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[Alexios]

Lmao, Retro-bit finally made amends after 4 years for my faulty Saturn USB gamepad's d-pad and have apparently sent me 2 whole new (presumably without the flaw) gamepads rather than bother with replacement parts (I think). I thought I'd check where they may be with the USPS tracking number they gave me and they're being held at customs in Athens since October 31st. Googling about it shows they may stay there for months or ask me to pay to get it. Greeaat.

Kudos to Retro-Bit for being so dedicated.

Taking 4 years to do what they should have done in 4 days isn't showing dedication on their part, more mine for nagging again when an opportunity arose. Of course I long since bought another gamepad (a Fighting Commander which has been great even without the Saturn d-pad). But it was nice.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Lmao, Retro-bit finally made amends after 4 years for my faulty Saturn USB gamepad's d-pad and have apparently sent me 2 whole new (presumably without the flaw) gamepads rather than bother with replacement parts (I think). I thought I'd check where they may be with the USPS tracking number they gave me and they're being held at customs in Athens since October 31st. Googling about it shows they may stay there for months or ask me to pay to get it. Greeaat.

Kudos to Retro-Bit for being so dedicated. I have a wireless Saturn controller which I currently use for the OpenEmu emulator on my desktop Mac. It's perfect and my favorite joypad for classic 2D videogames. I am looking forward their upcoming 3D Saturn controller. Now if we can only get Nintendo to adopt analog triggers for their Switch 2 console, then we'd have everything perfected.*

(*Note: Yes, I am aware that there are only four Saturn games where analog triggers matter: the Lobotomy Trilogy and JP Magic Carpet. I'm just being super picky.)

 

[cireza]

Having some fun with Dragon Force 25 years later... I started as Wein, here is the situation.

I bet that people that know the game will understand what is going on here and how I have been pushing around the CPU quite a bit lol.

The castle directly North of Highlands has been left untouched (it is normally an early event for Wein) and it is invincible to any CPU assault, so it offers a good protection.
I have explored to the West and pushed Gongos to the green castle, which is hilarious. All other castles simply have their leader.

I made an assault on all castles at once yesterday and triggered all events one after another lol. My main characters are all level 20, I choose Wein, Hilga, Hayate, Zakk and Nina.
Zakk is a random beast man but he did the job well. Nina sucks so much though, I will never use here again.

Now all leaders have joined the force, so the end game will be the same as always, and I will not be using Hilga or Hayate anymore

This playthrough has been a lot of fun (note : I didn't use the debug mode obviously, don't use it, it ruins the game unless you want to specifically trigger impossible things of course).

People who crave for more Dragon Force goodness absolutely need to play Brigandine on modern consoles.

 

[BigDeadFreak]

Having some fun with Dragon Force 25 years later... I started as Wein, here is the situation.

I bet that people that know the game will understand what is going on here and how I have been pushing around the CPU quite a bit lol.

The castle directly North of Highlands has been left untouched (it is normally an early event for Wein) and it is invincible to any CPU assault, so it offers a good protection.
I have explored to the West and pushed Gongos to the green castle, which is hilarious. All other castles simply have their leader.

I made an assault on all castles at once yesterday and triggered all events one after another lol. My main characters are all level 20, I choose Wein, Hilga, Hayate, Zakk and Nina.
Zakk is a random beast man but he did the job well. Nina sucks so much though, I will never use here again.

Now all leaders have joined the force, so the end game will be the same as always, and I will not be using Hilga or Hayate anymore

This playthrough has been a lot of fun (note : I didn't use the debug mode obviously, don't use it, it ruins the game unless you want to specifically trigger impossible things of course).

People who crave for more Dragon Force goodness absolutely need to play Brigandine on modern consoles.

This game has been on my 'to play' list for about 25 years. It looks great but I've never spent the time to sit down and learn how to play it.

Is it as complicated as it looks?

 

[Crew511A]

This game has been on my 'to play' list for about 25 years. It looks great but I've never spent the time to sit down and learn how to play it.

Is it as complicated as it looks?

Not at all. It's actually shockingly simple compared to other games in the genre. I think that's what makes it so fun.

 

[cireza]

Is it as complicated as it looks?

It is very accessible. Play it and enjoy learning it in the process.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

I have posted video tutorials on Dragon Force here on the Sega Saturn forum. Once you learn the basics, you’ll be hooked and be engaged for months, if not years.

 

[BigDeadFreak]

I have posted video tutorials on Dragon Force here on the Sega Saturn forum. Once you learn the basics, you’ll be hooked and be engaged for months, if not years.

I'll check those out at some point. I think I'm gonna wait until I get a handheld that can emulate the Saturn properly. It seems like the perfect game to take on holiday.

 

[fart town usa]

A compatibility patch just released for NiGHTS, specifically for those playing with that new RetroBit dual analog Saturn controller. I guess the triggers didn't work for air braking and things like that.

NiGHTS Into Dreams (US version) - fix for Retro-BIt Analog Pad

This is a patch for NiGHTS Into Dreams (US version) and the Retro-Bit Saturn wireless controller. Apply the patch with Delta Patcher: Original file: NiGHTS into Dreams... (USA) (RE) (Track 01).bin XDelta patch: trigger-fix.xdelta Three...

segaxtreme.net

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Here is our first look at the newest translation of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on Sega Saturn. This edition uses the 4MB RAM expansion to remove most of the slowdown that haunted the original, makes several graphical fixes, including proper VDP2 transparencies on text windows, and includes the English language dub from the PSP version of the game. This is being presented as the ultimate version and the translation team did a magnificent job.

 

[Alexios]

The Ultimate Saturn version, I'm sure.

I think it still lacks effects/transparencies like the fog in outer wall, it's debatable if the new areas are good, though playable Maria is indeed great (also on PSP but different, but then it could be definitive to play Alucard/Richter on PS and the others on Saturn, Idk), not all sprites are corrected, etc.

And the first look was Meduza Team's own footage, can't believe they aren't even mentioned there for all their grand work on Saturn and other systems too. And yeah, most of the patch's improvements were available for ages now, they finally combined it with a translation is the bigger deal here.

Also they removed black bars from top & bottom to expand the viewable area which for many areas works out fine but for others there's unintended weirdness, look at the doppelganger gate effects being visible at the top and bottom of the screen as it rotates around in the center of that room.

I think it would have been nice to get some of these changes as an option instead but I'm sure that would be too much work to bother. Also I dunno if they should have tried to fix the pixels or just ask people to play it in slightly different ratio squishing the image manually to the proper dimension (easily done in emulators at least, on CRT/real system I guess you'd have to eyeball it squishing the image from the menu)? Could that even work or it would then mess up the dimensions/ratio of other things like the backgrounds or lead to obvious visual glitching as you move around the game?

I dunno why even Capcom had issues with the different Saturn resolutions they used leading to wider sprites, why not leave the sprites in 1:1 resolution with the original slightly alter how much of the background/area is visible in proper ratio too, that seems like it would have been the way to go...

They even had this Saturn vs Arcade option changing something regarding that stage width stuff but it wasn't to fix the sprite width, I don't think so at least. I looked around for videos or even pages detailing these things exactly in the past but without much luck, it is just weird it was a thing at all.

 

[Alexios]

Dungeon Master Nexus translation is up to v2 and with resources released for folks to translate to other languages too. Looks like a great version of the game to play (personally I prefer my dungeon crawlers to be turn based, but oh well).

Dungeon Master Nexus for Sega Saturn - English V2 and French + Translation Kit for any language

I made a complete English version of Dungeon Master Nexus for the Sega Saturn console (the original version is Japanese only). Download full game Dungeon Master Nexus for Sega Saturn Translation Kit (if you want to build your own translated version from the original) I made my best and I...

segaxtreme.net

Between this, several Wizardry games and even Shining the Holy Ark it seems like with a bit of marketing Saturn could have served the CRPG-but-on-console audience and gotten more games (maybe Ultima Underworld alongside PlayStation or catch From Software's interest for King's Field).

Alongside the (even) more Japanese stuff like Baroque, Dragon Master Silk and the Atlus Devil Summoner and Soul Hackers games it got quite a few in this vein (obviously mostly in Japan as usual).

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Here are some new screenshots of Dungeon Master Nexus, which is receiving a new English and French language translation. Hooray! As Alexios notes, Saturn is home to many first-person adventure and dungeon-crawling RPGs. If you're a fan of the genre and loved Shining the Holy Ark, then you'll really love these new additions to our software library.

Edit: Whoops on the title! Fixed that. But Dragon Master Silk is also pretty good.

 

[Alexios]

You confused Dungeon Master Nexus with Dragon Master Silk there, somehow

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Since I mentioned this title, I thought I should post a gameplay video from Dragon Master Silk. This first-person dungeon crawling RPG was released in 1997 to modestly positive reviews. If you’re a fan of the genre, then here is another solid entry to keep you happy. It’s not on the same level as Shining the Holy Ark, Dungeon Master Nexus or Baroque, but what’s here is very solid.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

New Sega Saturn homebrew videogame: Konami’s X-Men arcade. Wow! A playable demo is now available, but this project is still in its early stages. I am curious to know if this will be based on the “standard” 2-player arcade, or will also include the “deluxe” widescreen 6-player version as well. Stay tuned.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

I’ve been waiting for the official SLX word on this new Castlevania patch, as he is such a dedicated fan. I’m sold and agree this is just about as good as the Saturn translation is likely to be, until someone out there creates a new version from scratch and coded in Assembly. Thanks for the video!

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Great news for all retro gamers: Linda Cubed on Sony PlayStation has now been translated fully into English. We can only assume that a Sega Saturn translation will be inevitable soon. This game is a cult classic RPG with Pokemon and horror elements and is highly regarded. Indeed, in the 2000 Sega Saturn Magazine JP readers poll, this game cracked the top ten.

I would love to see this videogame translated. Any chance to enjoy more Japanese Saturn classics is a welcome one.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Classic arcade shoot-em-up Kingdom GrandPrix has been translated into English. Or, more accurately, it was discovered that the original software code contained a full English translation embedded into the software code, presumably in anticipation for a Western arcade release that never materialized. Sega Saturn Shiro broke the story and posted a couple videos, which you can watch and enjoy. Yay! More Saturn translations!

 

[Alexios]

There was a World version of that game with English already for mame/FBN, does Saturn's version have substantial extras like Game Tengoku and are those in English too or is the translation just for what was in the arcade?

 

[MikeMyers]

So I've been looking through Digisiter UK charts, and found this:

SEGA Saturn games that topped the British charts:
- Panzer Dragoon
- Virtua Cop
- Bug!
- Virtua Fighter 2
- Sega Rally Championship
- Euros 96

Dreamcast games that topped the British charts:
- Sonic Adventure
- Virtua Tennis

Seems SEGA Rally was biggest Sega Saturn hit in UK.

 

[Alexios]

Good shit for underrated game.

SEGA Touring Car Championship is GOOD!

To the uninitiated, SEGA Touring Car Championship was an unconventional arcade racer, based on the German DTM, crafted by a handpicked team of AM3 developers and released to the world in 1996. It r…

www.segasaturnshiro.com

 

[Alexios]

Silhouette Mirage - English RETRANSLATION Patch

A New Translation of Silhouette Mirage for Sega Saturn PATCH DETAILS: Every line of dialogue has been newly translated from the original Japanese script, obsessively checked and double-checked, to bring the plot and characters of Silhouette...

segaxtreme.net

Silhouette Mirage Retranslation Patch Stays Faithful to Original Japanese Script

An English translation of Silhouette Mirage that’s faithful to the original Japanese script exists at last thanks to fans who released a patch for the Saturn version Wednesday. Rasputin3000 u…

www.segasaturnshiro.com

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Here is a great SegaSaturnShiro podcast featuring the new English translation for Treasure's masterful 2D platformer Silhouette Mirage. This newest patch features a new translation, where the previous patch used the PS1 translation by Working Designs.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers is the latest Sega Saturn translation, one of the best yet. SegaSaturnShiro shows off the goods and discusses all the inner details of the translation project.

I thought I had posted this here, but put it on a different Saturn thread. Whoops!

 

[MikeMyers]

Train to the End of the World

A character is shown playing House of the Dead on a Sega Saturn!

 

[nush]

Seems SEGA Rally was biggest Sega Saturn hit in UK.

It was (for Euro regions), with Worldwide Soccer 97 coming in 2nd and Virtua Fighter 2 in third place.

 

[MikeMyers]

It was (for Euro regions), with Worldwide Soccer 97 coming in 2nd and Virtua Fighter 2 in third place.

Do you have data for Europe as a whole? I'm just finding UK.

Euros 96 was a big hit in UK, which may be just because the tournament was hosted in England. Also I know Bug was the best selling CD game in Europe for two weeks.

 

[nush]

Do you have data for Europe as a whole? I'm just finding UK.

I have data for total units of Euro PAL software, might include Australia as well but it's not granular enough to see that.

 

[MikeMyers]

I have data for total units of Euro PAL software, might include Australia as well but it's not granular enough to see that.

What was the biggest Mega Driev & Dreamcast releases? How well did NiGHTS do?

 

[nush]

What was the biggest Mega Driev & Dreamcast releases? How well did NiGHTS do?

Incomplete data for Megadrive as distribution was taken over from Mastertronic to Sega Europe, so with that cut-off point defined The Lion King 654545 units. But consider many of those would have been a pack in with the system.

Nights, 41774 units. Christmas Nights, 212025 units. Nights controller bundle, 82997 units.

No data for Dreamcast on my hand, the system of recording was changed. However for the UK a good Dreamcast game would comfortably sell a minimum +/- of around 50K units in the first week.

 

[MikeMyers]

Incomplete data for Megadrive as distribution was taken over from Mastertronic to Sega Europe, so with that cut-off point defined The Lion King 654545 units. But consider many of those would have been a pack in with the system.

Nights, 41774 units. Christmas Nights, 212025 units. Nights controller bundle, 82997 units.

No data for Dreamcast on my hand, the system of recording was changed. However for the UK a good Dreamcast game would comfortably sell a minimum +/- of around 50K units in the first week.

Are those UK numbers or Europe?

Judging ffom those weekly charts I looked at I'd probably say Sonic Adventure and Viruta Tennis were the biggest games which matches with my own memories of being a Dreamcast owner back then.

 

[nush]

Are those UK numbers or Europe?

PAL units, may or may not include Australia.

 

[MikeMyers]

A 4 hour documentary on Sega Rally Saturn!

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Here it is, at long last: Pandamonium has released his epic documentary on Sega Rally Championship, running over four-and-a-half hours. What an amazing work!

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Our friend and local hero Pandamonium was kind enough to post this video of the bonus South Pole course in Steep Slope Sliders. This is one of those odd experimental tracks where you are expected to navigate across a very narrow series of jumps and pathways to reach the helicopter at the very end. I've never succeeded on this stage, and I've always been curious to see if anyone had reached that goal.

This is terrific to see. I don't know if any bonus material is unlocked as a result. I was guessing the hidden mini-shooter could be unlocked, but reaching the copter appears to be its own reward. That seems altogether appropriate for a videogame that plays like a mashup of half-assembled ideas that, nonetheless, result in a genre masterwork.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

SegaHolic just posted his latest Sega Rally gameplay time trial video, making an almost perfect run through the game's three main stages. Very impressive!

Yes, thanks to Pandamonium, we're now obsessed with endlessly playing this all-time classic racing game again. Whee!

 

[MikeMyers]

Still my favourite racing game of all time.

Panda is doing the lords work. Can't wait for the NiGHTS and Sonic R episodes.

 

[Alexios]

SF3Patch Version 25 Released! « The Shining Force III Translation Project

 

[Phobos Base]

I recently got back into kit building. With these two in my collection, I have a Saturn shaped idea forming...

 

[IbizaPocholo]

The console wars of the 1990s may not have been kind to the Sega Saturn, but time certainly has. Over the years, the console's oft-overlooked software library has gained a level of appreciation it never had in its heyday. Still, many of its best (and strangest) games remain celebrated by a relatively small group of enthusiasts.

Looking at an RPG library is a great way to get a sense of a console's personality. With an RPG, there's nowhere to hide. Today, we'll take a look at that RPG library - the good, the bad, and the truly strange. Who knows what buried treasures await?

00:00 - Introduction
3:17 - Shining the Holy Ark
29:26 - Cyber Doll
46:39 - Albert Odyssey
57:32 - Dragon Force
1:06:54 - Druid
1:11:02 - Panzer Dragoon Saga
1:33:51 - Ronde
1:37:48 - Airs Adventure
1:43:02 - Virtual Hydlide
1:58:06 - Shining Force III
2:28:57 - Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner/Soul Hackers
2:38:02 - Omakase Savers
2:44:13 - Baroque
3:21:02 - Conclusion

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Love that channel

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Hah! You just beat me to the punch. I'm watching this video right now and it's a great video that goes into depth into a number of Sega Saturn RPGs. Any love for Shining the Holy Ark, Cyber Doll and Baroque is very welcome, indeed.

 

[West Texas CEO]

Love that channel

What's good about it?

 

[West Texas CEO]

NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt , I wasn't asking a rhetorical question. I'm genuinely curious.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt , I wasn't asking a rhetorical question. I'm genuinely curious.

He does some good retrospective on videogames. I've been subscribed to his channel for a while now

 

[West Texas CEO]

He does some good retrospective on videogames. I've been subscribed to his channel for a while now

Ah, I see.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

I just wanted to post this video to remind everyone that Fighters Megamix is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and it's best feature is Hyper Mode, which eliminates "recovery time" for moves and allows you to mash out moves as fast as you can hit buttons. It turns the classic Sega VF formula into chaotic brilliance.

Seriously, Sega, bring back Megamix and make it into the next Smash Bros.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

I just checked the prices on Wipeout XL for Sega Saturn, and...well, folks, I hope you bought your retail copy when you had the chance. Prices which stood at $80-$90 for years have now exploded to $300. Ouch. Still, I can't be surprised, given the high prices of the Saturn's other marquee titles. This one managed to hover just under the radar for years, while the likes of Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Radiant Silvergun caught all the attention.

We are now reaching the point where I would probably recommend that new Saturn owners just modify their console to play SD cards and download everything. While there are still many great bargains to be found, many of the best games are now ruinously expensive, and there is no justifyable reason beyond greed. There are plenty of Wipeout XLs out there. Sellers just expect to be paid a small fortune.

That said, I do feel tempted to sell my copy if I really could get three Benjammins for it. Hah.

Anyway, here is your reminder that Tantalus (Wipeout, Manx TT, The House of the Dead) did an absolutely fantastic job porting the Psygnosis racing classic to Sega's console. Everything looks, sounds and plays brilliantly, and this is easily one of Saturn's finest racers, the equal to Sega Rally and Daytona Circuit Edition. Compared to its PlayStation cousin, I'd say both are equal, although the one area where Sony comes out clearly ahead is that spectacular electronica soundtrack. The Saturn version boasts analog control via the 3D Multi Controller and the Racing Wheel. Of those two, I prefer the former for its quicker response, although I do love the steering wheel on the original Wipeout.

One of Sega Saturn's absolute best. I do hope you already have the retail package, because the cover and booklet designs are sublime. Good luck getting your hands on it now.

 

[nush]

We are now reaching the point where I would probably recommend that new Saturn owners just modify their console to play SD cards and download everything.

We reached that point a long, long time ago.