Ten reasons the Saturn's commercial failure was not a quality problem
1
Panzer Dragoon Saga (1998)
A four-disc 3D RPG with extraordinary world-building, released in tiny quantities at the end of the console's life. Loose copies now sell for hundreds of dollars, sealed ones for thousands.
2
NiGHTS into Dreams (1996)
Yuji Naka's follow-up to Sonic, built on aerial flight, looping score chains and the pursuit of repeated perfection rather than on reaching an exit.
3
Radiant Silvergun (1998)
Treasure's shoot-'em-up, ported from arcade and never released in the West, credited with reinvigorating the genre through its weapon system and chain scoring.
4
Guardian Heroes (1996)
Another Treasure title: a beat-'em-up with branching paths, multiple planes of combat and RPG progression, and a six-player versus mode.
5
Shining Force III (1997–1998)
A tactical RPG released in Japan as three interlocking scenarios telling one story from three perspectives; only the first ever reached the West.
6
Sega Rally Championship (1995)
The arcade rally racer whose surface-dependent handling model — tarmac, gravel, mud — was a genuine advance in how driving games simulate grip.
7
Virtua Fighter 2 (1995)
The Saturn's technical showcase, running at 60 frames per second in high resolution and demonstrating that the machine could do 3D when someone knew how to talk to it.
8
Die Hard Arcade (1996)
A beat-'em-up with quick-time-event set pieces, ludicrous improvised weapons, and a pack-in port of Deep Scan for good measure.
9
Dragon Force (1996)
A strategy game of enormous armies, with up to a hundred units clashing on screen at once — a scale nothing else in the generation attempted.
10
Burning Rangers (1998)
Sonic Team's firefighting action game, arriving as the console died, with real-time voice navigation and rescue mechanics no one has revisited since.