RF Generation Message Board

I'm thinking of buying a Saturn on eBay but have a little question:

Does the Saturn need an accessory for saving games (memory card, VMU, ...) or not?

Because I'm looking at a Saturn lot right now which doesn't has a saving device included. (Only console, cables, controller & games)

No, but I highly recommend you do get one, since the Saturn's internal memory is pretty scant.

Ah, but it's not really needed for initial play?

All I'm concerned about is that I'd get the system and would not be able to save at all. If I can save a game or two, it's already enough for starters.

Be prepared to pay alot for the memory cards, especially the official ones

No, not really.

Thanks! :)

That means I can buy the lot (but will get a memory card later)

You will be able to save. I suggest when you get it, look at the battery inside, its in a compartment in the back, and go buy a new one. Because if the one in the console is already dead, you will save, and then next time you boot up, it will be gone. If you replace it, it will last for a while, at least until you get a RAM cart.

When you get the ram cart, try to get one of the 4 in 1 types as this also acts as a converter for playing non Pal games

And don't pay the over expensive ebay prices either for the 4 in 1's. I haven't looked in awhile, if they're over $25 you're paying too much. Buy one from the manufacturer @ http://www.hkems.com/ and be aware sometimes they come dead in the box. >:( There is a fix for them online if they don't work with certain 4M games too. For the best quality, buy a Sega brand.

Personally I wouldn't recommend a 4 in 1 cart. They are pretty cheaply done and somewhat stretch the cart port. Also they are normally rubbish and are not proper backup devices. You have to copy your save to and from them. A real memory cart, you can actually save and load off of. If you want a cheap solution for playing imported games though, I guess there is little other choice.

The system memory will be fine for a lot of games, if you are a sim or RPG fanatic however you may need the extra memory.

If you don't mind having an official pink backup cart, I'm pretty sure I am still selling a Tamagotchi Pack, that comes complete with it's Tamagotchi Memory Cartridge over at Game Gavel (http://www.gamegavel.com/?nrs2=100098). :laugh:

I'll try finding a Sega brand one. If that doesn't work I'll probably look for a non-Sega regular memory card. I don't expect myself to start playing import games anywhere soon :)

I got an Action Replay 4M years ago, and haven't looked back. It allows playing the ram expansion games, import games, saving games, and offers some cheats, as well.

The unfortunate part of the saving is you can't save directly to this cart from within a game, you have to boot to the front end UI and copy the save.

Start with one of these, otherwise you'll probably end up getting one, and having an extra cart you don't need. I have an old "ST-KEY" (only allows playing import games) sitting around that got replaced by this 5 or 6 years ago.

A cart like this will let you play almost all imports. One of the few it does not let you play is Panzer Dragoon Azel (the Japanese release of Panzer Dragoon Saga).

Don't cut yourself short on imports, the Saturn's Japanese lineup is really impressive compared to any other region.

Can you do that without modding the console or something like that ???

I'm not sure what the question is. Both of my Saturns are unmodded and work fine with my 4M cart.

I got a Saturn modded, as it allowed me to play any games, and use real memory carts & ram carts. For example, King of Fighters '95 was another game the 4 in 1 cart does not work for.
Plus when you have over 200 games, having to make sure the save for the game you want to play is 1st copied over from the cart to the system is such a pain.

That is the one thing I really don't understand about the 4 in 1 cart, why they couldn't make it a real memory cart you can actually save to.

Money wise, the 4 in 1 cart is your best option, sure they may be cheaply made, but they are also cheap to buy at least. You could mod your system, but that is far from cheap. Sometimes though, already modded systems do pop up on eBay.

I would guess the 4-in-1 can't work like a regular memory card because it also functions as the ram expansion, and the Saturn can't address a ram expansion at the same time as save data during gameplay?

Cobra's method of modding the system itself is one of the best options if you ignore cost. You also lose out on easily playing some of your games on your friends systems, but you can always bring the whole system over if plan on gaming elsewhere.

I actually ended up picking up a second, Japanese Saturn for playing Panzer Dragoon Azel. I think I paid as much for my second Saturn as I originally paid for the 4-in-1 cart ($35 each).

I own one of those 4-in-1 carts and it works well for what I need. It certainly takes a lot less space than a second Saturn. :)

I was talking about the "booting to the UI and copying the file". I didn't know you could do that with a Saturn, anyway, it'll probably become all clear if I get one of those 4-in-1 carts myself :)

Oh, yeah. The Saturn has a front end UI you can boot to if you don't have a game in. There is a basic memory manager for the on-system data.

If you have one of the multi-carts, it actually boots to its own front end UI, that allows you to copy data to / from the cart, activate cheats, and a few other things.

Oh, ok. I didn't know that :)

I bought a Saturn on eBay a couple of days ago, it should probably arrive in the next couple of days :D

The Saturn arrived today. It works just fine but I think the internal battery is dead (as one of you said) because the console asked me to set the time & date when I turned on the power.

I don't think I'll change it because I'll buy a memory card anyway. Regular one or 4 in 1, I haven't decided yet.

When I bought my Saturn the battery was dead. It only cost £1 for two to replace so you may as well.

You must replace the battery if you don't want it to ask you that info every time you power it up. It doesn't save date and time to a memory card.  ;)

Smart thinking.

Would I be able to buy one at a watch shop or are there other places I could find one? I'm not really sure where to look for something like that, never had to buy a battery before.

It should be at a watch shop, its a pretty common watch battery.  The US one is 2032, so the PAL one prob is also.

Just bring the battery to a watch shop, and ask for a replacement.

Watch shops will probably be quite expensive. You can get the CR2032 in hardware stores, electrical component stores, electrical appliance stores, ebay, and probably a lot of other places that have batteries.

Alright, I think I'll check my local hardware shop first, thanks :)

Yeah, I was going to say "Go to Walgreens or CVS", but then I remembered that you were in Belgien. (German Spelling.  ;) )

I got my replacement from the local chemist.
The real pain was the Dreamcast VMU, while the Saturn battery will last you a couple of years, the VMU seems to take after the bloody Nomad.

I know many of you hate just smiley posts, but...




:laugh:

That's not the way the forum should be more active in....;)

You do realize that your post was more meaningless and off topic than mine. Let me explain:

The : laugh : smiley was used in this case because it is a well know fact that battery life in the Dreamcast VMU sucks, and the Nomad eats batteries worse that a GHIII Guitar. Cobra made that connection, and I found it amusing. Thus, the laugh smiley. I used it to show that I was agreeing with him, and that I found his post funny and meaningful. It directly relates to the topic on hand, due to the fact that he made a correlation of the Saturn's Battery life to the Dreamcast VMU and Nomad's Battery lives.

Too funny for words =  :laugh: post. Not an excuse to make the forum more active.

Anywoo!!!!

The Sega Saturn is a great console. I love mine, and if you like bust-a-move/puzzle bobble, then get Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition. I feel that it is the best version of that game bar none.  ;)
















 :laugh:

I'll check it out. It got released as Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition in Europe but as Bust-a-Move Again in North America (according to Wikipedia) Is that the case?

Nope. How strange that wikipedia is wrong. It is called Arcade Edition here too... ???

If you put a link up, I'll look into it and correct the wiki article.

Couldn't we all? ;)

Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puzzle_Bobble_2) you go. :) They talk about the different names in the first sentence.

It only came back to me today, there was another reason other than still been able to use memory carts while playing imported games that I chose to go with a mod.

PAL systems and US/JAP systems run at different speeds, so audio & visuals were slightly out of sync also. The mod I had done, has two switches installed. One for the region, the other for speed.

Ah, cool. I've seen a SNES on eBay a couple months ago that also featured two switches. One for "NTSC/PAL" and the other for "50Hz/60Hz". But this guy said you could leave the last one always on 60Hz, because it makes the gameplay a bit smoother.

That would have been a switch for NTSC-U (America) or NTSC-J (Japan). The 50/60Hz switch is for NTSC/PAL, 50Hz being the refresh rate of PAL.

Hmmm, I'm not sure what they were for but I'm sure they were labeled as "PAL/NTSC" and "50Hz/60Hz". I still remember because he included a picture in which you could see the switches.

I don't think the only difference between NTSC and PAL is the refresh rate. I have a PAL PS2 and a TV that can display both 50Hz and 60Hz. Alot of PAL games feature the option of displaying at 60Hz, which I always select when it's there. But that doesn't mean my PS2 can play NTSC games, right?

Anyway, I don't want to make this into an arguement because I'm not an expert on the subject, I should be doing some research first (read: Check some Wikipedia pages :P)

Maybe a console expert can shed some light on the subject...Apolloboy, Marriot_Guy, where are you guys? ;)

Back before the Saturn & PSX, when games were released here they simply ran at the 50Hz our systems did, and had borders top and bottom. So any games for these systems run their best at 60Hz as that is what they were intended to be run at. Syncing wasn't an issue either as music/sound would also be this speed.

Move into the 32bit CD era, and it is a different story. Some developers actually optimised their PAL counterparts to take full advantage of our 50Hz systems and even be fullscreen for us. Guardian Heroes is one such title. This does however mean you can play it at 60Hz as it'll glitch graphically like you've never seen. So a speed switch is handy so you can play all games at their best.

On the older consoles, like the SNES and Mega Drive, 50/60Hz was the only difference between PAL and NTSC. However, you would need something like a composite or RGB connection instead of RF to display in colour.[Edit: In colour at the other frequency to what the console was intended] Newer consoles, possibly most disc based consoles, have chips that block foreign games from being played. Most LCD TVs have a refresh rate of 60Hz, so if a 50Hz console is used on it there can be a few problems like flickering or no colour. That's why some PS2 games have a choice of 50/60Hz.

Yep, as you mention, finally new system games even now give us the choice to do so and play at 50/60Hz. The other difference of PAL & NTSC you are referring to would be the colour encoding. Don't worry, all new TVs seem to support NTSC, but this wasn't always the case.

I see.

I also thought that PAL games had a higher resolution than NTSC games. Well, until last generation atleast. And do NTSC games feature the option of playing at 50Hz? Or is it only PAL games that have that kind of option?

Only PAL games, as our older TVs couldn't handle it. So the option is kind of a transitional thing.

Same resolution, but 60Hz fills up more of the screen (unless the game is optimised to fill in the gaps) and runs a little faster.

Needless to say, after reading this thread and finding out that the Action Replay cart for my Saturn allows me to play a lot of Japanese games on it, I am stoked!!! 

Must've been a nice surprise. :)

I haven't gotten a memory card for the Saturn yet, I'm a bit low on cash at the moment. (The lawn-mowing season is over :P)
But I do intend to replace the battery in the next few weeks.

Congrats on getting your Saturn. I looked over a few of the games you have for the system, but am currious what type of games you're looking for. Of the titles you have at the moment I wouldn't be too concerned about a battery yet, but when you have a few monies they shouldn't be pricey. Living state-side I only own a couple of EU titles, Darius II being one of them since it wasn't released over here. There are a good number of exclusives for the system across the board and in regions, so if you want to really tap into its library then going to regionless through mod switching or a RAM cart at some point is the best way to go.

I remember back in the day, my internal mem was all I needed with my 10-15 games till I got Dragon Force....Then I ran out, picked up a Action Reply Plus and got into imports...