I made this list back in early 2009, a while after I got a Saturn, because I wanted to know exactly which Saturn shmups save, after learning that Darius Gaiden and In the Hunt don’t. This version of the list is largely unchanged, but I did improve the first section. Most shmups on the system do save, but there are a few that do not. In order to easily figure out which gaems do and which don’t, I looked at those yellow boxes on the back of all Japanese Saturn games which tell you some info about the game. So, this list will have two parts, first my analysis of what those lines in the yellow box mean, and second a list of all Saturn shmups sorted into ‘do save’ and ‘no saving’.
Sega Saturn Japanese Case Back Label Dot Color Codes
Notes: These colored dots are found in the yellow box on the back of every Japanese Saturn game. The box tells you information about the game. Each line in the box starts with a colored dot, and then has some Japanese text after the dot with the details. They appear in a set order, and the list below is in the order that they appear on the cases. The first two of these appear on all game cases, but the rest only appear when they apply.
Blue — Number of Players — All games have this, with a number between 1 and 12, for the number of player supported.
Red — Genre — Yes, each games’ genre is listed in the info box. All games have this.
Purple — Backup Save (ie the game supports saving) — Games that have saving have this. Games that don’t save to the system or backup RAM card won’t, so a game with password-only save, for example, would not have this — it only refers to actual save files.
Green — Accessories Supported — this category will list the System Link Cable, 3D Controller (“Multi Controller”, it’s called in Japan, though here these listings are all in Japanese of course), Mission Stick, Arcade Racer, Mouse, Keyboard, Virtua Gun, and such. There is no listing for the standard controller, since all games support it. If alternate controllers or accessories are supported, they are listed here. Each accessory gets a separate green-dot listing, so games that support multiple accessories will have several of them. You’ll need to know Japanese to be able to tell which accessory is supported by just looking here, but it’s usually not too hard to guess — the wheel for a racing game, joystick for a flight or mech game, gun for a lightgun game, and such.
Yellow — ?? I’m not sure what this one means. Hopefully someone can answer this question, what does the yellow dot line mean?
Black — Black — Multiple Discs? But some with it seem to be one disc games… maybe those are games that also come with a soundtrack disc, a demo disc for another game, and such. It says “CD-ROM something”.
Saving in Saturn Shmups
Notes: Games are Japanese-only releases unless noted with a (JE) or (JUE) to note the other regions. All games are listed by their Japanese release name; other region titles are in (parenthesis). Games are in alphabetical order within each list.
Saving
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Blast Wind: Ultimate Destroyer
Batsugun
Battle Garegga
Capcom Generation 1
Capcom Generation 3
Capcom Generation 4
Bokan to Ippatsu! Doronbo Kanpekihen
Cotton 2
Cotton Boomerang
Darius II (JE)
Detana Twinbee Yahho! Deluxe Pack
DonPachi
DoDonPachi
Dezaemon 2
Galactic Attack (JEU) (Layer Section/GunLock)
Game Tengoku – The Game Paradise
Gokujou Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack (JE) (Parodius)
Gradius Deluxe Pack
Guardian Force
Gunbird
Hyper 3D Taisen Battle Gebockers
Hyper Duel
Keio Flying Squadron 2 (mostly a platformer) (JE) (Keio Yugekitai 2)
Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius: Forever with Me
Kyuukyoku Tiger II Plus
Layer Section II
Macross: Do You Remember Love
Planet Joker
Radiant Silvergun
Sega Ages: Fantasy Zone
Salamander Gold Pack Plus
Sengoku Blade
Sexy Parodius
Shienryu
Shippuu Mahou Daisakusen
Skull Fang
Sol Divide
Sonic Wings Special
Soukyugurentai
Soukyugurentai Otokuyo
Steam Hearts
Terra Cresta 3D
Strikers 1945
Strikers 1945 II
Thunder Force Gold Pack 2
Thunder Force V
Tsuukai!! Slot Shooting
Twinkle Star Sprites (has black symbol)
Wolf Fang: Koukiba 2001 SS
No Saving
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Cho Aniki: Kyuukyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyou Otoko
Darius Gaiden (JEU)
Gekirindan – Time Travel Shooting
Gun Frontier (has black symbol)
In the Hunt (JEU) (Kaitei Taisensou: In the Hunt)
Konami Antiques MSX Collection Ultra Pack
Prikura Daisakusen (has black symbol)
Thunder Force Gold Pack 1
I just bought second mission stick. after testing the Panzer Dragoon Dual-Stcik Mode, I discovered that in a number of other titles, the second stick buttons are mapped to the X, Y, Z buttons instead of A, B and C. This actually is very cool as it puts those buttons in a easily accessed position. I tested out a bunch of Analog compatible games. Most (Cyber Speedway, Wing Arms, Duke Nukem, Doom, Mechwarrior 2, Sky Target) worked fine. Only Black Fire seemed to not have the XYZ mapped to the second stick.