This is the kinda video that makes me love your channel. You've been one of my favorite channels for years, the fact you can post decisions that you see as bad but still make them entertaining to your audience is AMAZING dude!
WHen I saw Golden Axe The Dual preview on SEGA Saturn Magazine, the first thing I said was, "this should have been Golden Axe The Revenge of Death Adder but using the same graphics as this!" If SEGA did that, the game would have been an instant winner and a system seller. What a missed opportunity.
Fun fact: It's turns out that if you have both US and JP versions of Fighters Megamix, they run off the exact same save file. I figured this out a while back when testing both out on my Saturn, and all the content I unlocked in the US version was available on the JP version. It was wild.
When the Sega Saturn came out I never in a million years thought that I'd be able to talk to someone across the pond in America with about Videogames. And for that Sega Lord, I'm thankful 🙏
I love when you talk about your personal history and experience with titles. You've got a few years on me, had just entered middle school in 1996 when the N64/PSone/Saturn were the newest consoles out there and had I been older with a job definitely would have most likely been hitting up all the various imports much you did. Instead I lived through a combination of borrowing titles from friends and gaming magazine coverage (which I've got some great memories of, especially the stuff which didn't plan out like the endless hype for the 64DD).
About 10 years ago, I was in Japan and picked up the Segata Sanshiro game for a couple bucks, new in box. The game is one of the hardest I’ve ever played, but what made it worthwhile was being able to pop the CD into a PC and watching all the Segata Sanshiro adverts without having to actually beat the game. I also got the JP Fighters Megamix for around 20 US cents in absolutely pristine condition at the same time. Hard to judge which was the better buy! Anyways, I agree with the sentiment favoring more videos like this!
@@MegaDeth859 I saw them advertised in game magazines but they were too expensive for me to take a chance that I could even play them....plus my own assumption that the whole waiting process was going to be a huge inconvenience. On top of all that I naively assumed anything worth playing would eventually come over with an English translation.
robotica that day more innovative than today call of duty. cutscenes alone better than today sci fiction games books and movies series. performance also not that bad. there is very similar souls like game on japan only saturn. baraque. its bascily roboatica like coridors. that game praised every one and this channel.
I remember seein deadlius in sega Saturn magazine (uk one) screenshots and thinking how amazing it looked and considered it.... Cor dodged a bullet there....
You aren't alone. Street Fighter the Movie is in my collection. My worst import was D-Xhird. What a steamer that was. I did eventually sell it, but nothing erases the memory of paying NCS in New York full price for that import.
I’m an 80’s baby. My first console was the original 8-Bit NES. My family got that in ‘88 or ‘89 (can’t remember which) and we didn’t get another console until the Sega GENESIS first came out. I’ve been playing video games for close to forty years! The reason I’m prefacing things with that is because I want people to know I’m no “fly by night” gamer. In recent years I’ve been immensely turned off by certain aspects of game collectors and the “maw & paw” used multimedia shops that ask for outrageous prices for vintage titles. Obviously I still play a lot of games today. And my love for the scene will never be breakable. But one thing I can’t get behind today is coughing up dough for insanely high priced retro titles. The game hoarders of today really killed my interest in trying to get all the titles I grew up playing. At least in terms of original cartridges anyhow. I’ve found that buying reproductions carts is the way to go for me! It’s as if these titles never went out of circulation. And the price is just right! But coughing up some extreme price for a game that’s rare but sucks and just sits on the shelf? ‘Naw. I’m good on that. LOL!!!
I got my Saturn for Christmas 1995 when I was thirteen. I only played five games: NiGHTS into Dreams, Virtua Fighter 2, Daytona USA, Panzer Dragoon Zwei and Sega Rally Championship. All day every day. It was heaven.
Shinobi's music has the same "disease" as the Dragon Ball Z score. Some people praise Faulconer's score but at least for me, it sounds like randomized music from MKII instead of the original Japanese music, the real way intended and it fits perfectly.
Great video by the way and I think definitely for the other Sega consoles and Nintendo systems not just the N64 and also maybe the original PlayStation or PS2. I think this topic has a lot of potential. I look forward to hearing what other games you regretted buying through import.
Thanks for making theses great videos they bring back so many memories from simpler times, keep up with these series of videos would love to see the same for the NES/SNES
While I understand the disappointment from overpaying for such a game at the time it was released, I cannot stand any such Robotica hate as I've come to love it :D I appreciate the slower nature of it, and the music is absolutely amazing (like a Robocop + Twin Peaks vibe that goes so hard it can redeem the game alone) :D
Maybe it's my age, but eventually you get to a point where you can find the fun in any game you play, and comparisons no longer matter. These games looked fun
I quite like the arcade ports of galaxy force, golden axe the duel and sky target on saturn. Sure they have some rough edges... but there was no other way to play them outside of the arcades, even to this day.
Another great video as always. I'd appareciate more videos like this, showing bad ports/imports etc. Especially for playstation. Anyway of your longform vids i always watch regardless. So whatever you choose to do, I'll be here.
I suspect Super Rockman Adventures was a project they started when FMV games still got attention, but took so long to complete that by the time came to wrap it up, FMV was already pretty dead. I still want to play it. Just to experience the story. Anyway, yeah, I'd definitely be interested in more of this topic, Sega Lord X! Its pretty informative and entertaining.👍🏼
😆 Nice reference The console version of SF The Movie The Game is fine but I much prefer the jank and crazyness of the arcade version "COUNTER! REVERSAL!! SLAM MASTEEEEERRRRRR!!!" Hope Capcom re release both versions in a future collection
@@meganinten0078I was working at a software store when the Saturn launched and I remember being confused when we cracked open an SF Movie copy. We had a GamePRO guide for the arcade game I think and we couldn’t figure out why some of the specials weren’t working. We finally realized it was just Super Turbo. One of the guys was so disappointed he broke out the 3DO and that version of Super Turbo and we happily wasted company time for the next few hours with a mini tournament. I only saw an actual SF Movie arcade cabinet once. It was in an Aladdin’s Castle next to the theater where I saw the film. It was alone in a corner and no one was playing it.
@@meganinten0078 I typed up a well thought reply and story about my experience with the movie game, but TH-cam ate it and now I’m sad. Your avatar is fitting.
Maybe because I've never seen galaxy force in the arcade ...have played it on mame though. I can't tell enough difference to be disappointed in the Saturn port...even better with the mission stick
@@alfonsobonzo3782 He's still right America was ahead of its time especially with that aspect from its developed pacific ports Japanese immigrant communities and many americans soldiers or businesses in the east it was infinitely easier for Americans to import than it was for brits to even get stuff from America, Europe, Ireland, etc.
@@austriacontinente154 I wasn’t saying that US wasn’t far ahead of other parts of the World, I was just stating that you could still buy import consoles and games, at release from Japan in the U.K. Again, you needed the money, but it was an easy thing to do and we had suppliers in the U.K who were doing it. The US didn’t have some sort of monopoly on gaming imports.
@@alfonsobonzo3782Importing was somewhat popular in UK. Magazines had imports in the classifieds. Many game shops would sell imports, particularly megadrive games as you could easily run them just by cutting the tabs on your cart slot. Edit: France was big on Japanese imports too, pc engine especiallym
@@initial_kd I know it was mate. That’s what I was saying. I think people think the U.K. in the 90’s, was like living in the 50’s. If you had the money, you could get any console or game you wanted.
LOL, Robotica- when I bought my CIB Saturn used a little over 10 years ago, I also bought Galactic Attack and SF Alpha, which he was selling separately. When I got the package, I noticed that he threw in a copy of Robotica, with a note explaining that he decided to throw it in since I had already bought several of his other auctions (including some PS1 games he had), and Robotica had gotten a total of 2 views. Only nice thing I can say about it is that at least the game/case was in fantastic shape (as was all the other stuff I bought from him), which is really saying something if you know how notoriously bad those game cases are. Yeah, import prices were crazy early on - I didn’t get into it until the PS2 era. It got a lot more affordable then.
I still have a soft spot for Super Adventure Rockman due to it being something that actually gave my favourite side character in video game history some frankly shocking character development that would eventually be expanded upon in the Megaman Archie comics, god how I miss them. You can probably tell who that character is by my username.
Most of my experience with the import scene came from my local EB that sold imports, and they weren't priced much higher than expected retail for a domestic game. It was only when they refused to stock Vampire Savior that I got into the mail orders, with the two Capcom vs series games and SFZ3 being how I had to buy those games But the only game I have spent three figures on was Killer Instinct Gold, at launch. N64 cart prices were a dollar per megabit, and KI Gold was 96 megabits, so that came out to be $96 plus tax, which pushed it over a hundred. My grandmother bought what few AES games I had in the 90s, so I won't count them.
Babbages and EB Games didn't start carrying import Saturn games until extremely late in its life. 97 I think. One other thing about getting import games from local retail shops in your area, you didn't need to pay shipping. Even the slowest methods added $10 to the cost, so a $60-$70 import was immediately $70-$80. But if you wanted it fast, that shipping could be pushed up close to $20. You get the idea.
My personal disappointment was Toshinden URA, my favorite magazine game gave it a score of 89% and I trusted it, the game was barely sufficient to have a bit of fun if played in two. I'm totally happy that we have had TH-cam for at least 15 years where we can watch all the gameplay and reviews and get a better idea of what we are going to buy.
Definitely let us know on the Dreamcast side, although I would be interested in how the Genesis importing market was as I was far too young to do that and only started doing my first imports around the time of PlayStation and Dreamcast It would be pretty awesome to hear your perspective c: And after that, I definitely would love to know how everything went with any other systems that you have I mean, I’m still on the fence of some of these imports with even switch titles just because there are some that are physical, but can only release through that European version of limited run
21 when Saturn launched in JP Got my Saturn & PS1 at JP launch. Those were the days Only bought a few of these at launch, Golden Axe, Crows, Street Fighter Movie. Picked up a few others off eBay for $10 ish later on like Sky Target, GT24, Battle Monsters, (of the ones listed here)
Regarding Road Blaster/Avenger, the Saturn release is actually using the original arcade soundtrack. You may be more used to or prefer the Sega CD soundtrack more, but technically the Saturn release is more faithful to the coin-op version.
Sorry if youve already told us this many times in the past, but what was the most amount of money you ever spent on a single imported copy of a game, and was it worth it?
I couldn't pin an exact number on it but it would have had to have been one of the special packs that came with a light gun or controller. I remember the Nights 3D Control Pad bundle and the Virtua Cop Gun bundles being well up over $100 when shipping was added.
I like this topic. Whether it's regrettable imports, or just regrettable purchases. I think we can all relate to this. Definitely do more videos like this one! 👍
I wasn't aware of the Golden Axe fighter! How do you screw that up? Now imagine if you took the Golden Axe franchise and made a game in the scope of Granblue Fantasy Versus with it...
Robotica is a curious one. It looks like it has a lot of geometry, polygon warping and flicker is pretty much absent, plus explosions and some of the enemies are transparent (not to mention the entire hub). How much of this was done in software? Was the second SH-2 even doing anything? I feel a lot could've been done via optimisation, even if that meant reducing the amount of frankly unneeded geometry in the hallways, though it still would've been a slow game. Having to turn on the lights when the frame rate is low and you spawn in a room surrounded by those electric grates is infuriating. I've played worse, though.
I totally get why you'd import some of these - they look gorgeous in still screenshots but in action they just fall flat. That combined with the "import tax" just makes the disappointment even more bitter. That said that's always the risk, you probably made a vid of it already but I'm sure you found some early gems in there too!
I appreciate your warning at the beginning stating that just because you regret buying a game does NOT make it bad. I have games that I bought that later regret buying. My biggest one is Lego Dimensions on Xbox360.
You ruined my day, Sega lord x. I just now watching this, not only discovered for the first time in my life that Road Avenger had a Saturn version…..but simultaneously had my hopes of it being good immediately dashed. Thanks.
Sadly, the game doesn't support light guns or the Sega Saturn mouse and using the controller is pretty slow which is a bad thing for later stages that turns the game into a bullet hell.
Answering your question at the end, I’d be more interested in Imports you did like and find well worth the price. Preferably stuff that never made it stateside.
I have to say most of my regrets were in the Nintendo (NES) days of regrets and some Genesis titles Some on the PlayStation 1&2 but not as many as the pre-internet days
If we're sticking to importing games back when the Saturn was still a thing, then I'd say for me it was Dragon Ball Z (dunno what the subtitle of the game is). I knew nothing about Dragon Ball Z and still don't, but it looked cool on the back of the box when I saw it in a game store. Fortunately it was used and not super expensive. I still have it. But I bought King of Fighters 97 for full price, probably from Tronix. It's a well-playing game for sure, but the lack of music in most stages was a huge disappointment. Still have it of course. Another full-priced game I imported was Steamgear Mash. It's OK but I think once you've played it a couple of times it kind of wears out it's welcome. And yes, I still have it.
For Formula One fans, there was... Formula 1 97. Great game for PS1. Then, Formula 1 98 was released. We know that first two games in the entry was developed by talented folks from Bizarre Creations. I do know that game from Visual Science was rushed. Still, Psygnosis should not have released the game in this state. It lookes and playes like an Alpha build.
Definitely do a Genesis list. I am not sure if you knew this (you probably do), were you aware that the Mega Drive (in Japan) received a port of Marble Madness developed by Tengen that is superior to the Electronic Arts port we received? It goes for $200-$300 these days…
Oof. Robotica isn't the worst thing ever made, but I can't imagine paying $100 for that game. Same thing with Golden Axe: The Duel. Sure, the game is fine I guess but could you of imagined a 2D Golden Axe on the Saturn? Surely it would've been more enticing than another fighter on a platform already full of them. Man. Especially on the Saturn when good/excellent beat em ups weren't that common? Oh boy that would've been special.
Even when you're showing "bad" games the video is fun! Thank you!
Agreed!
This is the kinda video that makes me love your channel. You've been one of my favorite channels for years, the fact you can post decisions that you see as bad but still make them entertaining to your audience is AMAZING dude!
Gold Axe The Duel doesn't look too bad. Imagine if Sega had released more 2D games with their existing IPs.
Would definitely want to see one of these for N64 and Dreamcast!
Outside of the 64DD and games that used it like Mario Paint and Sim City were there many N64 games that stayed in Japan?
WHen I saw Golden Axe The Dual preview on SEGA Saturn Magazine, the first thing I said was, "this should have been Golden Axe The Revenge of Death Adder but using the same graphics as this!" If SEGA did that, the game would have been an instant winner and a system seller. What a missed opportunity.
Just imagine if it would have been 4 players at home. That generation was starved for old school beat em ups...
On the flip side, importing Bomberman & Fighters Megamix months before they appeared in the US absolutely ruled.
Fun fact: It's turns out that if you have both US and JP versions of Fighters Megamix, they run off the exact same save file. I figured this out a while back when testing both out on my Saturn, and all the content I unlocked in the US version was available on the JP version. It was wild.
15:44 Segata did get some redemption showing up as a support character in Project X Zone 2, voiced by Hiroshi Fujioka himself.
Thanks for the info!
Hope Segata appears in a new game being playable
The hero of 90s gamers have to return!
When the Sega Saturn came out I never in a million years thought that I'd be able to talk to someone across the pond in America with about Videogames. And for that Sega Lord, I'm thankful 🙏
I love when you talk about your personal history and experience with titles. You've got a few years on me, had just entered middle school in 1996 when the N64/PSone/Saturn were the newest consoles out there and had I been older with a job definitely would have most likely been hitting up all the various imports much you did. Instead I lived through a combination of borrowing titles from friends and gaming magazine coverage (which I've got some great memories of, especially the stuff which didn't plan out like the endless hype for the 64DD).
There is a fan made 60hz patch for Shin Shinobi Den's PAL version for those that want to play the game with a better soundtrack.
Shinobi X in PAL regions.
I actually don't think the PAL soundtrack is any better than the original.
Does the US version has the same soundtrack as the Pal version?
No, it's the same as the Japanese version.
You are saving so many of us from headaches.
Yeah, more regrettable imports' videos could be a nice addition, thanks!
About 10 years ago, I was in Japan and picked up the Segata Sanshiro game for a couple bucks, new in box. The game is one of the hardest I’ve ever played, but what made it worthwhile was being able to pop the CD into a PC and watching all the Segata Sanshiro adverts without having to actually beat the game. I also got the JP Fighters Megamix for around 20 US cents in absolutely pristine condition at the same time. Hard to judge which was the better buy!
Anyways, I agree with the sentiment favoring more videos like this!
The Saturn endlessly pissed me off. All of those great SEGA arcade games and they just couldn't bother themselves to port them.
I didn't have a clue about import games back then. I settled for all US games
@@MegaDeth859 I saw them advertised in game magazines but they were too expensive for me to take a chance that I could even play them....plus my own assumption that the whole waiting process was going to be a huge inconvenience. On top of all that I naively assumed anything worth playing would eventually come over with an English translation.
Spending $100 on Robotica is painful, haha.
robotica that day more innovative than today call of duty. cutscenes alone better than today sci fiction games books and movies series. performance also not that bad. there is very similar souls like game on japan only saturn. baraque. its bascily roboatica like coridors. that game praised every one and this channel.
I remember seein deadlius in sega Saturn magazine (uk one) screenshots and thinking how amazing it looked and considered it....
Cor dodged a bullet there....
Core?
@@rustymixer2886 A Minced Oath, in this case it means "God". See also "Cor Blimey", a minced version of "God Blind Me".
@@wraithcadmus ah ok I thought you meant developer of games core design
@@wraithcadmus Cor blimey, what are yeh doing in me pockets!
I’ve been on a huge Sega Saturn kick lately so I’ve been watching a lot of your stuff the past few days. Happy another Saturn video popped up!
Weekend Sega Saturn time with Sega Lord X your greatness continues
great sharp wit and funny dialog thanks SLX!!
You aren't alone. Street Fighter the Movie is in my collection. My worst import was D-Xhird. What a steamer that was. I did eventually sell it, but nothing erases the memory of paying NCS in New York full price for that import.
Still love your videos after all these years my man
And I appreciate it. Thank you.
Sega Lord X as Sega CEO!
I trust this guy. He'd change SEGA for the better.
I’m an 80’s baby. My first console was the original 8-Bit NES. My family got that in ‘88 or ‘89 (can’t remember which) and we didn’t get another console until the Sega GENESIS first came out.
I’ve been playing video games for close to forty years! The reason I’m prefacing things with that is because I want people to know I’m no “fly by night” gamer.
In recent years I’ve been immensely turned off by certain aspects of game collectors and the “maw & paw” used multimedia shops that ask for outrageous prices for vintage titles.
Obviously I still play a lot of games today. And my love for the scene will never be breakable. But one thing I can’t get behind today is coughing up dough for insanely high priced retro titles. The game hoarders of today really killed my interest in trying to get all the titles I grew up playing. At least in terms of original cartridges anyhow.
I’ve found that buying reproductions carts is the way to go for me! It’s as if these titles never went out of circulation. And the price is just right! But coughing up some extreme price for a game that’s rare but sucks and just sits on the shelf? ‘Naw. I’m good on that. LOL!!!
I got my Saturn for Christmas 1995 when I was thirteen. I only played five games: NiGHTS into Dreams, Virtua Fighter 2, Daytona USA, Panzer Dragoon Zwei and Sega Rally Championship. All day every day. It was heaven.
Mega Man X4 was 32Bit exclusive. There is no SNES version.
Correct. Which is what I said.
My bad. Misunderstood what you said.
Gt24 was the definition of "everything is a square even the corners"
Great video man, would love to see more videos on regrettable imports for both Sega consoles and other systems
Shinobi's music has the same "disease" as the Dragon Ball Z score. Some people praise Faulconer's score but at least for me, it sounds like randomized music from MKII instead of the original Japanese music, the real way intended and it fits perfectly.
Great video by the way and I think definitely for the other Sega consoles and Nintendo systems not just the N64 and also maybe the original PlayStation or PS2. I think this topic has a lot of potential. I look forward to hearing what other games you regretted buying through import.
Golden axe the duel is actually awesome though
I always thought that Super Adventure Rockman was just Mega Man Legends in Japan. 😂😂😂 What I come to learn on the channel!
Nope! Legends is known as "Rockman Dash" in Japan.
Thanks for making theses great videos they bring back so many memories from simpler times, keep up with these series of videos would love to see the same for the NES/SNES
My first Saturn games were nhl 97, Revolution X and DaytonaUSA CE. Only one was worth playing
Yeah, nhl 97 was pretty good
Poor Segata Sanshiro 😢
He didn't deserve to appear in that awful game 😔
Hope one day he became playable in a good game!
Segata deserves better!!
If there is ever an update to Fighters Megamix, he has to be there!
Basically, “yes” to all those future video suggestions you made at the end.
Great video. Please continue this series.
Definitely would love more of these videos for other consoles!
The sound effects in that Megaman game were something else.
While I understand the disappointment from overpaying for such a game at the time it was released, I cannot stand any such Robotica hate as I've come to love it :D I appreciate the slower nature of it, and the music is absolutely amazing (like a Robocop + Twin Peaks vibe that goes so hard it can redeem the game alone) :D
but to be clear....I still wouldn't ever pay $100+ for it, and I've only bought a used copy for $10.
Maybe it's my age, but eventually you get to a point where you can find the fun in any game you play, and comparisons no longer matter. These games looked fun
I'm definitely interested in more videos about import games on other consoles. Hope we get more in the future!
I quite like the arcade ports of galaxy force, golden axe the duel and sky target on saturn. Sure they have some rough edges... but there was no other way to play them outside of the arcades, even to this day.
There is nothing regrettable about Ming-Na Wen - just sayin'
Fun video, as always!!
She's a beauty.
Another great video as always. I'd appareciate more videos like this, showing bad ports/imports etc. Especially for playstation.
Anyway of your longform vids i always watch regardless. So whatever you choose to do, I'll be here.
I suspect Super Rockman Adventures was a project they started when FMV games still got attention, but took so long to complete that by the time came to wrap it up, FMV was already pretty dead.
I still want to play it. Just to experience the story.
Anyway, yeah, I'd definitely be interested in more of this topic, Sega Lord X! Its pretty informative and entertaining.👍🏼
Please do regrettable imports on as many Consoles you can! I would love to see Dreamcast PS1 or N64 next!
Today is the day I read the manual and learn how to play Saturn Shinobi.
19:14 The day you imported this game it was a regrettable decision that you carry even today.
But for me it was Tuesday.
😆
Nice reference
The console version of SF The Movie The Game is fine but I much prefer the jank and crazyness of the arcade version
"COUNTER! REVERSAL!! SLAM MASTEEEEERRRRRR!!!"
Hope Capcom re release both versions in a future collection
Well done.
@@meganinten0078I was working at a software store when the Saturn launched and I remember being confused when we cracked open an SF Movie copy. We had a GamePRO guide for the arcade game I think and we couldn’t figure out why some of the specials weren’t working. We finally realized it was just Super Turbo. One of the guys was so disappointed he broke out the 3DO and that version of Super Turbo and we happily wasted company time for the next few hours with a mini tournament.
I only saw an actual SF Movie arcade cabinet once. It was in an Aladdin’s Castle next to the theater where I saw the film. It was alone in a corner and no one was playing it.
@@meganinten0078 I typed up a well thought reply and story about my experience with the movie game, but TH-cam ate it and now I’m sad. Your avatar is fitting.
Would love more videos of regret purchases for any system. I too once operated under the "all the japan only games must be good" concept
Mais um ótimo vídeo, saudações do Brasil.
Maybe because I've never seen galaxy force in the arcade ...have played it on mame though. I can't tell enough difference to be disappointed in the Saturn port...even better with the mission stick
that's crazy dude being able to import game consoles in '94 from japan at age of 19 , that's how ahead of time US was
You could import them in the U.K.
You just needed the money.
@@alfonsobonzo3782 He's still right America was ahead of its time especially with that aspect from its developed pacific ports Japanese immigrant communities and many americans soldiers or businesses in the east it was infinitely easier for Americans to import than it was for brits to even get stuff from America, Europe, Ireland, etc.
@@austriacontinente154
I wasn’t saying that US wasn’t far ahead of other parts of the World, I was just stating that you could still buy import consoles and games, at release from Japan in the U.K.
Again, you needed the money, but it was an easy thing to do and we had suppliers in the U.K who were doing it.
The US didn’t have some sort of monopoly on gaming imports.
@@alfonsobonzo3782Importing was somewhat popular in UK. Magazines had imports in the classifieds. Many game shops would sell imports, particularly megadrive games as you could easily run them just by cutting the tabs on your cart slot.
Edit: France was big on Japanese imports too, pc engine especiallym
@@initial_kd
I know it was mate. That’s what I was saying. I think people think the U.K. in the 90’s, was like living in the 50’s. If you had the money, you could get any console or game you wanted.
Man you grew up during the best years for gaming!
Awesome video as always! Great content man!
Sky Target not using VDP2 plane for the ground seems completely crazy to me.
Playstation had a TON of games for all markets. There had to be some imports that surprised you with how unexpectedly good or bad they were.
Id love more video's like that!
LOL, Robotica- when I bought my CIB Saturn used a little over 10 years ago, I also bought Galactic Attack and SF Alpha, which he was selling separately. When I got the package, I noticed that he threw in a copy of Robotica, with a note explaining that he decided to throw it in since I had already bought several of his other auctions (including some PS1 games he had), and Robotica had gotten a total of 2 views.
Only nice thing I can say about it is that at least the game/case was in fantastic shape (as was all the other stuff I bought from him), which is really saying something if you know how notoriously bad those game cases are.
Yeah, import prices were crazy early on - I didn’t get into it until the PS2 era. It got a lot more affordable then.
I still have a soft spot for Super Adventure Rockman due to it being something that actually gave my favourite side character in video game history some frankly shocking character development that would eventually be expanded upon in the Megaman Archie comics, god how I miss them. You can probably tell who that character is by my username.
Uh...ICE MAN!
Most of my experience with the import scene came from my local EB that sold imports, and they weren't priced much higher than expected retail for a domestic game. It was only when they refused to stock Vampire Savior that I got into the mail orders, with the two Capcom vs series games and SFZ3 being how I had to buy those games But the only game I have spent three figures on was Killer Instinct Gold, at launch. N64 cart prices were a dollar per megabit, and KI Gold was 96 megabits, so that came out to be $96 plus tax, which pushed it over a hundred.
My grandmother bought what few AES games I had in the 90s, so I won't count them.
Babbages and EB Games didn't start carrying import Saturn games until extremely late in its life. 97 I think. One other thing about getting import games from local retail shops in your area, you didn't need to pay shipping. Even the slowest methods added $10 to the cost, so a $60-$70 import was immediately $70-$80. But if you wanted it fast, that shipping could be pushed up close to $20. You get the idea.
We really need modern re-releases
My personal disappointment was Toshinden URA, my favorite magazine game gave it a score of 89% and I trusted it, the game was barely sufficient to have a bit of fun if played in two.
I'm totally happy that we have had TH-cam for at least 15 years where we can watch all the gameplay and reviews and get a better idea of what we are going to buy.
I just played robotica a few days ago he ain't wrong but it's a childhood memory I till enjoy for short bursts
6:04 - that scrolling grass has to be faulty and a bug....why is it randomly scrolling like that 😅
Definitely let us know on the Dreamcast side, although I would be interested in how the Genesis importing market was as I was far too young to do that and only started doing my first imports around the time of PlayStation and Dreamcast
It would be pretty awesome to hear your perspective c:
And after that, I definitely would love to know how everything went with any other systems that you have I mean, I’m still on the fence of some of these imports with even switch titles just because there are some that are physical, but can only release through that European version of limited run
I enjoyed this! I'd enjoy more of these.
21 when Saturn launched in JP
Got my Saturn & PS1 at JP launch. Those were the days
Only bought a few of these at launch, Golden Axe, Crows, Street Fighter Movie.
Picked up a few others off eBay for $10 ish later on like Sky Target, GT24, Battle Monsters, (of the ones listed here)
Regarding Road Blaster/Avenger, the Saturn release is actually using the original arcade soundtrack. You may be more used to or prefer the Sega CD soundtrack more, but technically the Saturn release is more faithful to the coin-op version.
I still prefer the arcade intro music for road blaster
Great video👍
Sorry if youve already told us this many times in the past, but what was the most amount of money you ever spent on a single imported copy of a game, and was it worth it?
I couldn't pin an exact number on it but it would have had to have been one of the special packs that came with a light gun or controller. I remember the Nights 3D Control Pad bundle and the Virtua Cop Gun bundles being well up over $100 when shipping was added.
Great video and i am interested in these kinds of videos so just keep them coming.
honestly as an avid king's field enjoyer, robotica looks like it might be morbidly interesting
Yes, all the regrettable imports interest us! 🙂
I like this topic. Whether it's regrettable imports, or just regrettable purchases. I think we can all relate to this. Definitely do more videos like this one! 👍
Perfect timing, Mel. My friend just gifted me with a Japanese Saturn. Now I’ll know what to avoid!
I wasn't aware of the Golden Axe fighter! How do you screw that up? Now imagine if you took the Golden Axe franchise and made a game in the scope of Granblue Fantasy Versus with it...
Oh dude, you're not alone, I made many bad and pricey purchases myself over the last three and half decades, haha
Great video!
How did you play these games back in the day? Did you have imported Saturn's or did you have one that was modded?
I got the Japanese Saturn at launch.
Robotica is a curious one. It looks like it has a lot of geometry, polygon warping and flicker is pretty much absent, plus explosions and some of the enemies are transparent (not to mention the entire hub). How much of this was done in software? Was the second SH-2 even doing anything? I feel a lot could've been done via optimisation, even if that meant reducing the amount of frankly unneeded geometry in the hallways, though it still would've been a slow game. Having to turn on the lights when the frame rate is low and you spawn in a room surrounded by those electric grates is infuriating. I've played worse, though.
When i saw Mega Man X 3 on this list, i was ready to disagree but you brought up valid points, why this game made it into this list.
Yeah it wasn't worth paying extra to import the Saturn version when it offered nothing the SNES version didn't except better music.
Yes please, keep them coming regardless of the platform.
I totally get why you'd import some of these - they look gorgeous in still screenshots but in action they just fall flat. That combined with the "import tax" just makes the disappointment even more bitter. That said that's always the risk, you probably made a vid of it already but I'm sure you found some early gems in there too!
I appreciate your warning at the beginning stating that just because you regret buying a game does NOT make it bad.
I have games that I bought that later regret buying. My biggest one is Lego Dimensions on Xbox360.
You ruined my day, Sega lord x. I just now watching this, not only discovered for the first time in my life that Road Avenger had a Saturn version…..but simultaneously had my hopes of it being good immediately dashed. Thanks.
I think there is a version for phones and Ipads or something like that too. I wish they will bring them to modern platforms one day.
Whoa! There was a Mega Man Light Gun game with FMVs?? That's amazing, why wouldn't you have wanted that game? I think it's pretty clear lol!
Sadly, the game doesn't support light guns or the Sega Saturn mouse and using the controller is pretty slow which is a bad thing for later stages that turns the game into a bullet hell.
You had a result with crows the battle action, its really expensive now.
Definitely would like to see more of these for other systems (Sega or not)
SLX, I think Real Battle on Film also has voiced winning quotes in thay version rather than the one we got in the West
Patience would have saved you hundreds of $ but yes I understand trying to get them ASAP
What criteria did you have in choosing the games? Was there any way to find out how Japanese magazines rated them back then?
Answering your question at the end, I’d be more interested in Imports you did like and find well worth the price. Preferably stuff that never made it stateside.
Ok, but where does Super Adventure Rockman fit into the timeline?
I have to say most of my regrets were in the Nintendo (NES) days of regrets and some Genesis titles
Some on the PlayStation 1&2 but not as many as the pre-internet days
I am sooooooo looking forward to trying this game and getting it ❤ just for the characters! even
If we're sticking to importing games back when the Saturn was still a thing, then I'd say for me it was Dragon Ball Z (dunno what the subtitle of the game is). I knew nothing about Dragon Ball Z and still don't, but it looked cool on the back of the box when I saw it in a game store. Fortunately it was used and not super expensive. I still have it. But I bought King of Fighters 97 for full price, probably from Tronix. It's a well-playing game for sure, but the lack of music in most stages was a huge disappointment. Still have it of course. Another full-priced game I imported was Steamgear Mash. It's OK but I think once you've played it a couple of times it kind of wears out it's welcome. And yes, I still have it.
I love golden axe the duel . Fun game
For Formula One fans, there was... Formula 1 97. Great game for PS1. Then, Formula 1 98 was released. We know that first two games in the entry was developed by talented folks from Bizarre Creations. I do know that game from Visual Science was rushed. Still, Psygnosis should not have released the game in this state. It lookes and playes like an Alpha build.
Definitely do a Genesis list.
I am not sure if you knew this (you probably do), were you aware that the Mega Drive (in Japan) received a port of Marble Madness developed by Tengen that is superior to the Electronic Arts port we received? It goes for $200-$300 these days…
Oof. Robotica isn't the worst thing ever made, but I can't imagine paying $100 for that game.
Same thing with Golden Axe: The Duel. Sure, the game is fine I guess but could you of imagined a 2D Golden Axe on the Saturn? Surely it would've been more enticing than another fighter on a platform already full of them.
Man. Especially on the Saturn when good/excellent beat em ups weren't that common? Oh boy that would've been special.