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Between Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64, which console do you think was better?

Between Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64, which console do you think was better?

  • Sega Saturn

  • Nintendo 64


Results are only viewable after voting.

Ceadeus

Member
Just like the Dreamcast, it should have had a longer life span.

Both console had a very varied library for such short life. If the Saturn would have lasted as long as the N64 and PS1, we could have seen its full potential but also easily more games than the 300 games N64 has. The 3D graphics would still be better on Nintendo.
 
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GloveSlap

Member
If you had a bunch of friends around, you needed an N64 back then. The PS1 and Saturn were more for when your friends went home. With the PS1 being the better single player console over the Saturn, the N64 was the better second console purchase. So by that metric i would say N64.
 

kunonabi

Member
Saturn is obviously the smarter option with its much bigger library but so many of my favorite games, including my all time #2, are N64 titles that I have to go with it.
 

Katajx

Member
Never knew anyone that had a Saturn. I was young, but the 64 changed the way I thought about games being played moving a lot of franchises to 3D.

The Saturn looked like it was continuing a lot of what had been done before. I don’t really see a big Sonic game like adventure, and they hadn’t quite made it there like some of the stuff they did with the Dreamcast.

Looks like they really were delivering if you were into fighters and RPGs. I can only compare to some of the stuff I played on the Genesis, and you can see the Saturn didn’t get the support.

If we were talking the Saturn and the Dreamcast against the 64, it would seem more fair to me.
 

//DEVIL//

Member
I am a guy who liked N64 more than my PlayStation. so by default Saturn is my least fav. as a matter of fact I wouldn't say I liked Saturn. which is strange because Dreamcast is my second fav console after the PS2.

Nothing was close in terms of the quality of Mario 64, and International Superstar Soccer 64 on the release window for me. those 2 games were everything to me when I was a kid lol.

I never completed a game 100% either but Mario 64.
 

Three

Gold Member
Saturn had some good games but N64 had better games in my opinion. Goldeneye, Ocarina of time, Majoras Mask, Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Smash Bros, Wave Race, Banjo Kazooie, Conker, Perfect Dark, Mario Party, 1080 Snowboarding, Diddy Kong Racing, DK64. The games were pretty iconic and created some of the game franchises Nintendo has today (namely Smash Bros, Mario Party, Paper Mario)
 
I don't think the Saturn was particularly great, especially not compared to the Genesis, but it was still infinitely better than the N64 to me. Easily Nintendo's worst console ever apart from maybe the Virtual Boy.
 

marquimvfs

Member
I think it's impossible to answer that, to be honest. But, in the subjective side, I prefer N64. Maybe it's because I had one that generation and never played Saturn games until I was very older. Generally speaking, everything I've experienced with Saturn was aligned with my NeoGeo experience, a thing more arcadey and with short experiences, with games sessions that, despite fun, lasted less than an hour before becoming tedious. With N64 I had (few, I admit) games that I could play for an entire weekend. Not that those games doesn't existed in Saturn, but the ones I know are in other platforms as well, like Tomb Raider.
 

Three

Gold Member
I think it's impossible to answer that, to be honest. But, in the subjective side, I prefer N64. Maybe it's because I had one that generation and never played Saturn games until I was very older. Generally speaking, everything I've experienced with Saturn was aligned with my NeoGeo experience, a thing more arcadey and with short experiences, with games sessions that, despite fun, lasted less than an hour before becoming tedious. With N64 I had (few, I admit) games that I could play for an entire weekend. Not that those games doesn't existed in Saturn, but the ones I know are in other platforms as well, like Tomb Raider.
Nailed the feeling I had for it. Saturn was the arcade at home machine to me and it just didn't beat the experience of going to Sega World in Trocadero to play games like Sega Rally or Daytona USA. N64 felt more like the games were built to play at home, something I couldn't experience at the arcade. For the Saturn games I just really preferred the arcade experience/versions at the time.
 
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darrylgorn

Member
If I were to judge a console's merit based on how well games have aged, then N64 is easily at the top.

The system's games are regularly emulated to current fidelity standards and it boasts a litany of remasters and remakes, while the games for Saturn and PSX were largely abandoned shortly after the generation.
 
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unclbenn

Member
I love the Saturn but when it comes down to which console I come back to the most it's always the N64. I still play starfox and wave race almost yearly.
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
Of all of my "retro" consoles the Saturn is the one I still play the most. It didn't live long but it did have some excellent games. Especially Japanese games. Getting a Pseudo Saturn cart to do no-mod region unlocking of Japanese games on my North America Saturn gave it so much new life.

I didn't enjoy the N64. It's the only Nintendo console I sold. It did have some good games but overall I think the negatives with the console outweighed the positives. There were only 3 games on it that I absolutely loved.
 

Alan Wake

Member
Back in the day, as a Saturn owner I was constantly disappointed to see all the games that came to PlayStation but not to the Saturn. Today I really appreciate the variety in its library, and it sure has some gems in there. I never played the N64 much and I couldn't stand the controller.
 

Sleepwalker

Member
I am a guy who liked N64 more than my PlayStation. so by default Saturn is my least fav. as a matter of fact I wouldn't say I liked Saturn. which is strange because Dreamcast is my second fav console after the PS2.

Nothing was close in terms of the quality of Mario 64, and International Superstar Soccer 64 on the release window for me. those 2 games were everything to me when I was a kid lol.

I never completed a game 100% either but Mario 64.

Yeah this. I even got offered a saturn recently for decently cheap and I turned it down. No interest at all. Maybe some day. (Probably not)
 

havoc00

Member
The Saturn was great, but if you had friends and didn't have a ps1 or N64 you were regulated to weirdo/incel status at the time.
 

Drell

Member
N64 should've had the DD built inside it from day one. 64 MB games would've been more comfortable for devs (even if 600 MB CDs was the obvious choice). On top of that Nintendo never stopped bragging about it but ended releasing in japan only when it was basically over...

I voted N64 because back in my youth in the 90s, everyone at school was talking about PS1 and N64. Nobody would've known what the hell the Sega Saturn was. I've only known about it in the early 2000s when I got to know emulation sites.

Edit: Also, I'll take my low rez compressed texture at unstable 20 fps any day over the 2 others. Warping textures and Shaking polygons was an eyesore day one, even in my children's eye. In my Ideal world, Sony and Sega would've waited a bit more time and came with more decent hardware that had minimal 3D filters at least.
 
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EruditeHobo

Member
Nights into Dreams, Daytona USA, Sega Rally, Panzer Dragoon, Virtua Fighter. These were the critically acclaimed popular games/franchises that I can remember.

2 racings games in 5 listed... and this is supposed to be convincing stacked up against Mario 64, Zelda, GoldenEye, Mario Kart, Perfect Dark, Star Fox? Not to mention some others (I have soft spot for Blast Corps & Waverace 64 in particular)...

Don't get me wrong I never owned a Saturn... but like the guy you quoted I came in here expecting comparisons of games. I know I could just google it, but it's intriguing to me that so many people say Saturn in a kneejerk way and haven't really listed any games in almost 80 posts? Very weird IMO.

That said I always heard great things about Panzer Dragoon.
 
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N64 had better FPSs, racing games and platformers, and was a multiplayer master.
Saturn had awesome arcade ports, had better RPGs (and N64 had almost nothing) and great 2D games.

It just depends what a gamer wanted, but overall N64 satisfied a bigger amount of gamers.
 
saturn had no games.

N64 had landmark games literally like Mario 64, Zelda OOT, Goldeneye. Then you had amazing games like Perfect Dark, No mercy, Mario Kart 64, Banjo Kazooie, Conker, Star Fox, Donkey kong.
Ant Stoic? I thought you left with Antagonist. Quest 64 for life.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
The Saturn had some decent games, but the N64 library is packed with iconic and legendary titles. Some of them were revolutionary for the time.

N64 has to get my vote.
 

nkarafo

Member
N64. By far.

I was never an "arcade at home" person so i didn't care about most of Sega's output. The only games i cared about on Saturn were the Lobotomy ones (Duke Nukem, Quake, Powerslave).
 

CashPrizes

Member
Sega Saturn easy.
I can't think of a N64 game that is really worth going back and playing besides Mario 64 and Zelda: OOT

Saturn had Dragon Force, Guardian Heroes, Panzer Dragoon 1 + 2 + Saga, Saturn Bomberman, Dark Savior, Sega's amazing arcade roster, all the other Working Design games, and the best console versions of several Capcom arcade ports.
 

Ozzie666

Member
N64. By far.

I was never an "arcade at home" person so i didn't care about most of Sega's output. The only games i cared about on Saturn were the Lobotomy ones (Duke Nukem, Quake, Powerslave).

Having said that the N64 FPS games were better than they should have been from Turok, Doom,Quake, Hexen of course Goldeneye and Perfeft Dark, So it has you covered nicely.

ID games were pretty good.
 

Moses85

Member
N64

Thread
Closing Valentines Day GIF by NETFLIX
 
N64 had a few very very high quality games but that's about all they had for that generation. Both Saturn and PlayStation were overall better imo. Though ocarina of time is better than anything else that generation.
 
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NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
This is a tricky poll because the people who were gaming at the time are inevitably biased due to the spectacular flop of the Saturn in the west. A lot of Saturn gems never left Japan. Plus, the console’s library has always been horrendously neglected, so much so that in the age of ports and remakes it somehow seems more profitable to republish Aero the Acro-Bat rather than some Saturn games that would definitely deserve a second chance.

If one didn’t have a Saturn that could play Japanese imports at the time, or if one never explored the console’s library via emulation, one simply can’t understand what the Saturn really had to offer. I know I can’t. I bought a Japanese Saturn around 2002 just to play Radiant Silvergun (crazy game for 1998, btw), but then I never delved into the system further. But I’ve seen and read enough about it that it’s not hard to understand the comments ITT.

The thing is, the Saturn lacked a foundational game, while the N64 had a bunch that basically reinvented gaming and laid the foundations for the games we play today. And its built-in 4-player gaming shaped the youth of so many, it’s not hard to see why some people vote for the N64 simply because of that. I loved my N64, but then again, I only had a dozen games for it and they were all bangers.
 

BlackTron

Member
It really depended on what type of games you liked. I liked the N64's many mp games and 4 controller ports, and impressive new 3D graphics/physics in games like Wave Race. In addition to tentpole games like Zelda. So I had the most fun with that system that gen. If your priority was 2D games or shmups or RPGs then this thing is a complete disaster.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Saturn for me. Its close

N64 had some of the best games ever in OOT, Majoras Mask, Mario 64, Golden Eye etc.

But if you like 2D fighters, or JRPG's, Shmups, then Saturn is one of the best consoles

-Best 2D fighters of any console at the time

-JRPG's like PDS, Shining Force, Grandia

-CastleVania Symphony of the Night, Guardian Heroes and more
 
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