If a Saturn Mini happened...
What would be your picks?
Mine would be:
First Party Exclusives:
-Astal
-Burning Rangers
-Clockwork Knight
-Clockwork Knight 2
-Daytona USA (original, or Championship Circuit Edition)
-Dragon Force
-Fighters Megamix
-Guardian Heroes
-Legend of Oasis
-Nights into Dreams (Christmas Nights would be an unlockable bonus)
-Panzer Dragoon
-Panzer Dragoon Zwei
-Panzer Dragoon Saga
-Shining Force III
-Shinobi Legions
-Sonic R
-Three Dirty Dwarves
Considerable, but not as important (First Party):
-Baku Baku Animal
-Bug
-Bug Too
-Dark Savior
-Enemy Zero
-Magic Knight Rayearth
-Shining Wisdom
-Shining the Holy Ark
-Sonic 3D Blast
Third Party Suggestions:
-Albert Odyssey
-Contra: Legacy of War
-Darius Gaiden
-Galactic Attack (Blazing Lasers)
-Street Fighter Alpha 2
-They will obviously have to be the same as their US releases (or European, for our overseas friends) and their original Saturn version, so no remakes or ports like with Nights. Every system gets games familiar to its respective region. Don't expect anything too extraordinary like translations of obscure games that never came out over here.
-My list comes entirely from the US releases and not from Japan or Europe. Our friends in Europe may consider some interesting ones that only came out in their region such as Deep Fear.
-We know CD-ROM games required more storage than older cartridge systems. That's why NES and SNES mini had more games than PlayStation Classic. However, as a competitor to the PlayStation Classic, it would be understandable if Saturn Mini only had 20 or so games, too. I think the first-party list I drew up is the majority of the essentials based on current demand.
-Even though Bug was known as a Saturn game, I would gladly take any of the Clockwork Knights over it, but if they did choose to include a Bug game, it should be the superior sequel.
-If they chose third party licenses it would likely be Konami, Capcom, or in lesser instances, Taito. That's why I think Street Fighter Alpha 2 is an ideal pick for a third party addition, and Galactic Attack (Blazing Lasers in Japan) or Darius Gaiden would be ideal picks coming from Taito. Taito did contribute Bubble Bobble on the NES Mini.
-I would not like seeing Shining Force III or Saga substituted for Albert Odyssey. I know it's another sought after rarity, but it should not be preferred over the other two. People are more interested in SF3 and PDS anyway. Magic Knight Rayearth most likely would not make the cut because of licensing issues, but since Disney contributed to the Sega Genesis Mini, don't say it's impossible. I've also never played the Saturn Contra, but it could be possible because as I said, Konami is very involved with both Nintendo and Sega in issuing classic games these days.
-They'd be wasting their time if they included Virtua Fighter or Fighting Vipers separately. Megamix includes both and much more. They'd be saving themselves a lot of trouble if they just went for Megamix, but companies sometimes do silly things based on familiarity. They might just include each separately because 'that's how people remember it', which is understandable, but whatever. Just be aware of that. Likewise, games like Baku Baku Animal might be thrown in for 'diversity' just because they need some kind of puzzle game to even things out. We may even have to deal with the fact that Sonic 3D Blast would be included because it's a Sonic game even if it wasn't the best. They most likely would not include Jam. I think Sonic R is fine, as it was an original and I personally enjoy the game.
-I don't think games like House of the Dead, Saturn Bomberman, the Virtua Cops, or Virtual On should be considered due to peripheral issues. It's unlikely that Sega will bother to produce new versions of the accessories required to play/enjoy them just for the Mini if it ever happened.
-I would be furious if they ditched worthwhile exclusives and included multiplatform games that we've seen a hundred times like Tomb Raider, unless they have a darn good reason to do so. Street Fighter Alpha 2 is an exception because it wasn't on the PS Classic and was best on Saturn.
