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Sega Saturn Appreciation and Emulation Thread

Celine

Member
Aside from resolution differences (480i with filters instead of 240p)...nothing that I know of.

Considering the prices that the Saturn version goes for, I'm just going to stick with the Taito Legends 2 version.
I.ve read the emulation on PS2 is shoddy (slowdown and glitches)
 
Bought today :

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Langrisser IV Special Package was... perfect, I didn't know there were pins inside
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110 titles and counting
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I remember Graduation actually got localized for PC back in the day. Mixxzine advertised it constantly.

Not sure if the localization was any good, though.
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
Is the Saturn version of Rockman X3 any good? Or should I just go with the SFC version?
 
Is the Saturn version of Rockman X3 any good? Or should I just go with the SFC version?

X3 on Saturn (and PlayStation) aren't very good. The aspect ratio is wrong and the new music is worse. The Mega Man X collection on PS2 and Gamecube also use the PS1 version as the base, so yeah, I'd suggest SFC/SNES version.
 
I just unearthed my Saturn and my only game - Nights. Looking into tracking down the two Panzer shooters.

What are some other solid exclusives that can be had for cheap?

Do you mean to say the only game you ever played for Saturn was nights or just that's the only game you can find?

If so, there's a wealth of great stuff in store. sega rally, shining the holy ark, dark climax, and fighters megamix are a couple that I would suggest just off the top of my head. Tbh I'm not sure how easy they are to find or how affordable but all amazing titles for the system.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Is the Saturn version of Rockman X3 any good? Or should I just go with the SFC version?
I know people say that the Saturn port is kind of lazily done and not optimized, but I can't recall why exactly.

I have a copy of X3 Saturn that I'm looking to sell if you feel like picking it up, though.
 
I actually prefer the new music...but maybe that's just because I grew up with the PC version. I also have the Mega Man X Collection on PlayStation 2. I've played through a PC version a million times. I love it. Hah. I can't remember if I bothered to play through the PlayStation 2 version, since I had already beaten it on PC so many times. I think I played it for a bit, though, and didn't notice any differences. I also watched my younger brother play through all of it, and it seemed the same.

I'm not really sure what makes the SNES version "better." I think the other versions are fine. I haven't played the original much, though. Anyway, if you do go for the original, get the Super Famicom version, as it's WAYYYYYY cheaper than the U.S. release.
 

Seik

Banned
I know people say that the Saturn port is kind of lazily done and not optimized, but I can't recall why exactly.

I have a copy of X3 Saturn that I'm looking to sell if you feel like picking it up, though.

The only thing I hate about X3 on Saturn is that it's always in some kind of '4:3 mode' that shits up a good chunk of the screen.

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It does the job when you want to play on a HDTV though, but I hate it.
 

Jamix012

Member
Fuck it, I joined the Saturn club. My experience prior to this was playing some of it's best games at my friend's house, but now I'm a bonafide member.
With prices like these though, I went for disc only, and ignored my usual "complete in box" notion. Picked up Nights, Guardian Heroes, Dragon Force, Shining Force 3 and Shining: The Holy Ark. I think that's an ok place to start.
 

discoalucard

i am a butthurt babby that can only drool in wonder at shiney objects
I actually prefer the new music...but maybe that's just because I grew up with the PC version. I also have the Mega Man X Collection on PlayStation 2. I've played through a PC version a million times. I love it. Hah. I can't remember if I bothered to play through the PlayStation 2 version, since I had already beaten it on PC so many times. I think I played it for a bit, though, and didn't notice any differences. I also watched my younger brother play through all of it, and it seemed the same.

I'm not really sure what makes the SNES version "better." I think the other versions are fine. I haven't played the original much, though. Anyway, if you do go for the original, get the Super Famicom version, as it's WAYYYYYY cheaper than the U.S. release.

I'm with you on this one, at least as far as music. MMX3 didn't have that great of a soundtrack to begin with. Some songs are better on the CD version, others are better on the SNES, but I can't say I feel strongly either way.

Some parts of it are just WEIRD though. Like the opening to the first stage, which was done in-game in the SNES versions...in the 32-bit versions it's just a badly compressed video showing the exact same thing. Maybe it was a memory issue?

The only thing I hate about X3 on Saturn is that it's always in some kind of '4:3 mode' that shits up a good chunk of the screen.

It does the job when you want to play on a HDTV though, but I hate it.

The Saturn doesn't support the resolution that the SNES runs at, so it needs to be displayed like that. It doesn't affect the PS1 version.
 
Fuck it, I joined the Saturn club. My experience prior to this was playing some of it's best games at my friend's house, but now I'm a bonafide member.
With prices like these though, I went for disc only, and ignored my usual "complete in box" notion. Picked up Nights, Guardian Heroes, Dragon Force, Shining Force 3 and Shining: The Holy Ark. I think that's an ok place to start.
That sounds more than OK, lol. Nice way to start off.
 

Seik

Banned
I'm with you on this one, at least as far as music. MMX3 didn't have that great of a soundtrack to begin with. Some songs are better on the CD version, others are better on the SNES, but I can't say I feel strongly either way.

Some parts of it are just WEIRD though. Like the opening to the first stage, which was done in-game in the SNES versions...in the 32-bit versions it's just a badly compressed video showing the exact same thing. Maybe it was a memory issue?



The Saturn doesn't support the resolution that the SNES runs at, so it needs to be displayed like that. It doesn't affect the PS1 version.

SNES resolution: 256 × 224
Saturn resolution: 320 x 224

They letterboxed it instead of redrawing it.

I see now, got it!
 

Jamix012

Member
So I was thinking, I've got a good base to work from but I wouldn't mind adding some good cheaper games. I'm not into fighters all that much and I'm not using a CRT so lightgun games are out. With that in mind, what do people recommend?
 
Panzer Dragoon Saga is so expensive on Amazon.o_O

At that point in the Saturn's life, Bernie Stolar at Sega of America had written the system off as dead and was pushing Japan to get the Dreamcast out as soon as possible.

Thus, every first-party US Saturn game from the last 18 months of the system's life had a very, very, VERY limited run. Like "100,000 or less", sometimes. Basically instant collector's items. Panzer Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers, etc. are all extremely rare. Expect to pay $100 minimum.
 

sörine

Banned
At that point in the Saturn's life, Bernie Stolar at Sega of America had written the system off as dead and was pushing Japan to get the Dreamcast out as soon as possible.

Thus, every first-party US Saturn game from the last 18 months of the system's life had a very, very, VERY limited run. Like "100,000 or less", sometimes. Basically instant collector's items. Panzer Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers, etc. are all extremely rare. Expect to pay $100 minimum.
The final four 1st party games (Panzer Saga, HOTD1, Burning Rangers, Shining Force III) had print runs of just 30,000 iirc. Deep Fear had it's American release canceled too.
 

televator

Member
At that point in the Saturn's life, Bernie Stolar at Sega of America had written the system off as dead and was pushing Japan to get the Dreamcast out as soon as possible.

Thus, every first-party US Saturn game from the last 18 months of the system's life had a very, very, VERY limited run. Like "100,000 or less", sometimes. Basically instant collector's items. Panzer Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers, etc. are all extremely rare. Expect to pay $100 minimum.

Yeah, there's litterally more collectors than there are copies of certain games that can be collected.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
sörine;108986088 said:
The final four 1st party games (Panzer Saga, HOTD1, Burning Rangers, Shining Force III) had print runs of just 30,000 iirc. Deep Fear had it's American release canceled too.

Interestingly enough, the very last Saturn game, Magic Knight Rayearth, isn't nearly as sought after. I bought it when it came out, same as Burning Rangers.
 

Sapiens

Member
Man, I really wouldn't mind a Saturn for the SFA3 port right now. I can't think of a better version to play.


Is there a better version?
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Man, I really wouldn't mind a Saturn for the SFA3 port right now. I can't think of a better version to play.

Is there a better version?
PSP version has the most content. Alpha Anthology likely has the most arcade-accurate versions (of both the original and Upper), but I'm just assuming.

Saturn version is the only one besides the PSP version that has Reverse Dramatic Battle, which is a decent novelty.
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
The Alpha Anthology version is worth looking into. I couldn't tell you if it's arcade perfect or not, but playing on the standard PS2 pad is murder, as it is for all fighting games. Gotta have a stick or Street Fighter Anniversary pad.
 

Seik

Banned
I think the Alpha Anthology version doesn't have the World Tour Mode, which is a big let down. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though, I'm not sure about this one but IIRC it's this version. :/
 

luka

Loves Robotech S1
The PS2 collection is definitely arcade perfect, and has every single variation and a bunch of neat unlockables like Hyper sfz. Emulation is basically flawless. If you're practicing for arcade play (don't know why anyone would really care at this point though) it's the one to get. Only problem is that it's pretty ugly and everything is scaled up to 640x480.

I still love the saturn port of zero3. It's almost miraculous how good it is. Running in RGB it demolishes the PS2 version visually and has all the cool extra modes that the arcade roms on Fighter's Generation lack. Totally worth it.
 
I wish Alpha Anthology was 240p. Saturn SFZ3 looks so much better :(

Same goes for Vampire Chronicle PS2 compared to Vampire Savior Saturn. This is with the blur filer OFF!

 

Ms. Tea

Member
Interestingly enough, the very last Saturn game, Magic Knight Rayearth, isn't nearly as sought after. I bought it when it came out, same as Burning Rangers.

They printed a lot of copies. You could still buy brand-new copies of Rayearth from Working Designs very nearly right up until they closed.
 

luka

Loves Robotech S1
I wish Alpha Anthology was 240p. Saturn SFZ3 looks so much better :(

Same goes for Vampire Chronicle PS2 compared to Vampire Savior Saturn. This is with the blur filer OFF!


Sat VSav is a great port, although the music thing bugs me a bit. It uses a combination of the Saturn's tone generator for menus and CDA for stage bgm. It sounds decent enough but some stages recording are shorter than the average match, meaning dead air and negative hype in the middle of a game. Super nitpicky I know, but it's the only thing that sticks out to me as a flaw. :p

All of Capcom's other 4mb ram cart fighters used ADX iirc.
 
D

Deleted member 74300

Unconfirmed Member
Dragonforce is like the Animal Crossing of strategy games. So much shit goes on and the characters can be so needy. Rock you douche, I literally just invited you to join my army and you desert it right away because I didn't reward you anything.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
I once beat Dragon Force without handing out a single award.

Had to run laps around the map with Goldark chasing me until I could fortify one of the castles to level 50.
 
Dragonforce is like the Animal Crossing of strategy games. So much shit goes on and the characters can be so needy. Rock you douche, I literally just invited you to join my army and you desert it right away because I didn't reward you anything.

I hate this part of the game, too. Makes me wonder if I recruited too many Generals? I have like 45.
 
D

Deleted member 74300

Unconfirmed Member
I hate this part of the game, too. Makes me wonder if I recruited too many Generals? I have like 45.

Apparently they only hated it when I rewarded my main starter. So jealous of me. Besides that the game seems ahead of it's time.
 

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
I saw like 4 seconds of Amok in this video and it looked cool. is it?

Also, easiest way to play Grandia on Saturn as a not-Japanese speaker? I don't mind scripts, or patches (altho my saturn is not modded for this), and the game is super cheap.
 

beercr8te

Banned
Love the thread OP, I miss virtua on, vitual fighter 2, sega rally virtua cop 1 &2, still have my saturn but no room for it with PS3, PS4 and xbox 360 in my set up under the tv.
 
I saw like 4 seconds of Amok in this video and it looked cool. is it?
It's an okay game. It's simple and repetitive, but not too bad. The graphics could be better, but it apparently started out as a 32X game before being moved over to Saturn and PC, and it looks okay for a 3d game from the time.

Also, easiest way to play Grandia on Saturn as a not-Japanese speaker? I don't mind scripts, or patches (altho my saturn is not modded for this), and the game is super cheap.

There's an FAQ on GameFAQs that translates a bit over half of the game; it's got the beginning 20 chapters and last 13, but is missing a lot of the middle. For the middle part it's either play it on PS1 or just use a FAQ for where to go without knowing what anyone is saying.

There is what looks like a full-game Spanish-language translation guide on Gamefaqs, though, so there is that.

As for translation patches, there are very, very few for Saturn gam,es so far. I think the second and third Shining Force III chapters have them, but that's about it I think...
 

Khaz

Member
As for translation patches, there are very, very few for Saturn gam,es so far. I think the second and third Shining Force III chapters have them, but that's about it I think...

All three episodes are being worked on, with the first one being pretty much complete and the last two being tested for bugs. The first episode official translation was heavily modified to make it like it was a single game so it's better to play the patches if you want to get the full story.

Another project I know of is Princess Crown. I can't wait for this one.

Dragon Force 2 was also being worked on at some point, with incomplete patches being released. It seems stall now though.
 

Mercutio

Member
As for translation patches, there are very, very few for Saturn gam,es so far. I think the second and third Shining Force III chapters have them, but that's about it I think...

They also patched the first chapter too, so that the ending would make sense moving in to the second chapter. At least, that's what I read.
 
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