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A Retrospective on Saturn Shooters


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A couple of weeks ago I began writing gaming articles for the blog at eStarland.com. My first "assignment" was to create a "top ten" list of the absolute "definitive" shooters (shmups) for the Sega Saturn.

 

Now, before I go any farther, let me say that I dislike top-anything lists no less than the next guy here.

 

With that out of the way, I originally made this list a generalized, un-numbered one. The site and I agreed that they could modify it to fit their needs at their site, while I am allowed to re-post it where I please, unedited. If you would like to see the version modified by the site, you can read visit their actual blog here: http://estarland.blogspot.com/2010/07/top-10-sega-saturn-shoot-em-ups.html

 

Anyways, let me know what you think. If you have any other titles you personally enjoyed, feel free to leave some responses below as well. :)

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RETROSPECTIVE: SHOOTERS FOR THE SEGA SATURN

10 [of many] THAT SHOULD NOT BE MISSED

 

When the Sega Saturn was released in the 1990s, it quickly established itself as the premier household arcade gaming platform. Not only was the system bursting at the seams with excellent renditions of popular fighting, racing and light gun arcade titles, there was also no shortage of shoot 'em ups available (shmups for short).

 

While the US only officially received two of these, that did not stop gamers from importing the dozens of other quality shooters available in Japan. With that in mind, let's take a few moments to reminisce about some of the best shooters the system has to offer:

 

SONIC WINGS SPECIAL

While not as flashy as some of the other shooters on the Saturn, Sonic Wings Special still stands as being one of the more "complete" arcade-style packages on the system. It pieces together segments from all three arcade Sonic Wings (Aero Fighters) titles and features nearly two-dozen selectable ships and characters, each with their own style, abilities and endings. The basic arcade game itself is rather lengthy, clocking in at roughly ten stages, and multiple paths keep things fresh for consecutive plays. After completing the main game with every base character, a second/alternate level set is unlocked, doubling the amount of stages in what was already an extensive shmup.

 

SALAMANDER DELUXE PACK PLUS

The Salamander series is a spin-off, or side story, in the popular Gradius series by Konami. This collection includes the late '80s Salamander and Life Force arcade games, as well as the excellent 1996 overhaul, Salamander 2. One of the more varied shooter experiences on the system thanks to Salamander's constant changing among side-scrolling, horizontal modes and top-down, vertical-scrolling segments.

 

BATSUGUN

Toaplan, one of the premier shooter developers in the late '80s and early '90s, released their final game, Batsugun, in 1993. It was THE pioneer in the sub-genre we now know as "bullet hell" shooters, bringing to the table the idea of selectable characters, massive firepower never seen before and very rarely since, and layers and layers of bullets on-screen at once. A flawless port to the Saturn was released in 1996, and thanks to an added arrange mode with a remixed soundtrack, many see this as the once-great studio's swan song.

 

DODONPACHI

A shooter that, along with a few other titles in the mid '90s, helped define the sub-genre that we now know as "bullet hell" or "manic" shooters. The Saturn port was a near-perfect (if not perfect) port of the arcade game and still stands as being one of the craziest shooters from its era.

 

STRIKERS 1945 II

While Psikyo had ported several of its arcade shooters to the Saturn prior to this, Strikers 1945 II was the game that perfected the formula found in the earlier Gunbird and Strikers 1945 games. The sprites are huge and well-animated, each ship offers its own kind of style and gameplay experience, the rocking soundtrack keeps moving. Also, the absence of load times between stages keeps the excellent action constant.

 

DARIUS GAIDEN

A massive overhaul on the classic Darius formula, Gaiden very well takes full-advantage of the Saturn's 2D strengths with a never-ending stream of psychedelic graphical effects, layer upon layer of parallax scrolling and a heavy use of scaling. Polished visuals, smooth gameplay, a catchy soundtrack and seamless stage transitions makes for a non-stop ride that holds up as one of the best shooters of the mid '90s. Fortunately, this one was released in the US and can still be experienced easily at a relatively affordable price.

 

THUNDERFORCE V

Taking elements from the classic Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Thunderforce games, Thunderforce V cranks up the gameplay speed, adds new weapons, and shifts the visual look to a 2D/3D hybrid mixture of sprites and polygons. The effect is put to very good use and clearly plays on the strengths of the Saturn's hardware. Visual effects aside, the gameplay is no slouch, either, with varied level design, excellent boss fights, and a gameplay/system upgrade halfway through the game. To top it off, Thunderforce V features one of the most kicking soundtracks to ever appear in a shmup. On a side note, the PlayStation also received a port, and while it is also a very good game, it was severely cut back in the visuals department, leaving the Saturn game to stand as the "definitive" version.

 

GALACTIC ATTACK

Also known as Layer Section in Japan, Galactic Attack is a port of the Taito arcade shooter "RayForce" and is one of two shmups available on the Saturn in the US. This game mixed the standard shooter formula up a bit by allowing the player to lock-on to enemies on a lower plane, while still shooting the regular enemies on the player's level. Much like Darius Gaiden, the seamless stage transitions, fitting soundtrack, and constant use of heavy 2D scaling and scrolling makes this one of the most polished shooters on the system. The balanced difficulty also makes it one of the most accessible.

 

SOUKYUGURENTAI

A port of a SEGA ST-V arcade game (The arcade hardware that was based on the Saturn itself), Soukyugurentai is a unique blend of your standard shooting and lock-on based gameplay (ala Galactic Attack). Its huge boss battles and constantly zooming, playfield-expanding camera make it a one-of-a-kind shooter that should not be missed.

 

RADIANT SILVERGUN

Created by the ever-original Treasure in 1998, Radiant Silvergun is widely regarded as one of the greatest shoot 'em ups ever conceived. The experience-based weapon upgrade system, the frequent, massive boss-fights, the appropriate, beautiful soundtrack and the deep chaining system makes for one of the most unique, original shooters ever created. A little difficult to sum this one up in a short paragraph, there are plenty of videos on the internet that should be able to give you a taste of what this one is like.[/b]

Edited by Austin
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Good list. Since you did arcade ports, I might trade out Souky with Galaxy Force or Night Striker. I found Souky to be a muddled mess and didn't get what the fuss was about. Still have not played Radiant Silvergun after all these years. Also wasn't sure there was a difference between PSX and Sat versions of Thunderforce.

 

I have Strikers on the PSX and it's a great game.

Edited by stalepie
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Good list. Since you did arcade ports, I might trade out Souky with Galaxy Force or Night Striker.

 

I didn't include anything 3rd-person/behind-the-back in this list.. Games like that are shooty, but they aren't typically categorized with your standard vertically or horizontally scrolling shooters.

 

Speaking of which, I need to pick up Galaxy Force II.. :)

 

I found Souky to be a muddled mess and didn't get what the fuss was about.

 

I remember not being impressed with Soukyugurentai when it came out, either, in '98 or so. It was when I had the ST-V version of it in 2001/2002 though that my mind changed on that.. I don't know what it was--Maybe having the genuine arcade experience?--but it was pretty bad-ass the second time around. It's weird how that works. :)

 

Also wasn't sure there was a difference between PSX and Sat versions of Thunderforce.

 

Yep, the PSX version forgoes a lot of background layers of scrolling, amongst other things like, IIRC, fog and such on that one jungle level. Ironically though, it doesn't jitter or stutter like the Saturn version occasionally does, so I guess it's a matter of taste.. I do prefer the added effects in the Saturn game though. Regardless, both are excellent versions! :)

Edited by Austin
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Good list. Since you did arcade ports, I might trade out Souky with Galaxy Force or Night Striker.

 

I didn't include anything 3rd-person/behind-the-back in this list.. Games like that are shooty, but they aren't typically categorized with your standard vertically or horizontally scrolling shooters.

Oh, yeah, you're right...

 

Speaking of which, I need to pick up Galaxy Force II.. :)

NEIN!!!! You must get Night Striker!!! (Unless of course you already have NS).

 

Seriously though: it's tied for me with Snatcher as best cyberpunk game ever.

 

I found Souky to be a muddled mess and didn't get what the fuss was about.

 

I remember not being impressed with Soukyugurentai when it came out, either, in '98 or so. It was when I had the ST-V version of it in 2001/2002 though that my mind changed on that.. I don't know what it was--Maybe having the genuine arcade experience?--but it was pretty bad-ass the second time around. It's weird how that works. :)

Ughh, in all my years of using Forums I've still never figured out how to quote things properly and do it manually.

 

Anyway, I'll try Souky again (some guy in IRC told me cool people call it that). Maybe before I sell my Saturn and all its games.

My Saturn never did work right anyway cause I got it for 15 dollars on ebay and the left channel of the sound goes out every few minutes.

 

Also wasn't sure there was a difference between PSX and Sat versions of Thunderforce.

 

Yep, the PSX version forgoes a lot of background layers of scrolling, amongst other things like, IIRC, fog and such on that one jungle level. Ironically though, it doesn't jitter or stutter like the Saturn version occasionally does, so I guess it's a matter of taste.. I do prefer the added effects in the Saturn game though. Regardless, both are excellent versions! :)

Oh i see.

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NEIN!!!! You must get Night Striker!!! (Unless of course you already have NS).

 

I have actually owned Night Striker in the past, while the only version of Galaxy Force II I've owned is the 50/50 Sega Genesis port.

 

The list is missing by far the very best Saturn shoot em up, Battle Garegga!

 

Yep, I've always heard it was good.. I never did play it, though. Actually, I think it's one of the only "high profile" shmups on the Saturn I missed out on. Just for the sake of the article I did check out some videos of it.. It looked really good, albeit I wasn't a huge fan of the music style. Regardless, as much as I would have like to have stuck it on out of good faith alone, I haven't played it so I decided not to.

 

Battle Garegga is an arcade game, too, right? Since its price is a little outrageous on the Saturn, maybe I should check it out on MAME.

Edited by Austin
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Battle Garegga is an arcade game, too, right? Since its price is a little outrageous on the Saturn, maybe I should check it out on MAME.

 

Garegga on MAME lags like a mofo. You will want the lagless MAME hack. But then it still lags 3 frames instead of 4, IIRC.

Personally, Garegga is well beyond my depth. I mean... look at this.

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