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Sega Saturn Appreciation and Emulation Thread

So what is the deal with Christmas Nights into Dreams? Is it a full reskin of Nights? Seen someone with it in a longbox, but haven't seen any listed that way so was that just some custom thing?
 

Slermy

Member
So I bought a copy of Galactic Attack, but it's very weird. The disc has some light scratches on it, and some more moderate ones along the outermost ring. When I put it into my Saturn, the drive seemingly doesn't spin up AT ALL. I don't hear it, and at one point the access light just started blinking.

I took it out, and put in Saturn Bomberman, and it worked first try.

I put Galactic Attack back in, and same thing happens... silence.

I am using an Action Replay, but this still seems odd. I would think if the disc was bad, it'd at least spin and then error out, not just sit there with no motion at all.

Has anyone else seen behavior such as this?
 
Probably a bad disc. The only other thing I can think of as being close is In The Hunt. It had a manufacturing error in which all copies won't boot unless 0 or 2 controllers are plugged in. If you just have one the game won't load.
 
So what is the deal with Christmas Nights into Dreams? Is it a full reskin of Nights? Seen someone with it in a longbox, but haven't seen any listed that way so was that just some custom thing?
It's a demo disc. On a normal day, you only really get to play Spring Valley (which is even less than the normal NiGHTS Sampler, which also let you play all of Frozen Bell).

However, on certain holidays, you unlock "presents" that expand what the demo can do significantly. You can do a no-time-limit Link Attack on one stage of Frozen Bell (where it's theoretically possible to go on infinitely). You can play Spring Valley as Sonic (including a custom fight against Puffy, who's now Eggman). You can play as Reala. You can get a sound test that lets you check out how all the stages of the full game sound depending on the happiness of the Nightopians in the background (might require a save from a full copy of the game, though). Likewise, Spring Valley gets frozen over during Chrismtas/winter.

It was never a longbox game, though; just a little paper sleeve, similar to how the discs for the 3-in-1 pack came.
 
rW7uEaz.jpeg

Just stopping by to say this is the greatest thing I have ever seen
 
It's a demo disc. On a normal day, you only really get to play Spring Valley (which is even less than the normal NiGHTS Sampler, which also let you play all of Frozen Bell).

However, on certain holidays, you unlock "presents" that expand what the demo can do significantly. You can do a no-time-limit Link Attack on one stage of Frozen Bell (where it's theoretically possible to go on infinitely). You can play Spring Valley as Sonic (including a custom fight against Puffy, who's now Eggman). You can play as Reala. You can get a sound test that lets you check out how all the stages of the full game sound depending on the happiness of the Nightopians in the background (might require a save from a full copy of the game, though). Likewise, Spring Valley gets frozen over during Chrismtas/winter.

It was never a longbox game, though; just a little paper sleeve, similar to how the discs for the 3-in-1 pack came.

Also worth mentioning that Elliot gets a version of Spring Valley not present in the full game, as well.
 

Vic20

Member
I wish someone had made a Dungeon Master Nexus English patch! Its the only Dungeon Master I never played as it only had a Japanese release. :(
 
It's a demo disc. On a normal day, you only really get to play Spring Valley (which is even less than the normal NiGHTS Sampler, which also let you play all of Frozen Bell).

However, on certain holidays, you unlock "presents" that expand what the demo can do significantly. You can do a no-time-limit Link Attack on one stage of Frozen Bell (where it's theoretically possible to go on infinitely). You can play Spring Valley as Sonic (including a custom fight against Puffy, who's now Eggman). You can play as Reala. You can get a sound test that lets you check out how all the stages of the full game sound depending on the happiness of the Nightopians in the background (might require a save from a full copy of the game, though). Likewise, Spring Valley gets frozen over during Chrismtas/winter.

It was never a longbox game, though; just a little paper sleeve, similar to how the discs for the 3-in-1 pack came.

Thanks for the info.

Also something fun. This made me want to play the Nights game that I picked up recently, only to discover that it has a crack in the inside edge that I hadn't noticed before. Went back to check the listing I got it from, and sure enough it was in the picture when I knew where to look for it, just "hidden" by matching up with the grooves on the disk holder. How foolish of me.
 
Probably a bad disc. The only other thing I can think of as being close is In The Hunt. It had a manufacturing error in which all copies won't boot unless 0 or 2 controllers are plugged in. If you just have one the game won't load.

You can turn it on with a controller on the 2p port and then switch it over to the 1p port.
 

Galdelico

Member
Hey guys, I have a question hope you don't mind me asking.

I recently dusted-off my japanese SEGA Saturn in order to play some new games I got recently and noticed something for the first time in years.

Is it normal that some games don't save on system's memory - so far, I found out Shin Shinobi Den, Golden Axe: The Duel and Pretty Fighter X do that - even if they ask you to enter your name when you manage to get some high-score? I use a 4M Auto Action Replay Plus (both as memory card and additional RAM cart) but I tried those games without it and nothing changed. The Sat's battery has been just replaced.

Thanks for any info about it!
 

Teknoman

Member
Hey guys, I have a question hope you don't mind me asking.

I recently dusted-off my japanese SEGA Saturn in order to play some new games I got recently and noticed something for the first time in years.

Is it normal that some games don't save on system's memory - so far, I found out Shin Shinobi Den, Golden Axe: The Duel and Pretty Fighter X do that - even if they ask you to enter your name when you manage to get some high-score? I use a 4M Auto Action Replay Plus (both as memory card and additional RAM cart) but I tried those games without it and nothing changed. The Sat's battery has been just replaced.

Thanks for any info about it!

You have to manual move saves with a 4M. Apparently the Saturn doesnt detect it as a normal memory cart.
 

Galdelico

Member
You have to manual move saves with a 4M. Apparently the Saturn doesnt detect it as a normal memory cart.

That's the point... Those games don't save even if I don't insert the Action Replay. They don't leave any save block on the system's memory either. I doubt their single savedata could be bigger than the whole Saturn's backup memory.

I mean, it could be normal (I just found out a retro-reviews website reporting 'none' under 'Save Blocks' for Golden Axe The Duel), just figuring that out after so many years left me a bit puzzled. :D
 
If the Action Replay was detected as a memory backup cart for direct save then it wouldn't be able to do region unlock or cheat codes. Necessary evil.
 
That's the point... Those games don't save even if I don't insert the Action Replay. They don't leave any save block on the system's memory either. I doubt their single savedata could be bigger than the whole Saturn's backup memory.

I mean, it could be normal (I just found out a retro-reviews website reporting 'none' under 'Save Blocks' for Golden Axe The Duel), just figuring that out after so many years left me a bit puzzled. :D

Some Saturn games just don't support saving, stupidly. Examples include Clockwork Knight, Panzer Dragoon (the first one), Darius Gaiden, In the Hunt, and others.
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
You know, I popped in Daytona today and was stunned at the framerate. I totally forgot this wasn't full framerate.
 

Khaz

Member
The prices are just going up like crazy.

I bought my Panzer Dragoon Saga 120€ 3-5 years ago and I thought it was freaking expensive. Now it's listed at above 300€ on eBay! Same for Keio Flying Squadron 2 that I bought 80€ (and 40€ a second one, but I was damn lucky), now it's listed 150€ to 180€.

I'm oogling Burning Rangers and Guardian heroes. So far they seem stable, just a tad above my sweet spot though.

Also lol at Radiant Silvergun. There is always at least a dozen of eBay ads everyday but they are all about 150€. This game is way too popular for it's (non-existent) rarity.

I can't find copies of Three dirty dwarves (pal). I know it weren't immensely popular but it's like the game just vanished.


I don't even want this version and its messed up controls. Japan CE is much better (and saves me from spending a few thousands bucks)
 

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
I can't believe how crazy the price on Burning Rangers has gotten. Really... I bought the game for $30 (admittedly disc only) about a year and a half ago.
 
For a long time I've wanted Magic Knight Rayearth. Can anyone attest to its value?
In terms of price, or quality?

I mean, it's a pretty good game. Kinda like Zelda, kinda not. Certainly more stage-focused and less open-world, and instead of items and subweapons, you switch between three girls who have their own specific weapon (a sword, a rapier and a bow).

I suppose it's somewhat telling that the thing I remember the most about it is a really annoying stealth segment in the sky-town. <_<
 

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
In terms of price, or quality?

I mean, it's a pretty good game. Kinda like Zelda, kinda not. Certainly more stage-focused and less open-world, and instead of items and subweapons, you switch between three girls who have their own specific weapon (a sword, a rapier and a bow).

I suppose it's somewhat telling that the thing I remember the most about it is a really annoying stealth segment in the sky-town. <_<

Thanks for this.

And to think that I'm about to pay like $130 for it next time I see a good copy.
It is not worth $130.
 

goldenpp72

Member
So awhile ago I posted this picture as my 'finished' set for the Saturn..



And now I added these 4 (had no idea Sega Ages was working designs related!)



I'm considering adding Wipeout before calling it total quits on my Saturn stuff, but if anyone has any additional suggestions for (US) releases i'd like to hear them as I like to feel I really knocked it out of the park before putting the finale stamp on it. I actually got Tomb raider for free effectively but, wasn't sure if I should seek other PS1 stuff as I already own most PS1 titles that the Saturn got, but I also kinda like owning the big ass Saturn boxes so who knows..
 

Yes Boss!

Member
I'm considering adding Wipeout before calling it total quits on my Saturn stuff, but if anyone has any additional suggestions for (US) releases i'd like to hear them as I like to feel I really knocked it out of the park before putting the finale stamp on it. I actually got Tomb raider for free effectively but, wasn't sure if I should seek other PS1 stuff as I already own most PS1 titles that the Saturn got, but I also kinda like owning the big ass Saturn boxes so who knows..

Definitely add Enemy Zero!
 

Khaz

Member
but if anyone has any additional suggestions for (US) releases i'd like to hear them as I like to feel I really knocked it out of the park before putting the finale stamp on it.

Mmm comparing to my own (eu) I would say of worth playing you'd be missing (not in order) Dark Savior, Decathlete, Virtua Fighter original, Mystaria /Blazing heroes, D, Sega Touring Car, decathlete 2/Winter Heat and Manx TT.

I especially enjoyed Dark Savior and Mystaria, both very good games in their genre. I even went out of my way to buy Riglord Saga 2 (my first import ever!) but eh, playing this kind of game in a language you don't understand and a writing you can't read is not enjoyable.



[edit] That translation of Princess Crown is coming along quite nicely it seems.
For now, though, I'm pretty busy with play-testing. I've got about 40% of it done with plenty of tweaks and fixes added along the way, and I'll probably have to go through the whole thing one additional time to make sure there are no issues. There's also getting the menu to work, ironing out some bugs, and editing text that is stored as graphics (such as the entrance names).
So what, in a month, maybe two we might see a patch popping out?
 
You might do well to pick up the Lobotomy FPS trilogy; Powerslave, Duke Nukem 3D and Quake. Yeah, the latter two are better on PC, but you get Death Tank Zwei out of it, which I hear is great fun for up to seven players. Powerslave, at least, is better on Saturn than on PC (some might argue it's better on PS1, but YMMV on that; PS1 and Saturn have subtle differences, while PS1/Saturn and PC are night and day).
 

Mzo

Member
Is that longbox Christmas Nights some sort of custom cover? Or am I mistaking another game for it?
I noticed that, too. Looks cool. Pretty sure in the US it was just a dirty cardboard sleeve release.

That's an impressive collection. Tomb Raider was originally a Saturn release first, so it's cool to have.

I'm gonna have to just bite the bullet on Magic Knight Rayearth someday...
 

s_mirage

Member
What are my options friend? I really want to play it and that has been the normal going price for a complete version. Don't want to wait too long and see it rise some more.

What do you think causes the prices to rise in the first place? It's a few people paying over the top which then leads to all sellers asking extortionate amounts. If a single copy sells for an anomalously high amount you then see every seller on eBay setting their BIN prices around that value. The game isn't that rare, the Japanese version isn't expensive at all, and the European version costs nowhere near that much. If the price stays that high I'll eat my hat. If you just want to play it, get the Japanese version and see what happens to the US version's price.
 

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
What are my options friend? I really want to play it and that has been the normal going price for a complete version. Don't want to wait too long and see it rise some more.
If your options are pay way too much for it or don't play it at all, don't play it.

BR is a neat game that clearly laid down the ground work for (oddly enough) Phantasy Star Online. The setting is cool and the voice acting and anime cutscenes are pretty good for the time, and the graphics are great for the Saturn.

However, it's also pretty short. There's only five missions and you'll have done everything there is to do in six hours tops. The control is okay, manageable I guess, but there's so little variation in the gameplay. There's no reason Burning Rangers is unmissable. Import the JP version and save yourself $100 - not having to muscle through the Japanese dialog is NOT worth that price difference.
 

goldenpp72

Member
What are my options friend? I really want to play it and that has been the normal going price for a complete version. Don't want to wait too long and see it rise some more.



Is that longbox Christmas Nights some sort of custom cover? Or am I mistaking another game for it?

Custom. I did a print out for the back and front but all the other games are their genuine versions. I actually remembered doing that and starting work on virtua fighter remix but noticed there seemed to be an awful lot of just right art for that one. Took awhile but I was informed of the different color disc and the one long box one and went from there.
 
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