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[piggychan]

then yeah, totally - pity that game never got a real port, and the closest is 32X.
it's pretty in its own way and even though it's the worst game in the series i still think it's pretty novel.

those designs and style is just pure fun and iconic SEGA.

 

[AmyS]

Sega AM Annex - Tetsuya Mizuguchi interview.

 

[Nudull]

Still hoping to get my hands on a Saturn in the near future. It's the one Sega console outside of the Master System that I haven't owned or played.

 

[Khaz]

Even though I'm pretty decent at Daytona USA and SEGA Rally, I could never even finish a lap in SEGA Touring Car. The gameplay is just so different and... just weird.

The OST is goat though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dWV-4k_bic

 

[cj_iwakura]

Sega AM Annex - Tetsuya Mizuguchi interview.

Not everyday you get to have God sit down for an interview.

He's easily my favorite developer. Everything he touches is gold.

 

[StevieWhite]

Guys, I've got a copy of Wachenroder staring me in the face. I know next to nothing about it. Anybody here have thoughts on it?

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Guys, I've got a copy of Wachenroder staring me in the face. I know next to nothing about it. Anybody here have thoughts on it?

I have that game too. I know there's a script translation on GameFAQs (or there was). I've had the game for years and never played it...

 

[Khaz]

The thread about 90s arcade racer made me replay Daytona USA CE. Haven't played in a while, it is a bit tough to get back into it. I ended my first race ten seconds behind my record on Three Seven Speedway Arcade. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it again, but finally...

"Welcome to victory lane! You made it!"
2'28"69, fastest lap 0'17"81

I even blew my previous record by more than two seconds, which must means it wasn't that great to begin with.

 

[blast processed]

The thread about 90s arcade racer made me replay Daytona USA CE. Haven't played in a while, it is a bit tough to get back into it. I ended my first race ten seconds behind my record on Three Seven Speedway Arcade. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it again, but finally...

"Welcome to victory lane! You made it!"
2'28"69, fastest lap 0'17"81

I even blew my previous record by more than two seconds, which must means it wasn't that great to begin with.

Must not have been that rough if you came 10 seconds behind your old record. I can't remember what my fastest lap is and my stuff is packed away.

 

[MurderOfPoes]

Disc 2 done of Panzer Dragoon Saga. Really enjoying it so far; I'll give my full thoughts once I'm done. For those wondering (as I was), you can indeed play a PAL copy of the game on an NA Saturn using an AR Cart (with appropriate code) without issue.

Just saw the above post, haha. Here are a couple links to help determine which PAL games work on North American Saturns:

http://www.segasaturn.co.uk/games/sega_saturn_pal.html

http://www.oocities.org/timessquare/cavern/2520/titles.html

PDS also suffered from a lousy PAL port, so it probably works just like the 60hz version on a NTSC system. Just to be sure, did you suffered some 3D models flickering during cutscenes?

 

[Nudull]

Seeing prices for the Panzer Dragoon series online is depressing. Maybe I'll luck out on finally playing through it, someday.

 

[Dwayne]

Provided you sell it on afterwards, you'll probably end up profiting from buying it.

 

[Conezays]

PDS also suffered from a lousy PAL port, so it probably works just like the 60hz version on a NTSC system. Just to be sure, did you suffered some 3D models flickering during cutscenes?

I wasn't aware of any differences between the versions? I haven't played the NTSC version, but there wasn't any serious flickering in the cut scenes as far as I can remember. Furthermore, much of the FMV is fairly of its era to me.

 

[MikeMyers]

those designs and style is just pure fun and iconic SEGA.

Agreed.

To me VF has very strong presentation, but it feels like others don't agree.

 

[IrishNinja]

Not everyday you get to have God sit down for an interview.

He's easily my favorite developer. Everything he touches is gold.

can't argue with this, man's made nothing by me but classics

PDS also suffered from a lousy PAL port, so it probably works just like the 60hz version on a NTSC system. Just to be sure, did you suffered some 3D models flickering during cutscenes?

shame to hear about the port, it absolutely has better packaging

Seeing prices for the Panzer Dragoon series online is depressing. Maybe I'll luck out on finally playing through it, someday.

this is sad to read, but id seen even Zwei going up a year or so back...fucking sucks to have such a fantastic series become less accessible

 

[MikeMyers]

I got Panzer Dragoon 1 & 2 for $30 CIB last year. Pretty cheap if you import.

 

[Timu]

I got Panzer Dragoon 1 & 2 for $30 CIB last year. Pretty cheap if you import.

That's what I did for those games.

 

[MikeMyers]

Finally played House of the Dead. Honestly the graphics didn't bother me at all.

 

[Khaz]

shame to hear about the port, it absolutely has better packaging

What he means is that the port wasn't P AL-optimised in any way, and plays slower with black bars on a PAL console. But in turns that means a PAL modded console can play it at 60Hz without problems, as the gods intended.

 

[Galdelico]

Even though I'm pretty decent at Daytona USA and SEGA Rally, I could never even finish a lap in SEGA Touring Car. The gameplay is just so different and... just weird.

The OST is goat though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dWV-4k_bic

STC, the game I constantly 'ok, come on, I'm gonna play it again after so many years, and for some reason this time I'll be good at it, and it will all be awesome'... Except - 3 turns after - I feel myself hating it a little bit more than the last time, and switching back to SEGA Rally. :/

 

[Conezays]

What he means is that the port wasn't P AL-optimised in any way, and plays slower with black bars on a PAL console. But in turns that means a PAL modded console can play it at 60Hz without problems, as the gods intended.

Well, no problem for us in NA or Japan then I can't imagine playing games at 50Hz And yeah, for anyone interested in Panzer 1 or Zwei I would 100 % import; don't think I paid more than $20-30 for either in mint condition.

 

[Morfeo]

What he means is that the port wasn't P AL-optimised in any way, and plays slower with black bars on a PAL console. But in turns that means a PAL modded console can play it at 60Hz without problems, as the gods intended.

Or an ntsc console with action replay cart, right?

 

[Conezays]

Or an ntsc console with action replay cart, right?

I finished the game on an NTSC console with AR cart last week without issues, so you're fine if you're looking to do the same. If there *are* any minor issues, they're minute enough to not be a hindrance as far as I saw.

 

[piggychan]

Well, no problem for us in NA or Japan then I can't imagine playing games at 50Hz And yeah, for anyone interested in Panzer 1 or Zwei I would 100 % import; don't think I paid more than $20-30 for either in mint condition.

Most PAL/SECAM console games were running 50hz even up til around the mid Dreamcast/ps2/Xbox/Gamecube era. Now we have PAL 60 as standard since xbox 360. But yes most of us Brit folk didn't even know about that 17.5% speed difference till folks began importing from early pc engine days.

The choice was to either spend as many coins as you could in the arcades or play the slower console port that felt sluggish and had huge black borders on the top and bottom or play the much inferior computer ports but ran full speed....or importing

Very few companies optimized their games except SEGA and later on Nintendo during Gamecube gen.

 

[MikeMyers]

So a kind GAFer sent me the PS1 version of Alpha 3, and this game hasn't really aged well for me. I still like it, but I prefer the presentation of Alpha 2, which had more of a martial arts vibe to me. I'm kind glad though since it makes me feel less salty about not being able to afford Alpha 3 Saturn, lol.

 

[blast processed]

So a kind GAFer sent me the PS1 version of Alpha 3, and this game hasn't really aged well for me. I still like it, but I prefer the presentation of Alpha 2, which had more of a martial arts vibe to me. I'm kind glad though since it makes me feel less salty about not being able to afford Alpha 3 Saturn, lol.

I like Alpha 2 better than 3. Not many of us out there tho.

 

[Nudull]

Finally played House of the Dead. Honestly the graphics didn't bother me at all.

I've heard that the Saturn port wasn't particularly great. :/ I've always wanted to play the first game, though.

 

[blast processed]

I've heard that the Saturn port wasn't particularly great. :/ I've always wanted to play the first game, though.

Sound is great, music is awesome and the gameplay is fun. Graphics at the time of release we're terrible by comparison to everything else, but now, I find it charming. It's all about the gameplay.

 

[Teknoman]

I like Alpha 2 better than 3. Not many of us out there tho.

I like Alpha 2 more than 3 for the soundtrack alone.

 

[RetroGreg]

I love Alpha 2. I have that Street Fghter Collection that has Alpha 2 Gold on it. It's awesome.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Sound is great, music is awesome and the gameplay is fun. Graphics at the time of release we're terrible by comparison to everything else, but now, I find it charming. It's all about the gameplay.

Apparently the framerate is terrible, but I have the game and think it's perfectly playable, so yeah. It's a fun game. Sure, the graphics could be better, but for a 5th-gen game they aren't THAT bad, most PS1 and Saturn 3d games look ugly anyway (super-pixelated...), so really it looks okay. It's definitely nice to actually play the original game, since Sega has not re-released it since the Saturn & PC ports of the '90s. The second one is better, but the first HotD's a good light-gun game too, worth playing if you like the genre.

Of course, it's better with a light gun, but I do have one for the Saturn.

 

[D.Lo]

I like Alpha 2 better than 3. Not many of us out there tho.

Everyone who enjoys good gameplay prefers Zero 2 to Zero 3.

Zero 3 is a flashy, fancy, too-fast mess that was far too influenced by the Marvel Vs games. It has top quality but completely ADHD presentation, and over the top dramatic action movie music. Zero 2 is a classy game with the best soundtrack ever that IMO perfected the original Street Fighter II gameplay.

Only really casual Street Fighter fans like Z3 over Z2, mostly because of all the Street Fighter II characters and extra modes that were included in the home releases. Also it was the only SF game to get a half decent port to PSX.

 

[MikeMyers]

Also it was the only SF game to get a half decent port to PSX.

Well, apparently Zero 2 still sold more in Japan, despite being a weaker port and having competition from the Saturn SKU. I wonder if Alpha 3's popularity mostly comes from the West then?

 

[D.Lo]

Well, apparently Zero 2 still sold more in Japan, despite being a weaker port and having competition from the Saturn SKU. I wonder if Alpha 3's popularity mostly comes from the West then?

Street Fighter started dying after Capcom flooded the market with Fighting games.

Between Zero 2 and Zero 3, Capcom released:

Xmen vs Street Fighter
Zero 2 Alpha
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Rival Schools: United By Fate
Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix
Street Fighter III: New Generation
Vampire Savior
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Red Earth
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
Street Fighter EX
Street Fighter EX2
Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact - Giant Attack
Vampire Savior 2
Vampire Hunter 2

And that's just Capcom alone between Z2 and Z3 (my dates might be slightly off on some at the start and end, but close enough)! Add in SNK and the other companies releasing many titles a year, and the market was headed for a crash, or at least some serious fatigue.

I believe this is the primary reason for the Street Fighter III series failure to make much of a splash, it was just dropped into a massive glut of fighting games.

Capcom eventually blamed Street Fighter III's failure on it being too complicated and not enough of the Street Fighter II cast, eventually leading to the hideous 3D SF2 retread that was SF4, which was IMO more successful primarily because it arrived in a fighter staved market.

 

[MikeMyers]

What I'm trying to say is that Alpha 3 is the best selling SF game on the PSX, but in Japan, Alpha 2 was more popular, so Alpha 3 sales would have had to come mostly for the West for everything to up.

But yeah, I think Alpha 2 was the more popular game if you add in the SNES/Saturn/Dreamcast SKU's for the two games.

Actually, I thought CPS3 was cited as the reason why SF3 tanked? That the hardware was too expensive for a declining arcade market? It got ditched for Naomi pretty quick.

 

[nkarafo]

Progress on Saturn emulation in Mednafen is happening. Considering how good Mednafen's Playstation emulation is, this is exciting. SSF has some annoying limitations and Yabause's compatibility still leaves a lot to be desired.

This is great news for me. I never managed to run the Yabause core properly, despite having a modern i5 processor. I have to enable tons of frameskipping in order to run most games at full speed.

Mednafen PSX core is the most compatible, problem free PSX emulator i have ever used.

 

[Galdelico]

Only really casual Street Fighter fans like Z3 over Z2, mostly because of all the Street Fighter II characters and extra modes that were included in the home releases. Also it was the only SF game to get a half decent port to PSX.

Yep, can confirm that. SF casual here, and I absolutely love Zero 3 (on the Saturn, PS2... Heck even on the PSP!). I guess that was kinda derogative, but it perfectly conforms with me, so I don't take it bad.

 

[Nudull]

My only experience with Alpha/Zero 2 were the PS1 and SNES ports. It's not a bad game by any means, but I felt that 3 was more memorable to me. Then again, I haven't played 3 in nearly a decade, and I became much better at playing fighting games since then, so I wouldn't know how I'd feel now.

 

[Morfeo]

I finished the game on an NTSC console with AR cart last week without issues, so you're fine if you're looking to do the same. If there *are* any minor issues, they're minute enough to not be a hindrance as far as I saw.

Yeah, that was my plan, nice to know it shoud work pretty well!

 

[Galdelico]

Arg, sorry double post/edit went wrong. :/

 

[D.Lo]

What I'm trying to say is that Alpha 3 is the best selling SF game on the PSX, but in Japan, Alpha 2 was more popular, so Alpha 3 sales would have had to come mostly for the West for everything to up.

But yeah, I think Alpha 2 was the more popular game if you add in the SNES/Saturn/Dreamcast SKU's for the two games.

Z3 may have sold more on PSX because it was a better package on PSX. Z2 sucked on PSX with incredibly bad load times, FMV for the animated intro, and many many frames of animation cut.

Z3 for PSX was a much better port, it basically got up to Saturn Z2 level load times and animation frames, and added heaps of content, including many extra characters and the world tour mode.

Actually, I thought CPS3 was cited as the reason why SF3 tanked? That the hardware was too expensive for a declining arcade market? It got ditched for Naomi pretty quick.

That didn't help either yeah.

Yep, can confirm that. SF casual here, and I absolutely love Zero 3 (on the Saturn, PS2... Heck even on the PSP!). I guess that was kinda derogative, but it perfectly conforms with me, so I don't take it bad.

Nothing wrong with that!

 

[Timu]

Load times on Alpha/Zero 2 are fixed to be under 5 seconds by playing it on a PS2 and setting disc read speed to fast, but it's a shame with the other things that couldn't be fix due to system limitations(like animation cuts).

 

[moltonasty]

So if I'm understanding correctly, PAL games should run without issue on a NTSC console yes? The Panzer Dragoon series is MUCH cheaper for PAL but I'd rather not have the "inferior" versions if that's the case.

 

[Galdelico]

So if I'm understanding correctly, PAL games should run without issue on a NTSC console yes?

Only those which weren't optimized, according to this link that Conezays posted above.

Seems like the games that were reprogrammed/tweaked to run full-speed/fullscreen in PAL50, all suffer from various glitches, when played on a 60hz Japanese/American Saturn.

 

[moltonasty]

Interesting, thanks for that info. I guess that means PD Zwei is out of the question then. PAL PD Saga is an option, but even PAL is around $400. Will I ever get this damn game!? :/

 

[oneida]

Interesting, thanks for that info. I guess that means PD Zwei is out of the question then. PAL PD Saga is an option, but even PAL is around $400. Will I ever get this damn game!? :/

get jp Zwei

save your pennies for saga then flip it when you're done. at this rate you'll probably turn a profit tbh

 

[Khaz]

If you don't plan to keep it after playing it, there's not much point in buying it in the first place. Chip your console, or swap discs if you just want to play it. Much cheaper.

 

[Shadow Hog]

Are modchips even still available? Racketboy doesn't sell them anymore, Sega Style doesn't sell them anymore... in fact, both stores have been completely shut down (and in the case of the latter, the site doesn't even exist anymore). What else was there?

 

[KC-Slater]

Are modchips even still available? Racketboy doesn't sell them anymore, Sega Style doesn't sell them anymore... in fact, both stores have been completely shut down (and in the case of the latter, the site doesn't even exist anymore). What else was there?

I recall modding my Saturn myself to bypass region in like 1998 or so. It involved scraping one of the traces, and soldering another two together or something. I had literally zero understanding of electronics at the time, and followed a very crude guide I found online. It's was a miricle that I didn't end up breaking it. It's a launch system and still works to this day. Not sure if this is par for the course or not, but it boots with the NA loading screen, but natively loads JP region games (and not NA without a PAR.)

I've since installed a RHEA, rendering the region of the system a null point, but back in the day, my high school-self was very pleased with himself, ha.

 

[Shadow Hog]

Well, I wasn't asking about region modchips, but thinking about it, the type of modchip Khaz was talking about is soooorta against GAF TOS, so it's probably in the best interest of all involved if we just shrug it off as "yeah, guess it's gone for good, oh well".