Just dove into the world of Saturn imports, help!

[beatnix]

I posted the pic in the finds thread earlier. Stumbled upon a Japanese Saturn today at a very fair price. I've been thinking about an imported system for a while to gain access to the great shmups I'm missing out on. I wasn't sure which system I wanted to explore but clearly the stars aligned today and made the decision for me. So, with all that said...

Anyone able to offer me some advice? It has a 30 day return policy, so I'd like to get a game to put it through its paces soon. I'd like to get the most bang for my buck. Can't afford a top dollar game, looking somewhere mid range. I have no idea where to start. I've read the RB guide but a bit overwhelmed at what's out there. I'm a big Cave/bullet hell fan. is there any one in particular that makes a good jumping off point for the Saturn?

[beatnix]

It's late and I've had an adventurous day, so if this has been discussed I apologize. I didn't do a very extensive look before posting.

[foxhound1022]

I know it isn't bullet hell, but a cheap, solid shmup would be Layer Section. I think it can still be gotten for around 15 bucks.

Dodonpachi is an excellent choice, but it's a little pricier, in the 50-60 dollar range.

Of course there are others that are greatly touted, such as Batsugun, Battle Garegga, Radiant Silvergun.

I wouldn't recommend the original Donpachi; any console port of that seems to be a mess.

[dunpeal2064]

Sadly, Cave's two ports to the Saturn are poor. I think the best shmup on the Saturn, for a Cave fan, would be Battle Garegga. Unfortunately, it is a bit pricey, but you are really getting what you pay for. Its bullet hell, it has a ridiculously in-depth, complex scoring system, many ships to choose from, built-in superplays, arranged bgm, all that good stuff.

I suppose Batsugun isn't a bad 2nd choice... but it still isn't cheap. For the extra $20, get Garegga.

If you really don't want to shell out for those, I suppose Layer Section or Sokyugurentai might suffice. As a fellow Cave nut, though, I would be disappointed in these. They would not put the system through its runs for me.

Just get Garegga. Worst-case, its always re-sellable.

[beatnix]

As much as those titles sound great, it's just not in the cards for me at the moment. I'm just dipping my toes in to start. Can't afford to dive in head first just yet.

Probably can justify spending 50-75 at the moment. Been searching around a bit this morning and the decision is going to be weather to split that and buy two games or just spend it on one.

[dunpeal2064]

You might be able to get Batsugun for that price. I'd still say save up another $20 for Garegga personally, it is far superior to your other choices if you are a bullet hell fan.

You like Cave stuff... do you like scoring in them? Or do you tend to ignore score and just shoot to kill?

[beatnix]

I enjoy playing for both reasons. With cave games I love the score systems, but I enjoy other games as we'll for the simple joy of blowing things up.

Some games that get the most runs for me are...

- my 360 cave games. Akai katana is probably my favorite but I enjoy muchi muchi pork and Deathsmiles quite a bit. Mind you, I have limited exposure to cave games. I know I've only scratched the surface.

- Raiden III and IV

- UN squadron (Area 88)

- Darius... I have both Darius twin and Darius G and enjoy a play through of both from time to time.

- enjoy many of the NES catalogue... 1942, gun.smoke, dragon spirit to name a few.

So I'm not married to having to have a bullet hell game. Just want something well made. I can enjoy a shmup on multiple levels.

[Purkeynator]

http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/sat ... d-shooters

Here is a good article to give you a run-down of Saturn shmups. There is another one somewhere that compares Saturns ports to Playstation ports of the same game. That was another good article I enjoyed.

[Bradtemple87]

I would suggest Gunbird or Shienryu

Both are easy to pickup and a lot of fun. You can find them for a reasonable price.

[dunpeal2064]

I asked about scoring because, if its something you would intend to do in Dodonpachi, then I would avoid the port. It looks and sounds like a good port to the naked eye, but they messed up the scoring. Not as bad as the ps1 port, but still enough to steer clear.

Gunbird is a great suggestion. Nice difficulty ramp, a little manic, solid port, and quite cheap.

Personally, I wouldn't want Shienryu to be my first Saturn shooter. Its a great game, but I think something a little more challenging would be good, until you have a bit more of a library.

Soukyugurentai is a fantastic shooter that can be had at a good price as well. Fairly active score board here, great presentation and soundtrack, hard enough to make you work for it, and it has just a bit of a scoring system.