9 Best Sega Saturn RPGs, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Sega Saturn had a tough start with competition from PS1, but had a good lineup of RPGs.
• Standout RPGs include
  Super Robot Taisen F, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete,
  and
  Magic Knight Rayearth.
• Notable Sega Saturn RPGs:
  Princess Crown, Dragon Force, Shining Force 3, Tactics Ogre.

The story of the Sega Saturn is both fascinating and tragic. It was released in 1994 in Japan, followed by a North American release in 1995. Unfortunately for Sega, Sony had a more promising console in the PS1, which launched in the same year, 1994, and at a cheaper price.

This certainly didn’t give the Sega Saturn a good starting point, and it only got worse from there despite a good lineup of games over the years. There were a lot of great RPGs on the Sega Saturn, for example, made by first-party and third-party teams. Many games remain lost to time because that library, from platformers to RPGs, has mostly not left the console. For now, let’s focus on some standout RPGs from the Sega Saturn’s era.

Updated on October 03, 2024, by Gerardo Molina: While Sony completely destroyed its competition with the original PlayStation when it was released, this shouldn’t take away from the fact that the Sega Saturn had some great titles in different genres. While it’s very difficult to come by a Sega Saturn in good condition nowadays, there’s certainly still a market for the console and the games that were released for it.

Sega Saturn’s RPGs not only provided players with hours of fun, but also helped define the genre further during the late 90s, paving the road for other titles in the early 2000s, and even modern games that are massive hits today.

9 Shining The Holy Ark

One Of The Best Dungeon Crawlers On The Sega Saturn

• Platform(s): Sega Saturn
• Released(s): December 20, 1996
• Developer(s): Camelot Software Planning
• Genre(s): Role-playing Video Game, Dungeon crawl

Shining the Holy Ark is a first-person dungeon-crawler game released in 1996. This title is part of the Shining series and follows a group of adventurers as they explore various caves, forests, and towns, trying to ultimately stop evil forces from emerging and taking over the world. With turn-based combat and various different elements for players to take advantage of during fights, there’s always fun to be had with this title.

Shining the Holy Ark also features puzzle-solving that works well with its other dungeon-crawler game mechanics.

8 Shining Wisdom

A Refreshing Shift From The Classic First-Person Perspective Of Other Shining Games

• Platform(s): Sega Saturn
• Released(s): August 11, 1995
• Developer(s): Camelot Software Planning, Sega, Sonic Team
• Genre(s): Action role-playing game, Action-adventure game

As a predecessor to Shinning the Holy Ark, Shinning Wisdom features a top-down view format that breaks with the formula of other Shining games, which are typically based on first-person perspectives. The game’s objective is simple; travel the world and go on different adventures, all to ultimately thwart the efforts of the evil dark elf wizard, Pazort.

This title features real-time strategic combat combining various weapons, magic, and abilities that come in handy when either fighting enemies or solving puzzles necessary to progress through the game.

7 Super Robot Taisen F

A Crossover RPG For Mech Fans

• Released: September 25, 1997 (Japan)
• Developer: Winkysoft
• Publisher: Banpresto

The point of the Super Robot Taisen series is to get a bunch of mech-based anime and game franchises together for one big crossover tactical RPG. Not many main entries or spinoffs of this series have left Japan, and the same is true for Super Robot Taisen F. This is an important entry in the franchise though, because it introduced Neon Genesis Evangelion for the first time.

Another great addition was Gunbuster, which was another Gainax anime that is a bit more obscure when compared to Evangelion. Other anime in the game included various Gundam seasons, like G Gundam and Gundam Wing, along with Mazinger and Getter Robo. It’s hard to play in Japanese, but it is a good RPG all the same.

6 Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete

A Classic Turn-Based Epic

Lunar: The Silver Star is the first entry in the series, which would debut for the Sega CD in 1992, with a North American release to follow in 1993. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete is an enhanced addition, with more content and gameplay tweaks, which hit the Sega Saturn in 1996. North America wouldn’t get to play this version until 1999 with its PS1 port.

It was ahead of its time for a turn-based game, as it added some tactical elements like moving close to directly hit an enemy before a fight started. Players could see monsters in dungeons, and there was an autobattle feature too. There have been many ports over the years, but the Sega Saturn version is up there with the best of them.

5 Princess Crown

Vanillaware’s Forgotten Prototype

• Released: December 11, 1997 (Japan)
• Developer: Atlus
• Publisher: Atlus

Princess Crown was developed by Atlus, but avid fans of Vanillaware games like Odin Sphere may notice a close resemblance. George Kamitani, the director, left Atlus to help form Vanillaware. Princess Crown had multiple scenarios, like Odin Sphere, and combat was action-oriented on a 2D plain, again, like many Vanillaware games.

It played kind of like a fighting game, as random battles were usually against one enemy or several at most. Unfortunately, there has never been a release in English territories and there is no fan patch either for this version, the PSP port, or the PS4 port. It’s disappointing for Vanillaware fans especially, since it was a great-looking and playing RPG on the Sega Saturn.

4 Magic Knight Rayearth

A Genuinely Good Anime Action Zelda-Like

• Released: December 11, 1998 (NA)
• Developer: Sega
• Publisher: Working Designs

Magic Knight Rayearth was based on a manga and anime of the same name. The manga began in Japan in 1993 with the anime to follow a year later. A year after that, this Sega Saturn game was released in 1995, followed by a long wait for North American players in 1998. The story follows three teens, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, who are swept into a fantasy world from Japan.

It’s a classic isekai setup and the gameplay is like an entry in The Legend of Zelda franchise. It’s a top-down world filled with treasure, monsters, and dungeons. Players could swap between all three girls, who each had different weapons and powers. Fuu, for example, used wind magic and carried a bow.

3 Dragon Force

Advance Wars On The Saturn

• Released: November 1996 (NA)
• Developers: J-Force, Sega
• Publisher: Working Designs

Dragon Force, not to be confused with the power metal band, was released in Japan and North America in 1996, which was almost unheard of in the 90s. The tactical gameplay was similar to Nintendo’s Advance Wars series, wherein players could choose an army to follow. They would deploy troops around a map, conquering territories as they moved along.

It had a board game-like nature to its design, and battles were mostly automatic but epic as they displayed tons of sprites onscreen duking it out. The game got a PS2 port in Japan in 2005, but it was never released in the West. There was also a sequel in 1998 on the Sega Saturn, but that too has yet to leave Japan.

2 Shining Force 3

Before Golden Sun, There Was Shining Force

• Released: July 31, 1998 (NA)
• Developers: Sonic! Software Planning, Camelot Software Planning
• Publisher: Sega

The Shining series is one of the most prolific on Sega consoles. Shining Force 3 continued the tradition of tactical grid-based gameplay that fans had grown to know and love since the Sega Genesis. It was co-developed with Camelot, who now works almost exclusively with Nintendo on Mario sports titles, but before that, they also made Golden Sun.

Players can make a lot of comparisons between Shining Force 3 and Golden Sun beyond the character designs. In Japan, this game was released in three episodes between 1997 and 1998. Like Golden Sun, data could be carried over between games. Unfortunately, North America only got the first episode in 1998, but thankfully for fans, there are fan patches out there for the other two scenarios. They are all worth it too, as hard but good tactical RPGs.

1 Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

The Prologue To Final Fantasy Tactics

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together began as a tactical RPG on the SNES. This then made its Sega Saturn debut in 1996 in Japan, and the first time North America got a taste was 1998 for the PS1 version. A majority of the team at Quest Corporation helped create Final Fantasy Tactics for Squaresoft after this. That’s funny considering Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together was released after Final Fantasy Tactics in North America by a few months, even though it officially came first.

This probably made some players think Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together was the copycat instead of the prototype which made Final Fantasy Tactics a great game. There’s a political story, grid-based gameplay with a class system, and so many other familiar features. The best possible way to experience it now is through the remaster, Tactics Ogre Reborn, on consoles like the Switch. Make no mistake though, this is an absolute banger of an RPG on any console from the SNES to the Sega Saturn and beyond.