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Post by Ex on Aug 18, 2021 21:16:20 GMT -5
Okay I know I'm late to the party on this one, but any Saturn recommendations (besides Sonic?) toei is the main Saturn dude around here, I'm interested in what he has to say. I'll throw these though... Long StuffDragon ForceMagic Knight RayearthShort StuffDie Hard ArcadeLast Bronx
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Post by Sarge on Aug 18, 2021 23:23:28 GMT -5
I'm going to stick to Sega-developed games with my response.
I know others here aren't big fans, but I absolutely love Panzer Dragoon Saga. And despite being four discs, it's a pretty short game. Even a completionist run clocks in at under 20 hours. But if you're into rail shooters, Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon Zwei are great.
There really isn't much Sonic on Saturn, ironically, and I think that's one of the reasons the system failed. When your big titles are also on Genesis (3D Blast and Sonic Jam) and a racing game (Sonic R), that ain't good.
I also really enjoyed Shining the Holy Ark. If you don't dig traditional CRPG-style dungeon crawlers, this will be more up your alley. Its closest kin (outside of the obvious Shining in the Darkness) is Arcana on SNES, another excellent RPG. I know that Shining Force III is good, too, but I still have yet to finish any of them. There's fan translations for the second and third scenario that are still being revised, but it's plenty playable as is.
If you like 3D fighters, give Fighters Megamix a go. It holds up surprisingly well.
I didn't enjoy The Legend of Oasis as much as Beyond Oasis, but it's still a solid ARPG. And I guess it didn't dawn on me that Sega worked on Magic Knight Rayearth - I'm not sure who I thought worked on it, but I definitely think Working Designs first.
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Post by Ex on Aug 18, 2021 23:40:23 GMT -5
I'm going to stick to Sega-developed games with my response. As did I. Just to be clear for paulofthewest though, The Legend of Oasis wasn't developed by SEGA.
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Post by Sarge on Aug 19, 2021 0:56:01 GMT -5
Dang it, I figured I'd mess one of them up. Don't know if they helped with any of the leg work, but yeah, Ancient (Yuzo Koshiro's company) was the dev.
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Post by toei on Aug 19, 2021 5:43:15 GMT -5
I also really enjoyed Shining the Holy Ark. If you don't dig traditional CRPG-style dungeon crawlers, this will be more up your alley. Its closest kin (outside of the obvious Shining in the Darkness) is Arcana on SNES, another excellent RPG. I know that Shining Force III is good, too, but I still have yet to finish any of them. There's fan translations for the second and third scenario that are still being revised, but it's plenty playable as is. If you like 3D fighters, give Fighters Megamix a go. It holds up surprisingly well. And I guess it didn't dawn on me that Sega worked on Magic Knight Rayearth - I'm not sure who I thought worked on it, but I definitely think Working Designs first. Bro, Magic Knight Rayheart was literally directed by Rieko Kodama, and had the same lead writer as Phantasy Star IV. It's Sega as hell, and all Phantasy Star IV fans should play it. You probably don't associate with Sega cause it's a licensed game (plus WD and all), but much like Konami and Capcom, Sega often handled licensed games in-house, and said games often transcended their licenses. It's a really excellent game, and while it's longer than an action game of the era, it's still not that long, as ARPG never really were in the mid '90s. Probably shorter than Panzer Dragoon Saga (maybe 15 hours?) I agree with most other recommendations. Shining the Holy Ark is exceptional for a first-person RPG, and it's only kind-of a dungeon crawler - the balance is closer to a traditional RPG, with more town, character and story stuff, which I think is why Sarge compared it to Arcana, which is also like that. Shining Force 3 is very good, but it's definitely on the longer side, even if you only play one scenario. I personally enjoyed the first and third the most, while the middle game is more redundant. Fighters Megamix is dope, and it's a Saturn original. Almost everything else of value in similar genres on the Saturn is an arcade port - Virtua Fighter 2, Fighting Vipers, The Last Bronx, the light gun games, the racing games... Die Hard Arcade, too, but it was developed for the Titan, which is Saturn-based hardware, so you don't lose anything in the port. It's my favorite beat-'em-up, and it's a great choice for a quick play. Deep Fear isn't great, but I'd still recommend it to a big survival horror fan, just to see what else was happening at the time,besides Resident Evil 1-2 and Silent Hill.
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Post by Xeogred on Aug 19, 2021 8:08:21 GMT -5
I bet the Magic Knight Rayearth game is way better than the anime. I watched the first season and was pretty bored. Apparently mecha becomes a staple thing in the sequel but I was clocked out by then...
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Post by Ex on Aug 19, 2021 8:39:43 GMT -5
Not to disparage your opinion or Sarge's, but I'll be the voice of dissent on this one. I put 25 hours into this game about 7 years ago. I was really trying to push to the end (and was pretty close) but the longer I played it, the more I hated it. I ended up dropping StHA and throwing it into the "Retired" tab of my HLTB log: I also didn't care for Arcana either. On console I consider the King's Field games to be exceptional first-person RPGs. The reason I point this out, is because KF is very differently designed than StHA and Arcana. Ultimately it just boils down to taste. The stuff I didn't like in StHA and Arcana, could be the stuff that other players really enjoy. So don't let me dissuade you paulofthewest or Xeogred (or anyone else reading this) from giving Shining the Holy Ark a try. I'd be interested in fresh takes on the game. But only if you put at least twenty hours in, because the game's a good 30-35 hours long. First impressions don't matter in that regard, well informed opinions after enduring the drudgery do. Anyway I do plan to give Magic Knight Rayearth on Saturn a chance eventually. Its development team credentials appeal to me, even if the source material does not at all.
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Post by toei on Aug 19, 2021 9:31:49 GMT -5
It tried reading the Rayheart manga AND watching the anime, really couldn't get into either. The SNES RPG that was made around the same time as the Saturn RPG was trash, too. You really don't need to care for it to like the Saturn RPG.
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Post by Xeogred on Aug 19, 2021 10:06:07 GMT -5
The insanely boring music was a large reason why I thought the first season wasn't engaging at all. It really just felt like a lot of leftover samples from his studio vault or something. Nothing impressive there as one might think from the outside. I get the vibe Ideon might be the only anime where he really wrote real compositions for and has an incredible score. Pretty weird, but I guess he was busier with movies and Dragon Quest or something...
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Post by toei on Aug 19, 2021 10:49:01 GMT -5
The insanely boring music was a large reason why I thought the first season wasn't engaging at all. It really just felt like a lot of leftover samples from his studio vault or something. Nothing impressive there as one might think from the outside. I get the vibe Ideon might be the only anime where he really wrote real compositions for and has an incredible score. Pretty weird, but I guess he was busier with movies and Dragon Quest or something...
Music supervision doesn't mean composition, though. The composer was Hayato Matsuo. If you look at the credits, and the fact Sugiyama is mentioned between the producer and the orchestra conductor, it sounds like he was probably involved in the recording in some capacity. I don't think he was very active as a composer outside of DQ once DQ came along. He really didn't score all that many movies, either. It seems like he was most active from the late '60s to the early '80s in anime and music (he composed pop songs), then it's been mostly DQ. I guess it made all the money he needed. Also, clicking on that ANN link informed me that Sonny Chiba died. I loved this dude. He was 82, so at least he didn't die particularly young, but it still sucks. Pneumonia related to COVID, they say.
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