Cost of Playing on the Netlink

All NetLink related discussion goes in here.
User avatar
Rockman1974
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by Rockman1974 »

Cool stuff man. Take a picture of it when you get it so I can tell you which SKU it is.

As for the SG-1000, it is the very first cart-based system from Sega. It was only released in Japan I believe although there was one of the SG systems released in Europe I believe. I've always been a big importer so I own a lot of Japanese systems like that.

Panzer Dragoon is an incredible game that holds up very well to this very day. I just did a video on it actually and am posting a video on Zwei (part 2) tomorrow morning. These two are incredible on-rails shooters that every Saturn fan should own. The third part, Panzer Dragoon Saga is an RPG, one of the finest ever made, and a Saturn exclusive. I adored it back in the day and will be retro reviewing that one shortly. The problem with this series is that it hasn't been ported to the modern consoles making these games extremely rare. The first two go for between $25 to $40 depending on the condition of the game. Check eBay as your guide. The first Panzer can be bought for $30 for a near mint copy with all the original goods, so don't spend anything else for it. Zwei is usually $10 more expensive. Saga on the other hand, well let's just say that it's up there with Radiant Silvergun. It's a four disc game that was released in 1998, same year as Metal Gear Solid and Ocarina of Time. Of all three games, I'm sure 99% of gamers have only heard of two. That makes Panzer Dragoon Saga extremely rare because it is highly sought after and was printed in extremely limited quantities. You had to be into the Saturn big time to pick it up. The same goes for Shining Force III and Burning Rangers. These are extremely expensive games that fetch well over $100 and sometimes can hit $300 depending on the condition of the game. Be warned ahead of time.
User avatar
NWA
Posts: 249
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 3:18 am
Location: Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by NWA »

thanks for the info, I saw your review on ProjectCOE on youtube, it was really good!, but ill have to watch it again, 75% in the vid i fell asleep, staying up till 4AM is something im not used to lol :mrgreen: I knew about Panzer Dragoon Saga, every time i watch a saturn video its mentioned, so one of these days when i get a racketboy chip maybe i'll download it, but until then I'd rather not, I REALLY don't like disc swapping my saturn (I'm talking about the one i use for burnt games), because like i said earlier i had to repair it when i got it because the disc would never spin then when i got it to it could never read copy protection, so i decided the do every repair in the book, i cleaned the laser, raised the spindle, lowered the resistance on the laser itself, and cleaned that white ribbon that connects the drive to the motherboard, and after all that it worked, i mean it works with all my games except ONE... NHL 97! But I'm ok with that tho, it will actually only read the copy protect on that one once the internal power suppy gets warmed up, so by saying that im always afraid of the day when it finally craps out after neglect, because i wanna keep all my saturns alive, and i probably wont get that copy of panzer, u know what ur talking about and i was suspicious about a high price and bad shape lol. I'm ancious 4 u to upload the zwei review, im gonna watch it as soon as i see it on your channel! :D.
Better run home to momma now!
User avatar
Rockman1974
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by Rockman1974 »

It should be up in another few minutes. It's a long one, and the most technical one I've done yet. Took a very long time to gather the footage for everything I wanted to discuss. As for Panzer Dragoon Saga, yeah man that's super expensive and when I review that one it'll likely take me over a week to capture all the footage I want. It's an RPG after all so those aren't exactly short like the action games are.

I've got a package I have to go pick up so I'm hoping it's my NetLink adapter. I ordered Duke Nukem from another eBay seller though so I won't be able to do anything with the adapter just yet, but I'll keep you posted.
User avatar
NWA
Posts: 249
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 3:18 am
Location: Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by NWA »

cool! im watching the panzer vid now and just finished watchinG the suprise unboxing of the netlink!
Better run home to momma now!
User avatar
Rockman1974
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by Rockman1974 »

So what did you think? I'm hoping Duke arrives early next week so I can test this bad boy out :)
User avatar
NWA
Posts: 249
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 3:18 am
Location: Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by NWA »

was really good! btw at first when u try ur netlink online with people it may lag abit, but it just needs to warm up. and another thing is after an hour or two of usage, it may start to lag, i guess cuz it just gets hot but thats what mine does, and i have the same box packadge as urs, but my netlink might just be abit faulty lol. i was suprised u didnt get nights sampler with yours, because that boxed version of the netlink ( at least mine and a friends), had nights sampler, but yours looked brand new to me!!!
Better run home to momma now!
User avatar
Rockman1974
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by Rockman1974 »

Everything was brand new, and sealed. Not sure what was supposed to be inside the box, but according to the box and everything in it there was no mention of any sampler or whatnot. Who knows how many SKUs this thing had though. I know there was one SKU that had Sega Rally and Virtual On included, but it's all good man. I'm not a stickler for stuff like that. I paid $15 and am very pleased with it. I already have NiGHTS anyways ;)

Can't wait to try it out, and NWA you'll be the first person I test it with. I hope you don't mind me recording the footage for a future review both for Duke Nukem and for the NetLink adapter itself. I plan to just show bits and pieces of what we play. With any luck Duke will arrive by Wednesday and I'll post here asking when you're available.
User avatar
Warp2063
League Veteran
League Veteran
Posts: 1594
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:28 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by Warp2063 »

I've never played long enough for it to lag... but I haven't had these startup problems you're talking about, either. My Saturns require me to plug the NetLink in at a very specific angle, though. It has to sit at a slight angle in the socket to work properly.
I have my Saturns, I have some of my games, I have a RasPi. Gotta put all this stuff together!
User avatar
Rockman1974
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by Rockman1974 »

Have either of you guys ever used an Action Replay Plus card? I've had mine for years and years and never had any issues, but I've heard many people complain that by using such a card for extended periods, of constantly putting it in and taking it out, that it can cause some damage to the cart pins inside the Saturn. Perhaps this could be why your adapter requires a slight adjustment. I tend to keep my ARP cart in my Saturn about 99% of the time, and only remove it when a game is incompatible with it, or now that I've got my NetLink adapter I suppose I'll be taking it out more often.
User avatar
Warp2063
League Veteran
League Veteran
Posts: 1594
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:28 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by Warp2063 »

While not impossible, I have to make the exact same adjustment for all of my Saturns. Therefore, the problem is more likely to be that particular NetLink.

While the pins in the Saturn expansion slot are not as durable as those in a game cartridge slot, they should still be reasonably sturdy. I wouldn't expect problems unless you go way overboard.
I have my Saturns, I have some of my games, I have a RasPi. Gotta put all this stuff together!
User avatar
Rockman1974
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by Rockman1974 »

Interesting Warp. Like I said, I never experienced any issues and if you tried the cart on multiple Saturns than yeah, you're probably right it's the adapter itself.
User avatar
Rockman1974
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by Rockman1974 »

So today I connected my NetLink modem and cruised the Net in glorious HTML 1.0 baby! Boy was it funny. My dial-up still works with my current ISP so basically it costs me nothing at all. Now direct-dial, that's something else so unless my 10-10-103 trick works, I won't be playing with anyone outside my province or else I'll need to remortgage my house lol.

Anyways, I'm currently gathering footage for another video, and I had a really good time just checking out PlanetWeb and the interface and everything. Very cool stuff. I also touched base with some of the Sega reps who works at the time and boy my NetLink information was WAY off. I always thought this thing launched in '97, but it launched on Halloween in 1996. The first game, Sega Rally Championship was supposed to ship Q1 1997, but eventually it was so delayed that it shipped alongside Virtual On NetLink Edition on August 5th, 1997. That's only 3 months short of a full year. Sega wanted to sell 100,000 from October 31st, 1996 yo January 1st, 1997, but ended up only sell just over 10,000. By August 1997 only 15,000 had been sold! Ouch! No wonder these things are so easy to find, Sega mass produced them and it bombed extremely bad.

I'm more interested in this than ever before and I'll hook up for some matches just as soon as my games start arriving. Spent a mint on some of them O_o
User avatar
NWA
Posts: 249
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 3:18 am
Location: Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by NWA »

dude thats funny as hell! i dont have dial up, so i decided not to unseal my webrowser, i wish i had it though! when u get ur games and im not there on saturnleague, check if im on xbox live, im on that alot when i get honme from school lol :mrgreen: oh and the vid was awesome again!
Better run home to momma now!
User avatar
NWA
Posts: 249
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 3:18 am
Location: Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by NWA »

Warp2063 wrote:I've never played long enough for it to lag... but I haven't had these startup problems you're talking about, either. My Saturns require me to plug the NetLink in at a very specific angle, though. It has to sit at a slight angle in the socket to work properly.
both my saturns start up the netlink with ease, i just shove it in there and move it left to right twice just to make sure its in there good
Better run home to momma now!
User avatar
Rockman1974
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:11 pm

Re: Cost of Playing on the Netlink

Post by Rockman1974 »

I'll be sure to hit you up the second I get any games in. I'll let you know once my next vids go up. I use Bell for my ISP so their ancient dial-up service is technically still alive just hidden really well. Took me a minute or two for set-up and that's it. Cruising the net is painfully slow and useless because all websites today are coded in HTML 2.0 and above. That's why Sega released updated browsers ;)

So tomorrow I'm doing a hook-up vid, a PlanetWeb demo vid and a history of the NetLink adapter. Going to be one busy day tomorrow.
Post Reply