Console of the Month (Jan 2022): Sega Saturn

[Note]

Awesome collection, AJ! I should snap a pic of my small but growing collection for the system. Maybe I can get to it before the end of the month!

[Nemoide]

I thought that today I would share my Saturn collection. I think it's pretty decent, it certainly has some of the big name Western releases in there.

Wow, a great collection for sure!
I'll aim to take photos of my collection to show off this weekend. My bad-brain tends to focus on the holes of my collection rather than the good things I actually have, but my good-brain knows I have a pretty snazzy collection myself.

[alienjesus]

Thanks all - I'd love to see what you guys have on the system too!

Today I thought I'd discuss the Saturn's controllers. I have 4 different controllers for mine.

The first one I got was this guy:


I know people really don't like this one, but actually, I thought it was pretty decent. The shoulder buttons are probably the biggest flaw as they don't really have enough travel to feel responsive.

My second saturn controller was this guy:



For my money, undoubtedly one of the worst first party controllers of all time, along with the Dreamcast, Xbox and PS2 controllers. It's so uncomfortable to hold and ridiculously oversized. I use it when it's worth it, but I try and stick with digital controls on the system.

More recent, I finally got one of these:


And OK, I get it now. This Saturn controller is so much nicer than the original western controller, and is undoubtedly a contender for the best controller of all time when it comes to 3D games. I never quite got accustomed to using X,Y & Z, but they're not really used that often in the games I own anyway.

Finally, my last Saturn controller is this one from Retrobit:


It's modelled after the Saturn controller so it feels great. I can't really feel much different between the buttons on this and the real thing either. The 2D has more travel which might bother people but I'm OK with it. Plus, it's wireless, which is very nice. I use this most of the time these days just for the convience, but keeping it charged is a pain!

[marurun]

AJ, I agree with you on the western pad. The shoulder triggers break easily and are problem prone and have too little travel, but the face buttons have good differentiation and the dpad is good. I think how it looks also hurts it: it doesn't look cool. I disagree on the 3D pad, though. I find it comfortable to hold and use.

[o.pwuaioc]

Here's my JP collection. Not pictured: games I plan selling and US games (the latter consisting only of Virtua Cop 1 & 2 big box, which is packed away already, and Rayman, which I'll probably get rid of at some point).



Friends might remember a few other games I used to own, like Golden Axe Warrior, but this is the product of a major slimming down to only what I want to keep.

[Nemoide]

I took out my games and photographed them! I have to say, even though the US cases are kind of obnoxious, they do really look nice when you put them all together on the floor.







(I know the alphabetization is off. I'm not rephotographing them.)

[prfsnl_gmr]

Sweet collection, Nemoide! You inspired me, and I decided I would also post pictures of my Saturn collection:

(Like Nemoide, I got them out of order at some point, but I’m not retaking the pictures!)

I still have 51 games on my Saturn “want” list, and I get a new Saturn game about once a year. Accordingly, I should finish off my Saturn collection by the time I’m 92.

[alienjesus]

Nice collections guys. Got a few games in there that are on my wants list for sure.

I'm not sure I'm a fan of the American box art designs though. That weird grey and white background feels really weird and kinda behind the times for the later 90s!

[prfsnl_gmr]

I agree. They look really awesome on a shelf, with the spines sticking out. PS1 games, however, look much cooler from the front.

[alienjesus]

It's been great discussing Sega Saturn with you all! Now January is over, I'll be starting up the next console of the month thread, but feel free to keep discussion going here!