A few questions about the Sega Saturn

[Vkmies]

So, I don't really know much, err... Well, I don't really know anything about the Sega Saturn, but I recently picked one up for my collection. I had some questions for the people who actually know something about the console.

1. My friends controllers and his console was made in China, My console were made in Indonesia and my controllers in Malaysia. Is there any kind of difference? Is there some kind of neat story behind this, or did they made the consoles and controllers just everywhere around the world?

2. I know, this is a huge n00b-question, but how do one change the battery of the console? I know where the battery is, but my stupid brain wasn't enough to figure out how I get the damn thing out of there. 0_o;

3. My Light-guns don't seem to work. I have a television that works well with the Nintendo Zapper, Sega Justifier and some random 3rd party PS2 guns. Is the problem in the TV or the guns? I have 2, and both seemed to fire wherever they wanted, if at all. They seemed to be original 1st party guns.

4. Before I get to importing a ton of shooters, what are some great Saturn-games that came overseas? Importing costs. ^^ And can someone give me a short introduction into the Action-Replay carts and things of the Saturn?

Thanks in advance, for not getting frustrated about stupid questions.

[InsaneDavid]

2. I know, this is a huge n00b-question, but how do one change the battery of the console? I know where the battery is, but my stupid brain wasn't enough to figure out how I get the damn thing out of there. 0_o;

Proving that yes, this tutorial is sometimes needed, here's a tutorial I did (http://classicplastic.net/dvgi/features-MODSSATURNbattery.html). Just lift the battery up from the back and it'll pop out.

[Darko]

4. Before I get to importing a ton of shooters, what are some great Saturn-games that came overseas? Importing costs. ^^ And can someone give me a short introduction into the Action-Replay carts and things of the Saturn?


What you need is the Acion Replay 4m Plus cart. It will let you play almost every import flawlessly. There's one on eBay right now. I'd expect to spend between $30 and $50 on it. It simply bypasses the region check. You could always mod it, but I wouldn't go that route.

As far as Shooters go I'd check out Radiant Silvergun and DoDonPachi for sure.

[Kyle15]

I second the 4M Plus cart. Besides import booting, it also functions as a cheat device, memory card, and 1MB/4MB RAM expander for specific games.

[Emperor Megas]

As far as Shooters go I'd check out Radiant Silvergun and DoDonPachi for sure."Check out?" Radiant Silvergun is more of a collectors piece that demands very high dollars (last I checked). Any import suggestions for him/her to 'check out' that won't completely break bank?

[PSony]

Darius Gaiden and Galactic Attack (Layer Section) are two great shooters that had US releases and are pretty cheap.

Gradius Deluxe Pack and Detana Twinbee Yahoo Deluxe Pack are some cheap import shooter compilations. You should be able to get them from $15-20.

[Baloo]

Here's some relatively cheap Saturn imports (And I'm talking cheap in terms of Saturn imports, rather than cheap in terms of cheap):

X-Men Vs. Street Fighter
All-Star Pro Wrestling Featuring Virtua
Cyberbots
Vampire Saviour
Necronomicon
Metal Slug
Samurai Showdown III

Saturn imports are pricey. Most are in the $30-40 range, some even more. Games like Street Fighter Zero 3, Radiant Silvergun, Super Tempo, Stellar Assault, Psychic Assassin Taromaru, Bulk Slash, Thunder Force V, they're all over $60-70 at least. Saturn imports are some of the BEST games for the system, but be prepared to break the bank to get them.

[Emperor Megas]

--DOUBLE POST--

The heck? What's with all of the double posting lately? I suppose it automatically resubmitted my post after I restarted by browser (there was an error earlier). This most be happening to a lot of posters, because I've been seeing a lot of double posts recently.

[gameofyou]

I put videos on YouTube of most of the good Saturn games, if you want to check it out (6 volumes) here: http://www.youtube.com/user/gameofyou1

[Atariguy]

4. Before I get to importing a ton of shooters, what are some great Saturn-games that came overseas? Shooter-wise, Galactic Attack (also known as Layer Section, RayForce, and Gunlock in other regions) is fantastic. If you like 3d rail shooters, then Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon Zwei are must haves.

Fighting game wise, Street Fighter Alpha 2 had a great port and is pretty easy to find. Virtua Fighter 2 is pretty great and was a pack-in for a while, so that should be very easy to find cheap. Fighters Megamix is probably the best 3d fighter for the system. It's a cross over between Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers, but it has all sorts of extra characters, many of which get pretty bizarre. For instance, you can play as the car from Daytona USA.

One of the best games on the console is NiGHTs: Into Dreams. It's a rather unique game based around flying, though it feels largely like a platformer. It's a bit of an acquired taste, but if you give it some time, you'll find something great. It's also one of the most common games for the console, so you should be able to pick it up pretty easily and cheaply.

Racing wise, Daytona USA and Sega Rally Championship are both considered very good, and they're pretty easy to find. Sonic R gets mixed reactions,but some people love it, so it might be worth trying if you run into it cheaply.

On the expensive end, Dragon Force, Shining Force III, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Guardian Heroes, and Saturn Bomberman are all fantastic, but they'll set you back a bit. Saturn Bomberman is much cheaper if you import, and it's quite playable once you figure out the menus, but you really need the others in English if you want to fully appreciate them.


And can someone give me a short introduction into the Action-Replay carts and things of the Saturn?

If you want to get Capcom and SNK imports, get one of the 4 meg RAM ones. It should allow you to play virtually all imports, and it allows you to back up the internal memory on your Saturn so that you're not completely fucked when the battery dies (though it sadly doesn't allow you to save directly to it from a game). However, this will not allow you to play burned games. You need to mod your Saturn to do that.