Is the Sega Saturn overrated?

[flamepanther]

Language barrier can be overcome by studying the language, I don't think that's too unrealistic goal for retrogame enthusiast.

Because, you know, all retro gamers have tons of time on their hands to learn an extremely difficult language.

Fortunately, most of the good imports don't require it--especially if you aren't trying to play Shining Force III or Policenauts.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Language barrier can be overcome by studying the language, I don't think that's too unrealistic goal for retrogame enthusiast.

Because, you know, all retro gamers have tons of time on their hands to learn an extremely difficult language.

Fortunately, most of the good imports don't require it--especially if you aren't trying to play Shining Force III or Policenauts.

Oh I know, I was just poking fun at his statement. Most of the games I'd import (shmups) don't require any knowledge of the language to play.

[Korpi]

It's not really extremely difficult, just different. I honestly think most retrogamers have time in their hands to spend little time each day for studying a bit. Take that time away from going through ebay sales or reading forums, for example. Learning can be fun and even useful.

It's like game of it's own, I need to figure what the hell the game is telling me to do, before I can continue. It has managed to make gaming much more interesting for me. Perhaps doesn't apply to everyone. You can always play some Japanese shmups or fighters, for example, if you get tired of the language barrier.

[pepharytheworm]

I guess I will finally chime in. My answer would be No and Yes. In general I don't think its overrated because the average gamer has indifference toward it as stated earlier. But I do feel a lot of fans of the saturn really over do how great it is. But I can understand, they have to yell and overstate to be heard over all the ps1 and n64 praise.

Now I love the system and the games and there are alot of great games that will be missed if you never pick up a saturn. I for one will say the system is not for everybody, to truely appreciate the system you need to love arcade style games and be open to importing.

[TornadoCreator]

It's not really extremely difficult, just different. I honestly think most retrogamers have time in their hands to spend little time each day for studying a bit. Take that time away from going through ebay sales or reading forums, for example. Learning can be fun and even useful.

It's like game of it's own, I need to figure what the hell the game is telling me to do, before I can continue. It has managed to make gaming much more interesting for me. Perhaps doesn't apply to everyone. You can always play some Japanese shmups or fighters, for example, if you get tired of the language barrier.

I have honestly considered in the past taking a Japanese language class so I can appreciate some of the games, especially RPGs etc that we don't get over here, especially when in Europe we often get even less than USA... but I'm awful at languages. It would be nice to be able to understand for the sake of certain games, animé and films that I'd probably enjoy, but then there's the internets ever growing weeaboo population that ruin the language for all of us...

....I sware if I here another teen girl with an asian fetish who desperately wishes she was japanese yet has little concept of the culture insist on calling things "kawai" when she speaks a total of 6 words of japanese I may be forced to kill her with something sharp... possibly a sword.

Speaking of which. The Katana is a crap sword, it was made from a steel folding technique which was already obsolete amongst the celts and vikings, the blades are actually rather fat and crude, and are rather brittle, and the methods of combat used by Samurai only survived so long and became tradition because Japan is an island and the Japanese rarely fought anyone outside of themselves, unlike Europeans who are a brutish violent group and killed eachother all the time. Weeaboos of the internet, stop with the Katana worship, the average Viking longsword was better made for heavens sake. It's not made out of concentrated magic, it's just a sharpened metal bar designed to hit people with to make them dead... every single culture on earth made them.
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[Breetai]

I don't see why one would limit himself to US releases only. Same as with TurboGrafx, why bother with that, as it doesn't have too much to do with US either. Japanese games are cheaper and are taken much better care of than US games, and the jewelcases hold up better anyway.

EXACTLY! Limiting yourself to US or EU only games is just... stupid, especially when you realize that it is actually CHEAPER overall to import from Japan.

Language barrier can be overcome by studying the language, I don't think that's too unrealistic goal for retrogame enthusiast.

You were doing so well until you said this...

Quite a few of those into retro gaming are getting into their late-20s and 30s, have jobs and new families. Where is the time to learn an entirely new language? It simply does not exist for most retro gamers. Learning katakana and a few common kanji (to get through the options menu or the title screen) isn't a bad idea and is doable for most anyone. Beyond that is not necessary.

[flamepanther]

Most western swords are relatively blunt, and made to be used as a wedged bludgeon. With few exceptions, they are not made for cutting. Japanese swords are "cool" because of their elegance and because they are made for cutting. The scimitar once had a similar mystique in the West for exactly the same reasons.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

EXACTLY! Limiting yourself to US or EU only games is just... stupid, especially when you realize that it is actually CHEAPER overall to import from Japan.

I don't think it's stupid to buy US or EU only games, a lot of people (like me) just really don't care about importing. Yeah it costs more but I never think "Oh damn I would've been happier if I had imported this game". If a game isn't available in the US and I want it then sure I'll import, but I'll take the US release when I can.

[BoringSupreez]

EXACTLY! Limiting yourself to US or EU only games is just... stupid, especially when you realize that it is actually CHEAPER overall to import from Japan.

I don't think it's stupid to buy US or EU only games, a lot of people (like me) just really don't care about importing. Yeah it costs more but I never think "Oh damn I would've been happier if I had imported this game". If a game isn't available in the US and I want it then sure I'll import, but I'll take the US release when I can.

Yeah, I've never imported a game myself, except from Europe. It's a hassle, I don't want to mod my systems (all my EU games are for PC), and I want my games in English, even if it costs more. On top of those reasons, I'm not the biggest fan of Japanese games. I like Nintendo, Sonic, and MGS, but that's about it.

[Inazuma]

The language of video games is Japanese. I love video games so much that I learned the language. I am extremely glad I did.

And I learned Japanese while playing online Japanese games, mostly from communicating with other players. Just jump in and immerse yourself. You'd be surprised how fast you can learn a language if you have the desire to do so.

Fuck learning a language through school type bullshit like textbooks, homework, studying, etc. Make learning Japanese fun by playing video games and watching anime. You will learn the same way a baby learns its first language.