📰 New article from Retro Handhelds
New Saturn Shooter Took Five Years and Pushes Hardware To The Brink
https://retrohandhelds.gg/new-saturn-shooter-took-five-years-and-pushes-hardware-to-the-brink/
Let’s be real: if you’re playing a 1995-era Sega Saturn game in 2026… it’s either nostalgia, a dare, or you’re Riccardo Campione—and he just dropped Vigilant Paradise, a Miami Vice fever dream that somehow runs on hardware designed to crash under its own weight.
Five years. One man. Zero budget. And somehow, he squeezed a full-blown FPS out of the Saturn’s two CPUs, dual VDPs, and a CD drive that groans like a grandfather at a rave. You play as two rogue cops cruising palm-lined streets in low-poly glory, blasting bad guys while cheesy voice lines and synth-heavy tunes scream through your speakers. Yes, it’s absurd. Yes, it’s brilliant.
The game’s available digitally for $10 on itch.io—and if you’re running it on real hardware? Please use an ODE. CD load times are longer than your last breakup. Emulators? Mednafen’s slow, Kronos stutters, Yabause mutes the music—so good luck, you brave soul.
Campione’s first Saturn project? Yeah. But after Super Heavy Duty on Mega Drive, he clearly knows how to make old hardware scream. A physical release? Maybe—if we all chip in and buy 50 copies. Because if anyone can make the Saturn relevant again, it’s this guy. 🎮🌴