When the Saturn launched by surprise in May 1995 there was one very conspicuous absence in its lineup – and the hole it left would never be filled.
The Genesis didn’t launch with Sonic the Hedgehog – instead, Sega pinned its early hopes on the uninspiring Altered Beast. Yet by the time the Saturn launched, Sonic was so iconic and connected to the Sega brand that it was surprising that the character was nowhere to be seen.
In 1995 even the ill-fated Genesis add-on 32X had a new Sonic-related game, Knuckle’s Chaotix. The Saturn, meanwhile, had just three games featuring Sonic over its entire life: isometric 2D Genesis port Sonic 3D Blast in 1996; and in 1997, kart racer Sonic R and Sonic Jam. The only one of these games to take Sonic into three dimensions, Sonic Jam was primarily a collection of the old Genesis Sonics – with a 3D segment called Sonic World. Those seeking a next-generation Sonic would have to wait for 1999’s Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast.
What filled the gap? Hype around the impending Sonic X-Treme, a 3D title cancelled in late 1996. And various other platformer series Sega created, in the hopes of crafting a new franchise for a new console.
Out of today’s three games, two of them were successful enough to spawn sequels; yet none of them would endure beyond the Saturn’s life cycle.
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Saturn #6:
BUG!
Developed by Realtime Associates, published by Sega
Released: May 11 1995 (launch day)
Bug! is a traditionally designed, and traditionally obnoxious, platformer. Uninspired gameplay combined with poor design choices, and a main character so annoying that the options menu includes an option to turn off his voice, Bug! is singularly disappointing…and was the most heavily advertised, and most popular in its day, of any of these games. Continue reading
Cultural Fragments 