New to the saturn

This is the place for anything about Sega Saturn
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hfdpro
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:18 pm

New to the saturn

Post by hfdpro »

Looking to buy a saturn online. Been gaming for 25 years, just never owned the saturn. Is it best to purchase a japanese system? Will it play U.S. and japanese games? If I purchase a U.S. system, can I play import games, and if so, how? Lots of questions, but I want to do this right. Thanks.
Cidus
Posts: 59
Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2006 12:49 pm
Location: Massachusetts (USA)

Post by Cidus »

Hi and welcome to the board! :D

Glad to see that you're considering a Saturn, it really is a great machine and still manages to get more playtime from me than any of my other consoles. :P

As far as console regions go ... you can purchase an American or Japanese system and play imports just fine as long as you use a conversion cart. I recommend the Action Replay 4M Plus (http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-k8- ... 0-1b2.html). This thing not only lets you play import games, but it also acts as a gameshark, gives you more save game memory than anyone could ever hope to fill up, and even provides the extra 1 and 4 megs of RAM that Saturn conversions of some Capcom and SNK games require. Trust me when I say that for $25, this is the absolute best thing you can do for your system and really will help you get the most out of it. To use the converter, you literally just plug it into the cartridge slot at the back of the machine. That's it! No internal modifications, disc swapping, or wires to solder, just plug it in and you're good to go! Next to the Dreamcast this has to be one of the easiest systems to play imports on.

If modding your system to play backups is a concern then you'll probably want to purchase a Model 2 Saturn (they have round power and reset buttons instead of oval ones). While it is possible to mod a Model 1, it is a lot more involving than the "attach 1 wire" method that the Model 2 Saturns use. If you want to play backups but don't want to perfom any internal modifications to your system, then it is possible to 'disc-swap'. However, this will kill your system's CD-block and laser eventually so I can't recommend it at all.

If you're buying a used Saturn then it would be a good idea to grab a new CR2032 battery. Thankfully you can snagg these up at any electronics store for under $5. The Saturn uses this battery to power its internal clock and memory for game saves ... with decent use it should last you about 18 or so months before you need to replace it again.

Other accessories you may want to purchase down the road are the Nights 3D Pad, a good arcade stick, and a Stunner (a little heavy, but a pin-point accurate light-gun).

It's a good thing that it seems like you're open to importing. Truthfully, I believe the best part of the Saturn is it's stunning import lineup. Playing something like Bulk Slash, Bomberman Fight!, Doukoku Soshite, Fighters Megamix, or Hyper Duel and knowing that they are still exclusives gives the system quite a lot of 'soul' much like the Neo Geo or PC-Engine. The console represents a time where developers like Capcom, SNK, Treasure, Technosoft, Raizing, Success, and Data East (and I used to loathe Data East), to name a few - were just on fire. Not to mention that it could even be argued that this period was SEGA at it's creative peak.

But the Saturn remains a niche system despite the undeniable quality present in its library. I can't explain just how frustrating it is to play a stellar game like Burning Rangers and not be able to discuss it with your friends because they have no idea what it is, much less that Sonic Team actually makes games other than Sonic titles. Ah well :) , back on topic ...

I'm sure you'll find there's lot's to like on Saturn. 10 years ago I had no idea this would become my favorite system and yet, I'm still finding A+ games for it I never even knew existed.

In case you've got some time to kill, here are some great Saturn-related pages:
http://www.shinforce.com/saturn/index.htm
http://www.segagagadomain.com/saturn.htm
http://www.millartime.com/videogames/segasaturn.htm
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~bevhome/damscans.htm
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/2006/06/ ... aturn.html
http://notatrueending.insidepulse.com/articles/48236

Well, have a good one and keep gaming!!
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