It was a day that marked its place in gaming history. On November 22, 1994, the Sega Saturn made its debut. Although it is now a nostalgic presence, at the time, it stole the spotlight as a pioneer of the “next-generation game console.” As Sega’s sixth challenge in the home console market, this machine was named after the planet Saturn. By being released ahead of its competitors, it recorded an explosive shipment of one million units within six months. It truly became “Sega’s biggest hit machine” in its history.

The true essence of the Sega Saturn lies in its specs. It was groundbreaking hardware for its time, featuring two 32-bit CPUs and possessing 64-bit-class processing power. In 2D rendering, it had expressive power comparable to arcade boards, allowing rich, colorful, and delicate visuals to be enjoyed at home. Although it also supported 3D expression, fans still often said, “Saturn for 2D, PlayStation for 3D,” indicating its established reputation for smooth and stunning 2D rendering.

The expansion cartridge slot located on the back of the console was one of the unique features of the Sega Saturn. Specifically, using the expansion RAM cartridge significantly improved animation performance, allowing fighting games and other titles to be played with a completeness close to their arcade counterparts. Character movements were smooth and natural, and the high level of fidelity was astonishing. Furthermore, there was a function to save game data using the “Power Memory,” although this often caused heartbreak due to connection failures. Because of the strong attachment players had to their games, the shock of lost data is still a widely recounted story today.

Released simultaneously with the Saturn's launch was “Virtua Fighter,” the world’s first 3D fighting game. It is no exaggeration to say that the existence of this title fundamentally changed the direction of the gaming industry. Following this, arcade masterpieces such as “Daytona USA,” “Virtua Cop,” “Virtua Fighter 2,” and “Sega Rally Championship” were successively brought to home consoles. In particular, “Virtua Fighter 2” was highly refined, and many players were deeply impressed by the ability to have authentic battles at home without visiting an arcade.

The true value of the Sega Saturn was not limited to arcade ports. Rather, the diversity of its original titles was also a huge draw. This hardware gave birth to works like “Sakura Wars,” which are still talked about today. Additionally, titles such as “Culdcept,” “NiGHTS,” “Panzer Dragoon,” “Grandia,” “J-League Pro Soccer Club wo Tsukurou!,” and “Machi: Unmei no Kousaten” are all unforgettable once played. Each title possessed its own unique world view and gameplay, stimulating the users’ imagination.

And we cannot overlook the derived models of the Saturn console itself. It is quite a rare phenomenon that hardware with unique specifications was developed by manufacturers other than Sega. For example, the “V Saturn” released by Victor Entertainment and the “Hi-Saturn” handled by Hitachi generated buzz with their respective distinctive specifications. Among them, the Hi-Saturn even included a Video CD playback function, and there was even a car navigation-equipped model called the “Game & Car Navi Hi-Saturn,” which is simply astonishing in its conception.