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Sega Saturn Appreciation and Emulation Thread

Teknoman

Member
Haha, in a rage I had to cross-post :p Yeah, I'm not sure who the real culprit is. To be honest though, it's been quite a money pit so getting a refund and playing through S-video may have to suffice. *commence tears*

Try to get a new cable first. I had a faulty scart cable used for my RGB modded NES awhile back. Replaced it and NES displayed perfectly. That being said, I also had issues with the first Specialty AV box I ordered long ago (used to get too hot and eventually had color loss problems / SCART input became slightly loose).

Its really just a matter of figuring either, especially if you can play PS1 via PS2 over component.
 

MikeMyers

Member
By the way, I actually met a former Working Designs employee recently, and no it wasn't Victor Ireland.

According to him, the Saturn had many different processors that had to be fed correctly for it to work. However, although the PlayStation was easier to develop for, he really liked the Saturn hardware. WD were supposedly big Sega fans at heart, but once Sega's staff were replaced by former Sony people, communication fell through and WD decided not to support the Saturn's successor. Still, they really wanted to the Saturn to go out with a bang, and went all out with Magic Knight Rayearth. Once they moved onto the PSX, the JRPG market place was a lot bigger, and it was generally harder for a niche company like WD to get the license for JRPG's. That was when the company began to struggle.

A shame I wont ever be able to find MKR at a decent price.
 

IrishNinja

Member
i really should watch the anime sometime...it just looks like such a fun game. it's high in my current queue, but ive got other RPGs to tie up first

also a friend tempted me with another shot at my white whale (a good deal on Shining Force 3) only to have it not pan out...sucks, but then i really do gotta tie up CD & part 2 before anyway
 

MikeMyers

Member
Wait a sec. Did Sony really pay Eidos to kill of the Saturn version of Tomb Raider 2?

According to this interview, the Saturn version was cancelled by at least June 1997.

The Sony deal came in September 1997, which would be three months after the Saturn version was cancelled.
 
Ha, I always wanted MKR despite the fact I'm not a RPG fan. Big fan of the license.
It's no really an RPG. It's more action adventure or RPG lite, the weapon upgrades are unlocked through story progression. There are orbs to collect that let you upgrade your characters but not much depth at all.
 
I don't think they needed much convincing to ax the Saturn version. The first didn't sell well and it was clear the Saturn wasn't going anywhere at that point, where the Playstation was really taking off. I'm sure it sold more than the N-Gage version though.
 

Wereroku

Member
It's no really an RPG. It's more action adventure or RPG lite, the weapon upgrades are unlocked through story progression. There are orbs to collect that let you upgrade your characters but not much depth at all.

And you really only ever use Fuu. But yeah it's barely an rpg I would say it's an action adventure game with some ability upgrades. Also you have to 100% it because the outtakes are golden.
 

Celine

Member
I'm looking at the ebay prices for Elevator Action Returns ...
holy shit seems the game is going to hover above 200 euro.
 
I'm looking at the ebay prices for Elevator Action Returns ...
holy shit seems the game is going to hover above 200 euro.

Did a popular Youtube personality do a video on it?

240p and being able to bind grenade to a separate button is nice, but at that premium most people are better of getting Taito Legends 2 compilation and playing EAR there.
Edit: If you're paying $200+ you could probably get the Arcade F3 kit, lol.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Did a popular Youtube personality do a video on it?

240p and being able to bind grenade to a separate button is nice, but at that premium most people are better of getting Taito Legends 2 compilation and playing EAR there.
Edit: If you're paying $200+ you could probably get the Arcade F3 kit, lol.

Yeah, the prices are out of fucking control on EAR. Glad I discovered that one early, before it really started getting ridiculous.

FWIW, the Saturn version does have better sound quality than the arcade board, so if one was actually deciding between the Saturn release and the arcade version... I'd still go Saturn.
 

MikeMyers

Member
I don't think they needed much convincing to ax the Saturn version. The first didn't sell well and it was clear the Saturn wasn't going anywhere at that point, where the Playstation was really taking off. I'm sure it sold more than the N-Gage version though.
The first game was a top 10 Saturn game in the US and was bundled in Europe, but yeah, the system was clearly dead in the West by 1997.

I wonder if it's worth playing? I enjoyed it back in the day but I wonder if it plays well in 2015. Sadly platforming seems to be the one genre the Saturn failed to surpass the Mega Drive in.
 

jerry1594

Member
Did a popular Youtube personality do a video on it?

240p and being able to bind grenade to a separate button is nice, but at that premium most people are better of getting Taito Legends 2 compilation and playing EAR there.
Edit: If you're paying $200+ you could probably get the Arcade F3 kit, lol.
It's been in that range for a while now, up to maybe ($)400 even. I was lucky to find it for $90
 

IrishNinja

Member
Its such a steep rise in a relatively short time, if you look at sold copies on eBay...I'm with 16 bit, some YT lets play must have highlighted the crap out of it, or like that time giant bomb made everyone buy windjammers
 
I remember a recent insertcredit podcast where Brandon Sheffield (owns hella Saturn games) was saying you better buy shit on sight because the next time you happen upon it shit's gonna be double the price. I can agree with what he says but that's kinda shitty how true it is, lol.
 

MikeMyers

Member
Is the GBA sequel to Guardian Heroes any good?

It's no really an RPG. It's more action adventure or RPG lite, the weapon upgrades are unlocked through story progression. There are orbs to collect that let you upgrade your characters but not much depth at all.

My god.

My wallets telling me no, but my body, my body is saying yes!
 
Is the GBA sequel to Guardian Heroes any good?

My god.

My wallets telling me no, but my body, my body is saying yes!

Well you could lower the cost of the game by getting it without the stickers. That will save you $30-$50 Also, iirc, the version with Fuu printed on the disk is the rarer of the 3.

I have the Hikaru disc, but wish I had Umi,
I also have the stickers and they look good.

so go for it.

tumblr_nu4w3ngxnV1qa2xgdo8_250.gif
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Well you could lower the cost of the game by getting it without the stickers. That will save you $30-$50 Also, iirc, the version with Fuu printed on the disk is the rarer of the 3.

I have the Hikaru disc, but wish I had Umi,
I also have the stickers and they look good.

so go for it.

tumblr_nu4w3ngxnV1qa2xgdo8_250.gif

Heh, I wish I had the Hikaru disc. :p I have Umi.

And it's a wonderful game. Also, the licensing of the anime caused some snafus with the game's localization if I recall.

The WD version still has the better OP. Boy does it have some, uh, wild dialogue.

8-1.jpg


803.jpg


868.jpg
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
i really should watch the anime sometime...it just looks like such a fun game. it's high in my current queue, but ive got other RPGs to tie up first

also a friend tempted me with another shot at my white whale (a good deal on Shining Force 3) only to have it not pan out...sucks, but then i really do gotta tie up CD & part 2 before anyway

I actually just bought this, had to pay some mayor bucks though.
 

piggychan

Member
mkr_wd_translation_5.jpeg


squishy_zpsa739f3e1.png


FuuLikesBigBalls_zps23628105.png


umicondoms_zps40abaaf3.png


I love WD

I swear I didn't see any of these kind of texts during the time I played through this! But I do recommend you pick this up. It's a solid game with pretty graphics and really nice music to listen to. Nothing epic just nice.

Lots of anime cut scenes taken directly from the show but they are low res and small. If you can get it for a song then do!! The USA version has different discs some of those prints are rarer than others and you should also get a sticker sheet inside the manual booklet. SEGA of Japan also produced some figurines to coincide this release.
 

Teknoman

Member
By the way, I actually met a former Working Designs employee recently, and no it wasn't Victor Ireland.

According to him, the Saturn had many different processors that had to be fed correctly for it to work. However, although the PlayStation was easier to develop for, he really liked the Saturn hardware. WD were supposedly big Sega fans at heart, but once Sega's staff were replaced by former Sony people, communication fell through and WD decided not to support the Saturn's successor. Still, they really wanted to the Saturn to go out with a bang, and went all out with Magic Knight Rayearth. Once they moved onto the PSX, the JRPG market place was a lot bigger, and it was generally harder for a niche company like WD to get the license for JRPG's. That was when the company began to struggle.

A shame I wont ever be able to find MKR at a decent price.

Keep the dream alive.

EDIT: Also anyone with the Arc the Lad collection manual knows all about WD lol. That section about the robot :p
 

Mzo

Member
I'm glad they brought so many games over but I hate the horrible, juvenile humor and the needless gameplay tweaks that broke games too often.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
I'm glad they brought so many games over but I hate the horrible, juvenile humor and the needless gameplay tweaks that broke games too often.

The gameplay tweaks were the worst. Ruined many games unfortunately.
 
The gameplay tweaks were the worst. Ruined many games unfortunately.
Well they did improve a lot with Albert Odyssey. For one they cut back on the random encounters. Watch the Japanese version it's ridiculous. And they slightly increased the experience gained per kill.
If they didn't make those changes I never would have completed it.
 

Mzo

Member
I'd gladly give up a mediocre Albert Odyssey to get normal versions of SCD Lunar 2, Popful Mail, and PS Silhouette Mirage.

Never played Exile: WP so I don't know if it's worth my outrage.

So..is Tomb Raider worth revisiting, or just best left to nostalgia?

Do you like the original Prince of Persia? If so, think of the first TR as PoP in 3D and suddenly it's one of the best games ever made. None of the sequels can touch the exploration and actual raiding of tombs in the first game.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
So..is Tomb Raider worth revisiting, or just best left to nostalgia?

I think the game is great, you just need to get used to the tank controls. It has some great puzzles, and really cool Zelda-like level design.And it has actual challenge. I say go for it.

Well they did improve a lot with Albert Odyssey. For one they cut back on the random encounters. Watch the Japanese version it's ridiculous. And they slightly increased the experience gained per kill.
If they didn't make those changes I never would have completed it.

This is true, but yeah, Im with Mzo on this.
 

MikeMyers

Member
Just for the record, I actually beat the OG trilogy as a kid, but I was just wondering if its aged well.

It would have been nice to get TR2 and TR3, but even as a kid I thought the series was getting stale fast.
 

IrishNinja

Member
never really appreciated PoP, explains why i felt the same way about TR

I'd gladly give up a mediocre Albert Odyssey to get normal versions of SCD Lunar 2, Popful Mail, and PS Silhouette Mirage.

Never played Exile: WP so I don't know if it's worth my outrage.

okay you proved how broken Mirage was, Lunar 2 was...challenging with that magic/save system (fuck, Borgan may still be one of my roughest JRPG battles), but i still haven't gotten around to Popful, i just heard it's hard...what specifically was done?
 
So..is Tomb Raider worth revisiting, or just best left to nostalgia?
I didn't get around to beating it until earlier this year, but I'm gonna go ahead and say "yes". The Prince of Persia comparison is absolutely apt, except unlike that game, you're not under a strict time limit, so the pressure is lower. Combat is shit, but the platforming holds up, provided you have a little patience.

Although I'd also say you want the PC version (modded to re-include the music), because the save-anywhere it has is... kind of necessary in my opinion, with the number of tricky jumps the game expects you to make. One-time-use checkpoints doesn't really compare. Quality of life change, really.

I really think a game in this style could still work in this day and age, although it'd need to be adapted to the traditional WASD+mouse/dual analog control scheme, where the turning is on the mouse/right stick while forward/back/strafing is on WASD/the left stick. Camera would stick more strictly to Lara's back, so the fact that these are still technically "tank" controls would be obfuscated (that is, the terrible camera angles that don't show you anything ahead of you that you can so easily wind up with in Tomb Raider wouldn't happen). Wouldn't change the movement speeds much, though - maybe allow faster turns when you're standing still, but you wouldn't be able to turn on a dime while running. (Your aiming, however, would be able to quickly rotate within a wide angle of the direction your lower body is facing, because combat would probably work best if aiming were manual, and having really slow aiming controls while you're being shot at isn't exactly what I'd call ideal.)
 
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