Jump to content
IGNORED

The Saturn Appreciation Thread

strider

By strider
in Retro & Arcade Gaming

 Share

Recommended Posts

Camel

Camel

Posted
Posted
35 minutes ago, ulala said:

 

Dear Sega Saturn enthusiasts...

 

i have some Saturn questions, can you help me out?

 

Will a Japanese memory addition work on a pal Saturn, and vice versa?

 

is it worth getting my pal Saturn modded to 50/60 all region, or just buying a pre modded one?

 

what happens when you run a pal game at 60, does it give problems/ audio too fast etc?

 

i take it the ossc is the best way to connect to a HDMI tv?

 

could anyone suggest the best / their favorite 2d games for the console?

 

thanks :P

 

 

Memory addition? Save carts and ROM/RAM carts work on PAL consoles.

 

The results of playing PAL games at 60hz vary wildly: https://randomisedgaming.tumblr.com/post/146372446412/the-complete-european-sega-saturn-60hz-guide-to

Link to comment
Share on other sites
spanky debrest

spanky debrest

Posted
Posted
27 minutes ago, ulala said:

 

Dear Sega Saturn enthusiasts...

 

i have some Saturn questions, can you help me out?

 

Will a Japanese memory addition work on a pal Saturn, and vice versa?

 

is it worth getting my pal Saturn modded to 50/60 all region, or just buying a pre modded one?

 

what happens when you run a pal game at 60, does it give problems/ audio too fast etc?

 

i take it the ossc is the best way to connect to a HDMI tv?

 

could anyone suggest the best / their favorite 2d games for the console?

 

thanks :P

 

 

Official Memory Carts work on any region console without problems. In my opinion, having one is essential.

 

I prefer using modded PAL Saturns (with region & speed switches) so I can run my old Euro games properly as well as JPN ones. If a Euro title was PAL optimised then it definitely must be run at 50hz otherwise it'll be a glitchy mess (Sega Rally and Guardian Heroes are the first that come to mind) - otherwise it'll be fine. If you're new to Saturn ownership I'd probably just get an NTSC system and avoid dealing with PAL issues / mods altogether.

 

An OSSC probably is the best way to connect to a HDTV of you want the sharpest visuals.

 

Some favourite 2D games, as of right now this moment:

 

Dragon Force II

Elevator Action Returns

Metal Black

Night Striker S

Sega Ages Vol. 1 & Memorial Vol. 2

Soukyugurentai

 

I'm currently playing through the Sakura Wars fan translation which I'm enjoying a lot. It's very chilled out and charming as hell.

2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
spanky debrest

spanky debrest

Posted
Posted
On 21/08/2020 at 22:45, ucci said:

Anyone tried Saturn component leads?

 

Afraid not but the HD Retrovision MD cables with a Saturn adaptor are supposed to be excellent if you can't abide RGB SCART.

 

Anyway, I'm frazzled after spending two hours trying to complete the Saturn port of X-Multiply. Spent probably over 20 credits trying to crack one tiny section on the final level. Had to give up, wasn't meant to be today. Time absolutely well spent though as it's a magnificent game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sumire

Sumire

Posted
Posted

Just been having a blast on my Japanese Saturn, got a copy of Fighters Megamix again. Loving the game, but damn some of those stages with the enclosed walls, cages etc bring the framerate down so much. Strange I do not even remember it been as bad even when I played it on my first PAL Saturn all those years ago. Still a cracking game though, and Durals theme music is as awesome as ever!

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
spanky debrest

spanky debrest

Posted
Posted

Fighters Megamix was the first fighter I bought for the machine, mainly off the back of rave reviews. Sadly I got caught up with other games and never really gave it the attention required to get reasonably good & enjoy it..and these days I struggle with the genre as a whole (outside of a few early Street Fighter II versions). I must give Fighters Megamix a proper crack though. I'm not cool with a having any sort of pile of shame for this console.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sumire

Sumire

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, Down by Law said:

The slowdown was removed in the pal version, that's why you don't remember it :)

 

Fighters Megamix is awesome though. So many great stages, characters and most importantly... amazing fightin' tunes! 

 

Oh damn, really. I specifically bought the Japanese version as I thought it would be the better one to get haha. I think I still have my old PAL machine in the loft. Thanks for the info.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Down by Law

Down by Law

Posted
Posted

Be careful though, because the PAL version is optimized so if you try to run it at full screen 60hz it gets really fucked up.

 

So i sold it and bought the Japanese version...

 

which has lots of slowdown issues...

 

and the US NTSC version goes for a fortune...

 

So it's the 'best of the worst' scenario, but to be honest sometimes the slowdown looks really cool so i've learned to live with it :) 

2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sumire

Sumire

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Down by Law said:

Be careful though, because the PAL version is optimized so if you try to run it at full screen 60hz it gets really fucked up.

 

So i sold it and bought the Japanese version...

 

which has lots of slowdown issues...

 

and the US NTSC version goes for a fortune...

 

So it's the 'best of the worst' scenario, but to be honest sometimes the slowdown looks really cool so i've learned to live with it :) 

 

Ah yeah shame that. Now I remember the PAL console has that black bar at the bottom.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Riven

Riven

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, Down by Law said:

Be careful though, because the PAL version is optimized so if you try to run it at full screen 60hz it gets really fucked up.

 

So i sold it and bought the Japanese version...

 

which has lots of slowdown issues...

 

and the US NTSC version goes for a fortune...

 

So it's the 'best of the worst' scenario, but to be honest sometimes the slowdown looks really cool so i've learned to live with it :) 

 

Downside with the USA version is they censored some of the win art and removed the mini-card match game with the Janet Marshal striptease. All of this is present in the PAL version, bar the vocals in Rent A Hero's Theme. Which was removed from both PAL and NTSC/U more details here: http://gaminghell.co.uk/FightersMegamixSecrets.html and https://tcrf.net/Fighters_Megamix_(Sega_Saturn)

 

Downside with the mini-card game is you can only play it before you complete course I, after that it locks itself out for good and requires you create a fresh save. There were supposedly quite a few bug fixes to the PAL version, one is the slowdown you mentioned, but no one has every documented them. Still never found out what happens when you clear every course with every character or unlocked the palm tree skin, which took 80hrs of gameplay!

 

2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sumire

Sumire

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, Riven said:

 

Downside with the USA version is they censored some of the win art and removed the mini-card match game with the Janet Marshal striptease. All of this is present in the PAL version, bar the vocals in Rent A Hero's Theme. Which was removed from both PAL and NTSC/U more details here: http://gaminghell.co.uk/FightersMegamixSecrets.html and https://tcrf.net/Fighters_Megamix_(Sega_Saturn)

 

Downside with the mini-card game is you can only play it before you complete course I, after that it locks itself out for good and requires you create a fresh save. There were supposedly quite a few bug fixes to the PAL version, one is the slowdown you mentioned, but no one has every documented them. Still never found out what happens when you clear every course with every character or unlocked the palm tree skin, which took 80hrs of gameplay!

 

 

Awesome, thanks for the link. Lots of interesting things on there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Klatrymadon

Klatrymadon

Posted
Posted

Playing on the Gradius Deluxe Pack for the first time in years. It always comes up that the resolution is messed up on the Saturn version, but it doesn't look remotely squashed or stretched to me (it's stunning!) - can anyone say what's supposed to be wrong with it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
spanky debrest

spanky debrest

Posted
Posted
41 minutes ago, Klatrymadon said:

Playing on the Gradius Deluxe Pack for the first time in years. It always comes up that the resolution is messed up on the Saturn version, but it doesn't look remotely squashed or stretched to me (it's stunning!) - can anyone say what's supposed to be wrong with it?

 

I think the original resolution is 256 wide which fits into the Saturn's 320 with vertical bars on either side of the display, and this looks skinny compared to how an arcade board would look.

 

However there's an option in this compilation for a 'wide' mode which fills out the display. Technically it might not be accurate but I personally I think it looks glorious. For the original Gradius I think the 'unnatural' effect might be a bit more pronounced, with the extra screen space making it feel easier overall too (from what I recall - I've only come back to Gradius II recently, and am still in recovery from the experience of trying to beat it).

2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Klatrymadon

Klatrymadon

Posted
Posted

Cheers! Yeah, I use the wide mode occasionally and it looks great, but I think the thing that's often parroted is that the resolution of the standard mode is iffy too. If the complaint is literally that it's letterboxed, rather than incorrect, that's pretty daft. The PS1 version is presumably letterboxed too, and that's generally cited as the best of the two...

 

Good luck with Gradius II, btw! I find it's a really fun one to 1CC - it requires a bit more practice than the original or Gaiden, but nowhere near as much as III, IV or even V. It's right in the series' sweet spot.

2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
spanky debrest

spanky debrest

Posted
Posted
17 minutes ago, Klatrymadon said:

Cheers! Yeah, I use the wide mode occasionally and it looks great, but I think the thing that's often parroted is that the resolution of the standard mode is iffy too. If the complaint is literally that it's letterboxed, rather than incorrect, that's pretty daft. The PS1 version is presumably letterboxed too, and that's generally cited as the best of the two...

 

Good luck with Gradius II, btw! I find it's a really fun one to 1CC - it requires a bit more practice than the original or Gaiden, but nowhere near as much as III, IV or even V. It's right in the series' sweet spot.

 

Thanks.. Though I remember being able to 1CC Gradius II when I first got it back in the day. This time around it was fairly smooth sailing (with a bunch of mostly silly lives being lost) but that final section..I died and spent countless lives trying to crack it 'naked' (as it were), to no avail. Maddening difficult bullet hell. It's always been my favourite Gradius after Gaiden, totally agree about it being in the sweet spot (despite failing to complete it recently).

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
PikaStu

PikaStu

Posted
Posted

I’ve finally taken the plunge and bought a Japanese White Saturn :wub:

I’ve been lusting after one for over 20 years. I plan on keeping it stock for playing  my Japanese games, keeping my chipped & switched PAL model for everything else. 
 

What kind of RGB Scart cable do I need to use it with UK CRT (early 2000s Sony Trinitron)? Can anyone recommend one?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MikeJ

MikeJ

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, StoooTube said:

I’ve finally taken the plunge and bought a Japanese White Saturn :wub:

I’ve been lusting after one for over 20 years. I plan on keeping it stock for playing  my Japanese games, keeping my chipped & switched PAL model for everything else. 
 

What kind of RGB Scart cable do I need to use it with UK CRT (early 2000s Sony Trinitron)? Can anyone recommend one?

 


I have always used official ones, they are easy to find as they shipped as standard with early consoles so there are lots of them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SeanR

SeanR

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, StoooTube said:

Cool thanks, I thought the pin out was different between the two regions but I’ll give a PAL one a try.


It’s pin 1, but if it’s a good cable it’ll be disconnected (it’s different on JP21 9V vs euroSCART which is composite sync iirc) 

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Use of this website is subject to our Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Guidelines.

  I accept