Genesis Knight
Member
Blast Wind sucks. And I'm a Tecnosoft fan. Also, it's about 20 minutes long.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Sega Saturn Appreciation and Emulation Thread
- Thread starter Seik
- Start date
Shadow Hog
Member
And to think I got BR for $50 only a couple of years ago!
Got Croc for $4 from the same seller at the same time, too, heh.
Got Croc for $4 from the same seller at the same time, too, heh.
Congrats!
Really? Pass then. I'm not a huge collector, as long as the game is fun i'll go after it. Guess you cant just blind go after stuff just because you're a fan of the dev.
ResidentDante
Member
Therein lies the problem, I ended up buying a PlayStation too, but I liked Saturn more. Didn't help the sales one bit. I wonder what games the Saturn could have got if it had got the support the PlayStation did.
ExitPlanetDust
Member
It was a chicken or the egg scenario. I bought a Saturn at the tail end of the 90s. About 70% of the games I owned were imports that were never released in the West. It was more often than not the same situation with other people I knew who bought a Saturn. The Saturn had great games, no doubt, but the Western arms of the company left a lot of them in the East.
However... I did not buy a Saturn first. I was waiting around for the Ultra 64. Then a friend brought a freshly imported Playstation to work with Tekken, Toshinden, and Ridge Racer. The rest was history.
So yeah, the console had a low install base in the West, but Sega US/EU did absolutely nothing to help matters. There was a time when their customers were very vocal about the games they wanted brought to the West, only to have their requests ignored.
Picked up a Saturn a month or two ago and have been building my collection back up.
So far I have:
-Burning Rangers
-Fighters Megamix
-Hexen
-Quake
-Mechwarrior 2
-Cyber Speedway
I plan to pick up:
-Gun Griffin
-Die Hard Arcade
-Panzer Dragoon Zwei
-Enemy Zero
-Blazing Heroes
Anyone have any suggestions of games I may be forgetting or overlooking?
I already have Panzer Dragoon Saga paid off with a friend out of town, I just need to pick it up. I'm hoping to get Shining Force 3 from him at a decent price as well. I can't believe how much Die Hard Arcade is now a days. If I never sold my old Saturn and games for the stupid low price that I did, I'd probably have close to $1000 worth of games right now. =/
Edit:
Yup, sold my Saturn and all my games for ~$150 IIRC. Had a great collection of pretty much all the best Saturn games out there too. I just wasn't playing it as much anymore and there were still games on the PSone, N64, and PC I was interested in at the time.
So far I have:
-Burning Rangers
-Fighters Megamix
-Hexen
-Quake
-Mechwarrior 2
-Cyber Speedway
I plan to pick up:
-Gun Griffin
-Die Hard Arcade
-Panzer Dragoon Zwei
-Enemy Zero
-Blazing Heroes
Anyone have any suggestions of games I may be forgetting or overlooking?
I already have Panzer Dragoon Saga paid off with a friend out of town, I just need to pick it up. I'm hoping to get Shining Force 3 from him at a decent price as well. I can't believe how much Die Hard Arcade is now a days. If I never sold my old Saturn and games for the stupid low price that I did, I'd probably have close to $1000 worth of games right now. =/
Edit:
Yup, sold my Saturn and all my games for ~$150 IIRC. Had a great collection of pretty much all the best Saturn games out there too. I just wasn't playing it as much anymore and there were still games on the PSone, N64, and PC I was interested in at the time.
Proud to say I saved up my allowance for months and bought a Saturn in '95 or '96 after playing the fuck out of Virtua Fighter 2 at the Roller Kingdom. I was only 8 (or 9).
Not proud to say that my first game was Gex, I didn't buy any cool games like Panzer Dragoon or Burning Rangers or Daytona USA until fairly recently, and I had huge Playstation envy far into my Dreamcast days.
/edit/ looks like it must've been 1996, as that's when Gex came out.
Fighting Vipers
Virtua Fighter 2
Last Bronx
Daytona USA
Sega Rally Championship
... are all cheap as dirt and fucking incredible.
Not proud to say that my first game was Gex, I didn't buy any cool games like Panzer Dragoon or Burning Rangers or Daytona USA until fairly recently, and I had huge Playstation envy far into my Dreamcast days.
/edit/ looks like it must've been 1996, as that's when Gex came out.
Fighting Vipers
Virtua Fighter 2
Last Bronx
Daytona USA
Sega Rally Championship
... are all cheap as dirt and fucking incredible.
You really can't go wrong with most of the Sega first party games. They had a layer of polish to them that a lot of the third party stuff didn't.
Even things like Clockwork Knight are good.
A couple other suggestions:
Sky Target (if like After Burner, you'll like this)
World Series Baseball II (Even if you're NOT a sports fan, this is a lot of fun. Very simple to play and very, very fun)
And ANYTHING from Capcom at the time was gold. Be it US or JPN. If you decide to go the import route, get as many of their fighters as you can. Pure fun.
Even things like Clockwork Knight are good.
A couple other suggestions:
Sky Target (if like After Burner, you'll like this)
World Series Baseball II (Even if you're NOT a sports fan, this is a lot of fun. Very simple to play and very, very fun)
And ANYTHING from Capcom at the time was gold. Be it US or JPN. If you decide to go the import route, get as many of their fighters as you can. Pure fun.
I got a Saturn at the end of 1995 with Panzer Dragoon. I had no idea what the game was about, I just liked the cover and thought dragons were awesome. Little did I know I would fall in love with the series like I did. =D
As for your suggestions, Last Bronx and the racers are good suggestions, though I think I'll pass on VF2 and FV. I stopped playing both once I first purchased Fighters Megamix
back in the day, so I don't think I'd put much time into them now. Besides, I own both on XBLA now too. =p
Thanks for the suggestions though. Totally forgot about Last Bronx. Was also thinking of picking up Resident Evil, but I already own it for the PSone over PSN and on the DS as well.
Edit:
I looked at Sky Tarket and decided to pass on it. I used to own World Series Baseball 98 when I originally owned a Saturn, great game but I don't think I'd play it these days.
I do have an Action Replay Plus, so I could look at some imports. Thanks!
sixteen-bit
Member
What's the consensus on Legend of Oasis/Story of Thor 2? I really enjoyed playing through Beyond Oasis earlier this year.
Genesis Knight
Member
Biggest Oasis fan here of all time, right here.
Legend of Oasis was a disappointment. Specific reasons:
- Tons of backtracking
- Very confusing levels
- Simplified combat system
- Mechanics bloat (too many spirits, too many elemental powers)
- Ugly prerendered enemy sprites (blocky, washed out, animated poorly)
In general, it comes down to the fact that six Spirits is just too much, and they went nuts with all the different elemental interactive objects in the dungeons. And then the combat is way less satisfying than Beyond Oasis. Not enough moves, and the feel of weapons is very sloppy and wimpy.
Still worth a play if you're a major Oasis fan. Otherwise I'd probably pass.
Super glad I came here and saw this, was interested in Blast Wind based off of a You Tube Video but you guys have set me straight.
On a side note, I recently received Hyper Duel and am loving it, really fantastic game.
But one of the things that makes VF2 so remarkable is how terrific a conversion it is! It's a $2 piece of history. Does any Saturn game run at as high a resolution as the VF2 port?
Futurematt5 is a swell guy.
sixteen-bit
Member
I think Necronimicon and Last Gladiator run in 704 x 480. Some sites say Necronomicon is 704 x 512 but I thought that was only for PAL hi-res games.
Yup yup, I like his stuff, seems like a good dude.
I dug around and 704 x 480 is the spec I'm finding, too. Does anyone know why Vipers, Megamix, VFKids and Bronx don't run at this resolution? It's all the same engine, and these games all came after the VF2 port so... why the downgrade?
sixteen-bit
Member
Thanks. I already knew the graphics were going to be an acquired taste, but that's disappointing to hear about the rest. Is the music good?
Do you ever go to People Play Games? If so, what do you think of it? I go there occasionally, but their Saturn selection is kinda limited. Last time I went there they had some imports at the front counter, I didn't ask how much cuz I figured the price would be pretty high, like higher than ebay high. Unfortunately that's been the trend with that store lately.
Shadow Hog
Member
Yeah, you do have a point, the port did blow my mind when I first played it. I may pick that up from my friend too since he has VF2 in his collection.
IIRC Last Bronx runs at the same resolution as VF2. I believe those two are the only fighters that ran in high resolution mode. IIRC the rest of the games (Fighters Megamix, Fighting Vipers, VF Kids, etc.) traded the higher resolution for gouraud shading.
GoofsterStud
Member
I have a completely different opinion.
I was 12 when I played this. Never did I get lost. The back tracking didn't bother me. The simplified controls were fluid. The Spritit mechanics was my favorite part of the game. If your not good at puzzles your going to hit your head in the wall. All in all I found it no harder than any other game of it's type, it just made me think more. I also loved figuring out new combos that work on different size bosses.
If you like games like that, there is an extremely overlooked Herc's Adventure for the Sega Saturn. Slightly better than the PSX version.
As far as my favorite games:
Shining Force 3 (Scenario 1 was the worst, get 2 and 3 and use the online translator. It's actually better done than the official version. Just search shining force 3 translation project. This requires a modded saturn or a swap disc trick to work. The saturn is extremely easy to mod.
Dragon Force
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Slayers Royal
Princess Crown
Super Tempo
For Schmups
Cotton 1 and 2
Donpachi and Dodonpachi
If you like games like Tetris Baku Baku Animal was one of my favorites.
Astal is a beautiful game that should be played if cheap, not my favorite but I was memorized by the art style.
Wow, really? I only played Scenario 1 and I loved it, well other than the ending. =p
Will have to check out the other two scenarios if I ever get the chance and money.
I have to confess that this discussion of 3D fighters is heavily influenced by my next planned Jap-Sai purchase... which is, well, all the 3D fighters. At ~500 yen a pop, hard to say no! I already own US copies VF2 and Megamix, but I don't mind double dipping for the sake of consistency. So this is the planned order...
If I start buying the CG Portrait discs feel free to shoot me.
As you may know from the Arcade Stick thread (or from the shmup reference thread), I bought the PS2 VF4 Hori stick. Since I own the Tototek PS2->Saturn converter, I just cannot wait to dive into these games again.
- Virtua Fighter
- Virtua Fighter Remix
- Virtua Fighter 2
- Fighting Vipers
- Virtua Fighter Kids
- Fighters Megamix
- Last Bronx
If I start buying the CG Portrait discs feel free to shoot me.
As you may know from the Arcade Stick thread (or from the shmup reference thread), I bought the PS2 VF4 Hori stick. Since I own the Tototek PS2->Saturn converter, I just cannot wait to dive into these games again.
Genesis Knight
Member
It's very high quality (as in, redbook audio) but it's the same style as Beyond Oasis. So whether or not you liked that OST will determine whether or not you like the Legend of Oasis OST.
I don't really know anything about its quality. I was referring more to availability. To me it seems like just another shooter with the one caveat that it is top-down and choose-your-own-adventure and from Tecnosoft and seems to be in demand with not as many copies out there changing hands. I was speculating that it would likely rise in value so for Tecnosoft completionists it might be a good idea to grab it sooner rather than later.
No WSB 98... WSB 2. Completely different games and graphic styles.
Seriously, you can get it for a couple dollars. It's worth it.
I'm sure I can think of a lot of other good titles for you to look up as well.
Alien Trilogy is one of the better titles believe it or not. Lots of atmosphere, good sound.
Layer Section/Galactic Attack is pretty good.
I just checked out WSB2, and now I know what you're talking about. WSB98 was the sequel to WSB2 where they switched from sprites to polygon models. Both great games, and I'm sure they are still fun now, but I have no interest in sports games in general, especially old ones. =p
Alien Trilogy is another game I was thinking about, but I wasn't sure if Sony offered it on PSN where I can just buy it for $6. I much rather have the PSone version since that was better than the Saturn version.
I'm still open to more suggestions though! lol
cj_iwakura
Member
ExitPlanetDust
Member
LOL, I have none of those games.
cj_iwakura
Member
It is? Everybody I knew back then had first generation Saturns because you could only find the modchips for them. Even in the mid 2000 (when I got my Saturn, so I researched it a little bit), all the newer Saturns didn't have mods in them, because you coudln't find the modchip model required for it.
Did something change?
Chiaroscuro
Member
What is the difference between Burning Rangers US and UK? UK release seens to be much cheaper (I want to play this game with english audio).
Shadow Hog
Member
Is it? Never noticed.
I dunno if there's any issues running PAL games on NTSC hardware. I mean, either the game would run at 60Hz and therefore run a bit fast (or just right, if nobody bothered to adjust the game for the frequency difference when releasing in Europe), or it'll force it to run at 50Hz and produce some awkward screen issues on NTSC televisions (last time I tried a 50Hz game - which IIRC was a Dreamcast homebrew title that let me choose which frequency my TV operated at - 50Hz produced some awful rolling picture issues).
I must be lucky. My lone UK game at the moment, Keio Flying Squadron 2, plays smoothly outside a few instances where the audio doesn't have time to finish playing, but it's usually during intermission scenes and one part before a level transition.
Superblatt
Member
I can't imagine the UK version will work correctly on a NTSC console. I could be wrong, but a lifetime of playing imports tells me it's just not that simple. However, I'd love to be proven wrong. I just paid $150 for a complete US copy of Burning Rangers and am anxiously waiting for it to arrive. Based on some recent auctions, that's the going rate. If you can get PAL releases to play flawlessly on a US Saturn, let us know.
Why do so many people think Enemy Zero is a good game? Is it because it has never ended up anywhere else. Honestly I bought it brand new and it was seriously disappointing. The controls are wonky and the mechanics are very poorly explained. I mean it has a good atmosphere but it just feels like Alien with different aliens.
Shadow Hog
Member
Well, there was, technically, a PC version of the game...
dreamcastmaster
Banned
Burning Rangers PAL glitches when it's run at 60Hz. It's cheaper because there are more units of it and I guess the 60hz issue.
Exquisite Michael Nyman track is why I love it.
Genesis Knight
Member
You should check this out: http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega-saturn-101-beginners-guide
Look down at the section with the cartridges.
Short answer:
- Never buy third party backup carts. Many of them will damage your cart slot with their extra-wide PCBs. Not all, but most. And the rest have issues with randomly losing their memory.
- You probably want the Action Replay cart, as seen in that guide. Will allow you to backup saves, play RAM cart games, and play imports.
PM me if you have more questions and want some advice.
As far as 1st party memory carts are concerned, you can buy Japanese carts for about $12 + shipping off eBay (white or gray). I believe they're exactly the same as black NA carts, just much cheaper.
Personally, I just stick with my Action Replay and copy games back and forth. Less wear-and-tear on the cart slot that way.
In that case, its just best to keep backing up and transferring saves between the AR cart? Some of these Saturn saves are crazy big. When compared to other Saturn games anyway.
Genesis Knight
Member
The 4-in-1 was a:
Gameshark
Memory Backup
Import Adapter
1MB RAM Cart
The 5-in-1 added:
4MB RAM Cart.
You want the 5-in-1, although most carts don't actually say 5-in-1. Just get one that looks like the pictures and you'll be fine.
That's the shitty downside of the Action Replay cart, and why I modded my system for imports. If you want to have direct save to the cart on import games, you have to mod your saturn.
sixteen-bit
Member
You know the story behind Kenji Eno securing Michael Nyman for the soundtrack, right?
Eno invited Nyman to his hotel room and tried to convince him to do the music for Enemy Zero for six hours. After that, Nyman said he'd do it out of sheer exhaustion.
That story always makes me laugh, RIP.
Did not know the story. Though, the commission (I guess you could call it that) was definitely a result of how his soundtrack for The Piano played out in japan in the early nineties. He was actively touring with the MN Band in the region, that is how popular he had become. He got the Yamamoto Perpetuo commission, a Nissan TV spot, the sublime Anne Frank anime that gifted us If and Why and ultimately his eighties music was licensed for Iron Chef. I just figured Enemy Zero came somewhere in the whole mix. I'm suspecting Eno wanted something more melody-based in the Campion style but what Nyman delivered was definitely a nineties take on his Greenaway stuff. A total surprise for Nyman fans at the time...and all of us were using early BBS-style sites to get the OST. I actually got mine by calling Tower Records japan directly on the phone to have it sent.
in light of the ebay seller with the scart+rca audio cables still not being back from vacation, thought i'd post that saturn svideo cables are popping back up on ebay. Official sega cables too. Hopefully i'll get one since its the only system that has higher output capabilities without mods, that i still have connected via composite.