Should I get that Saturn?

[MrNelson]

There is a gaming store near me that is selling a Sega Saturn that seems to be in pretty good shape (I haven't taken a close look at it) for $40. Should I jump on it?

And if so, can anyone recommend me any good games for it?

[LaughingMAN.S9]

i dont know about 40 dollars, i've seen systems go for that price with games included, but yes, definitely get a saturn....at a good price

[kedawa]

Always get a Saturn.

What kinds of games are you most interested in?

[stalepie]

That's a little expensive perhaps. I got a decent one off ebay a few years ago for 15, though it came with a shoddy cable that needed replacing and a bad controller.

Some games:

Clockwork Knight 2
Legend of Oasis
Nights (and Christmas Nights)
High Velocity
Guardian Heroes
Shinobi Legions
Burning Rangers
Herc's Adventure
Virtual On
Quake
Galactic Attack
Virtua Cop
Panzer Dragoon series
Tempest 2000
Shining the Holy Ark
Dark Savior
Amok
Dragon Force
Virtua Racing
Sega Rally
Saturn Bomberman
Die Hard Arcade
Three Dirty Dwarves
Iron Storm
Sonic Jam
Mr. Bones
Bug!


Japanese games (requires Pro Action Replay cartridge or similar):
Policenauts
Assault Suit Leynos 2
Radiant Silvergun
Gunbird
Thunderforce V
Darius Gaiden
Konami’s Deluxe Packs
Sexy Parodius
Batsugun
Strikers 1945 II
DoDonPachi
Keio Yugekitai
Battle Garegga
Soul Hackers
various fighters (marvel / street fighter / virtua)
Princess Crown
Dragon Force II
D
Sonic Wings Special
Space Harrier
Night Striker S

[MrNelson]

Always get a Saturn.

What kinds of games are you most interested in?

I'm a pretty big fan of RPGs, shmups, strategy, and the like, but I'm up for pretty much anything, including imports (that require little knowledge of the language :D)

And judging from Amazon and Ebay, $40 seems to be the norm for a working console with controller and cords at the moment.

[c0ldb33r]

40 isn't a bad price if it's in good condition with sega controllers.

Not a great price, but not bad either.

I'd just get it.

[Steve W]

A few weeks ago I found a Saturn in a thrift store with a Memory Card Plus in it for $9.99, but I've already got a couple consoles so I passed on it. Last week I went back in and saw that the savages that shop there had rammed the Memory Card down into the slot, jamming it inside and clearly breaking some components, and also taking off the battery door on the back. I don't know why children always pull off battery doors on electronics in thrift stores and steal it or toss it. Little bastards. The same thing happens with absolutely any disc based game left out in the open. The disc will get stolen out of the case, regardless of whether they have the ability to play it or not.

[MrNelson]

A few weeks ago I found a Saturn in a thrift store with a Memory Card Plus in it for $9.99, but I've already got a couple consoles so I passed on it. Last week I went back in and saw that the savages that shop there had rammed the Memory Card down into the slot, jamming it inside and clearly breaking some components, and also taking off the battery door on the back. I don't know why children always pull off battery doors on electronics in thrift stores and steal it or toss it. Little bastards. The same thing happens with absolutely any disc based game left out in the open. The disc will get stolen out of the case, regardless of whether they have the ability to play it or not.

The horror.....THE HORROR!!

That's pretty bad, kind of reminds me of the game controllers that you would see on the demo units in a Walmart. I've seen some PS2 controllers missing buttons and even saw a few without the analog sticks on them!

[CrazyGamesDude]

Yeah, $40 isn't bad if it is in good shape and comes with a Sega controller or two. I recommend Panzer Dragoon.

[gameofyou]

Awesome system. You can check out some of the games here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/gameofyou1

[PresidentLeever]

US/EU:
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Saturn Bomberman
Shining Force III
Darius G
Galactic Attack

JP:
Cotton Boomerang
Bulk Slash
Battle Garegga
Elevator Action Returns
Radiant Silvergun
Assault Suit Leynos 2

Go get that Saturn!

[Trebuken]

Seems a good price. The price has gone up on most retro systems over the last couple of years.

I would suggest looking for one that comes in the box. Sometimes you can get them for just a little more -- I think it is worth it, and wish I had done it when I bought mine...

[Ninjamohawk]

Is it a circle button Saturn?

[MrNelson]

I can't recall if it was a circle or oval button system, as I only glanced at it (I was more occupied with the giant wall of SFC games). Is there any major difference between the 2 kinds (other than helping to identify when it was manufactured)?

And I think it may have a box, as they had quite a few different console boxes on a shelf that ran around the perimeter of the store. I might have seen a Saturn one in there.

[neuropolitique]

No...

[c2000]

no...

yes!!!!

[NayusDante]

Oval button (Model 1) is easier to do the swap trick, for playing backups. Useful if you're into that sort of thing, a curiosity if you're not.

Circle button (Model 2) is where they started using proper controllers, and not the abominations with clicky gray L and R buttons. I have an analog controller, but I wish I had a regular Model 2 controller as well.

If you're going to get into imports, pick up a GameShark. I got mine for under $20 NEW on Amazon, and even though it's the French version, it works fine for me. Hold XYZ when you hit start, and it bypasses the region check.

[Richter Belmount]

Nope.

[MrNelson]

Oval button (Model 1) is easier to do the swap trick, for playing backups. Useful if you're into that sort of thing, a curiosity if you're not.

Circle button (Model 2) is where they started using proper controllers, and not the abominations with clicky gray L and R buttons. I have an analog controller, but I wish I had a regular Model 2 controller as well.

If you're going to get into imports, pick up a GameShark. I got mine for under $20 NEW on Amazon, and even though it's the French version, it works fine for me. Hold XYZ when you hit start, and it bypasses the region check.

Hmmm, not really into the whole pirating scene, so I guess the console model won't matter to me.

And I was actually planning to get one of those 4-in-1 Action Replay carts to play imports. How hard is it to come by one of those, and how much do they usually go for?

[Rev. Link]

And I was actually planning to get one of those 4-in-1 Action Replay carts to play imports. How hard is it to come by one of those, and how much do they usually go for?

It's been a while since I've actually looked for one, since I got mine a few years back, but I don't remember them being too hard to find, especially if you're willing to go the eBay route. I payed around $40 for mine, and that seemed pretty standard at the time.

We've actually got one at the store where I work. Not many collectors come into our store, so we've been sitting on it for a while now.

[KEVMAN569]

I know you already said your not for pirating, but you may want to consider it for this system. Some of the best games (Gaurdian Heroes, Burning Rangers, Radiant Silvergun) are anywhere from $100-$200. Just be prepared to pay for some of these games if you decide to buy the system.

[Emperor Megas]

A few weeks ago I found a Saturn in a thrift store with a Memory Card Plus in it for $9.99, but I've already got a couple consoles so I passed on it. Last week I went back in and saw that the savages that shop there had rammed the Memory Card down into the slot, jamming it inside and clearly breaking some components, and also taking off the battery door on the back. I don't know why children always pull off battery doors on electronics in thrift stores and steal it or toss it. Little bastards. The same thing happens with absolutely any disc based game left out in the open. The disc will get stolen out of the case, regardless of whether they have the ability to play it or not.This is why I purchase things like that from thrift stores even when I don't need them, if the price is right. If it were something in the glass case, I may not, but if it's something worth preserving just sitting out, I usually will, if only to give it to someone else in time, or to offload at a cheap price to someone who would appreciate it.

[NayusDante]

I know you already said your not for pirating, but you may want to consider it for this system. Some of the best games (Gaurdian Heroes, Burning Rangers, Radiant Silvergun) are anywhere from $100-$200. Just be prepared to pay for some of these games if you decide to buy the system.

I never said pirating, I said backups. If I paid $200 for a Saturn game, I think I'd make and play a backup rather than risk damaging my original copy. Just keep a cheap copy of Virtua Fighter 2 or something around that you don't mind scratching when you do the swap trick.

[MrNelson]

I know you already said your not for pirating, but you may want to consider it for this system. Some of the best games (Gaurdian Heroes, Burning Rangers, Radiant Silvergun) are anywhere from $100-$200. Just be prepared to pay for some of these games if you decide to buy the system.

That's the one thing that bothers me about the system, but then again, what console doesn't have the awesome yet expensive games out there? And for every awesome, high priced game, there is bound to be a game that is just as awesome, for a more reasonable price (I hope).

But I will keep an eye out for those, especially Burning Rangers (that one seems to interest me the most).

[MrNelson]

I never said pirating, I said backups. If I paid $200 for a Saturn game, I think I'd make and play a backup rather than risk damaging my original copy. Just keep a cheap copy of Virtua Fighter 2 or something around that you don't mind scratching when you do the swap trick.

Ah, ok. I'm sure I'll be fine though. I take excellent care of all my stuff (all that OCD), but I may think of that should I end up with a copy of Radiant Silvergun or something like that.

[Baloo]

Saturn is my favorite system of all-time, so many excellent games that haven't been re-released on the system. As far as US releases alone go:

Burning Rangers
NiGHTS into Dreams...
Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend
Darius Gaiden
Virtual On
Shining the Holy Ark
Shinobi Legions
Panzer Dragoon
Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Shining Force III
Magical Knight Rayearth
Guardian Heroes
Saturn Bomberman
Sega Rally Championship
Daytona USA
World Series Baseball II
Winter Heat
Virtua Cop
Sonic Jam
Die Hard Arcade
SEGA AGES
Tempest 2000
Virtua Fighter 2
Fighters Megamix
Fighting Vipers


And those are just most of the exclusives! Then you dig into imports and the library becomes even better. Go for the Saturn, an excellent system. Just remember in order to play the best games (Namely the RPGs and late releases) you've got to pay a little more. But most aren't too far off from a retail game new. Panzer Dragoon Saga is really the only one that consistently goes for above $100, the rest can be found for $50-$80.

[MrNelson]

Well, I finally went out and got it. It has a few scuffs and scratches on it, but other than that it's fine. It boots up fine, but I can't test the cd drive yet since the store didn't have any Saturn games, and I don't have any audio cds on hand to put in it. It came with one of those big original Saturn controllers, squishy shoulder buttons and all, but again, no game to test it with so I don't no if there are any issues.

Time to start scouring Ebay for games :D

[stalepie]

My old Saturn's battery has died out. Every time I power it on it asks me to set the date. I think I can still save games on the Action Replay.