Of all the mistakes Sega made in the 90s, few would argue that the biggest was anything other than the 32X.
Even though I do love the plastic mushroom shaped monolith, I rated it bottom in my list of favourite Sega Systems and I do often wish it never existed.
There are numerous reasons why it eroded consumer trust in Sega and played a huge part in the Saturn’s early struggles, which I’ll probably go into in detail in the future. For this post though I want to focus on just one of those elements: the games.
Obviously, Sega’s internal teams developing games for the 32X meant they weren’t doing so for the Saturn, detracting from creating titles for both the Saturn’s 1994 Japan launch (which coincided with the 32X US release) and 1995 US one.
Interestingly, some of Sega’s internally developed 32X games would make it over to Saturn, but in different forms.
So without further ado, here are 5 games I think Sega should have developed for the Saturn instead of the 32X, had the add-on not existed.
Star Wars Arcade
Coming out all lasers blazing, here is what I feel is still probably the 32X’s greatest exclusive. The port of the Model 1 Death Star trench running, TIE Fighter gunning simulation still looks great and plays well on 32X.
But it could have looked even better on Saturn.
What’s more it could have given that Saturn launch an eye-catching title from an iconic IP.
For me it was one of the main reasons for wanting a 32X in 1994, and I imagine many others felt the same, especially looking at the add-ons early success. If only that energy was directed at the Saturn.
Virtua Racing Deluxe
I know what you’re thinking, the Saturn had a version of Virtua Racing!
The problem is, the Saturn’s version of the revolutionary racer was ported by Time Warner, not Sega. It's a competent game, but it looks and plays very differently, not to mention coming a year after the 32X release of Deluxe.
That’s why Sega’s talents should have been spent on bringing Virtua Racing Deluxe to the Saturn instead of the 32X. Virtua Racing Deluxe is often cited as the best port of the legendary arcade game, but the Saturn would have allowed it to look and play even closer to the arcade. It would have also been available for the systems Japanese launch.
Now, it may have suffered a little in comparison to Ridge Racer at the time, but it would have been a fine addition to the console and allowed breathing space until Daytona materialised.
Metal Head
A game that promised much but turned out to be something of a mixed bag, it was nonetheless a bit of a showpiece for the 32X with its textured polygons and fully voiced sections.
Whenever I’ve played it, it’s felt hamstrung but the controls, the low frame rate and draw distance.
Not only could the Saturn have alleviated the graphics and frame rate to a degree, but the presence of two shoulder buttons on the controller may have made the game a bit easier to play. It would have made for another cool title during the Saturn’s Western launch window, and perhaps could have been the game it initially promised to be.
Knuckles Chaotix
When listing the reasons for the Saturn’s failure, many often cite the lack of a Sonic game throughout its lifetime. Some even feel that Sonic Mania represents what we should have seen on Saturn in its first year.
Chaotix could have easily filled that void. But it gets even more interesting than that. The game was originally developed on Saturn but was downscaled due to budget reasons and moved to the 32X to improve the add-ons library.
There it is, the biggest example yet of the add-on cannibalising the Saturn’s games.
Had the add-on not existed, Chaotix would have been a welcome addition to the Saturn in time for the Western launch.
Even better, the slowdown that plagues the 32X game (as the hardware struggles with scrolling) and pop-in during the bonus stages would have been easily remedied with the more powerful Saturn hardware.
Doom
This is perhaps the biggest one for me.
Both the Saturn and 32X received ports of Doom. Both are flawed.
However, the Sega developed 32X port is tremendously playable, running at a decent speed and being very responsive. Where it falls down is on its lack of content and terrible sound. If only Sega could have used a CD based console to address those issues, eh?
The Saturn port meanwhile, despite coming THREE years later (when Doom was not the force it was) is an absolute travesty, with a terrible frame rate and visuals. Like Virtua Racing, Sega didn’t handle this version, and just like that game it shows.
If Sega had focussed development of the 32X port onto Saturn instead, it could have been a console seller. It may even have been ready at launch, would have addressed the above issues and small window of the 32X port, and allowed for it to be fullscreen. Coming months before the PS1 port would have been a significant feather in the Saturns cap.
So there we have it, five games I think would have been better on Saturn than 32X, or would have added to the Saturn’s library greatly had the cursed add-on not existed. If it had been the case, the Sega Saturn story may have been different, but as with so many things with Sega, we can only dream of what may have been...
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