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- Matt Barton
- Mark Vergeer
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- Bill Loguidice
Mark Plays.... Sega Saturn - Me taking a look at the console and a huge stack of games!
I have owned a Sega Saturn from just about release day but a while ago I came across a pretty good deal - at least I thought I did. I paid € 150,- (euros) (about 100 pounds, $ 200,- US) for a console, an arcade stick, three original controllers, two big stacks of games.
In this part I show the system - which does feature an mpg cart allowing VCD playback. A memory expansion/action replay/region free bootloader cart. I hook it up to the telly and turn it on. Whilst at the same time making nonsensical comments about it all.
Read more to view the rest of the growing list of videos!
Stack of games
Gran Chaser (JAP) & Wipeout (PAL)
Virtua Racing (PAL) & Tunnel B1 (PAL)
Sonic 3D (NTSC) & Gradius Deluxe Pack (JAP)
Gotha (JAP) & Vampire Hunter (JAP)
Pandemonium (PAL Review disc) & Formula Karts Special edition (PAL Review disc)
Digital Pinball (PAL)
Comments
Ok, after showing the system in part 01, I continue with the stack of games I got for the system. Just going through them and commenting on them as we go through them.
One question, please let me know if there are any MUST BUY PAL releases that I don't have yet?
Or any other affordable PAL/NTSC/JAP release that has good gameplay?
Xbox 360: Lactobacillus P | Wii: 8151 3435 8469 3138
Armchair arcade Editor | Pixellator | www.markvergeer.nl
How funny I been enjoying my SATURN and Action Replay 4in1 recently myself! I think it was a great system, looking forward to more about it!
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Oldschool games, some people just don't "get it"...
Mines pretty scratched too lol! It's not pretty but it works and I installed a modchip to boot backups, it does nothing for region block BUT I have some Jap Backups that were patched to boot as US......oh and I have the 3D pad that was bundled with KNIGHTS INTO DREAMS, my only other controller is a Superpad6. My system has the round buttons, I believe the oval button ones were harder to mod...........
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Oldschool games, some people just don't "get it"...
Mines pretty scratched too lol! It's not pretty but it works and I installed a modchip to boot backups, it does nothing for region block BUT I have some Jap Backups that were patched to boot as US......oh and I have the 3D pad that was bundled with KNIGHTS INTO DREAMS, my only other controller is a Superpad6. My system has the round buttons, I believe the oval button ones were harder to mod...........
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Oldschool games, some people just don't "get it"...
Yeah, the Saturn is a very nice console. I got it with two games way way back and sorta forgot about it when I obtained a grey Playstation as most of the games were 'better' on the PSX. Now I do tend to appreciate the programming effort more - as the Saturn was pure hell to programm compared to the PSX - and wonder at the mastery of the game creators on this device.
A good Saturn needs to be all scratchy! Hihihi
You are absolutely right about the modding part. I do have three saturns - no wait even four as I found another one in a box I normally store my hand-held games in - but they all have oval buttons. I am not so keen on modding one. Perhaps I should source a modded one out. Hmmm would love to be able to play a copy of Radiant Silvergun....
Xbox 360: Lactobacillus P | Wii: 8151 3435 8469 3138
Armchair arcade Editor | Pixellator | www.markvergeer.nl
Galactic Attack is well up in the best shmups list. Streetfighter the move has been rated as the worst Saturn game ever in some Saturn forums!!
I recommend : Saturn Bomberman, Fighters Megamix, Athlete Kings, Baku Baku, Darius Gaiden, Parodius, Tempest 2000, Winter Heat - all available in PAL format.
Nice! That's quite a bit of video work!
I recently acquired a Sega Saturn with four games and two controllers for $20. The only thing it was missing was a composite video adapter (it only came with RF!). So, all the games have some static and fuzziness that would probably be fixed with a better cable.
It looks like an interesting system, and I'm happy to have it from a collector's standpoint, but I'm not sure why anyone would prefer this to a Dreamcast.
It looks like an interesting system, and I'm happy to have it from a collector's standpoint, but I'm not sure why anyone would prefer this to a Dreamcast.
Why would anyone prefer to own more than one system? Simple, different games. There is very little cross-over from the Saturn and Dreamcast all told, and they're completely different generations.
Books!
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director | Armchair Arcade, Inc.
Nice! That's quite a bit of video work!
I recently acquired a Sega Saturn with four games and two controllers for $20. The only thing it was missing was a composite video adapter (it only came with RF!). So, all the games have some static and fuzziness that would probably be fixed with a better cable.
It looks like an interesting system, and I'm happy to have it from a collector's standpoint, but I'm not sure why anyone would prefer this to a Dreamcast.
Like Bill said, because there are different games available on it. Some are platform specific. And sometimes it is that a specific flavour/port just resonates with a person just a tad better than others.
Matt, it's not Dreamcast vs Saturn or console X vs console Y at all. It's about embracing all the machines and appreciating their differences. I have quite a bit of programming skills and I do tend to appreciate the games even more when I know the hardware it is running on. The Z80 is quite a different beast than the 6510, as is the 68000 or an ARM CPU.
The Dreamcast is pretty straightforward when it comes to accessing the hardware, even though it is not a x86 based system like the Xbox both machines share form of simplicity. The PS2 is a complex machine where your code needs to be timed and is running in parallel - not really multi-threaded like we know it today but a similar concept. The Saturn is even more complex because of all the different CPUs running and not being able to access the memory simultaneously. The Saturn really is some wierd 2.5D hybrid pushed to 3D performance!
I tend to appreciate games made on those hard to program limited systems just a bit more than the Xbox360 & PS3 games that have a huge heap of hardware resources at their disposal. Programming the Saturn - with very limited texture memory and no fancy effects - and producing a stunning looking game is a bigger achievement in a way than producing a stunning looking game on a current gen console.
Xbox 360: Lactobacillus P | Wii: 8151 3435 8469 3138
Armchair arcade Editor | Pixellator | www.markvergeer.nl
Played Galactic Attack - this is well worth it. Golden Age Shmup supremacy! It'll show up on the videos.
DavyK, Thanks for the recommendations!
Xbox 360: Lactobacillus P | Wii: 8151 3435 8469 3138
Armchair arcade Editor | Pixellator | www.markvergeer.nl
Like I said, I can see the value from a collector's perspective, but have not heard much about "must play" games that were unique to the system (i.e. not "great for Saturn games" but "great period.") The only game that I've heard talked about at length is Nights into Dreams.
I just found this list of "Saturn games that matter today" or something like that. Some pretty interesting looking games on this list, though I've never been big into shmups, JRPGs, or beat'em ups (which rules out most of the 90s console games!). That said, the Shining Force series sounds interesting with the turn-based strategy component, but I have to admit the graphics style and focus on children turns me off. Panzer Dragoon Saga looks like a must-play for sure.
Am I to understand that you need a mod chip to play backup copies on a Saturn?