In a dream scenario the 32X would have stuck around with the intention of being a budget console and would have had tons of close to perfect ports of games from that era, meanwhile the Saturn would focus mostly on next gen. Stuff like Space Harrier and After Burner Complete were great on the 32X and it would have been cool to get way more 80s/early 90s Sega arcade games on it.

@@RetroComparisons Yeah, the 32X was originally gonna be a 2-in-1 console, at least that's how it was pitched. A low-cost 32-bit system that was also backwards compatible with your entire Genesis library. Unfortunately that's not how things went.

@@SomeOrangeCat chega tratou os clientes como idiotas lançando o Genesis como console de ponta, mas assistem 16 foi tão capada que o o som ficou comprometido e defasado. Sega CD +32X era jogar dinheiro no lixo. Neogeo é o que o megadrive deveria ser. Uma placa que durou mais de 10 anos e o limite dos jogos era a vontade do criador.

@@SomeOrangeCat That's so unfortunate. It was wasted potential.

@@RetroComparisons Sega hardware is *full* of wasted potential. Just look at the Sega CD. I think Core Designs was the only developer who really "got" what the hardware could do. All of their games were technical showpieces that just weren't possible on anything else at the time. They were doing things with it that even Sega didn't bother trying.

I'm just underwhelmed by how the more powerful Saturn had to have so many games for a year or so of it's launch be almost equivalent to it's predecessor! Sad days for the Saturn.

Not many people had the Sega Saturn then sega had to launched the games on genesis too for long time

Genesis/megadrive really was the poverty system of gaming. Poor sound, poor colors etc. It's laughable how this system got devended by its fans.

@@thankfulgamer2405 must be a SNES fanboy. Genesis is still beloved by millions of gamers. Cry about it.

@@the757general2 nope not at all. Just being objective. Sega was only big in the US

If they had directly ported Earthworm Jim 2 to the Saturn instead of messing with it, it would have been an improvement. Sometimes the best thing to do is just port the game.

The Genesis really was pushed in incredible ways by genius programmers. What a beastly chipset the 68000+Z80 combo was. The two-year newer SNES should have wiped the floor with the "geriatric" Genesis, but it really only bested it by a smidge.

Thanks for watching and for the suggestion:) For most of these games I do have short videos individually where there's footage from each with the audio isolated for just one game at a time.

That is an excellent point. Not only would it have been great for kids who still loved their Genesis games but it's also something that could have sold parents on the console too. I could see a conversation of "Little Billy can still play those other expensive games we bought him last Christmas on this new Sega toy that he wants. The guy at Kmart said you can't do that with that Sony thing."

Exactly. Video Games were and still are expensive, SEGA had 30+ million potential clients to migrate from the previous generation if they made the Saturn compatible with the 16-bit console cartridges. The Sega CD should have been an obvious compatibility choice and even the 32X which has two SH-2 CPUs like the Saturn, they had everything to honor previous costumers with the Saturn. The console would be ahead of the competition in many aspects, and hundreds of games already on the market available for it, doesn't matter if they were last gen stuff, the SNES was rocking until 1997-1998.

@@roberto1519 Ugh just reading your comment makes me so pissed at the "great" minds at Sega during the time. There's so many what-ifs and should-have-beens.

Now you can't ignore this going forward, so many obvious choices to make the Saturn THE console to own in the 5th gen.

adding it would make the 299 statement even more strong, as Saturn could reach 450 with compatibility

Thanks so much for watching and for the kind words!

There's definitely a weird mix in here. Some are clearly the next gen iterations like World Series Baseball 98, some are pretty much one to one ports like Quackshot, and others are shockingly worse like Dragon Slayer.

The CD soundtrack is great for that game.

Thanks for watching:)

It's not exactly a competition, it's a comparison to show how many games are shared between systems and how unique they are. If it was a competition, Legend of Heroes games for the Mega Drive would stomp the ancient PC versions ported both to the Saturn and PS1 without any explainable reason. Also, Road Rash (16-bit) and Road Rash (32-bit) aren't even the same games, the closest match would be Road Rash 3, which was released after Road Rash for the 3DO and uses digitized sprites, a technique used on the 32-bit, Sega CD and the aforementioned third 16-bit game.

Thanks so much you're too kind!

@@RetroComparisons only every other Tuesday, most days I am salty :)

@@Tolbat Lol!

@@RetroComparisons The old Genesis was really a great system, this video just proves how versitile it was. A shame Sega released GEMs and we got crap sound from so many games. Early games sounded amazing.

It sucks, I would have loved to have seen what they would have done after the Dreamcast.

​@@RetroComparisons Dozens of planned games moved over to the GameCube, PS2 and Xbox, Billy Hatcher, Monkey Ball, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Jet Set Radio Future, to name a few were released on the following consoles and PC. They forgot to bring Burning Rangers and a few others locked to the Saturn, specially since it was rushed, it could have used the more powerful systems as this game is great and would finally shine to the masses. Sega would definitely launch all games they did until today within their own consoles, if they existed, remember SEGA was first and foremost a software developer before becoming the arcade kings and the consoles.

@@roberto1519 That's a great point. Since I grew up with the Genesis as my first real console I always think of Sega as a hardware company first even though I know they were a software developer first and a damn good one at that. I mean I love me some Congo Bongo & Buck Rogers. It still would have been cool though to see if they would have been innovative from a hardware perspective had they put out a console around 05/06.

Maybe true, 7th gen could still have been unique somehow as was the PS3 convoluted architecture. After that, consoles basically PCs, while our modern PCs are closer to consoles than ever.

@@roberto1519 I know. the days of a console having it's own style are long gone unfortunately.

Yes, it was. And the Brazilian Megadrive was compatible with the US Genesis' games, but not the Japanese Megadrive games.

Nice! Yeah the Genesis seemed to be built like a tank. My childhood Genesis and even my parent's 2600 still work perfectly whereas my PS3 Super Slim from 2013 broke within 7 years. There's something so great about the 16 bit consoles that are still amazing to this day.

Thanks for checking this out:)

Madden: Not my favorite Madden games ('96 and '93 are my favorites of the 90s), but these are okay. I own '98 on the Saturn but never bought '97 (I have played it illegitimately) nor these on the Genesis because I was content to play cousin's copies. Again, I think it comes down to preference, but I do quite like '98 on the Saturn more than these two on the Genesis and over '97 on the Saturn and more than Madden 64 too. NBA Live: I have Live '98 on the Genesis (as well as '95) and do not have the Saturn games. The Genesis game is fun, but if you want to play a 32-bit, 3D version of Live, definitely play it on the PSX not the Saturn since the Playstation versions run quite a bit better. For me, the Genesis wins this one for sure. NHL '97/'98: Same deal here where the it's a preference for which style of game though I will say that I much prefer the pixel art in the Genesis games in this case (though I prefer '95 and '96 on the Genesis in terms of actual play). The Saturn games look like they could be fun, but, again, you are probably better off with the PS1 versions, especially '98. Outrun: 60hz with the smooth modes on the Saturn along with an optional arranged soundtrack...no contest with the Saturn win. I did enjoy playing Outrun at my older cousin's, but I didn't have it; just Outrunners later on as a gift...that REALLY deserved a Saturn port compared to what we got on the Genesis. Primal Rage: If you don't count Midway Arcade Treasures on PS2, the 3DO version of this is the only one I own (and I got that like 15 years ago when I got my FZ-10). The Saturn version is better than the 3DO version let alone the Genesis. I had fun when I rented this on the Genesis, but it was cooler playing it on my friend's (brother's) PS1 copy. The Saturn version is at least that good if not a better port. I wish the mechanics in this game clicked with me, since I though the concept is really cool. But, I'm much better at SF2, MK, and the SNK fighers and would rather play those. Speaking of Street Fighter 2: the Saturn ports in Street Fighter Collection and Collection-2/Capcom-Generations-5 are much closer to the arcade than Special Champion Edition and Super SF2 on the Genesis. They are not arcade perfect, but they are close enough for the time. Plus, Collection 2 has the FM-Towns/3DO arranged CD soundtrack to unlock, which I just love. The Saturn version is the clear winner, but I had ton of fun with Special Champion Edition with friends and with my sister and cousins. Overall, I prefer it over Turbo on the SNES though I like Super SF2 on the SNES more than the Genesis port (still played a lot of it). Saturn wins even though I don't own either Generations 5 nor Collection, but I do own both for the PSX though they are ~2002-2003 purchases, and I have Collection for Alpha 2 Gold and not Super SF2 and SSF2T. Race Drivin: Like Hard Drivin, it's an interesting historic peice. But, it's not much fun to play, but at least the Saturn port runs well enough.

Revolution X: We've had this one come up before, and the Saturn version is so much better. I still prefer the DOS port over it, but the Genesis FM versions of the tunes just were not good enough, sadly. Road Rash: Both of these are great games, and you can't go too wrong with either. I would probably say I prefer the 32-bit take on Road Rash (I've played more of the 3DO version than Saturn though) over the original Road Rash on the Genesis; however, I prefer Road Rash II over both. And, I have to give a shoutout to Road Rash 64: it may be a terribly ugly game and the single player is not really better, but it's one of the most fun multiplayer games of that generation in terms of just raw fun. 3D Blast: Yeah, it's not "Sonic" Sonic, but I liked 3D Blast on the Genesis. I was kind of disappointed when I bought the Saturn version at Funco years later. I think it looks fine, but they really could have done more with all of that CD space and expanded the game up. I also prefer the Genesis soundtrack. I'd probably still say a "tie" because it's better graphics vs better soundtrack, IMO. But, I would say the best version to play is Jon Burton's own Director's Cut where he went back and improved the original Genesis copy. Street Racer: The Genesis game is okay, but even the SNES version feels a lot more like a kart racer than that one. The Saturn Street Racer Extra is amazing with nice added details with really good VDP2 usage and one of my favorite kart racers from the time after I finally played it a decade or so ago. The PS1 version is also pretty good though with different types of added detail. UMK3: One of my favorite fighting games. I took all of my birthday money (I asked for some cash instead of any other game or anyting because I was waiting on UMK3) plus a little I got doing odd jobs for my grandma and bought the Genesis version of Ultimate when it came out. Before a couple of recent games in the last couple of years, this was the most expensive non-limited/non-special edition new game I ever bought at 70 at K-Mart. Conker on the 64 was pretty close in price though as well as the over-priced Dungeon Siege I bought at Sam Goody because they were the only ones around me at college that had it. Still, I usually only got used games or games that were a bit older. MK1 and 2 on Genesis were also pretty expensive but not that high. Is the Genesis version 70 bucks good? Oh no, but I do feel it's port is less chopped up than the SNES port. When I bought the Saturn in '99, I was was working full time in the summer so had a lot more spending money, but also paid a lot less for that version. Unlike most of my Saturn games from that time, I bought this one new, also from K-Mart though a different store, the one that was moving where I bought my Saturn. This Saturn version isn't arcade perfect by any means and has some gameplay differences, but it's certainly closer graphically and sound-wise than the Genesis version; however, it also doesn't have Rain or Noob Saibot either. I wish Trilogy on the Saturn didn't have the mesh transparencies that it does for shadows and the health bars otherwise I'd prefer it over both of these (I do have a video where I show an Action Replay code I figured out while watching the VDP registers in a Saturn emulator that DOES make the shadows solid instead of mesh but didn't get the health bar meshes changed without crashing the Saturn eventually. I should look at it again sometime and maybe the patch the game instead.) Virtua Fighter 2: One of my favorite Saturn games and one of the best fighters on the system. It definitely wins. However, I have to at least appreciate how they tried to capture the essense of the look and fighting with the Genesis de-make of a port. I'd definitely rather play VF2 on the Saturn or 32X VF, but the Genesis version is at least interesting. Virtua Racing: I don't like how this feels on the Saturn. I was excite to get this (used at Funco again, no case) after I got the Saturn. I wasn't familiar with any reviews of this version, but I had loved Virtua Racing Deluxe on the 32X. I appreciate that Time Warner Interactive tried adding content to the game, but it just doesn't feel enough like Virtua Racing to me in terms of handling. I don't have a working copy for the Genesis, but I do have a non-working cart that I payed a dollar for ages ago. The Saturn version is superior in technical aspects, but I'd rather play the Genesis version.

WSB and WSB '98: I have WSB on the Genesis and WSB '98 on the Saturn, just those two and the 32X WSB with Deion which is okay but not amazing though I enjoyed it at the time. I need to play the others on the Genesis some time. The original still gets some play because I keep it with my Nomad in my computer desk drawer (I don't usually fire this up on the everdrive in my spare/CRT room though for whatever reason; mostly play platformers and shooters there I guess). I also like 98 on the Saturn in terms of gameplay. That game doesn't look too hot though: I actually really like the sprite+3D mix of the first WSB on the Saturn but never have bought a copy. WWF Wrestlemania The Arcade Game: I love this game; it's a beautiful melding of Mortal Kombat and wrestling. Is it perfect or as good of a wrestling game as games from Aki or Yuke's? No. Is it as good as MK2 or UMK3 in terms of fighting mechanics? Also, nope. Is it insanely fun, especially with a friend? Yes, yes it is. I have or have had all of the ports for this. Genesis as a gift, a discount version of the DOS port from my uncle as a gift, the 32X version when it was clearanced, the Saturn version used around 01, the PS1 port in just a jewel case during college at a thrift shop for 1 buck, and the SNES port in box off of ebay just about a year or so back though I had played it at my friend Otis' house back in the 90s as well as on the super everdrive later. I love this game. I don't have my Saturn copy anymore because it got lost, and my friend Matt borrowed my PS1 version and didn't return it. But, I was too much of a pud to pester him about it. I should buy complete copies of those two sometime though I'm sure they are a lot more than what I paid originally. The Saturn version is definitely superior to the Genesis port but not much better than the PS1 version if at all. The DOS port was arguably the best, but I couldn't play it until 2+ years after getting it because of it just simply not running on the family PC. The DOS version is also not arcade perfect either (and having to block by hitting all 4 buttons on my gravis gamepad wasn't great but you really needed to use a controller or joystick for 2p if you wanted to be comfortable); however, it does support buddy mode which isn't in the other home ports. When you turn it on for a 1p vs 2p head to head, you each get a computer-controlled teammate for a pseudo tornado tag match sort of. It's fun and should have been in the Saturn/PS1 versions, IMO. I'm probably put the DOS, PS1, and Saturn versions nearly equal, each with their own small pros and cons, then the 32X version which looks better than the Genesis which is still a lot of fun. We had fun with the Genesis version at the time. The SNES version is just sad, and it really could have done much better. Saturn wins here verus the Genesis for sure, but I've got special nostalgia for it and the 32X versions.

Mortal Kombat II: if you thought I was going to forget MK2, one of my top-3 favorite games of all time, you are mistaken. But, I'm not going to say much, since I've already expounded on the deficiencies of this port on various videos over the years here on Retro Comparisons videos. I will say though that the Saturn version was such a disappointment when I bought it. I got this one online off of ebay in '01-ish, simply because I didn't see it anywhere. I already had the Japanese PS1 port: it was the first thing I ever bought on ebay on August 06, 2000, even though I didn't even have a Playstation at the time. However, my friend Josh did, and it was import PSX he bought for a dragon ball game of some sort. So, that was the only place I could play it until a couple of years later. Anyway, neither the PSX or Saturn versions of MK2 are as good as they should have been. But, whether it was the extra development time or the fact that the sample sizes are smaller because of ADPCM or what, but the PS1 version doesn't suffer nearly as badly as the Saturn does when it's loading samples on the fly. The DOS version is very good in terms of sound effects, graphics, and the game playing well (though not arcade perfect either). The Sound Blaster AWE32 and Gravis Ultrasound soundtracks in the DOS version are okay (the Sound Blaster/OPL FM tracks are okayish but way behind the sample-based ones), and it seemed to me like Probe tried converting the GUS arrangements over to the Saturn and PS1 sound chips but did a poor job and neither came out great. They could be worse, I guess, but instead they should have used Redbook CD-Audio recording of the arcade machine for the CD ports (not just Saturn and PS1 but the PC MK1+MK2 CD version of MK2; the MK1 port on the CD compilation is like this with the floppy's FM and Roland tracks from the floppy exchanged for CD audio but sadly not MK2, which has the same music as the floppy version. sigh.). I loooove the arcade version's sound track, so to hear it done so mediocre in the 32-bit versions was sad. They could be worse but certainly could have been better. And, since I also love the changed-up interpretations of Matt Furniss, I kind of like the Genesis soundtrack a little more maybe. Maybe, maybe not; not sure. I definitely prefer playing the Genesis version over the Saturn version. The micro-stutter as data is loaded in just makes the Saturn version worse. The Playstation port actually does much better here with not having the stutters in most matches (Shang Tsung of course is murder on the game with in-match loading, plus like the Saturn the character sprite resolution is cut into a 1/4 in matches with him), but it does still load for most fatalities and the end-round announcer. The PS1 port also has more voice samples overall. The Saturn version should have at least been as good as the PS1 port (and should have also had the scaling mode that's hidden on the PSX, which is at least kind of neat). Instead we have a Saturn port that looks really quite nice when it's not stutter-loading, but it just doesn't do anything else as well as it should have. At the very least, since this was originally talked about being MK1+MK2 for the Saturn like the combos on PC and for Game Boy, I would be more happy if MK1 was included as well even without changes, since that'd be decent value and cool to have had a better (hopefully) MK1 on console in the mid-90s. The Genesis wins for MK2, at least for me. Actually, my own personal preference in terms of the original, pre-emu MK 2 versions are: Arcade > PC MS-DOS > 32X = PS1 (Japan only) = SNES >> Genesis > Game Boy = Saturn > Game Gear >= SMS > Amiga. For others, the order may be different, but that's my preference in terms of the versions/ports I prefer to play. There are innacuracies in all of the ports, but, yeah, I'd rather play the Genesis version over the Saturn (and the SNES/PS1/32X/DOS versions over both). Overall the Saturn wins the comparison, IMO. I don't think we expected the Genesis to best it's successor, but I think some of the games, especially the EA games, could go either way depending on whether you prefer 16-bit-style or 32-bit-style sports games.

@@shotgunl Absolutely incredible assessments as always my friend!! I'm with you on pretty much all of your takes on these and I can't add much but I'll thrown in my two cents for a few of them. While the gameplay was fine I don't care for consolized versions of arcade games that have unlimited continues as it takes away from the challenge and Mercs was guilty of that. For that reason alone I'd go with the Genesis port. Phantasy Star 1 was another that really lacked on the Saturn and the Genesis port really shined through even if it was basically just a SMS game on a Genesis cartridge. While it's nothing special these days having all of those Sonic games on 1 disc was super cool at the time so I've got to give props to the Saturn on that. You know how I feel about Hard/Race Drivin' but the Saturn version is at least playable. You know if Klax isn't present then at least Race Drivin' must be on there. I didn't care for the Virtua Racing port either on the Saturn and I'm inclined to give that win to the 32X. The same goes for Wrestlemania The Arcade Game & MK2. Conversely I think the 32X has the worst WSB game as I really don't like that Dion Sanders version. I'm probably too biased on this because I played it like a thousand times but I prefer WSB 95 on the Genesis the most. Oh and I forgot, you are correct that it's 76 games. I had done this video a few years ago and it got like 400 views in 2 years so with more people checking out he channel lately I figured I'd redo it and include the 3 new Genesis Mini games that crossed over. Also as a side note I've noticed a certain channel that you brought up recently starting to copy my format with this type of video (or outright completely rip off the same video with PS1 vs Neo Geo) so I'm trying to pump out as many of these videos as possible before they get to it.

Both had excellent libraries so much like the SNES/Genesis generation you couldn't go wrong with either. Well at least from a gaming perspective at the time, not so much for long-term.

My brothers and I chose the Saturn and only after 3 to 4 years, in 1999 we also got the PS1. Still, I don't think Astal pushes the Saturn in any meaningful way and this game could have easily been released for the PS1, as for Guardian Heroes, nothing special there either, it does have a lot, and I mean a lot of slowdowns. Panzer Bandit is shamelessly based on GH and it's exclusive to the PS1, in Japan, it doesn't feature 4 players, but the gameplay is way too similar. There are many beautiful 2D games on the PS1, and if not by the meager RAM/VRAM, nothing would have stopped it from having faithful arcade ports, as it otherwise has a very decent CPU and GPU. Since we were still into arcades throughout the 90's, the Saturn was our best choice, but it offers much more than just 2D gaming. But the PS1 got KOF 98, KOF 99, Marvel vs Capcom, SNK vs Capcom and more, so there's that.

@@roberto1519 Roberto, with all due respect son. The Saturn's ram feature alone let it run games that never would have on the PS1, sorry, but your mistaken. It was a pure sprite crunching machine, not to mention what the VDP 3D engine could do. So I'm telling you, Astal would not be anywhere near as good on the PS1. I know this stuff better than anyone, excluding Sega lord X. Go ask him, he'll tell you the exact same thing. I've been gaming for more than 30 years, and I know exactly what in talking about.

PS has 2MB main RAM, 1MB video RAM and 512k sound RAM, plus 32k CDROM buffer I believe. Thus 3.5MB in total (essentially). Saturn had all that, plus one meg sound RAM and 512k CDROM buffer I believe. One meg more of RAM in total. There you go bud, and I knew that BEFORE I looked it up, the PlayStation is not anywhere near as powerful. That doesn't even include the ram expansion cartridge, even Panzer Dragoon 2 wouldn't have run on Sony's system. It's not bias, it's facts, and the fact is Sega hadn't blown it with the release of the Saturn. Sony would have lost the 32 bit console war, they should have in my opinion. But I guess everything happens for a reason, as I've put many hours on the PS1

Well, that's what I said, if RAM wasn't expensive and both consoles had 16MB of RAM or more, both would get perfect arcade ports. As for the Saturn being more powerful, it probably is in certain aspects, and the PS1 has its qualities as well. My brothers and I had the Saturn first and it offers way more than just 2D games and arcade ports. Console wars aren't won by hardware power, we lived enough to know that, the Wii surpassed both the much more powerful PS3 and X360, both in hardware and specially in software sales, it was the weaker from that generation. My point still remains, though, apart from lack of RAM, the PS1 had all it takes to reproduce 90's 2D arcade titles without issues whatsoever. In 2024, both 32-bit consoles will be 30, are we still choosing sides like it was 1998? Personally, I celebrate both consoles, after 3 years playing the Saturn as a kid, we also got the PS1 and played many exclusives there, too.

That would have been amazing! I read a rant today that basically mocked the idea of the Saturn having backwards compatibility and how that wouldn't have made a difference in sales. While it may not have been the one thing that saved it I think people tend to overlook the real life scenario during that time. The majority of parents in the 90s were not gamers and viewed video games as kids toys. If they went into a store uninformed and were going to buy a PS1 or Saturn for Christmas I bet seeing that the Saturn could play "those toys" that their kids already had plus could play new games would be a big selling point.

I was very happy with the Saturn, I'd say it was a significant jump from the 16bit systems. Sega rally, Sonic Jam, Tomb raider, Daytona USA, bug, Panzer dragoon, Alone in the dark A few I've owned.

Thanks so much for watching! The Genesis holds its own on a lot of these which is very surprising. Both are fantastic consoles.

Absolutely. For a console from 1988 it was a powerhouse.

Thanks for your support:) I couldn't believe how many Genesis ports outshined the Saturn or were at least on par. Maybe not always from a graphical perspective but from an overall gameplay perspective. A game like World Series Baseball 98 is a great example of the Saturn being more advanced in just about every way but IMO being less fun than the Genesis version. Oh I've got videos for many, many years ahead so I don't think I'll be running out anytime in the next decade. Plus I really want to finally get a Jaguar, get my 3DO RGB modded and pick up a few other consoles from the era which will open up even more comparisons.

@@RetroComparisons glad to hear. I will subscribe now. ☺️

@@TechnologyMan9575 Thank you so much for the sub! That means a lot to me:)

That is a good point. It's kind of like watching a video of a PS4/PS5 game where they may look similar but you can really feel the smoothness in 60fps over 30 when playing.

Thats because the version used in this video is the 32X version, and the video maker should of made that clear imo (unless he uses other peoples footage for these vids. Space Harrier 2 was the Genesis version, and this is what it looked like - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gpt1fdt83bWohY0.html

With NBA Jam though, they are almost like different games to a degree On Saturn the sprites are larger and they also scale while moving around the court, nearly doubling in size when in the foreground vs the background

Haha it's a pretty poor soundtrack even solo.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll check that out. I was sucking at that game so I didn't make it too far.

For this particular instance the port of Space Harrier is from the Genesis Mini 2 (as is Fantasy Zone & Puyo Puyo Sun). Yeah there were a ton of compilation games on the Saturn which I'm sure was cool at the time but doesn't stand the test of time now. Like in 1997 having all of the mainline Sonic games on 1 disc was probably amazing.

​@@RetroComparisonsSega laughed at everyone's face with Sonic Jam. Everybody wanted a new Sonic game which the Saturn could have handled perfectly if the Sonic Team hadn't started creating new IPs like NiGHTS and Burning Rangers. What did we get instead? A compilation of games that were 6, 5 ans 3 years old respectively, Sonic CD missing and a Sonic World which left us wanting so much more and shown that the Saturn could perfectly give us a great Sonic game. I don't know what they were thinking about Sonic at the time... I love the Saturn's library in general, but man did they mess up with their most important franchise. I mean I like that the Sonic Team felt creative, but they should have taken care of Sonic. NiGHTS was truly great and its gameplay with the 3D pad was second to none, but Burning Rangers was (sadly) totally rushed and it shows in each and every single one of the four levels it contains. They should have focused on Sonic right after releasing Nights IMHO.

@@parappatherapper4141 I like the concept of Sonic Jam with an asterisks. If it was sold at half price and only just filled the gap until a true Saturn Sonic game was released it would have been cool, kind of like Link's Awakening & Twilight Princess HD in between BOTW & TOTK.

That particular port is from the Genesis Mini 2.

Lol! The PS1 version is just as bad too. It's baffling.

@@RetroComparisons It's the original MSX game that the SNES saw. The Japs just like the cute borders and the nostalgia of the original 8bit graphics.

It's a direct port of the original PC game, whereas the Genesis game was redone. I wish they had remade it with Saturn quality 2D though instead of the direct port.

That would be awesome! There's a pretty cool spiritual sequel to Road Rash called Road Redemption but it's not quite what I had hoped for with a modern take on Road Rash.

I feel the same way about some consoles that I didn't play as a kid. It's like being nostalgic for something you're not technically nostalgic for.

Yep it's correct but I was just as baffled as you. The Saturn & PS1 ports look like they're ports of a not-well-made Master System game and the Genesis & SNES ports look like well done ports from their own era. It's so weird.

@@RetroComparisons amazing, and thanks for answering, your videos are really cool

@@aztarot Thanks so much for the kind words and for checking out the video:)

Saturn Outrun has a "Smooth" mode in the options that makes the game run at 60 FPS, while the arcade original is 30FPS. Give it a try one of these days, you might like it.

Thanks my friend! Haha I thought you may like the MK2 comparison. The Saturn really shined with a lot of those 80s/early 90s arcade games.

@@roberto1519 Yeah I'm sure I'd enjoy outrun on Saturn, played it on the other consoles and of course the arcade, it looks very close to the arcade for sure. That's neat how it had a 60 FPS mode and option.

@@RetroComparisons Yep you bet dude! Oh yeah I saw MK was like owwe!! MK! Maybe it's just me, but I do think UMK3 looked dramatically better on saturn vs the genesis as oppose to MK 2 which looked a little closer imo. Could be my eyes not sure lol.

@@MKF30 Haha I'm with you on that, I don't think it's just your eyes. Or maybe both of our eyes are messed up lol! I always thought that UMK3 on the Genesis looked amazing but when side by side with the Saturn version it really pales in comparison.

I'd say that they both did handle about equally gameplay wise depending on the game itself. I thought there were a surprising amount of Genesis games that stood toe to toe with the Saturn or in some cases like Phantasy Star 1 or Dragon Slayer it beat it outright.

Thanks so much!

Haha exactly. By the time the Saturn port came out it was no longer the showpiece it was on the arcade original.

I second that notion.

Its because the Saturn's weakness was rendering 3D games. SEGA designed it primarily to run 2D games.

For a long time I always thought that there were like 200 Saturn games at most. I didn't realize how massive the game library was in Japan. If we got even half of those in North America and Europe it would have been incredible.

I'll have to go back and listen to that. It's been a while since I listened to The Wall all the way through.

Thanks for checking this out! So I didn't do any 32X ports but three of these are from the Genesis Mini 2 (Space Harrier, Fantasy Zone & Puyo Puyo Sun). I figured I'd include those since they're officially licensed Genesis games from Sega.

Yeah the 97 games seem like they were still trying to figure things out. I thought NHL 97 was the same way.

It was exclusive to the 32x along with After Burner, but the framerate was cut to 30 fps instead of 60 fps like the arcade and later ports.

So technically not but it was on the Genesis Mini 2. Since it's an officially licensed Genesis by Sega I figured I'd include it for completion sake.

I love those 32X ports and I wish they did more games like that. In this video Space Harrier is from the Genesis Mini 2 as is Fantasy Zone and Puyo Puyo Sun.

@@RetroComparisons Hey, I get it completely. I snagged a Genesis Mini 2 the second it dropped. One of the very first games I played on it was Space Harrier II. The reason was that game and I have some serious history. I got my Sega Genesis on Christmas of 1989 with Altered Beast (pack-in), Ghouls n' Ghosts, and Space Harrier II. I always, always wanted to see what Space Harrier II would have looked like with software scaling. Finally, when I got my Genesis Mini 2, I got my wish. I liked it...but they messed it up. So basically the game will run on a stock Genesis. How it's able to do it is utilizing software scaling. The problem with it is they did not compensate the extra pull the software scaling had on the Genesis. They needed to back the frame rate down a touch and it wouldn't have been a flickering mess. They also could have tweaked the enemy count or dropped the shadows your shots create. It's still pretty neat to finally see Space Harrier and Space Harrier II running with true sprite scaling on the Genesis. I can't believe I forgot about the Genesis Mini 2 coming with it.

@@Sinn0100 That's awesome with your initial lineup of games. I mean Ghouls n Ghosts alone could keep anyone occupied for weeks on end trying to beat it. That's super interesting with what they did or I guess I should say didn't do with the Genesis Mini 2 version. I agree that it's cool that it's actually on there now as a semi-official Genesis release but you'd think they would have perfected it before putting it out. Maybe someone can make a hack out of that version when the roms get released as it would be awesome to play it on an Everdrive and have it be a more perfected port.

First off, thanks for checking out the video! So the Colecovision thing is a weird situation. They basically made their own Atari 2600 that could be attached to their console which ultimately got challenged in court. The 7800 was backwards compatible with the 2600 which was cool of Atari to do but came at the cost of them having a soundchip that was 10 years out of date.

@@RetroComparisons Wow yeah. Some 2600 games werent compatible with the converter on the Coleco Vison. My favorite game on the CV was Venture.

@@RaymondJonesrejlive Ah I didn't know that. That would be interesting to find a list of games that didn't work on the CV attachment. Venture is such a cool and underappreciated game. Shameless plug but if you're interested I have a video that compares all of the 2600 vs CV vs Intellivision vs 5200 games. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eJ-Djcpklb3Pc5s.html

@@RetroComparisons I believe that He man was one that didnt work I could wrong as it has been three decades since I played with the CV converter. I watch that link and it was amazing to see the comparisons between systems. A modern concept of Venture could be a character entering multiple arenas to fight while trying to escape an unbeatable opponent. Thanks for the link man.

Porkys was another fun 2600 game and hilarious. Athough censored to a point which worked on the CV converter.

That Saturn (and PS1 port for that matter) were really bad for some reason.

@@RetroComparisons Megadrive is a remake, saturn/ps1 are straight ports.

@@vasileios6301 Ah that makes more sense. Do you know what they were ports of?

@@RetroComparisons Pc98 I think, old Japanese computers

@@vasileios6301 Ah ok. Thanks for the info!

That seems to be a common thread on a lot of the next gen consoles when doing previous gen games. The PS1 also had a ton that were really mediocre and even going back to something like the Sega CD they took a lot of Genesis games and did nothing but add better sound.

Thanks so much for checking this out! Yeah the Saturn had many flaws. It's too bad we didn't just get a 32 bit 2D powerhouse but I get that it wouldn't have sold during that time if that was the case. Also, having backwards compatibility would have been huge as that could have convinced a lot of parents to get it if their kids already had Genesis games.

It is pretty surprising as to the volume of games that crossed over.

You are right, He made a mistake but fairplay to him on putting so many games side by side, The genisis done many of the arcade conversion justice considering it was only 16 bit.

You are correct. However, Space Harrier 1, Fantasy Zone and Puyo Puyo Sun ended up on the Genesis Mini 2 so I figured I'd include those.

@@heilong79 I decided for this video to include the 3 new games from the Genesis Mini 2 (Space Harrier 1, Fantasy Zone & Puyo Puyo Sun). Good call on that though because it does look like a mistake so I'll update the description to clarify that.

You can tell it's the new M2 Genesis port by all the sprite flicker.

I was thinking that Space Harrier looked just a little too advanced for the Genesis!

Besides the slowdown with 2 players it's still a ton of fun these days. Plus it's way better than that SNES port that only has 6 characters. I mean come on, you can't burn someone alive with Bam Bam Bigelow on that version.

I got that footage years ago so I can't remember but it's possible I selected the (E) rom instead (U) when booting it up on the Everdrive. If I do another video with that port I'll have to get more footage just to be sure.

That is a weird one for the Genesis, or I guess more accurately the Mega Drive. It was released in Japan only in limited quantities as Phantasy Star Fukkokuban. It's nothing more than the Master System version rom dumped on a Genesis cart and some type of technology built into the cart that works the same way as the Power Base Converter.

Lol seriously! I don't know what was up with the Saturn & PS1 ports of that game.

If they went with backwards compatibility it could have been a big deal. Instead you had to rebuy games like Quackshot and Castle Of Illusion to get the same exact experience.

This is one of the weirdest ports ever where the Genesis & SNES versions look great and the Saturn & PS1 versions take about 10 steps back.

I love that game. There were some amazing Disney games in the 90s.

Knowing that we got the Dreamcast after the Saturn makes me glad in one sense that they moved on quick but the Saturn did get the shaft which is a huge bummer. Japan got a ton more games for the system than North American & Europe so at least there's a pretty vast library that's more easily accessible these days. Also, great game to point out there. I always loved Virtua Racing.

It wasn't but for this video I included the 3 new Genesis Mini 2 games (Space Harrier 1, Fantasy Zone & Puyo Puyo Sun) since it's an officially licensed Genesis release by Sega.

Nope it's correct which is actually more baffling. The Saturn & PS1 look like they're from 1985 while the SNES & Genesis ports look like modern games for their time.

I just double checked and the audio was correct on it so I guess the Saturn was the scratchy one.

They were both running through the OSSC with scart cables but from different companies so that may be why?

It's similar to what they did with a lot of Sega CD ports too where nothing got visually upgraded and replaced the soundtrack with better audio.

You mean the Sega Ages and Mickey and Donald Compilations? SEGA wanted to finally be able to bring uncompromised ports of their arcade hits home for the Saturn, they weren't appealing outside of Japan and almost all of them stayed there, Mickey and Donald characters were really popular there as well since the 50's or even prior to that, and since the Mega Drive wasn't that successful they wanted to make these titles available for the millions, and I repeat, millions of Saturn owners residing in Japan. As for the "complete fiasco" part, it could be used on the Jaguar, Amiga CD 32, Virtual Boy, even the 3DO wasn't exactly a complete fiasco. A console, like the Sega saturn, selling 10 million units is far from being a fiasco. But one thing I noticed over the years is that kids who got presented with a SNES or a PS1 on Christmas from their parents know almost nothing about video games and yet they still want to give their opinions.

@@roberto1519 I bought a Sega Saturn in 1995. Before Sega Saturn I owned a Mega Drive and a SNES. I loved Mega Drive, it was maybe the best video game ever, at least for me. Unfortunately I only found bad games in that time to Sega Saturn, it was a sadness for me, a trauma. I don't think PS1 was an excellent video game, but it had many good games. I don't know if it would be so difficult to improve sprites by porting a 16-bit game to such superior 32-bit hardware. If Sega had remastered the games, I believe Saturn would compete hand to hand the market with PS1

It's understandable. However, the Saturn focus was to bring the next generation home. SEGA's focus was almost entirely bringing their 3D arcade games and original titles for the platform. It also has its share of exclusive 2D games at the beginning, Story of Thor 2 and Rayearth, to name a few. This video in particular shows many 2D games shared with both consoles, and it's maybe confusing for some. In 1994 onwards, there was no point in competing 2D games, they had their place, and these re-releases serve specific purposes, mostly nostalgia, which was a niche of a niche, and if you notice, 90% of these games stayed in Japan, as we westerners didn't care about them. Reworking all these 2D games, when SEGA themselves hadn't enough staff to work on 3D games wasn't even considered, and they shouldn't have, the market was that crazy. What I agree with you, and what SEGA should have done, I posted it in another comment. The Saturn have a cart slot that could use an adapter similar to the Power Base for the Mega Drive, SEGA always kept backwards compatibility with the previous generation, and the Saturn has a X68000 CPU variant inside, not only that, it's two main CPUs are SH-2s, as the 32X. It obviously supports CD mainly, so the elephant in the room here is, why SEGA didn't make the Saturn backwards compatible with the Genesis, Sega-CD and 32X as its hardware was close enough, giving it a decisive advantage in the 5th generation?

That was the Genesis Mini 2 version of Space Harrier.

@@RetroComparisons cool! I forgot about that version. Need to break out the mini 2 and give it a go :)

The version of Space Harrier I used is actually from the Genesis Mini 2. I figured since it's an officially licensed Genesis/Mega Drive from Sega that I'd include it. The same goes for the Puyo Puyo game.

How is that a false comparison? It's from the Saturn game "Columns Arcade Collection" as part of the Sega Ages collection. segaretro.org/Sega_Ages_Columns_Arcade_Collection

No idea. The framerate in that port is horrendous.

That's a great question. The PS1 is equally bad yet the Genesis & SNES versions are great.

It's truly baffling. The Saturn & PS1 versions are ports of the PC-98 game but I have no idea why they wouldn't port the Genesis version instead.

Japan did get a ton of releases but in North America & Europe I can only imagine the frustration if you had the 32x and then found out it was discontinued a year later and then got the Saturn only to hear it wasn't their future after just a couple of years.

@@RetroComparisons Well, based on this video, Im not complaining of the number of releases for the Saturn. I am comparing that many of the games look just like their genesis counterpart, and in some games, the Genesis looked even better.

@@dr.charlesedwardflorendobr3952 Yeah so many of these were lazy ports much like many of the Sega CD ports of Genesis games.

I find a lot of games from that era to be be just as fun today as they were 30 years ago.

@RetroComparisons I use RetroX with 25 emulators on my Nvidia Shield , also have it on my tablets. Play all the time and the Ps4. PS5 soon.

That is correct though these both have exceptions. Phantasy Star 1 was released on the Mega Drive as Phantasy Star Fukkokuban which is basically nothing more than a SMS game put on a MD cart. The Space Harrier footage on this video is from the Genesis Mini 2 as is Fantasy Zone & Puyo Puyo Sun. I figured I'd include those since they're officially licensed Sega games on a Genesis platform of sorts.

@@RetroComparisons that mini also did scaling on space Harrier 2 also.

Weirdly the PS1 & Saturn versions are a port of the PC-98 game whereas the SNES & Mega Drive are built from the ground up. It's so weird the Saturn of all consoles didn't port the Mega Drive version.

Yeah that was one of those same name, different game situations. I actually preferred the Genesis game for that one.

It's really weird in retrospect. Like at the time when I saw games like NHL 97 on the Saturn/PS1 I couldn't believe how realistic they looked. Now I think the Genesis/SNES games for stuff like that looks better as a lot of the early 3D games aged like milk.

The 5th gen in general is so inconsistent. I think the 6th gen is so beloved because it was a time where they worked out the kinks of the 5th gen but before DLC, micro transactions, etc. started to take a stranglehold over the 7th gen.

@@RetroComparisons I think 5th gen is the only generation where games are known for better looking and running 2D games than the 16bit consoles and 3D games that look poorly and low poly compared to the 6th gen consoles because it was the time before 3D games looked good.