working designs sega saturn games

Ah, the Sega Saturn, a console with so much potential yet never managed to get a foothold in the fifth generation. The Saturn not only had to stand as a rival against Nintendo's 64, but Sony also dropped their hat into the ring and demolished everyone within just a couple years. The Saturn's failure stemmed from several reasons; one was the lack of a brand new Sonic game (Sonic X-treme, which would have outdid Super Mario Galaxy's gravity idea by over 20 years) and Sega's market share dropping like a stone as time went on.

Despite its failure, the Saturn had its set of games that required it. Some of these were also on the PlayStation, but some worked better on the Saturn. And of course, there were also its console exclusives that were worth getting the system. Some of these exclusives were considered the best of their time, and some were easy, and then there's the tough ones that made you want to shatter your disk. These 10 are among the hardest on the Sega Saturn.

Just like my previous lists, there are some rules to this list.

1: Games that are hard due to broken game mechanics or was just a terrible game overall are not included in this list.

2: Japanese exclusives are also not included in this list, regardless if it was re-released later.

Well, then, time for me to fly to Saturn, and also to start the list.

#10: Panzer Dragoon (SAT)

We'll begin this list with a launch title on the system, and the beginning of one of the most well-known franchises on the Saturn.

The game is a rail shooter, which had a unique idea that clearly caught on for later use. Most rail shooters were pseudo-3D at best, and you could only shoot what was in front of you. In this game's case, it's a full-3D environment. Not only do enemies attack from everywhere, but you get to do the same. You had full 360-degree rotation to attack your enemies in front, behind, and everywhere in between, along with moving your dragon to avoid enemy fire. There was also the ability to move 90 degrees with the push of the L or R buttons for a quicker hit to the side.

As you expect from a rail shooter, projectiles will be flying at you from everywhere, and as such, you have to move both yourself and your dragon, as you can't stay still or you take a hit. You have to watch from all directions with a radar, and attack before you get ambushed by a squadron of enemies. Boss fights can also be either tricky or hard to kill.

The game was definitely rough around the edges, especially since it was a little rushed due to the Saturn's surprise launch. However, it paved the way for the creation of the amazing Panzer Dragoon II Zwei and the godly Panzer Dragoon Saga that followed.

Difficulty: 6/10 - Very Hard

#9: In the Hunt (SAT)

Think Metal Slug underwater. You got that in your head? Then let's move on.

This game is a run-and-gun (er...swim-and-gun?), where you control a submarine and destroy everything in your path. You fire in two directions: directly in front of you, like usual to any kind of shooter, and above you outside the water. You also get power-ups to change your torpedoes, and the art design in the game is almost exactly like the aforementioned Metal Slug.

As you would probably expect, enemies will do nothing but hail down projectiles and torpedoes. On top of this, not only are you severely limited in your range of movement, the game also tends to have some serious slowdown, which should be used to an advantage or else you'll get owned again and again and again. The bosses are the kind that you need to be quick to act or otherwise you will get nowhere. The first boss, for example, is in a current. Eventually, it'll claw itself onto the ceiling and floor, and within two seconds, it's up in your face even if you're in the spot that keeps you safe.

The game's a pretty good arcade port, but I can't help but wonder how on earth a submarine can carry so much ammo and take on this many bad guys.

Difficulty: 6.5/10 - Insane

#8: Contra: Legacy of War (SAT)

Okay, I expected some of you to see this game on here, so here it is. The release of this game also marked the beginning of a serious decline for the series until Contra 4 many years later.

This was the series' first attempt at going into 3D. You still got to move and shoot in all directions, as well as the ability to jump. You also had the power-ups that were mainstays in the series such as the spread-shot. However, you moved and attacked your enemies in a 3D environment rather than a 2D one.

However, the attempt was quite flawed in more ways than one, already adding to the toughness the series represents itself to be. To start, you had only a single life, but you could take up to nine hits. Also, attacking most enemies isn't as easy as previous games, as it's easier to miss. You have to be spot-on for your shots. Like usual, your enemies will be relentlessly shooting at you, so you have to be moving at nearly all times so you don't get hit.

There are some franchises that transited well into the 3D world, and there were some that didn't. This was not one of them, and Contra's gameplay did not return to 3D until Neo Contra in 2004 (although games prior to it maintained 3D backgrounds, it had 2D gameplay).

Difficulty: 7/10 - Rage-Inducing

#7: The House of the Dead (SAT)

Released as one of the last handful of games for the system in 1998, this arcade port is not something to mess around with.

The game is a light-gun shooter, where a zombie infestation has taken place and you have to shoot down zombies while saving hostages. This is the kind of game where a controller cannot be used for any reason; it has to be a light gun of some sort. You play as Thomas Rogan or Agent G, and you have to clear your way through to save Thomas's fiance, Sophie, and find Dr. Curien and put a stop to the infestation.

However, this is far easier said than done. The difficulty here is maddening for a light-gun shooter. First off, there's no crosshair anywhere, so you have to time your shot almost perfectly and hope you get lucky to hit the zombies and not the hostages (hit one, you lose a torch). This is made more frustrating because of your new-fangled HDMI televisions not corresponding to the light gun, so you'll need an older television for this one if you want to get anywhere. Secondly, unlike most other shooters at the time, a headshot to a zombie doesn't work. You have to completely tear it a new one before you actually kill it. Oh, and these guys are everywhere and can attack from nowhere.

Also, the game's ending is determinant on two factors: Your final score, and how many continues you used. Believe me, the first time playing this game, you're gonna die. A lot.

Difficulty: 7/10 - Rage-Inducing

#6: Three Dirty Dwarves (SAT)

I can't help but wonder if these guys are related to the Snow White dwarves and this is what they do in their spare time...

This oddball of a game is a side-scrolling beat-em-up, where you play as three different characters across many levels. It has an outrageous set of enemies, from a monster ravaged by dogs to an entire building being a boss. The game also has the old-style cartoon look in both animation and graphics, and is more fluent than Sega's previous CD-user.

The difficulty stems from the action within the game, and by that, I mean there's a lot that can happen at once. There are some obstacles that have to be moved by hitting them, but you also have to pay attention to what's around you, as well. Every corner could result in getting hit. Also, the game has a lot of versatility, from having to play a baseball game to hit your enemies to riding a minecart on your way to save a few boys.

Boss fights are mixed between being in front of you in the 2D plane and attacking you from the foreground, the latter of which you'll have to shoot into the foreground to hit him.

This game is completely wacky in more ways than one, but it's a neat trip, regardless.

Difficulty:
Single-Player: 7.5/10 - Outrageous
Multiplayer: 6.5/10 - Insane

#5: Iron Storm (SAT)

I enjoy a Working Designs game when I see it, but this game is just flat-out absurd in the difficulty ranking.

This is a turn-based strategy game taking place during the context of World War II. You played as one of three different countries: United States, Japan, or Nazi Germany. Your goal is to get your country to win the war. Now everyone should know how the war went out, otherwise the world would be much different today. In the case of the latter two countries mentioned, certain decisive battles would give you a change on the course of history. For example, if Germany won the Battle of Britain, or Japan won the Battle of Midway, either of those two countries would get to fight on the mainland of the United States.

The difficulty of this game stems from the gameplay itself. First, your time to complete your mission is limited, and there are a few things on your side you can't move at all on the map. Of course, there are certain squads you can use that are better than others, such as bombers against infantry. You also have to keep squads close to headquarters, because if it falls, Game Over.

The game is a really intense strategy game, and one wrong move could screw you up for the rest of the game.

Difficulty: 7.5/10 - Outrageous

#4: Enemy Zero (SAT)

First-person horror games always carry a sense of tension in the air, and the game's difficulty only pressurizes it to incredible amounts.

Enemy Zero was made by the same people who created D a couple years prior to this game. In Enemy Zero, you play as Laura Lewis on the AKI spacecraft on her search to find surviving crew members and escape the spacecraft. If only it were that easy...

Your enemies are invisible. That alone is enough to see how this game is so difficult. The only way to find out where they are is aural warnings given out by Laura's earring-shaped "guidance system". Also, the game is more focused towards a Metal Gear style, where stealth is more important than just "Go up and kill all the bad guys". To further that point, moving and reloading your gun are slow by intention.

Speaking of the guns, in the early parts of the game, you don't have one, so stealth is absolutely required. When you do get one, it gets a bit easier...at least you'd think that. However, the guns have to be charged up immediately before the shot, and holding one for too long causes it to dissipate and you have to start over. Timing the shot is beyond crucial; the guns have a limited range, and charging too soon or too late results in an immediate Game Over.

The game is masochism at its finest, and that's saying quite a bit. If you want a difficult horror game, look no further than this.

Difficulty: 8/10 - Controller-Demolishing

#3: Rayman (SAT)

This 2D platformer may look kid-friendly, but it's difficulty spans far beyond that of an adult's.

The game features the titular Rayman for the first time. In this one, the Great Protoon is stolen by Mr. Dark, and the Electoons that are with it are locked up in cages. Rayman is sent out to go bring them back in order to restore peace and balance to the world. The game covers six areas that have a certain amount of stages and a boss at the end of each area.

You start out limited in movements and can't attack anything, but that changes very early on in the game. Afterwards, enemies will come out of nowhere to attack and can be numerous at times. The bosses also are quite a challenge, especially Mr. Dark himself. When you reach him, he starts casting spells at you to reverse your controls and make you run uncontrollably. Also, without all the Electoons, you can't face the last bosses, so you have to search far and wide in order to find them all.

The game eventually evolved into a well-known series and later spawned a spin-off series, but how the series started was a game that was outrageously difficult. Worst part about that? Everyone who played it knows it is.

Difficulty: 8/10 - Controller-Demolishing

#2: Darius Gaiden (SAT)

Had to have a shoot-em-up in here because for some reason they always rank among the hardest games on any system. In the Saturn's case, this is known as the hardest of them released outside of Japan.

If you haven't heard of Darius, let me explain. Darius is a shmup series that is known for three major things: its background music score, branching paths for different stages, and enemies that are designed as fish or crustaceans. I'm serious, the enemies are literally ocean creatures. The game also had a storyline, where two pilots took on what was the Belser Army.

Cut to Darius Gaiden. Outside of its standard weapons, missiles, and power-ups, Gaiden introduced new mechanics into the series. The first was the "black hole bomb", which sucks enemies in and then explodes. Also, you could capture any minibosses to help you for a short time.

Now, onto the standard "Holy s***, projectiles are everywhere!" method that keeps popping up with all these shmups. Bosses are more obnoxious, as they spam a huge amount of projectiles and take much longer to kill than bosses of other shmups. The part that's interesting is how much they could throw at you and you could get only a trace amount of slowdown. The game also requires strict knowledge of each level, and since it has different branches to go to each time, knowing the stages is much easier said than done.

This is a brutal shmup, and the funny part about it is that you get to be completely owned by a fish.

Difficulty: 9/10 - Game-Demolishing

#1: Mr. Bones (SAT)

The #1 entry this time around belongs to this oddity on the Saturn. If you look even slightly different as a reanimated skeleton, you're gonna get crap for it. And crap Mr. Bones gets during the course of the game.

The game starts with a mad philosopher who believes that one can only ensure the survival of good by making evil thrive. Because of it, he summons a massive army of skeletons to his bidding, all purified with evil (hence the red eyes). One, however, was a pure-hearted skeleton and had blue eyes. This was quickly noticed, and the newly created army is sent out to destroy him, while Mr. Bones tries to find a way to counteract the evil summoned.

The game is known for its incredible variety, as very few levels share the same gameplay. It is usually an action-platformer, but can drastically change to a rhythm game to a Breakout-style one within a couple levels.

But it is also a hard bone to pick. The very first stage in itself is difficult alone, as you're in a chasing level and have to be towards the right of the screen at all times. There are a lot of obstacles you have to jump over, and the skeletons chasing you throw rocks at you on occasion. If you take too many hits, you'll start to lose body parts and get slower, until you get overwhelmed by the skeleton army chasing you down. Once you do beat it, however, the fun doesn't end there. It gets a lot more random as you progress.

The game is amazing at what it does, but you'll never get to understand it if you keep getting destroyed in the first parts of the game.

Difficulty: 9.5/10 - "WTF, DEV?!"

And there you have it for the 10 Hardest Sega Saturn games. Compared to the last one, this one was actually enjoyable to make, since I enjoy the fifth-generation consoles. Of course, there's also a couple honorable mentions I need to make before I close this list. Who didn't make it...?

Loaded is the first one on here. The game is a 3D run-and-gun with a couple puzzles and many objectives that have to be done before completing certain stages.

The next one is a first-person shooter by the name of PowerSlave (or Exhumed outside the U.S.). This game is a Doom clone, like many other FPSs at the time, but this game has its own set of twists that make it an interesting game in itself.

DragonHeart: Fire & Steel is a brutal action-platformer based on the Universal movie. Unfortunately, like a lot of movie-based games prior to the sixth generation, it suffers from several issues, such as shoddy controls. Also, the digitized-actor fad started to die down by the time Virtua Fighter came out. This could have been on the list if the game was much better than it is.

And lastly, we have the well-known Quake to wrap up the honorable mentions. Quake is another FPS, built with the same style as its predecessor, Doom. The game is mostly known for starting online competition in FPS games, as well as a mod pack that later evolved into Team Fortress.

Overall, the Sega Saturn showed that it had potential, even though many said the Saturn couldn't do true 3D. While it did dominate in the 2D world, video games had a must to try out the next level when it started to become possible to do. Ultimately, the Saturn lost its grip, and was discontinued in the west in 1998 (although the Saturn still continued in Japan for a couple years thanks to Segata Sanshiro. Maybe if he became popular in the west at the time, the Saturn could've lasted longer.). The system now has become more obscured by time compared to the other two major competitors, the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation, but still carries a legacy that most who played on it adore. Whether that would be because of its console-exclusives or Japanese imports is entirely to the player. The Saturn's flop in the western market meant trouble. However, Sega had a chance to try again and get a foothold in the next generation, and took it.

That's it for this list. See ya next time.

List by ZeroType-X (09/28/2016)

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