With the Saturn, I'm not entirely sure how to feel about it looking back now. I was a probably around 12 when I traded my Mega Drive and games in to afford a Saturn, and I debating with myself now whether it was worth it at the time.
For all the highs it had - Sega Rally is definitely one, Virtua Fighter 2, and so on - I think what I feel ultimately is let down by Sega. It probably could have been better except Sega made too many mistakes, which obviously cost them dearly.
Sega Rally though probably did have the best handling I can think of any racing game I've played (not many like my son, he upholds the UK tradition of a racing fanatic like you said). You didn't mention the 4th secret track too, which I forgot what it was called now, but the hardest of them all.
I think if the PS1 was the Swiss Army Knife of that generation then the Sega Saturn was something like a hydraulic press: it did what it did best better than almost any other console in history but it lacks versatility; the best games on PS1 are from a wide variety of genres whereas on Saturn? All the best games are from a few niche genres, with some exceptions of course.
From the anecdotes I've read and research I've done I think that was the prevailing sentiment. The Sega CD and 32x were expensive hardware that was canned early and behind the scenes, Sega of America and Europe were at constant war with Japan which had all sorts of knock-on effects, ultimately strangling not only the Saturn but the DC too.
There's a secret track!? I had no idea, I need to get on that ASAP, I bet it's brutal.
I had to look this up to double check my memory. But yes, there is a 4th course you can unlock called Lakeside. I think you have to place 1st in all the other courses, or there seems to be a cheat code if you want. I'll let you look up the details
This brought up some memories with Virtua Fighter 2 and House of the Dead :D
As for the Rally game, I played something similar - Rally Championship from 2000 - it was the first ever full game (in Romania) that came with a gaming magazine :) I remember I loved the realistic graphics, and enjoyed the rallying sceneries a lot.
Was also awesome to play a non pirated game xD as in Romania this was the market... no one had money to buy originals. Was so proud!
Excellent analysis, as always! I've been a fan of Sega Rally since the 90s when I used to play it at a Lucas tantas store. But it's the part about your homeland really what really grabbed my attention.
We get bits and pieces of news here in Brazil, but nothing quite like what you shared. It's disheartening to hear about the situation in the UK, and I truly hope things improve soon.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Wishing you all the best!
Thank you! I'm not sure if I've ever played it in a cabinet; I distinctly remember seeing Hang On cabinets in real life and a few other racing games but not 100% about SRC.
Me too, for Gen Z it feels like we were promised a future that never came but for Gen Alpha? No wonder they're so depressed, they don't remember a UK that was doing well and a nice place to live like we do.
I miss proper arcades so much. Only been to one place in the past 10 years that had actual game cabinets and not >50% crane games and Stacker garbage. I must've spent two hours playing Zaxxon.
I know of one proper arcade in my entire city but I've not bothered going because it's in a run down shopping centre that's going to be knocked down in the next 8 months
With the Saturn, I'm not entirely sure how to feel about it looking back now. I was a probably around 12 when I traded my Mega Drive and games in to afford a Saturn, and I debating with myself now whether it was worth it at the time.
For all the highs it had - Sega Rally is definitely one, Virtua Fighter 2, and so on - I think what I feel ultimately is let down by Sega. It probably could have been better except Sega made too many mistakes, which obviously cost them dearly.
Sega Rally though probably did have the best handling I can think of any racing game I've played (not many like my son, he upholds the UK tradition of a racing fanatic like you said). You didn't mention the 4th secret track too, which I forgot what it was called now, but the hardest of them all.
A great read winding down memory lane, thanks.
I think if the PS1 was the Swiss Army Knife of that generation then the Sega Saturn was something like a hydraulic press: it did what it did best better than almost any other console in history but it lacks versatility; the best games on PS1 are from a wide variety of genres whereas on Saturn? All the best games are from a few niche genres, with some exceptions of course.
From the anecdotes I've read and research I've done I think that was the prevailing sentiment. The Sega CD and 32x were expensive hardware that was canned early and behind the scenes, Sega of America and Europe were at constant war with Japan which had all sorts of knock-on effects, ultimately strangling not only the Saturn but the DC too.
There's a secret track!? I had no idea, I need to get on that ASAP, I bet it's brutal.
Happy you enjoyed it.
I had to look this up to double check my memory. But yes, there is a 4th course you can unlock called Lakeside. I think you have to place 1st in all the other courses, or there seems to be a cheat code if you want. I'll let you look up the details
My heart goes out to all my friends in the UK, what's happening to your country is outrageous. Thanks for sharing your story.
Also... Sega Rally rules
I appreciate it, I really try as hard as I can to keep that stuff out of my writing but sometimes it just has to be said.
Such an awesome game. I've been on and off addicted to Out Run for a while but Sega Rally has totally replaced it.
This brought up some memories with Virtua Fighter 2 and House of the Dead :D
As for the Rally game, I played something similar - Rally Championship from 2000 - it was the first ever full game (in Romania) that came with a gaming magazine :) I remember I loved the realistic graphics, and enjoyed the rallying sceneries a lot.
Was also awesome to play a non pirated game xD as in Romania this was the market... no one had money to buy originals. Was so proud!
A story as old as time in Eastern Europe, I've spoken to so many who got their start playing pirated PC games or burned discs haha
Glad you enjoyed reading, I love House of the Dead, need to grab that Wii collection one of these days and replay them
Excellent analysis, as always! I've been a fan of Sega Rally since the 90s when I used to play it at a Lucas tantas store. But it's the part about your homeland really what really grabbed my attention.
We get bits and pieces of news here in Brazil, but nothing quite like what you shared. It's disheartening to hear about the situation in the UK, and I truly hope things improve soon.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Wishing you all the best!
Thank you! I'm not sure if I've ever played it in a cabinet; I distinctly remember seeing Hang On cabinets in real life and a few other racing games but not 100% about SRC.
Me too, for Gen Z it feels like we were promised a future that never came but for Gen Alpha? No wonder they're so depressed, they don't remember a UK that was doing well and a nice place to live like we do.
Same to you :)
I miss proper arcades so much. Only been to one place in the past 10 years that had actual game cabinets and not >50% crane games and Stacker garbage. I must've spent two hours playing Zaxxon.
I know of one proper arcade in my entire city but I've not bothered going because it's in a run down shopping centre that's going to be knocked down in the next 8 months