10 Games That Prove The Sega Saturn Is A Forgotten Masterpiece

The often-overlooked Sega Saturn has some phenomenal games that were praised by both critics and gamers. Here are the 10 best that deserve a revisit.

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The Sega Saturn was released in Japan in November of 1994 and was introduced to North American markets in the spring of ’95. It was the first console to truly launch the world into the realm of 3D gaming. To put it into perspective, Sega’s next-gen console was released the same month as the original Donkey Kong Country for Super Nintendo.

However, with a steep price tag, no game in the popular Sonic franchise, limited releases by third party gaming companies, and the fact that just a year before the Saturn’s release, Sega had already desperately launched a new “console,” the 32X, the Saturn was a tough sell, and it’s popularity only dwindled as the years went on. However, the system has some phenomenal games that were praised by both critics and gamers. Here are 10 games that prove the Sega Saturn is a forgotten masterpiece.

10 Clockwork Knight

One of Saturn’s release titles was Clockwork Knight, a sidescrolling platformer where gamers play as a toy knight who wants to impress the princess who lives inside a cuckoo clock. At the time of release, platformers were extremely popular. Sonic was at the peak of his fame, and Donkey Kong Country was released the same week.

But Clockwork Knight introduced players to the next level of gaming, including a fully 3D intro video, CD-quality music, and levels filled with crisp colors, three-dimensional characters, and moving backgrounds. It was proof that the Saturn had ushered in a new era of gaming consoles.

9 Alien Trilogy

Most people don’t know this, but Atari actually had a 64-bit console in the ’90s called the Atari Jaguar. It bombed even worse than the Sega Saturn and marked the end of Atari’s run in the console wars. However, the Jaguar had one critical and commercial smash hit – Alien vs. Predator.

Two years after the Jaguar’s AVP release, the Saturn and PS1 got their own game called Alien Trilogy. This time, the game had improved graphics and sound effects, complete with cut scenes, and a great sense of tension. Alien Trilogy was also a great example of how the Saturn could hold up against the revolutionary PlayStation and sometimes even outcompete it in speed and graphics.

8 Dragon Force

Dragon Force was one of the most critically acclaimed games of the ’90s and went on to win numerous awards. It was even nominated for Game of the Year.

Set as a medieval fantasy strategy and RPG game, Dragon Force offered up an intricate storyline, hours of gameplay, and most notably, massive combat scenes. The game could handle hundreds of warriors battling it out in real-time fights, creating an epic sight that Final Fantasy games of the time simply couldn’t compete with.

7 Virtua Fighter 2

Virtua Fighter 2 was a direct port of the Sega arcade title. Critics and players hailed the game as being a prime example of how the arcade experience was able to be brought home, without compromising any graphics or frame rates.

Virtua Fighter 2 is regularly listed as one of the best video games of all time and helped create the modern 3D fighting game. Sega’s Virtua Fighter franchise was so popular that it also led to another arcade fighting game, Dead or Alive, to be ported to the Saturn, which helped turn the game into a worldwide franchise that has since released over 20 games.

6 Duke Nukem 3D

Duke Nukem 3D was ported to numerous consoles, including the N64 and PlayStation. However, the Saturn version featured something way ahead of its time – online gaming.

The Saturn could hook up to the Sega Net Link and allow gamers to play with friends around the nation. At the time, online gaming wasn’t fully understood, and many feared that investing in such technology would be too expensive, or that the gameplay would be too slow. It’s yet another example of how Sega pushed gaming into the future, whether customers were ready for it or not.

5 Enemy Zero

In 1993, a groundbreaking yet odd video game was released called D. The game followed the protagonist, Laura, as she’s mysteriously transported to a medieval castle. The game received mixed reviews but was universally praised for its graphics.

In 1996, a sequel, Enemy Zero, was released for the Saturn. This time, Laura is aboard a space station that’s being invaded by malicious creatures. Just like the first game, Enemy Zero was praised for its graphics and cinematic feel. It was one of the clearest examples of how advanced the Saturn was compared to other consoles at the time. In 1999, Laura would return once more for the Dreamcast cult classic, D2.

4 Sega Rally Championship

In 1997, Gran Turismo would be released for the PlayStation and would later go on to be the bestselling title for the console. However, two years before Gran Turismo would be released, Sega Rally Championship was released for the Saturn.

SRC was praised for its groundbreaking graphics and impressive controls, which felt more like driving an actual car. The game would go on to win numerous awards and accolades and was also compatible with Saturn’s Sega Net Link online play.

3 Panzer Dragoon

Panzer Dragoon became the premiere franchise for the Sega Saturn. It was one of the North American launch titles and was met with rave reviews. In the game, players control an armored dragon that must stop the Empire from wielding unlimited power to oppress the masses. The game’s graphics were impressive for the time, especially the cut scenes which revealed the plotline of each level.

Two further sequels would be released for the Saturn, and in 2020, a digitally-enhanced remake was released for the Nintendo Switch, and later the PS4 and PC. A remaster of the sequel, Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei is already underway.

2 Nights Into Dreams

One of the biggest complaints gamers had about the Saturn was that it lacked a Sonic release. However, Sonic Team, Sega’s developer that works on the Sonic games, was hard at work on another title – Nights Into Dreams. Often referred to simply as Nights, the game takes players on a fast-paced ride through colorful dreamworlds. The game is a strange mix of 3D action and platformer, but the combo turned out to be a wonderfully surreal experience.

Nights went on to be one of the Saturn’s bestselling titles. The recently released game, Balan Wonderland, was made by Nights Into Dreams creator, Naoto Oshima, and took a lot of inspiration from the game.

1 Panzer Dragoon Saga

Sadly, the Saturn’s best game was also a testament to all of Sega’s failures. Panzer Dragoon Saga took the popular Pazner Dragoon franchise and turned it from a rail-gun shooter into an RPG adventure. The game was designed to compete with PlayStation’s popular Final Fantasy franchise, and the result was something quite spectacular. Saga became the most lauded game of the Saturn and has since been called one of the greatest video games ever made and it won numerous awards. Incredible graphics, a deep story, and excellent turn-based fighting helped make the game an instant hit.

Sadly, in 1998 when the game was released, Sega had turned its attention to the Dreamcast and put little effort into the release of Panzer Dragoon Saga. What became the Saturn’s greatest game was ruined by Sega only releasing a few thousand copies and offering little to no press before its launch. For anyone interested in purchasing the game, used copies are currently selling for between $3,000-$5,000 USD on Amazon.

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