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Sega Saturn Appreciation and Emulation Thread

Can someone remind me why the jp version of daytona CE is preferred to the NA release?
Handling's closer to the original (probably not 100% though). Stages get various time-of-day settings. The arcade soundtrack is available (not the variant used in the original Saturn game - the variant used in the arcade).
 

IrishNinja

Member
quick question: im on disc 2 of PDS now, anyone remember how to restore health/BP without an item? on disc 1 there were campfires that were kinda plot points; i reached a new town but if there's a hotel or something, i'm missing it...still recovering from the big fights at the end of disc 1
 

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
quick question: im on disc 2 of PDS now, anyone remember how to restore health/BP without an item? on disc 1 there were campfires that were kinda plot points; i reached a new town but if there's a hotel or something, i'm missing it...still recovering from the big fights at the end of disc 1

You can always return to the campfire
 

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
oh yeah? maybe im just missing it on the map, thanks man

Yup, just focus on the fire to stay overnight.

I'm surprised you need to heal, as I found that after most discs your health is automatically restored anyway. Also, the game is pretty easy!
 

Exr

Member
Is DragonForce playable in Japanese if you are illiterate? I bought the Japanese version for like two dollars years ago and the game has always looked like a ton of fun to me. I don't want to have to sell my Final Fight Revenge to finance a purchase of the English version tough.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Is DragonForce playable in Japanese if you are illiterate?
I wouldn't recommend trying it. You'd need to stumble your way through it with a FAQ on hand, and it's one of WD's better localization efforts anyway.
 

baphomet

Member
Is DragonForce playable in Japanese if you are illiterate? I bought the Japanese version for like two dollars years ago and the game has always looked like a ton of fun to me. I don't want to have to sell my Final Fight Revenge to finance a purchase of the English version tough.

Yea, like 645 said, youll have to use a faq to get literally anywhere in it.

You should want to sell final fight revenge though.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Is DragonForce playable in Japanese if you are illiterate? I bought the Japanese version for like two dollars years ago and the game has always looked like a ton of fun to me. I don't want to have to sell my Final Fight Revenge to finance a purchase of the English version tough.

Definitely not a good idea, only if you've played the US version inside and out(guilty as charged). If you must, though, I did an import guide of sorts.
 

Wereroku

Member
Ok so I have permission to waste some of our tax refund on a stupid purchase. What is the consensus as to whether I should get Shining Force 3 or Dragon Force? It will be the most I have dropped on a game but I have wanted to play SF3 since I passed it up when it was new because I was broke and DF just looks awesome.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Ok so I have permission to waste some of our tax refund on a stupid purchase. What is the consensus as to whether I should get Shining Force 3 or Dragon Force? It will be the most I have dropped on a game but I have wanted to play SF3 since I passed it up when it was new because I was broke and DF just looks awesome.
DF is my favorite RPG on the system, but I haven't played SFIII yet. Tough call.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Ok so I have permission to waste some of our tax refund on a stupid purchase. What is the consensus as to whether I should get Shining Force 3 or Dragon Force? It will be the most I have dropped on a game but I have wanted to play SF3 since I passed it up when it was new because I was broke and DF just looks awesome.

Easily DF. SFIII is great, but straightforward. DF has eight campaigns.
 
Now, bear my arctic blast!

I suppose you could save some money by getting the cheap JP releases of SF3 and then patching them for English?

I'd go DF.
 

Mzo

Member
I am ashamed to say I haven't played SFIII yet, but Dragon Force is a fantastic strategy game and fairly unique.
 

Khaz

Member
I suppose you could save some money by getting the cheap JP releases of SF3 and then patching them for English?

You can't. The SFIII fan retranslation patch needs the western version of Episode 1. You can't patch a Japanese disc.

But it doesn't really matter since in order to play it you need to have your console modchipped anyway, and when you have that then it's more than likely you also have alternative means of obtaining discs.

I do have a Japanese copy of Episode 1, and a burnt disc containing the game translated.
 

Wereroku

Member
You can't. The SFIII fan retranslation patch needs the western version of Episode 1. You can't patch a Japanese disc.

But it doesn't really matter since in order to play it you need to have your console modchipped anyway, and when you have that then it's more than likely you also have alternative means of obtaining discs.

I do have a Japanese copy of Episode 1, and a burnt disc containing the game translated.

Yeah I don't have a mod chipped saturn. I was leaning towards SF3 just because I wanted it as a kid but if DF is the far better game I will probably go with that.
 
Ok so I have permission to waste some of our tax refund on a stupid purchase. What is the consensus as to whether I should get Shining Force 3 or Dragon Force? It will be the most I have dropped on a game but I have wanted to play SF3 since I passed it up when it was new because I was broke and DF just looks awesome.

Haven't played SF3, but DF is high quality, crazy long (multiple campaigns to go through including at least one that's unlockable), and is very unique.
 

pmj

Member
Hey all. I got myself a 3D controller and couldn't get it to function in any game I tried it with. I tried cleaning the connectors as best as I could but it didn't help. I wrote it off as broken and bought another one. Which seems to be broken in the exact same way.

It's now hard to believe it's the controllers that are broken, but what else could it be? Do you need to do something more than just plug them in to make them work? Or am I just super unlucky?

I've tried them with Christmas Nights, Sega Rally and Panzer Dragoon 2, among other games. But I can't even press a button to bypass the Saturn intro sequence. Regular controllers and my stick work as they should.
 

KC-Slater

Member
I'm trying to put an order in with japsai aka arcade gear but i'm completely blanking on what i want.

Can someone remind me why the jp version of daytona CE is preferred to the NA release?

and, any spur the moment recommendations? i need inspiration.

It has both the original soundtrack and the arranged soundtrack, and further tweaking.
 
Hey all. I got myself a 3D controller and couldn't get it to function in any game I tried it with. I tried cleaning the connectors as best as I could but it didn't help. I wrote it off as broken and bought another one. Which seems to be broken in the exact same way.

It's now hard to believe it's the controllers that are broken, but what else could it be? Do you need to do something more than just plug them in to make them work? Or am I just super unlucky?

I've tried them with Christmas Nights, Sega Rally and Panzer Dragoon 2, among other games. But I can't even press a button to bypass the Saturn intro sequence. Regular controllers and my stick work as they should.

Does the switch at the bottom on the controller do anything?
 

RiZ III

Member
Shining Force 3 is awesome but it has aged and is also pretty short. Dragon Force has a ton of replay value and still looks great because it's sprite based. It's one of my all time favorites. Also the fan translation to DF2 is nearly done.
 
Shining Force 3 is awesome but it has aged and is also pretty short. Dragon Force has a ton of replay value and still looks great because it's sprite based. It's one of my all time favorites. Also the fan translation to DF2 is nearly done.

It's a lot longer and has more replay value if you play the entire game though (scenario 1, 2 & 3).

Greatest SRPG ever for me.
 

Exr

Member
Thanks for the responses guys. Guess ill end up biting the bullet this year and grabbing an English version.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Ok so I have permission to waste some of our tax refund on a stupid purchase. What is the consensus as to whether I should get Shining Force 3 or Dragon Force? It will be the most I have dropped on a game but I have wanted to play SF3 since I passed it up when it was new because I was broke and DF just looks awesome.
I vote for Shining Force III. Dragon Force is unique and cool but Shining Force III is just the better game, especially when considering the full trilogy.
 

IrishNinja

Member
i really need to stop sleeping & figure out how DF plays, after PDS

still a lot of you kinda meh/not playing SFIII: there's $70 of my tax return just waiting for you~
 

entremet

Member
I think I'm gonna jump into Saturn collecting--my poor wallet :(

I played the system via loan back in its heyday. I played Nights, Dynamite Deka, Fighters Mega Mix, Guardian Heroes, all which I enjoyed.

What are the five must owns? I'm just gonna start with five for now.
 
I think I'm gonna jump into Saturn collecting--my poor wallet :(

I played the system via loan back in its heyday. I played Nights, Dynamite Deka, Fighters Mega Mix, Guardian Heroes, all which I enjoyed.

What are the five must owns? I'm just gonna start with five for now.

The four games you mentioned are a great starting point, actually. What are you into?
 

Celine

Member
I think I'm gonna jump into Saturn collecting--my poor wallet :(

I played the system via loan back in its heyday. I played Nights, Dynamite Deka, Fighters Mega Mix, Guardian Heroes, all which I enjoyed.

What are the five must owns? I'm just gonna start with five for now.

Sega Rally, Daytona USA CE (get the japanese version), Panzer Dragoon 2, Virtua Fighter 2, Dead or Alive, Fighter Megamix, Nights are all cheap (at least the japanese games) and very good.
Dynamite Deka is also fun and quite cheap.
 
As for 2D shooters, the value proposition offered by Darius Gaiden, Layer Section, or Soukyugurentai can't be beat, especially since all the other good games in the genre are mad expensive.
 

entremet

Member
Sega Rally, Daytona USA CE (get the japanese version), Panzer Dragoon 2, Virtua Fighter 2, Dead or Alive, Fighter Megamix, Nights are all cheap (at least the japanese games) and very good.
Dynamite Deka is also fun and quite cheap.

As for 2D shooters, the value proposition offered by Darius Gaiden, Layer Section, or Soukyugurentai can't be beat, especially since all the other good games in the genre are mad expensive.

So stick with Japanese versions since they're not text heavy?
 
I think I'm gonna jump into Saturn collecting--my poor wallet :(

I played the system via loan back in its heyday. I played Nights, Dynamite Deka, Fighters Mega Mix, Guardian Heroes, all which I enjoyed.

What are the five must owns? I'm just gonna start with five for now.

- First & foremost, you're going to want an Action Replay 4-in-1. Gives you access to the insanely good Japanese Saturn library (and in addition to that, the JP versions of quite a few Saturn games are cheaper than their US counterparts), works a a decent save backup tool (You can't save directly to the cart, but you can move saves back & forth from the Saturn to the cart and vice versa), and functions as a 4MB Ram cart for the games that use it. Speaking of which:

X-Men Vs. Street Fighter and/or Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter - not exactly arcade perfect, but about as close as possible. Both are great, and aren't available in a close to aracde perfect state anywhere else short of owning the actual boards.

Panzer Dragoon II Zwei - IMO, the best of the rail shooting Panzer Dragoon games (and that's including Orta). The leveling system that evolves your Dragon is great, and the Pandora's Box feature gives it a good chunk of replay value. One of the better looking and performing 3D Saturn games out there, too.

Virtua Fighter 2/Fighting Vipers/Fighters Megamix - Any one of the three works, though I'd go for Fighters Megamix simply because the other two games have better ports elsewhere. That being said, the Saturn ports of VF2 and FV are pretty damned great in their own right. Hell, get VF2 anyway. It's probably the cheapest, high quality Saturn game out there. I've had burgers more expensive than VF2.

Daytona USA: Circuit Edition - This is the Japanese re-release of Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition, with a few additional tweaks of it's own. The steering is (kinda) made more in line with the arcade game, and the original OST is available instead of the remixed tracks in the US release. Definitely the best Saturn release of the game.

NiGHTS/Christmas NiGHTS - Nights is fun and releatively affordable, though you probably want to get the 3D controller for it. Christmas NiGHTS is more or less a demo disc, but it's the best demo ever. Not eve bullshitting there. The version of it in the JP PS2 release and the HD port are stripped down versions of the original Saturn version. (Notably, the ability to unlock Sonic as a playable character; It's kinda janky, being his first playable 3D outing, but damn if it isn't a neat novelty.)
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
No Saturn version of Daytona USA is a "must-own."

I originally bought the system solely for Daytona USA as soon as I had the money for it.

There are better options for that game in 2015.

Saturn VF2 is considerably more impressive. I'd actually even be hard-pressed to say that the PS2 version is "better."
 

Wereroku

Member
I really enjoyed Mansion of Hidden Souls. It's super campy but it's a fun little point and click game. Also it's dirt cheap. Shining Wisdom and Shining the Holy Ark are great but they jumped up in price really bad recently. Also Fighters Megamix is great as is Fighting Vipers but you have to go JPN version on Fighting Vipers for Pepsi Man.
 
I played japanese and western releases of Daytona CE right after each other and couldn't tell a difference in the handling, and even if there is some minor difference, it's still not how it's supposed to be. They should have done a VF Remix style release on the original Daytona, ie same game but cleaned up graphics and frame rate.
 
Ordered a Saturn a couple of days ago, came home from work to find a USPS "Sorry we missed you" letter in my mailbox. Delayed my Saturn enjoyment by one day because somebody had to use the bathroom, how dare they.
 
So, for those that may know the game, before i drop 60 bucks on it:

Is Kingdom Grand Prix really as cool as it looks? It seems like an awesome shooter with a neat twist, but i figure getting some opinions wouldn't hurt.
 

RiZ III

Member
Is the Saturn Steering Wheel accessory worth it? I think the only game that really works for it is Daytona USA. I found it for $10 at a local store but didn't want it just taking up space if it's not good.

07_1_b.jpg
 
Is the Saturn Steering Wheel accessory worth it? I think the only game that really works for it is Daytona USA. I found it for $10 at a local store but didn't want it just taking up space if it's not good.

07_1_b.jpg

Works with a lot more than Daytona - http://segaretro.org/Arcade_Racer_Joystick

For 10 bucks it's worth it, don't expect something like today's wheels - but it's definitely fun to play with; Sega Rally in particular is really good with it.
 

UMGAWA

Member
Is the Saturn Steering Wheel accessory worth it? I think the only game that really works for it is Daytona USA. I found it for $10 at a local store but didn't want it just taking up space if it's not good.

[/QUOTE]

Damn, $10, to find one here in Australia you would have to buy a console bundle to get your hands on one.
 

IrishNinja

Member
man i don't even fuck with racing sticks that often but that one always looked cool

I really enjoyed Mansion of Hidden Souls. It's super campy but it's a fun little point and click game. Also it's dirt cheap. Shining Wisdom and Shining the Holy Ark are great but they jumped up in price really bad recently.

I enjoyed my short time with Mansion on Sega-CD, had no idea the saturn one was a sequel - it's another i'd love to find for a dirt-cheap price; cheesy but good atmosphere, kinda like you said.

i lucked out with Wisdom & Ark (about $20-30 each i wanna say), no idea where they're at now but can't be as bad as say WD RPG territory i imagine.
 

IrishNinja

Member
The prices on this game have gotten nuts and it breaks my heart. I regret not buying it for $50 a bunch of times.

it's so dumb. i held out when it was around that price, and saw it go for above triple that on ebay in less than a half year later. worked out a deal on an EU forum for a $40 copy and have loved it since; if others can't/don't wanna search as high for one, fortunately there's always the incredible (and cheap) Taito Legends 2.

and thank god for that option or i couldn't recommend it as easily. i legit hate seeing great cult games like that skyrocket in price & prevent more people from checking them out.
 

Teknoman

Member
So, for those that may know the game, before i drop 60 bucks on it:

Is Kingdom Grand Prix really as cool as it looks? It seems like an awesome shooter with a neat twist, but i figure getting some opinions wouldn't hurt.

Imo its worth it for the fast racing / shooting action, Sakimoto 16 bitish soundtrack, and decent 2D art. 60 bucks might be abit much though...I dunno if thats the common price since I think I paid about 40 bucks shipped for it last year.

Its got a good amount of replay value though.
 
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