Unfortunately, Sega of America made the confusing decision to primarily distribute the game through mail order, with only rumors of a limited run exclusive to Toys R' Us suggesting it was ever sold through other means. If that sounds like a recipe for low sales, that's only because it is. Power Strike is one of the hardest games in the Master System's library to track down, which of course makes it one of the hardest games to afford, too.
This was not Sega's first attempt at cashing in on The Legend of Zelda's success, but it was certainly the most expensive. Golden Axe Warrior turns the fantasy hack 'n slash series into an overhead adventure game where players explore an open world teeming with fierce monsters and Byzantine labyrinths.
The game released in , at which point the Master System was all but dead — especially in North America — naturally leading to a low production run and sales to match.
At least now it stands as a valued collectible for Golden Axe fans and Master System die-hards alike. It's so uncommon that practically nothing is known about its stateside release, to the point where even high-quality pictures of its box are practically impossible to find online.
It would be great to at least get some images of it, but with that price tag, it's not likely to happen any time soon. What began as a cheap re-skin of Sega's Rocky game is now an apple in the eye of every Master System collector.
The U. Only true heavyweight collectors should step up for this title. Can a Sonic game really be the rarest release on a Sega console? As counter-intuitive as it may seem, the answer is, technically, yes. Sega of America had so little faith in the blue blur's 8-bit debut that they made no changes whatsoever to the already released PAL version besides slapping a U. On one hand, this means that the game itself is likely far more common than the price implies.
But on the other, since fewer people kept their boxes at the time, only a scant few copies can be appraised as the genuine article. Security Breach pushes the series in a new direction, but it's repeating the same old jokes. There are a few different levels all providing their own unique obstacles, like one in a cave with stalagmites and stalactites you must dodge and one with water you must avoid.
Fantasy Zone plays very similarly to the Atari classic Defender. Unlike Defender, in Fantasy Zone there are role-playing game elements added in the form of shops you visit. When you visit the shops, you have the ability to upgrade your weapons or your health. There are also many colorful bosses that you will run into throughout the game.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World plays similarly to other platformers at the time, as you make your way through a series of themed levels by jumping on platforms and taking out enemies.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World was originally meant to be a Dragon Ball game, with many of the traits of the series still remaining intact like the enemy design, Alex Kidds mid-level snacking on rice balls, and the rock, paper, scissors game that bookends levels. Rather than just shoot everything in your path, R-Type has different obstacles that impede progress.
The boss design was ripped straight out of the Alien franchise, with many bio-mechanical bosses standing between you and the end of the level. You could have it stick to the front or back of your ship for more power, shoot it like a projectile, or just have it follow you.
The game was recently remade with updated, hand-drawn visuals and a new soundtrack. While not an official retail game, this extremely limited production is one of the holy grails for dedicated Sega Saturn collectors. Cave worked on bringing this game to life on the Sega Saturn with additions of a time attack mode and track editor. The end result was handed out to guests of the show specific details are unclear and production was limited to a couple hundred copies.
In recent years it seems that the game has doubled in value over the past decade. Check for Delisoba Deluxe on eBay. Eventually stealing this place from the legendary, somewhat abundant, and now digitally re-released Radiant Silvergun, the Psychic Killer Taromaru is the most valuable standard Japanese Saturn game. The publisher, Time Warner Interactive, shut down all production facilities after only 7, copies were made.
There are also manual-art variations as well, all of which are included in the total production number, and each generally fetch the same price. Check for Psychic Assassin Taromaru on eBay. Technosoft is well-known for their wonderful Thunderforce shooter series, but Hyper Duel is a little-know shmup from Technosoft that was released in between Thunderforce 4 and 5 and shares many characteristics with the series.
The game was never released out of Japan on any platform and is one of the harder-to-find games in the Saturn library and a highly-desired addition to the already impressive Saturn shmup library. Because of all these factors, shooter fans are willing to pay a good chunk of change to score Hyper Duel. Check for Hyper Duel on eBay. The Saturn version of the game was only released in PAL regions despite being advertised in the US at one point in very limited quantities.
The game has some interesting 2D sprite and animation work. The Saturn version might have had a bit of an edge on sprites, but lacked some transparency effects.
Check for Swagman on eBay. Deep Fear happened to be the very last game released on the Saturn in PAL regions and although it received a Japanese Saturn release a month later, North America would never get a release.
The end result was a game that had a smaller print run than the likes of Panzer Dragoon Saga in the survival horror genre that is becoming a driving force of collector values on systems like the Playstation 2 and Dreamcast. All of the spoken dialogue is in English along with a good portion of the menus, text and visual clues. Check for Deep Fear on eBay. However, in this Sega Saturn follow-up, the gameplay transitions into side-scrolling platforming adventure.
For those outside PAL territories that have to import either way, the Japanese version is a welcome option. Check for Keio Flying Squadron 2 on eBay. How times have changed. Crazy seeing Radiant silvergun being demoted from the higher listing.
I still think the Saturn is the most fun console to collect for. Well, Radiant Silvergun was never especially rare to begin with. But the demand was super high before. Being brought to XBLA reach knocked down the demand for a disc that had to be played on a Saturn that could play Japanese games.
While Guardian Heroes got brought to XBLA as well, it actually had less supply and pristine copies in our clunky jewel cases is in even shorter supply. While I really procrastinated too much on certain games, I did happen to score a good deal on Saturn Bomberman at probably one of best entry points post I know what you mean on procrastinsting, I was focusing on the Saturn a lot during my collecting days so I missed out on other systems.
However I am happy to gotten a lot of the games on i wanted. Thank you for the kind comments — always appreciated! To each their own, I suppose. My regret was more like 5 years ago when I actually had the money but before they got crazy. I just was focused on other things even my writing was on hiatus then.
Poor timing on my end. According to this list my knowledge of the market is terrible. Yeah, I know I sold some pretty good ones around that time as well. Not quite Saga, but life kinda dictates some things. Some of those rarities that takes a while before people realize they are both fun to play and hard to find.
In fairness, was eight years ago and about a dozen years after those games came out ; it was hard to foresee the prices doubling up like they have. I have a hard time seeing myself letting go of any of my Saturn stuff or n64 stuff, I suppose at this point, despite the price explosion. Too much history with those games, and they offer unique experiences to this day. Is that game considered rare?
Do you guys have any experience regarding that specific game for the Saturn. Hope to hear from …. Also the graphics of the actual gameplay were considered better for the Saturn version. I am just wondering if you could leave any links to references on where you got the information? I mean specifically on stuff like how many copies were produced etc.
I never did get a good practice of documenting sources along the way. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Guides Journal Together Retro Forum. Presented by Racketboy and G to the Next Level The Sega Saturn is definitely one of the leading consoles among hardcore classic gamers.
Prices Current As of October Three factors can be attributed to much of the rise in Saturn game values: The large jewel cases and artwork are fragile and getting harder to find in pristine condition. Dedicated collectors are also ensuring that all inserts are included with the manual.
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