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Sega Saturn Appreciation and Emulation Thread

T

televator

Member
Zonic said:
I read Hardcore Gaming 101's detailed review on it, & yeah, doesn't look like it's really worth getting. I can imagine back in the day, it was neat having those commercials as unlockables, but now you can just see them on YouTube.

As for my TV, don't think S-Video is supported (unless there's a converter), so I guess composite will have to be the way to hook it up or I get one of those S-Video to HDMI or component converters.

Appreciate all the answers from everyone, I just wanna make sure what I'm getting into before getting the system & trying to get games for it. The only time I ever got to play one was when I was 10 years old & it was a demo disc for stuff like Daytona, Nights, Clockwork Knight, & some other games I can't remember.
Click to expand...

If you have the willingness and/or capacity to toss some money at it, the Framemeister or the OSSC (Not yet available in mass production) with an RGB Scart or RGB JP21 cable are the best ways to connect to an HDTV. If money is an issue, but you don't want to sacrifice all the quality, this Scart to component transcoder is a potential answer. However you have to be certain your HDTV can accept 240p over component. The cheapest and easiest, but much uglier solution is to just plug composite (a.k.a. A/V, RCA) cables straight into the HDTV if the TV has that input.

I always recommend people read and study the OP in this thread for more details.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
so, a nearby museum had a (smithsonian?) video game exhibit, with each system having 4 games you can watch & hear short commentary on - they seemed to want action, adventure, "target" and strategy, but this made for odd choices, i thought - Saturn had Panzer Zwei & Saga, then Tomb Raider and SimCity 2000. some systems had odder lineups but i thought some of those were kinda odd picks, haha

Khaz said:
You can mod your system to play burned CDs. Put the CDR alongside your original Japanese disc in its box and you're good to go. This is what I did for Shining Force III.
Click to expand...

+1, great call

Zonic said:
Hmm, I'll have to look up how to do that. I saw the store I checked had Shining Wisdom, but US copies are over $150+ & not to mention I hear Working Designs changed some stuff, & of course, Japanese copy is a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...

what the
it's alright but totally not worth that!
 
R

RoryDropkick

Member
SpikedGunner said:
Yea, as much as I love Segata Sanshiro, the game itself was mixed. Some of the mini-games were enjoyable, some frustrating. It's a nice collection nonetheless if you're a fan and want to own something Segata related (I have this, the PC game, and the action figure from motherbase, I'd love to get my hands on a shirt or the Takara-Tomy figure)...though I think I'm missing something to unlock, like I used a GameFAQs guide back in the day to unlock most everything except that one commercial (?). Kind hoped that someday, someone would point out how to unlock it.

Plus come on, Hiroshi Fujioka was just over-the-top with the yelling and everything in it.
Click to expand...

So weird, someone actually GAVE me that game a few years back. He was clearing out on some imports since he stopped collecting and he knew I'd appreciate it. Gave that, Rolling Thunder 2 on MD and Rockman and Forte on SFC, all complete.
 
T

Timu

Member
So I have 12 Saturn games now:

Panzer Dragoon
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Last Bronx
Fighting Vipers
X-men: Children of the Atom
Virtua Fighter 2
Daytona USA Championship Circuit Edition
Fighters Megamix
Virtua Cop
Virtua Cop 2
Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

I want around 50 or so. 30 being the minimum.
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
RoryDropkick said:
So weird, someone actually GAVE me that game a few years back. He was clearing out on some imports since he stopped collecting and he knew I'd appreciate it. Gave that, Rolling Thunder 2 on MD and Rockman and Forte on SFC, all complete.
Click to expand...
R&F has such a good soundtrack. Game's worth a bit now, yeah? Great for a freebie.
 
M

MikeMyers

Member
Timu said:
So I have 12 Saturn games now:

Panzer Dragoon
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Last Bronx
Fighting Vipers
X-men: Children of the Atom
Virtua Fighter 2
Daytona USA Championship Circuit Edition
Fighters Megamix
Virtua Cop
Virtua Cop 2
Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

I want around 50 or so. 30 being the minimum.
Click to expand...
Could add some more Capcom fighters Alpha 2 and Vampire Hunter should be cheap.
 
T

Timu

Member
MikeMyers said:
Could add some more Capcom fighters Alpha 2 and Vampire Hunter should be cheap.
Click to expand...
While I do have Alpha 2 Gold, yes, I need Vampire Hunter as I only played one Darkstalkers game and don't even remember what the name was.

sixteen-bit said:
If you like STGs cop Darius Gaiden and Layer Section
Click to expand...
Though I'm not that good at them I like STGs. I heard Darius Gaiden has 2 credits which is going to be a challenge for me.
 
Z

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
From what I've read, the Saturn version of Darius Gaiden is bare-bones, but arcade perfect, save for some slowdown (though not as bad as the PS1 version). I think the fact I saw it at the game store in my town not long after reading about it kind of reminded me "oh man, I want a Saturn so I can dig up some gems that I can only get/is better on this system".

Also, wow, totally just remembered we have an old 1988 Sony Trinitron (model KV-20TX11) in the basement that I walk by every time I do laundry. I might just hook it up to that, assuming I can find a place to put the TV. Though the converter would be nice for my other systems like my SNES, GCN, & PS2.
 
S

SpikedGunner

Member
televator said:
If you have the willingness and/or capacity to toss some money at it, the Framemeister or the OSSC (Not yet available in mass production) with an RGB Scart or RGB JP21 cable are the best ways to connect to an HDTV. If money is an issue, but you don't want to sacrifice all the quality, this Scart to component transcoder is a potential answer. However you have to be certain your HDTV can accept 240p over component. The cheapest and easiest, but much uglier solution is to just plug composite (a.k.a. A/V, RCA) cables straight into the HDTV if the TV has that input.

I always recommend people read and study the OP in this thread for more details.
Click to expand...

I have one of these, though I've heard that some people open these up and calibrate the RGB setting because it might not be accurate, correct?
 
G

geniusbits

Member
I know the HSS-0104 fight stick has a bad rap, but assuming you don't want to spend close to $100 each for 2 of the good sticks, is it worth trying for $30 each or so? I want to use it for Saturn fighters and possibly for Dreamcast (with Total Control 3).
 
cj_iwakura

cj_iwakura

Member
Found this at Book Off for $5. Not sure if it's rare but I'm damn glad I have it.
GeLXCbE.jpg
 
B

Barrel Cannon

Member
MikeMyers said:
Fortunately I'm in the camp that got the Saturn for its arcade games, so I don't have to pay much....

BIR1nL6.jpg


But the disc-only ones just make my collection look unclassy. Especially that Die Hard Arcade.
Click to expand...
Nice you seem to have similar taste to me. I got my console to play fighters mainly and a few shooters.

I got a pvm20m2u recently and was going to do rgb but realized last night I can use svideo so I bought an svideo cable for my saturn. Right now I only have virtual On(ntsc). Virtual On just looks so right on it. The intro still hypes me up. Going to have to search around for a japan console as I intend to have a collection similar to yours and can't play them on my ntsc console.
 
T

televator

Member
SpikedGunner said:
Ah I see, any idea of the proper levels I should adjust it to for accurate colors or would that be something best to ask in the retro upscaler/CRT thread?
Click to expand...

They're all going to need different adjustments. Use a gray ramp and color bar pattern. Calibrate the individual pots for untinted white and neutral greys.
 
M

MikeMyers

Member
Barrel Cannon said:
Nice you seem to have similar taste to me. I got my console to play fighters mainly and a few shooters.

I got a pvm20m2u recently and was going to do rgb but realized last night I can use svideo so I bought an svideo cable for my saturn. Right now I only have virtual On(ntsc). Virtual On just looks so right on it. The intro still hypes me up. Going to have to search around for a japan console as I intend to have a collection similar to yours and can't play them on my ntsc console.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I mostly bought the system for its arcade ports, but I also wanted to try the classics out like Guardian Heroes and Panzer Dragoon.

Least favourite game I own is probably Sonic 3D Blast, but it came free with the console, so I can't complain much.
 
O

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
geniusbits said:
I know the HSS-0104 fight stick has a bad rap, but assuming you don't want to spend close to $100 each for 2 of the good sticks, is it worth trying for $30 each or so? I want to use it for Saturn fighters and possibly for Dreamcast (with Total Control 3).
Click to expand...
NO.

saturn pad is superior in every single way to 0104 and ive been using sticks for the better part of a decade. 0104 is trash.

/edit/ for context, i used a ps2 stick with stock hori parts in tournament at canada cup. i am very forgiving with legacy controllers. 0104 does not operate the way any stick should.
 
K

KC-Slater

Member
geniusbits said:
I know the HSS-0104 fight stick has a bad rap, but assuming you don't want to spend close to $100 each for 2 of the good sticks, is it worth trying for $30 each or so? I want to use it for Saturn fighters and possibly for Dreamcast (with Total Control 3).
Click to expand...

You're really better off spending $60 in parts (buttons, old-controllers, cheap old stick, etc.) and cannibalising that stuff to build your own Saturn stick.

It's not difficult at all, and it's a great introduction to soldiering, if you don't have any prior experience.
 
G

geniusbits

Member
oneida said:
NO.

saturn pad is superior in every single way to 0104 and ive been using sticks for the better part of a decade. 0104 is trash.

/edit/ for context, i used a ps2 stick with stock hori parts in tournament at canada cup. i am very forgiving with legacy controllers. 0104 does not operate the way any stick should.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I needed a firm yes or no.
KC-Slater said:
You're really better off spending $60 in parts (buttons, old-controllers, cheap old stick, etc.) and cannibalising that stuff to build your own Saturn stick.

It's not difficult at all, and it's a great introduction to soldiering, if you don't have any prior experience.
Click to expand...
Any videos on how that is done or pictures of final products?

The main urge for a fight stick was for my Dreamcast, whose sharp d-pad tears up my left thumb on fighters. I have yet to mind the Saturn controller for fighters yet, but the price of a good Dreamcast fight stick made me wonder whether I would be better off getting a couple of decent Saturn sticks and the Total Control 3 to perform double duty. Then I got into the whole scene of what is and isn't a good stick and began to despair. I might just start out with the Total Control 3 to use my Saturn controllers on DC, and continue to use them on Saturn, and wait for a good deal on good fight sticks.
 
K

KC-Slater

Member
geniusbits said:
Any videos on how that is done or pictures of final products?
Click to expand...

Yes, I'll post something, or inbox you some links later. Basically you just need something to serve as a 'base' for your stick (you can make it out for wood, or use an old, existing stick. I used this POS for a Genesis 6-button mod, for example) and then an old pad that you can hack up, and solder connections to Sanwa buttons and a need stick. I opted for the ASCII-fighterstick as the base, because the button holes were the right size for 24mm Sanwa buttons, and it did the trick.

geniusbits said:
I might just start out with the Total Control 3 to use my Saturn controllers on DC, and continue to use them on Saturn, and wait for a good deal on good fight sticks.
Click to expand...

This.
 
M

Moor-Angol

Banned
i have two Saturn, a model-1 and a model-2

this morning I wanted to try Groove on Fight and I tried :

4Mb memory
1Mb memory from KoF96
1Mb memory from Real Bout

none of them worked on any model, I also changed the game (tried Real Bout) and sane result

I tried to hike the card for few millimeters but anything changed, besides trying to clean the cart port on both Saturn there are any other suggestions?
the model-2 cart port worked cause I used to play Metal Slug some years ago, the model-1 unit I never checked cause I bought last year to test the games I sell
 
Genesis Knight

Genesis Knight

Member
MikeMyers said:
Which would you guys recommend if you could only pick one, Duke Nukem or Quake?

EDIT - Also Alien Trilogy any good?
Click to expand...

Duke Nukem is more fun for SP than Quake is, although I think it's much more difficult than Quake. Alien Trilogy is good. I think the opinion is warming on it as the years pass. There was a time when it was considered to be trash, but that's not really fair.
 
J

jhmtehgamr20xx

Banned
Jake from State Farm said:
A thread like that wouldn't have any legs, so I can see why.
Click to expand...

If I can ever get SSF to work properly, I will start that thread.

Speaking of, does anyone know how to resolve the boot-crash issue w/ PD Saga on SSF? I spent over an hour trying to get SSF to work; now it can load PD Saga and play the intro but after that it boots back to the Saturn main menu. I'm using the latest build of SSF and game image files for the discs.

From what looking around I've done I've seen it could be a BIOS region issue but I'm pretty sure I have that set up right. Also perhaps an issue that the images are corrupted but that doesn't seem to explain to me why the intro would play. Or that it could be copy-protected, which wouldn't surprise me. Etc.

Ugh. I just wish the original English disc versions were affordable so I could play them on my actual Saturn. But since they aren't and no digital re-release or remaster seems to be in sight (btw the whole "lost source code" thing is just a bunch of bullshit; they don't need the source code to rerelease or remaster the game. Blue Point Studios doesn't use the source code for their remasters for example; they just use the finished version and reverse-engineer it), this might be the only way I can experience the game.
 
S

Saturn Memories

Neo Member
jhmtehgamr20xx said:
If I can ever get SSF to work properly, I will start that thread.

Speaking of, does anyone know how to resolve the boot-crash issue w/ PD Saga on SSF? I spent over an hour trying to get SSF to work; now it can load PD Saga and play the intro but after that it boots back to the Saturn main menu. I'm using the latest build of SSF and game image files for the discs.

From what looking around I've done I've seen it could be a BIOS region issue but I'm pretty sure I have that set up right. Also perhaps an issue that the images are corrupted but that doesn't seem to explain to me why the intro would play. Or that it could be copy-protected, which wouldn't surprise me. Etc.

Ugh. I just wish the original English disc versions were affordable so I could play them on my actual Saturn. But since they aren't and no digital re-release or remaster seems to be in sight (btw the whole "lost source code" thing is just a bunch of bullshit; they don't need the source code to rerelease or remaster the game. Blue Point Studios doesn't use the source code for their remasters for example; they just use the finished version and reverse-engineer it), this might be the only way I can experience the game.
Click to expand...

R4 is a buggy POS. Give the previous version, 0.12 beta R3, a shot. See if that resolves your issue:

http://www.geocities.jp/mj3kj8o5/ssf/files/index.html
 
petran79

petran79

Banned
Do not know if anyone can confirm this.

Taito F3 games still have inaccurate emulation on MAME so I decided to play two Saturn ports of 2 popular games on SSF:

Elevator Action Returns and Bubble Symphony.

Saturn port of Elevator Action correctly emulates some effects like the darkening corridors when you shoot the circuits. The above effects do not appear on MAME. Corridors have the same light.

But Bubble Symphony confuses me . Saturn is the definite edition, with arranged soundtrack and arcade dipswitch settings
While game runs fine, there is a peculiar issue:

In order to progress you need to collect some keys found in every 7 stages, prior to the boss fights. To get each key it is required to collect 3 music boxes. They are hidden in some stages.
I assume that in the original arcade the boxes are be invisible, until you walk or jump into their location. But in SSF they are visible in some stages, eg Kikikai Land if you choose the right door in stage 1. Same issue appears also in MAME.

Does this happen also in the original Saturn hardware or even the TaitoF3 arcade?
 
S

Saturn Memories

Neo Member
petran79 said:
Do not know if anyone can confirm this.

Taito F3 games still have inaccurate emulation on MAME so I decided to play two Saturn ports of 2 popular games on SSF:

Elevator Action Returns and Bubble Symphony.

Saturn port of Elevator Action correctly emulates some effects like the darkening corridors when you shoot the circuits. The above effects do not appear on MAME. Corridors have the same light.

But Bubble Symphony confuses me . Saturn is the definite edition, with arranged soundtrack and arcade dipswitch settings
While game runs fine, there is a peculiar issue:

In order to progress you need to collect some keys found in every 7 stages, prior to the boss fights. To get each key it is required to collect 3 music boxes. They are hidden in some stages.
I assume that in the original arcade the boxes are be invisible, until you walk or jump into their location. But in SSF they are visible in some stages, eg Kikikai Land if you choose the right door in stage 1. Same issue appears also in MAME.

Does this happen also in the original Saturn hardware or even the TaitoF3 arcade?
Click to expand...

Bubble Symphony is on the PC version of Taito Legends 2. That's another place you could check.
 
S

Saturn Memories

Neo Member
Never noticed just how dark Guardian Heroes' remix mode was compared to the original graphics. It's really bad:





Sadly, I didn't catch this until I played the footage back on my laptop (I have the brightness on my plasma television cranked way up because the picture is very, very dim). I'm going to have to reshoot the whole game, lol. :\
 
G

Galdelico

Member
Saturn Memories said:
Never noticed just how dark Guardian Heroes' remix mode was compared to the original graphics. It's really bad:





Sadly, I didn't catch this until I played the footage back on my laptop (I have the brightness on my plasma television cranked way up because the picture is very, very dim). I'm going to have to reshoot the whole game, lol. :\
Click to expand...

At least it's still possible to disable that horrid filtering and play with the original graphics (well, sort of). Still can't believe how someone could think the smearing alone wasn't enough, and added that dodgy dark-brush mask on top of it. :/
 
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