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[PumpkinSpice]

The pushbuttons on Saturn controller L/R buttons are not known for holding up well over time.

I'd recommend buying a new controller. They're pretty cheap.

 

[piggychan]

Hey first post on Neogaf!!! I recently got my first Sega Saturn, the grey Japanese version, with a fair number of games and I am extremely happy with it so far. However I've been playing a lot of xmen vs street fighter and the R button on my controller just seemed to stop working completely, has anyone else had problems with the shoulder buttons on the Saturn controller?

I honestly feel that the saturn controllers are some of the sturdiest ever built so when I read up stuff like this I wonder if the previous owners manhandled them badly...

 

[TheShinobi]

I have opened it up, but there doesnt seem to be any obvious problems. I'll probably just buy another controller, does anybody know if there are any models that are studier than other ones?

 

[D.Lo]

I honestly feel that the saturn controllers are some of the sturdiest ever built so when I read up stuff like this I wonder if the previous owners manhandled them badly...

Not the L/R buttons, they're not very well engineered.

Saturn controllers are decently made overall, much better than their previous pads, many dead Master System and Mega Drive pads out there.

 

[Conezays]

I have opened it up, but there doesnt seem to be any obvious problems. I'll probably just buy another controller, does anybody know if there are any models that are studier than other ones?

I'd recommend the 3D pads personally, though they are more expensive. Their D-pads and buttons are my favourite among the Saturn and Genesis pads; your mileage may vary. The L and R buttons are shaped differently due to the design of the controller so that may alleviate some of the issues you experienced. That being said, can't hurt to buy another standard pad and for fighters I'd definitely choose the standard controller.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Sega-Saturn-JP-3D-Pad.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Sega-Saturn-3D-Controller.jpg

 

[koopas]

Not the L/R buttons, they're not very well engineered.

Saturn controllers are decently made overall, much better than their previous pads, many dead Master System and Mega Drive pads out there.

Lets definitely agree the L/R buttons on the Japanese/Model 2 Saturn controllers are miles away better than the launch NA Saturn's. How did those get passed testing they're just horrible

 

[Morfeo]

Hey first post on Neogaf!!! I recently got my first Sega Saturn, the grey Japanese version, with a fair number of games and I am extremely happy with it so far. However I've been playing a lot of xmen vs street fighter and the R button on my controller just seemed to stop working completely, has anyone else had problems with the shoulder buttons on the Saturn controller?

Cant really help you, but I love that your first post is in one of the retro-threads. So welcome to retro-gaf, definitely the friendliest part of gaf

Spoiler

and the one with the best taste

. Be sure to check out the general retro-gaf thread for links to threads on basically all major plattforms.

 

[Leynos]

I am sure that it has been answered before, but if I were to use SCART cables with a SCART-to-component converter, how would I get sound? Does anyone sell a SCART cable with audio breakouts specifically for the Saturn? Or would I need another adapter to get audio out of the SCART cable before it goes into the SCART-to-component converter?

Edit: found it. I saw Timu's post about this cable which should hopefully work.

 

[foobarry81]

Never played any Saturn games on a Saturn before, and never owned a system, but I sort of officially joined the Saturn community today by receiving my first two Saturn games this morning.

I can't really play them yet, because my system and a bunch of other games are still at my friend's place in Japan. He buys stuff for me, then sends it over in bigger shipments. So, it's gonna be a while before I get to actually play. But I'm sure it's going to be an interesting experience.

My Saturn is a Japanese model HST-0014. The games I received today I got off of eBay and they are Wizardry: Llylgamyn Saga and Konami Antiques: MSX Collection Ultra Pack.

For now my friend only got me some dirt cheap Saturn games, including Panzer Dragoon, Daytona USA, SEGA Rally Championship Plus, Virtua Fighter Kids, and Fire Pro Gaiden: Blazing Tornado. But I got an extensive list readily available of games that look very appealing.

 

[Laevateinn]

Never played any Saturn games on a Saturn before, and never owned a system, but I sort of officially joined the Saturn community today by receiving my first two Saturn games this morning.

I can't really play them yet, because my system and a bunch of other games are still at my friend's place in Japan. He buys stuff for me, then sends it over in bigger shipments. So, it's gonna be a while before I get to actually play. But I'm sure it's going to be an interesting experience.

My Saturn is a Japanese model HST-0014. The games I received today I got off eBay and they are Wizardry: Llylgamyn Saga and Konami Antiques: MSX Collection Ultra Pack.

For now my friend only got me some dirt cheap Saturn games, including Panzer Dragoon, Daytona USA, SEGA Rally Championship Plus, Virtua Fighter Kids, and Fire Pro Gaiden: Blazing Tornado. But I got an extensive list readily available of games that look very appealing.

日本語が分かるか？If so, you have an RPG dream machine. If not, you still have just dived into a wonderful world of action and fighting titles.

 

[foobarry81]

日本語が分かるか？If so, you have an RPG dream machine. If not, you still have just dived into a wonderful world of action and fighting titles.

I studied some Japanese. Not enough to fully understand everything obviously, but I'm not afraid to pick up text heavy games. Got a good deal of Japanese language RPGs on PC Engine too.

My friend already got me both Riglord Saga games and Slayers Royal and SMT: Devil Summoner for example.

There's some "educational RPGs" on Saturn apparently. Planning to pick up those too.

 

[piggychan]

I studied some Japanese. Not enough to fully understand everything obviously, but I'm not afraid to pick up text heavy games. Got a good deal of Japanese language RPGs on PC Engine too.

My friend already got me both Riglord Saga games and Slayers Royal and SMT: Devil Summoner for example.

There's some "educational RPGs" on Saturn apparently. Planning to pick up those too.

while you are at it hunt for a japanese version of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Tengai Makyou IV, Lunar Silver star story and Lunar 2 Eternal Blue while they are somewhat still cheap. Plus Puyo Puyo sun, Hanagumi Taisen Columns.

Lets definitely agree the L/R buttons on the Japanese/Model 2 Saturn controllers are miles away better than the launch NA Saturn's. How did those get passed testing they're just horrible

All my saturn pads are model 2 versions. I've never had any problems with them even in the hands of my button mashing nieces.

I've gotten hold of an Elgato HD capture device and should pull out my saturn and hook it up and record at some stage. Although I'm experimenting with recording pc engine right now.. I find the elgato a bit basic but quirky

 

[foobarry81]

while you are at it hunt for a japanese version of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Tengai Makyou IV, Lunar Silver star story and Lunar 2 Eternal Blue while they are somewhat still cheap.

Got all the Tengai Makyou PCE releases, so IV was definitely on my list.

Lunar from what I can tell is super cheap (starting from 200 yen) depending on which version you want. But I'm assuming ¨the MPEG-Ban release is totally worth it?

I totally want to pick up some shoot 'em ups too, starting with Soukyu Gurentai.

 

[piggychan]

Got all the Tengai Makyou PCE releases, so IV was definitely on my list.

Lunar from what I can tell is super cheap (starting from 200 yen) depending on which version you want. But I'm assuming ¨the MPEG-Ban release is totally worth it?

I totally want to pick up some shoot 'em ups too, starting with Soukyu Gurentai.

if you can get a decent priced MPEG card. I think mine has died but that almost full screen almost 30frames a second FMV is nice. Although the contrast I felt was a bit low...

EDIT

I also want to state that I honestly feel the sound fonts of the sega saturn versions of lunar are on a different level to the psx ones. If I can get that MPEG version of LSSS complete up and running them vids will be up on youtube. Actually there is one up right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ0f5m7J0As

 

[foobarry81]

if you can get a decent priced MPEG card. I think mine has died but that almost full screen almost 30frames a second FMV is nice. Although the contrast I felt was a bit low...

EDIT

I also want to state that I honestly feel the sound fonts of the sega saturn versions of lunar are on a different level to the psx ones. If I can get that MPEG version of LSSS complete up and running them vids will be up on youtube. Actually there is one up right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ0f5m7J0As

Didn't even know there was such a thing as an MPEG card, lol. I thought the Saturn supported it by default.

I own a Japanese PS2, so I would definitely be considering PSX alternatives when Saturn games are too pricey in comparison. It's not always easy to tell which version is superior, it seems. Good to know about the Lunar Saturn sound though.

 

[piggychan]

Didn't even know there was such a thing as an MPEG card, lol. I thought the Saturn supported it by default.

I own a Japanese PS2, so I would definitely be considering PSX alternatives when Saturn games are too pricey in comparison. It's not always easy to tell which version is superior, it seems. Good to know about the Lunar Saturn sound though.

That MPEG card iirc I've only ever owned 2 saturn games that made use of it. Lunar Silver Star Story complete MPEG version and Vatlva which runs fine without it. Tengai Makyou IV and Lunar 2 Eternal Blue are great examples of playing anime FMV on Saturn without the use of any MPEG enhancement

 

[MikeMyers]

Not the L/R buttons, they're not very well engineered.

Saturn controllers are decently made overall, much better than their previous pads, many dead Master System and Mega Drive pads out there.

Yeah I have like 5 Mega Drive controllers in my room because so many have died lol.

 

[foobarry81]

Pic of my first 2 Saturn games.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of Japanese Saturn cover art.

Really liking the Wizardry one below, but there are some real gems out there, like the Panzer Dragoon one, or the SMT: Devil Summoner cover art.

 

[D.Lo]

Haha of course your first Saturn game was the MSX collection

 

[MikeMyers]

Nice dude!

Be sure to get Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 2. Cheap and essential.

 

[foobarry81]

Haha of course your first Saturn game was the MSX collection

Well, my first Saturn game was actually "Gegege no Kitarou: Maboroshi Fuyu Kaikitan". I thought that was the Saturn counterpart of the Gegege no Kitarou action platformer on PSX, which seems really neat. But turns out it's some sort of adventure game in stead. Fortunately it was very cheap, or that would've been a huge disappointment.

Then my friend in Japan got me like 25 more cheap Saturn games at ~100 yen a pop.

And then I placed bids on several Saturn eBay auctions, but the only two I managed to win were the Wizardry game and the MSX collection.

So, in the end the first Saturn game that effectively sits on my shelves is definitely the MSX collection. But I got a stack (and the console itself) sitting at my friend's place waiting to get shipped.

Nice dude!

Be sure to get Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 2. Cheap and essential.

I already for a copy of SEGA Rally Championship Plus and Virtua Fighter Kids. ;-)

I'm leaning more towards getting a couple of 2D fighters (like the X-Men game, Vampire Savior and the Samurai Spirits series) rather than more Virtua Fighter games though.

 

[MikeMyers]

Alpha 2 and Vampire Hunter are my favourite 2D fighters on the system. Should be cheap.

 

[piggychan]

Alpha 2 and Vampire Hunter are my favourite 2D fighters on the system. Should be cheap.

Vampire Hunter is amazing especially when you unlock the hidden extra stuff.

Spoiler

Go to the Options screen and highlight the given option and press the following:

Highlight Screen Size, then press A, C, Y, Y, Up Alternate Pause
Highlight Configuration, then press B, X, Down, A, Y Appendix Menu
Highlight Turbo, then press X, X, Right, A, Z Extra Turbo
Highlight Config, then press B, X, D, A, Y Get Darkstalkers option menu

 

[oneida]

Virtua Fighter 2 > Virtua Fighter Kids, also VF2 is easily one of the best games on the console (and IMO the best!)

Don't miss it, it's cheap too

 

[FN-2187]

Virtua Fighter 2 > Virtua Fighter Kids, also VF2 is easily one of the best games on the console (and IMO the best!)

Don't miss it, it's cheap too

I'm not much of a fighting game fan and VF2 is absolutely essential. It's an amazing game and STILL looks great.

 

[TheShinobi]

I'm really loving X men vs Street Fighter for the system. It's actually my first time playing a 2d fighting game and now im completely obsessed. It may not be balanced well but it is super fun and I highly recommend it.

 

[mechafan64]

There's some "educational RPGs" on Saturn apparently. Planning to pick up those too.

Which ones are those?

 

[foobarry81]

Which ones are those?

The Dark Hunter games, and the Emit series.

 

[IrishNinja]

Pic of my first 2 Saturn games.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of Japanese Saturn cover art.

wait, that's all you have for the saturn? it's just...after your posts in the PCE thread, it's a bit disappointing. =P

Spoiler

congrats man, never played the wizardy one but konami antiques is a blast, lot of little games i'd not had a chance to play before

 

[foobarry81]

Lol!

I actually want some more PCE games, but many games have gotten so much more expensive in a fairly short amount of time. :'( Even a game like Gradius more than doubled in price compared to what I paid for it 2-3 years ago.

On Saturn it's mainly the shoot 'em ups that have gotten somewhat out of hand price-wise, it seems. I'd expected it to be worse. But it seems like I'm going to still be able to get a lot of fun out of the system without paying out of the nose, stepping in this late.

Spoiler

I already own all the "Konami Antiques" games on the original hardware, so they aren't new to me. Probably a bit silly to double dip like this, but what can you do? I love some of the games on there. Knightmare <3

 

[IrishNinja]

oh yeah, SHMUPs are bad all around. you should still have an easy enough time with Darius Gaiden, Souky, Layer Section & a few of those, at least! Salamander Deluxe Pack didn't put me back too much a few years ago either.

 

[D.Lo]

My Saturn shooter set:

 

[foobarry81]

^^
Nice! Very nice.

Sengoku Blade/Tengai is such an underrated shoot 'em up. I own the PAL PS2 release, which is rather uncommon.

Spoiler

(I got my copy for &#8364;3.)

The PS2 controller (and its D-pad) is not the best for the genre though. Might also get the Saturnrelease for that reason, if I can get it for a reasonable price at least. Or else just look for a better controller for PS2.

 

[D.Lo]

PS2 version is 480i so Saturn is the only version as far as I'm concerned. I got the PS2 release cheap too, seems it was a random PAL thing?

 

[foobarry81]

PS2 version is 480i so Saturn is the only version as far as I'm concerned. I got the PS2 release cheap too, seems it was a random PAL thing?

I wouldn't call it "random". 505 Games released a number of those games. Many of them are quite uncommon nowadays, so I'm assuming the print numbers weren't particularly high. But it wasn't a random thing. I'm assuming they had people over at 505 Games who were passionate about those games and really wanted to bring them over.

PS2 (especially PAL) actually has more shoot 'em ups than people would expect. I think I have all of them now. As I said before: unfortunately not the best system for the genre though.

I'll try to get Sengoku Blade on Saturn, but right now I'm not feeling like forking out 9000+ yen for the game.

 

[D.Lo]

Game Paradise is the most underrated game on the system.

 

[foobarry81]

That's another one I'm certainly interested in.

 

[MikeMyers]

Game Paradise is the most underrated game on the system.

Yes! I've been trying to get that one for a while. Just hoping I can find it for a good deal.

 

[leroidys]

My Saturn shooter set:

Very nice collection.

 

[KC-Slater]

My &#822;S&#822;a&#822;t&#822;u&#822;r&#822;n&#822; &#822;s&#822;h&#822;o&#822;o&#822;t&#822;e&#822;r&#822; &#822;s&#822;e&#822;t&#822; retirement fund:

Fixed that for you.

 

[piggychan]

Didn't even know there was such a thing as an MPEG card, lol. I thought the Saturn supported it by default.

This is the MPEG card that I have. It's a JVC model RG-VC20 decoder. There are several 3rd party models out there.

Slots into the back of the Saturn just above the battery.

I think VCD format was big in the early 90's particularly in Hong Kong. There are only several Sega Saturn titles that support it. So unless you have a huge VCD collection or just those few games then this Saturn accessory is very niche..

Some of the cantopop albums I have from the 90's came with VCD music videos... This is one running on the Saturn VCD decoder. although these gifs have been compressed. I might pop up a YouTube vid in the not too distant future but I think the VCD card is on it's last legs as I am getting static noise and drop outs in audio...

 

[D.Lo]

Fixed that for you.

Lol. I don't have Hyper Duel or Batsungun though so nothing in insanity territory.

 

[foobarry81]

This is the MPEG card that I have. It's a JVC model RG-VC20 decoder. There are several 3rd party models out there.

Slots into the back of the Saturn just above the battery.

I think VCD format was big in the early 90's particularly in Hong Kong. There are only several Sega Saturn titles that support it. So unless you have a huge VCD collection or just those few games then this Saturn accessory is very niche..

Some of the cantopop albums I have from the 90's came with VCD music videos... This is one running on the Saturn VCD decoder. although these gifs have been compressed. I might pop up a YouTube vid in the not too distant future but I think the VCD card is on it's last legs as I am getting static noise and drop outs in audio...

VCD was definitely 'a thing' back then in that part of the world.

Doesn't sound like it would be worth it for me to get one of those cards, unless I could get them for cheap.

But I love how the Saturn has weird/unusual peripherals like that, next to the fairly unusual games and other stuff that got released on it. The WonderSwan is another one of those systems with some of the most outlandish peripherals the games industry has ever seen.

 

[piggychan]

I got it exclusively just to play the sega saturn MPEG version of Lunar SSSC as I was somewhat disappointed with the PSX ports.

EDIT

Damnit I really got the urge to play and upload both the Lunar games now

 

[IrishNinja]

<3 lunar, wish that version had a fan translation

Ans yeah, my old college roommate had a ton of VCDs and swore by em...speaking of, what's an MPEG card go for these days?

 

[Laevateinn]

<3 lunar, wish that version had a fan translation

Ans yeah, my old college roommate had a ton of VCDs and swore by em...speaking of, what's an MPEG card go for these days?

There's one on ebay where they want over $100. If you're comfortable with yahoo auctions, you can get a boxed one in good condition for about 70.

 

[foobarry81]

^^
Starting from $40 (w/o shipping) on eBay, it seems.

e.g.: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sega-Saturn...CARD-Adapter-Card-Japan-1127A13-/311751099772

 

[Laevateinn]

^^
Starting from $40 (w/o shipping) on eBay, it seems.

e.g.: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sega-Saturn...CARD-Adapter-Card-Japan-1127A13-/311751099772

Looks like searching for VCD gives better results.

 

[MetalKnick]

Has there been any substantial developments in Saturn emulation as of recently?

 

[Trailblazer34]

thinking about getting a japanese saturn. I live in Australia, so what would I need to convert Japanese/US power to AU power? I dont know if I need to use a transformer or a step down converter. Can anyone link one on Ebay that works? Also, whats wrong with 480i? face it, these old games look crappy at any rez, so who cares?