With no real Sonic games for the Sega Saturn, Burning Rangers is probably the closest you can get to true Sonc gameplay.
Burning Rangers never got very recognized when it was released back in 1998, notably because the Sega Saturn was on it's way out, and Sega didn't bother making many copies of the title, due to lack of public interest. This of course, makes the game a relatively rare find, even if it's not as expensive as say, Shining Force III, or Radiant Silvergun.
Burning Rangers concept is about fire-fighting. Futuristic Fire-Fighting, more specifically rescuing anyone who could be trapped inside a burning building, (or, in this case, complex) and trying to figure out the cause of the fire in the first place. What makes Burning Rangers more interesting than just what it seems is that you're always connected by audio to everyone other burning ranger that goes into the complex with you, meaning that if one of them is ahead of you, they can warn you of certain obstacles, and even give you directions in about every area of the game. This is very sophisticated work for a game in 1998, and it works quite well. If you're lost AT ALL, anywhere in the complex (as long as it isn't in places where they don't have a map for you) all you have to hit is the Z button, and the game will tell you specifically where to go, and occasionally, will know you're going the wrong way, and tell you to turn around. It can make the game a bit linear in some aspects, but it's hard to tell you're actually going in some kind of straight path, due to the complex level designs in each one of the missions. Of course, Sonic Team threw in a piece of Sonic in the game, by requiring you to pick up these "crystals" that protect you from fire, explosions, or anything else in your way. If you get injured at all, you lose them all, but you can pick them up if you're quick enough, just the same as rings in Sonic the Hedgehog titles. However, these crystals appear every time you shoot a fire, making it incredibly hard to die. So, to make it a tad bit more difficult for you, in the top right hand corner of the screen, there's a limit gauge. The more time you wait without shooting out a fire, the more it'll increase. After it hits a limit point (20%, 40% all the way up to 100%) the more fires and explosions that appear. Once you get to 100%, there's explosions everywhere, and the only way out is to die, or get to the next section of the level, so speed and good fire-fighting skills are needed at the same time, adding some more depth to the game. There is no lock-on technique for shooting out fires, but Sonic Team still managed to make it work much better then it did in Shadow the Hedgehog in 2005. If you hold down the A-button, (or B, can't remember) and charge your fire-fighting weapon up, the camera automatically locks on to an enemy. Talking about cameras, this is probably the best camera system Sonic Team has ever designed. It's very closely related to Night's camera while on the ground, but it stays behind the character very well, and NEVER gets stuck on a wall. I will never know why Sonic Adventure didn't use this system. However, flaws in the gameplay include some very easy bosses, some awkward controls at first, even with the 3D controller being compatible, and occasionally, if you're facing the wrong direction when you press Z, the navigation gets confused, and tells you the wrong direction. Other then that, the gameplay is probably the best for a 3D platformer on the Saturn.
Burning Rangers graphics engine is a modified version of NiGHTS' graphics engine. While NiGHTS was a pretty game for the Sega Saturn, it wasn't really made for complex 3D environments. However, Sonic Team managed to get it to work pretty well. The first level looks amazing. Lighting effects galore, (probably best on Saturn) with transparencies, hardly any clipping errors, polygonal warping, and the character design is pretty well done too. After that however, things start getting ugly. The 2nd mission still looks good, however, clipping errors appear EVERYWHERE. You can see fire through the walls, and sometimes you can see your character through the walls. The 3 more missions after that only get worse, up until the final boss, which rivals the graphics of Final Fantasy VII or even VIII. At least the FMV sequences are top-notch Saturn quality.
The voice talent on Burning Rangers, besides Shou, is quite possibly, the best actors Sonic Team ever put to gether. They actually SOUND like pros! At least, compared to the other voice talent Sonic Team has hired later on. Sometimes, the actors seem to be pushing it a little to hard, making it sound forced. But other then that, they're great. The music with vocals is 1980's goodness, or so it seems. Cheesy, but entertaining, to a point. Most people will despise it at first, but you'll get used to it. Be glad it isn't country. The sound effects, especially the fire-fighting weapon sound especially weak. I wouldv'e expected more bass to come out of it, but nope, nada. Just a weak laser shot reminiscent of NES sound effects. Yay. All others are fine, even if the fire and explosions could be a little stronger as well.
Burning Rangers has quite a bit of replay value to it. Like NiGHTS before it, and Sonic Adventure- Shadow the Hedgehog after it, it has a good ranking system that goes from E - S rank. Granted, the levels are much longer then the other ranking games before and after this, but it still gives you enough incentive to come back to the levels again and again, especially with all the hidden workers or people you have to rescue in each level. Getting an S rank in these levels are especially hard, making you feel like coming back, especially if you're a completionist. Too bad, like in NiGHTS, you get nothing for the high ranks. Not even a pat on the back. Just a bunch of emails to read through from the people you saved. Happy reading! :P
Gamespot's reviews on Saturn games were incredibly biased. Same with N64. It was obvious that Gamespot preferred the PSX over it's competitors, especially over the Saturn, when they call good games a "6.2" rank. BAH! If you're starving for an excellent 3D platformer for the Sega Saturn (and if you have a Saturn, I bet you are) then this is easily the best one out there. It's relatively rare, due to the limited quantities released for the game, but it's totally worth it.