I have already done My Top 5 Sega Mega Drive/Genesis games and My Top 5 Sega Dreamcast games and today we are looking at the top 5 Sega Saturn games, according to me. Let me start by saying that back in 1994/1995, I came so close to picking the Sega Saturn over the PlayStation. A friend of mine was a big Sega guy and he had a Sega Magazine (I am sure it was Mean Machines) and it had a preview of the Sega Saturn and the game that made me think the Saturn was awesome was….. Street Fighter The Movie!
As the months went on, it was the Sony PlayStation that won me over (check out My Top 5 PlayStation Games) and I am glad that I went with the PlayStation over the Saturn. I did eventually get a Sega Saturn many years later and I had fun with the system. However, my top 5 Sega Saturn games are probably going to have hardcore Sega Saturn fans pulling their hair out as I know that my choices are not the “norm”.
Be sure to leave your own favorite Sega Saturn games in the comments section down below.
Number 5
Bug Too
Before the Saturn and PlayStation came out, the original Bug was another game that had me thinking that the Sega Saturn could be the way to go. Bug is a charming platformer that sees you playing as a movie star bug that can walk into and out of the screen. The sequel, Bug Too is honestly more of the same, but better. Look, I get that the Bug games are probably never going to be classed as Sega Saturn classics. Yet, when I first got my Sega Saturn, Bug Too was one of the games that I had the most fun with and I do think it is a bit underrated.
Number 4
WWF WrestleMania The Arcade Game
Another little personal story I have for you is that the game that did sway me towards the PlayStation over the Saturn was WrestleMania The Arcade Game, all the ads made it a point to mention how the screenshots were from the PlayStation version of the game! This game is awesome and the Saturn has a great port. This is more of a fighting game than a wrestling one and it has more in common with Mortal Kombat than it does WWF. Each of the eight characters feels truly unique and while this version and the PlayStation version are nowhere near as good as the arcade, this is still a fun game and if I am having a Sega Saturn afternoon or evening, I will 9/10 play this.
Number 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
I have to go back to the PlayStation, Christmas 1995, my main want was Mortal Kombat 3 for the PlayStation, it was another major reason I wanted a PlayStation. Sony signed an exclusive deal to make Mortal Kombat 3 not available for the Sega Saturn…. Sega got the best part of this deal as they would later get Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3! More fighters, more moves, more fatalities. This was such a great fighting game and the fact that you could not get it on PlayStation makes it even more awesome. Granted, it was also released for Super Nintendo and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, but the Sega Saturn version was so much better!
Number 2
Panzer Dragoon 2
A good friend of mine did get a Sega Saturn over a PlayStation and one of the games that I not only loved to play, but just watch him play was Panzer Dragon 2. He also had the first game, but the second one really blew me away. I loved the fantasy story with these dragons and it also had a bit of sci-fi about it too which I dug. It was a shooter that was easy to pick up and play, but there were some ways that you could master the game too so it also had a lot of depth. Even to this day, I have never had the chance to play the highly regarded Panzer Dragoon Saga, but Panzer Dragon 2 is one of my favorite games in my own Sega Saturn collection.
Number 1
Street Fighter Alpha 2
We go back to my buddies for my favorite Sega Saturn game of all time and that is Street Fighter Alpha 2! I had Street Fighter Alpha for the PlayStation, but Alpha 2 was so much better, plus as much as I loved Street Fighter on the PlayStation, the Sega Saturn did these types of games so much better. This had more fighters and more style and I also feel that there was a higher level of skill required here to be really good at the game. We would spend hours playing this game and it left such an impression on me that it was one of the first games I got when I picked up my own Sega Saturn. I would play Street Fighter Alpha 3 on the Dreamcast, but one day I will try and get the very expensive Sega Saturn version of that game.
Look, I know that my top 5 Sega Saturn games list is missing the big hitters that this console is known for, but I have not played them! I would never make a top 5 list that was not my own personal top five, made with games that I actually experienced.
Still, with that being said, I would love to know what your top 5 Sega Saturn games are in the comments section.