Sega Saturn and the Rolling Starts

Sounds like a good band name, no?

I’ve been meaning to post about this for like two weeks now but I got caught up creating my SWEET ASS Earthbound Sonnet for meteorscrap’s contest. Go check it out and enter if you haven’t already, a replica Master Sword is on the line here people!

Anyway, all this Sega Saturn talk over the past couple of weeks have made me want to relive my childhood -- but I’m too lazy to drag that shiz out and hook it up so I dug up some of my favorite game clips on youtube. I hope you all will enjoy them as much as I have :]

GENTLEMAN, START YOUR ENGINES!



ROOOOOOLLLIIIIIIIINGGGGG STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAART!

Oh em gee, when I watch this I get flashbacks to my nine year old self bouncing up and down on the floor singing with the AHHHHHHHs and getting my ass kicked by the AI. I couldn’t advance to the other stages but man I rocked that beginner level good and hard. I also have fond memories of creating my own mirror stages by driving backwards on the track :D

Does anyone have memories of playing this little gem?



Just soak in that awesome intro music – I’m not sure why, but Saturn games seemed to be chock full of slow jams on the menu screen. Most of my memories from this game revolve around the second level where you have to shoot at doors to escape the rabid dogs that eat your face off. I was too young and stupid to realize that I had to follow a door pattern to find the exit – so I don’t think I ever got past it. But it was fun to play in any case. I remember playing with my brother -- we used to make Scud and his sidekick dance to the music in the first level (up down up down woot woot!). I don’t think I appreciated this game enough as a kid.

Now for game I think I truly appreciated, even as a child. I am eternally grateful to my mother for not only gifting us the Saturn Christmas 1995 but also for buying us what is now one of my top 5 favorite games of all time: NiGHTS Into Dreams.



The music…ohhhh the music! I often blast the soundtrack to this game on my way to work on rainy days to keep myself in good spirits. I never realized this as a kid, but apparently you can breed the little Nightopians (Chao) at the bottom of the levels. I kind of want to break out the system just to try it.

Another game with great, interesting music was Darius Gaiden. It was totally weird, even for me as a 9 year old, but I loved shooting up flying robot fish while jamming to some freaky Japanese tunes.



Just look at how awesome that giant fish is at the end! AND THAT’S JUST THE FIRST LEVEL! They get stranger if you can believe it. Every time I enter a room I kind of want to screech “OOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” to imitate the level warping sound.

Clockwork Knight was also kind of freaky, but in a kiddy “zomg my toys have come to life and they’re attacking each other” kind of way.



This game was actually really creative for its time – I’d really enjoy playing a remake nowadays for the Wii or something. Funny enough, I don’t have any specific memories about this game. I don't even remember what the hell you were supposed to accomplish. I just remember it being a ton of fun.

Bug! was also enjoyable, especially for my immature nine year old self.



BUUUUUG JUUUUICE! I never really understood the plot of this game – you never really pay attention to those details as a kid (at least, I never did). I think he’s acting in a bug movie or something. Someone enlighten me on this. Anyway, that strange 3D level thing was also a telltale sign of a Saturn game – who could forget this niche Sonic game?



I seem to remember people hating on this game long ago, but I always thought it was really unique and interesting. I’d actually like to play through it as an adult, now that I (hopefully) have better reflexes. The 3D bonus chaos levels were super rad btw – much like Sonic 2’s but on crack.

There are so many more games I want to mention, but I feel I’ve shared enough, so here’s one last memory I want to share:



Batman Forever! I found out much later in college that this was also a pretty popular stand alone arcade game as well. In fact, my college had a contest going where they'd give away the Batman Forever arcade cab to the person who had the highest score. I totally thought I had it in the bag, until I realized I didn’t gain any actual skills from this game growing up...I at least had a blast beating the crap outta bad guys with my brother.

That’s it for now, folks. GAME OVER!