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Sega Saturn Appreciation and Emulation Thread

M

Mugy

Member
Hi, i have a question. How good run games like Guardian Heroes? i think i never got able to run it properly
 
T

Teknoman

Member
So do we have someone with a good amount of shoot em up knowledge putting one together? Dont want to run over someone thats already putting some work into it.
 
T

Teknoman

Member
IrishNinja said:
eh...we're four days in; i say go for it teknos!
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oneida said:
whenever it's up please post it here in case people miss it on the front page
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Mzo said:
Yes, please. All I ever do is look at my retroGAF subscribed threads these days.
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Im gonna need some help on this one then (well more than the screenshots from last time and the bit of VF kids/remix info).

Should there be some main featured titles?
 
O

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
Teknoman said:
Im gonna need some help on this one then (well more than the screenshots from last time and the bit of VF kids/remix info).

Should there be some main featured titles?
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The two big NA releases were Darius Gaiden and Galactic Attack.
There's a lot (a lot) of import shmups, but the most popular are probably DoDonPachi, Battle Garegga and Radiant Silvergun (even though I have none of them)
 
B

bodeiseifer

Member
sixteen-bit said:
Salamander Deluxe Pack is just plain better on PS1.

Saturn isn't capable of outputting the same 256x224 resolution as the arcade version of Salamder does (but Playstation can).
So your options are an inelegant non-native scaled version that stretches the 256x224 image to 320x240 and looks ultra jaggy or a 1:1 pixel mapped version that leaves pillar boxes. While the latter doesn't sound too bad, and honestly looks much better, nothing in the 1:1 pixel mapped version will appear drawn correctly (circles will be oblong, etc.) when viewing on a standard 4:3 monitor as intended, because the aspect ratio is incorrect.
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I don't think I've ever played the original on that collection, maybe I did and was disgusted with how it looked, but salamander 2 isn't affected by what you mention is it?
Either way it looks awesome, the sequel does anyway.
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
bodeiseifer said:
I don't think I've ever played the original on that collection, maybe I did and was disgusted with how it looked, but salamander 2 isn't affected by what you mention is it?
Either way it looks awesome, the sequel does anyway.
Click to expand...

All three games on the compilation have the same resolution and are affected in the same way, I'm afraid.
 
O

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
I'm ready.

XEw5E6g.jpg

cY1X5PQ.jpg
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M

Mzo

Member
sixteen-bit said:
All three games on the compilation have the same resolution and are affected in the same way, I'm afraid.
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Is this the only shooter that has resolution issues on the Saturn, to your knowledge?

I have no issue buying the PS version over the Saturn version. It's hard to get good info on a lot of this stuff, though. Good looking out.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
lookit oneida & that sexy TATE setup!

Mzo said:
Yes, please. All I ever do is look at my retroGAF subscribed threads these days.
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+1

oneida said:
The two big NA releases were Darius Gaiden and Galactic Attack.
There's a lot (a lot) of import shmups, but the most popular are probably DoDonPachi, Battle Garegga and Radiant Silvergun (even though I have none of them)
Click to expand...

yeah, those first 2 are common and way more affordable, good calls. of the latter, most would emulate i think, cause damn the last 2 are pricey.
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
Mzo said:
Is this the only shooter that has resolution issues on the Saturn, to your knowledge?

I have no issue buying the PS version over the Saturn version. It's hard to get good info on a lot of this stuff, though. Good looking out.
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I know that the Gradius Deluxe pack is the same. You probably want to get that one on PS1 also. I'd guess the same goes for Twinbee Deluxe Pack and Parodius Deluxe Pack, but I haven't played them yet.
 
R

Ramune

Member
I participate with these:

DoDonPachi
DSC_0038.PNG


Cotton Boomerang
DSC_0043.PNG


and Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius: forever with me
DSC_0047.PNG


....gonna see if work as some spare bnc cables to make the former less tedious. ^_^;
 
D

discoalucard

i am a butthurt babby that can only drool in wonder at shiney objects
bodeiseifer said:
I don't think I've ever played the original on that collection, maybe I did and was disgusted with how it looked, but salamander 2 isn't affected by what you mention is it?
Either way it looks awesome, the sequel does anyway.
Click to expand...

I haven't tested the Salamander or Gradius packs, but this problem shouldn't affect all games uniformly.

Salamander and Life Force runs in 256x224, but other games (Parodius, Gokujou Parodius, Sexy Parodius, Salamander 2) run in 288x224. None of the systems support this resolution, but certain versions (I still need to verify which) either pillarbox it or give the option expand the screen an extra 16 pixels on each side. Going from memory, I THINK the Saturn versions let you expand the screen in Parodius Deluxe Pack, and both versions let you do this in Sexy Parodius.

There's a weird discrepancy in versious of Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius. The original was made for the SFC and runs in 256x224. The PS1 version runs in the same resolution. The Saturn version runs in 320x224 but it expands the sides of the screen, at least during gameplay. So the pixel ratios are a little off between the Sat vs. PS1/SFC, though neither is really better or worse IMO. The exception is with the menus in the Saturn version, which Konami never bothered to redraw for the higher resolution, so they look blotchy and ugly
 
R

Ramune

Member
discoalucard said:
I haven't tested the Salamander or Gradius packs, but this problem shouldn't affect all games uniformly.

Salamander and Life Force runs in 256x224, but other games (Parodius, Gokujou Parodius, Sexy Parodius, Salamander 2) run in 288x224. None of the systems support this resolution, but certain versions (I still need to verify which) either pillarbox it or give the option expand the screen an extra 16 pixels on each side. Going from memory, I THINK the Saturn versions let you expand the screen in Parodius Deluxe Pack, and both versions let you do this in Sexy Parodius.

There's a weird discrepancy in versious of Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius. The original was made for the SFC and runs in 256x224. The PS1 version runs in the same resolution. The Saturn version runs in 320x224 but it expands the sides of the screen, at least during gameplay. So the pixel ratios are a little off between the Sat vs. PS1/SFC, though neither is really better or worse IMO. The exception is with the menus in the Saturn version, which Konami never bothered to redraw for the higher resolution, so they look blotchy and ugly
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That and the Saturn version of Jikkyou (as does Saturn Castlevania) doesn't have transparencies. Also it's missing the little school chime in the beginning of Stage 2, unlike the other versions which is weird. Seems Konami just couldn't get a handle on this console. And it's a shame because technically, the Saturn should have got the better version of all these 2D games, but they're at least more than playable and that's all I can ask for at this point.
 
D

discoalucard

i am a butthurt babby that can only drool in wonder at shiney objects
Ramune said:
That and the Saturn version of Jikkyou (as does Saturn Castlevania) doesn't have transparencies. Also it's missing the little school chime in the beginning of Stage 2, unlike the other versions which is weird. Seems Konami just couldn't get a handle on this console. And it's a shame because technically, the Saturn should have got the better version of all these 2D games, but they're at least more than playable and that's all I can ask for at this point.
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That's mostly the Saturn's fault though. Why on earth didn't Sega implement support for 256x224, considering the number of older 2D games that used it?

But, it is true that Konami didn't give much support for the Saturn. Castlevania was outsourced to another team, and I'm assuming Suikoden was as well. The Parodius games, IIRC, were released simultaneously on both platforms.
 
S

Shadow Hog

Member
Dumb question, but how does Sonic Jam handle Sonic 2's special stages, then? Those are also 256x224, in the original Genesis version...
 
O

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
only Saturn shmups i own are Darius gaiden, soukyogurentai, galactic attack, shienryu, cotton boomerang and salamander deluxe.

I think strikers II and batsugun are next to join the family
 
J

Jinto

Member
My Saturn and 4 in 1 action replay both arrived today! Everything seems to be in working order. The console was crazy dirty though. Why don't people clean their stuff before they ship? Anyways, it came with Robotica. The game seems okay, but I can't really play it, since I have a sprained thumb. Now I just gotta wait until the s-video cable arrives.

So any recommendations on import games? I'd prefer if they were easy to understand without having to read Japanese.
 
S

Shadow Hog

Member
Jinto said:
My Saturn and 4 in 1 action replay both arrived today! Everything seems to be in working order. The console was crazy dirty though. Why don't people clean their stuff before they ship? Anyways, it came with Robotica. The game seems okay, but I can't really play it, since I have a sprained thumb. Now I just gotta wait until the s-video cable arrives.

So any recommendations on import games? I'd prefer if they were easy to understand without having to read Japanese.
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IIRC, Willy Wombat has full English voice acting, despite the Japanese text.
Note that I did not say good English voice acting.
Haven't played the game myself to know how decent it is, though.

I suppose you could get Dracula X: Noctune in the Moonlight, assuming you've played Symphony of the Night before and want to experience a new character (Maria, who plays totally different from the variant of her included in the Dracula X Chronicles PSP version) and some extra areas, but worse framerate, transparencies et al.

Other than that, fighters and shmups are really your best bet. Fortunately, they're also the Saturn's strong point.

I'd suggest Radiant Silvergun if it weren't so expensive. All you really need to know with that one is that some octahedron-shaped rock referred to as The Stone-Like has come alive and killed everyone on Earth - but since you weren't on Earth at the time, you get to go down to try and restock your ship, but then the Stone-Like sends everything it's got after you in an attempt to kill you and
some of your team dies and then your robot pal sets up an eternal recurrence loop involving the death and rebirth of mankind and
it just gets kinda crazy.
 
T

Teknoman

Member
Jinto said:
My Saturn and 4 in 1 action replay both arrived today! Everything seems to be in working order. The console was crazy dirty though. Why don't people clean their stuff before they ship? Anyways, it came with Robotica. The game seems okay, but I can't really play it, since I have a sprained thumb. Now I just gotta wait until the s-video cable arrives.

So any recommendations on import games? I'd prefer if they were easy to understand without having to read Japanese.
Click to expand...

I've always wondered that myself. Especially when looking at auctions, why not clean things up before you take pictures? It really doesnt take that much extra effort.
 
M

Mzo

Member
Capcom Generations 2 is cool. It's arcade perfect versions of Ghosts 'n Goblins, Ghouls 'n Ghosts and a port of the SNES Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Less slowdown than the original IIRC.
 
J

Jinto

Member
Shadow Hog said:
IIRC, Willy Wombat has full English voice acting, despite the Japanese text.
Note that I did not say good English voice acting.
Haven't played the game myself to know how decent it is, though.

I suppose you could get Dracula X: Noctune in the Moonlight, assuming you've played Symphony of the Night before and want to experience a new character (Maria, who plays totally different from the variant of her included in the Dracula X Chronicles PSP version) and some extra areas, but worse framerate, transparencies et al.

Other than that, fighters and shmups are really your best bet. Fortunately, they're also the Saturn's strong point.

I'd suggest Radiant Silvergun if it weren't so expensive. All you really need to know with that one is that some octahedron-shaped rock referred to as The Stone-Like has come alive and killed everyone on Earth - but since you weren't on Earth at the time, you get to go down to try and restock your ship, but then the Stone-Like sends everything it's got after you in an attempt to kill you and
some of your team dies and then your robot pal sets up an eternal recurrence loop involving the death and rebirth of mankind and
it just gets kinda crazy.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Holy crap, some of those games are expensive. I couldn't find any of the ones you mentioned for under $60.

Edit: No, I lied. I found Willy Wombat for pretty cheap on Ebay. Debating whether to pick it up or not.
 
Z

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
Is Princess Crown worth having? I rather like my Vanillaware games, and Odin Sphere is my favorite that I've played, but it's kind of expensive and not understanding the story is a huge bummer.
 
O

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
ZealousD said:
Is Princess Crown worth having? I rather like my Vanillaware games, and Odin Sphere is my favorite that I've played, but it's kind of expensive and not understanding the story is a huge bummer.
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I think if Odin Sphere is your favorite game it's definitely worth having. Just play alongside a script.
 
P

PepsimanVsJoe

Member
ZealousD said:
Is Princess Crown worth having? I rather like my Vanillaware games, and Odin Sphere is my favorite that I've played, but it's kind of expensive and not understanding the story is a huge bummer.
Click to expand...

Well it's arguably the most repetitive of the bunch. There are a lot of dungeons and they consist entirely of hallways. The combat is similar to Odin Sphere though more limited (fights are almost always 1 vs 1 and Gradriel has less moves). There's an item/equipment/food system. Items tend to be overpowered, equipment tends to be useless (they degrade when the player takes damage), and food is ridiculous if abused (raising the max HP is cheap). The soundtrack is mostly silence, town themes, and battle themes.

It has its Vanillaware charm, great artwork, some impressive animations (dem dragons), altogether however I can't recommend it. I gave PC a pass originally because it was the first Vanillaware game I played. Nowadays....ehhh. Kinda wish Gradriel would find her way into Dragon's Crown via DLC.

On a side note, I quite like the "attract" version of the game intro. It looks like something straight out of an arcade game. Massive scrolling text (in engrish), images of the characters/villains, summarizes the entirety of the game's storyline.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
Princess Crown is gorgeous, but moonspeak-y

discoalucard said:
It's on Saturn shoot-em-ups, right? I'll see what I can do!
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oh man...you're the guy from HG101, no? or just similar avatar? if the former i'd really dig this! if the latter...still good, haha

Mzo said:
Capcom Generations 2 is cool. It's arcade perfect versions of Ghosts 'n Goblins, Ghouls 'n Ghosts and a port of the SNES Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Less slowdown than the original IIRC.
Click to expand...

it's also hard to find on the cheap these days, was eyeing that & the one with Mercs but especially that one
 
K

KDash31987

Member
oneida said:
If I wanted just one MK game, should I gravitate towards II, UMK3 or Trilogy?
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I don't know about the last two, but the port of II suffers from randomly missing sound effects and voice clips, and a split second of mid match loading the first time a projectile is used.
 
C

CartridgeBlower

Member
oneida said:
If I wanted just one MK game, should I gravitate towards II, UMK3 or Trilogy?
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I think UMK3 is generally regarded as the better port. Trilogy on Saturn was supposedly a lazy port done months after the PlayStation and N64 versions by a different company. I think UMK3 was given more care because it was the only home port of that version at the time.

Could be wrong though.
 
K

KDash31987

Member
Yeah, I remember reading bad things about the Saturn version of Trilogy. I've never played it myself, though. I have the N64 version. I thought about getting the PlayStation version, but never did. I remember playing it at a cousins house, and it having horrible loading times...but it does have a lot more characters and the classic versions of characters, though. But I might just stick with the loading-less N64 version. I've always been pretty happy with it.

I might look into getting Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on the Saturn. That and Deception are the only games in the series I don't own in any form, not counting the spin-offs.
 
T

Teknoman

Member
So first time playing anything in the Cotton series:

Cotton 2 is really fun, and special move inputs for big, spread, and vertical shots is pretty cool...but I feel like i'm doing the grab and chain all wrong.
 
C

Canadian Psycho

Banned
Have you tried Boomerang? If so, which is more enjoyable?

I'm wondering if they are different enough to warrant purchasing both, but I've sometimes heard they are a bit redundant.
 
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