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Sega Saturn Appreciation and Emulation Thread

I started in on Dracula X to see how it differs from the Playstation version and it's pretty cool! I'm playing on a Trinitron Wega through S-Video and I'm getting pretty awesome image quality. But when I pause the game, the screen looks like it's rapidly vibrating. It only happens on the pause screen; the equipment screens look fine. I've tried playing around with video settings and I can't figure anything out to fix this. I can't describe it any better than that, and I guess I should test through composite to see if it does the same thing. But does this sound familiar to everyone?

Also, does every game warn you about how many save blocks it takes up when you start it? Aside from Dracula X I've been playing some SF Zero 3 and X-Men vs SF and all have screens which look to me to be warnings about how much save space they need. I've saved already, I know the games take up space. Weird stuff.
 
I apologize for all the noob questions, but well, I'm a Saturn noob.

The 4-in-1 cart doesn't seem to allow you to save and load directly from the cart. I think that's why I keep getting warnings about the amount of free blocks; I had a save game for Fire Pro in there that takes up something like 400 blocks. I started up the Dragon Force 2 translation patch and it told me it couldn't save. I moved the bigass Fire Pro save to the cartridge and it didn't give me that message.

Do I have this correct? Will I need to manually shuffle saves from the system to the cart, as it will not allow for direct saving and loading? Or am I missing an option somewhere?
 

BTails

Member
I apologize for all the noob questions, but well, I'm a Saturn noob.

The 4-in-1 cart doesn't seem to allow you to save and load directly from the cart. I think that's why I keep getting warnings about the amount of free blocks; I had a save game for Fire Pro in there that takes up something like 400 blocks. I started up the Dragon Force 2 translation patch and it told me it couldn't save. I moved the bigass Fire Pro save to the cartridge and it didn't give me that message.

Do I have this correct? Will I need to manually shuffle saves from the system to the cart, as it will not allow for direct saving and loading? Or am I missing an option somewhere?

That is correct, you cannot save directly to the Action Replay 4-1.
 
That is kind of a bummer; my Saturn is modded so I don't really need it for imports, but it's really handy to have it there for the RAM. I'll stick with it; it's still the best option out there from what I can tell.

Thanks for being an awesome little community.
 
To the system, once a game has booted, the AR4-in-1 is seen by the system as a 4MB RAM cart, not a memory card. It'd have been nice to have the option for either one, and the 1MB cart as well for better compatibility with the 1MB cart games that have issues with the Action Replay, but it doesn't. It's still great, though. Switching files back and forth isn't too bad.
 

TeaJay

Member
I only started really delving into Saturn last year, so no super deals for me. There's so much great stuff that I still want to get, but here's what I have so far: both PAL and Japanese imports.

GCVHuMG.jpg


DWVRpVa.jpg
 

TeaJay

Member
Cheers. The PAL stuff is mostly stuff I got with the machine. X3 unfortunately is too scratched to work properly. As I understand it's not a very good port anyway.

I'm currently running a PAL machine with AR cart, but hopefully will get either a 50/60 switch in the not-too-distant future. I could get a sexy white JP console, but as I understand it, then the PAL optimized games will be all wonky (like Guardian Heroes or Nights).

Next ones I plan to pick up are some fine platformers like Astal or Keio 2. D&D Collection was probably the most expensive game I ever bought on any platform (I have NES, SNES and MD as well) for about 90 € but it's in great shape and it's a hell of a lot of fun, especially co-op. I have the Hori fighting stick SS as well and all the arcade-type games are really cool to play on it.
 

Khaz

Member
I'm currently running a PAL machine with AR cart, but hopefully will get either a 50/60 switch in the not-too-distant future. I could get a sexy white JP console, but as I understand it, then the PAL optimized games will be all wonky (like Guardian Heroes or Nights).

You definitely want to add a switch, as everything will play at 50Hz, even the Japanese games. Of your European games, only Guardian Heroes may be problematic. Sonic Jam only has its menu and 3D world optimised so you can play your old Sonic at 60Hz and I think the 3D world has been speed-optimised so you can enjoy it at 50Hz. Sega Rally is also fully optimised and will play at the right speed at 50Hz. The rest are thankfully not optimised and better enjoyed at 60Hz.
 

TeaJay

Member
You definitely want to add a switch, as everything will play at 50Hz, even the Japanese games. Of your European games, only Guardian Heroes may be problematic. Sonic Jam only has its menu and 3D world optimised so you can play your old Sonic at 60Hz and I think the 3D world has been speed-optimised so you can enjoy it at 50Hz. Sega Rally is also fully optimised and will play at the right speed at 50Hz. The rest are thankfully not optimised and better enjoyed at 60Hz.

I want, yeah, or maybe rather buy a system that has it installed. I can't do it myself, but I have a friend who helps me with that kind of stuff. Although he says that adding a region switch to a PAL Saturn might be easy or hard depending on the model, so for now I'll be relying on my AR cart.

I'm kind of a casual collector, buying maybe one or two games a month. I actually try to buy games I want to play nowadays. Back when I started collecting I filled my shelves with games that were classics and "you gotta own" and stuff and found I actually played some of them maybe once to test if they work. Some of the games I want for Saturn are pretty expensive, but luckily there's some that are quite affordable (like aforementioned Astal, or Layer Section, or maybe Vampire Savior, which will be an upgrade for Vampire Hunter).
 

Khaz

Member
I love Die hard arcade. Best 3D beat them up of the era imo.

I want to love D&D too but it's simply too expensive for me.
Also it's just a gimped port with only two players. /salt
[edit] actually it's not? I remembered it going for much more than the hundred or so euros it's being asked for on eBay.
 

woodypop

Member
Some of the games I want for Saturn are pretty expensive, but luckily there's some that are quite affordable (like aforementioned Astal, or Layer Section, or maybe Vampire Savior, which will be an upgrade for Vampire Hunter).
One thing I really like about Vampire Hunter (or at least Night Warriors) is that it has an option to show hitboxes--so cool! Does Vampire Savior allow for this? Heck, has any other console Capcom fighting game included this option?
 
One thing I really like about Vampire Hunter (or at least Night Warriors) is that it has an option to show hitboxes--so cool! Does Vampire Savior allow for this? Heck, has any other console Capcom fighting game included this option?

I know the Vita version of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has a hitbox viewer. SSFIIHDR (PS3/360) also has it IIRC.

Far from standard I'm afraid.
 

piggychan

Member
I love Die hard arcade. Best 3D beat them up of the era imo.

I want to love D&D too but it's simply too expensive for me.
Also it's just a gimped port with only two players. /salt
[edit] actually it's not? I remembered it going for much more than the hundred or so euros it's being asked for on eBay.

Thing that stopped me from buying it was that I read somewhere that the loading is quite long during each level and sometimes it crashes while loading.
 

TeaJay

Member
Thing that stopped me from buying it was that I read somewhere that the loading is quite long during each level and sometimes it crashes while loading.

Well, from my own experiences I haven't had crashes and the loading times during levels haven't been too bad. Maybe someone had a scratched copy?

If I had to complain about something, one thing would be that some of the levels are too long. It's a fun game but some levels feel like a chore hacking the same enemies down.
 

piggychan

Member
Well, from my own experiences I haven't had crashes and the loading times during levels haven't been too bad. Maybe someone had a scratched copy?

If I had to complain about something, one thing would be that some of the levels are too long. It's a fun game but some levels feel like a chore hacking the same enemies down.

hmmm could have been a fanboy of the opposite camp trying to play down this version... I think the first Dungeons and Dragons was suppose to get a US release but it never happened...

8187248d-99c9-4999-9be4-9b2e88c07ec6.jpg


Slightly off topic does anyone know much about this saturn game which did get a US release and I wonder how rare that is since it never got released in UK/EU.

It's called Winning Post by Koei. I think it's kinda pricey nowadays. EDIT: Actually does anyone here have a copy??
$_35.JPG
 

Mzo

Member
Don't forget that D&D collection also got a physical release in Japan on the PS3 by M2, and it's around $20 used.
 

Laws00

Member
God damn still waiting. My damn EX troopers came before my two sega saturn games

I think I want to get this game. I remember seeing it in Gamefan at the back end of the book all the time

T-31102H_1,,Sega-Saturn-Photo-1-Virtual-Casino-USA.jpg
 

Khaz

Member
Why whats up?

It's a terribly lazy port. No controller support outside of Xinput (no Saturn USB controller out of the box), no keyboard key remapping, the HD filters are either an ugly pixel-melting XBR filter or a headache-inducing CRT filter with out of focus beams and ntsc artifacts. According to user reviews there are loading screens added and the online is broken.
 

gar3

Member
Slightly off topic does anyone know much about this saturn game which did get a US release and I wonder how rare that is since it never got released in UK/EU.

It's called Winning Post by Koei. I think it's kinda pricey nowadays. EDIT: Actually does anyone here have a copy??
$_35.JPG
I own a copy. Just replayed through a bit of it the other year. Bought it directly from KOEI back in the day. Whatcha wanna know?
 

ACESmkII

Member
Just received my copies of Panzer Dragoon Zwei, Darius Gaiden, Battle Garrega and Soukyugurentai. Can't wait to play through Zwei and Darius Gaiden again. It has been a long time.

Blazing Tornado, Blue Destiny vol I-III and Gungriffon 2 en route.

Batsugun, Elevator Action Returns and Hyper Duel are next on the purchase list...
 
Is Astal worth my time? It looks pleasing to the eye but it's hard to get a good feel for the gameplay. Anyone recommend it, or have another game to they can compare it to?
 

gar3

Member
Is it a good game ?
If you've ever played any of the other Winning Post games in the series, it's very limited compared to those. If you wanted a horse racing/jockey sim in English on consoles nowadays I'd have to recommend either G1 Jockey 3 on PlayStation 2 or Champion Jockey: G1 Jockey & Gallop Racer on PlayStation 3. If you wanted the game on SEGA Saturn cause it's SEGA Saturn, well, the game is OK. Just, OK. Like most of the KOEI games of that era it can be as deep and complex as you want it to be. You basically start the game as a rich, young man who just happens to wanna get into the horse racing biz. You work with trainers and breeders on the horses and interact with the jockeys for pro-racing tips. Then you enter races which cost money and place bets which also, obviously, cost money. Rinse and repeat. If you've played any Romance or Nobunaga game from the 16 or 32-bit era, Winning Post features a lot of the same elements (just replace generals with jockeys and battles with racing, heh).

Personally, I adore the game even with its early 1996 limitations but a lot of that is due to nostalgia and not because it is a great example of the game series. I don't know what the game goes for nowadays but it could be fun to you if what I said interests you. Just do not expect any "wow" moments cause this is after all a mid-90s horse racing sim. It's also Mouse compatible which is my preferred method to play.
 

woodypop

Member
Just received my copies of Panzer Dragoon Zwei, Darius Gaiden, Battle Garrega and Soukyugurentai. Can't wait to play through Zwei and Darius Gaiden again. It has been a long time.

Blazing Tornado, Blue Destiny vol I-III and Gungriffon 2 en route.

Batsugun, Elevator Action Returns and Hyper Duel are next on the purchase list...
Some excellent choices there. Apparently you've got a pretty decent budget. ;)
 

Mzo

Member
Is Astal worth my time? It looks pleasing to the eye but it's hard to get a good feel for the gameplay. Anyone recommend it, or have another game to they can compare it to?

It's slow and boring! But not really bad... just not that great outside of how it looks. I can't even think what to compare it to, you have some weird attacks.
 

piggychan

Member
If you've ever played any of the other Winning Post games in the series, it's very limited compared to those. If you wanted a horse racing/jockey sim in English on consoles nowadays I'd have to recommend either G1 Jockey 3 on PlayStation 2 or Champion Jockey: G1 Jockey & Gallop Racer on PlayStation 3. If you wanted the game on SEGA Saturn cause it's SEGA Saturn, well, the game is OK. Just, OK. Like most of the KOEI games of that era it can be as deep and complex as you want it to be. You basically start the game as a rich, young man who just happens to wanna get into the horse racing biz. You work with trainers and breeders on the horses and interact with the jockeys for pro-racing tips. Then you enter races which cost money and place bets which also, obviously, cost money. Rinse and repeat. If you've played any Romance or Nobunaga game from the 16 or 32-bit era, Winning Post features a lot of the same elements (just replace generals with jockeys and battles with racing, heh).

Personally, I adore the game even with its early 1996 limitations but a lot of that is due to nostalgia and not because it is a great example of the game series. I don't know what the game goes for nowadays but it could be fun to you if what I said interests you. Just do not expect any "wow" moments cause this is after all a mid-90s horse racing sim. It's also Mouse compatible which is my preferred method to play.

cool thanks.
 
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