Souky and LS are way better than Ikaruga imo
I have Souky and Galactic Attack, and no way, Ikaruga is a far, far better game. While that kind of lock-on system works great in rail shooters (Panzer Dragoon, Star Fox 64, etc.), in a top-down game it's kind of limiting and gimmickey, I've thought ever since I first played Galactic Attack. Souky is maybe a slightly better game than that one, but it's still the same basic not-that-great concept. I have never liked Xevious-style games with two buttons, one for a very limited ground attack at a specific point in front of you, and that is exactly what both of those games are. There are some games with separate air and ground targeting that I like -- most notably, I absolutely love Raptor for the PC -- but the system works differently, and in my opinion much better, there -- you just have different weapons that target air, ground, or both, and fire ahead (or home in on enemies, for the homing ones). No annoying targeting cursor.
I have no idea why I actually got Souky earlier this year, given my lukewarm opinion of Galactic Attack I didn't think I'd like it all that much... but it was semi-affordable, something that can't be said for most of the other top Saturn import shmups, so I got it anyway. At least it has nice visuals.
Hang-on GP and Manx TT Superbike thoughts? Super Hang-On on Genesis/Megadrive is one of my favourite games of all time, mostly due to the soundtrack though.
They are okay but flawed games. Hang-On GP is an early Saturn game, so it has somewhat rough graphics. The game also has no multiplayer and while there are like six or so tracks, they are quite short. The game has some challenge, but in visuals and content it is a bit limited. The game is fun, though; Hang-On GP has a somewhat poor reputation, but I at least do like the game. There is a catch, though, and it's a big one -- if you don't have a Saturn racing wheel, I don't know if I can recommend the game. You see, Hang-On GP and Virtua Racing (Saturn version) both have Arcade Racer wheel-only analog, neither game will work at all with the 3D Controller or Mission Stick joystick. Most analog games work with at least two of the three analog control types, but not those two, sadly. And it's a big problem because both games are designed for analog, and have very, frustratingly touchy controls if you're playing them with just a d-pad. So yeah, sure, get Hang-On GP, it's cheap and fun... but make sure you have a wheel too.
As for Manx TT, it has better visuals, 3D Controller and Arcade Racer analog support, and plays a lot like the arcade game, with the expected visual downgrade... but that's all it is. I have two issues with the game. First, the game still has only "two" tracks, almost half of one of which is copied from the other, so there's still an inexcusable lack of content, much like the first Ridge Racer game on the PS1. Games like Daytona USA, Sega Rally Championship, or Hang-On GP have more stuff to race on than this game! It's disappointing; I much prefer racing games to have actual variety, instead of just one and a half tracks and that's it. And second, I never was a big fan of Manx TT in arcades anyway, so 'it's a good port of the arcade game' isn't a great draw for me. I love its futuristic (and tragically arcade-only) spinoff game Motor Raid, but Manx TT itself... I mostly played it because it was there and had that cool motorcycle, not because I liked the gameplay all that much, I think.
Oh, and as much as I love the Genesis... Super Hang-On, seriously, that game is barely playable for me thanks to the horribly choppy graphics! Sega's head-hurtingly-bad software scaling that you see in games like Super Hang-On, Space Harrier II, Outrun, and Super Thunder Blade on the Genesis is awful stuff and I dislike all of those games because of it. The system can do so much better with better programming, as games like RoadBlasters or Outrun 2019 show; it's really unfortunate that a bunch of Sega's major first-party titles play so poorly. I'd much rather play the Master System Hang-On game than the Genesis one, the scaling in the SMS game isn't nearly as painful to look at even if the graphics are obviously far worse.
Sucks we don't get Noob Saibot and Rain like in Genesis UMK3 though.
Are those two Genesis-exclusive? Huh. It's kind of interesting to have two exclusive characters in what's otherwise probably the weakest console version (SNES should have better graphics, Saturn better everything)... but at least they made a Genesis version, the system wasn't getting much third-party support anymore in 1996.
An arcade perfect MK2 that took advantage of Saturn's 2D Powerhouse would be a godsend. I'm actually surprised Saturn even has MK2. Was it just ported everywhere?
Yeah, MK2 was ported to a lot of systems. There's even a Japan-exclusive (yes, really) PS1 version. I don't have Saturn MK2; I'm not a MK fan so I don't want all the versions, and I got the 32X version, so getting a version with load times and probably not THAT much better gameplay didn't seem worth the expense.