The Sega Saturn was Sega’s follow up the highly successful Sega Genesis. Though it was poorly announced in North America with little fanfare, it was actually a fantastic system. Though it did very poorly in the West, some even argue it’s a large reason Sega left console manufacturing to become a third-party developer for once rival platforms - it was incredibly popular and successful in its native country, Japan. The Sega Saturn was a 2D machine, capable of creating arcade-perfect games at home; however, the industry was shifting towards 3D, especially in the West so it had a hard time competing with the built for 3D Nintendo 64 and the Sony Playstation.

With the West only seeing 258 games out of a total of 1,265 released in Japan, you can be sure that there were many great games we never got to experience. To help remedy this, we have collected 10 of the best Sega Saturn games that never left Japan.

10 Radiant Silvergun

Radiant Silvergun comes from the amazing minds at Treasure, creators of such classics like Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier. Unlike most shoot em’ ups where you pick up different power-ups such as the spread shot, homing shot, or straight shot, in Radiant Silvergun you are given all of the power-ups from the start and must figure out when to use each.

Treasure followed up Radiant Silvergun with the beloved spiritual successor Ikaruga. The game was later ported to the Xbox marketplace with updated graphics where it remains today so this is one you can play right now!

9 Elevator Action Returns

Elevator Action was a classic Taito arcade game that seen many ports across multiple systems. Elevator Action Returns takes the format of the original game but updates it for 1994 to make it a much more thrilling experience.

The premise of the game is simple, go through a building taking out all in your way then enter all of the doors until you find the exit. This updated version of the game adds different weapons, very impressive graphics and featuring a much more gritty and realistic setting than the original.

8 Dungeons & Dragons Collection

Capcom was the king of the arcade beat em’ up back in the ‘90s with great classics like Final Fight, The King of Dragons, and Knights of the Round. Dungeons & Dragons Collection took some of Capcom’s best beat em’ ups set in the Dungeons and Dragons universe and put them into one awesome package.

The collection brings together two games only seen in arcades prior to this, Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom and Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara. They take the classic beat em’ up formula and add some RPG elements similar to the source material.

7 Princess Crown

Developed by Atlus, the team behind Princess Crown later came together to form Vanillaware, creators of Odin Sphere, Dragons Crown, and Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Similar to their later work, Princess Crown has breathtaking, highly detailed hand-drawn visuals.

Princess Crown plays very similar to Odin Sphere, you traverse a side-scrolling world with deep beat em’ up gameplay, make potions with the crafting system, and all while experiencing an epic tale. With just about all of Vanillaware’s games seeing ports in recent years, we really hope Princess Crown gets an English translation.

6 Policenauts

From acclaimed game designer Hideo Kojima, Policenauts is a spiritual successor to the beloved Snatcher which only seen a North American release on the Sega CD. Similar to Snatcher before it, Policenauts is a point and click visual novel in which you are Johnathan Ingram, a Policenaut in the distant year of 2013.

An English translation was announced for the Sega Saturn, set to be released in 1996, even appearing in magazines. However, the English version was never released and with the splitting of Kojima and Konami, it may never get a chance to shine.

5 Keio Flying Squadron 2

A sequel to the incredibly rare Sega CD Keio Flying Squadron, Keio Flying Squadron 2 stars Rami Nana-Hikari’s as she fights enemies based off of Japanese mythology. Unlike the first game which was a shoot em’ up, Keio Flying Squadron is a platformer but does occasionally have some shoot em’ up sections.

Keio Flying Squadron 2 is incredibly colorful and has some great sprite work that is impressive even by Saturn standards. Both Keio Flying Squadron games could use modern ports so you don’t have to pay the equivalent of a used car to play them.

4 Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness

From the kings of ‘90s arcade fighters come Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness, a fast-paced 1 on 1 tournament fighter with a roster comprised entirely of robots controlled by expressive anime characters. Jin Soatama, who you may know from the Marvel vs. Capcom series plays the role of the main protagonist in the game.

You have all of the great Street Fighter-like combat you have come to expect from a Capcom fighter but when you defeat an enemy, you take part of their robot and attach it to your own adding both depth and replayability.

3 Castlevania Symphony of the Night

While there was a port of Castlevania Symphony of the Night on the Sony Playstation at the time and countless ports now; the Japanese exclusive Sega Saturn port adds a few more areas not found in any other port as well as the ability to play as Maria.

This classic game often referred to as one of the best games of all time, was the series departure from the linear style into a more open style made popular by Nintendo’s Metroid series. This and Super Metroid created the Metroidvania genre that has become incredibly popular in recent years.

2 Tryrush Deppy

Tryrush Deppy is an extremely colorful action platformer with a great soundtrack. Deppy is a cute little taxi with a fun dash move he uses to attack enemies and break obstacles. You must keep collecting gas to keep Deppy from going on empty and failing the level. Each boss has a weak point that you must find and exploit but doing so isn’t always easy.

Tryrush Deppy is an excellent showcase of what the Saturn was capable of. The highly detailed and colorful sprites are fantastic and the expressions made by Deppy give the game personality.

1 Silhouette Mirage

Made by the same developers who made Radiant Silvergun, Silhouette Mirage is a great side-scrolling run and gun with some added beat em’ up and RPG elements thrown in. The game melds 2D sprites on 3D backgrounds to create an interesting and unique look.

The game leans heavily on the gimmick of color. The color you are corresponds with which enemy you can attack, similar to another Treasure game Ikaruga. Though this can be hard to get the hang of, over time you get used to it and are rewarded with a great game.

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