what 10 games should you own for your saturn???

[z3ntn3l]

My all-time SS Top10:

• Sega Rally
  Virtua Fighter 2
  Daytona USA
  Panzer Dragoon Zwei
  Nights
  Virtua Cop 1+2
  Wipeout
  Street Fighter Zero/Alpha 3
  Thunderhawk 2 Firestorm
  Virtual On

Personal List of the Top 10 underrated/unrecognized SS Games

• Shinobi X
  Psychic Killer Taromaru
  King of the Spirits 2
  Exhumed
  Dragon Ball Z Shinbutohden
  Bulkslash
  Anarchy in the Nippon
  Elevator Action Returns
  Ninku
  Warriors of Fate

[segadreamcaster]

My all-time SS Top10:

• Sega Rally
  Virtua Fighter 2
  Daytona USA
  Panzer Dragoon Zwei
  Nights
  Virtua Cop 1+2
  Wipeout
  Street Fighter Zero/Alpha 3
  Thunderhawk 2 Firestorm
  Virtual On

Well with that list of favs, no wonder you are interested in the netlink no less than 3 or ur top ten are netlink games excellent...A long term netlinker about to be born here I wonder?

[Nightmare a la DC]

This is great, now everyone who's new to the Saturn and the site can know about some of the under-rated or lesser known titles on the platform. I would add some stuff like HoTD, and the KoF series.

[grolt]

The Saturn was always known (to the few that stuck with it) for its arcade ports, but a lot of the great original games on the system were platformers. And remarkably, most of those platformers came extremely early in the system's life.

CLOCKWORK KNIGHT 1 & 2: Although more or less 2D, the three dimensional level renders really make for a unique gaming experience. There are a lot of different paths one can take, and the gameplay experience is different each time you saddle up with your wind-up knight and his stuffed horse. The creativity is in full force in this game, with a wonderful Toy Story-like realization of childhood playthings. The bosses, surely the highlight, are extremely diverse and masterful in design. Not the longest game, not the greatest, but one that definitely opened the door to conceiving of the platformer on more than just a two dimensional plain.

BUG!: This was another game that while essentially 2D, mixed the perspectives enough to make a wholly new gaming experience. The way Bug could walk at times on the x-y-and-z axese was revolutionary and still today remains one of the only games of its kind. The Bug character, and his Hollywood world, offered Saturn fans another sassy mascot alternative to Sonic. The levels can get a bit repetetive and overly challenging at spots, but still, it's a fun ride.

MR. BONES: You won't find a more original experience than this. Every single level offers completely different gameplay dynamics, from flying through glass paintings to running on thin ice to telling jokes and my favorite, playing the guitar to a crowd of angry skeletons. Every level is totally original, and Mr. Bones as a character is too. The idea of losing body parts the more you get hit (and sometimes for strategy) is a great gimmick. The best though, is the soul that resonates throughout the game, thanks to the great blues music and the fleshed out FMVs that follow almost every level. Two discs of exploration and story amount to one of the most complete and satisfying platformers to come out on any system.

ASTAL: Definitely my favorite of all Saturn's 2D platformers, Astal is a beautiful childhood fairytale that holds up better today that it ever has before. Most of its graphics were hand-drawn, a big faux pas in a time when polygons were all the rage, but now that almost every polygon game from the 32-bit era looks amateurish, Astal can finally shine as a tentpole of 2D animation. Every level looks like it was party of a painting, and the simple story of an immature boy rescuing his love and finding responsibility lends further to the timeless storybook quality. Looks and presentation aside, the gameplay is phenomenal too. Astal has a whole array of attacks that all have unique outcomes (his blow works on fire creatures, his ground pound stuns, while his overhead attack can defeat, etc.) and even though the game is entirely linear, there are unique innovations on every level. One has you riding a large serpent, another has you playing with your bird (that came out wrong!) and one of the most memorable has you running under a large beast and then having to dodge fireballs by hiding under rocks. The game is relatively short, and the lack of saving options makes it frustrating to go back and view your favorite cut-scenes or levels, but it is such a polished experience that you can't help but feel moved. A quiet little first-party title from SEGA (not even given the distinction of having its name on the spine casing), it is one that everyone should experience. The Saturn was supposedly a 2D powerhouse, and this might just be then, the best 2D platformer of 'em all.

I'd throw the groundbreaking NiGHTS in here too, since it is as much a platformer as it is every single other genre, but those five are enough. I certainly remember the Saturn for all those days spent playing their fighters, racers and shooters, but I'll cherrish all those platformer memories the most. Sega got it right...but who knew?

[Cidus]

The Saturn was always known (to the few that stuck with it) for its arcade ports, but a lot of the great original games on the system were platformers. And remarkably, most of those platformers came extremely early in the system's life.

You know, that's one thing I never fully understood about the Saturn's library ... for a machine that was able to handle 2D as easily as it could, there's a surprising lack of platformers on the system.

But anyway, you're take on the above games is spot-on especially regarding, Astal & Mr. Bones. For such a short game, in Astal it still feels as though you're embarking on some grand adventure right from the start. Sea of Clouds, Plains of Destiny, and "If you're here to steal the bird..." remain cemented in my mind as some of the best times I've ever had with a platformer.

And I'm finally glad to see there's someone else out there that actually likes Mr. Bones! Drum Solo, Guitar Solo, and of course the Wraith's Serenade are just a few of the excellent bits in this game (and those are just on the first disc). This is a game that I've been thinking about playing again recently, guess this weekend is just as good a time as any.

My hats off to you for remembering these overlooked classics that often get lost in a sea of shmups, puzzlers, and fighters

[grolt]

The Saturn was always known (to the few that stuck with it) for its arcade ports, but a lot of the great original games on the system were platformers. And remarkably, most of those platformers came extremely early in the system's life.

You know, that's one thing I never fully understood about the Saturn's library ... for a machine that was able to handle 2D as easily as it could, there's a surprising lack of platformers on the system.

But anyway, you're take on the above games is spot-on especially regarding, Astal & Mr. Bones. For such a short game, in Astal it still feels as though you're embarking on some grand adventure right from the start. Sea of Clouds, Plains of Destiny, and "If you're here to steal the bird..." remain cemented in my mind as some of the best times I've ever had with a platformer.

And I'm finally glad to see there's someone else out there that actually likes Mr. Bones! Drum Solo, Guitar Solo, and of course the Wraith's Serenade are just a few of the excellent bits in this game (and those are just on the first disc). This is a game that I've been thinking about playing again recently, guess this weekend is just as good a time as any.

My hats off to you for remembering these overlooked classics that often get lost in a sea of shmups, puzzlers, and fighters

Astal definitely does feel epic. Even though it is short, and there aren't any side-quests or alternate paths like in the Clockwork games, the game still feels totally complete. The only thing I'd change in it would be to incorporate a save function, so you could play any level or access any movie on the fly, rather than having to type in a code (and even then, you still can't get to the movies without beating the levels). A smal gripe though, for such a fantastic game.

It is quite odd that more 2D platformers weren't made for the system by Sega. There were some third-party titles (Gex, Rayman), but you'd expect Sega to push the envelope further than four franchises.

It's nice to know though, that someone else out there still appreciates these old platformers. I just finished going through Clockwork 2 again - that game has surprising replay value, especially compared to the first game, what with all the alternate paths, card quests, and unlockable videos.