Summary
The story of theSega Saturnis both fascinating and tragic. It was released in 1994 in Japan, followed by a North American release in 1995. Unfortunately for Sega, Sony had a more promising console in the PS1, which launched in the same year, 1994, and at a cheaper price.
This certainly didn’t give the Sega Saturn a good starting point, and it only got worse from there despite a good lineup of games over the years. There were a lot of greatRPGs on the Sega Saturn, for example, made by first-party and third-party teams. Many games remain lost to time because that library, from platformers to RPGs, has mostly not left the console. For now, let’s focus on some standout RPGs from the Sega Saturn’s era.
Updated on May 18, 2025, by Gerardo Molina:While Sony completely destroyed its competition with the original PlayStation when it was released, this shouldn’t take away from the fact that the Sega Saturn had some great titles in different genres. While it’s very difficult to come by a Sega Saturn in good condition nowadays, there’s certainly still a market for the console and the games that were released for it.
Sega Saturn’s RPGs not only provided players with hours of fun, but also helped define the genre further during the late 90s, paving the road for other titles in the early 2000s, and even modern games that are massive hits today.
9Shining The Holy Ark
One Of The Best Dungeon Crawlers On The Sega Saturn
Shining the Holy Arkis a first-person dungeon-crawler game released in 1996. This title is part of theShiningseries and follows a group of adventurers as they explore various caves, forests, and towns, trying to ultimately stop evil forces from emerging and taking over the world. With turn-based combat and various different elements for players to take advantage of during fights, there’s always fun to be had with this title.
Shining the Holy Arkalso features puzzle-solving that works well with its other dungeon-crawler game mechanics.
8Shining Wisdom
A Refreshing Shift From The Classic First-Person Perspective Of Other Shining Games
As a predecessor toShinning the Holy Ark,Shinning Wisdomfeatures a top-down view format that breaks with the formula of otherShininggames, which are typically based on first-person perspectives. The game’s objective is simple; travel the world and go on different adventures, all to ultimately thwart the efforts of the evil dark elf wizard, Pazort.
This title features real-time strategic combat combining various weapons, magic, and abilities that come in handy when either fighting enemies or solving puzzles necessary to progress through the game.
7Super Robot Taisen F
A Crossover RPG For Mech Fans
The point of theSuper Robot Taisenseries is to get a bunch of mech-based anime and game franchises together for one bigcrossover tactical RPG. Not many main entries or spinoffs of this series have left Japan, and the same is true forSuper Robot Taisen F. This is an important entry in the franchise though, because it introducedNeon Genesis Evangelionfor the first time.
Another great addition wasGunbuster,which was another Gainax anime that is a bit more obscure when compared toEvangelion. Other anime in the game included variousGundamseasons, likeG GundamandGundam Wing,along withMazingerandGetter Robo. It’s hard to play in Japanese, but it is a good RPG all the same.
Lunar: The Silver Staris the first entry in the series, which would debut for the Sega CD in 1992, with a North American release to follow in 1993.Lunar: Silver Star Story Completeis an enhanced addition, with more content and gameplay tweaks, which hit the Sega Saturn in 1996. North America wouldn’t get to play this version until 1999 with its PS1 port.
It was ahead of its time fora turn-based game, as it added some tactical elements like moving close to directly hit an enemy before a fight started. Players could see monsters in dungeons, and there was an autobattle feature too. There have been many ports over the years, but the Sega Saturn version is up there with the best of them.
5Princess Crown
Vanillaware’s Forgotten Prototype
Princess Crownwas developed by Atlus, but avid fans of Vanillaware games likeOdin Spheremay notice a close resemblance. George Kamitani, the director, left Atlus to help form Vanillaware.Princess Crownhad multiple scenarios, like Odin Sphere, and combat was action-oriented on a 2D plain, again, likemany Vanillaware games.
It played kind of like a fighting game, as random battles were usually against one enemy or several at most. Unfortunately, there has never been a release in English territories and there is no fan patch either for this version, the PSP port, or the PS4 port. It’s disappointing for Vanillaware fans especially, since it was a great-looking and playing RPG on the Sega Saturn.
4Magic Knight Rayearth
A Genuinely Good Anime Action Zelda-Like
Magic Knight Rayearthwas based on a manga and anime of the same name. The manga began in Japan in 1993 with the anime to follow a year later. A year after that, this Sega Saturn game was released in 1995, followed by a long wait for North American players in 1998. The story follows three teens, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, who are swept into a fantasy world from Japan.
It’s aclassic isekai setupand the gameplay is like an entry inThe Legend of Zeldafranchise. It’s a top-down world filled with treasure, monsters, and dungeons. Players could swap between all three girls, who each had different weapons and powers. Fuu, for example, used wind magic and carried a bow.
3Dragon Force
Advance Wars On The Saturn
Dragon Force, not to be confused with the power metal band, was released in Japan and North America in 1996, which was almost unheard of in the 90s.The tactical gameplaywas similar to Nintendo’s Advance Wars series, wherein players could choose an army to follow. They would deploy troops around a map, conquering territories as they moved along.
It had a board game-like nature to its design, and battles were mostly automatic but epic as they displayed tons of sprites onscreen duking it out. The game got a PS2 port in Japan in 2005, but it was never released in the West. There was also a sequel in 1998 on the Sega Saturn, but that too has yet to leave Japan.
2Shining Force 3
Before Golden Sun, There Was Shining Force
TheShiningseries is one of the most prolific on Sega consoles.Shining Force 3continued the tradition of tactical grid-based gameplay that fans had grown to know and love since the Sega Genesis. It was co-developed with Camelot, who now works almost exclusively with Nintendo onMariosports titles, but before that, they also madeGolden Sun.
Players can make a lot of comparisons between Shining Force 3andGolden Sunbeyond the character designs. In Japan, this game was released in three episodes between 1997 and 1998. LikeGolden Sun, data could be carried over between games. Unfortunately, North America only got the first episode in 1998, but thankfully for fans, there are fan patches out there for the other two scenarios. They are all worth it too, as hard but good tactical RPGs.
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Togetherbegan as a tactical RPG on the SNES. This then made its Sega Saturn debut in 1996 in Japan, and the first time North America got a taste was 1998 for the PS1 version. A majority of the team at Quest Corporation helped createFinal Fantasy Tacticsfor Squaresoft after this. That’s funny consideringTactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Togetherwas released afterFinal Fantasy Tacticsin North America by a few months, even though it officially came first.
This probably made some players thinkTactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Togetherwas the copycat instead of the prototype which madeFinal Fantasy Tacticsa great game. There’s a political story, grid-based gameplay with a class system, and so many other familiar features. The best possible way to experience it now isthrough the remaster,Tactics Ogre Reborn, on consoles like the Switch. Make no mistake though, this is an absolute banger of an RPG on any console from the SNES to the Sega Saturn and beyond.
