Sega · 1995–2000

SegaSaturn

The 2D powerhouse with the cult library: Panzer Dragoon, Guardian Heroes, NiGHTS, and the Japanese imports collectors chase.

[n] Saturn games available

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Why it mattered

The 2D powerhouse that lost the 3D war

Sega built the Saturn as a sprite powerhouse — two CPUs, two video processors and serious 2D horsepower. Then the market turned to polygons, Sony launched at $299, and Sega's surprise May 1995 launch left half of America's retailers without stock and furious. In Japan the Saturn out-sold the PlayStation for a while; in North America it never got the chance.

The library is the reason collectors still chase it: Panzer Dragoon Saga, Guardian Heroes, NiGHTS, Radiant Silvergun, and the Capcom and SNK fighters that played so well on it. Japan received more than 1,000 Saturn releases, hundreds of which never reached North America. Import adapters and compatible multi-function cartridges can open up much of that library, although some games require specific RAM expansions or other hardware. Check the requirements before buying. North American Saturn games generally came in distinctive tall plastic cases, while Japanese releases used standard CD jewel cases, often with collectible spine cards. Some promotional and bundled editions came in smaller cases or sleeves. Original packaging matters: cracked hinges, missing manuals, damaged inserts, and missing spine cards can make a significant difference to collectors. We photograph every case and disc.

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Fast facts

ReleasedMay 11, 1995 (North America, surprise launch)
Launch price$399 — Sony answered with "$299" the same day
MediaCD-ROM, with a cartridge slot for RAM and save carts
Units sold~9 million worldwide, most of them in Japan
Best sellerVirtua Fighter 2 — Japan's biggest Saturn hit
Did you know?Sega announced at E3 in May 1995 that the Saturn was on sale that day — four months early, at $399, and only at four retail chains. Stores left out of the surprise, KB Toys among them, refused to stock it afterwards. Sony's reply from the same stage was a single word: "$299."
Did you know?The Saturn has two Hitachi SH-2 CPUs and eight processors in total. Getting them to work together was so hard that most early 3D games used only one CPU, which is why the Saturn's 2D games look better than its 3D ones — the hardware was built for sprites.
Did you know?North American Saturn games generally came in tall plastic cases, while Japanese releases used standard jewel cases. Clean, uncracked tall cases are the hard part of a complete game.
Did you know?"Not for Resale" Saturn discs are real, complete games — Virtua Fighter, Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop and Daytona USA were bundled with consoles in those sleeves. They play identically to the retail disc and are usually the cheapest way to own the game.
Did you know?Panzer Dragoon Saga shipped in North America in 1998 with a print run usually estimated in the low tens of thousands, after Sega had already announced the Dreamcast. It is the most expensive US Saturn game and one of the priciest RPGs on any console.
Did you know?The Saturn is region-locked, but the cartridge slot fixes that: an Action Replay or similar cart lets a US console boot Japanese discs, and the same slot takes the 1 MB and 4 MB RAM carts that games like X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Street Fighter Zero 3 require to run at all.
Did you know?Sega's 1996 NetLink modem brought online play to the Saturn years before Dreamcast. Compatible games included Saturn Bomberman, Duke Nukem 3D, and special NetLink editions of Sega Rally and other titles.
Did you know?Sega of America's Bernie Stolar told the crowd at E3 1997 that "the Saturn is not our future." Sega stopped releasing US Saturn games in 1998, so the North American library is only about 250 titles, against more than a thousand in Japan — which is why the import shelf matters here more than on any other console.

Find your next Saturn game

Start with a familiar favorite, explore a theme, or browse by what’s included.

Counts are listings in stock — the same game can appear more than once in different packaging.

The grails

Panzer Dragoon Saga, Radiant Silvergun, Burning Rangers, Shining Force III, Dragon Force, Guardian Heroes — the Saturn games collectors cross the room for.

SEGA'S ARCADE AT HOME

Virtua Fighter, Virtua Cop, Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Fighters Megamix — from AM2 and AM3's arcade legends to the Saturn-exclusive fighting crossover.

The import shelf

Japanese Saturn discs for the console with a cartridge in the slot — a thousand-game library North America never got.

Came free with the console

Not-for-resale pack-in discs, plus the Choice Cuts video sampler — honest sleeves, and the cheapest way onto the shelf.

Also on the PlayStation

Wipeout, Need for Speed, Duke Nukem 3D, Command & Conquer, Contra: Legacy of War — the multiplatform years, and the Saturn versions collectors underrate.

Fighters: the Saturn's home turf

Virtua Fighter, Last Bronx, Fighters Megamix, Battle Monsters — plus the Capcom and SNK ports the PlayStation could not run. If it has a health bar, it lives here.

Long box, launch year

The tall cardboard-backed cases of 1995: Daytona USA, Panzer Dragoon, Clockwork Knight, Virtua Fighter Remix, Bug! — the Saturn's first edition on the shelf.

Play ball (and everything else with a scoreboard)

World Series Baseball, Frank Thomas Big Hurt, Madden 98, Victory Goal, Decathlete — the Saturn's sports shelf, from Sega's own to the EA ports.

2D lives here

Guardian Heroes, Astal, Clockwork Knight, Silhouette Mirage, Mega Man 8 — the sprite-drawn games the Saturn's hardware was actually built for.

The Working Designs shelf

Albert Odyssey, Magic Knight Rayearth, Iron Storm, Shining Wisdom, Dragon Force — the Californian publisher that translated the Saturn's RPGs and printed the best manuals in the business.

Complete in case, best condition first

Explore complete-in-case Saturn games currently in stock, selected for condition and ready for your collection.

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Game with manual

Original game disc and manual, without the original case.

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Loose discs

Disc only — tested, photographed, priced accordingly.

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Sealed

Factory sealed and photographed through the shrink.

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SegaSaturn

The 2D powerhouse that lost the 3D war