The fighting game genre is back, and I for one couldn’t be happier. As I mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to share with the GHR community some of the fun games in this genre. I figured it would be best to start with the system that was my gateway drug for fighting at home, and the greatest console ever made–the Sega Saturn.

As I’m writing this blog, countless memories of fun times with friends are filling my brain. I think that on a per hour basis, my most enjoyable gaming experiences (again with friends) took place around the Sega Saturn–so for that, I’m labeling it the greatest console ever made. Yeah–I know I’m being biased….But its true.

Let me try to be as concise with how I became a Saturn fanboy as quickly as possible. Joe, a good friend of mine had purchased the Saturn on day one. I was kind of interested in the system, but the $400 price tag, and sparse launch library had me concerned (hmmm…Kind of reminds me of another more recent system release). However, over the next couple of years that followed, (the Saturn launched in 1995 in America) my friend introduced me to a whole new world of awesome Japanese titles–mostly fighters. Sure, I was digging the new 3D titles like Tekken, Ergheist, and Battle Arena: Toshinden on the Playstation but my heart still belonged to 2D–and the Saturn ruled that arena. Capcom, SNK, Sunsoft, and other companies put out product that never got released in the United States, and that is a tragedy.

It wasn’t until the near end of the Saturn’s life cycle that I got one for myself. A locally owned game retailer (still in business here) used to have sales once a year, to clear out their used product to make room for new. In the fall of 1998 I picked up my domestic Saturn, and a copy of Darkstalkers, and StreetFighter Alpha for about $85 total. I was in 2D heaven.

Now, let me try to explain why the Saturn is so freakin’ awesome. The Saturn had the ideal controller for 2D. It had a six button layout, with a solid digital pad for executing any special move under the sun with no problems.

As good as the original Saturn controller was, the Japanese Model-2 (which launched with the Saturn in Japan) was far better. It had a figure eight like shape that fit better in your hands. Controlling 2D couldn’t have been better.

The only issue was, I couldn’t play those awesome Japanese games that Joe had. So, the following week, I packed my Saturn in a well cushioned box, and overnighted it all the way to New York, where I had Japanese software importer company called NCS-X install a region control switch similar to the one you see below.

So, now that I’ve tried to lay down some of my personal background with the system, let me show you some of the ground-breaking firsts, and software that made the Saturn so awesome.
Net Link

If memory serves, Sega’s Net Link for the Saturn was the first application that allowed you to access the internet through your console. While I have no experience with the product my friend Joe did. It came packaged with the $400 US Saturn. At the time, he didn’t have a computer, and NetLink allowed him his first real access to the internet via the 28.8kbps modem. Along with the modem, it came with a startup disk that got you connected with an ISP, and e-mail. He had a Saturn compatible keyboard, and was able to surf the web. You could even play online too with a few NetLink compatible games like Sega Rally, Virtual On, and Daytona. Hey, it wasn’t Xbox LIVE, but for circa 1995 it wasn’t bad.

King of Fighters ’95 (SNK)

This game was the reason why I sent my system to NCS-X to have the region switch installed. The Saturn had a cart port that the game needed for it’s packed with 1 meg ROM cart. SNK’s King of Fighters series is a team based fighter. Players selected teams of 3, and went at it. You could either select the pre-grouped teams, or custom select your own trio of fighters to duke with.

SNK brought in characters from their Fatal Fury, and Art of Fighting games, and fused them into the mix of their original KOF characters. My favorite team was Iori Yagami, Billy Kane, and Ein.

For the longest time, I longed for a NeoGeo in order to play KOF, and other SNK titles. But with NeoGeo carts costing upwards of $150 (that’s just for the game folks–not including the cost of the NeoGeo system), I was thrilled to have an arcade perfect port for less than half of that.

X-Men vs Street Fighter (Capcom)

I really liked this game in the arcades. My favorite team was Cyclops and Wolverine. I wasn’t too bad at it either–until one of the local champs at the game would kick my butt and hand it to me.

I remember when I saw the screenshots of the game. Me, Joe, and our good friend Fred were in one of the local malls all those years ago. We were in and internet café, and Joe went to one of his favorite sites that showed screens of the Saturn version. I was so excited that I shouted “Yesss!” like some wild eyed loon. I know people were staring at us thinking I was crazy, but I didn’t care. An arcade perfect port of X-Men vs Street Fighter was coming to the freakin’ Saturn! I even printed out the screens (at $2.00 per page for color) and pinned them up on my wall. Yeah—I’m a geek. That Monday, I called NCS-X, and placed my pre-order for the game.

Capcom only released this game in Japan. It came packed with a 4 Meg RAM cart to aid the already potent 2D powerhouse with all those sprites and frames of animation. The result? Very low load times. No lag. No missing frames of animation. In short–an arcade perfect version. Okay—super fanboys will surely point out some sort of missing frame in some character somewhere, but forget that. It was arcade perfect as far as I’m concerned. Capcom would go on to release some of it’s other arcade hits like Marvel vs StreetFighter, Darkstalkers: Vampire Savior, and Marvel Super Heroes. SNK also utilized the cart in some of it’s Saturn releases as well.

Guardian Heroes (Treasure)

What would happen if you mixed StreetFighter with Dungeons and Dragons? (or Lodoss War for you old school anime folks) You’d probably get this game.

Guardian Heroes was an absolute blast. Up to five players could play co-op (or beat each other to a pulp in arena mode) You had a typical fantasy story—a super bad guy gets banished to the dark relm, gets released a long time later and seeks revenge. A handful of strong heroes rise up to fight, yadda-yadda.

What made this game so fun was the gameplay. It played like a 2D fighter. You and your friends moved within 3 planes of the battlefield: background, middle ground, and foreground. From each of those planes, you can unleash a series of physical attacks, building combo score which equaled experience. That experience made you a more powerful character, and also allowed you to perform screen clearing attacks, so building combo was worth your while. Also, you get the use of a super powerful AI controlled undead soldier who you can issue simple commands to.

This game was hard with a group, and damn near impossible solo. I didn’t play this game as often as I would have liked because you needed to play with friends if you wanted a fighting chance to see the end of the game—which I never saw. I would love to see Guardian Heroes come out on PSN and Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Waku Waku 7 (Sunsoft)

This game is a gem, and is one of the biggest reasons to have a Saturn that plays Japanese games. Have you ever wanted to play a game that allowed you to play as a rabbit eared teen aged girl martial arts expert? How about as a giant purple rabbit thingy who is best friends with a 7 year old school girl and loves to sing? Better yet, how about playing as a punching bag who thinks he’s Ryu, and fight an end boss who is a giant ink blot orb named Fernandez? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, or even if you didn’t, you’ll love this game.

Behind this quirky, and very Japanese game, is an easy to play, super balanced, and deep fighter (Rein is the man!)

This game was originally for the NeoGeo, but Sunsoft blessed us Saturn owners with it—thanks to the game’s compatibility with Capcom’s 4meg RAM cart. The game also has some of the coolest soundtracks for any fighting game. I was able to rip some the tracks from the game to tape, and I played that dang tape in my car all the time. I probably drove my friends crazy with that J-pop madness.

Real Bout: Garou Densetsu Special (SNK)

Ahh, Real Bout Special. My friends and I logged in many a battle on this game. My main dude was Kim Kaphwan. My friend Joe’s was Duck King, and Fred’s was Terry Bogard. We would play that game for hours…

For those who are unfamiliar, Garou Densetsu (known as Fatal Fury here in the US) was SNK’s response to Capcom’s Street Fighter 2. Of all the various games to come along to cash in on the fighting frenzy that Capcom created, Fatal Fury may be the best (next to KOF).

One of the unique features that this game had (as well as its predecessors) was that you could fight on three planes—background, foreground, and middle ground (for lack of a better term). This allows you to avoid attacks, or launch attacks. This mechanic was called “oversway”, and when implemented correctly, opened up punishing combo sequences that you could do, including knocking your opponent out of the fighting area with the final blow.

Another neat feature: You could unlock a “music video” of Blue Mary (one of the fighters) singing in a nightclub. The “blues” are in Japanese, and I have no idea what she’s saying, but it sounds cool none the less.

I could go on and on about the Saturn. It was a great system, and in my book, the system I had the most fun with—hands down. I must also apologize that this article isn’t what I had intended it to be. I’m writing it in Word, and I’m at 12 pages now, minus the images.

If you made it this far, thank you. If you didn’t, I totally understand. I didn’t want this to be too much of a research piece. I wanted to try to convey the heart felt joy that I had with this system, and playing with friends, instead of cranking out a bunch of “did ya know” factoids.

There are so many other games that I enjoyed on this system—not all of them fighters, believe it or not. Clockwork Knight, Astal, Street Fighter Zero 2: Gold, Groove On Fight, Samurai Spirits: Zankuro Masouken, Burning Rangers, Nights, Elevator Action 2, DieHard Arcade, Shinobi X, Last Blade, Virtual On, Fighters Mega-Mix, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and Skeleton Warriors are just some of the games that come to my mind when I reminisce about this game system.

Unfortunately, my experience with the Saturn didn’t end very well. A number of years ago, against my better judgement, and the advice from friends—I gave my Saturn, and my 30 something games away to a good friend who was going through some rough times emotionally. At the time, I thought I was doing a good friend a good deed. In the end, I was lied to, and it was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made that ticks me off to this day. One of these days, I will get another Saturn, and go about re-building my collection. Until then, I will look back on those days of great gaming, and smile.

Thanks for the memories, Sega.