While the Saturn did horribly in North America and Europe, the story was quite different in Japan. It did pretty well and is fondly remembered over there. There are tons of exclusives that never made it over to the West. A lot of these are playable without understanding Japanese, while a few do require fan translations or guides to get the most out of them.
If you're getting into collecting Saturn games, it mostly worthwhile to collect for the Japanese market since the games are cheaper than their western counterparts and easy to play on any system (see Action Replay 4-in-1).
Also Japan had one of the best Video Game advertisement campaigns in the form of Segata Sanshiro.
Sega Saturn Games - NTSC-J[]
Box Art | Title | Genre | Description | Translation | Screenshots | ||
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Akumajo Dracula X - Gekka no Yasoukyoku | 2D Platformer | A.K.A. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on the Saturn. Still the same fucking awesome game you know and love. Never came out in America.
has extras such as the new areas the Underground Garden and the Cursed Prison (which become the Hell Garden and Soul Prison in the Reverse Castle) new bosses, enemies, and items. Plus you get to fight Maria as a boss in that weird room at the center of the castle. The Original Saturn release is unplayable due to all the slowdowns but the english patch fixes that, restore the missing visual effects and more... |
Link | ||||
Arcana Strikes | Card Game | an interesting card game with minor RPG/Strat elements, The game is story-lite and focuses primarily around the concept of travelling to different realms challenging different enemies while collecting cards to utilize in battle. | |||||
Assault Suit Leynos 2 | Platformer / Action | Part of the Assault Suit series that includes Assault Suits Valken listed on the SNES page. A prequel titled Target Earth in North America is on the Genesis. | |||||
Astra Superstars | Fighting | Airborne-based fighting game uses a clean and simple designs that seem right out of a children’s book.
at the beginning of each battle, the player must converse with the opponent by selecting one of three sentences. Depending on which sentence is selected, the CPU-controlled opponent will either "Heat Up" (become hard), "Cool Down" (become easy) or stay neutral before fighting (no difficulty change). |
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Asuka 120% Burning Fest. Limited | Fighting | A G-rated, all girls fighting game that is shockingly good. Think of it as Killer Instinct but with school girls. Great visuals, simple 3-button controls and fast pacing make this a hidden gem in the Saturn fighting library. Also worth noting that this was the final release in the series that was made by the original developers. | Link | ||||
Baroque | Rouglike | A cult classic, one of the most intresting game ever made, While at first your tasks seems to be just reaching the bottom floor of a mysterious tower, every time you die you start the run from the beginning but the characters change thier dailouges, reavling better technique for survival and story elements.
The Original Version also got ported to PS1 and Switch |
Link | ||||
Battle Garegga | Shoot 'em up | Excellent port of the arcade game, includes tate mode and the option to change the bullets from the realistic ones to fire shots. | |||||
Batsugun | Shoot 'em up | A crazy shoot 'em up with bullets EVERYWHERE. You gain EXP to boost your main gun and shoot so many bullets that it practically takes up the whole screen. Is considered to be the first bullet hell game. | |||||
Blast Wind | Shoot 'em up | A pretty cool arcade vertical shooter, from the makers of Thunder Force. | Has Native Full English Supports | ||||
Black/Matrix | SRPG | It seems like the minions of hell have won the war against the angels and they rewrite history and make up there own rules where love is punishable. Are you gonna take that!? It's a fairly fun SRPG, like Final Fantasy Tactics. Also, the beginning and ending of the game are decided for you as soon as you pick your black-winged master. | |||||
Blue Seed | Card Game | Based on Anime with the same name, this battle system combines RPG, Cards and FMV
Recomended For fans of the shows and for those who wants to enjoy the unique battle system. |
Only Translation Guide Exist | ||||
Bulk Slash | Mecha Fighting | Virtual On but better. Blow enemies and other mecha in a fully 3D scenary.
The English Patch also added Twin Sticks Supports |
Link | ||||
Cotton 2 | Cute 'em up | Control a loli witch in a side-scrolling shoot 'em up. That's pretty much all you need to know about this game. | Link | ||||
Cotton Boomerang | Cute 'em up | Control a loli witch in a side-scrolling shoot 'em up. That's pretty much all you need to know about this game too. | |||||
Culdcept | Card Game | The first game in the culdcept series
The gameplay is combining elements from Monopoly and Magic the gathering The plot is so wired you need to see it to believe.
The game was ported to ps1 and nintendo ds and the ds game got a fan translation |
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Cyber Doll | RPG | Set in the far-flung future of 1999, humanity has been plagued by a terrible disease that puts humanity on the course of extinction. Ordered by the US president, human body parts are replaced by artificial ones to resist the disease. However, man has become immortal. | |||||
Devil Summoner | RPG | Set in the city of Hirasaki in modern-day Japan, the story follows a college student whose death at the hands of demons forces his soul into the body of Summoner Kyouji Kuzunoha. Now in Kuzunoha's body, the protagonist must investigate the appearance of demons in the town and the activities of Sid Davis, the Dark Summoner responsible for killing the protagonist and Kuzunoha.
Also has a port on PSP With Extra Content |
Only Translation Guide Exist | ||||
Devil Summoner Soul Hackers | RPG | A Shin Megami Tensei game. Take control of a bunch of hax0rs called the Spookies and enter the virtual city Paradigm-X to fight against demons using demons of your own (on the internets of course) via GUMP (A computerized gun used for summoning demons). Like any SMT game you can gain loyalty over demons, install software, and fuse demons.
You may also want to check out the prequel, also on Saturn. Ported to the Nintendo 3DS with an extra dungeon featuring Raidou Kuzunoha. Has an English release unlike this version. |
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Dodonpachi | Shoot 'em up | A fun crazy bullet-hell (sort of) shooter. Improved over the first game as you gain awesome power-ups and such. If you want a challenge try getting all 13 golden bees without dying. GOOD LUCK! | |||||
Dungeon Master Nexus | RPG | A part of the Dungeon Master series. It is the first game in the series using a 3D graphics engine. The game features 15 levels. | Link | ||||
Dragon Force 2 | RTS | Sequel to Dragon Force. | Link | ||||
Elevator Action Returns | Action / Shooter | Rad as fuck sequel to the classic TAITO arcade game, choose from 3 different characters each with their own individual stats and sub weapons and blow the shit out of terrorists and collect documents. Play the first level, SHIT GETS REAL. | Has Native Full English Supports | ||||
Fire Pro Wrestling 6 Men Scramble | Wrestling | Incredible selection of wrestlers and shoot fighters makes the game interesting. There are multiple modes to beat your friend and the computer in, great create character mode.
Every type of wrestling style is included in this game, from LuchaLibre, to Japan Power Style, to Shoot fighting, to American style and every style is diffrent. |
Link | ||||
Grandia | RPG | A light-hearted RPG about treasure hunting and what not. Also on PS1 in America, but this Version doesn't have the slowdown or graphics glitches of the ps1 port. | Link | ||||
Grandia - Digital Museum | RPG | Exclusive to Satun
Has Extra Dungeons, battles and cool dev stuff. if you can't get enough Grandia you should play it |
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Guardian Force | Shoot 'em up | pow pow pow | |||||
Gun Frontier | Shoot 'em up | Game that inspired Battle Garegga and Ibara. Very stylish shmup that is set in the futuristic version of old west. Some people complain that this port is easier than arcade original which has brutal difficulty. | |||||
Gungriffon II | First Person Mech Shooter | Sequel to Gungriffon, The Gameplay was significantly improved | Link | ||||
Jung Rhythm | Rhythm | Mom can we have PaRappa the Rapper at home?
But we already have PaRappa the Rapper at home |
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King of Fighters '95 | Fighting | Unchanged from '94, except for the Team Edit option. Aside from that it's basically KOF '94. Also the hand on the cover looks a little weird. Was also release in Europe.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is one of two games (the other being some crappy Ultraman game) on the Saturn that uses a ROM cart (precursor to the more well known RAM carts). It will not run without it. It will only run with its ROM cart. You'll need either need a Japanese saturn (Or European one if you can find the rare Euro version) or a region free mod system. The Action Replay 4-in-1 cart will not run this game, since it lacks the data the game will look for. Likewise, ROM carts are not interchangeable. If you have to play a KOF game on your saturn, stick with the following two entries. |
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King of Fighers '96 | Fighting | Take KOF '95.Get rid of the dodge for evasive maneuvers and add a couple of tweaks in gameplay and you have KOF '96. Now you can perform a Mega Super Special Move instead of a regular one. | |||||
King of Fighters '97 | Fighting | See above. Last game of this storyline, as '98 was a "dream match" game. | |||||
Kingdom Grandprix | Shoot 'em up / Racing | A mix of Shoot 'em Up and Racing. Port of the arcade game, includes an option to play it like a regular Shmup as well as tate mode. | |||||
Langrisser III | SRPG | the sequel to Langrisser II, the first 32-bit installment in the series | Link
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Langrisser IV | SRPG | A distance sequel to Der Langrisser. No translation available for Saturn but there is one for the PS1 version. | |||||
Langrisser V: The End of Legend | SRPG | A direct sequel to IV. The final game in the series, until the 3DS game. Unfortunately, no translation available for Saturn or PS1. | |||||
Layer Section 2 | Shoot 'em up | Port of the arcade game called Raystorm. Vertical shump with 3D graphics but played in typical 2D. Has a neat feature where you can lock onto background enemies and destroy them with lasers. Plays well and looks nice, but the screen can get cluttered with the explosion effects.
Was released on PS1 in America as Gallactic Attack. |
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Linda Cube Complete | RPG | “psycho-thriller and hunting RPG” proves to be one of the strangest and most bizarre role-playing games on the Saturn, if not ever.
PS1 version is censored but the Saturn version isn't. |
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Linkle Liver Story | Action-RPG | A spiritual sequel to Crusader of Centy for the Mega Drive. It only took a couple of decades for a fan translation to come out! | Link | ||||
Lunar: Eternal Blue | RPG | Enhanced port of a SEGA CD game. Distant sequel to LUNAR, with a new core cast but similar story beats and writing. Turn-based combat also returns without major changes, though the game as a whole is harder. The tone is also more serious, though with lots of room for humor. Make sure to play the Epilogue after the credits! The series ends here, though there was a horrendous DS prequel (Dragon Song). Gameplay.
No translation available, but was released on the PS1 in English. |
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Lunar: The Silver Star | RPG | Enhanced port of a SEGA CD game. Classic JRPG adventure with a lovable cast and vibrant setting. Excellent score and highly entertaining writing, well-localized for its time (though the team took some liberties). Developed by Game Arts, also behind the Grandia series, which has much of the same "kids on an adventure" vibe. Traditional, turn-based combat system with some limited tactics. Not a hardcore RPG, but one for fans of heartwarming stories. Also available as a MPEG edition that uses the MPEG card for higher quality FMVs.
Released on the PS1 in English but missing some graphical effects. |
Link | ||||
Lunar: Magic School | RPG | An enhanced remake of Sanposuru Gakuen for Sega GameGear with updated graphics, newly added anime cutscenes, and a more complex story.
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Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter | Fighting | From the people at Capcom and Marvel who brought you X-Men vs. Street Fighter comes Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter! Street Fightan and Spider Manan everywhere. Like before, |
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Metal Black | Shoot 'em Up | Rumored to be a sequel to Darius II that got its own setting because it was too dark for its own good. Still a damn good game on its own, albeit, strongly unforgiving; for one, bombing drains all your power and you don't get anything more than that narrowish twin shot to pick off enemies that come from all directions. Special note: this game may also have one of the biggest mindfuck endings in any video game ever | Has Native Full English Supports | ||||
Metal Slug | Run 'n Gun | Metal Slug on your Saturn. If you don't have a Neo Geo or the anthology why not? Requires the RAM expansion cart. | |||||
Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari | Adventure | A combat-free platform game presented as an interactive storybook with beautiful visuals and sprite work. Unfortunately it is very dialogue-dependent and there is no translation effort planned as of current. | |||||
Necronomicon - Digital Pinball | Pinball | Pinball simulator by KAZe featuring three tables with a dark/gothic theme. This is probably the single best Pinball simulator ever made, with smooth silk graphics, spot-on ball physics, awesome music and a creepy ass voice talking all the time! Spiritual successor of Last Gladiators. | Has Native Full English Supports | ||||
Nekketsu Oyako | Beat em up | Port of the PS1 Game but the soundtrack has been rearranged with slightly different instrumentation, with some tracks being played in a different key, and a couple of new pieces have been introduced. A few enemy palettes and backgrounds have been modified, some of the animation frames were added or redone, and certain effects have been tweaked to account for the Saturn’s difficulty with transparency.
A minor but meaningful touch is that grabbing food items when your health is full no longer gives you extra health, making things a bit tougher than on the PlayStation. The engine’s been given a few tweaks that impact the combat: enemies are easier to juggle, moves can be cancelled out of, and the characters have been given a few more moves that require special inputs. |
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Night Striker S | Rail Shooter | A humble, yet nonetheless breathtaking rail shooter by Taito. Incredibly short even by arcade game standards but makes up for this with its incredible replay value; branching paths for those who want something different and a pacifist bonus for the dedicated. If that's not enough for you, this version of the port contains a special mode too. | Has Native Full English Supports | ||||
Ninpen Manmaru | 3D Platformer | Who Said Saturn Can't have a 3D Platformer | Link | ||||
Pu·Li·Ru·La | Beat em up | What is even happening?? | |||||
Pocket Fighter | Fighting | Chibi Capcom crossover fighing game. Has a neat little gem power up system. Also availble on PS2 as part of Street Fighter: Alpha Anthology. | |||||
Policenauts | Adventure | The spiritual sequel to Snatcher. Basically one of Trolljimas early works before Metal Gear Solid (not Metal Gear the original, that came way before). I mean really, it even has Meryl Silverburgh in the screenshot. But a very good game nonetheless.
On PS1 as well, both versions now having fan translations. Saturn version is more complete, with extra scenes and characters, but the FMV quality suffers a (very slight) bit. |
Link | ||||
Purikura Daisakusen | Shooter/Platform | Isometric shooter Purikura Daisakusen for the Sega Saturn. it stars the highly popular Kurara character from Power Instinct 2, as a magical princess from an even more magical land. | |||||
Princess Crown | Action-RPG | You start Chapter 1 as an ass-kicking princess who travels around her kingdom saving people. As you progress, you can unlock more characters who have their own unique stories. Battles unfold in real-time combat on a 2D plane where you can jump, slash your sword, parry and shit; plus, you utilize a ring system a la Secret of Mana to do stuff like use items and cast abilities. If you loved Odin Sphere and Muramasa, you must play this.Sadly, no translation patch exists (yet). Designed by the Vanillaware team—who were still part of Atlus at the time—and published by SEGA, so the IP belongs to |
Only Translation Guide Exist | ||||
Rabbit | Fighting | From EA's Japanese branch comes this cutesy 4 button fighter. Features dodges, recovery rolls, ground hits, and hops, the animal spirirt is the real focus here. You gain your opponets animal spirit after you defeat them, and can use it in the next match which encourages the player to try them all. | |||||
Radiant Silvergun | Shoot 'em up | A slow-paced yet very challenging vertical shmup with a shockingly dark story and amazing boss battles. Widely considered as one of the best games of the genre.
The Xbox 360 and Switch was translated to english. |
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Real Bout Fatal Fury Best Collection | Fighting | ARE YOU OK? BUSTA WOLF!
Includes Real Bout Fatal Fury and Real Bout Fatal Fury Special. |
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Riglordsaga 2 | Tactical RPG | The Sequel to Mystaria: The Realms of Lore | |||||
Sakura Taisen | SRPG / Visual Novel | The beginning of the Legendary Sakura Taisen (aka Sakura Wars) series. Its 1923 and Japan is being invaded by Demons! You're Imperial Navy Ensign Ichiro Ohgami, asigned to command a new all girls unit. Stop the demons from causing chaos in Tokyo while performing stage plays. Yes, really.
TRANSLATION AVAILABLE HERE Also available on Dreamcast. Remake on PS2. Both untranslated. |
Link | ||||
Sakura Taisen 2 | SRPG / Visual Novel | The Sequel to Sakura Taisen.
the dreamcast version got a fan translation. |
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Segata Sanshirou Shinken Yuugi | Minigame/ Being a Badass | AWWWW YEAH! Segata Sanshiro in his very own game! If you like Segata (why even ask?) Buy this shit right now because Segata knows where you live. Ok not really but still its good. | |||||
Sengoku Blade / Tengai | Shoot 'em up | If you're expecting standard Psikyo shooting, think again. This is one of their harder horizontal titles. Also, robo-samurai and delicious titty monster! | |||||
Senkutsu Katsuryu Taisen: Chaos Seed | Action RPG | an enhanced version to the original Snes tasty action RPG game | |||||
Sexy Parodius | Cute 'em up | Just Parodius with a sexy setting. Hey, sex! something /v/ will never have (with a woman anyways) But I kid, I kid. Anyways it is a fun shooter made for fanservice purposes. And I suppose if macroism is your thing by the screenshot you might buy this for any amount. | |||||
Shining Force III Scenario 2 | SRPG | The continuation of the first scenario, which was the only one to see a NA release, it's just as great. | Link | ||||
Shining Force III Scenario 3 | SRPG | The end of Shining Force IIIs tale; again, fantastic for any fan of the Shining series or SRPGs in general. it's just as great. | Link | ||||
Shining Force 3 Premium Disc | SRPG | The disc includes extra battles (against the main bosses of most of the games in the series - in 3D!), a save game creator for Scenario 3, a sound test, movies, interviews & adverts, artwork & 3D models. | Link | ||||
Shinrei Jusatsushi Taroumaru | Platformer | Be a psychic ninja for hire, stop a demon invasion! This like a mix of Shinobi and Mystic Defender. Nice gameplay, great visuals, and some very creepy enemies. Also, it's the last game by Time Warner Interactive, super rare so it costs a fortune. | |||||
Silhouette Mirage | Run and Gun / Being a Badass | Also available in English on PS1. Be warned though: Working Designs made the PS1 version insanely difficult, so the Saturn version may be better for that reason alone. | Link | ||||
Soldnerschild | SRPG | odd name, good game | |||||
Solo Crisis | Simulation | a spiritual successor to Quintet's ActRaiser. While the ActRaiser games are a mixture between side-scrolling platforming and world-building, Solo Crisis focuses solely on the world-building aspect. | |||||
Steamgear Mash | Platforming | A fun little game about a toy saving his child owner from space robots | |||||
Steam Hearts | Shoot 'em up | Amazing port of the PC-98 lewd shmup, now with 100% more mayhem and 100% less nudity! | |||||
Street Fighter Zero 3 | Fighting | aka Street Fighter Alpha 3. Same game as the PS1/Dreamcast, just on the Saturn. On par with the other ports of the time (aka damn good). Its just REALLY FUCKING EXPENSIVE, as it was released in the twilight of the Saturn in 1999. At this point, the DC was already released in Japan for almost a year and had its own SFZ3 port. Ingrid isn't in this version, fuckhead.
Also available for PS1, DC, PS2, GBA, PSP, Xbone, PS4, Switch, PC |
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Suiko Enbu Fuun Saiki | Fighting | Very good Data East fightan based on the Water Margin novel. Fuun Saiki is more of a "Champion Edition" of the original, which brings the bug fixes from Dark Legend, as well as including Mizoguchi and Yungmie from Fighters History as guest characters. | |||||
Suikoden | RPG | Gather the 108 Stars of Destiny, populate your fort, and wage war against a tyrannical empire in the JRPG that began the revered series. Available in English for the PSOne and on PSN. Ported to the PSP along with its sequel, but it never saw an NA release.
The Sega Saturn has extra content but some visual effects were removed. |
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Super Tempo | 2D Platforming | The game offers 2D platforming sections, as well as musical themed rhythm sections. Players take control of the character Tempo, who can create bubbles to defeat enemies. Musical notes are collected throughout the stages, and if enough are found, they can be exchanged in an arcade to play mini-games. | |||||
Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen | Tactical RPG | The Saturn version has a number of improvements and additions compared to other versions of the game (SNES / PS1): new scenarios, additional music tracks, unique characters, a mini-map, different endings, etc. Also, there are no in-game loading screens in this version | Link | ||||
Tengai Makyō: Daiyon no Mokushiroku | RPG | a foreigner’s misguided view of the United States resulting in hilarious and Bizzare JRPGs.
Also on PSP with Widescreen Support |
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Terra Phantastica | SRPG | Unique battle system combine with a Fairly interesting story, Good challenge level, and great art style | |||||
Thunder Force Gold Pack 1 | Shoot 'em up | Includes Thunder Force II and III. | Has Native Full English Supports | ||||
Thunder Force Gold Pack 2 | Shoot 'em up | Includes Thunder Force 4 so who gives a fuck what else is on the disc (Thunder Force AC, aka the arcade version of Thunder Force III). | Has Native Full English Supports | ||||
Thunder Force V | Shoot 'em up | Easily one of the best shmups ever. Fucking gorgeous 3D and excellent music. Best played on the Saturn as it has less slow down than the Playstation version. | Has Native Full English Supports | ||||
Tryrush Deppy | Platforming | A goofy car has a wilde trip in America | Has Native Full English Supports | ||||
Twinkle Star Sprites | Shoot 'em up | CUTENESS OVERWHELMING~! A cast of whimsical characters compete against one another for a single wish from the great Twinkle Star. Mixes the chaotic shmup environment with competitive puzzle elements for a wonderfully potent concoction. While there is single-player, this game was MADE to be played with a friend!
The most complete of all TSS releases. Includes an exclusive character, voice work for EVERYTHING and a Sailor Moon intro (D'AWWW)! |
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Valhollian | SRPG | Like Shining Force but way harder | Link | ||||
Vampire Saviour | Fighting | a very fast-paced fighting game that features a strong focus on momentum and rushes down/mixups. The cast is extremely diverse and charismatic with many of the cast having completely different movement types and extremely different normal/special move types. | Link | ||||
Vandal Hearts | SRPG | Baddass SRPG that plays more like Shining Force than FFT with rather linear character progression and mission selection. Still fucking good though. This is Enanched Port of the PS1 original. | Link | ||||
Vatlva | Vehicular Combat Game | Fun overhead car battlin' game by Ancient, who would later go on to make Car Battler Joe for the Gameboy Advance. Pick from a selection of wacky characters who drive an equally diverse bunch of matching vehicles and battle it out in top-down arenas.
Story mode is alright, but it's just 1v1 battles against all the characters in the game followed by three bosses. The REAL fun comes in the games battle mode which supports up to six characters and is a blast with friends. Soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro and his longtime collaborator Motohiro Kawashima, which like most of their work together isn't for everybody but it suits the offbeat mood of the game perfectly. |
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Wachenroder | SRPG | A heavily story-driven steampunk story with music by none other than Ian McDonald of King Crimson. Although it hasn't been translated, there are full translations of the script on the Internet. A must-play for fans of the SPRG. | Only Translation Guide Exist | ||||
Willy Wombat | Action-Adventure Platformer | not what you think! | Has Full English Voice Acting | ||||
Wizardry: Llylgamyn Saga | RPG | A vastly improved remake of the original trilogy of the Wizardry series, the grandfather of hair-pulling RPGs.
Also available on PS1, PC, and SNES. |
Has English option for 95% of the text, built-in! Use a guide for some of the text not translated. | ||||
X-Men vs. Street Fighter | Fighting | This is basically what the title says. It's really fun with in game tag team unlike the Playstation version. Unfortunately, unlike the Playstation version, this one never came out across our shores. Was imported by a few shops back in the day and isn't that hard to find, just a bit expensive ($30-5
0). Make sure you have an Action Replay 4-in-1. |
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Yumimi Mix Remix | Interactive cartoon | While this game looks cute and innocent not long into the story, mysterious monsters begin pouring out of their dimension and into our own. Our main characters must figure out what’s going on, how to stop it, and perhaps most importantly, how any of this relates to them. | Link |
Videos[]
Fifth Generation | ||
Consoles | 3DO - Commodore Amiga CD32 - Capcom CPS Changer - Atari Jaguar - Casio Loopy - SNK Neo Geo CD - Nintendo 64 - NEC PC-FX - Apple Pippin - Bandai Playdia - Sony PlayStation - Sega Saturn | |
Handhelds | Nintendo Game Boy Color - Tiger game.com - SNK Neo Geo Pocket - Tiger R-Zone - Nintendo Virtual Boy |