How do I get a Saturn Action Replay 4 in 1 cart to work?

[Anthony1]

I recently got a Action Replay 4 in 1 cartridge for the Sega Saturn. This is the cart that is supposed to allow me to play games like Xmen vs. Street Fighter and stuff like that.


I plugged the cart into the cartridge slot on the top of the Sega Saturn, and then I put in X-men Vs. Street Fighter. I turned it on. Then I got a screen that was in Japanese. It had a bunch of Japanese letters and stuff, but it also had 4M on there.

Like it was telling me that it needed the 4M cart.

Well, isn't that what I have?

Do I need to do something special to get this thing to work?

I got this cart from one of the DP members here, and it is just the bare cart itself, with no instructions or anything.

I just assumed that all I needed to do was plug the cart in, and put in a game that used it, and whoila! it would work.

But I must be doing something wrong or something.

[Retro_player]

I believe that is because the game you are trying to play requires the ram expansion cart.
Those type of games can only be played on a japanese system with the ram expansion on the cart slot.

But correct me if i'm wrong.

regards!

[Anthony1]

I believe that is because the game you are trying to play requires the ram expansion cart.
Those type of games can only be played on a japanese system with the ram expansion on the cart slot.

But correct me if i'm wrong.

regards!

I believe that this cart is a Ram expansion cart. It's a 4M/1M cart. I have a U.S. Saturn, but it was modded with a switch put on it, that I flip back n forth to play either U.S. or Japanese games.

Had I not had it modded with that switch, I would have gotten a message that would have said, "This disc is not suitable for this system."

That's what it says when I put a Japanese game in and forget to switch the switch, after playing some U.S. games.

[Anthony1]

You know, I'm wondering if this guy sent me a dead freaking cart.

When I turn the Saturn on, with the Cart plugged in, and no game in the unit, shouldn't some special Action Replay screen come on the screen?


Cause nothing happens.

Basically, I see what I would see if I never had the cart. I don't have any instructions or anything, so I'm not sure If I need to do something special, but this is really pissing me off.

[Funk Buddy]

Well, it could be a couple of things.

#1 That title does not work with any aftermarket RAM cart, just the Capcom model.

#2 The cart slot is bad or dirty.

There are some games that do not work RAM wise, but every other function works. Have you tried putting it in and messing with it? Like pushing it towards the back of the system or more left or right. I sell these, and sometimes I have to do that on my Saturn when testing them.

I'm leaning toward the first issue. I'm looking right now to be sure what games do not work for a potential buyer so I'll post it here too.

[Funk Buddy]

You know, I'm wondering if this guy sent me a dead freaking cart.

When I turn the Saturn on, with the Cart plugged in, and no game in the unit, shouldn't some special Action Replay screen come on the screen?


Cause nothing happens.

Basically, I see what I would see if I never had the cart. I don't have any instructions or anything, so I'm not sure If I need to do something special, but this is really pissing me off.

When you have the cart in and a game in the system with the door closed, turn it on. You should be taken to the Action Replay screen with your choices of select cheat, memory manager and the like. Do you get this screen? You need to have a game in the system to get it... does not matter what region the game is or what position the switch is in, US/JPN.

[ManekiNeko]

You may have to mod your cartridge. That's what it took for me to get my Capcom games to work properly.

http://elportal2000.metropoliglobal....tajes/4en1.php

It's a simple procedure, really, requiring only two connections to solder and one lead to cut. However, and I must stress this, I will NOT be held responsible for any mistakes you make while altering your cartridge.

JR

[Anthony1]

I got the cart to work.



I decided that I might as clean the cartridge contacts, just in case.


Turns out, that was all that I needed to do.


The only reason that I didn't do that as the first possible solution, is because I figured that the guy that sent me the cart must have cleaned the contacts before sending it to me. I don't know why I assumed that. I guess I should never assume that the contacts are clean.

Anyways, the cart is working fine now, and Xmen vs. Street Fighter is working fine too.

Sweet game!

Thanks for all the tips guys.

- Anthony

[Vroomfunkel]

Yeah, the other thing is that the cart slot on the Saturn can be as dodgy as hell even when the contacts are clean. I find that if I ever remove the cart, then when I put it back in I have to wiggle it or push it quite firmly in before it will work ... usually takes two or three tries to get the positioning (or whatever it is) right.

Also, another common reason for a random message in Japanese appearing when you try to start a game is when it is trying to tell you that there is not enough memory space in the internal RAM for a save game ...

Vroomfunkel

[esquire]

You got the game to work? I've never been able to get my Action Replay to work with Z-Men vs Streetfighter. All the other games work with it, except that one and Warriors of Fate. Both games boot and go to the main screen, but when I hit start the game resets my Saturn and reboots. Any help?

[Mr Mort]

I have one, and it's the best thing since sliced bread. No more modding. Just pop the cartridge in, select "start game without cheats", and regardless of what region your system and game are, it starts up, no prob. Add to the fact that it's a 4Meg/1Meg expansion, Backup RAM cart, a converter, and a cheat device in one, it's definately worth the money, albeit they're hard to find these days.

[Captain Wrong]

#1 That title does not work with any aftermarket RAM cart, just the Capcom model.

Nope. I have Xmen vs. Street Fighter and it works fine with my 4 in 1. I think Darkstalkers is the only Capcom game that requires a special cart. Could be wrong. The Saturn FAQ (Googe it or check gamefaqs) has a list.

My guess would be your cart slot. As has been mentioned, the Saturn cart slots are notoriously flaky (and not in a good pie crust sort of way.)

[Vroomfunkel]

My AR 4in1 works with every game i have tried it with so far - including Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers) and X-Men vs. SF. The only games that require their own special cart that I am aware of are King of FIghters 95 and Ultraman, which both require their own ROM cart. But the latter one is a pile of pap anyway, so there's really no point worrying about it. And KOF, you can just go for '96 or '97 instead, which will use the RAM cart.

I have heard that there is a dodgy batch of ARs floating around though that do not work with Darkstalkers - but I have never heard of one not working with X-Men vs. SF before. That's messed up!

Vroomfunkel

[Richter]

you gotta to that mod on the cart to get VS to work. i know the newer cards dont need this