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[bob_arctor]

So, after a span of about a week, the hideous bitch goddess known as Ebay finally let loose her vise grip on my wallet, but not until I came away with these goodies:

I had to stop myself before the wife divorces my sorry ass.

I still gotta get Dodonpachi (from GA word of mouth), Striker 1945 II, Battle Garrega (if it ever comes down to a reasonable price), Salamander Deluxe Pack (I remember being in awe of Lifeforce at the arcade when I was young), Batsugun (again, GA word of mouth), Capcom Generation 4 and Sengoku Blade (again, if it ever drops in price).

Anyone get any other recommendations? Particularly side-scrolling action stuff. Elevator Action Returns--worth getting?

 

[dog$]

Elevator Action Returns is pretty decent, and at least it includes the original game (as an unlockable) so it should be worth it.

Maybe games like Cotton 2 and Princess Crown would be fitting of your tastes, but I'm not sure PC is worth the ebay premium it fetches now.

 

[bob_arctor]

Elevator Action Returns is pretty decent, and at least it includes the original game (as an unlockable) so it should be worth it.

Maybe games like Cotton 2 and Princess Crown would be fitting of your tastes, but I'm not sure PC is worth the ebay premium it fetches now.

As a joke, I searched Ebay for Psychic Killer Tama--err, whatever the hell that obscure cool-ass ninja side-scroller is named--and they had one listing. For $349.99. Guess that's one I'll never play.

 

[Tsubaki]

How about Thunderforce 2-5?

Thunderforce Goldpack (2 & 3)
Thunderforce Goldpack 2 (AC & 4)
Thunderforce V

Radiant Silvergun is worth a look too.

 

[Apharmd Battler]

Good stuff, I have all of those myself as well. Try to get your hands on Astra Super Stars, I just love that quircky fighting game.

 

[Go Go Ackman!]

man, if you're going to get a bunch of saturn games, why get ones that are available on other platforms? psyiko/raizing shooters are quite emulatable, spend your money on... princess crown or some shit

 

[bob_arctor]

How about Thunderforce 2-5?

Thunderforce Goldpack (2 & 3)
Thunderforce Goldpack 2 (AC & 4)
Thunderforce V

Radiant Silvergun is worth a look too.

Radiant I got way back when it was a sane price--like $60 or something. The Thunderforce stuff--there are definitely on the radar, but not the highest priority since I played 'em all previously. I would get the Gradius pack before TF, only cuz I never played Gradius 2.

About emulation, I recently discovered Raine, which pretty much takes care of the Raizing stuff, but of course, my PC's out of commission now and I need to get a whole new rig, so that's out.

On the domestic front, I still need to track down Legend Of Oasis. Panzer Dragoon Saga would be nice, but prices are always too high. I may break down and get an import Guardian Heroes although there was a fair amount of text IIRC.

Astra Super Stars? How does it play? Typical SF clone but w/ quirky/cute design?

 

[aku:jiki]

As a joke, I searched Ebay for Psychic Killer Tama--err, whatever the hell that obscure cool-ass ninja side-scroller is named--and they had one listing. For $349.99. Guess that's one I'll never play.

Don't worry about it, man. The game's pretty much a piece of crap anyway.

(Ok, so it isn't that but it's definitely not especially good either.)

 

[Apharmd Battler]

Astra Super Stars? How does it play? Typical SF clone but w/ quirky/cute design?

http://www.ncsx.com/www/ncs1201/jrnl1202.htm

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Astra Super Stars reminded me a bit of the Marvel Versus sans the garish twats in tights. And it had one of the best unlockable characters ever, IIRC, Bonus-kun. A stick figure.

If you can find Bulk Slash cheap I'd suggest that one. It was published by Hudson and is a flying transforming robot game. The graphics aren't the hottest, but I really got a kick out of the game. The gist was you're some hotshot pilot saving the world or some such, and you can rescue sexy female co-pilots to go on missions with you.

I would love to see a Bulk Slash sequel on the Playstation 2.

 

[type9]

It's going for I think near $100 but if you can get Hyper Duel that's a great game. Good choice on the Kingdom Grand Prix.

 

[BenT]

Remember that DoDonPachi and Strikers 1945 II are better on PSX than Saturn. Harder to get, too.

Hyper Duel's $25 worth of fun, on a good day.

 

[drohne]

nice haul. metal slug and souky are flat-out classics. despite being a raizing fanboy, i've never been able to get into kingdom grandprix...maybe i should pop it in again. leynos 2 is a similar case, actually.

thunderforce v, batsugun, sengoku blade, and garegga would be obvious targets, yeah. great games all. the one-stage demo of garegga included on that souky rerelease isn't really representative, by the way, although the boss is pretty cool. ben t touched on it, but i'd strongly recommend the ps1 versions of donpachi, dodonpachi, and strikers II over the saturn versions (though if you're set on it, i have a copy of saturn dodonpachi i've been meaning to sell). do you have galactic attack/layer section, incidentally? it's one of the best shooters ever, it's cheap, and it's domestically available.

 

[bob_arctor]

I love these threads.

So Hyper Duel is not worth the insane price then? I was tempted, since it's Technosoft. Looks nice enough, visually anyway.

Kingdom Grandprix is an acquired taste--that I could tell right from the jump. Maybe it's the psuedo racing theme that throws people off. For me, it's just plain fun. The music is pretty damn good too, and I like that you can pick stages/paths as you progress and that you can either go for points or try to focus on finishing 1st place in each "race". It has a lot of quirky soul to it and I think that's the best thing about the game, really.

Assault Suit Leynos kinda overwhelmed me, actually. I was not prepared for how involved it actually is--all the storyline text, the menu options, weapon switching, the different aiming options--I figured it was just shoot, shoot and shoot some more, which it is really, but you have to strategize a lot more than I though w/ that replenishing energy bar. That, and I always seem to run outta ammo. The 1st boss is a bitch so far, btw.

Layer Section/Galactic Attack is damn cheap on Ebay actually (like 10$). And yes, I know it's pretty much a no-brainer, but for some reason I keep putting it off.

I would definitely get the better PSX versions of the games we mentioned but were they released in the U.S.?

You know what I'm all over as soon as I get some more loot:

Oh HELL yeah. I know they've probably been emulated a million times over, but I want this on my TV. Plus, I really never got a chance to play Chase HQ (S.C.I. I've never even seen) when I was a kid. I remember staring at it in awe whenever I saw it at the movies.
Can anyone confirm that these are the arcade perfect versions (I know the PC engine had a Chase HQ)?

Also, regarding the Saturn, anyone ever notice that most games actually look better w/ the standard composite rather than S-Video? S-Video seems too dithered, imo.

 

[PC Gaijin]

I dunno if Chase HQ is emulated on the Saturn or what, but I wasn't impressed. I played the arcade Chase HQ a few times as a teen, but that was so long ago I can't remember enough to say whether the Saturn version is arcade perfect (and I've never seen S.C.I.). It reminded me of the Saturn port of Galaxy Force II, which was far, far from what my memories of the arcade machine were like.

Assault Suit Leynos 2 is just damn hard. It's been a long time since I played it, but IIRC you should avoid a lot of the enemies and rush to the boss, this will help with running out of ammo early. There was also some trick with the first boss, but I can't remember what it was (rushing to a certain spot underneath him, or using a certain kind of ammo, gah I can't remember).

Astra Superstars is awesome. I am a big fan of cheesy fighters.

 

[drohne]

there's a domestic ps1 version of strikers II, but it lacks tate mode, so you should stay away from that. the saturn version has some brutal slowdown in spots. saturn dodonpachi is actually pretty good...the sound effects are kinda muffled, the laser effects and boss explosions are pixelly, and i think it slows down slightly more than the ps1 or arcade versions, but it's entirely playable. i haven't played the saturn version of donpachi, but i hear it's a really messy port, while the ps1 version is just about perfect.

i actually like hyper duel, but it's not worth anything like its current prices. blast wind is fun too, in a megadrivey way, but i think that's expensive now too. actually there are a handful of saturn shooters like that...moderately cool, grossly overpriced. meh. i'm still trying to talk myself out of spending way too much on metal black. are there any relatively cheap saturn sleepers left? maybe guardian force, shienryu, or sexy parodius?

 

[FortNinety]

Jesus the Saturn has some good games. Ten years later and I'm still buying games for the system.

 

[BenT]

I had DonPachi SAT. It had a small but noticeable amount of slowdown (esp. in those hexagon-laden scene transitions) and the worst-quality sound sampling I've ever heard in a console game. Which did not make it unbearable, but it was obvious there was a problem.

Drohne: What's Metal Black going for now? I'm surprised it's wanted; it's pretty darn mediocre. If I'm going to play an average shooter I'd rather play Hyper Duel.

Tangent: Gun Frontier is a primitive relic.

 

[radios shipping overview]

Tangent: Gun Frontier is a primitive relic.

...and will give you RSI. Autofire 4-ever. I still find it interesting for its influence on Garegga, but it's ugly as all hell.

There's a Metal Black up on eBay right now for $43. Souky is surprisingly cheap these days. Shienryu went for a lot until the PSX port came out here, and demand for Sexy Parodius seems to have declined over the years. Guardian Force was always cheap, natch. And HOLY HELL, Blast Wind's been going for $80? What's wrong with people? Sengoku Blade is more affordable than ever, probably thanks in part to the (inferior) PS2 port.

Anyone who has a Saturn needs Layer Section/Galactic Attack.

 

[Dave Long]

Here's the thread I started a few months ago. Lots of good info in there.

http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=30416&highlight=Saturn+import

 

[bjork]

I remember a friend of mine bringing over Hyper Duel once. He was all excited because he got this RARE SATURN GAME, and I was like "dude, this game is shitty."

Gaiares > HD

 

[SaitoH]

Ah the saturn. I sank so much money into importing, only to sell them all. I miss those games.

*cries*

 

[drohne]

There's a Metal Black up on eBay right now for $43.

i've just remedied this. thanks. i was quoted $100+ prices on metal black by a couple online stores, and i hadn't seen one on ebay for a while.

 

[type9]

Yea, it's not worth the insane price I think Hyper Duel is pretty good. Does anyone know if Stellar Assault was any good btw? I know that goes for insane prices too.

 

[PanopticBlue]

Geez stop with all the Hyper Duel is mediocre crap, the game is awesome. I dunno what it goes for on ebay nowadays but I wouldn't pay more than 40-50 bucks for it. That does not change the fact that the game is awesome. Of course, it's very Tecnosoft-y (the look and sound of the whole game), and I'm a bit of a Tecnosoft fanboy. Blast Wind however, now there's a game thats mediocre.

Metal Black is awesome too, very unique though I can see where some people might not take to it..awesome but again not worth more than 50 bucks. I'm cheap like that though, got my Silvergun when it came out for $50, same with Panzer Saga, nabbed a Battle Garegga for $30..etc. I got some pretty good deals on a lot of Saturn games years ago, seems some games are just retardedly overpriced lately for some reason.

I feel sorry for the sucker who drops $300+ Tarumaru :lol

 

[shoplifter]

I thoroughly recommend Astra Superstars, it's a really fun game and for fucks sake, it's by SANTA CLAUS.

Elevator Action returns is also super good, and very old school.

I have no idea what either are going for now, but I know that I paid around 5000yen for EER in Akihabara in 1999 for a used copy, and I never saw another copy the entire time I was in Japan. The same store had a sealed Death Crimson, which I nearly ponied up an exorbitant sum for. Astra was free because Buyrite are retards, though had I been sent it COD I'd have paid around $30 back in early 99.

With regard to Taromaru, look on the bright side: you should be able to buy it, play it all you want and then sell it and at least break even. I'm fairly convinced that there are only 2-3 copies that float around the ebay sellers, who play it then get rid of it just to say they had played it.

 

[speedpop]

I'm actually thinking about going back to grab a Saturn, heck I was going to get one when they were around just because of Shining Force 3 and X-Men vs Street Fighter.