Saturn was doomed from the design, so it was never going to saved via software choices. But they could have had a modestly successful Sonic game on their hands. The American title was rightfully cancelled since it looked like an abortion.
>Knuckles Chaotix is a 1994 launch title
>Sonic Saturn is 1995 or 1996
>Made in Japan using the Nights into Dreams engine
>Fully 3D
>has racing segments ala Sonic Racing
>3D hub worlds
>2D side scrolling segments for that classic sonic gameplay
>segments where you explore big fields between 2D segments
>Bosses are in full 3D boss arenas
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Non existent games aren't retro
Sega business strategy is. They actually prioritized Sonic Jam, Nights into Dreams, Sonic R, over getting a god damn Sonic game out and actually outsourced it to clueless americans for some reason. American teams did not have the technical prowess, funds, or talent, to make a good Saturn title and their project was an ugly abortion that was rightfully cancelled.
Nights and Sonic R are great looking games, and man can you imagine if they had put that effort into a proper 3D Sonic instead?
Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and even Banjo Kazooie utterly stole Sonic's thunder. There was a time period between 94-96 where a 3D sonic game could have been made and it had impact and would have sold at least 1 million. Selling the Saturn with a 3D sonic title even if it wasn't as flashy as Crash, or Mario, would have had an impact in 94-96.
there's an element of creativity and business sense. Nights is neat I guess but I've never played much of it. A Sonic Saturn title is something I'd actually sink my teeth into.
>Sega business strategy is
Ah yeah, my favorite retro video game, armchair Ganker shit with retro vidya companies.
YOU aren't retro
It fricking exists in a beta form on Christmas nights into dreams. While not the most impressive, if sonic team actually wanted to fine tune it into a proper sonic game, they totally could've, they just did t want to make a sonic game. Their loss, this would've been cool imho.
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I hate business nerds
Something like Sonic Robo Blast 2 would have been the best choice
2D was genuinely looked down on at the time, they had to make a full 3D Sonic, it was the only way, and they blew it.
Knuckles Chaotix in 94 for the Saturn would have been mostly ignored, and outright mocked but it would be just to buy time. It's a decent game, and it's languishing on the 32X as it's basically forgotten. With a saturn release at least SOME people would have played it.
Fully 3D polygonal Sonic with 50% side scrolling, boss arenas, and a few fields would have been fine. Sega was too self-conscious. Sonic R looks and plays fine, and I just wish it was a proper game rather than some racing spin-off.
Mind you 25% of Crash Bandicoot is entirely side scrolling and it's rather slow. Visually it wouldn't be as good, but it'd look okay.
Crash is more or less what 3D sonic should have been, which is why it stole their thunder. Crash is basically Sonic x Donkey Kong Country x Warner Bros cartoons.
I mean, this could've worked I guess... maybe.
they wanted to use the nights engine to make sonic for saturn but yuji naka is a c**t and wouldn't let them. saturn was always doomed because of the infighting/power struggle between sega's american and japanese branches
That was cope from the Saturn America team. They never had the resources, talent, or expertise in the Saturn that was needed for a project like that, and even if they had gotten the time to master the Nights engine, the Sonic game is gonna end up coming out late 97 or 98, which would be some weird swan-song for the system rather than a system seller.
Naka is a massive c**t, but the real blame is likely that he just wasn't interested in making a Sonic game and made Nights when the Saturn desperately needed a Sonic title.
Yeah, my idea is that we have a cute and likely fondly remembered Saturn Sonic title around 95-96, and we have modern vids saying "yeah it got overshadowed but it was a cult classic you should check out".
As long as it avoided the problesm of bad cameras that plagued old games, and kept to mostly 2d side scrolling and top down camera boss arenas.
sega's problem was that they didn't release the 32x like 2 years earlier, they could've monopolized business relationships with 3rd party 3d game developers
90's tech was rapidly evolving, and to make the 32X in 1992 means like 600 dollar 32X with less capabilities which is not viable. Shit like triangle polygons wasn't even fully standardized yet, where the saturn's rectangle polygons comes from. N64 in 1996 was the first home game console to have many of the features required for true 3D graphics, while the PS and SS did shortcuts.
anon star fox came out in 93, add on chips were already a thing
32x is effectively a full console, not a mere expansion chip. It's way way more powerful than the SuperFX chip.
>have acts be single 3d stages like what sonic jam had
>once objectives are complete(rescue all animals or whatever) have a 2.5d speed segment to next act
>boss arenas are separate 3d stages like NIGHTS and maybe a 2.5d race boss like in CD
Your Welcome Sega. Once your time machine is complete and you implement all this you can look me up and donate a large check anonymously.
I like you, OP. You are exactly correct. I'd throw in good, fun physics, ala Super Monkeyball, though.