a bouncing castle is fun, but this was a dismal experience. There is something fun about how loose the fighting rules are and weightless the characters are. This can be a good party game, much like some of these others. Any of them are fun to laugh at, honesty  

Time Killers (Genesis)

This game will give you motion sickness with how shallow and stilted it is. The controls are stiff and the graphics do not mesh at all with the background. It's very different looking at it against playing it for yourself. Limbs randomly fall off your character, and if your arms fall off, obviously, your kicks are not your one defence. You may as well say goodbye to yourhead, because that means you can't block your opponent's headshots. It has some morbid charm, at first, but it becomes a slog very quickly. You either need to be very lucky when fighting the final guy, or you are going to be fighting him again and again. He is required to be beheaded at the end of the match, so here's hoping.

Pit-Fighter (SNES)

If you thought you could win, guess what? You're wrong! Even the most gifted and talented players at their peak would be troubled to even bother with this game. You push buttons and it is a miracle if you even make it past the first bout. All you do is pound each others faces with punches and kicks and you move onto the next fighter where you are thoroughly turned into a gray mass of dead body. This game thought it had to be hard to get more quarters, but it missd the fact that it was on the Super Nintendo! This terrible experience is topped off with horrible graphics, acres of wasted screen space, and an all around very unpleasant soundtrack. 

Mortal Kombat Advance

Here is the missing link between Tyger Electronics and the Gameboy Advance. Some unknown developers LIED and told the public that they could, in fact, create a fighting game fitting for the MK title. This was supposed to be Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for the GBA, but for some reason, the fighters move as if their frames were slowed to a crawl. Many special moves do not work and the entire game is nothing but a glitch. Even regular moves feel wrong and do not even present correctly half the time. The frames are so bad that it looks like you're blinking in and out of existence. Their inputs just don't react correctly, it is very hard to describe how jank the controls feel. The AI blocks continuously and even seems to go in fast motion compared to your own movement. 

There are plenty more fighting games that belong on this list, but these are the games that were readily available here on Planet Virtua. Each one of them has their shortcomings that pretty much ruin them, but that doesn't mean they're without merit. Some of them were just underdeveloped, while some of them just didn't have much of a gimmick to keep it interesting. There are still some great fun to be had from these titles, especially Sonic the Fighters. They can just be mindless fighting fun, or they can be fun to laugh and poke fun at. As bad as they are, we can still play them and have a good time. Virtua Soft Spot.