If the Saturn was backwards compatible with the Genesis I would've bought one instead of a PlayStation. Sega hardware could well still be around in the current generation.
Why didn't Sega make the Saturn backwards-compatible with the Genesis and Sega CD? They fucking should have! Then they might have made Sony their bitch.
@@DarDarBinks1986 There's absolutely no excuse for them to not have CD compatibility at the very least. They're even dumber for not just making the RAM cartridge fit the Genesis/32x pattern for full backward compatibility. For God's sake- the Saturn even uses the upgraded form of the 32X processors!
I believe it was an expense issue, if I remember correctly. the console was already 400 vs PSX infamously being 300. I'm sure If they could've made it work, they definitely would have.
redwood city! I never got to visit myself, despite being a Bay Area native...but I did write them one time and they sent me a Golden Axe poster! I honestly don't remember what I wrote them though..I must've been 10 or so I think.
I'm a little surprised that you didn't include Sonic 3D Blast in this video; I thought that the Genesis version was very comparable to the Saturn version for that effort, and was more of an achievement based on the resources that the developers had to work with. (and of course the Saturn version was a letdown since that was not the next generation Sonic people had in mind) Race Drivin' may be more technically sound on the Saturn however the Genesis version looks more aesthetically similar to the arcade original. Madden 98 for Saturn/Playstation is pretty much the last Madden game that I actually really enjoyed.
Sonic 3D Blast is an example of what a Genesis to Saturn conversion can be. Traveler's Tales created a program to convert 68K ASM to C code, improved the textures and colors, gave it a new CD soundtrack, new bonus levels, etc. and they did it on a tight deadline. Traveler's Tales spent more time polishing Sega's IPs than Sega themselves did. Compare 3D Blast to the cob job that is Sonic Jam; sloppy ports of Sonic Team games from Sonic Team themselves, suffering from bad audio and crippling slowdown on a console 4X faster than the Genesis in CPU clockspeed alone and many, many times faster than that in real performance.
The Saturn version head-to-head would get the edge between the two but being on the next generation console of that era it is still merely a visual touch up, and at times a pretty one, but does not really tap the potential of the Saturn like a game such as Nights did. The most meaningful upgrade from the Genesis version was the redone CD soundtrack. I just enjoy observing games that squeeze the most potential or close to it out of the capabilities of the console that they are released for, and the Saturn version in that sense doesn't really approach that level.
Mehn i look at the genny and always think. Damn sega just a little bit more ram and the next bigger color palette would have actually made a very huge difference in the c
The Saturn version of Mortal Kombat 2 runs at 320x224 while on the Genesis it runs at 320x240. Yes, the Genesis ran at a higher resolution. It probably did for other 2D games too but I haven't checked.
Only PAL megadrives can output 240p (and 480i). NTSC consoles output 224p and 448i. If you enable 240p on an NTSC system, bad things happen to the displayed image on the tv screen... That's not related to tv color standard because the NES outputs 240p on NTSC without any problem...
If they had made the svp a lock on cart on its own released for $39.99 and released a year earlier .allowed every game after to use its extra capabilities To enhance games graphics and sound And just never made the 32x. Imagine daytona,virtua fighter,star-wars Street fighter alpha, xmen cota Tekken, umk3, aliens vs predators Revolution x, The svp had faster processing too
@@48hourrecordsteam45 man, they should have made that! that sounds like a great idea! they could’ve also simply added the SVP chip in games starting in 1994.
@@dqwno4900 it’s sad to hear in sources Sega, had this in mind ,but instantly changed To a stupid idea .like 100 cartridge and releasing an add on for 150..the svp can do everything the 32x can do even if it’s. A bit more 16bit ish 😂 And for the record if virtua racing was not so fast, it would have been easier to play .sega didn’t seem like they held meeting on what makes sense , they just held a meeting and had to follow the idea of one.
What could've been done were if Sega considered releasing a stand-alone SVP cartridge so publishers and developers could take advantage of it with many variety!
I really wanted/want a Saturn. I only played it once as a kid, had PlayStation, but the Sega stuff was and always will be cool to me. I play Genesis and Master System via emulation but i want a Saturn.
It's so strange how Sega seemed behind the times with the Saturn once it was launched, and to then be so far ahead of time with the dreamcast. Absolutely loved my Saturn though 👍
Yeah, if only Sega had introduced some sort of add-on that added 3D capabilities to the Genesis. That would've sold well I bet! Sadly, we'll never know how such a thing would've done in the market.
Should have done an SVP cart lock on for $50 instead of the 32X for $150. There’d have been less confusion about the Saturn launch too. It also could have possibly delayed the need to launch the Saturn, it could have launched as a superior console with superior brands/software around the same time the N64 did. SVP Virtua Racing plays amazing, I’m sure they could have done the same with Virtua Fighter and some others.
@@gordonshumway7465 SVP chip add on $30-$50 plug and play. 32X was $150 for only marginally better abilities that required all sorts of cables and a giant AC adapter. They clearly weren’t against the idea of a lock on cart since they did it for Sonic & Knuckles.
The Saturn has some awesome 2d arcade conversions and some truly obscure original games, but the megadrive (im from the Netherlands) has the nostalgia factor and just way more and (thus by number) better games....
@@sega-re-trop-vieux Yeah, and those 400 more games include Japanese dating sims and absolute garbage like Initial D. I'll take quality over quantity any day, and the Saturn was missing a ton of the franchises that made so many people buy a Genesis in the first place.
@@madhatter8508 the Megadrive has also a lot of garbage. Is there more than 2 great fighting games on the Megadrive?? Nope. Of course the Saturn has stupid games but not only dating games like you think. I love the Megadrive ( I have also the wondermega) but for rpg it is almost empty ( except the shining force and soleil). I jumped to the Dreamcast not because I wanted to have the same games like the Saturn but because I like Sega. Nostalgia is important and it is the reason many players keep Sega in their hearts. So do I.
@@sega-re-trop-vieux I much prefer Shining Force I/II/CD, Phantasy Star IV, Vay, and the Lunar games on Sega CD over the Saturn RPGs, although Panzer Dragoon Saga and the Lunar remakes are great games. I like platformers, and the Genesis was the king of platformers of the 16-bit generation. I don't care for the 2D platformers on the Saturn other than Rayman, and the 3D platformers on the Saturn are abysmal. The Saturn's shitty ports of Croc and Pandemonium are quite frankly an embarrassment, especially when other consoles had Banjo Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. The Sonic World from Sonic Jam was proof that the Saturn could have handled a decent 3D platformer, but it's a moot point because it never got one. The Saturn didn't have a single good 3D platformer, and while it had a good selection of 2D fighting games, I'm not that obsessed with the genre that I need more than a handful of them -- or shoot em ups for that matter. For every good Saturn game like Burning Rangers, there were ten good Genesis games and they all ran at 60 FPS other than a handful of exceptions like Virtua Racing. Not only that, but the Genesis had the best sports games and Disney games of its generation, while the Saturn had no Disney games whatsoever and the sports games, like the platformers, were an embarrassment to Sega's legacy. There's a good reason why they poured so much money into rehabilitating the Sega Sports brand on the Dreamcast, and it's because they blew it on the Saturn and they knew it. And if you include the 32X, the Genesis had better versions of Doom, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, and Mortal Kombat II, among others. I still like my Saturn and the good games it has, but I'm still disappointed at how badly Sega phoned it in on some of those games that should have been much, much better than they turned out to be. Sega did not give Saturn games the same amount of TLC they gave Genesis games and it shows in their sales figures.
In the mid 90s I wasn’t able to get new consoles at release. I was at toys r us one day with my mother & begged for a clearanced out Sega Saturn bundle. I was so happy at the time completely oblivious to PlayStations growing dominance. All I knew was Sega & Nintendo so getting Arcade quality versions of fighting games had me content. At least until I visited friends with massive PlayStation libraries I never knew existed
if there’s one thing that should be said is that the Saturn deserved to sell better. it’s a charming console that was truly capable during the 32/64 bit era that was underutilized throughout its life. it could run most arcade games very well on stock hardware, close to arcade perfect, but the RAM cartridge expansion either greatly reduces the gap of arcade perfectness, or makes arcade ports arcade perfect. the hardware was powerful for 2D and 3D. its quirks is what makes me love it and want to purchase it. it really brought the arcade to the home. the Saturn is easily the most underrated sega console ever. it doesn’t deserve the hate it gets. it should be in the spotlight with the Dreamcast.
The jump from 16 bit to 32 bit tech was a lot different and lesser in some ways, than the leap from 8-16 bits. It was such a HUGE difference in graphics, music and gameplay going from say Nintendo to SNES. The tech was just different and I think a lot of developers didn't know how to really utilize the new so-called 32 bit tech. It's all very interesting and I still lament the failure of Saturn and Dream Cast, even though I always loved the SNES best.
Seeing the MK footage reminded me when I was a kid and I would see Cyrax being played at the desert level and Cyrax would be in the background in the quicksand. I always got wrapped up with that in my head and would be so confused about it back then. How can he be in two places at once?
If they had skipped the 32x. Sega would still be in the console market. That time and money could have been spent on a Saturn that was backwards compatible with Sega CD and Genesis.
Awesome video SLX. I can honestly say, this among the best of the videos you've published. I love those side by side comparisons, and with a variety of games to satisfy everyone. Well done Igor, and please do keep it up. 😉👍🔥
Sega should have pulled its head out of its arse and at least release SoR and Shinobi collections for the Saturn that looked and played better, especially when they refused to make new entries for their new console.
Shinobi legions/X came out for the Saturn. It’s not as great as the genesis ones but it’s pretty solid. No Saturn unfortunately didn’t have SOR but it did have some other really good beat em ups instead
The things Sega did from 1994-1998...it was almost as if they were suicidal. Everything from the design of the 32X, killing the SVP chip, discontinuing the Genesis, allowing Nintendo free reign in the budget 16-bit market, clipping Kalinski, Sega of Japan crippling USA Sega, hiring Bernie Stollar, refusing to allow good Japanese games to come here, and...wait, did I get them all?
What he's talking about what have been much better. It would have been like Sonic and knuckles except you could literally use that "lock on" technology on any game they released for it. As small as a game genie you just stick it in the Genesis stick the cartridge on top of that, boom.
If they did it the same way they did the Virtua Racing cart it would have been a $50 cart you just plug in the cart slot. 32X was $50 and a chore to hook to the console with its own AC adapter. It was marketed like a new console. SVP cart would have just been a way to sell Virtua Racing and Virtual Fighter for $50 instead of $90, to have a series of games as awesome as Virtua Racing with a one time cheap boost to the system that didn’t cost much more than any other cheap accessory like multi taps and controllers.
Games from Capcom and Sega own AM2 department ensure saturn have a place in gaming history even if it didn't won the console sale battle back in the day.
I guess part of the problem is that many of those 2D games require RAM carts and most people didn't want to spend extra money on hardware expansions back then, especially after the 32x and Sega CD failures. It also didn't help that there are multiple carts that aren't interchangeable.
@@RetrOrigin In saturn case it wasn't really a big problem because it have a dedicated slot to plug in the ram cart. Memory issue is a problem for both ps1 and saturn back in the day with ps1 needing up to 4 discs in order to design and tell out a single game. Both consoles have their own ways to overcome the memory issue limitation of their time.
The 2D games have aged way better. Too many of the polygon 3D graphics look just terrible. Most N64 games look and play horribly. Saturn was just awesome when it came to the arcade experience.
The Saturn is probably my favourite console of all time even though it was probably the beginning of the end for Sega in terms of consoles. Some of my absolute favourite games on there. Panzer dragoon saga, dragon force, shining force 3 are three of the best srpgs/rpgs I have ever played. I have great memories of Clockwork Knight and Guardian Heroes but probably my all time favourite platformer has to be Astal, I still feel that game would stand up as amazing in today's marketplace. I remember selling my mega drive/genesis with a large collection of games to get the Saturn new for Xmas when it came out and I really didn't want to but honestly in my mind it was the right choice. I loved the saturn.
I remember playing race driving on my grandfather's 286 pc back in 92. It ran like a slide show, but I think it was always meant as more of a tech demo than anything else. The fact that they released it on the Saturn is kind of mind boggling.
Really neat to look at how the Genesis still had a lot going for it during the end of it's life. And of course the Saturn always had some very impressive effects despite the obvious shortcomings.
I was hoping you would have featured "Sonic 3D Blast" in this video, since I happen to be one of a few people who actually enjoyed playing the game on the Sega Genesis, and I also found some enjoyment with the Sega Saturn version as well.
Another awesome video! I love the comparison! As for the SVP chip, it doesn't seem up to texture mapping, so I don't know if the sports games would actually look better or worse on the Genesis. Still, the idea of buying a $50 SVP chip for the Genesis makes a lot more sense than the 32X.
The Genesis had a lot of fight left in it. I loved my genesis and seeing the saturn for the first time I thought it was a cool console. I still wanted to play my Genesis though. I feel like a lot of genesis owners felt the same way. Thanks for the content SLX! Great video.
I feel like Sega should have held off on the Saturn & 32X, and instead released a stand-alone enhancement chip/cartridge that used the "lock on technology" like Sonic & Knuckles, and/or taken more advantage of the Sega CD's scaling capabilities...
I was thinking that the 32X probably could have used that chip. One issue I can think of with holding off on the Saturn's release to sort its problems out was that it would have given the Playstation even more time to get a foothold being as its release dates would have ended up being much earlier. Really, the best things Sega could have done were to either not mess things up with the Saturn in the first place or accept Sony's offer to work with them to produce it (I'd say it's pretty ironic that Sega of Japan dismissed the idea because of Sony's lack of gaming hardware experience considering how making a console that's easy to program for seems like something anyone with half a brain should have done).
@@tempestfennac9687 I think it was mainly "How do we get more or less the same hardware out there with this chip, but charge the normal 40-50 dollars per game?" only way to do that would have been an add on. Other wise you were gonna spend like $100 a game with built-in chips.
The Saturn port of MK2 was a port of the PS1 version which was also a quick and dirty port of possibly the PC version. When MK3 came out there was none of these issues so MK2 on the Sega Saturn could have been done much better even without ram cart when you consider the next in line Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
On the contrary. The PS1 version came after the SS version, so the PS1 is derived from the SS and not the other way around (also, the PS1 version has additional features because of being done and released later). Both of them are, like you said, quick and dirty ports of the PC version.
10:14 Well, I remember that at the time, after playing a lot of the mega drive version, the giant sprites of the saturn version bothered me a lot because they limited the game view and worsened the gameplay ...The mega drive version was more fun to me.
That World Series Basesball segment took me back to laying on the floor in my room reading magazine after magazine in anticipation of the Saturn's arrival. Such a good feeling.
After Burner for the Megadrive/Genesis was created in 1989(?) on a short development schedule, with the staff just learning as the went how to make and program a game for the Megadrive. by 1994, i'm sure a development team at Sega of Japan could of pushed the MD capabilities further, and possibly if they used the SVP-1 Chip with a quick buffering ram chip in the cartridge, they could of made an amazing MD/Genesis cartridge version of After Burner on the Mega Drive. I think it can be forgiven a bit due to those circumstances at the time of development, as a very early effort of them just popping out it just after coming out of 8-bit Master System game development, it's decent effort IMO, so it still looks and plays fairly well I think. Yes the Saturn version is way way more visually stunning and 1000x more arcade accurate in how it looks and plays.
Yet Super Hang-On, another early super scaler, was much more impressive on the Genesis. I think you never really see the true potential of what a hardware is capable of. Just because one team got certain results, doesn't mean another one couldn't have done it much better. I mean look at Panorama Cotton. Now that's some skilled development. But games like Revolution X on the Genesis didn't even try.
I was definitely a Sega kid, and absolutely loved my Genesis, but I have to admit the Saturn was a ton of fun too. If only you could play the Genesis games on the Saturn. That would be amazing. Cheers!
I can see now why Sega thought the 32x would have been a good product for the US. Both the 32x and Saturn use SH2 chips and Sega knew that both consoles would be under powered. That's why they wanted the Saturn to be a Japanese only product. If they had supported the 32x longer then they might have pulled it off. I would like to have seen a 32x Outrun comparison to the Saturn. The Saturn would win but at least the 32x would have had more of the software it promised. More 32x powered SegaCD games would have been great.
I agree that Sega was doing just fine with the Genesis and the Sega CD, but the 3DO release changed everything. It showed Sega, Nintendo, Sony, and even Atari what they had to do to keep up. The 3DO was a powerhouse at the time that nobody knew how to code for. Sega took note and completely destroyed the competition at that time with the Saturn. The Saturn was just a little bit underpowered from the N64, but it was just too damn complicated to code for. I'd love to see a world where Squaresoft made Final Fantasy 7 for the Saturn, but they already had been making it for the Nintendo Playstation which of course became the Sony Playstation. If Sega had not released the Saturn, they would have been left in the dust. The Dreamcast was again light years ahead of the competition, but Microsoft went ahead and put the knife in Sega's back. I miss Sega's innovation in hardware, but I think they saw the future with the Xbox in that you can just slap any CPU and GPU in a system now and port any game to it. There's really way more money to be made in software now as console production costs eat the majority of profits. All in all, without Sega pushing the envelope we wouldn't have seen the fast progression in consoles...Nintendo showed where it would be from the N64, to the GameCube, the Wii, Wii U...those were all natural progression. Xbox, PS2, Xbox 360,PS3, Xbox One, PS4, and on...those are all thanks to Sega.
Sega should get into the PC hardware market..I'd love having a gaming pc from Sega, something similar to the stuff we see from alienware, just for instance...
@@philmuller-geib3361 That would be pretty awesome, and if they included a Sega Ages perfectly emulated game section basically like the mini genesis that included top arcade titles as well, but also an open ended partition where you could load up any OS, that would be amazing.
@@mcorleonep Sony had marketing down as they were already in the movies/music industries. Microsoft had money to burn...Sega owned the arcades overall, but that wasn't enough to compete in the home market. The Dreamcast 2 is essentially the original Xbox...so lots of factors killed Sega hardware, including Sony, but I think Microsoft hurt them far worse.
I like a lot of his videos but I don't always agree with what he has to say .. but I think he absolutely nails it with talking about the svp chip and cutting the saturn to early are so accurate.. I think that's what killed Sega
I had a choice between a japanese saturn and a sega cd over x-mas. Went with the CD myself, for US releases of lunar 1 and 2, shining force, road rash, etc. And I already had a genesis set up so i didn't need to buy controllers and such.
Thank you for reminding me of a memory I forgot I had playing race driving on my genesis. Absolutely loved that game as a kid being blown away by the 3D at home on a console. Not that great of a game anymore though
It's not too bad if you take it for what it is, one of the first 3D driving games if not the first one. The genesis ports of race drivin' and hard drivin' are decent really.
I love your content, man. Your review style has kept me entertained for a while, so I thank you. Keep doing what you're doing because it really does work. Seriously, I went from watching one of your vids when I had a spare bit of free time, to actually making time to watch your stuff. Thank you, sir. 👍😀
Every time I read someone mentioning that the Saturn was meant to be a 2D powerhouse I wonder what they are thinking. SEGA was making 3D arcade games years before the 32X was released, the next gen, 3DO, Sat, PS1, n64 were all meant to be 3D consoles with more powerful 2D capabilities than the previous 16-bit consoles. The only thing about the Saturn is that its architecture was difficult to program for. The PS1 only started to catch on 3D in 1997 and later, its first games were simple almost like the Saturn counterparts, the best games for the PS1 were basically released in '98, '99,'00 and '01, impressive titles like Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, to name a few. If you compare better versions like Duke Nukem 3D, Powerslave and Dead or Alive for the Saturn, there's no denying it's only a matter of being a good programmer. If the Saturn wasn't killed by SEGA themselves at the end of '97, we would see many better games just like the PS1, imagine if it was supported until the early '00s. Burning Rangers was one of the last titles and one of the most impressive 3D games on the Sat, except it was rushed and it glitches in spots, it has huge areas, dynamic lightning, 3D sound and a great gameplay. There's a Japanese exclusive called Advanced World War - Sennen Teikoku no Koubou - Last of the Millennium, the 3D battle scenes are impressive, it has dynamic lighting at night, water effects on submarines, particles and so on, also, another game with impressive 3D models is Digital Dance Mix, which uses the engine from the never released Virtua Fighter 3 for the Saturn. If there are two things that hurt me in the gaming industry, is that the Master System had almost no third party support, like the NES did, it would be a dream if it had and the Saturn being abandoned in the late 90's, fortunately both still has much to offer. Titles like Winter Heat and Decathlete are also unique, looks and run so smoothly that even the N64 and PS1 would have a hard time trying the same.
it was meant to be a 3d and 2d console. Not just 3d. And it is quite easy what they were thinking. They thought that 3d would be too expensive. Which is not wrong. All 3d back then was custom hardware. The custom hardware in the Arcarde boards was to expensive to used in the consoles back then. They were not alone. Many other developers doubt that it was possible to use 3d tech in consumer tech. I would recommend reading Revolutionaries at Sony. It just about the history of the playstation but it is also a interesting documentation to show the state of the video game market in the 90s in Japan. Besides Kuturagi nobody believed in the 3d consoles. He was gambling and pulled it of. It is easy in hindsight to blame Sega for that lack of vision but that is not fair. They did the right thing if you from the point of view of the 90s. Kutarig easily could have failed with his vision to change the industry forever. Sega had other plans. They wanted to bring their games on their plattform. Their arcarde games were a mixture of 2d and 3d games so they build their console to play both type of games. And the Saturn was not that bad at 3d at all. It died way too early to show the full potential. Look ath the Saturn Shenmue Demo. Look at Panzer Dragoon Saga which was quite open for early 3d game of the 32 bit era. We will never now the full potential of the Saturn because it was killed of way too soon by certain Bernie S.
@@puma0085 I know about the early 90's mindset regarding the next step after the 16-bit gen, what I mean about "what they are thinking saying the Saturn was meant to be a 2D console primarily" is that it's unthinkable SEGA, Nintendo and whoever else would make a super 2D console for the 32-bit era, since the market was flooded with 2D for over a decade since the 8-bit days, Nintendo themselves basically banned 2D in the next gen and Sony did too in the US. SEGA was making full polygonal games for a few years already, they were the first ones to step in the state-of-the-art tech and pushed the boundaries further each year. They already knew what the next big thing would be, the only thing they did wrong was the choice of hardware architecture, which is a beast of a machine, but hard to program for, I believe you also read about the PS3 and lots of programmers saying how it was hell to program for as well, the PS3 only succeeded because the console market and Sony were way, way bigger than in the 90's . I agree with what you said and that basically adds to what I mentioned previously, the Saturn was killed way too soon, that's just sad.
@@roberto1519facts, I wish sega had more time to include Yu Suzuki who helped develop the model 2/3 boards in the development of the saturn. Or just used pc graphics chips of the mid 90s from companies like ATI, power vr, nvidia, and s3.
@@maroon9273 I was reading Sega-16's Saturn thread and there are lots of topics where people wish the Saturn wasn't abandoned as it was. It clearly shows how much we love this console, I feel the same about the Master System, while it wasn't abandoned, it has basically no third party support, imagine Konami, Sunsoft, Capcom and many others supporting it. Fortunately, we still have much to enjoy from both consoles.
another great video from SLX! You are seriously one of the best video game UA-camrs out there. There is so much quality you put into your content. You are criminally undersubbed and I do hope you skyrocket to 100K subs and more. Thanks for all you do for the community.
Love your work SLX, it reminds me of myself. My first system was a Mega Drive. Been playing ever since. Gaming hardware has taken a huge leap but deep inside we know gameplay is still the most important thing.
Did you play both versions of Sonic 3D Blast? Not as good as the original Sonic Games, but it was OK at best. They have different soundtracks. In Genesis version, the first zone act 1 had a cool music that was so good they remade that tune for Sonic Adventure foe Dreamcast. But the Saturn version in my mind had the best soundtrack that I still listen today.
Man I totally forgot about World Series baseball on the Saturn. Forgot I ever even owned that one. Seeing the clip in this video and hearing those sounds again brought me back to the 90s. So much nostalgia.
Clearly, a "Genesis Pro" with that small 3d chip and 128+ colors, that can play all the original Genesis games, would have been a good choice, instead of releasing the Sega CD and 32x addons.
Sega of Japan led by Nakayama was a disaster in the 90s. Ass whooped by Nintendont and new comer NEC, plus being overshadowed by Sega of America led by Kalinsky. He was willing to throw it all away to win the Japanese market. Imagine if they put in a 68k in the Saturn for backwards compatibility with Genesis and allowed the power base attachment to work for Master System support. This along with additional RAM would have made the Saturn a better buy
I just bought a sega saturn model 2 yesterday! I’ve never owned or seen one before so I’m excited to get into its library. I know the games are expensive these days but personally I don’t mind saving money for a title I really want and will enjoy rather than buying a ps5 and enjoy nothing lol. I don’t know a single person who’s heard of a SEGA saturn either so that’ll be fun to introduce them to it. I will say even though I currently don’t have any games to play(Nights is on the way though) I really really love the controller. I swear it’s the best controller ever made and I absolutely love the triggers on it. It’s such an odd console to me but it’s still really cool to have.
I Loved the video! hope it grow into a series! Mega drive was huge here in Brazil ( still is actually) but i never had one (working on getting a japanese model).A look into its library via those comparatives is amazing to see what the machine could do
You probably know the story, but Sega was planning to make more SVP chip games. Since the chip was so expensive the plan was to put it in it's own mini cartridge, and have rom cartridges that attached to that, to keep the price of the individual games lower then Virtua Racing was (which was very expensive to buy at launch). Unfortunately as you know Sega had a lot of hardware at this time and they knew it, and the choice was basically between the SVP and the 32X. I honestly think the SVP would have been the way to go instead of the 32X.
Speaking of after burner, sega should've made an after burner game that would use the panzer dragoon engine, but most of all, they should not have cancelled that sonic xtreme game, if sonic xtreme happened the saturn would've done quite a bit better than it did, maybe a lot better
One of SEGA's biggest mistakes was making 32X and SegaCD two separate addons, it is true that there are some games that take advantage of both accessories, however most chose one or the other when in fact, if it had been a single product, the developers would take advantage of the 32X power and CD storage advantage.
Neither of those ever should have existed. The SVP chip should have been their answer to upgrading the Genesis just like Nintendo did with their Super FX chip. Nintendo wisely cancelled their plans for a SNES add on.
@@58jharris Disagree partially. 32x shouldn't have existed. But CD had some all time classics and games you absolutely couldn't possibly do on consoles of the time. (Dragon's Lair, Mad Dog McCree, and the other laserdisc arcade ports.)
@@magnus87 Back in the early to mid 90's that would have costed a fortune though. Hell they had to cut out extra colors from the CD so that they could put in equal amount of ram to the later PC engine CD system cards. Doing both at once would have killed peoples wallets. Basically two seperate add-ons were the only possible way to really upgrade the genesis like that.
@@maxxdahl6062 It ended up being costly the same as people abandoned SEGA. Talking about assumptions is quite difficult since we will never know for sure how much would have happened if MegaCD and 32X had not existed or if Saturn had brought a single CPU and used triangles instead of squares to make the polygons or if Dreamcast had opted for the format of the DVD. In the best of cases, by betting on a single Addon that did both characteristics, it would have been more expensive but in the long run the developers would have been more used to making games for Saturn, that was the original idea of SEGA.
To think that mk2 had issues on the saturn because of some memory limitation just cant be right. Cartridges have more or less instant loading compared to disk based media. Saturn was slower because of the cd rom.
Memory was a big reason Saturn 2D games had problems. Particularly when it comes to missing animation and sound effects. The meager RAM in the Saturn simply wasn't enough for everything.
I think you're both right, just saying it two different ways. The ROM on the Genesis cartridge could be loaded much faster than the data on the Saturn disc could be cached into memory, used, replaced with more data, and so on. More RAM would give a larger effective buffer in this process, as SLX alludes to, opening up more possibilities for reduced in-game hitching and more frames of animation.
Saturn Having backward compatibility with Sega CD and Genesis/32X cartridges would have been epic. Then they could have continued that trend into Dreamcast...
The Genesis held its own in most of these comparisons, and that's a testament to how lazy and rushed Sega were with the Saturn that they released straight ports of Genesis games with no improvements. That's why everybody thought the PlayStation was so much more powerful, because Sega were putting 16-bit games up against it.
Strange, the Japanese were usually known for taking their time when it comes to development. They panicked hard after Sony undercut their price and had better marketing.
@@Clay3613 Japanese in general are known for taking their time but that's mostly because of Nintendo IMHO. They would delay their top games to iron out the wrinkles, but Sega would not. Sega always set hard deadlines and rushed games out the door to have them in time for the holiday season. Often that would mean contracting western devs like Traveler's Tales to get something out quickly, but sometimes their own devs in Japan would get in on it too. It's a shame Sega didn't follow Nintendo's lead with Super Mario All-Stars and update those Genesis games to the 32-bit masterpieces they could have been on the Saturn. Sonic Jam, for example, was very roughly ported from the Genesis and introduces slowdown in a lot of places, the graphics are identical and the audio is even worse. They rushed Sonic Jam out the door and that came out 3 years after the Saturn launched, so there was no excuse for that. And then there are the Sega classics on the compilation disc for Sega CD that are just standard Genesis games on a disc. Streets of Rage has improved audio samples and that's it. Golden Axe has FM audio sampled from the arcade version as CD audio tracks, but they removed multiplayer from it. They could have given those games FMV cutscenes and CD audio tracks at the very least, and they didn't do it because they rushed that out the door too.
I think your saturn footage of street fighter at 15:40 might be a Japanese version because it says Ryu is fighting M. Bison but that's Balrog. I've noticed that before.
If they skipped the 32X and went full steam ahead with the SVP chip, and SEGA VR, it could have been REAL interesting! (heck most of the 32x library could probably been done with the SVP)
all of the flat shaded polygons would have worked with the svp. However for the 2D/2.5D games, the svp will need 32x vdp color pallete/on screen color expansions with mixing cables. I wish the sega cd added color enhancement feature like the 32x. It would have been easier to port all 32x games with cutdown performances using cart (svp) and cd expansion (utilize the Sega cd hardware)
Yeah, have to remember that Genesis Afterburner II was competing mostly against NES games selling for the same 50 bucks. It’s incredible given that fact.
I really love your videos. It`s so cool how hyped you were about baseball and american football games. Almost nobody plays these sports where I`m from, so it`s hard to relate. Still, it`s cool you've had so much fun with these games and how passionate you are about them. Keep em coming!
Your comments on the SVP's potential to be a cheap standalone upgrade are interesting. Especially if it came out the same date in March of '94 with Virtua Racing as the pack-in. And hypothetically, then they'd scrap the 32x to put all that money and resources into the Saturn. Sega's weird thing of essentially competing with itself (32x vs. Saturn, Sega of America vs. Sega of Japan) really seemed to get the ball rolling on their downfall. It's all pretty frustrating to think about. I mean, I love my 32x and am still getting acquainted with my Saturn (it's a somewhat recent addition to my collection), but ah, if only things happened differently, they might still be around making consoles.
If the Saturn was backwards compatible with the Genesis I would've bought one instead of a PlayStation. Sega hardware could well still be around in the current generation.
Why didn't Sega make the Saturn backwards-compatible with the Genesis and Sega CD? They fucking should have! Then they might have made Sony their bitch.
@@DarDarBinks1986 Tons of units got returned because of that.
@@DarDarBinks1986 There's absolutely no excuse for them to not have CD compatibility at the very least. They're even dumber for not just making the RAM cartridge fit the Genesis/32x pattern for full backward compatibility. For God's sake- the Saturn even uses the upgraded form of the 32X processors!
I always wondered why they didn’t go that route. It seemed like the SEGA thing to do.
I believe it was an expense issue, if I remember correctly. the console was already 400 vs PSX infamously being 300. I'm sure If they could've made it work, they definitely would have.
Sega use to have a huge building in SF when I was a kid and remember seeing it off the freeway.
redwood city! I never got to visit myself, despite being a Bay Area native...but I did write them one time and they sent me a Golden Axe poster! I honestly don't remember what I wrote them though..I must've been 10 or so I think.
@@thecunninlynguist awh, what a sweet deal! That's awesome!! Definitely would of put a grin on my face as a kid.. 😁
I used to call there long distance for game hints when I was a kid.. poor parents had to pay that bill lol
there was one on 8th that’s zynga now was up until a couple of years ago
It was stil their around 2007 i used to go to clubs out their during that time ruby skye club 1015 and city lights
I'm a little surprised that you didn't include Sonic 3D Blast in this video; I thought that the Genesis version was very comparable to the Saturn version for that effort, and was more of an achievement based on the resources that the developers had to work with. (and of course the Saturn version was a letdown since that was not the next generation Sonic people had in mind) Race Drivin' may be more technically sound on the Saturn however the Genesis version looks more aesthetically similar to the arcade original. Madden 98 for Saturn/Playstation is pretty much the last Madden game that I actually really enjoyed.
Sonic 3D Blast is an example of what a Genesis to Saturn conversion can be. Traveler's Tales created a program to convert 68K ASM to C code, improved the textures and colors, gave it a new CD soundtrack, new bonus levels, etc. and they did it on a tight deadline. Traveler's Tales spent more time polishing Sega's IPs than Sega themselves did. Compare 3D Blast to the cob job that is Sonic Jam; sloppy ports of Sonic Team games from Sonic Team themselves, suffering from bad audio and crippling slowdown on a console 4X faster than the Genesis in CPU clockspeed alone and many, many times faster than that in real performance.
The Saturn version head-to-head would get the edge between the two but being on the next generation console of that era it is still merely a visual touch up, and at times a pretty one, but does not really tap the potential of the Saturn like a game such as Nights did. The most meaningful upgrade from the Genesis version was the redone CD soundtrack. I just enjoy observing games that squeeze the most potential or close to it out of the capabilities of the console that they are released for, and the Saturn version in that sense doesn't really approach that level.
Honestly
Mehn i look at the genny and always think.
Damn sega just a little bit more ram and the next bigger color palette would have actually made a very huge difference in the c
@@48hourrecordsteam45 They could have upgraded those things later if they just connected the pins to the expansion port.
The Saturn version of Mortal Kombat 2 runs at 320x224 while on the Genesis it runs at 320x240. Yes, the Genesis ran at a higher resolution. It probably did for other 2D games too but I haven't checked.
Interesting. Resolution isn't everything and this is a great example. This is a neat observation, thanks for sharing.
Would wonder if on CRT this difference was noticeable however. I kind of miss how CRT would just smooth everything out.
Yep, same for Castle of Illusion and Quackshot.
MKII on Saturn has broken AI, the enemies are so dumb.
Only PAL megadrives can output 240p (and 480i). NTSC consoles output 224p and 448i. If you enable 240p on an NTSC system, bad things happen to the displayed image on the tv screen... That's not related to tv color standard because the NES outputs 240p on NTSC without any problem...
Between the SVP and 32X the Genesis still had some fight left in it. Imagine what could have been.
If they had made the svp a lock on cart on its own released for $39.99 and released a year earlier .allowed every game after to use its extra capabilities
To enhance games graphics and sound
And just never made the 32x.
Imagine daytona,virtua fighter,star-wars
Street fighter alpha, xmen cota
Tekken, umk3, aliens vs predators
Revolution x,
The svp had faster processing too
@@48hourrecordsteam45 man, they should have made that! that sounds like a great idea! they could’ve also simply added the SVP chip in games starting in 1994.
@@dqwno4900 it’s sad to hear in sources Sega, had this in mind ,but instantly changed To a stupid idea .like 100 cartridge and releasing an add on for 150..the svp can do everything the 32x can do even if it’s. A bit more 16bit ish 😂
And for the record if virtua racing was not so fast, it would have been easier to play
.sega didn’t seem like they held meeting on what makes sense , they just held a meeting and had to follow the idea of one.
What could've been done were if Sega considered releasing a stand-alone SVP cartridge so publishers and developers could take advantage of it with many variety!
Does anyone else love the intro to these Sega Lord X videos?
I really wanted/want a Saturn. I only played it once as a kid, had PlayStation, but the Sega stuff was and always will be cool to me. I play Genesis and Master System via emulation but i want a Saturn.
Get one bro, I went and got a Saturn a year and a half ago and I freakin' love it. It's become one of my favourite consoles ever.
Do you have a CD burner? Get a cheap Japanese Saturn on eBay, a Pseudo Saturn cart and burn some discs or buy reproductions
@@madhatter8508 A CD burner? Rather get an ODE.
The games have gotten really expensive, though.
@@karllykos The games are free on the internet. Doesn't get any cheaper than that!
It's so strange how Sega seemed behind the times with the Saturn once it was launched, and to then be so far ahead of time with the dreamcast.
Absolutely loved my Saturn though 👍
I wouldn't have called the Saturn as seeming to be behind the times, it was often head over heels more advanced than it's competitors.
I played the hell out of Virtua Racing on my mega drive. The idea of a stand alone SVP chip with its own line of games would've been amazing.
Yeah, if only Sega had introduced some sort of add-on that added 3D capabilities to the Genesis. That would've sold well I bet! Sadly, we'll never know how such a thing would've done in the market.
@@gordonshumway7465 I see what you did there. ;)
Should have done an SVP cart lock on for $50 instead of the 32X for $150. There’d have been less confusion about the Saturn launch too. It also could have possibly delayed the need to launch the Saturn, it could have launched as a superior console with superior brands/software around the same time the N64 did. SVP Virtua Racing plays amazing, I’m sure they could have done the same with Virtua Fighter and some others.
@@gordonshumway7465 SVP chip add on $30-$50 plug and play. 32X was $150 for only marginally better abilities that required all sorts of cables and a giant AC adapter. They clearly weren’t against the idea of a lock on cart since they did it for Sonic & Knuckles.
The Saturn has some awesome 2d arcade conversions and some truly obscure original games, but the megadrive (im from the Netherlands) has the nostalgia factor and just way more and (thus by number) better games....
RAM EXTRA - NO RAM SATURN NO ON PLAY YES
There is more great games on the saturn than the Megadrive, don’t forget the Saturn has almost 400 games over the 16 bits
@@sega-re-trop-vieux Yeah, and those 400 more games include Japanese dating sims and absolute garbage like Initial D. I'll take quality over quantity any day, and the Saturn was missing a ton of the franchises that made so many people buy a Genesis in the first place.
@@madhatter8508 the Megadrive has also a lot of garbage. Is there more than 2 great fighting games on the Megadrive?? Nope.
Of course the Saturn has stupid games but not only dating games like you think. I love the Megadrive ( I have also the wondermega) but for rpg it is almost empty ( except the shining force and soleil). I jumped to the Dreamcast not because I wanted to have the same games like the Saturn but because I like Sega.
Nostalgia is important and it is the reason many players keep Sega in their hearts. So do I.
@@sega-re-trop-vieux I much prefer Shining Force I/II/CD, Phantasy Star IV, Vay, and the Lunar games on Sega CD over the Saturn RPGs, although Panzer Dragoon Saga and the Lunar remakes are great games.
I like platformers, and the Genesis was the king of platformers of the 16-bit generation. I don't care for the 2D platformers on the Saturn other than Rayman, and the 3D platformers on the Saturn are abysmal. The Saturn's shitty ports of Croc and Pandemonium are quite frankly an embarrassment, especially when other consoles had Banjo Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. The Sonic World from Sonic Jam was proof that the Saturn could have handled a decent 3D platformer, but it's a moot point because it never got one. The Saturn didn't have a single good 3D platformer, and while it had a good selection of 2D fighting games, I'm not that obsessed with the genre that I need more than a handful of them -- or shoot em ups for that matter.
For every good Saturn game like Burning Rangers, there were ten good Genesis games and they all ran at 60 FPS other than a handful of exceptions like Virtua Racing. Not only that, but the Genesis had the best sports games and Disney games of its generation, while the Saturn had no Disney games whatsoever and the sports games, like the platformers, were an embarrassment to Sega's legacy. There's a good reason why they poured so much money into rehabilitating the Sega Sports brand on the Dreamcast, and it's because they blew it on the Saturn and they knew it.
And if you include the 32X, the Genesis had better versions of Doom, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, and Mortal Kombat II, among others.
I still like my Saturn and the good games it has, but I'm still disappointed at how badly Sega phoned it in on some of those games that should have been much, much better than they turned out to be. Sega did not give Saturn games the same amount of TLC they gave Genesis games and it shows in their sales figures.
In the mid 90s I wasn’t able to get new consoles at release. I was at toys r us one day with my mother & begged for a clearanced out Sega Saturn bundle. I was so happy at the time completely oblivious to PlayStations growing dominance. All I knew was Sega & Nintendo so getting Arcade quality versions of fighting games had me content. At least until I visited friends with massive PlayStation libraries I never knew existed
I forgot all about NBA Jam. That was such a fun game in the arcade.
"From way downtown!" "BOOM-SHAKALAKA!"
0:01 Intro
1:14 Afterburner 2
2:37 Castle of Illusion
4:04 Earthworm Jim 2
5:17 Race Driving
I'm not even 3 minutes into this video, but I would strongly suggest you make a part 2 of this. Keep up the good work!
if there’s one thing that should be said is that the Saturn deserved to sell better. it’s a charming console that was truly capable during the 32/64 bit era that was underutilized throughout its life. it could run most arcade games very well on stock hardware, close to arcade perfect, but the RAM cartridge expansion either greatly reduces the gap of arcade perfectness, or makes arcade ports arcade perfect. the hardware was powerful for 2D and 3D. its quirks is what makes me love it and want to purchase it. it really brought the arcade to the home. the Saturn is easily the most underrated sega console ever. it doesn’t deserve the hate it gets. it should be in the spotlight with the Dreamcast.
Fun fact: some of those Disney genesis games are dumped entirely into the saturn’s ram since the file sizes are so small
Yep, I have the I Love Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse game for the Saturn, it's quite literally the Mega Drive rom's on a disk.
@@worsel555 Really? The cover states that both games are "perfectly ported" to the Saturn. Insinuating the games were ported as opposed to emulated.
@@TetsToys It's emulated, pulled the game off my shelf and looked directly at the files, they made an emulator for the Saturn to load it up.
Looks like you used the color hack version for OutRun on the Genesis.
Excellent catch. I forgot to add that to the notes. TY.
The jump from 16 bit to 32 bit tech was a lot different and lesser in some ways, than the leap from 8-16 bits. It was such a HUGE difference in graphics, music and gameplay going from say Nintendo to SNES. The tech was just different and I think a lot of developers didn't know how to really utilize the new so-called 32 bit tech. It's all very interesting and I still lament the failure of Saturn and Dream Cast, even though I always loved the SNES best.
Seeing the MK footage reminded me when I was a kid and I would see Cyrax being played at the desert level and Cyrax would be in the background in the quicksand. I always got wrapped up with that in my head and would be so confused about it back then. How can he be in two places at once?
Lmiao!! I can so totally relate. Lol.
Newer ones have branching time lines so later entries likely explain it for die hard fans.
I feel the time spent with each system the Genesis was a good time and is must have one a short list of consoles
If they had skipped the 32x. Sega would still be in the console market. That time and money could have been spent on a Saturn that was backwards compatible with Sega CD and Genesis.
Awesome video SLX. I can honestly say, this among the best of the videos you've published. I love those side by side comparisons, and with a variety of games to satisfy everyone. Well done Igor, and please do keep it up. 😉👍🔥
Sega should have pulled its head out of its arse and at least release SoR and Shinobi collections for the Saturn that looked and played better, especially when they refused to make new entries for their new console.
Shinobi legions/X came out for the Saturn. It’s not as great as the genesis ones but it’s pretty solid. No Saturn unfortunately didn’t have SOR but it did have some other really good beat em ups instead
The things Sega did from 1994-1998...it was almost as if they were suicidal. Everything from the design of the 32X, killing the SVP chip, discontinuing the Genesis, allowing Nintendo free reign in the budget 16-bit market, clipping Kalinski, Sega of Japan crippling USA Sega, hiring Bernie Stollar, refusing to allow good Japanese games to come here, and...wait, did I get them all?
They sort of did make the SVP a standalone accessory, with games for it: the 32x
What he's talking about what have been much better. It would have been like Sonic and knuckles except you could literally use that "lock on" technology on any game they released for it. As small as a game genie you just stick it in the Genesis stick the cartridge on top of that, boom.
If they did it the same way they did the Virtua Racing cart it would have been a $50 cart you just plug in the cart slot. 32X was $50 and a chore to hook to the console with its own AC adapter. It was marketed like a new console. SVP cart would have just been a way to sell Virtua Racing and Virtual Fighter for $50 instead of $90, to have a series of games as awesome as Virtua Racing with a one time cheap boost to the system that didn’t cost much more than any other cheap accessory like multi taps and controllers.
Games from Capcom and Sega own AM2 department ensure saturn have a place in gaming history even if it didn't won the console sale battle back in the day.
Yeah. The Saturn was a 2D MONSTER!! just a shame no one really took advantage.
I guess part of the problem is that many of those 2D games require RAM carts and most people didn't want to spend extra money on hardware expansions back then, especially after the 32x and Sega CD failures.
It also didn't help that there are multiple carts that aren't interchangeable.
@@RetrOrigin In saturn case it wasn't really a big problem because it have a dedicated slot to plug in the ram cart. Memory issue is a problem for both ps1 and saturn back in the day with ps1 needing up to 4 discs in order to design and tell out a single game. Both consoles have their own ways to overcome the memory issue limitation of their time.
The 2D games have aged way better. Too many of the polygon 3D graphics look just terrible. Most N64 games look and play horribly. Saturn was just awesome when it came to the arcade experience.
The Saturn is probably my favourite console of all time even though it was probably the beginning of the end for Sega in terms of consoles. Some of my absolute favourite games on there. Panzer dragoon saga, dragon force, shining force 3 are three of the best srpgs/rpgs I have ever played. I have great memories of Clockwork Knight and Guardian Heroes but probably my all time favourite platformer has to be Astal, I still feel that game would stand up as amazing in today's marketplace.
I remember selling my mega drive/genesis with a large collection of games to get the Saturn new for Xmas when it came out and I really didn't want to but honestly in my mind it was the right choice. I loved the saturn.
I remember playing race driving on my grandfather's 286 pc back in 92. It ran like a slide show, but I think it was always meant as more of a tech demo than anything else. The fact that they released it on the Saturn is kind of mind boggling.
Really neat to look at how the Genesis still had a lot going for it during the end of it's life. And of course the Saturn always had some very impressive effects despite the obvious shortcomings.
Love the side by side screens.
I was hoping you would have featured "Sonic 3D Blast" in this video, since I happen to be one of a few people who actually enjoyed playing the game on the Sega Genesis, and I also found some enjoyment with the Sega Saturn version as well.
Well that's an interesting VS video.
Like every Video on this Channel!
Another awesome video! I love the comparison! As for the SVP chip, it doesn't seem up to texture mapping, so I don't know if the sports games would actually look better or worse on the Genesis. Still, the idea of buying a $50 SVP chip for the Genesis makes a lot more sense than the 32X.
Was thinking the same the 32x even doesn’t really make fifa look that great for a 3D field .
The Genesis had a lot of fight left in it. I loved my genesis and seeing the saturn for the first time I thought it was a cool console. I still wanted to play my Genesis though. I feel like a lot of genesis owners felt the same way. Thanks for the content SLX! Great video.
24:30 after the Sega CD and 32X failures, you think creating another SVP add-on was going to sell?
Next vs. episode: The Sega SG-1000 vs The Sega Naomi
I feel like Sega should have held off on the Saturn & 32X, and instead released a stand-alone enhancement chip/cartridge that used the "lock on technology" like Sonic & Knuckles, and/or taken more advantage of the Sega CD's scaling capabilities...
I was thinking that the 32X probably could have used that chip. One issue I can think of with holding off on the Saturn's release to sort its problems out was that it would have given the Playstation even more time to get a foothold being as its release dates would have ended up being much earlier. Really, the best things Sega could have done were to either not mess things up with the Saturn in the first place or accept Sony's offer to work with them to produce it (I'd say it's pretty ironic that Sega of Japan dismissed the idea because of Sony's lack of gaming hardware experience considering how making a console that's easy to program for seems like something anyone with half a brain should have done).
@@tempestfennac9687 32x had the chip already. It was one of the 32x's main CPU's.
@@maxxdahl6062 Thanks. It doesn't sound like it was much more expensive than having the chip as a lock-on style thing in that case.
@@tempestfennac9687 I think it was mainly "How do we get more or less the same hardware out there with this chip, but charge the normal 40-50 dollars per game?" only way to do that would have been an add on. Other wise you were gonna spend like $100 a game with built-in chips.
@@maxxdahl6062 I know Virtua Racing was the only game Sega released which used it and I can understand why due to the cost.
The Saturn port of MK2 was a port of the PS1 version which was also a quick and dirty port of possibly the PC version.
When MK3 came out there was none of these issues so MK2 on the Sega Saturn could have been done much better even without ram cart when you consider the next in line Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
On the contrary. The PS1 version came after the SS version, so the PS1 is derived from the SS and not the other way around (also, the PS1 version has additional features because of being done and released later). Both of them are, like you said, quick and dirty ports of the PC version.
@@WeskerSega Ah you probably right there they both ports of PC version
10:14 Well, I remember that at the time, after playing a lot of the mega drive version, the giant sprites of the saturn version bothered me a lot because they limited the game view and worsened the gameplay ...The mega drive version was more fun to me.
I agree, it's really a case of "just because you can doesn't mean you should" (big sprites).
I ain't got less to do with fearing competition in the 32-bit space, and more to do with Sega of Japan wanting to take back control of the company.
They had control. They just wanted to iron fist it.
That World Series Basesball segment took me back to laying on the floor in my room reading magazine after magazine in anticipation of the Saturn's arrival. Such a good feeling.
After Burner for the Megadrive/Genesis was created in 1989(?) on a short development schedule, with the staff just learning as the went how to make and program a game for the Megadrive. by 1994, i'm sure a development team at Sega of Japan could of pushed the MD capabilities further, and possibly if they used the SVP-1 Chip with a quick buffering ram chip in the cartridge, they could of made an amazing MD/Genesis cartridge version of After Burner on the Mega Drive.
I think it can be forgiven a bit due to those circumstances at the time of development, as a very early effort of them just popping out it just after coming out of 8-bit Master System game development, it's decent effort IMO, so it still looks and plays fairly well I think.
Yes the Saturn version is way way more visually stunning and 1000x more arcade accurate in how it looks and plays.
Yet Super Hang-On, another early super scaler, was much more impressive on the Genesis. I think you never really see the true potential of what a hardware is capable of. Just because one team got certain results, doesn't mean another one couldn't have done it much better. I mean look at Panorama Cotton. Now that's some skilled development. But games like Revolution X on the Genesis didn't even try.
Both were awesome systems to have. I had both. Great games, great times, great memories.
I was definitely a Sega kid, and absolutely loved my Genesis, but I have to admit the Saturn was a ton of fun too. If only you could play the Genesis games on the Saturn. That would be amazing. Cheers!
My brother and I spent countless hours playing World Series baseball 1 and 2 on the Saturn. Thank you Sega lord x for bringing this memory back for me
I can see now why Sega thought the 32x would have been a good product for the US. Both the 32x and Saturn use SH2 chips and Sega knew that both consoles would be under powered. That's why they wanted the Saturn to be a Japanese only product. If they had supported the 32x longer then they might have pulled it off. I would like to have seen a 32x Outrun comparison to the Saturn. The Saturn would win but at least the 32x would have had more of the software it promised. More 32x powered SegaCD games would have been great.
You're so close to 100k subscribers! I hope you're able to get it soon. Your content is excellent and consistent.
I agree that Sega was doing just fine with the Genesis and the Sega CD, but the 3DO release changed everything. It showed Sega, Nintendo, Sony, and even Atari what they had to do to keep up. The 3DO was a powerhouse at the time that nobody knew how to code for. Sega took note and completely destroyed the competition at that time with the Saturn. The Saturn was just a little bit underpowered from the N64, but it was just too damn complicated to code for. I'd love to see a world where Squaresoft made Final Fantasy 7 for the Saturn, but they already had been making it for the Nintendo Playstation which of course became the Sony Playstation. If Sega had not released the Saturn, they would have been left in the dust. The Dreamcast was again light years ahead of the competition, but Microsoft went ahead and put the knife in Sega's back. I miss Sega's innovation in hardware, but I think they saw the future with the Xbox in that you can just slap any CPU and GPU in a system now and port any game to it. There's really way more money to be made in software now as console production costs eat the majority of profits. All in all, without Sega pushing the envelope we wouldn't have seen the fast progression in consoles...Nintendo showed where it would be from the N64, to the GameCube, the Wii, Wii U...those were all natural progression. Xbox, PS2, Xbox 360,PS3, Xbox One, PS4, and on...those are all thanks to Sega.
Sega should get into the PC hardware market..I'd love having a gaming pc from Sega, something similar to the stuff we see from alienware, just for instance...
@@philmuller-geib3361 That would be pretty awesome, and if they included a Sega Ages perfectly emulated game section basically like the mini genesis that included top arcade titles as well, but also an open ended partition where you could load up any OS, that would be amazing.
Give Sony credit where it’s due as far as the demise of Sega hardware…
@@mcorleonep Sony had marketing down as they were already in the movies/music industries. Microsoft had money to burn...Sega owned the arcades overall, but that wasn't enough to compete in the home market. The Dreamcast 2 is essentially the original Xbox...so lots of factors killed Sega hardware, including Sony, but I think Microsoft hurt them far worse.
I like a lot of his videos but I don't always agree with what he has to say .. but I think he absolutely nails it with talking about the svp chip and cutting the saturn to early are so accurate.. I think that's what killed Sega
I just ordered a Japanese saturn off ebay for $85! I'm pretty excited to get it!
Good luck grabbing the games
I had a choice between a japanese saturn and a sega cd over x-mas. Went with the CD myself, for US releases of lunar 1 and 2, shining force, road rash, etc. And I already had a genesis set up so i didn't need to buy controllers and such.
Great video. Next should be Genesis vs. 32X or 32X vs. Saturn.
I didn't even know Race Drivin went over on the Saturn
I liked it on Genesis lol
@@djj1 I actually don't mind it on the genesis so much. Or hard drivin. But it's absolute ass on the SNES.
@@maxxdahl6062 Didn't know it was on SNES lol....looks like the arcade on Saturn without the chair/steering wheel/cabinet of course...
@@djj1 Yeah the SNES one doesn't even have any helper chip in the cart or anything either and runs like a slide show. lol
@@maxxdahl6062 No fx chip......lmao
At work watching this great content thank you Sega Lord
Glad you enjoy it!
Thank you for reminding me of a memory I forgot I had playing race driving on my genesis. Absolutely loved that game as a kid being blown away by the 3D at home on a console. Not that great of a game anymore though
It's not too bad if you take it for what it is, one of the first 3D driving games if not the first one. The genesis ports of race drivin' and hard drivin' are decent really.
A great video once again. Great editing for the sake of comparison and, of course, great text as always!
I love your content, man. Your review style has kept me entertained for a while, so I thank you. Keep doing what you're doing because it really does work.
Seriously, I went from watching one of your vids when I had a spare bit of free time, to actually making time to watch your stuff.
Thank you, sir. 👍😀
Every time I read someone mentioning that the Saturn was meant to be a 2D powerhouse I wonder what they are thinking. SEGA was making 3D arcade games years before the 32X was released, the next gen, 3DO, Sat, PS1, n64 were all meant to be 3D consoles with more powerful 2D capabilities than the previous 16-bit consoles. The only thing about the Saturn is that its architecture was difficult to program for. The PS1 only started to catch on 3D in 1997 and later, its first games were simple almost like the Saturn counterparts, the best games for the PS1 were basically released in '98, '99,'00 and '01, impressive titles like Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, to name a few. If you compare better versions like Duke Nukem 3D, Powerslave and Dead or Alive for the Saturn, there's no denying it's only a matter of being a good programmer. If the Saturn wasn't killed by SEGA themselves at the end of '97, we would see many better games just like the PS1, imagine if it was supported until the early '00s. Burning Rangers was one of the last titles and one of the most impressive 3D games on the Sat, except it was rushed and it glitches in spots, it has huge areas, dynamic lightning, 3D sound and a great gameplay. There's a Japanese exclusive called Advanced World War - Sennen Teikoku no Koubou - Last of the Millennium, the 3D battle scenes are impressive, it has dynamic lighting at night, water effects on submarines, particles and so on, also, another game with impressive 3D models is Digital Dance Mix, which uses the engine from the never released Virtua Fighter 3 for the Saturn.
If there are two things that hurt me in the gaming industry, is that the Master System had almost no third party support, like the NES did, it would be a dream if it had and the Saturn being abandoned in the late 90's, fortunately both still has much to offer.
Titles like Winter Heat and Decathlete are also unique, looks and run so smoothly that even the N64 and PS1 would have a hard time trying the same.
it was meant to be a 3d and 2d console. Not just 3d. And it is quite easy what they were thinking. They thought that 3d would be too expensive. Which is not wrong. All 3d back then was custom hardware. The custom hardware in the Arcarde boards was to expensive to used in the consoles back then. They were not alone. Many other developers doubt that it was possible to use 3d tech in consumer tech. I would recommend reading Revolutionaries at Sony. It just about the history of the playstation but it is also a interesting documentation to show the state of the video game market in the 90s in Japan. Besides Kuturagi nobody believed in the 3d consoles. He was gambling and pulled it of. It is easy in hindsight to blame Sega for that lack of vision but that is not fair. They did the right thing if you from the point of view of the 90s. Kutarig easily could have failed with his vision to change the industry forever. Sega had other plans. They wanted to bring their games on their plattform. Their arcarde games were a mixture of 2d and 3d games so they build their console to play both type of games. And the Saturn was not that bad at 3d at all. It died way too early to show the full potential. Look ath the Saturn Shenmue Demo. Look at Panzer Dragoon Saga which was quite open for early 3d game of the 32 bit era. We will never now the full potential of the Saturn because it was killed of way too soon by certain Bernie S.
@@puma0085 I know about the early 90's mindset regarding the next step after the 16-bit gen, what I mean about "what they are thinking saying the Saturn was meant to be a 2D console primarily" is that it's unthinkable SEGA, Nintendo and whoever else would make a super 2D console for the 32-bit era, since the market was flooded with 2D for over a decade since the 8-bit days, Nintendo themselves basically banned 2D in the next gen and Sony did too in the US. SEGA was making full polygonal games for a few years already, they were the first ones to step in the state-of-the-art tech and pushed the boundaries further each year. They already knew what the next big thing would be, the only thing they did wrong was the choice of hardware architecture, which is a beast of a machine, but hard to program for, I believe you also read about the PS3 and lots of programmers saying how it was hell to program for as well, the PS3 only succeeded because the console market and Sony were way, way bigger than in the 90's . I agree with what you said and that basically adds to what I mentioned previously, the Saturn was killed way too soon, that's just sad.
@@roberto1519facts, I wish sega had more time to include Yu Suzuki who helped develop the model 2/3 boards in the development of the saturn. Or just used pc graphics chips of the mid 90s from companies like ATI, power vr, nvidia, and s3.
@@maroon9273 I was reading Sega-16's Saturn thread and there are lots of topics where people wish the Saturn wasn't abandoned as it was. It clearly shows how much we love this console, I feel the same about the Master System, while it wasn't abandoned, it has basically no third party support, imagine Konami, Sunsoft, Capcom and many others supporting it. Fortunately, we still have much to enjoy from both consoles.
Sega's biggest problem that lead to it's demise is the infighting.
another great video from SLX! You are seriously one of the best video game UA-camrs out there. There is so much quality you put into your content. You are criminally undersubbed and I do hope you skyrocket to 100K subs and more. Thanks for all you do for the community.
Thank you. Appreciate your kindness.
The two best Sega consoles and with the bigger and most complete libraries. By far.
What a fantastic video! Thanks man. I didn't realize so many games were on both the Genesis and Saturn.
There are actually many more. I just touched upon some of them.
“To be this good will take Sega ages!” Old billboard advert promoting the Amiga Cd32 just outside the Sega headquarters in London.
the saturn controller is still my favourite controller of all time for fighting games
Brother, you make extremely compelling videos; I enjoy every one of them.
I'd like to see a updated 32x vs Saturn comparison.
I wanted a saturn so bad as a kid but by the time i could finaly have one it was already dead so I got the ps1 instead
Love your work SLX, it reminds me of myself. My first system was a Mega Drive. Been playing ever since. Gaming hardware has taken a huge leap but deep inside we know gameplay is still the most important thing.
Did you play both versions of Sonic 3D Blast? Not as good as the original Sonic Games, but it was OK at best. They have different soundtracks. In Genesis version, the first zone act 1 had a cool music that was so good they remade that tune for Sonic Adventure foe Dreamcast. But the Saturn version in my mind had the best soundtrack that I still listen today.
I have played Sonic 3D Blast on both. Not my favorite Sonic.
Had a blast today playing genesis and saturn with one of my friends, we played guardian heroes, radiant silvergun, tmnt HS Heist and a couple others
Man I totally forgot about World Series baseball on the Saturn. Forgot I ever even owned that one. Seeing the clip in this video and hearing those sounds again brought me back to the 90s. So much nostalgia.
Clearly, a "Genesis Pro" with that small 3d chip and 128+ colors, that can play all the original Genesis games, would have been a good choice, instead of releasing the Sega CD and 32x addons.
*I had a Saturn on launch. Virtua Fighter was so botched, Sega provided a mail-coupon and sent me Virtua Fighter Remix in a paper sleeve!* 😂🤣
Remix for free was a great deal!
Yup me too the free apology cuz I was on mail list or maybe I sent serial number in?
I like the PC port of remix. Also comes with a non-glitched original VF graphics mode.
@@maxxdahl6062 😎 can I play that on windows 7 pc or i need dos 🤔 or
@@rustymixer2886 Works on win 7 and win 10 no problem. Got it installed on my win 10 machine right now.
Thank you Lord X :) keep doing this kind of videos you made me go back in time to the lovely gold age :((((
Sega of Japan led by Nakayama was a disaster in the 90s. Ass whooped by Nintendont and new comer NEC, plus being overshadowed by Sega of America led by Kalinsky. He was willing to throw it all away to win the Japanese market. Imagine if they put in a 68k in the Saturn for backwards compatibility with Genesis and allowed the power base attachment to work for Master System support. This along with additional RAM would have made the Saturn a better buy
I owned both the Genesis and the Saturn back when I was a kid.
so?
@@user-yk1cw8im4h What consoles did you own back then, snobby?
@@TheRealDustinNunn no need to be so insecure about consoles lmao
I just bought a sega saturn model 2 yesterday! I’ve never owned or seen one before so I’m excited to get into its library. I know the games are expensive these days but personally I don’t mind saving money for a title I really want and will enjoy rather than buying a ps5 and enjoy nothing lol. I don’t know a single person who’s heard of a SEGA saturn either so that’ll be fun to introduce them to it. I will say even though I currently don’t have any games to play(Nights is on the way though) I really really love the controller. I swear it’s the best controller ever made and I absolutely love the triggers on it. It’s such an odd console to me but it’s still really cool to have.
I Loved the video! hope it grow into a series! Mega drive was huge here in Brazil ( still is actually) but i never had one (working on getting a japanese model).A look into its library via those comparatives is amazing to see what the machine could do
Sad thing is the SVP was planned to be used in many more games but Sega of America instead opted for the 32X.
You probably know the story, but Sega was planning to make more SVP chip games. Since the chip was so expensive the plan was to put it in it's own mini cartridge, and have rom cartridges that attached to that, to keep the price of the individual games lower then Virtua Racing was (which was very expensive to buy at launch). Unfortunately as you know Sega had a lot of hardware at this time and they knew it, and the choice was basically between the SVP and the 32X. I honestly think the SVP would have been the way to go instead of the 32X.
12:10 cannot unsee the Saturn version constantly flipping the Ferrari horse symbol left and right, while the Genesis version correctly doesn't.
I see we're getting ever closer to that 100K sub milestone. Spread the word gang, this man deserves it.
19:30 - I consider the 32X to be the "Standalone" SVP chip system. It's just too bad it was so expensive.
Speaking of after burner, sega should've made an after burner game that would use the panzer dragoon engine, but most of all, they should not have cancelled that sonic xtreme game, if sonic xtreme happened the saturn would've done quite a bit better than it did, maybe a lot better
One of SEGA's biggest mistakes was making 32X and SegaCD two separate addons, it is true that there are some games that take advantage of both accessories, however most chose one or the other when in fact, if it had been a single product, the developers would take advantage of the 32X power and CD storage advantage.
Neither of those ever should have existed. The SVP chip should have been their answer to upgrading the Genesis just like Nintendo did with their Super FX chip. Nintendo wisely cancelled their plans for a SNES add on.
@@58jharris Disagree partially. 32x shouldn't have existed. But CD had some all time classics and games you absolutely couldn't possibly do on consoles of the time. (Dragon's Lair, Mad Dog McCree, and the other laserdisc arcade ports.)
@@58jharris I know, but since they planned to do it at least it was a single addon covering both needs, storage and polygons.
@@magnus87 Back in the early to mid 90's that would have costed a fortune though. Hell they had to cut out extra colors from the CD so that they could put in equal amount of ram to the later PC engine CD system cards. Doing both at once would have killed peoples wallets. Basically two seperate add-ons were the only possible way to really upgrade the genesis like that.
@@maxxdahl6062 It ended up being costly the same as people abandoned SEGA.
Talking about assumptions is quite difficult since we will never know for sure how much would have happened if MegaCD and 32X had not existed or if Saturn had brought a single CPU and used triangles instead of squares to make the polygons or if Dreamcast had opted for the format of the DVD.
In the best of cases, by betting on a single Addon that did both characteristics, it would have been more expensive but in the long run the developers would have been more used to making games for Saturn, that was the original idea of SEGA.
Excellent video congratulations Genesis and Saturn were works of art by Sega
To think that mk2 had issues on the saturn because of some memory limitation just cant be right.
Cartridges have more or less instant loading compared to disk based media.
Saturn was slower because of the cd rom.
Memory was a big reason Saturn 2D games had problems. Particularly when it comes to missing animation and sound effects. The meager RAM in the Saturn simply wasn't enough for everything.
I think you're both right, just saying it two different ways. The ROM on the Genesis cartridge could be loaded much faster than the data on the Saturn disc could be cached into memory, used, replaced with more data, and so on. More RAM would give a larger effective buffer in this process, as SLX alludes to, opening up more possibilities for reduced in-game hitching and more frames of animation.
It needed rom/cd combo like kings of fighter 95.
24:25 ......... I can imagine the exact same thing was said in a meeting that led to the creation of the 32X
Saturn Having backward compatibility with Sega CD and Genesis/32X cartridges would have been epic. Then they could have continued that trend into Dreamcast...
only channel of UA-cam making me watch an entire 20+ minutes video at 2:00 AM
That's high praise. Thank you.
15:52 why does it say m.bison when it's balrog on screen
Your videos have kinda charm vibe, i really love your content, greetings from MX 🇲🇽
The Genesis held its own in most of these comparisons, and that's a testament to how lazy and rushed Sega were with the Saturn that they released straight ports of Genesis games with no improvements. That's why everybody thought the PlayStation was so much more powerful, because Sega were putting 16-bit games up against it.
Strange, the Japanese were usually known for taking their time when it comes to development. They panicked hard after Sony undercut their price and had better marketing.
@@Clay3613 Japanese in general are known for taking their time but that's mostly because of Nintendo IMHO. They would delay their top games to iron out the wrinkles, but Sega would not. Sega always set hard deadlines and rushed games out the door to have them in time for the holiday season. Often that would mean contracting western devs like Traveler's Tales to get something out quickly, but sometimes their own devs in Japan would get in on it too. It's a shame Sega didn't follow Nintendo's lead with Super Mario All-Stars and update those Genesis games to the 32-bit masterpieces they could have been on the Saturn. Sonic Jam, for example, was very roughly ported from the Genesis and introduces slowdown in a lot of places, the graphics are identical and the audio is even worse. They rushed Sonic Jam out the door and that came out 3 years after the Saturn launched, so there was no excuse for that. And then there are the Sega classics on the compilation disc for Sega CD that are just standard Genesis games on a disc. Streets of Rage has improved audio samples and that's it. Golden Axe has FM audio sampled from the arcade version as CD audio tracks, but they removed multiplayer from it. They could have given those games FMV cutscenes and CD audio tracks at the very least, and they didn't do it because they rushed that out the door too.
I think your saturn footage of street fighter at 15:40 might be a Japanese version because it says Ryu is fighting M. Bison but that's Balrog. I've noticed that before.
The majority of my Saturn collection are Japanese games.
@@SegaLordX Right on
If they skipped the 32X and went full steam ahead with the SVP chip, and SEGA VR, it could have been REAL interesting! (heck most of the 32x library could probably been done with the SVP)
all of the flat shaded polygons would have worked with the svp. However for the 2D/2.5D games, the svp will need 32x vdp color pallete/on screen color expansions with mixing cables. I wish the sega cd added color enhancement feature like the 32x. It would have been easier to port all 32x games with cutdown performances using cart (svp) and cd expansion (utilize the Sega cd hardware)
Afterburner, better on Saturn, but I'm nostalgic for the Genesis.
Yeah, have to remember that Genesis Afterburner II was competing mostly against NES games selling for the same 50 bucks. It’s incredible given that fact.
Why no Sonic 3D Blast comparison?
I didn't want to cover Sonic 3D Blast.
This is a great video idea. you should go through all the major systems
I really love your videos. It`s so cool how hyped you were about baseball and american football games. Almost nobody plays these sports where I`m from, so it`s hard to relate. Still, it`s cool you've had so much fun with these games and how passionate you are about them. Keep em coming!
12:50 did the Saturn version misname Balrog?
No. In Japan he was known as M. Bison.
@@SegaLordX That's so weird. Localization companies suck
Your comments on the SVP's potential to be a cheap standalone upgrade are interesting. Especially if it came out the same date in March of '94 with Virtua Racing as the pack-in. And hypothetically, then they'd scrap the 32x to put all that money and resources into the Saturn. Sega's weird thing of essentially competing with itself (32x vs. Saturn, Sega of America vs. Sega of Japan) really seemed to get the ball rolling on their downfall. It's all pretty frustrating to think about. I mean, I love my 32x and am still getting acquainted with my Saturn (it's a somewhat recent addition to my collection), but ah, if only things happened differently, they might still be around making consoles.