Saturn Import: Mod vs. Cart

[cyberfluxor]

I was currious as to what is the better route to go when using imports on a Saturn. Is it best to just buy an regionless cartridge to allow interchanging between regions or just modifying it with a switch? I've looked at import carts and see them go for high prices which makes me somewhat lean towards doing a mod instead. Any ideas on which way is best and if one is more garanteed over the other to be compatible?

[Guru of Time and Space]

If you're gonna be wanting to play games that come with their own RAM carts such as King of Fighter '95, then you're gonna want to get a switch put in your Saturn, otherwise you won't be able to play those games. Also, I've noticed some games freeze up or save incorrectly when using some cartridges.

I'd say go with the mod.

-GoTaS

[evil_genius]

i like the action replay cart, it serves as a RAM cart as well.

[InsaneDavid]

Yes, just put the switch in, it makes things so much easier. When hardmods are simple such as the Saturn one (Genesis / Mega Drive as well) it's better to stay away from converters. Now I have a Action Replay Plus 4M Auto cartridge, but I use it for RAM expansion and memory backup really. Also the KoF '95 cartridge is a ROM cartridge, not a RAM cart, it contains the character sprites for the game.

[roushimsx]

either do the mod or buy an import Saturn.

the mod is reasonably easy to perform, doesn't have any ill effects on compatibility, and is cheap.

[icbrkr]

Region mod or mod chip? Personally, I went with the mod chip. It's one of the easiest mod chips to install - plug it into the CDROM's ribbon cable, plug into motherboard, solder 1 wire onto a chip leg, and optionally solder the next wire onto a power connector. Easy stuff.

[CosmicMonkey]

But a Saturn Mod-chip has nothing to do with playing imports, it'll just let you boot CD-Rs?!?!

Anyway, I'd suggest getting that soldering iron out. A hard-mod is always the way to go if possible. Especially as 3rd party Mem Carts/Import Carts can be dodgy.

[klausien]

I second this. A hard-mod is the way to go. Add a chip while you're at it to sample some great games that may be out of your price range. Just make sure that you take your time, gve yourself lots of space, have a hot glue gun handy to freeze solder points and use a 15 watt iron. The jumpers are pretty small and grouped together, and you don't want to burn the PCB. A lighted magniying lens on a swivel, though not a necessity, is a nice helper for this and all mods.

[cyberfluxor]

Looking like adding a switch would be best. Does it just open up JP or is it possible to open all regions?

[All Things Sega]

Gor for the hard wired switch over the carts because with time your cartridge slot is gonna get loose. The slots are made of cheap tin and easily wear out so I definately recommend the hard wired from experience.

[smork]

I sya get a second system, since they are pretty cheap. But I only play JP games on my JP system (don't have any games from other regions).

[InsaneDavid]

All information you need is here (http://www.gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=imports:sega_saturn).

[scorch56]

But a Saturn Mod-chip has nothing to do with playing imports, it'll just let you boot CD-Rs?!?!

Anyway, I'd suggest getting that soldering iron out. A hard-mod is always the way to go if possible. Especially as 3rd party Mem Carts/Import Carts can be dodgy.

You are correct. I have a hard-chip modded domestic model 2. I STILL can't play import games on it (Cd-Rs OR originals) without my ST-Key; but I have a white Japanese Saturn anyway for that.

[Pete Rittwage]

Another way to do it (if you have a mod chip already) is to rip your original Japanese game CD and run the 'satconvert' utility on it to change it into a US image, reburn to a new CDR, and boot it right up.

That's what I did- I didn't even know there was a switch to install until this thread. I figured they had a different BIOS and accomplished region lock that way.

Pete

[cyberfluxor]

All information you need is here (http://www.gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=imports:sega_saturn).

Thanks David, figured you'd be the one with the best link on "How to do" and all.


I have another question though, is there a particular memory cartridge that is best of all others? I know a few games require certain carts (For sprites and such) but what ones can be best trusted and provide the most memory?

[icbrkr]

But a Saturn Mod-chip has nothing to do with playing imports, it'll just let you boot CD-Rs?!?!

Anyway, I'd suggest getting that soldering iron out. A hard-mod is always the way to go if possible. Especially as 3rd party Mem Carts/Import Carts can be dodgy.

You are correct. I have a hard-chip modded domestic model 2. I STILL can't play import games on it (Cd-Rs OR originals) without my ST-Key; but I have a white Japanese Saturn anyway for that.

Doh! You guys are right - I have a 4 in 1 Action Replay cart for imports. My bad...

[WhiteHenDecapitator]

I have a white Japanese Saturn with a region switch, modchip and RAM cartridge. Will play anything you can throw at it, originals and backups from any region (I think there is 8 region flags that can be set, plus it plays all the games that require the extra RAM!

With a custom built RGB cable connecting it to my Commodore 1084, this system is just amazing! The RGB blows my mind!

[InsaneDavid]

Another way to do it (if you have a mod chip already) is to rip your original Japanese game CD and run the 'satconvert' utility on it to change it into a US image, reburn to a new CDR, and boot it right up.

What a pile of bother in exchange for a little DPDT switch.


I have another question though, is there a particular memory cartridge that is best of all others? I know a few games require certain carts (For sprites and such) but what ones can be best trusted and provide the most memory?

If you're looking for everything in one cartridge, the Action Replay Plus 4M Auto is the cart to use. It will do 4M / 1M RAM expansion as well as work as a backup cartridge for save management. Gives you 8000+ blocks of save space compared to the 510 the Saturn holds internally. There's a review of it at my site (see www button) under "Peripherals" at David's Video Game Insanity.

There are some other carts out there that have crazy amounts of memory (http://cgi.ebay.com/Sega-Saturn-Memory-Back-Up-Cartridge_W0QQitemZ8284327309QQcategoryZ3654QQssPa geNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) but don't work as RAM cartridges and I personally don't know of their reliability. I actually forgot to bid / win the auction for that perticular cartridge. Of course once you hardmod you may want to buy a SegaSaturn 4M cartridge (they're not as expensive on eBay as many have been claiming here, I see them dirt cheap with a game every few weeks) and a Memory cartridge such as that one and use them when needed. The advantage of some of those memory cartridges is that data can be saved / loaded directly to them. With the Action Replay Plus 4M Auto you have to shunt data back and forth using the Action Replay menu system - as the Saturn can't directly read to it. Sounds like a small problem but it can become a bitch backing things up every two weeks and transferring what you need before each play session. My AR cartridge was only $8 shipped though, poorly listed eBay auction. LOL

[Az]

If you're looking for everything in one cartridge, the Action Replay Plus 4M Auto is the cart to use.

Here's a really obscure question for you....

I bought my 4-in-1 back whenever they first came out, when the only game that required the 4mb RAM cart was XvSF. Soon after that Vampire Savior came out, and apparently the original run of carts EMS put out was incompatible with VS. You either had the option of buying an updated cart or modding your existing cart (wish I had saved those instructions!).

Soon after that several more 4mb games came out and I never heard any retailers mention the incompatibility issue. I'm assuming only the initial run of adapters had this problem, and whatever revision they did to them following Vampire Savior made them compatible will all 4mb games.

Is this true? Will the 4-in-1 adapters sold new today work on all 4mb games? Did they ever fix the glitch with SNK's 1mb games?

[ProgrammingAce]

If you really want to throw a monkey wrench in the whole ram cart thing, there are a *few* 16 meg prototype carts floating around out there. Last i heard, someone was trying to duplicate one, but that was a long time ago, don't know whatever came of it.

[InsaneDavid]

If you're looking for everything in one cartridge, the Action Replay Plus 4M Auto is the cart to use.

Here's a really obscure question for you....

I bought my 4-in-1 back whenever they first came out, when the only game that required the 4mb RAM cart was XvSF. Soon after that Vampire Savior came out, and apparently the original run of carts EMS put out was incompatible with VS. You either had the option of buying an updated cart or modding your existing cart (wish I had saved those instructions!).

Soon after that several more 4mb games came out and I never heard any retailers mention the incompatibility issue. I'm assuming only the initial run of adapters had this problem, and whatever revision they did to them following Vampire Savior made them compatible will all 4mb games.

Is this true? Will the 4-in-1 adapters sold new today work on all 4mb games? Did they ever fix the glitch with SNK's 1mb games?

It's still random, the stock channel is a mix of the two releases. In fact I think very few, if any, cartridges had the problem fixed by EMS. The cartridges for sale that don't have the problem have usually been modded by hand by the vendor. In other words the retailers were modifying the cartridges themselves or their vendor / distributor was doing it for them.

The 4M RAM expansion feature should work without any problems if your Saturn is hardmodded with a US/JPN switch and is in JPN mode. The problem with the AR cartridges was that the 4M RAM + the JPN mode switching wouldn't work at the same time.

From my review...

"With some Action Replay carts there was a problem that prevented the 4M RAM expansion from working in conjunction with the region override for some games, namely Vampire Savior. If you have one of these older cartridges an override repair can be done that involves cutting a trace on the board inside the Action Replay and soldering in a jumper."

Directions on how to modify one of these cartridges can be found here (http://www.shinforce.com/saturn/information/4MBRAM-mod.htm).

[Rabid Peanut-Butter]

I know NCSX fixed all of their carts. I had also ordered one from Lik-Sang and theirs were unmodified.

[InsaneDavid]

I know NCSX fixed all of their carts. I had also ordered one from Lik-Sang and theirs were unmodified.


The cartridges for sale that don't have the problem have usually been modded by hand by the vendor. In other words the retailers were modifying the cartridges themselves or their vendor / distributor was doing it for them.

It's nothing to worry about though since it's simple enough to do. Personally I think NCS makes the procedure sound more complex than it is on their page about it in an attempt to gain sales. "It's really hard to do, so buy one from us instead!" But that's just me.

[cyberfluxor]

4MB cartridge has 8190 slots? That's pretty awesome.
http://i16.ebayimg.com/05/i/07/4f/7a/2a_1.JPG
This the kind that I need? It looks a lot like the backup cart for the SegaCD. There are currently 4 on Ebay going that are "Official" and are over $20 after shipping and have some 8+ bids backing them so there is some kind of demand I'll have to fight over.

Back to a hardswitch mod, obviously the easiest thing to do is cut away a hole on the side or back and mound the switch. But if you were to decide to do a custom new case is there anything out there that's worth using? Are there any premade shells available for purchase to transfer your systems core to? Kinda currious incaseI decide to go all out on it.

[InsaneDavid]

4MB cartridge has 8190 slots? That's pretty awesome.
http://i16.ebayimg.com/05/i/07/4f/7a/2a_1.JPG
This the kind that I need? It looks a lot like the backup cart for the SegaCD. There are currently 4 on Ebay going that are "Official" and are over $20 after shipping and have some 8+ bids backing them so there is some kind of demand I'll have to fight over.

Yup, that's a US Saturn Backup cartridge. The advantage is it can be written to directly by games where as the AR 4 in 1 cartridge cannot. That X10 cartridge in the eBay auction I linked earlier, the picture of the TV screen, if you see that it means that data can be directly read to the cartridge rather than some GUI on the cartridge itself. Normal Saturn memory management = direct save / load to the cartridge.


Back to a hardswitch mod, obviously the easiest thing to do is cut away a hole on the side or back and mound the switch. But if you were to decide to do a custom new case is there anything out there that's worth using? Are there any premade shells available for purchase to transfer your systems core to? Kinda currious incaseI decide to go all out on it.

Personally, no. Placement of the switch is up for debate however. On my main Saturn I have a heavy duty rounded toggle on the right side of the system. It's way more switch than is needed (and barely fit where I placed it since there's about a square inch the switch needs inside) but I like it for how I have my Saturn oriented. I've put the switch on the expanson bay door on the back a few times, a mini toggle which I use for everything, and that's alright but I really don't like it all that much. Not that it's a bad place, it's out of the way and looks nice, there's just a chance you may break connection to the switch when replacing the system battery, etc.

For my next US/JPN mod that won't be contracted (which will also be a paint mod for myself) I've been playing around with different locations for the switch. It's going to be on the back but not on the expansion door, but a mini toggle as usual.

As for premade colored shells, some of them are nice but nothing great I've seen for the Saturn. The Dreamcast that I use day in / day out is in a translucent green shell that was nothing more than a swap job (thing on my site about that too under Events / Features) but it's something I couldn't have done myself with paint.