NOTE TO MODS: There is no place to put system reviews so I had to do them here.
The Sega Saturn was a system that only the most hardcore of gamers truly remember. Why? Well, the Saturn failed to gain the audience it needed to survive. Its games failed to impress, 3rd party support was low, and the thing cost $400 at launch, as the hardware inside was really complex. Despite its failure, the Saturn lives on in the hearts of hardcore gamers.
Design A-: The Saturn is a very well designed console. The CDs go on the top along with memory cartridges that expand the Saturn's internal memory, RAM, bypass region coding, or all of these things together. Speaking of which the Saturn has internal memory, which is nice if you buy it used, that way you don't have to buy memory cards. Sega didn't execute the Saturn's internal memory very well. There's very limited room, meaning you would have to buy memory cartridges. Though you don't have to buy a lot as the cartridges hold 10X (memory varies) more memory then the Saturn itself. The memory inside the Saturn powered by a tiny lithium battery. So you might have to buy a new battery if you want to save games. The Saturn is pretty heavy as the power supply is built in, but it feels like you have a high quality piece of hardware when you use the Saturn. The disc reading mechanism is quiet unlike the loud Playstation mechanism, and from what I heard there are a lot less durability issues with the Saturn then the Playstation.
Controller: B+: While not as solid as the Genesis controller, the Saturn controller is pretty comfortable. It's shaped very similarly to the Genesis controller, but it has 6 face buttons along with 2 shoulder buttons. The D-pad feels a bit awkward at first, but its great for 2D games. Sega later released the 3D controller which was huge, but had an analog thumb-stick, and analog triggers. I can't say what it feels like as I don't have the controller.
Packaging D-: When I bought my Saturn I looked at the games thinking that the packaging was great. Only to find out that its the crappiest CD packaging I have ever seen. Its not rare for a game case to become cracked due the cheap plastic that the cases are made out of. So if you buy a Saturn TAKE CARE OF THE PACKAGING. Treat it like a baby, because if you drop it, there will be a lovely crack in the case and it will look terrible.
Graphics B-: The Saturn's 3D graphics were far behind the Playstation, and the N64. This was because the Saturn had 2 main CPUs and slew of other processors. This made it hard for developers to program for the Saturn, to make things worse the console used quadrilaterals instead of triangles. This was very new to developers and made it more difficult to make good looking 3D games on the Saturn. They got better over the years, but the 3D graphic capabilities were modest for the Saturn. 2D games on the other hand looked amazing. The Saturn had better 2D graphics then the Playstation, and it shows in its games. The Saturns true graphical strength is in 2D sprites.
Games/ collectibitly B-: The Saturn has a lot of hidden gems that will appeal to hardcore gamers. From the awesome fighting games to the unique games, the Saturn has one of best libraries around. Sadly a lot of Playstation hits didn't make it to the Saturn, and 3rd party games are mediocre (for the most part) and don't really push the hardware. The best games come from Sega. The Saturn had a ton of great arcade ports. Games like Virtua Fighter 2, and Sega Rally play great, and are faithful to their arcade counterparts. To get the best games however; you must pay an arm and leg. The Saturn US games can get expensive due to high demand, and rarity. You will find more games at a cheaper price if you buy imported games.
NOTE TO MODS: There is no place to put system reviews so I had to do them here.
The Sega Saturn was a system that only the most hardcore of gamers truly remember. Why? Well, the Saturn failed to gain the audience it needed to survive. Its games failed to impress, 3rd party support was low, and the thing cost $400 at launch, as the hardware inside was really complex. Despite its failure, the Saturn lives on in the hearts of hardcore gamers.
Design A-: The Saturn is a very well designed console. The CDs go on the top along with memory cartridges that expand the Saturn's internal memory, RAM, bypass region coding, or all of these things together. Speaking of which the Saturn has internal memory, which is nice if you buy it used, that way you don't have to buy memory cards. Sega didn't execute the Saturn's internal memory very well. There's very limited room, meaning you would have to buy memory cartridges. Though you don't have to buy a lot as the cartridges hold 10X (memory varies) more memory then the Saturn itself. The memory inside the Saturn powered by a tiny lithium battery. So you might have to buy a new battery if you want to save games. The Saturn is pretty heavy as the power supply is built in, but it feels like you have a high quality piece of hardware when you use the Saturn. The disc reading mechanism is quiet unlike the loud Playstation mechanism, and from what I heard there are a lot less durability issues with the Saturn then the Playstation.
Controller: B+: While not as solid as the Genesis controller, the Saturn controller is pretty comfortable. It's shaped very similarly to the Genesis controller, but it has 6 face buttons along with 2 shoulder buttons. The D-pad feels a bit awkward at first, but its great for 2D games. Sega later released the 3D controller which was huge, but had an analog thumb-stick, and analog triggers. I can't say what it feels like as I don't have the controller.
Packaging D-: When I bought my Saturn I looked at the games thinking that the packaging was great. Only to find out that its the crappiest CD packaging I have ever seen. Its not rare for a game case to become cracked due the cheap plastic that the cases are made out of. So if you buy a Saturn TAKE CARE OF THE PACKAGING. Treat it like a baby, because if you drop it, there will be a lovely crack in the case and it will look terrible.
Graphics B-: The Saturn's 3D graphics were far behind the Playstation, and the N64. This was because the Saturn had 2 main CPUs and slew of other processors. This made it hard for developers to program for the Saturn, to make things worse the console used quadrilaterals instead of triangles. This was very new to developers and made it more difficult to make good looking 3D games on the Saturn. They got better over the years, but the 3D graphic capabilities were modest for the Saturn. 2D games on the other hand looked amazing. The Saturn had better 2D graphics then the Playstation, and it shows in its games. The Saturns true graphical strength is in 2D sprites.
Games/ collectibitly B-: The Saturn has a lot of hidden gems that will appeal to hardcore gamers. From the awesome fighting games to the unique games, the Saturn has one of best libraries around. Sadly a lot of Playstation hits didn't make it to the Saturn, and 3rd party games are mediocre (for the most part) and don't really push the hardware. The best games come from Sega. The Saturn had a ton of great arcade ports. Games like Virtua Fighter 2, and Sega Rally play great, and are faithful to their arcade counterparts. To get the best games however; you must pay an arm and leg. The Saturn US games can get expensive due to high demand, and rarity. You will find more games at a cheaper price if you buy imported games.