Does Sonic on the Sega Saturn suck?

[Stephen]

I just watched a video on youtube by GameTraillers it was called the 5 best and worst sonic games.

They voted sonic R as the worst sonic game ever and sonic the fighters as the 2nd or 3rd. Anyway ive never played these but they look quiet awsome, all retro like.

Update: I found the link if you want to watch GT talk about the 5 best and worst sonic games

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QWiAy2gyxg

Edited March 10, 2009 by Stephen

[-Mark-]

Well, Sonic the Fighters wasn't even on the Saturn anyway, so that's out.

[Scorch]

I actually liked both of those games, but as Mahzes said, Sonic the Fighters/Sonic Championship wasn't on the Saturn (although a Saturn port WAS originally intended). Sonic R had some crappy looking character models, I'll admit (even for its time), but I still enjoyed the gameplay, as well as the music. Like I said before, I'd take that over any of the Sonic Riders games any day. Sonic R was FAR more deserving of a sequel than Riders.

[SuperStingray]

I've always wondered how much different the Sonic series would be if X-treme was released.

[HelenBaby]

Wow! I really disagree, both those games are really decent!

[Scorch]

I've always wondered how much different the Sonic series would be if X-treme was released.

So do I. Judging from the gameplay videos I've seen on Youtube, Sonic X-Treme looked as if it had LOTS of potential. It had nice music, beautiful 3D environments (for its time, of course), and the gameplay itself seemed to almost perfectly emulate that of the 2D side-scrolling games that were on the Genesis (with the only difference being that it was in 3D, of course). I think it definitely would have stayed truer to the classics than Sonic Adventure did (not that it was a bad game). I also thought Tiara Boobowski was a pretty interesting character.

[Gabz Girl]

Sonic R, worst Sonic game? Noooo. >.>

Okay it was a very short game, and the graphics did look a little, no, really jaggy, but the music and racing was fun! Why they didn't make a sequel for it instead of just starting off with Sonic Riders I'll never understand. Running is better than boards!

[Slingerland]

Sonic R kicks ass. It just takes hours of mastering the tank controls and only then is it awesome.

Sonic 3D Blast is only worth playing for the music, because the game was never good to begin with. The controls and physics are bad. I can never gauge my jumps in that game and I always end up losing all my rings. If I have no rings, then I can't go to the only "3D" part of "3D Blast. THE SPECIAL STAGE!

[Badnik Zero]

Sonic is usually not considered to be on the Saturn. So many people have never heard of Sonic R, and it's true that there was never a true Sonic title on the system. Sonic 3D Blast was an awful game by me, but I've only tried the Genesis version. And I like Sonic R, but it was lacking some stuff honestly. The game was easy, and with far too few courses. Very nice levels though, if they wanted to make a 3D Sonic, why didn't they use what they used for Sonic R!

Sonic Team on the Saturn though... was great. Nights into Dreams, baby. Sonic Team should break out some of their old characters.

[Paul Str337]

Sonic R was greatness as far as I was concerned back when I first bought it. I loved the music especially but I used to play it with my friends all the time. It was actually the first time I was able to play as Robotnick, having never owned Sonic Drift.

It might not count but the 3D bit from Sonic Jam blew my mind as well. I’d have killed for a Sonic game made entirely like that on the Saturn. They even used the same model for Sonic in the Saturn version of Sonic 3D’s special stages. They also featured the best music in any Sonic game ever in my opinion.

[Badnik Zero]

It might not count but the 3D bit from Sonic Jam blew my mind as well. I

Edited March 9, 2009 by Badnikz

[JezMM]

I can understand the dislike of Sonic R, but for it's time it was very nice. I consider it a humble cute little Sonic game. There's lots to do, it just doesn't take very long to do it. I would welcome a modern sequel for sure.

The soundtrack is really uplifting too... it's a very fun, summery game I think.

[Sean]

Sonic X-Treme looked terrible. It looked like it would play like shit, and from what videos have been released of it, there isn't really much speed at all, so much as cumbersome, tedious platforming with a terrible camera style (and from what speed moments I have seen, the game practically plays itself) - Sonic could have been replaced with Mario and it wouldn't have made a damned difference; the game just makes me feel utterly nauseas.

Edited March 10, 2009 by Jake

[HelenBaby]

I can understand the dislike of Sonic R, but for it's time it was very nice. I consider it a humble cute little Sonic game. There's lots to do, it just doesn't take very long to do it. I would welcome a modern sequel for sure.

The soundtrack is really uplifting too... it's a very fun, summery game I think.

This.

[Tornado]

cumbersome, tedious platforming with a terrible camera style (and from what speed moments I have seen, the game practically plays itself) - Sonic could have been replaced with Mario and it wouldn't have made a damned difference; the game just makes me feel utterly nauseas.

It never fails to amuse me how many people say this exact thing about Sonic X-Treme, particularly considering

1. Not only haven't played it, but they have only seen a video of someone else playing the game when it was half-finished.
   
2. They have even more hilariously described every 3D Sonic game ever.
   

So not only are they being judgemental asses of a gameplay style they have never even experienced, but they are also ironically implying that the current trend (MOAR SPEED!) is somehow not the same way.

[Fox Gungrave]

Sonic R didn't sucks at all. It was a very fun concept at the time and a terrible OST (Super Sonic Racing) even if it's just a spin-off.

By the way, we can control Robotnik/Eggman in his eggmobile XD.

[Roarey Raccoon]

It never fails to amuse me how many people say this exact thing about Sonic X-Treme, particularly considering

1. Not only haven't played it, but they have only seen a video of someone else playing the game when it was half-finished.
   
2. They have even more hilariously described every 3D Sonic game ever.
   

So not only are they being judgemental asses of a gameplay style they have never even experienced, but they are also ironically implying that the current trend (MOAR SPEED!) is somehow not the same way.

Don't label people as assholes over a video game. If you're going to do something that immature can you do it away from SSMB? Instead of following the trend of judging the shit out of other Sonic fans, people with whom you share a common interest, why not actually try to see things from different points of view? This fandom would be even worse than it is now if we all agreed about everything.

[speedfreak]

I didn't like Sonic R at all. Not nearly enough tracks and it had gigantic balance issues between characters. I've never played Sonic 3D Blast for the Saturn, but if it's like the Genesis version then that sucks too.

[Sean]

The Saturn version did have those neat-looking Special Stages, though I've never played them. Otherwise, it's exactly the same game with some cosmetic makeovers.

[Tombi]

For it's time Sonic Jam was pretty freakin' sweet, if they announced a mega drive Sonic collection tomorrow it would probably be frowned upon for having been done before, but in 1997 it was quite something to have the main four Sonic games along with plenty of extras on one disk.

I actually got Sonic R on the PC back in the day, and it put me through hell getting it to work so I'm not sure how I can still like it, but it has a very enjoyable soundtrack mainly.

Sonic X-treme...looked interesting, having only seen about 1/10 of the game through various videos I'm not in a position to say it would have been a bad game; but it's just hard to imagine it being any better of a leap into 3D than Adventure. (Especially because a good portion of the game looked to be from a 2D perspective anyway, kind of cheating )

Finally, Sonic 3D blast also had an awesome soundtrack, but besides that there wasn't much reason at all to go back to the outdated faux-3D graphics from three years ago on a console that could handle much more.

[Stephen]

Well, Sonic the Fighters wasn't even on the Saturn anyway, so that's out.

oh yeah my bad i got confused because it was on gems collection

Glad to see your all interested in this topic

[Legendary Emerald]

Sonic R is a fun little game, with decent gameplay and a funky soundtrack that even a 80's metal fan like me can enjoy. I actually own it on PC and Gamecube though, not Saturn. It's worth getting just to complete your collection, but it's far too short to keep you entertained for long (I've beaten it and unlocked everything in a matter of hours).

My friend has Sonic 3D Blast on the Saturn, and that version is much better than the original genesis version. The graphics are high quality 2D, and the music is CD quality (though not as catchy as the original 3D Blast tunes, imo). The biggest difference is the amazing Special Zones, which are 3D and based of the special stages of Sonic 2 (and not glitchy as hell like in Sonic Heroes). The rest of the gameplay is still the same though, which means it's the not all that fun to begin with. By the time I get to Puppet Panic zone, I'm usually too bored to continue (though I have beat it!).

Well, there's my opinions.

[BaronSFel001]

The improved Sonic 3D definitely had one of the best soundtracks of a video game. Its 3D Special Stages (with polygonal transparencies, no less) were revolutionary. Of course, the Special Stages were the part of the game directly developed by Sonic Team. The music is great, the Special Stages great, gameplay no less iffy than its 16-bit brother: the redeeming qualities are enough for me at least to want to keep playing this game.

Sonic Jam was a gift from Sonic Team to the fans, and only in Japan was it really meant to boost sales of Sonic and Saturn, since Sonic was not too popular in that region to begin with. Whichever way you look at it, Sonic Jam's array of features is wonderful: the gameplay options are never reproduced in any later compilation (options such as difficulty levels, time attack and Special Stage marathons) and as for Sonic World, now that is a real demo of how classic Sonic in 3D could have been on a grander scale.

Sonic R is horribly underrated in many circles. In others, though rare to find, it can also be overrated. I find its soundtrack stimulating, and the admittedly short gameplay considerably fun (and with plenty of options to keep the replay value going, such as time attack, balloon hunt, and multiplayer). As the first real Sonic racing game, it was an experiment, but I think a successful one.

Conclusion: the Sonic games for the Saturn are relatively hidden gems in video game history. I will also give my opinion that Sonic X-treme would have done nothing but good. Saturn sales were already floundering, and it is unlikely Sonic X-treme would have been enough to save the console from its ultimate fate, but at the least it would have staved off the inevitable and, coupled with NiGHTS, perhaps made 1996 the year of the Saturn.

[SefHighwind]

I actually enjoyed the Sonic games on the Saturn. The Saturn version of 3D Blast was better than the Genesis version of the game. Using the 3D pad felt better than using an 8 direction D-Pad, and I also loved the sharpness of the graphics. The music was great, but I still enjoy the Genesis music. Actually both of the soundtracks were great. Personal favorite track would be the first act of Spring Stadium Zone.

As far as Sonic R goes, it's another game that I do enjoy. I love the music and the stage designs. I will agree that the character models were very rough, but this was also the game that introduced everyone's worst nightmare: Tails Doll. The game was short, but I remember the fun I had trying to find the Sonic medals and the Chaos Emeralds for the first time. The Saturn games were fun in my opinion, and I still need to track down a copy of Sonic Jam.

[Guest]

Sonic Games? On the Sega Saturn?

Lets see here...

Sonic Jam: Compilation of Sonic 1-&K, plus 3D Sonic World, plus Japanese commercials, plus bios, plus other random crap.

Sonic 3D Blast: Enhanced graphical update of the Genesis version released earlier.

Sonic R: Racing game minus cars, with Sonic characters, and robotic doubles.

Sonic X-treme: CANCELLED. NEVER RELEASED. DEAD. INDEFINATLY POSTPONED.

Games...? These are not games, these are interactive toys.

(note that i have never played any of these bar sonic r)