Videogames evoke a nostalgic response in many of us. They take you back to a different time; fond memories of what you were doing back then, and the immersive experiences you enjoyed while playing them.

In the mid-90s the Sony Playstation achieved dominance with a game buying public crazy for 3D. So lopsided was the Playstation’s victory over the competing Sega Saturn that it shortened the lifespan of the Saturn in the North American and European markets. I didn’t buy a Saturn until the fat lady had already sung, and the system was on it’s last release or two in my market. When I did get one, I marveled at what an insanely great gamers’ system it was, and wondered why there hadn’t been more buzz during it’s lifespan.

The Saturn’s 3D capabilities were inferior to Sony’s Playstation. This was evident comparing (almost) any 3D game that was available on both platforms. Sega’s engineers had miscalculated which way games were going, and the system was seemingly designed more as an arcade machine than anything else. It was a time when 3D acceleration was still on the horizon for PCs, so credit Sony with forward thinking and good judgment on where software should be headed.

Where the Saturn did excel was 2D graphics. Anyone who did own a Playstation and liked 2D fighters can remember how bad the Playstation ports were. The Playstation’s measly 1 meg of ram didn’t suit it to being very good at fast 2D games, and the ports were generally miserable with lots of missing frames of animation.

One of the killers for the Sega Saturn was that there were so many great games for it that never saw release outside of Japan. The average console buyer is not going to mod their system, much less seek import videogames, and the great Saturn games were only enjoyed outside of Japan by the hardcore Saturn gamer.

But what games there were! The Sega Saturn perhaps remains the best arcade machine for the home that we’ll ever see, given the demise of the arcade game. The Neo Geo is the undisputed king of 2D, but the selection of games available was limited and the hardware prohibitively expensive. The Saturn enjoyed it’s share of bad arcade ports, but there was a vast library of adequate to outstanding 2D fighters and shooters available for the system.

There are a slew of great fighters and shooters for the system. The SNK and Capcom ports are generally decent to very good to almost perfect. In particular, Metal Slug on Saturn looks a little washed out compared to it’s Neo Geo couterpart, but you will enjoy much quicker load times than those who are playing on a Neo Geo CD. Capcom games in general are quite good, but Street Fighter Zero 3 on the Saturn is actually superior to the Sega Dreamcast version, provided you have the 4 meg ram cart.

The bad news is that there was a time that you could hop on ebay and pick up priceless gems for pennies. The herd caught on a long time ago, and a brief glance on ebay reveals that the Saturn games worth hunting are still fetching a premium.

Here are a few of the games that I would try to snag if you decide to dive into the expensive pursuit of Saturn game collecting:

Panzer Dragoon Saga

It’s not 2D or an arcade game, but it’s great. This is a game that you will pay a dear price to obtain, but chances are if you are seeking it that once in your posession, you will find it worthy. Everything that made the Panzer Dragoon series excellent, as rail shooters go, plus an ambitious story line and rpg elements that kept you wanting to see how the story was going to unfold. The big mystery about this game is how Sega didn’t see to it that it was ported onto another system so that it could be enjoyed by a larger audience. This series could have been a franchise. Instead, it’s relegated to articles like this one and the collections of videogame console fanatics.

Radiant Silvergun

Sublime 3D shooter from the guys at Treasure. Everything you have heard about this game is true. It really is that good. Ikaruga may look better, but it doesn’t inspire awe the way that Radiant Silvergun did back when it was released. How this game hasn’t ended up in a compilation or on Xbox Live Arcade is beyond me. If you like shooters there is no doubt that you will agree that it deserves the praise it has received, and a place in your collection.

DoDonPachi

One of the finest if not the finest example of a manic 2D scroller that you will ever find. Not arcade-perfect, but darn close. Think Dreamcast’s Mars Matrix, but better. Much better. Enemies fill the screen, but not nearly to the extent that the projectiles with your name on them do. Very exciting and fun, if a little short. You can play this on MAME too, so if you haven’t yet, what’s keeping you?

Street Fighter Zero 3

The definitive home version of the best of the Zero/Alpha series. Such a good port that it beats out the port on the superior Dreamcast hardware. Maybe not as fast and furious as Street Fighter III Third Strike on Dreamcast, but this one has all the characters you know and love.

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

Forget about the Marvel vs. Capcom series and it’s one button supers, this is the game. With the 4 meg ram cartridge this game is fast. Did I mention how fast this game is? Great art, blazing speed, screen-filling super moves; total arcade perfection. My little brother and I used to have Wednesday night reserved for Neo Geo and Saturn fighters, and this was always the game that I could feel my heart rate increase when it was coming off the shelf and going into the Saturn. Fun. Fun like Pocket Fighter, with lots of variety and waaaayyy better balance then the succeeding Marvel vs. Capcom series.

The Sega Saturn deserved better than it got. Those of you who have the bug, those of you who like obscure, those of you who aren’t afraid of imports… wait, you guys already have Saturns. Anyone reading this who likes games enough to keep a few systems around and a library of games, consider snagging a Saturn if the opportunity ever arises. It was my favorite system for years. If you like fighters or shooters, you will find a wealth of great games that never saw Playstation ports, and the ones that did are vastly better on the Saturn.

Sega is a footnote now. The Dreamcast was an awesome system with lackluster third party support, and the PS2 just had too much hype surrounding it, even if the early games weren’t as good as what was happening on the Dreamcast. Despite the Saturn’s flaws, it was a great videogame console. If it won’t be remembered as a success because of it’s financial performance outside of Japan, it will be remembered by gamers for what it was: a videogame console that brought the arcade experience home.