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Sega Saturn Appreciation and Emulation Thread
- Thread starter Seik
- Start date
outunderthestars
Banned
Bar81
Member
Almost across the board yes, but the best shooter is dirt cheap - Layer Section/Galactic Attack.
cj_iwakura
Member
Tallied up my Saturn collection today. Any suggestions on what I could add to the list that won't break the bank? Missing some of the most expensive shooters, of course.
95% of the games are fully boxed and in excellent condition. A handful of US games are disc only, though, due to circumstances at the time. It's definitely a very fun system to collect for.
95% of the games are fully boxed and in excellent condition. A handful of US games are disc only, though, due to circumstances at the time. It's definitely a very fun system to collect for.
- Albert Odyssey
- Astal
- Azel Panzer Dragoon Saga
- Battle of Iron Chef
- Biohazard
- Brain Dead 13
- Bug
- Burning Rangers
- Christmas Nights
- Civilization
- Clockworks
- Croc! Pau-Pau Island
- Clockwork Knight
- Clockwork Knight 2
- Command and Conquer
- Crimewave
- Crusader No Remorse
- Cyber Doll
- D
- Dark Savior
- Darius Gaiden
- Dead or Alive
- DecAthlete
- Denpa Shonen-teki game
- Destruction Derby
- Discworld
- Dynamite Deka
- Earthworm Jim 2
- Enemy Zero
- Fighters Megamix
- Fighting Vipers
- Fire Pro Gaiden Blazing Tornado
- Fire Pro Wrestling S 6 Men Scramble
- Fuunsaiki
- Galactic Attack
- Gex
- Godzilla -Rettoushinnkann-
- Gokujyo Parodius-Da! Deluxe Pack
- Grandia
- Grandia Digital Museum
- Guardian Heroes
- Last Bronx
- Layer Section
- Loaded
- Loder Runner The Legend Returns
- The Lost World JP
- Machine Head
- Magical Drop III
- Manx TT Superbike
- Mechwarrior 2
- Megaman X4
- Mister Bones
- NBA Jam Tournament Edition
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- NiGHTS Into Dreams...
- Pandemonium
- Panzer Dragoon
- Panzer Dragoon Zwei
- PD Ultraman Link
- Princess Maker 2
- Puyo Puyo Sun
- Rayman
- Robotica
- Rockman X3
- Rockman X4
- Rockman 8
- Saturn Bomberman
- Saturn Bomberman Fight!!
- Sega Rally Championship
- Shin-Shinobiden
- Shining Force III Scenario 1
- Snatcher
- Sonic 3D Blast
- Sonic Jam
- Sonic R
- Space Hulk
- Strahl
- Street Fighter Real Battle on Film
- Street Fighter Zero
- Street Fighter Zero 2
- Super Puzzle Fighter IIX
- Tenchimuyo Tokomuyo
- Tokimeki Memorial Dramaseries 1
- Tomb Raiders
- Transport Tycoon
- Tryrush Deppy
- Uno Deluxe
- Vampire Hunter
- Virtua Fighter
- Virtua Fighter 2
- Virtua Fighter Kids
- Virtua Fighter Remix
- Virtual On
- Virtua Racing SEGASATURN
- Winter Heat
- Wipeout
- X-Men Children of the Atom
Based on what I have and what you don't, I'd say:
- Alien Trilogy: Cool doom-like where you shoot aliens. Also on PS1 and PC.
- Baku Baku Animal: Similar to Puyo Puyo, except you need an animal block to remove the fruit blocks. Two players.
- Christmas Nights: Nights under the snow
- Daytona & CE & CCE: Where's your Daytona, mate?
- Digital Pinball & v9.7 & Necronomicon: Pinball at its finest
- Dragon Ball Z & Shin Butouden: You need to like DBZ to get these
- Dragon Force: It's ok, this one's expensive
- The Horde: I think it's good, though I've yet to spend time with it. Also on PC.
- Keio Flying Squadron 2: Fun platformer, tends to be expensive. EU & JP only, play it in 60Hz anyway.
- King of Fighters 95: Because it has a ROM cart, and it's a cool thing to show off. Also the game is good too.
- Mansion of hidden souls: Ugly adventure game, but I like it. The setting is unusual enough, but the acting is terrible (at least my localised French version was)
- Magic Carpet: Ugh, I want to like this game, but I can't get over the inverted mouselook. - Also on PS1 and PC, probably prettier on both.
- Magic Knight Rayearth: Another expensive usual suspect.
- Metal Slug: Much better than the PS1 version, Also have a very verbose time attack / training mode, but it's in Japanese so I have no idea what the lady is saying.
- Mystaria: Also with another name that I can't remember in the US. Cool tRPG.
- NHL Powerplay (98): I'm usually not a fan of sports game, but you can beat the shit out of your opponent in American Hockey, so it's cool. Also apparently the best of the Hockey games.
- Princess Crown: I'm waiting for a translation. Very pretty though!
- Radiant Silvergun: Overly expensive game.
- Resident Evil: Superior version. Better palette, uncensored intro, exclusive chapter.
- Riglord Saga 2: Mystaria 2, but in Japanese. I have no idea either.
- Sega Touring Car: Follow-up to Sega Rally (?) I don't like it as much. Entirely compatible with the 3D controller so it's still cool, Analogue steering, accelerating, and brakes.
- Sega Worldwide Soccer 98: I had fun with this one, multiplayer etc. Your friends will laugh at you because it's not the latest FIFA though.
- Shining the Holy Ark: Like Shining in the Darkness, with ugly 3D and various environments.
- The Story of Thor 2: Aka Legend of Oasis. Very cool action-adventure RPG, like Zelda but (much) better.
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: I've been told it was the best of the bunch. I've never played it more than 5 minutes, although I spent so much time on MK2 Game Gear (lol).
- Virtua Cop & 2: If you have a CRT, you ought to have these games. Classic arcade shooter at home, so much fun and you can play with a friend!
- Worms: It's cool, but there's so many games in the series now it's probably not worth it anymore. Cool for the collection but still better on PC.
- Z: Probably better on PC, unless you have a Sega mouse
I'm not even starting with my want list, i'd hit the character limit :/
- Alien Trilogy: Cool doom-like where you shoot aliens. Also on PS1 and PC.
- Baku Baku Animal: Similar to Puyo Puyo, except you need an animal block to remove the fruit blocks. Two players.
- Christmas Nights: Nights under the snow
- Daytona & CE & CCE: Where's your Daytona, mate?
- Digital Pinball & v9.7 & Necronomicon: Pinball at its finest
- Dragon Ball Z & Shin Butouden: You need to like DBZ to get these
- Dragon Force: It's ok, this one's expensive
- The Horde: I think it's good, though I've yet to spend time with it. Also on PC.
- Keio Flying Squadron 2: Fun platformer, tends to be expensive. EU & JP only, play it in 60Hz anyway.
- King of Fighters 95: Because it has a ROM cart, and it's a cool thing to show off. Also the game is good too.
- Mansion of hidden souls: Ugly adventure game, but I like it. The setting is unusual enough, but the acting is terrible (at least my localised French version was)
- Magic Carpet: Ugh, I want to like this game, but I can't get over the inverted mouselook. - Also on PS1 and PC, probably prettier on both.
- Magic Knight Rayearth: Another expensive usual suspect.
- Metal Slug: Much better than the PS1 version, Also have a very verbose time attack / training mode, but it's in Japanese so I have no idea what the lady is saying.
- Mystaria: Also with another name that I can't remember in the US. Cool tRPG.
- NHL Powerplay (98): I'm usually not a fan of sports game, but you can beat the shit out of your opponent in American Hockey, so it's cool. Also apparently the best of the Hockey games.
- Princess Crown: I'm waiting for a translation. Very pretty though!
- Radiant Silvergun: Overly expensive game.
- Resident Evil: Superior version. Better palette, uncensored intro, exclusive chapter.
- Riglord Saga 2: Mystaria 2, but in Japanese. I have no idea either.
- Sega Touring Car: Follow-up to Sega Rally (?) I don't like it as much. Entirely compatible with the 3D controller so it's still cool, Analogue steering, accelerating, and brakes.
- Sega Worldwide Soccer 98: I had fun with this one, multiplayer etc. Your friends will laugh at you because it's not the latest FIFA though.
- Shining the Holy Ark: Like Shining in the Darkness, with ugly 3D and various environments.
- The Story of Thor 2: Aka Legend of Oasis. Very cool action-adventure RPG, like Zelda but (much) better.
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: I've been told it was the best of the bunch. I've never played it more than 5 minutes, although I spent so much time on MK2 Game Gear (lol).
- Virtua Cop & 2: If you have a CRT, you ought to have these games. Classic arcade shooter at home, so much fun and you can play with a friend!
- Worms: It's cool, but there's so many games in the series now it's probably not worth it anymore. Cool for the collection but still better on PC.
- Z: Probably better on PC, unless you have a Sega mouse
I'm not even starting with my want list, i'd hit the character limit :/
ranmafan
Member
Reading through the thread this week made me finally decide and fill in a missing hole in my saturn collection. So today I bought all three shining force III games. Been meaning to pick them up forever but never got the chance too until now. Can't wait to get into them and enjoy them!
Oh whoops, I do have Daytona USA (just the disc) somewhere, I have Biohazard (Resident Evil) and Christmas Nights listed as well. The rest, though, aren't in my collection.
Some interesting things in there that I had forgotten. Thanks!
Eh theres some pretty cool stuff that isnt very expensive. I still like the Nights original more than the remake (that may just be nostalgia though). Astal is nice albeit short, then there is Fighters Megamix, Die Hard Arcade, Virtua Cop 1 & 2, and others I cant really list since im on a phone.
Panzer Dragoon Saga(I really hate that game's price now unless it's the Japanese version which can be found for 40 bucks), Shining Force 3, Guardian Heroes, Dragon Force, Shining The Holy Ark, Burning Rangers. Yeah, you'll certainly spend over 800 bucks if you get all those now, lol.
Depend, some of the best are dirty cheap (at least the japanese version).
Panzer Dragoon Zwei, Sega Rally, Daytona CE, Virtua Fighter 2, Fighters Megamix, Dead or Alive, Street Fighter Zero 2,Layer Section, Darius Gaiden
Guess i'll post my current want list. After this I should be done with whatever I want on the Saturn.
Hyper Duel
Blast Wind
Albert Odyssey
Battle Garegga
Shining Wisdom (not sure)
Dodonpachi
Burning Rangers
Fantasy Zone Sega ages
Sonic R
Three dirty dwarves
Metal Black
Darius Gaiden
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Silhouette Mirage
Outrun (import)
Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius
Afterburner II (import)
Assault Suits Leynos 2
Saturn Bomberman
Shinobi X (PAL Region)
PuLiRuLa Arcade Gears
Psychic Killer Taromaru
Soukyugurentai Otokuyo
Hyper Duel
Blast Wind
Albert Odyssey
Battle Garegga
Shining Wisdom (not sure)
Dodonpachi
Burning Rangers
Fantasy Zone Sega ages
Sonic R
Three dirty dwarves
Metal Black
Darius Gaiden
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Silhouette Mirage
Outrun (import)
Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius
Afterburner II (import)
Assault Suits Leynos 2
Saturn Bomberman
Shinobi X (PAL Region)
PuLiRuLa Arcade Gears
Psychic Killer Taromaru
Soukyugurentai Otokuyo
Aww man =(
Having a list won't hurt though.
BTW, how much do my saturns cost? Both were obtained brand new, and were used maybe only 5-8 times tops. Also, everything is in its plastic bags in the boxes too.
Thanks =D
It...has...Panzer...Dragoon...Saga...included...my god indeed.
Agent Unknown
Member
Beautiful system, looks great on your TV too, what are you using for video?
And DoDonPachi is the perfect shooter for getting started on the Saturn's amazing shmup library.
GoofsterStud
Member
Are there any good emulators that allow filters. To make 2D look better for on an HD screen. Maybe one that has 3D support to up native resolution, upscale, or add antI aliasing? If I remember correctly SSF doesn't support any of these features and I'm better off just using my modded Saturn.
DracoBlade
Member
I actually picked up a Saturn a few months ago from a flea market (had to use armorall and cotton swabs to clean the beast lol) and forgot to post here 
unfortunately I cant actually play it due to lack of a functioning av cable (on the way now) but I'm ready to finally delve into the Saturn. Also managed to find a fellow local collector who sold me a complete copy Panzer Dragoon so I guess this will be my first Sega Saturn game
By the way whenever I power the system the Access light blinks red continuously, this is due to my lack of av cable right? Or is there something functionally wrong with the system? (it does spin/read discs successfully as far as I can tell)
unfortunately I cant actually play it due to lack of a functioning av cable (on the way now) but I'm ready to finally delve into the Saturn. Also managed to find a fellow local collector who sold me a complete copy Panzer Dragoon so I guess this will be my first Sega Saturn game
By the way whenever I power the system the Access light blinks red continuously, this is due to my lack of av cable right? Or is there something functionally wrong with the system? (it does spin/read discs successfully as far as I can tell)
charlequin
Banned
I posted a way to get SweetFX working to apply a CRT filter just a bit upthread.
At the moment just stock composite cables. I plan to get a XRGB mini eventually but just trying to get the pieces together. That shot just looks extra good, it's a bit blurry once motion comes into play, although I will say the TV surprised me with the picture it put out.
Agent Unknown
Member
I use an s-video cable on mine, looks good and should be cheap to find.
Thanks so much for linking this, just got round to trying it and its a big improvement particularly for 2D games.
I'm interested
ResidentDante
Member
Have you had any luck in getting SSF to work with a virtual drive? I don't use my cd-rom on the PC for anything but SSF really, wouldn't mine making iso's of my SS games.
charlequin
Banned
I run it with DaemonTools and haven't had an issue yet.
ResidentDante
Member
Hmm, I should give it another go. Didn't get it to work for me. I mounted the .cue file and chose the correct cd-rom in SSF, but it just wouldn't load. I tried a few different games too.
encephalon
Member
Weird thing that started happening to me:
My video output starts getting weird and making buzzing sounds but if I touch the cord it goes away. o_o; I'm guessing this has something to do with being able to conduct electricity, but other than that ...
My video output starts getting weird and making buzzing sounds but if I touch the cord it goes away. o_o; I'm guessing this has something to do with being able to conduct electricity, but other than that ...
baphomet
Member
Probably a grounding problem in the cable.
Bad audio connection I'd guess. Stop unplugging your systems, people! You'll just end up damaging the connectors.
To repair you'd have to open your system, check continuity with a multimeter, and resolder the faulty solder points that broke.
DracoBlade
Member
Welp after finally receiving some av cables I was excited to pop in Panzer Dragon and finally play the Sega Saturn!
It worked beautifully!
........
for 2 hours
It suddenly stopped mid gameplay, kicked me to the bios screen. Now when I try to boot up the disc it either stops outright or pops up with some weird 999:999 minutes of audio apparently contained on the disc. Tried some other cd's, didn't read or took multiple attempts and only read 1 or 2 tracks. I'm stunned by how sudden it stopped working! It spins discs but seems to chugg/click now (which it didn't at all when first plugged in and played) but I checked to see if the disc spindle/motor was to blame and nope it was free and unobstructed from wear as far as I can tell.
I have a feeling its a laser issue which I cleaned readily after suspecting and no luck still. Seeing as though Panzer Dragoon is the only game I have atm maybe its the game (which is in good, but not spotless condition). Wouldn't explain the struggling/click noises suddenly cropping nor lack of playing other audio discs.
Any ideas? I'm thinking about opening it up to adjust the laser pot.
It worked beautifully!
........
for 2 hours
It suddenly stopped mid gameplay, kicked me to the bios screen. Now when I try to boot up the disc it either stops outright or pops up with some weird 999:999 minutes of audio apparently contained on the disc. Tried some other cd's, didn't read or took multiple attempts and only read 1 or 2 tracks. I'm stunned by how sudden it stopped working! It spins discs but seems to chugg/click now (which it didn't at all when first plugged in and played) but I checked to see if the disc spindle/motor was to blame and nope it was free and unobstructed from wear as far as I can tell.
I have a feeling its a laser issue which I cleaned readily after suspecting and no luck still. Seeing as though Panzer Dragoon is the only game I have atm maybe its the game (which is in good, but not spotless condition). Wouldn't explain the struggling/click noises suddenly cropping nor lack of playing other audio discs.
Any ideas? I'm thinking about opening it up to adjust the laser pot.
DeFiBkIlLeR
Banned
What type of virtual drive did it create?
May not work if it created a SCSI drive...if it did, delete it in the DT control panel and create a standard drive.
SCSI virtual drives are useful for the PC Engine emulator (MagicEngine) and the CD-ROM based games which wont boot on a standard DT Virtual drive.
ResidentDante
Member
I did not check that! Thank you for the tip! I'll be trying that out when I get home.
EDIT: It worked! SSF finally accepted the virtual drive!
You could try that, but it doesn't sound good. I don't have any advice but good luck, I hope your disc drive isn't dead
encephalon
Member
It only does it occasionally. I think I'll hold out for now and sell it as "junk" to be repaired if it gets out of control.
I would recommend that, actually. It has saved a number of systems in the past.
My original PSX was dead for years (even the upside-down trick stopped working) but a quick adjustment of the laser pot solved it completely and it's been working great for the last three years now.
Original PS2s with disc read errors can almost universally be fixed using this method. Same for various other CD systems.
That said, some of the older systems do seem to fail for other reasons. I've repaired a number of 3DO consoles and in each of those cases it was due to cracked worm gears or some other plastic failure. Sega CD and TG16-CD units also had their own issues to deal with (the laser sled would seize up for whatever reason). The pot adjustment might be all you need on Saturn but at least opening it up should reveal the problem.
Fnord
Member
Batteries? Is the Saturn like the Dreamcast in the sense that it has a CMOS battery on the motherboard or something? I haven't hooked up my Saturn in a really, really long time (actually been thinking of trying to sell it). But I know that every time I hook up the Dreamcast, the date and time has to be reset. Didn't realize the Saturn bothered with such things.
Wondering if anyone knew how to set up batch files or launch options to get SSF with a virtual drive to launch individual games on Steam or through ICE? I've seen some tutorials online for things like game-ex or maximus arcade which seem to be other frontends for emulators.
Can't find anything for individual shortcuts or steam though.
Can't find anything for individual shortcuts or steam though.
Does that mean that the constant unplugging and replugging systems causes damage in the long run? That is the one thing I did not want to hear. What if you want to juggle between multiple consoles?
Also a saturn flash cart? That would be really interesting.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
This is a different issue, but in my experience, RCA-style jacks on TVs can come loose over time, making it difficult to maintain a connection. Probably not a problem on every TV and probably not a complicated issue to fix, but I think it's a decent reason to use a component video switch instead of constantly swapping component cables directly into the TV, for example.
mrduckbear
Neo Member
i remember playing the turbo grafix but not sega saturn..if i did, i would've played grandia 2 back then when it was on the system
Every connector have a plug cycle life. Every time you plug it or unplug it, you put stress on it and it weakens over time. Some are better design than the others, connectors soldered to the board fail much earlier than the ones fixed to the body with wires to connect it to the board. The design of the plug itself can make a difference: Micro USB was invented to be more robust than Mini USB, with a 10 000 cycles average life instead of 1 000.
Everything fails over time, connectors are no exception.
sixteen-bit
Member
Grandia 2 is a Dreamcast (and PS2) game. Maybe you mean the original Grandia?
Saturn has battery backup for clock and save data, It's easily accessed unlike the DC one, but is not rechargeable. It's also tied to game saves, so you'll probably want a Memory Card so you don't lose your game save data when the battery dies.
Is the Saturn memory card non-volatile? Does it use a battery for backup, or is it actually some form of flash memory?
It's RAM, the memory is wiped out when the battery dies. And there is no warning when it's about to die, one day you will turn your console on, only to be greeted with the language and time setup, and all your saves gone. Having a Backup cartridge or a 4in1 action replay is mandatory if you care about your high-scores or your game progression.
[edit] welp, time to learn how to read, I guess.
I'm actually asking about the backup cartridge itself. I know about the battery in the system.
A Black Falcon
Member
Saturn memory cards, official and AR 4-in-1, are flash memory, not battery-backed.
Also, the internal Saturn battery seems to last longer if you keep your Saturn plugged in, maybe? Maybe it uses less battery power if it has some wall power too?
Also, the internal Saturn battery seems to last longer if you keep your Saturn plugged in, maybe? Maybe it uses less battery power if it has some wall power too?
That's interesting, I wonder if it works like the PC Engine CD's capacitor? As long as your system is plugged into the wall, it sips enough current to keep the capacitor full. If you unplug the system, I'm not sure how long it would take for it to wear down. I wonder if the Saturn's battery is actually a backup to a capacitor? A second protective measure?
I have no idea what I'll do with my PC Engine when I move someday though. I imagine it will be like that Frogger episode of Seinfeld. I've got one of those AA powered memory banks, but NO idea how to use the damned thing. I'll have to force a Japanese speaking friend to guide me through the process, or face the consequences of losing my Rondo of Blood save.
When my Saturn arrived one month ago, the battery was drained. But it retained its saves as long as I didn't unplug it, so I guess there's some truth to that.
Anyway, this is as good a time as any to say hi to SaturnGAF. I will post some pictures of my stuff once that package of 34 Japanese games arrives. I don't even know what half of that stuff is, so I look forward to that.
A quick question though: does it make sense to buy an Action Replay 4-in-1 when you own a Japanese Saturn? I mainly ask since most of the time, Japanese games are less expensive anyway. And would 30€ be a good price for it?
A Black Falcon
Member
There may be a capacitor, but it's probably more likely that it just uses a trickle-charge to keep the save chip running while the system is plugged in, so you'll only learn your battery is dead if you unplug the system or have a power outage.
In comparison, the Dreamcasts' clock battery only charges when the system is on, and many have died -- I need to set the clock pretty much every time I turn the system on, annoyingly. I know it's rechargeable, but there is obviously a limit to how long it lasts...
If you mean the Memory Base 128 (or Save-Kun), what you need is one of the games with a built-in memory manager that lets you copy banks of memory between the MB128 and the system -- there is no built-in manager, so only games designed to support the MB128 can see it. I use Emerald Dragon's manager, since it's simple and easy to use (hold Up when you hit Run to start t the game from the CD system menu). The batteries should last at least six months per set. The MB128 also does have a capacitor in it, but it won't last long at all when the batteries run out -- maybe an hour, not overnight even. It will draw power from the system to keep files as long as you keep the system on even if the batteries are removed, though, which is nice.
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