When it comes to the Sega Saturn one of the most discussed points among fans is it’s prowess in rendering 2D games. The hardware was initially focused around enhanced sprite rendering and animations. This makes little sense considering the fact that Sega was one of the big pioneers of 3D gaming in the first place. Hits like Virtua Fighter and Virtua Cop were huge hits in the arcade. When Sega saw how popular polygonal graphics had become they shoehorned in a processor that could render polygons, but the original 2D architecture remained. Because of the beautiful graphics, and promises from Sega sprite based games hold a special place in the hearts of fans of the console. That’s why today we’re going to take a look at the best 2D Sega Saturn games that use no polygons whatsoever. Let’s get started.
#25. – Astal
This launch window game failed to make big waves. Unfortunately this was back when Sega were experimenting and trying to create a ton of new franchises all the while ignoring their established and popular names. Astal has you playing as a flame haired anime kid with huge arms and great strength. This 2D platformer has you grabbing and throwing objects/enemies, collecting gems, and facing off against huge bosses. Gameplay isn’t amazing because the level designs are very underwhelming and straightforward. It’s not terrible, but it’s just shy of being good. Astal is however really beautiful and I can never get enough of looking at the scenery. I also love the animations and art style. Astal isn’t a Sonic the Hedgehog replacement, but it’s an interesting product of its time.
#24. – Super Tempo
Here’s another decent, but not great platformer for the Saturn. As with Astal, Super Tempo is gorgeous with colorful graphics, amazing backgrounds, and highly detailed animations. Unlike the former however this is a sequel to a seldom played 32X release. Super Tempo is a musical themed platformer (with rhythm based segments) that lets you play as a boy in what appears to be a bug costume. Your main method of attack is by blowing bubbles at foes. It’s decent, but whatever happened to the tried and true ‘stomp on their heads’ mechanics? The gimmick is fine, but in my opinion it makes very little sense. Despite being drop dead gorgeous the level designs are a little underwhelming. It feels like there’s a bit too much empty space, and obstacles are hardly difficult to bypass. Super Tempo is decent, and it’s clearly one of the best 2D Sega Saturn games.
#23. – Rayman
The last two entries in this list have been long forgotten. What I mean is that they didn’t get any sequels. Rayman is a different story. It started out as an Atari Jaguar game (of all things) and was later ported to the 32-bit consoles. Developer Ubisoft was not known well for its platformers at the time, but Rayman was popular enough to spawn several sequels that lasted until just last generation. As with most side scrolling platformers on the Sega Saturn this one is beautiful. The backgrounds have less detail than the former games on the list, but Rayman himself animates with great care and looks amazing. The level designs are also pretty good in this first installment. Unfortunately the difficulty is throught he roof. It was clearly marketed to children, so this makes little sense. Still Rayman is pretty fun.
#22. – Gex
Similar to Rayman, Gex was also first released on a failed console (in this case it’s the 3DO). I remember playing it at a demo kiosk for the failed console itself, and it was pretty fun. This Sega Saturn port is just as good in my opinion. You have to bear in mind that Gex came out in a time when mascots were supposed to be edgy. The developers played on this by taking advantage of the CD medium and including a lot of wise cracking voice samples. Gex himself is actually voiced by comedian Dana Gould. While the jokes aren’t really funny (for anyone over the age of 10) I found them mildly enjoyable. The level designs are also pretty decent, and the television theme gave the developers a lot of freedom for different pop culture scenarios. I still like Gex.
#21. – Mega Man 8
I’m one of the few fans of the franchise that thinks part seven was one of the best installments. I don’t have that same sentiment for it’s follow up. Mega Man 8 is a pretty weak game by series standards, but on it’s own it’s a pretty good action platformer, and one of the best 2D Sega Saturn games. For some reason Capcom decided differentiate this from their X spinoff further by further pushing the kid friendly aesthetic. Mega Man 8 is super bright, colorful, and Mega Man has a child’s voice. I’ll be honest when I say it’s a bit of a turn off. I didn’t want Capcom to edgy with the franchise, but they had a good thing going with part 7. Regardless I do like 8. It has some interesting robot masters (minus clown man, he’s just ridiculous) and the level designs are as always pretty good.
#20. – Darkseed
This one is going to be a bit difficult for most gamers to dive into. Darkseed is a point and click horror adventure game. While it was made by western developers this version is a Japan only release. Thankfully all of the spoken dialogue is in English making it easily playable to those of us that don’t know Japanese. The story follows writer Mike Dawson who recently purchased a large old house in the city of Woodland Hills. His first night in the new estate our protagonist has a dream where aliens implant something in his brain. It doesn’t help that he wakes up to a splitting headache. Unfortunately it wasn’t a dream, and Mike discovers a parallel dimension and must stop the embryo in his head from maturing. It’s a chilling and atmospheric game that I absolutely love. Darkseed is a standout release on any platform.
#19. – Darius Gaiden
Darius is a long running series of shooters based on aquatic and robot themes. Yes, it sounds strange but it works. They were once known for their horizontal displays showing a huge amount of play space at once. Obviously this was lost in translation to home ports long ago. When I first heard of Darius Gaiden my first reaction was surprise. I was shocked to hear they were still making these games. It’s not that I don’t like Darius. It’s one of my favorite shooter series. Rather, I don’t think they were ever as popular as Gradius or Thunder Force. Regardless Darius Gaiden went the full 2D route with no polygons and just pure sprite goodness. This is actually one of the best shooters for the Sega Saturn if I’m being honest. Unpopular opinion sure, but I stand by it.
#18. – Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat was an absolute mainstay in the 16-bit era. It’s first upgrade for the 32-bit generation still stands today as the last good Mortal Kombat game. Hot take maybe, but I can’t help but feel the franchise has since lost its way. Regardless Mortal Kombat Trilogy does so much right. It’s basically a culmination of the first three MK games including all of the characters and stages. With the huge roster and large amount of features it was a fan of the franchise’s dreams come true. Unfortunately the Sega Saturn version was released late. By the time it came out most gamers had already played it on the Sony PlayStation. Still, because there’s no polygons in sight this is one of the best 2D Sega Saturn games of all time.
#17. – Super Puzzle Fighter 2: Turbo
Capcom made a funny when they named this one. Obviously they were playing on the different iterations of Street Fighter that they had made, and I think it’s relatively hilarious. After a successful string of fighting games and franchises they decided to make this puzzle spin-off, and it was met with large great results. Super Street Fighter 2: Turbo lets you pick a fighter, and then challenge an opponent in a series of falling block puzzles. You’ll instantly think Tetris, but honestly it’s more similar to Columns. Super Puzzle Fighter II: Turbo is one of my favorite puzzle games of all time. Typically 2D games will be better on the Saturn than PlayStation, but honestly in this case you can’t go wrong with either one.
#16. – Tryrush Deppy
In terms of mascot based platforming characters most of the good animals were taken. So why not use a car? Perfect, right? Well it’s a weird idea but that’s what the developers of Tryrush Deppy came up with. Here you play as a taxi with humanoid features like eyes, and arms (well, tires). It’s off putting that the protagonist walks on his rear tires, but bear with it because this is actually a good game. Tryrush Deppy doesn’t have the benefit of amazing graphics like the other platformers I’ve mentioned so far on this list. The level design however, and powerups are what set this one apart. Tryrush Deppy is surprisingly fun given it’s weird theme. I liked this one a lot despite going in expecting tohate it initially. If you’re looking for the best 2D Sega Saturn games this one is an obvious choice.
#15. – Battle Garegga
And here we have the best realistic (or at least somewhat so) shooter for the Sega Saturn. This game has you playing as a biplane with a load of firepower. What’s particularly interesting about this one is just how much is going on at any given moment. The screen is absolutely filled with bullets constantly, and you have a lot to contend with. Unlike most shooters I found myself wanting to practice to find out the best strategies and placements. Battle Garegga is also beautiful though for unconventional reasons. For one thing everything is more realistic. This means the incoming bullets are more difficult to see. This may be a good or bad thing depending on the player, but I appreciate this element. Battle Garegga is the best 2D shooter on the Sega Saturn.
#14. – Dark Legend
This one is a true blue Sega Saturn hidden gem. Other releases for this title include Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty, and Suiko Enbo, but Dark Legend is the name we North American gamers got. Dark Legend is a pure 2D fighting game, and an original one at that. It’s based on Chinese folklore and this is evident from start to finish. What’s really interesting is that this was one of the first weapons based fighting games. When your armament is damaged the character’s moveset completely changes. This dynamic element makes Dark Legend incredibly interesting as a fighting game fan. The beautiful graphics, and fantastic gameplay also help however. Dark Legend is not a game that you should pass up. It’s low-key one of the best Sega Saturn fighting games.
#13. – Dragon Force II
The sequel to the hit Sega Saturn strategy RPG had a sequel. Unfortunately it was left in Japan only. Dragon Force II is a direct sequel which starts off several decades after the conclusion of the first. The same countries still exist, but they’re now ruled by a new generation. Not a whole lot has changed. You still have limited control during combat and input basic commands to units who move in real-time. What’s different here is that the number of different troop types has increased. You now have ghosts, goblins and more under your command. Furthermore you can also mix and match types for the foot soldiers at your command. Dragon Force II is a step down in terms of gameplay, but it’s still one of the best 2D Sega Saturn games of all time.
#12. – Legend of Oasis
I’ll be honest with this one. It kind of feels like this game was originally intended for the Sega Genesis. The sprite rendering in particular barely looks like something above 16-bit. It’s beautiful no doubt, but Legend of Oasis really doesn’t push the Saturn hardware in any meaningful way. This is a sequel to Beyond Oasis on the Sega Genesis, and largely plays similar. It’s kind of a Zelda clone but with some beat ’em up mechanics. I did really like the dungeon designs and layouts, but combat was interesting if not a bit repetitive. Legend of Oasis is one of the better Zelda clones out there. If you want to show off the 2D power of the Sega Saturn you should probably look elsewhere though.
#11. – Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge
Where most developers were focused on 3D polygonal graphics Capcom was still chruning out sprite based fighting games like there was no tomorrow. The original Darkstalkers was on the Sony PlayStation and an exclusive publishing deal made it stay as an exclusive. Capcom changed the name of the sequel a little to circumvent this, and voila! As I already mentioned this is a 2D sprite based fighter that still looks impressive to this day. I really enjoy the horror theme used here with many of the combatants being based on classic cinema icons with a heavy anime spin. The Night Warriors is one of my favorite 2D Sega Saturn games.
#10. – Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
I’ll be honest. I’ve never been the biggest fan of the Metroid like exploration that Symphony of the Night introduced to the Castlevania franchise. Regardless it’s difficult to deny that this is an amazing game, and so I’m not even going to try. Symphony of the Night was long associated with just the Sony PlayStation, but the Sega Saturn actually got a not as good port in Japan only. The game has you venturing into Dracula’s castle, exploring and unlocking new areas, battling enemies, and has it’s healthy share of role playing elements. It’s easily one of the best 2D Sega Saturn games as far as I’m concerned.
#9. – Mega Man X4
Mega Man X was basically the modernization of the franchise for the 16-bit generation. I was ecstatic to see it continue on the 32-bit consoles. Mega Man X4 is largely more of the same but bigger, prettier, and with CD quality music. In my opinion this series was slipping after the first installment. X4 corrects the ship with better level design than it’s predecessor as well as improved Maverick bosses as well. This game was released for both the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn and I couldn’t discern any differences between the versions. If you’re looking for a good 2D title for the platform you could do much worse.
#8. – Elevator Action Returns
The original Elevator Action was one of my favorite games on the NES. It was simple, yes, but I loved it. The arcade style gameplay can best described as addictive. Elevator Action Returns came out on the Sega Saturn exclusively in Japan. This game sticks to the 2D roots of the NES title and the results are simply breathtaking. Not only are the graphics amazing but the gameplay is too. You have several new enemy types, fantastic level designs here, and new eight way directional shooting of your weapons. I also dig the new colorful art style. Elevator Action Returns is a perfect modernization of the classic formula. If you’re like me then you’ll like it plenty.
#7. – Sakura Taisen
Why Sega didn’t localize these games (or at least let Working Designs do so) is completely beyond me. Both RPGs and anime were growing in popularity at the time so this decision dumbfounds me. Regardless Sakura Taisen (known as Sakura Wars in the West) is a strategy RPG series. You play as a military ensign directing a troupe of performers by day who by night hop into their mecha units to defeat demons trying to overtake Japan. Yeah it’s weird, but it gets even stranger. Sakura Taisen makes heavy use of dating sim elements. You have to woo the women in the acting troupe to gain abilities in combat. It’s unusual but it works, and makes for one charming game. Sakura Taisen is also completely 2D and sprite based. It’s definitely strange, but I absolutely love it.
#6. – Street Fighter Zero 3
This offshoot of the franchise is called Street Fighter Alpha here in North America. We never got this port of the third game which is a shame because the Sega Saturn edition is inarguably the best one. It’s almost arcade perfect and the loading times still exist but are much improved over the PS1 edition. Add to that the fact that the Sega Saturn controller is so well suited to this kind of game. You have three strengths for both kicks and punches, and the six face button layout makes this one a real treat to play. I found Street Fighter Alpha 3 to be the very best in the Alpha series, and this port is the only one you really need.
#5. – Lunar: Silver Star Story
Working Designs had moved on to the Sony PlayStation and localized this remake there instead of on the Sega Saturn. Thankfully fans have since translated the original Sega Saturn release. Lunar: Silver Star Story is incredible. It’s also completely 2D which is shocking (even for a remake) considering how wildly popular Final Fantasy VII was. Charm is the name of the game here. Lunar has that in spades. The characters and story are enchanting. The battle system is really well designed. It has it’s classical roots, but with some modern trimmings. For example character placement is huge here. You have to be in range to strike foes, and some attacks inflict splash damage. What more can be said? Lunar: Silver Star Story is just amazing.
#4. – Saturn Bomberman
Okay so let’s get one thing straight right away. This is classic Bomberman. At it’s core there are few bells and whistles. I like Bomberman, but I love other games I’ve mentioned on this list. So why does Saturn Bomberman rank so high? It’s because this game supports up to ten players at once. It’s the only Bomberman title do so. I’ve only had the pleasure of arranging that many people together once that were down to play Bomberman but it was an amazing time. This was in an era where almost all franchises were being moved into the 3D realm. The fact that Hudson Soft was dead set on releasing a 2D installment in the franchise is admirable, and it’s a Sega Saturn exclusive at that.
#3. – Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean
Some will definitely disagree with this pick. Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean is just about as straightforward of a Japanese style role playing game that you can find. Gameplay is strictly turn based, and there are very few bells and whistles. Fortunately it’s very tight in design. Each character has a specific function in battle and exploring how you can make them work in strategies is a lot of fun. That’s not to mention the story which is charming and memorable, as well as the soundtrack which I’ve always thought is amazing. Even the 2D graphics are fantastic to look at despite having obvious roots in the 16-bit generation. Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean is an incredible game and should get more exposure in my opinion.
#2. – Guardian Heroes
Let’s get one thing straight. Just about every game by Treasure in this era was pure gold. Just about everytime they tried out a new genre they quickly became the new kings of it. Guardian Heroes was Treasure’s first beat ’em up game, and it absolutely surpassed everything in the genre up to that point. The combat system is fantastic. You can unleash combinations on enemies with smart button presses, and even switch planes of movement. What’s more is the fact that up to four players can participate at once. There’s even a one-on-one fighting game mode that’s remarkably fun. Guardian Heroes does all this in 2D sprite based glory, and it’s all the more stronger for it. This is one of the best Sega Saturn games period.
#1. – Dragon Force
I am a huge fan of strategy RPGs. That said, Dragon Force is the absolute best of the best. That’s no exaggeration. This game makes use of an interesting and unique combat system. In abttle you don’t play as any character directly. Instead you issue commands to up to one hundred different units, and they move in realtime. These little guys also act on their own. While it does feel like you’re actually watching the battles rather than actively participating there’s still a ton of strategy here. There’s also a ton of replayability here. You can choose from one of seven different nations to start out as and must then overtake the entire continent. It’s no exaggeration to say that Dragon Force is by far the greatest strategy RPG of all time in all it’s 2D glory.
