What are the Best Sega Saturn Platformers?

What are some of the better Saturn platformers?

My few personal picks:

Shinobi: Legions has to be my favorite. I love the dark, graphical style to the gameplay. It looks similar to the Mortal Kombat arcade games. The live-action cutscenes are awesome! Very reminiscent of the 80s straight-to-video kung-fu movies I ate up as a kid. Any Shinobi fan will love this title.

Astal is another favorite of mine on Saturn. It didn't break down any walls in 2D platforming gameplay or anything. But it was still a solidly designed 2D platformer that was fun to play. And it is absolutely gorgeous to look at. The graphics are amazing on this one and proves what a 2D powerhouse the Saturn really is.

Bug! is a game that I hear a lot of people trash in the gaming community. I can't say it's a masterpiece or anything, but I thought it was fun. The 2.5D gameplay is kind of unique and makes for some fun gameplay, IMO.

Sonic 3D Blast is a game that I have always liked, despite the general hate it receives. No, it's not as good as the Genesis trilogy of Sonic games. But it's still a fun Sonic game, even though it might not be as good. And the Saturn version is the definitive version of this game to own.

Some games I haven't played on Saturn, but have played the PS1 versions are Gex, Castlevania: SotN, Mega Man 8, and Metal Slug X. If the Saturn versions are good ports, then those are excellent games.

Some games I haven't played on Saturn, but have played the PS1 versions are Gex, Castlevania: SotN, Mega Man 8, and Metal Slug X. If the Saturn versions are good ports, then those are excellent games.

Emerald_Warrior

Gex feels more or less the same, SotN has some interesting and fun tweaks but the conversions suffers in some places (apparently they put a rookie team to do it or something like that) and I think the only Metal Slug on Saturn was the first which was alright (as a port, not the game itself which is good fun). Rayman on the Saturn was also good. There's Earthworm Jim 2 and Silhouette Mirage as well depending on how loose you're going with the platforming definition (as we got run n' gun & a bit of Metroidvania going on in these lists so far).

NiGHTS: Into Dreams and Clockwork Knight 2.

Personally I couldn't possibly rate Astal higher than 4/10, realistically its probably closer to 3/10

Great graphics do not a good game make.

Personally I couldn't possibly rate Astal higher than 4/10, realistically its probably closer to 3/10

Great graphics do not a good game make.

Domino_slayer

A 4 or a 3? Come on now. It's not innovative. But it's not bad, either. I don't see anything it does wrong.

A 4 or a 3? Come on now. It's not innovative. But it's not bad, either. I don't see anything it does wrong.Emerald_Warrior

Dude its a 32-bit game that has sub-NES level layouts.

Pick any decent NES platformer and you'll find way more advanced designs, the developers of this game should've been ashamed of themselves.

The 1st level has you walking along flat ground hitting intermittent enemies, Volcanic Valley is just the same too

The 2nd level has some of the most basic platform jumping of any 90s platformer, even the 1st Super Mario Bros has significantly more intricate designs than this! the ice level was no different, it was all flash and zero substance.

The last level had you walking under some legs for most of the stage and then running forwards along flat ground!

and thats not even getting into the fact that the game is only 9 stages long, with many of the stages do-able in minutes. This during a time when huge platformers with save features were pretty much the norm.

The only reason I would even conceive giving it a 4 is the boss battles, which are perfectly fine for the most part.

[QUOTE="Emerald_Warrior"]A 4 or a 3? Come on now. It's not innovative. But it's not bad, either. I don't see anything it does wrong.Domino_slayer

Dude its a 32-bit game that has sub-NES level layouts.

Pick any decent NES platformer and you'll find way more advanced designs, the developers of this game should've been ashamed of themselves.

The 1st level has you walking along flat ground hitting intermittent enemies, Volcanic Valley is just the same too

The 2nd level has some of the most basic platform jumping of any 90s platformer, even the 1st Super Mario Bros has significantly more intricate designs than this! the ice level was no different, it was all flash and zero substance.

The last level had you walking under some legs for most of the stage and then running forwards along flat ground!

and thats not even getting into the fact that the game is only 9 stages long, with many of the stages do-able in minutes. This during a time when huge platformers with save features were pretty much the norm.

The only reason I would even conceive giving it a 4 is the boss battles, which are perfectly fine for the most part.

No exaggerations there at all. Not like you ever jump or use platforms, or attack enemeies, or anything like that that you do in a 2D platformer. :roll: Please, you know that you're painting the game up to be much more bland than it actually is.

It's apparant you don't like the game and your opinion isn't changing. But just to let those know that are reading this discussion, his opinion is in the minority. It's consistently rated around 8.0 with users. Astal is a fine 2D platfomer with exquisite 2D visuals.

[QUOTE="Domino_slayer"]

[QUOTE="Emerald_Warrior"]A 4 or a 3? Come on now. It's not innovative. But it's not bad, either. I don't see anything it does wrong.Emerald_Warrior

Dude its a 32-bit game that has sub-NES level layouts.

Pick any decent NES platformer and you'll find way more advanced designs, the developers of this game should've been ashamed of themselves.

The 1st level has you walking along flat ground hitting intermittent enemies, Volcanic Valley is just the same too

The 2nd level has some of the most basic platform jumping of any 90s platformer, even the 1st Super Mario Bros has significantly more intricate designs than this! the ice level was no different, it was all flash and zero substance.

The last level had you walking under some legs for most of the stage and then running forwards along flat ground!

and thats not even getting into the fact that the game is only 9 stages long, with many of the stages do-able in minutes. This during a time when huge platformers with save features were pretty much the norm.

The only reason I would even conceive giving it a 4 is the boss battles, which are perfectly fine for the most part.

No exaggerations there at all. Not like you ever jump or use platforms, or attack enemeies, or anything like that that you do in a 2D platformer. :roll: Please, you know that you're painting the game up to be much more bland than it actually is.

It's apparant you don't like the game and your opinion isn't changing. But just to let those know that are reading this discussion, his opinion is in the minority. It's consistently rated around 8.0 with users. Astal is a fine 2D platfomer with exquisite 2D visuals.

[QUOTE="Emerald_Warrior"]

[QUOTE="Domino_slayer"]

Dude its a 32-bit game that has sub-NES level layouts.

Pick any decent NES platformer and you'll find way more advanced designs, the developers of this game should've been ashamed of themselves.

The 1st level has you walking along flat ground hitting intermittent enemies, Volcanic Valley is just the same too

The 2nd level has some of the most basic platform jumping of any 90s platformer, even the 1st Super Mario Bros has significantly more intricate designs than this! the ice level was no different, it was all flash and zero substance.

The last level had you walking under some legs for most of the stage and then running forwards along flat ground!

and thats not even getting into the fact that the game is only 9 stages long, with many of the stages do-able in minutes. This during a time when huge platformers with save features were pretty much the norm.

The only reason I would even conceive giving it a 4 is the boss battles, which are perfectly fine for the most part.

Darkman2007

No exaggerations there at all. Not like you ever jump or use platforms, or attack enemeies, or anything like that that you do in a 2D platformer. :roll: Please, you know that you're painting the game up to be much more bland than it actually is.

It's apparant you don't like the game and your opinion isn't changing. But just to let those know that are reading this discussion, his opinion is in the minority. It's consistently rated around 8.0 with users. Astal is a fine 2D platfomer with exquisite 2D visuals.

That basically what I said in the beginning about Astal. It doesn't bring anything new to the table, but what it does do, it does well. And that the graphics especially stand-out.

Astal is a good, polished game. The level design is simplistic, and it's a slow game, so it's not going to appeal to everyone. But, the boss-battles are good, the 2D graphics are beautiful, the soundtrack is great, and the gameplay is solid. It's also cheap, so you can't go wrong with it. 

Shinobi Legions ... those pre-rendered graphics and the cheesy cinematics are going to cut off the appeal of a lot of people. I personally think it adds to the charm, but damn, i would have loved to see quality sprite work instead. Anyway the controls are simply perfect; tight, fluid, fast and satisfying. If you look past the cinematics, it really is a quality action - platformer.

Clockwork Knights 2 is good one aswell. Not exactly excellent, but it's a good platformer, cheap as heck aswell. Far better than the first one (which is easy as sin). 

Dunno about Sillhouette Mirage. I played the PS1 version, and i wanted to enjoy it. There's so much personality and charm poured into it, not to mention the beautiful sprite work. But the gameplay feels clunky, non-fluid, and the difficulty is off the charts. 

It's a damn shame the Saturn never had a higher number of 2D platformers. Its main strength are 2D shmups, fighting games and SEGA arcade classics, with a sprinkle of quality RPGs.

is anything else better in the Saturn version of 3D BlastEikichi-Onizuka

Smoother looking graphics. More moving stuff in the levels and backgrounds. A better special stage. And MUCH better music.

No exaggerations there at all. Not like you ever jump or use platformsEmerald_Warrior

I'll repeat

you don't use platforms in the entirety of the first stage (Journey Begins), it is literally a walk along flat ground with intermittent enemies

"Into the Darkness" and "Volcanic Valley" level layouts are flat ground with the odd hill & bump in the ground

"Plains of Destiny" is completely flat ground.

"The River of Dreams" is a raft level whom's level of blandness hadn't been seen since the 8-bit era.

The only levels with actual platforming are  "Deep Forest" "Sea of Clouds" & "Crystal Palace" none of which do anything even remotely stand-out, Deep Forest's level layouts are pre-Super Mario Bros 1 in their complexity.

And without even bringing up the shoddy, uninspired level design, this game is under half the length of Yoshi's Story on N64.

There is no way in hell that a game with a grand total of 7 3-5 minute stages, released in 1995 should get a 7/10 or higher, this is blatantly obvious, so even if the levels were good this game would be a 6/10 simply due to having shamefully low amounts of content, add the fact that the levels are lazy as hell and you're dropping to 4/10 easily.

Every time someone recommends Astal it agravates the hell out of me, becuase they are clearly blinded by the beautiful presentation, the game has some of the blandest platforming I've ever experienced, it trully is utterly shameful, I half wonder if the game wasn't made for pre-teens as kind of like a "my first platformer" or something, thats very much how I felt whilst playing it.

[QUOTE="Eikichi-Onizuka"]is anything else better in the Saturn version of 3D BlastEmerald_Warrior

Smoother looking graphics. More moving stuff in the levels and backgrounds. A better special stage. And MUCH better music.

I recall liking a few of the original Genesis version's tracks though in the end I agree, overall the Saturn version is the better one to play.

In answer to the original post.

My favourite platformers on Saturn are Silhouette Mirage, and Mega Man X4. Pandemonium, Rayman, and Gex are also OK

The only 3D platformer I like on Saturn is Croc.

In answer to the original post.

My favourite platformers on Saturn are Silhouette Mirage, and Mega Man X4. Pandemonium, Rayman, and Gex are also OK

The only 3D platformer I like on Saturn is Croc.

Domino_slayer

Astal is a good, polished game. The level design is simplistic, and it's a slow game, so it's not going to appeal to everyone. But, the boss-battles are good, the 2D graphics are beautiful, the soundtrack is great, and the gameplay is solid. It's also cheap, so you can't go wrong with it. 

Shinobi Legions ... those pre-rendered graphics and the cheesy cinematics are going to cut off the appeal of a lot of people. I personally think it adds to the charm, but damn, i would have loved to see quality sprite work instead. Anyway the controls are simply perfect; tight, fluid, fast and satisfying. If you look past the cinematics, it really is a quality action - platformer.

Clockwork Knights 2 is good one aswell. Not exactly excellent, but it's a good platformer, cheap as heck aswell. Far better than the first one (which is easy as sin). 

Dunno about Sillhouette Mirage. I played the PS1 version, and i wanted to enjoy it. There's so much personality and charm poured into it, not to mention the beautiful sprite work. But the gameplay feels clunky, non-fluid, and the difficulty is off the charts. 

It's a damn shame the Saturn never had a higher number of 2D platformers. Its main strength are 2D shmups, fighting games and SEGA arcade classics, with a sprinkle of quality RPGs.

Lucianu

In answer to the original post.

My favourite platformers on Saturn are Silhouette Mirage, and Mega Man X4. Pandemonium, Rayman, and Gex are also OK

The only 3D platformer I like on Saturn is Croc.

Domino_slayer

I haven't played Astral, so I can't say anything about your posts about it, but Croc is pretty bland.

[QUOTE="Domino_slayer"]

In answer to the original post.

My favourite platformers on Saturn are Silhouette Mirage, and Mega Man X4. Pandemonium, Rayman, and Gex are also OK

The only 3D platformer I like on Saturn is Croc.

GreySeal9

I haven't played Astral, so I can't say anything about your posts about it, but Croc is pretty bland.

[QUOTE="GreySeal9"]

[QUOTE="Domino_slayer"]

In answer to the original post.

My favourite platformers on Saturn are Silhouette Mirage, and Mega Man X4. Pandemonium, Rayman, and Gex are also OK

The only 3D platformer I like on Saturn is Croc.

Darkman2007

I haven't played Astral, so I can't say anything about your posts about it, but Croc is pretty bland.

Yeah, I guess I'm thinking of it relative to PlayStation/64 platformers.

Croc would be a great platformers for kids tho.

but Croc is pretty bland.GreySeal9

Its certainly nothing special, and is flawed, but I think it has some charm and does the fundamentalls well enough, its still the best 3D platformer on Saturn though and by no small margin unfortunately (Tomb Raider is an Action Adventure game, and Burning Rangers is essentially a 3rd person shooter with the enemies replaced with fire for all intent and purposes).

I think Duck Dodgers on N64 puts up a good fight against Croc, so yeah, its certainly not competing with the heavy hitters, I'd say I like Croc more than Tonic Trouble though, whom's camera is just too much of a pain in the ass most of the time.

I think Croc might have gotten a 7/10 from me had it appeared on N64, though the fiddly controls may have brought it down. :(

[QUOTE="GreySeal9"]but Croc is pretty bland.Domino_slayer

Its certainly nothing special, and is flawed, but I think it has some charm and does the fundamentalls well enough, its still the best 3D platformer on Saturn though and by no small margin unfortunately (Tomb Raider is an Action Adventure game, and Burning Rangers is essentially a 3rd person shooter with the enemies replaced with fire for all intent and purposes).

I think Duck Dodgers on N64 puts up a good fight against Croc, so yeah, its certainly not competing with the heavy hitters, I'd say I like Croc more than Tonic Trouble though, whom's camera is just too much of a pain in the ass most of the time.

I think Croc might have gotten a 7/10 from me had it appeared on N64, though the fiddly controls may have brought it down. :(

Agreed. It's a cute game and doesn't comitt any mortal sins. It's just not going to really hold the attention of a seasoned platformer fan for too long.

[QUOTE="Domino_slayer"]

[QUOTE="GreySeal9"]but Croc is pretty bland.GreySeal9

Its certainly nothing special, and is flawed, but I think it has some charm and does the fundamentalls well enough, its still the best 3D platformer on Saturn though and by no small margin unfortunately (Tomb Raider is an Action Adventure game, and Burning Rangers is essentially a 3rd person shooter with the enemies replaced with fire for all intent and purposes).

I think Duck Dodgers on N64 puts up a good fight against Croc, so yeah, its certainly not competing with the heavy hitters, I'd say I like Croc more than Tonic Trouble though, whom's camera is just too much of a pain in the ass most of the time.

I think Croc might have gotten a 7/10 from me had it appeared on N64, though the fiddly controls may have brought it down. :(

Agreed. It's a cute game and doesn't comitt any mortal sins. It's just not going to really hold the attention of a seasoned platformer fan for too long.

[QUOTE="GreySeal9"]

[QUOTE="Domino_slayer"]

Its certainly nothing special, and is flawed, but I think it has some charm and does the fundamentalls well enough, its still the best 3D platformer on Saturn though and by no small margin unfortunately (Tomb Raider is an Action Adventure game, and Burning Rangers is essentially a 3rd person shooter with the enemies replaced with fire for all intent and purposes).

I think Duck Dodgers on N64 puts up a good fight against Croc, so yeah, its certainly not competing with the heavy hitters, I'd say I like Croc more than Tonic Trouble though, whom's camera is just too much of a pain in the ass most of the time.

I think Croc might have gotten a 7/10 from me had it appeared on N64, though the fiddly controls may have brought it down. :(

Darkman2007

Agreed. It's a cute game and doesn't comitt any mortal sins. It's just not going to really hold the attention of a seasoned platformer fan for too long.

Yeah, Croc doesn't feel particularly good to control, even using a Dualshock (I played the game on PlayStation since I've never owned a Saturn).

That Saturn 3D controller is really weird tho, lol. I would probably dig it tho since I am a fan of the Dreamcast controller (I seem to be in the minority as far as that is concerned).

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"][QUOTE="GreySeal9"]

Agreed. It's a cute game and doesn't comitt any mortal sins. It's just not going to really hold the attention of a seasoned platformer fan for too long.

GreySeal9

Yeah, Croc doesn't feel particularly good to control, even using a Dualshock (I played the game on PlayStation since I've never owned a Saturn).

That Saturn 3D controller is really weird tho, lol. I would probably dig it tho since I am a fan of the Dreamcast controller (I seem to be in the minority as far as that is concerned).

[QUOTE="GreySeal9"]

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"] its biggest flaw are the almost tank like controls. although I will say that using the Saturn's 3D controller helps.Darkman2007

Yeah, Croc doesn't feel particularly good to control, even using a Dualshock (I played the game on PlayStation since I've never owned a Saturn).

That Saturn 3D controller is really weird tho, lol. I would probably dig it tho since I am a fan of the Dreamcast controller (I seem to be in the minority as far as that is concerned).

It looks like a good controller for fighting games.

2 of the best are Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4. The Saturn version of MM8 has exclusive content like Cutman and Woodman as exclusive bosses, plus an art gallery. The reason why the Saturn version of MM8 has that content is because Capcom wanted MM8 to be a Saturn exclusive, but Sony stepped in and demanded Capcom to make a version for PSX.

SUPER TEMPO was pretty sweet.

havent played much platforms on Sega Saturn .. but i remeber Keio 2 was fun :)

[QUOTE="Emerald_Warrior"]A 4 or a 3? Come on now. It's not innovative. But it's not bad, either. I don't see anything it does wrong.Domino_slayer

Dude its a 32-bit game that has sub-NES level layouts.

Pick any decent NES platformer and you'll find way more advanced designs, the developers of this game should've been ashamed of themselves.

The 1st level has you walking along flat ground hitting intermittent enemies, Volcanic Valley is just the same too

The 2nd level has some of the most basic platform jumping of any 90s platformer, even the 1st Super Mario Bros has significantly more intricate designs than this! the ice level was no different, it was all flash and zero substance.

The last level had you walking under some legs for most of the stage and then running forwards along flat ground!

and thats not even getting into the fact that the game is only 9 stages long, with many of the stages do-able in minutes. This during a time when huge platformers with save features were pretty much the norm.

The only reason I would even conceive giving it a 4 is the boss battles, which are perfectly fine for the most part.

it looks great but the game is just meh

Aside from the ones already mentioned one of my favourites was Keio Flying Sqadron 2,really cool game and back then I really liked the really colorfull artstyle.Arach666