The Sega Saturn is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the successful Genesis. The Saturn has a dual-CPU architecture and eight processors. Its games are in CD-ROM format, including several ports of arcade games and original games.
Time Crisis is a 1995 light-gun shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It is the first installment in the Time Crisis series. The game differentiated itself from other light gun shooters of the time by incorporating a pedal that controls when the player character takes cover to reload and avoid enemy fire. Players have a limited amount of time to clear each section by defeating enemies. The game's story focuses on Richard Miller, a secret agent, who is sent to rescue a kidnapped woman from a ruthless tyrant seeking to reclaim control of their former country from a new regime.
Area 51 is a light gun arcade game released by Time Warner Interactive in 1995. It takes its name from the military facility. The plot of the game involves the player taking part in a Strategic Tactical Advanced Alien Response (STAAR) military incursion to prevent aliens, known as the Kronn, and alien-created zombies from taking over the Area 51 military facility.
Virtua Cop is a 1994 light gun shooter video game developed and published by Sega for arcades. It was developed for the Sega Model 2 system, and was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and Windows as Virtua Squad in 1996. The Saturn version included support for both the Virtua Gun and Saturn mouse, as well as a new "Training Mode" which consists of a randomly generated shooting gallery.
Yu Suzuki is a Japanese game designer, producer, programmer, and engineer, who headed Sega's AM2 team for 18 years. Considered one of the first auteurs of video games, he has been responsible for a number of Sega's arcade hits, including three-dimensional sprite-scaling games that used "taikan" motion simulator arcade cabinets, such as Hang-On, Space Harrier, Out Run and After Burner, and pioneering polygonal 3D games such as Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter, which are some of the games besides others from rival companies during that era credited with popularizing 3D graphics in video games; as well as the critically acclaimed Shenmue series. As a hardware engineer, he led the development of various arcade system boards, including the Sega Space Harrier, Model 1, Model 2 and Model 3, and was involved in the technical development of the Dreamcast console and its corresponding NAOMI arcade hardware.
The House of the Dead is a 1996 horror-themed light gun shooter arcade game developed by Sega AM1 and released by Sega. It is the first game in the House of the Dead series. Players assume the role of agents Thomas Rogan and "G" as they combat an army of undead experiments created by Dr. Curien, a mad scientist.
Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is on the defeat of the character's enemies using ranged weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range weapons, and can be used in combination with other tools such as grenades for indirect offense, armor for additional defense, or accessories such as telescopic sights to modify the behavior of the weapons. A common resource found in many shooter games is ammunition, armor or health, or upgrades which augment the player character's weapons.
Daytona USA is a 1994 arcade racing game developed by Sega AM2. Inspired by the popularity of the NASCAR motor racing series in the US, the game has players race stock cars on one of three courses. It was the first game to be released on the Sega Model 2 arcade system board. Released by Sega in March 1994, Daytona USA is one of the highest-grossing arcade games of all time.
Dynamite Cop, known in Japan as Dynamite Deka 2, is a 1998 beat 'em up video game published by Sega and initially released in arcades on Sega Model 2 hardware. It is the sequel to the 1996 game Dynamite Deka, which was released outside Japan as Die Hard Arcade. The game was ported to the Dreamcast and released internationally in 1999, this time without the Die Hard license. A second sequel, Asian Dynamite, was released only in arcades. In 2002, an Xbox version was announced by Sega and Cool Net Entertainment under the joint brand name "CoolCool", but since then there has been no information and the project has been abandoned. CoolCool itself has not released anything other than Rent-a-Hero No. 1 and appears to have disappeared.
Virtua Cop 2 is a light gun shooter arcade game, released in 1995 and developed internally at Sega by their AM2 studio. It was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1996, PC in 1997, and Sega Dreamcast in 2000. It was bundled with Virtua Cop in Virtua Cop: Elite Edition for PlayStation 2 in 2002.
Virtua Striker is a series of association football sports video games released by Sega for arcades. Originally developed by Sega AM2 from 1994 to 1999, the series moved to Amusement Vision with Virtua Striker 3, but it later moved to Sega Sports Design R&D Dept. with Virtua Striker 4.
Virtua Fighter 2 is a 1994 fighting game developed and published by Sega for arcades. It is the second game in the Virtua Fighter series and the sequel to Virtua Fighter (1993). Created by Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed AM2 team, it was designed on the purpose-made Sega Model 2 hardware which provided a significant upgrade in graphical capabilities. Following its release on the arcades, Virtua Fighter 2 was ported to the Sega Saturn home console in November 1995, while ports for some other platforms appeared later.
Fighting Vipers is a 1995 fighting video game developed by Sega AM2. A 3D fighter, it uses the same game engine as AM2's Virtua Fighter 2 (1994) but features enclosed arenas and an armor mechanic, and was targeted more towards Western audiences, using a U.S. setting and more freeform styles of martial arts.
Confidential Mission is a light gun game published by Sega, first available as an arcade game, then ported to the Dreamcast. The game is in the same style as the Virtua Cop series or The House of the Dead series, with support for one or two players. The game was developed by Sega's Hitmaker development team and first released in 2000. Its plot is of the same vein as James Bond and Mission: Impossible. Despite it also having an arcade release, it never enjoyed the popularity of the Virtua Cop nor The House of the Dead series, which were also produced by Sega.
Virtua Fighter 5 is a fighting video game developed and published by Sega. It is the fifth installment of the Virtua Fighter series. The original version was released in July 2006 on the Sega Lindbergh arcade system board with a number of updates before home ports were released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2007. The first major update was Virtua Fighter 5 R (2008), followed by Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown (2010), with the latter ported to home systems in 2012. A remastered version of Final Showdown was released in 2021 as Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown on PlayStation 4 and Japanese arcades, with a Windows port, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O., scheduled for a 2025 release.
Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original Virtua Fighter was released in December 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first Virtua Fighter game is widely recognized as the first 3D fighting game released.
Light-gun shooter, also called light-gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is to simulate a shooting gallery by having the player aiming and discharging a gun-shaped controller at a screen. Light-gun shooters revolve around the protagonist shooting virtual targets, either antagonists or inanimate objects, and generally feature action or horror themes and some may employ a humorous, parodic treatment of these conventions. These games typically feature "on-rails" movement, which gives the player control only over aiming; the protagonist's other movements are determined by the game. Games featuring this device are sometimes termed "rail shooters", though this term is also applied to games of other genres in which "on-rails" movement is a feature. Some, particularly later, games give the player greater control over movement and in still others the protagonist does not move at all. On home computer conversions of light-gun shooters, mouse has been often an optional or non-optional replacement for a light gun.
Virtua Tennis is a series of tennis simulation video games started in 1999 by Sega AM3. The player competes through tennis tournaments and various arcade modes. While originally released for arcades, all games in the series have been ported to other platforms, including most major consoles.
Gunblade NY is a light gun rail shooter developed by Sega for the Model 2 arcade machine and was released in 1995 in North America and 1996 in Japan. The game was re-released alongside its sequel, L.A. Machineguns: Rage of the Machines for the Wii in 2010 as part of the Sega Arcade Hits Pack.
