SEGA SATURN F.A.Q. Version 1.6 Released January 8, 2000 HAPPY NEW YEAR! Compiled and maintained by John Hokanson Jr. (isamu@usagi.com) Software list by Ken Tam See further down for additional authors. ATTENTION! My Usagi mail account is back up again, however, if you e-mailed me at isamu@usagi.com between the end of July and the beginning of October, I probably did NOT get your mail. If it's important, please feel free to resend. *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ====================================================================== INTRODUCTION * From the maintainer * Authors, Contributors, and Special Thanks * Where can I find future revisions of this FAQ? * Revision History * Information Needed * Disclaimer and Copyright * E-mail Policy * If this FAQ is too technical... ====================================================================== ====================================================================== O. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS * A brief overview of the Saturn hardware. * Technical Comparisons * Pros and Cons of the Saturn (compared to PSX) ====================================================================== ====================================================================== I. SYSTEM CAPABILITIES AND GENERAL QUESTIONS 1.1 What is the Sega Saturn? 1.2 What media does the Sega Saturn play? 1.3 Does Sega still develop for or support the Saturn? 1.4 What is the relevance of "bits" in Video Game hardware? 1.5 Is the Sega Saturn really a 32-bit system? 1.6 Is the Sega Saturn backwards compatible with the Sega CD, Genesis, or any other older Sega console? 1.7 Will Sega's next console, the Dreamcast, work with Saturn software? 1.8 How is the Saturn related to the ST-V/Titan arcade board? 1.9 How is the Saturn related to the 32X/Mars? 1.10 How does the Saturn compare to Sega arcade technology (Model 1/2/3/ect.)? 1.11 What is the Saturn's cartridge port used for? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== II. PACKAGING RELATED 2.1 What Saturn packages were sold? 2.2 How was Saturn software packaged? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== III. SATURN MODEL QUESTIONS 3.1 What different models of the Saturn were released? 3.2 What's with these licensed Saturns (V-Saturn, Hi-Saturn)? 3.3 What's with the Majesco re-release? 3.4 What's the deal with the different BIOS revisions? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== IV. CONNECTION INFORMATION 4.1 What different means are there for hooking up my Saturn? 4.2 What about an RGB or SCART hookup? 4.3 What monitors can I or can't I use? 4.4 What about power cords? 4.5 Can I run my Japanese Saturn using a North American outlet or visa versa? 4.6 Can I run my European Saturn using a North American or Japanese outlet or visa versa? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== V. AUDIO/VIDEO REALTED QUESTIONS 5.1 Can the Saturn perform transparency and light sourcing effects? 5.2 Can the Saturn really display a 704x480 resolution? 5.3 How come the FMV on the Saturn doesn't look as good as the FMV on the Playstation? 5.4 How come the audio is certain Saturn games sounds so poor? 5.5 What is the video decoder card? 5.6 What is Truemotion? 5.7 What is ADX? 5.8 What is QSound? 5.9 What is Cybersound? 5.10 Were there any games designs to take advantage of Dolby Surround? 5.11 Does the Saturn ever use its FM Synthesis capabilities? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== VI. INTERNAL MEMORY AND BIOS FUNCTIONS 6.1 Help! Games won't save, or I have to constantly reset the date and time! Why? 6.2 Okay, my Saturn is old or used, and the battery is finally dead. What do I do? 6.3 How often should I replace the battery? 6.4 Can I replace the battery without loosing all my saved data? 6.5 Does the date and time function on the Saturn really serve a useful purpose? 6.6 What games take advantage of the clock/calendar? 6.7 Is the Saturn Y2K compliant? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== VII. EXTERNAL MEMORY AND RAM CARTS 7.1 What's the difference between a memory cart and a RAM Cart? 7.2 Do memory carts require battery changes? 7.3 What memory carts & RAM carts are available for the Saturn? 7.4 How does the block system work when saving games? 7.5 What games support RAM carts? 7.6 Are the different RAM & memory carts compatible with each other? 7.7 What about the cartridges distributed with King of Fighters '95 and Ultraman? 7.8 What is all the bad press concerning Interact Memory Carts about? 7.9 I'm having problems with my Memory Card Plus. Can you help me? 7.10 I'm having problems with my Saturn cartridge port. Can you help me? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== VIII. TELECOMMUNICATIONS 8.1 What is the Sega Netlink? 8.2 What are the Netlink's specifications? 8.3 What Netlink Software is available? 8.4 What games support the Netlink? 8.5 Is the Netlink still supported? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== IX. MODIFICATION INFORMATION 9.1 Can I play games from another region on my Saturn? 9.2 I've decided to play games from another region. What are my options? 9.3 What is NTSC and PAL and why might they be a problem? 9.4 How do I build a 50/60Hz (PAL/NTSC) switch? 9.5 What exactly is a MOD switch or a language switch? 9.6 How can I install a language switch? 9.7 Can I play CDR discs (copied games) on my Saturn? 9.8 What is a MOD Chip? 9.9 Is there a single "one-time" modification that will allow me to play imports *AND* CDRs without the use of a cartridge? 9.10 What's this about rewriting the BIOS? 9.11 What about "Disc Swapping"? 9.12 What is the Sega Satellite, ST-Key, or CDX Converter? 9.13 What is the Super Strong Card 2.0? 9.14 How can I use a Game Shark or Ineract Memory Card Plus to play imports? 9.15 What if I have a converter cartridge like the ST Key or Sega Satellite and I want to play a RAM cart game? 9.16 Will these methods allow me to play any game from another region? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== X. JAPANESE IMPORT QUESTIONS 10.1 Why would I want to play Japanese imports? 10.2 Where can I get Japanese imports? 10.3 What is the "Saturn Collection"? 10.4 What Saturn games have files designed to be used by a personal computer ("Omake" Directory)? 10.5 What is Anime? 10.6 What is Hentai? 10.7 Can you explain the Japanese rating system please? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== XI. MISCELANEOUS HARDWARE QUESTIONS 11.1 Can I build a custom joystick for my Saturn (controller pinouts)? 11.2 Is there anyway I can use a better/faster CD drive in my Saturn? 11.3 What's the port marked "Communication Connection" on the back of my Saturn? 11.4 How does the link cable work and what games use it? 11.5 What about the floppy disk drive? 11.6 ...and the MIDI keyboard? 11.6 Can you "soft reset" a Saturn? 11.7 Is there any way to get Saturn software to always play in mono so don't have to keep entering it in the game's option menu? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== XII. ACCESSORIES, PERIPHERALS, AND REPLACEMENT ITEMS 12.1 What optional controllers are available for the Saturn? 12.2 Can I extend the cord length of my Saturn controls? 12.3 What's the difference between the new and old Saturn control pads? 12.4 What pads and games supported analog controls? 12.5 What is the Sega Mission Stick, and what games supported it? 12.6 What is the Saturn Mouse, and what games supported it? 12.7 What multiplayer adapters are there, and what games support them? 12.8 I lost my manual! Can you help? 12.9 ....but what about game manuals? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== XIII. SOFTWARE RELATED QUESTIONS 13.1 How are the Capcom conversions on the Saturn? 13.2 How are the SNK conversion on the Saturn? 13.3 What demo discs were released for the Saturn? 13.4 I'm having trouble in this one part in a certain game, can you help me? (Or: Do you have codes for this one game?) ====================================================================== ====================================================================== XIV. EMULATION / COMPUTER RELATED 14.1 Are there any Saturn Emulators? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== XV. CONTROVERSIES AND BURNING QUESTIONS 15.1 Is it true the Saturn's processors are underpowered, and it's hard to program 3D games for the Saturn? 15.2 Were the Saturn's 3D capabilities added at the last minute? 15.3 What is the Sega Jupiter, and why was it never released? 15.4 Is the Satcast really a hoax? I thought it was announced before April? 15.5 Why does Dracula X look worse on the Saturn? 15.6 Why did the Saturn fail to do better on the US market? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== XVI. COMPLETE SATURN SOFTWARE CATALOGUE 16.1 Japanese Software (A-M) 16.2 Japanese Software (N-Z) 16.3 US Software (A-Z) 16.4 European Software (A-Z) 16.5 Unreleased Software 16.6 Rumored Software ====================================================================== ====================================================================== XVII. FACTS AND FIGURES 17.1 What was the _____ Saturn Game? 17.2 How many Saturns were sold? 17.3 What are the rarest Saturn games? 17.4 What does Sega mean? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== XVIII. ALSO OF INTEREST... 18.1 What Saturn Magazines are there? 18.2 What webpages are there on the world wide web concerning the Saturn? 18.3 What newsgroups are there for the Saturn? 18.4 What electronic mailing lists are there for the Saturn? 18.5 What IRC channels are there for the Saturn? ====================================================================== ====================================================================== XIX. CONTACT INFORMATION ====================================================================== ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ INTRODUCTION ------------ ------------------- From the maintainer ------------------- Greetings! And think you for taking the time to read the Sega Saturn FAQ! This FAQ was a project I undertook starting in the fall of 1998. It was something I had been mulling over in my head for quite some time, and ultimately my love for this underrated system prevailed, and I decided to throw together the myriad of information and frequently asked questions for distribution on the Internet and anywhere else where it can be easily accessed. This FAQ is a hodgepodge of info borrowed from other FAQs, USENET posts, websites, insider industry information, and some contributions by myself. Credit is naturally given wherever and whenever it's due. I in no way profess to be an expert on the Saturn. Just a guy who happens to love the system. Questions and comments regarding information in this FAQ can me directed towards me at isamu@usagi.com or if you can't seem to contact me there, then try yangnewman@hotmail.com or isamu@temecula.com. Please send all corrections to the above address ASAP, so that I might correct it in the next release. How long this FAQ lasts depends very much on your support. "^_^" Thank you, and enjoy! - John Hokanson Jr. "Rule #7-B: There is no topic so thoroughly covered that noone will ever bring it up again." - The Rules of USENET ----------------------------------------- Authors, Contributors, and Special Thanks ----------------------------------------- I'd like to take the time to thank the following people. Without their kind contributions, this FAQ would not be as informative. - Raymond McKeithen II A lot. 'Nuff said. He is a godsend when it comes to information about the Saturn. - Christopher Coleman List of Saturn demo discs. - Chris Foulger (E-mail address withheld on request) - Chris Heim - Terrence Huey (aka MoonPrince) For the list of Saturn Collection games. - Ken Tam Ken's Saturn Catalogue was used for the Games List and was an invaluable addition! - Ken Arromdee This Ken (^_^) allowed me to use select portions of his rec.games.video.* FAQ, thus significantly cutting down the time it took to write certain sections. - Barry W. Cantin Loads of moral support and other useful tidbits. - Richter Belmont Japanese system information. - Jose Barragan Proofreading and miscellaneous input. - The Axledental DJ Mucho modification information. - Jerry Lynds Author of the language switch modification I believe. Also provided video pinout information. - Kirk Patten Contributor to the language switch modification. No e-mail address provided I'm afraid. - Lucan Duran Information on the video decoder card. - Paul Carson An absurd amount of information (not all of it added yet) on the UK Saturn. He practically wrote the entire section on Saturn magazines. With additional contributions by: - Tyler V. Snow - Victor Ireland - Thomas Baetzler - Brian Osserman - Robin Whittleton - Michael R. Baraniecki - Joe Ottoson - Garrett Albright - Adam Pavlacka (E-mail address withheld on request) - Benjamin Special thanks to: - Wesley Reiser, who wrote the very first Saturn FAQ in 1996. A pioneer! - Dave Zydeko, who's Sega-Saturn.com was a haven (and still is!) for all Saturn owners. - Special greets to SR Dominguez and Rachael Ryan. Staunch UK supporters of the Saturn (where are these two anyways?). - Douglas Erickson, who gave me loads of moral support and never took anything too personally while I posted to r.g.v.s. :) - Joshua Kauffman, for being cool I guess. :) - Sega. For developing the best 32-bit console in the world! :P - The populace of rec.games.video.sega (with the exception of the trolls "^_^"). You helped make this FAQ, even if you never knew. - All Saturn fans throughout the world! Keep the memory alive! "^_^" ---------------------------------------------- Where can I find future revisions of this FAQ? ---------------------------------------------- A copy will be posted to http://www.gamefaqs.com. Following that, the FAQ will be posted on the newsgroups rec.games.video.sega and alt.games.video.sega-saturn, or notice thereof. The FAQ will also be available through e-mail on request (unless I get bombarded by requests, in which case I'll stop and just expand the archives that carry it). ---------------- Revision History ---------------- NOTE: You CAN get old versions of the FAQ if you request them. The exception is v1.0. Don't ask for it. v1.0 - 01/01/00 - 180K: First Public Release, but more like a beta than a 1.0. Intended primarily just to stir up interest. I got impatient and released it probably sooner than I should have. Thusly, it has some errors, and numerous grammatical and spelling mistakes because I didn't proofread and spellcheck worth a damn. Nevertheless, feedback was overwhelmingly positive. v1.0a - ??/??/??: Spell and grammar corrected version of above. Tabs fixed. For archival purposes. Not widely released. v1.5 - 10/10/00 - 221K: Semi-major revision. Better late than never. - Reformatted for 70 character width. - Section 15 and 16 were reversed in the TOC. This was fixed. - Corrected erroneous information regarding Dolby on Saturn (section 5.10). Thanks to Joe Doucette. - Added section regarding Saturn BIOS rewrite courtesy of Joe Doucette (section 9.10). - Credited BT Garner as the co-owner of the Saturn Mailing List. (section 18.4) - Credited Sega Force for the RAM cart list (forgot to do this in the rush to get version 1.0 out). - Added Video Game Depot to retailer list. - Added information regarding analog controllers. - Added section briefly explaining the Saturn hardware. - Added a table that compares the Saturn's hardware to that of the Playstation and Nintendo 64. - Added a ton of information on Saturn magazines, and contact information so you can acquire back issues. Thanks to Paul Carson! - Added information about the Saturn memory block system. - Corrected infromation about NCS sales of the Navi Hi-Saturn. - Added and corrected some information about rare Saturn games and sales figures. - Split section 15 (software catalogue) into three parts. US games, Japanese games A-N, and N-Z. This is essentially a "lite" version of Ken Tam's lists. - Correction made regarding Saturn Mouse peripheral and its availability in the US. - Added preliminary controller pinout information. - Netlink (section 8) started. - E-mail policy added (read it!). It clarifies the FAQ's position on MOD chips. - Various minor rewrites. - Added link to UK Resistance website. - Spell Checked! (Yes, I know I can't spell worth a damn) v1.6 - 01/08/01 - 256K: Standard revision. - Added information regarding the Saturn version of Dracula X and why it looks worse than the PSX version. - Added that the CR2032 is also the battery used in the NGP and NGPC. - Yukyu Gensokyoku Perpetual Collection is now the final Saturn game. - Consolidated the Sega Satellite and ST-Key questions into one, and added the CDX converter. - Added information about playing imports with the Interact Memory Card Plus. - Added to pros and cons (vs. PSX) section. - New additions in the controller section thanks to NCS. - Updates to Telecommunications (Section 8) including a list of Netlink compatible games and software. - Information on European Saturn packs added. - Added some games to the clock/calendar list. - Added some games to the Omake list. - Started a section that will attempt to explain why the Saturn didn't do so hot in the US (15.6). - I believe I may be in error in saying that the VCD card(s) are needed to play Kodak Photo CDs. Apparently, you can view them just fine in the UK with a special CD (how exactly I don't know). - Added a list of PAL games that work on NTSC systems and visa versa to section 9.6. Courtesy of Chris Foulger. - Rewrites made to sections 1.5, 1.6 and 9.5. Mostly of a clarifying nature. - Added more entries to the "Information Needed" list. - I have removed the (very small) list of MOD chip merchants because it appears they have shut their doors, and I don't want this FAQ to be used by pirates wanting to know where to get these things. - Various minor rewrites. ------------------ Information Needed ------------------ The following information is needed for the FAQ. Any assistance you can lend will be greatly appreciated. - Need to fill the holes in the RAM cart/Memory cart listings. Specifically regarding how many "blocks" of save RAM these memory carts have. - Need hookup information and serial numbers (Power Plugs, S-Video, RCA A/V, RF Coaxial, ect). - I believe I have every model except some European ones, and those outside the US/Japan. Model numbers would be appreciated here. - Need pack-in information for Saturns from all regions. - Controller section is extremely incomplete. Need help. - More places that sell Saturn stuff. You name 'em. I'll list 'em. - Is anybody interested in writing about the Game Shark? - More omake data - More clock/calendar data And! Anything else you want to see here but don't. "^_^" ------------------------ Disclaimer and Copyright ------------------------ Sega Saturn is a registered trademark of Sega Enterprises Ltd. All rights reserved. No infringement intended. All information in this FAQ is provided as is. I take no responsibility for what you do with it. Although great effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the data presented within, this is an UNOFFICIAL document, and there is still a strong possibility of error. You can distribute this FAQ freely provided that it is unmodified and the author section remains intact. (c) 1999-2000 John Hokanson Jr. and Saturn FAQ authors. ------------- E-mail Policy ------------- All contributions, big and small, are welcome. Please submit them to isamu@usagi.com or isamu@temecula.com. Questions can also be submitted to the above addresses, but please understand that replies are not guaranteed, and there may be cases I can't help you. In such cases, it might be prudent to e-mail one of the credited authors if they contributed to a section you have a question about. Here are some general e-mail guidelines: DO NOT e-mail me for information about where you can purchase a mod chip. I don't know. I don't care. The places that sell these things sprout up overnight and shut down almost as fast. Thus, it's very hard to maintain a list of merchants. Mod chips are grey-market products. I purchase ALL my games legitimately. I understand that mod chips CAN be used to play legitimate backups, but a lot of the time they're just used for theft. If you REALLY want a mod-chip, you'll have to seek one out yourself. Also, e-mail about where to get anything else used to defeat the security lockout (NOT the territorial lockout, which is just for legitimate imports), is a big no-no. Ditto for CDRs and anything dealing with pirated games. Finally, please do not send attachments through the mail without asking for my permission first. ------------------------------- If this FAQ is too technical... ------------------------------- In writing and maintaining this FAQ I realize that there are certain things which aren't really FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). Therefore, a lot of this info might be a little overwhelming to some. I recommend that newbies check out Luncan Duran's excellent "Saturn Newbies" FAQ, which addresses the most basic and FREQUENTLY asked questions often heard on USENET and elsewhere. http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/saturn/file/saturn_newbie.txt ------------------------ TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ------------------------ EIGHT PROCESSORS * 2 Hitachi 28.6MHz, 50-MIPS SH2 32-bit RISC processors * Hitachi SH1 32-bit RISC processor * VDP 1 32-bit video display processor * VDP 2 32-bit video display processor * Saturn Control Unit (SCU) * Motorola 68EC000 sound processor * Yamaha FH1 DSP sound processor MEMORY * 2MB (16 Megabits) RAM * 1.54MB (12 Megabits) video RAM * 540KB (4 Megabits) audio RAM * 540KB (4 Megabits) CD-ROM cache * 32KB nonvolatile RAM (battery backup) AUDIO * 22.6MHz Yamaha FH1 24-bit digital signal processor * 11.3MHz Motorola 68EC000 sound processor * 32 PCM (pulse-code modulation) channels * 8 FM channels * 44.1KHz sampling rate VIDEO * VDP 1 32-bit video display processor * Sprite, polygon, and geometry engine * Dual 256KB frame buffers for rotation and scaling effects * Texture Mapping * Goraud shading * 512KB cache for textures * VDP 2 32-bit background and scroll plane video display processor * Background engine * Five simultaneous scrolling backgrounds * Two simultaneous rotating playfields * 200,000 texture-mapped polygons per second * 500,000 flat-shaded polygons per second * 60 frames of animation per second * 24-bit true-color graphics * 16.7 million colors * 352 x 240, 640 x 240, and 704 x 480 resolution STORAGE * Double-Speed CD-ROM * 320KB per second transfer speed * Audio CD compatible * CD+G compatible * CD+EG compatible * CD single (8cm CD) compatible * Video CD, Photo CD, Electronic Books, digital karaoke (optional) * 512KB memory cartridges for game save (optional) INPUT/OUTPUT * High-speed serial communications port * Internal 32-bit expansion port * Internal multi-AV port for video CD (MPEG) adapter * Composite video/stereo (standard) * NTSC RF (optional) * S-Video compatible (optional) * RGB compatible (optional) * HDTV compatible (optional) * Analog control pad POWER SOURCE * AC120 volts; 60Hz (US) * AC240 volts; 50Hz (UK) * AC100 volts; 60Hz (JP) POWER CONSUMPTION * 25W OPERATING CONDITIONS * Temperature: 41 F to 95 F * Humidity: 10% to 80% RH DIMENSIONS (US/European models) * Width: 260 mm (10.2 in) * Length: 230 mm (9.0 in) * Height: 83 mm (3.2 in) ------------------------------------------ * A brief overview of the Saturn hardware. ------------------------------------------ CPU The Saturn is powered by two Hitachi SH2, 32-bit RISC processors. These particular SH-2 chips run at 28Mhz (versions were developed which ran as high as 40Mhz), and are capable of processing up to 25 million instructions per second (MIPS) each, for a combined rating of 50 MIPS (MIPS however, is not a true indication of processor performance in many cases). Each SH2 comes with an internal 4K RAM cache in order to speed up processing tasks. "The SH2 is a small (2 cm square) but fast RISC chip that has been designed primarily to process graphics. Like all RISC processors, it's more streamlined that conventional CISC-based chips and carries out instructions in far fewer clock cycles." (qtd. in Next Generation) VIDEO The Saturn is equipped with dual custom VDP chips for graphics processing. The VDP 1 chip is primarily responsible for sprite generation. Polygon generation is accomplished through manipulation of the sprite engine. Texture mapping and goruard shading is also handled by the VDP 1. The VDP1 relies on a dual frame buffer that handles rotation and stores textures in special 512K cache. The VDP 2 serves as the Saturn's background processor. Certain special effects such as texture transparency and playfield rotation and scrolling (up to five fields at any given time) are handled here. Both VDP chips have direct access to the both SH2s, as well as direct memory access (DMA) to both the main and video RAM. AUDIO The Saturn Custom Sound Processor (SCSP) is manufactured by Yamaha and consists of several components. The SCSP is a multi-function game sound generator LSI that consists of a PCM sound generator and DAC (Digital Audio Converter). The SCSP creates processes sound mixes. It contains 32 slot sound generator and sound effect DSP, 16 channel digital mixer and timer, and an interrupt controller. The Saturn's audio RAM is connected directly to the SCSP, and is used to store the sound programs (ie. Cybersound) or raw waveform samples. The SCSP can support up to 32 channels for PCM playback, or 8 channels for FM synthesis modulation. Maximum sample rate for PCM samples is 44.1Khz (CD Quality). The SCSP is MIDI-compliant, and can be hooked up to external equipment (such as keyboards). The 128 step Digital Signal Processor is capable of generating special effects such as reverberation and different room acoustics. The entire SCSP is controlled by a single Motorola 68EC000 16-bit CPU running at 11.3Mhz. The MC68EC000 is essentially the same as (and compatible with) the M68000 used in the Megadrive and several other consoles, but without the 8-bit MC6800 interface. The SCSP can be directly accessed by the MC68EC000 and both SH2s. The SCSP is a fantastic system limited only by the small amount of RAM made available to it, and a lack of hardware sample compression. MEMORY The Saturn is equipped with 16 megabits (2 megabytes) of main RAM. 12 megabits of video RAM. And 512K of audio RAM. CD-ROM DRIVE The Saturn features a double speed CD-ROM drive manufactured by JVC-Victor (Some models may have been manufactured by Hitachi or Sanyo). The drive has an transfer rate of 320K/s, and a 64K data cache. Drive related functions are controlled via a single Hitachi SH1 32-bit RISC processor operating at 20Mhz. Refer to section 1.2 for list of compatible media. BOOT ROM 512K EEPROM. Among other things, the Boot ROM contains the Saturn's BIOS, as well as system firmware (CD-player and system settings). ----------------------- * Technical Comparisons ----------------------- Because some people like this sort of thing: SEGA SATURN SONY PLAYSTATION NINTENDO 64 _________________________________________________________________ CPU: 2x Hitachi SH2 | MIPS/IDT R3000A | MIPS/IDT R4300i 32-bit | 32-bit | 64-bit 28.6 Mhz | 33.8688 Mhz | 93.75 Mhz 50 MIPS | 30 MIPS | 125 MIPS RAM: 2 MB Main | 2 MB Main | 4 MB Main 1.5 Mbits Gfx | 1 Mbits Gfx | 512K Audio | 512K Audio | PPU: 2x VDP | Unknown | Unknown SPT: Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited (?) | | AUD: SCSP (MC68EC000,| Unknown | Unknown + FH1 DSP) | | 32 PCM, | 24 PCM Chns. | 100 PCM Chns. 8 FM Syn Chns. | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- And just for the hell of it, here's the two other market contenders around the time the Saturn was released: The 3DO and the Jaguar. 3DO ATARI JAGUAR _____________________________________ CPU: ARM60 | 2x Custom 32-bit | 64-bit* 12.5 Mhz | 26.6 Mhz ?? MIPS | ?? MIPS RAM: 2 MB Main | 2 MB Main 1 MB Gfx | PPU: 2x Custom | Same as CPU SPT: ??? | Unlimited | AUD: Unknown | Unknown | | Unlimited PCM | FM Synth | AM Synth | Wavetable ------------------------------------- * It is debatable whether the Jaguar should be considered a real 64-bit system. This debate is outside the scope of this particular FAQ, so I suggest you read Robert Jung's excellent Atari Jaguar FAQ at: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/jaguar/file/atari_jaguar.txt KEY --- CPU = Central Processing Unit (Main Processor) RAM = Random Access Memory PPU = Picture Processing Unit (Graphics Processor) SPT = Sprites (number of) AUD = Audio (Chipset and number/type of channels) ----------------------------------------------- * Pros and Cons of the Saturn (compared to PSX) ----------------------------------------------- PROS ---- * Greater amount of VRAM for texture storage and the frame buffers. This often leads to a drastic improvement in 2D applications, although it has helped where bitmaps in 3D games as concerned (ie. Grandia). * 32KB of battery backed up RAM for saving games without the need for an external storage device. * Clock, date, language, and audio settings. Supported by a number of games, and maintained by the same lithium battery as the save RAM. * Versatile cartridge port allows support for memory carts, RAM expansion, telecommunication devices, ect. * Internal expansion port for upgrade to MPEG-1 standard video. [NOTE: It has been brought to my attention that there is a special "white" version of the PSX released in asia that has MPEG decompression hardware built in, and a special peripheral released in the UK that can play VCDs. I don't have much info about either of these though.] * Slightly faster CD-ROM drive (320KB/s vs. 300KB/s). * A more logical and conservative space allocation system for save files. * Better temperature control (better ventilated). Consequently there are no skipping and loading problems like those widespread (and well publicized) among early-model Playstation consoles. This problem was REALLY bad with UK PSX models which ran at a hotter 240V. * No need to physically modify your system to play imports (though electing to do so can be beneficial if you want to keep your cartridge port free). * Full featured CD player with screen saver (later, "Dual Shock" PSXes acheived parity in terms of this feature, but the Saturn had it from the getgo). CONS ---- * Quirky dual processor architecture robs the system of some speed by limiting the ability of both CPUs to directly access memory at the same time. * Generally speaking, the polygon count may be lower. Both in terms of textured and non-textured polygons. How much difference there is depends on the software title. Most polygon ceilings are theoretical anyways. * No hardware video compression. Relies on software codecs contained on game CDs. * No hardware audio compression. Samples must be contained within RAM in raw form, or if compressed, with a codec such as ADX. * No hardware support for 3D lightsourcing and transparency. These effects must be generated though software code. * Inability to swap out external memory devices while the system is powered on (PSX memory cards can be removed at any time). ----------------------------------------- SYSTEM CAPABILITIES AND GENERAL QUESTIONS ----------------------------------------- ---------------------------- 1.1 What is the Sega Saturn? ---------------------------- The Sega Saturn is a 32-bit video game console developed by Sega Enterprises Ltd. Originally designed to bring the 3D arcade experience into the home environment, the Saturn has proven to be a very capable multi-purpose gaming machine. Released on November 22nd 1994, the Saturn was an instantaneous success in Japan. 170,000 machines were sold on the first day of release. Christmas 1994 brought the userbase up to 500,000 (60% more than the PSX at the time). On average, 17,241 consoles were sold per day [Source: Edge - April '95 pg. 10]. Over time, five million plus consoles found their way into Japanese homes, as Sega captured the second place position in the "console wars", placing them above their old rival Nintendo in in the next-gen consoles wars. However, the Saturn began to loose steam and was soon unable to compete with newcomer Sony. Sony had far deeper pockets and marketing muscle (their lockup of mega-giant software developer Squaresoft undoubtedly played no small role in the runaway success of the PSX). The Saturn lacked hit many titles such a FFVII. In spite of this, or rather because of it, the Saturn took the lead in other game genres. 2D shooters, fighting games, and hentai titles were all released in spades. It is these titles which have sparked the interest of import enthusiasts around the globe, and caused Gamer's Republic editor (formerly of Gamefan) Dave Halverson to declare the Saturn the finest 2D console ever constructed. While Square and Enix shunned Sega, the Saturn found allies elsewhere in developers such as Capcom, SNK, Gamearts, and Treasure. In May of 1995, Sega sprung a surprise launch of the Saturn in the US a full six months before the console was supposed to be released. The early release, coupled with the high initial price tag, has been described by many as a marketing snafu on Sega's part. In America, the Saturn managed only lukewarm success as Sony moved to dominate the market as they had in Japan. Several marketing blunders had sealed the black console's fate. Nevertheless, the Saturn proved a respectable system with a very decent library of games. Though unfortunately, many of the best titles remained behind in Japan, especially where the RPG genre was concerned. [To be completed] ----------------------------------------- 1.2 What media does the Sega Saturn play? ----------------------------------------- Out of the box, the Sega Saturn plays standard ISO-9660 formatted CDs with software programmed for use with the Sega Saturn (regional code permitting). In addition, the Sega Saturn can play Music CDs (standard and 8cm singles) by way of full featured CD player contained in the system's firmware. There is also native support for CD-Gs and CD-EGs. Finally, the Saturn can also play VCDs with one of the optional video decoder cards added in. This cards retail from about $60 to $100 and are explained in section 5.5. In the UK, there was also software sold that allowed Kodak Photo CDs to be viewed. ------------------------------------------------------ 1.3 Does Sega still develop for or support the Saturn? ------------------------------------------------------ No. In fact, Sega (all branches) completely abandoned the Saturn following the release of the Dreamcast in November of 1998. The last Saturn game was released in 2000, and was by a third party. Parts and certain accessories must be purchased through Sega Parts. Unfortuately, their prices are a little on the expensive side. Contact information is provided in section 19. Sega of Japan still provides some part service. ----------------------------------------------------------- 1.4 What is the relevance of "bits" in Video Game hardware? ----------------------------------------------------------- From the now defunct rec.games.video.* FAQ previously maintained by Ken Arromdee: "There are several processor characteristics that measure in bits; whether or not a processor counts as 32-bit may depend on what you consider important. (A 32-bit processor might have 32-bit address space, perform operations on 32-bit quantities, or have a 32 bit wide bus). It's never legitimate to add the bits in all a system's processors, so a Sega CD is not a 32-bit system even though it has two 16-bit processors, nor is a Neo-Geo a 24-bit system." "When discussing graphics, professionals often use "bits" to refer to how many colors there are: if a system lets a pixel be one of 2^16 colors, the system has "16-bit graphics". (A common error associated with this definition is to say that this means the machine can show 2^16 colors at once, although video game systems don't have enough pixels on the screen to do so.)" "This contrasts with video game company hype, which usually says either 1) "This is a 16 bit machine, so we'll call the graphics 16 bits", or 2) "This is a 16 bit processor, and we use it for graphics, so we'll say we have 16-bit graphics"." ""How many bits of graphics" and "how many bits" are about equally worthless, er, bits, of information. It's only in the FAQ because people keep asking for it anyway." "There also seems to be a trend for Usenet posters to deliberately lie about the number of bits in systems, just to cause more confusion (the 64 bit Jaguar is especially prone to this; one person even quoted from a Jaguar developer, but altered the quote so as to read 32 instead of 64.)." ------------------------------------- 1.5 Is Saturn really a 32-bit system? ------------------------------------- Yes. The Saturn's central processing units and the CD-ROM controller, each possess a 32-bit register set and internal data BUS. The audio control processor has a 32-bit register set, but a data BUS of only 16-bits. It controls a 24-bit DSP processor, although this has no effect whatsoever upon the performance capabilities of the other components. In fact, until recently, most PC soundcards were simple 16-bit devices. Most importantly however, the Saturn is equipped with a 32-bit wide BUS. The Saturn's graphics chipset is 32-bit, even if the displayed color depth is technically 24-bit (which the minimum for 16.7 million colors). The additional 8 bits are for special graphic effects such as Z-buffering and alpha channeling (layered transparancy). These last 8 bits are also sometimes referred to as "check bits". I've heard people try and claim the Saturn has a 24-bit graphics processor, but that is simply untrue. I can think of no legitimate argument for calling the Saturn either a 16 or 64 bit system. ------------------------------------------------------------- 1.6 Is the Sega Saturn backwards compatible with the Sega CD, Genesis, or any other older Sega console? ------------------------------------------------------------- No. The Saturn uses proprietary technology that is not directly compatible with any other console (Sega or Non-Sega). About the closest thing to compatibility came in the form of the audio processor (a member of the venerable Motorola 68000 series which was used in countless older consoles). Specifically, the custom 68EC000 controlled the audio end of things, and could run the same instruction sets as the MC68000. In fact, according to Motorola documentation, the 68EC000 basically *IS* a MC68000 designed for low cost embedded controller applications. An interesting anecdote Raymond illustrates is that up until the Dreamcast, the main processor in the previous Sega machine was the audio processor in its direct replacement: SMS - Z80 CPU, ? Sound CPU Genesis/MD - 68000 CPU, Z80 Sound CPU Saturn - SH2 CPUs, 68000 Sound CPU Because of this, it may be possible to run 68000 based games on the Saturn in the same vein that Master System/Mark III games could run on the Genesis/Megadrive thanks to Sega's decision to use a Z80 as the Megadrive's audio processor. The Saturn also shares the same family of CPU used in the 32X/Mars (the Hitachi SH2). There is a very loose connection between the two (see section 1.9). The bottom line is that emulation of older systems using the Saturn hardware MAY be possible, but it is unknown if this was ever officially explored. ------------------------------------------------------------- 1.7 Will Sega's next console, the Dreamcast, work with Saturn software? ------------------------------------------------------------- No. Given the historical failures and financial resources needed to make backwards compatibility a reality, it may not be a prudent business decision anyways. For the sake of argument, it might only be a good thing for retailers who want to sell their Saturn backstock. The Saturn never had as deep of a market penetration as the PSX to warrant backwards compatibility (ala the PSX2). Some rumors have been circulating about a peripheral known as "Satcast" which would allow Saturn games to play on the Dreamcast. The "Satcast" and everything surrounding it was an "April Fools" joke spread primarily by "Gamer's Republic", in which they themselves later admitted it to be a hoax. Sega officially has no such product. For more information on this issue, see section 14.4. ------------------------------------------------------------- 1.8 How is the Saturn related to the ST-V/Titan arcade board? ------------------------------------------------------------- The Sega ST-V (Sega Titan Video) arcade board is essentially a JAMMA compatible mainboard that uses the Saturn's chipset but with additional RAM tacked on. Games are stored on ROM cartridges. The board and games were primarily marketed in Japan, although a number of boards were seen in US arcades playing games such as Baku Baku, Virtua Fighter Kids, and Die Hard Arcade. ST-V to/from Saturn conversions are near perfect (if not totally) both ways. In fact, Sega's "Hanagumi Taisen Columns" was created for the Saturn, and then later ported over to ST-V. The ST-V was superior to the NeoGeo/MVS put out by SNK in that it was a full 32-bit board and could provide true layered transparencies. However, the "low-end" arcade market was pretty much locked up by Capcom's CPS2 and the SNK MVS boards, and so the ST-V wasn't much of a success. Much like the Saturn, further development on the ST-V has ceased. My MK-80000A Saturn has "TITAN" written on the mainboard. Other Saturns may have this as well. Titan is, for those of you that don't know, a moon of Saturn. If you'd like to know more about the ST-V (including how to purchase one), I suggest you read Chris Mullins' FAQ at: http://www.gamefaqs.com/coinop/arcade/file/sega_stv.txt or http://members.aol.com/CMull11217/private/segast-v.txt The "Fanatics" website also has information on the ST-V at: http://cs.slu.edu/~chunge/stv.html ---------------------------------------------- 1.9 How is the Saturn related to the 32X/Mars? ---------------------------------------------- The 32X "Mars" was originally an aborted effort to market a cartridge based Saturn to the public. This incarnation would have been called "Jupiter". Instead of scrapping the Jupiter completely, the system architecture was redesigned and subsequently reborn as a modular add-on for the Genesis/Megadrive. The 32X then fell flatly on its face due to a lack of 3rd party support and a lackadaisical effort by Sega to see it succeed. Although Sega promised to support the 32X, most people were keen on the fact the Saturn was coming, and saw little point in yet another Genesis/Megadrive upgrade. The 32X uses some components that are very similar to those used in the Saturn (the CPUs being the most obvious). More information about the Jupiter and 32X can be found in section 15.3. The 32X and the Saturn are not, repeat NOT, compatible with one another. ---------------------------------------------------------- 1.10 How does the Saturn compare to Sega arcade technology (Model 1/2/3/ect.)? ---------------------------------------------------------- MODEL 1 ------- * Main CPU NEC v60 (uPD-70616) - runs at 16Mhz - 32 bit RISC - 2.5 MIPS * Co-Processors Fujitsu TGP (x4) - supports Floating Point, Stem Rotate, and 3D Matrix operations - 32-bit - Capable of 16 MFlops * Sound CPU Motorola 68000 - runs at 10Mhz * Sound chips - Sega PCM * Video resoution - 496x384 16bpp (65536 colors) * Rendering specs - 180,000 polygons/s - 540,000 vectors/s - 1,200,000 pixels/s * Video capabilities - Flat Shading - Diffuse Reflection - Specular Reflection - 2 Layers of Background Scrolling - Alpha Channel Analysis: The Saturn is superior. It can generate 500,000 flat shaded polygons per second, compared to 180,000 in the Model 1's case. What really kills the Model 1's case is its inability to texture map polygons, but back then it was pretty hot stuff. The Saturn can push an estimated 200,000 texture mapped polygons per second. Note that all polygon figures are theoretical. While the Saturn was originally conceived to deliver performance similar to Model 1, the 16Mhz NEC v60 CPU relied on specialized support chips, and using such chips was not economical for a home console. Instead, the far more powerful Hitatchi SH2 processors were utilized. The Saturn also displays a full 24-bit color palette (as opposed to 16-bit for the Model 1 board), and three different screen resolutions ranging up to 704x480 (as opposed to the fixed 496x384 for the Model 1 board). One leg up the Model 1 might have on the Saturn is hardware based alpha channeling, but I haven't confirmed that yet. MODEL 2 ------- I'm still working on this. TITAN / STV ----------- It's the same thing as the Saturn except with some extra RAM and with ROM cartidges as its primary data input. See section 1.8. MODEL 3 & NAOMI --------------- Model 3 and Naomi are lightyears ahead of the Saturn, and aren't at all comparable. Ergo, it's not worth talking about them here. Under Construction. -------------------------------------------------- 1.11 What is the Saturn's cartridge port used for? -------------------------------------------------- The Saturn comes equipped with a cartridge port located on the top of the machine near the rear. This port is designed to act as an input for a number of peripherals, including: Memory carts RAM or ROM carts Telecommunication devices (ie. Sega Netlink) Interact Gameshark and similar "cheating" devices Converter cartridges (some "legit", others pirate-capable) The cartridge port is NOT meant for game software. All Saturn games came on the CD format. --------------------- II. PACKAGING RELATED --------------------- ----------------------------------- 2.1 What Saturn packages were sold? ----------------------------------- I still don't have a US or Japanese list yet, but I hope to solve that soon. EUROPE ------ Paul Carson has given a really good account of the Saturn packages sold in the UK. Late 1995: Sega Saturn, One Controller, Virtua Fighter, Power Cable, Scart Lead, Instructions, and registration card to get a demo of Panzer Dragoon or Flash Demo 1. Initial pack that retailed for £399 in late 1995. 1997 & mayber earlier: Sega Saturn, One Controller, Power Cable, RF Lead, or Scart Lead, instructions, and registration card. This pack was commonly bundled in stores with different games chosen by the store, eg. at 'Gameplay' you could buy a Saturn in 1997 with Daytona USA for £132.99, or a Saturn with Sega Rally for £142.99. ------------------------------------- 2.2 How was Saturn software packaged? ------------------------------------- Japanese Saturn software usually come packaged in standard jewlcases, much like music CDs. They also often came with spinecards. These are three-fold pieces of light cardboard that hug the spine of the jewlcase with the shrinkwrap holding it on (they are valuable to collectors, and necessary if you want to sell the game "complete", so don't throw them away). The spinecard also indicates that the CD is for use with a Sega Saturn console. Specifically Japanese NTSC systems. There were also "double" CD cases, and a variant of the single case which was slightly thicker and VERY hard to replace. Most of the time the spinecard will have a gold and black background with the Japanese Saturn logo and lettering printed vertically. Saturn collection games will have red and white spinecard with white lettering, the Saturn Collection logo under that, and the 2,800 yen price featured prominently. Manual is included with the cover seen through the front of the jewlcase. The left side of the manual will usually have a bar similar in design to the spinecard. The Japanese rating, if there is one, will be included on the manual front (usually on one of the corners). There is also the insert on the back which may feature artwork or screenshots from the game. A black bar on the bottom of the insert contains information much like the spinecard, licensing information, et cetera. The US and Europe used much larger jewlcases. On US games the left font and spine contain a 30 degree stripe pattern (think barber shop). In the US Sega used a different color stripe pattern for each system. For the Saturn this happens to be gray and white, with white outlined lettering displaying "Sega Saturn". In Europe it's just solid black, with white lettering displaying "Sega Saturn". The manual slides in just like a normal jewlcase. And like a normal jewlcase, it also has an insert in the back with information about the game. These cases in themselves have been a source of controversy, since they were generally less popular than the standard music CD cases. In my opinion, they're also way too easy to scratch up or break. ------------------ III. SATURN MODELS ------------------ ------------------------------------------------------ 3.1 What different models of the Saturn were released? ------------------------------------------------------ Before we start, there's a couple of things I want to point out which weren't very clear in previous versions of the FAQ. US and Canadian Saturns are the same as near as I can tell. Consequently, I try to refer to them as "North American" or "NA" models throughout the FAQ. I have been told that European and Australian Saturns are identical, although I don't know that for sure. It would make sense since the AC voltage and TV standard is the same for both. Japanese models are self-explanatory. All Saturns are either NTSC or PAL. There was no SECAM Saturn. I'm not sure about the rest of Asia or anyplace else. I would assume that places like Hong Kong or Korea would probably get the Saturn, but I can't say for sure. Hong Kong is weird in that it's offically PAL as a former British colony, but they have a VERY strong NTSC market thanks to their proximity to Japan. This list is incomplete, but thanks to Chuck Smith and members of the Saturn Mailing list, as well as Raymond McKeithen II, I was able to get this far. I would really appreciate help in filling in any gaps. _____________________ U.S./CANADINAN MODELS All NA Saturn models are black in color. There were at least three different subversions were released, and the differences varied, but were generally minor except cosmetic and jumper locations. Model numbers can be ascertained by viewing the back of the Saturn. I believe the Saturns sold in Canada were the same as the US models. MK-80000 (?): Manufactured from approximately 8/95 to 3/96. Looks very much like the Japanese Gray Saturn except in color. MK-80000A: Manufactured from 3/96 to 7/96. It featured a notched power cord, no drive access light, round power and reset buttons, and a 1.00a BIOS. Jumper locations are once again different. MK-80001: Manufactured starting 7/96. It's similar in appearance to the MK-8000A model, with difference being the jumper locations. _______________ JAPANESE MODELS - Gray Japanese Saturn (1): HST-3200 (in HST-0001 box): The original Japanese Saturn model is virtually identical to the NA first generation model except it is gray in color with blue buttons and the cartridge slot flap is also black in color. Like before, it has the drive access light, and a non-notched power cord. Production was later ended in favor of the White Saturn. - White Japanese Saturn (2): There are two models of the White Saturn. The first is based off the first generation Saturn with purple buttons, and the second is identical to the second generation with gray buttons. The systems came packed with a matching white controller with multi-colored buttons similar to a Super Famicom controller except only the bottom row buttons are colored green, yellow, and blue respectively. It is also rumored that the White Saturn *may* have a slightly faster CD access time. The Cartridge slot flap is also gray in color. The white Saturns Raymond has seen all have a 1.01 BIOS, although he can't confirm that he's seen them all. Raymond McKeithen II writes: "I'd also like to point out that "white" Saturns are no more white in reality than Dreamcasts are; both are very light gray. I guess that's an opinion, but to me white means *white* like a piece of paper, not some off-white (gray) color like you might paint your walls." :P - Hi-Saturn (2) The Hi-Saturn is yet another early style Saturn but with the MPEG decompression hardware built in, and Hi-Saturn printed on the CD drive lid. It's manufactured by Hitachi, and was supposed to cost less then a White Saturn with an optional MPEG card added in (so, it's a good deal). Richter Belmont has written the following description: "First off, the unit is a dark charcoal color. It's not as black in color as the US Saturn but pretty close. You wouldn't think otherwise unless you got really close and examined the hues. Also, the buttons on it are circular, not oval, like subsequent Saturn units. The buttons are a khaki looking color. The machine has a very drab feel to it. The box it comes in is very plain looking almost all black with a light gray/white border." "The start up screen is different as well. Instead of a bunch of pieces forming together, the word "Hi-Saturn" shoots out from the middle of the screen and then flips around till it's readable and then it flashes on screen like other Saturns do." "Controllers have the same color layout as the unit. The buttons are khaki and a gloomy looking blueish/gray. The controllers say Hitachi on them." MMP-1000NV: "Hi-Saturn Navi". This model has a lower, more square profile, and an add-on LCD monitor for playing games on. The system is completely flat on top and lacks the bulge of the CD drive. Also reportedly included an modem and a GPS receiver (with only Japanese regional software being available). This model intended to be a "portable" system for use in luxury cars though a joint deal with Nissan. In an earlier version of the FAQ, it was stated that NCS sold these models for $1,000 a pop. It is now believed that this was a somewhat misleading statement. NCS ordered the Navi Saturn only once, and in a very limited number. Five total were purchased. Three with the LCD screen and the special navigation software. One was kept in their private collection. Three were sold to other stores, and the fifth went to a private customer (who bought one of the complete units). Due to the exceptionally high price, and low interest, NCS never received any more than these five. Thanks to NCS for clearing this up. - V-Saturn (2) Another authorized clone of Saturn. Built by JVC-Victor. There are two versions of this system. The casing is similar to that of any standard Saturn. The colors are different, as is the machine's circuitry, and "V-Saturn" is printed on top of the machine. RG-JX1: Model with oval buttons. Two toned gray with black as bottom second tone. RG-JX2: Model with round buttons. Two toned gray with darker gray as bottom color. From inspecting the later version, as far as I can tell it is identical in every way to the Sega machine aside from color and markings, to the point I suspect both are made by the same people, or at minimum are made out of exactly the same parts (all the plastic moldings are identical etc.). The boot-up sequence on a V-Saturn has the polygons form a V-Saturn logo instead of the SegaSaturn logo, of course. The boot-up screen on the second one shows "Ver. 1.01" just as it does on white Saturns I've seen... - Skeleton Saturn (2) The "Skeleton Saturns" are the final Saturn models to be produced in Japan (and the world). The single unique feature of the first model is the smoky grayish/black "see-through" case (Yes, you can actually see the guts of the machine), and "This is Cool" printed on the CD drive lid. Other then that, it's basically identical to the second version of the white Saturn. Quite the collectors item if you can find one. In the US they retailed for a little over $200 (even though you could pick up a stock US model for much less). Approximately 50,000 produced. HST-0022: blue "Skeleton Saturn" Saturn released on 3/25/99 in a promotional tie-in with ASCII's Derby Stallion Saturn game (it came with stickers for the game and says something about the game on the box). There is no "This is Cool" printed anywhere on the system, and came with the same smoky gray controller as the other one (no clear blue controller was ever made). The BIOS version is 1.01. Supposedly, its easier to acquire a blue Skeleton Saturn. Though this may just be because by the time it was released, few people cared anymore. Approximately 20,000 produced. Also, reliable sources have stated that the blue Skeleton Saturn will not play the Japanese version of "Space Harrier". __________________________________ EUROPEAN / AUSTRALIAN (PAL) MODELS All black. Externally quite similar to the NA models except they naturally run at a 50Hz PAL frequency. Production run model numbers are very similar except they have a 2 in place of the third digit. I *think* (read: not sure), a US MK-8000A would be an MK-80200A in Europe. The odd exception is the MK-80200-50, which has no US equivalent. Also, EU/AUS machines will have "PAL" next to the BIOS revision number on the system settings screen instead of "NTSC", unless the system has been modified. There is no SECAM Saturn. The French used the same PAL Saturn as the rest of Europe but with a different RF/SCART adapter. MK-80200: Unconfirmed. Does this exist? MK-80200A: Jet black, round buttons. One green power light next to the power switch, large trapezoid like eject button, usual Saturn styling, no air holes in the side casing like some later models. Version 1.01a BIOS. MK-80200-50: Has the oval buttons, plus the power and access LEDs. Version 1.01a BIOS. This model was related to me by a German Saturn owner. MK-80201: Also unconfirmed. ------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2 What's with these licensed Saturns (V-Saturn, Hi-Saturn)? ------------------------------------------------------------- After development, Sega licensed the Saturn specifications out to the principal component manufactuers so they they could build their own clones of the Saturn hardware. In other words, the Saturn used a marketing model similar to that of the 3DO company, by partnering up with other hardware manufacturers in order to increase output and ensure better market saturation. Licenses were given to JVC Victor, Hitachi, and Yamaha. This was not the first time Sega used this marketing model, as clones of the Mega Drive and Mega CD hardware were also produced previously. Only Japan got the clones. JVC Victor and Hitachi manufactured V-Saturn and Hi-Saturn respectively (both of these models are explained in section 3.1). According to an 1995 story run in Next Generation magazine, Yamaha had the option of creating their own model. --------------------------------------- 3.3 What's with the Majesco re-release? --------------------------------------- In 1998, New Jersey company Majesco Sales Inc., announced that they would manufacture and sell a new version of the Saturn for $49.99, as well as certain Saturn games for $14.99. Majesco would be able to get away with these low prices because there would be very low R&D expenditures. Majesco previously did this with their redesigned Sega Genesis (Genesis 3), which is still sold today in stores such as Toys R' Us for $20. Preliminary reports seem to indicate that the console would be more compact, and perhaps even portable. Majesco has also been known to remove certain features or expansion options from their redesigned systems (ie. The Genesis 3 lacks the ability to use the Sega CD). This redesigned Saturn was to be on store shelves by Christmas 1999. This story repeated again in 1999 from several sources. In July 1999, another story out of segaweb.com hinted that this deal may have fallen through. ------------------------------------------------------ 3.4 What's the deal with the different BIOS revisions? ------------------------------------------------------ Every US and European Saturn will display its set television standard, regional ID, and BIOS revision number. This information is located on the lower right hand corner of the system settings screen (main menu). I believe the middle number indicates what region coded software the Saturn is set to play. This number will change if you have a language switch installed. 1) Japan 2) ??? <--------| Does anybody have any idea 3) ??? <--------| what these two were used for? 4) US C) Europe (or at least the German example I saw) If anybody wants to confirm this. Please feel free. The NTSC/PAL identification will also change to reflect what television standard you're set to run on if the Saturn is modified (ie. an NTSC/PAL switch is installed.) For instance: NTSC-1-v1.00a ...indicates that the system is set at at 60Hz NTSC, runs Japanese software, and has a version 1.00a BIOS. Japanese Saturns display the BIOS version during the bootup sequence. For example: "SEGA ENTERPRISES LTD. 1994 Ver. 1.00" ...is displayed on a Japanese gray Saturn. Furthermore, Japanese BIOSes and Non-Japanese BIOSes don't appear to be the same. 1.00 - Japan 1.00a - US and Europe 1.01 - Japan 1.01a - US and Europe As to what was fixed or added in each BIOS revision; I honestly have no idea. It's probably also something the fanbase won't be able to find out for quite a while. Perhaps some documentation will be released? Or perhaps an emulator author will stumble across something and be able to tell us more? -------------------------- IV. CONNECTION INFORMATION -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 4.1 What different means are there for hooking up my Saturn? ------------------------------------------------------------ There are five means of connecting your Saturn to a TV or monitor: - Auto RF Switch US Part Number: MK-80116 (Sega) P045 (Interact) UK Part Number: ??? Japanese Part Number: HSS-0110 (Sega) RF mixes all the signals (audio and video) together. Decent if you don't have any other hookups, but not as good as your other options. This connection is also monaural only. - Composite Video (RCA AV Stereo Cable) US Part Number: ??? UK Part Number: ??? Japanese Part Number: HSS-0106 (Sega) Composite separates the video from the audio providing cleaner signals for both. Two RCA style jacks provided for stereo sound. Just let one of the jacks hang loose if you have a mono connection on the back of your TV set/monitor. - S-Video US Part Number: ??? UK Part Number: ??? Japanese Part Number: HSS-0105 (Sega) S-video further splits the signals into Chroma and Luma for the cleanest picture (outside of RGB). Two RCA style jacks provided for stereo sound. Just let one of the audio jacks hang loose if you have a mono connection on the back of your TV set/monitor. - RGB US Part Number: N/A UK Part Number: N/A Japanese Part Number: HSS-0109 (Sega) Additionally, you can use an RGB cable with an analogue monitor, but this is not officially supported by Sega in the US. You can however, build a cable, or use the Japanese one. RGB is officially supported in Japan. The genuine Sega RGB cable is HSS-0109. In Japan there is a standard for RGB connectors on some TVs or monitors. - SCART US Part Number: N/A UK Part Number: N/A European Part Number: ??? Similar to RGB, but for European televisions. SCART capable TVs are actually more common in the UK than RGB capable TVs are in the US. Because of this, Sega Europe released an official Saturn SCART cable. -------------------------------------- 4.2 What about an RGB or SCART hookup? -------------------------------------- Yes, the Saturn A/V output is extremely versatile and supports RGB without hardware modification (if you do it right). If you want the best video quality, you simply can't do any better than using an RGB or SCART connection. As mentioned before, you could purchase a RGB cable for the Saturn in Japan (HSS-0109). SCART is the European method to get much the same results. US Saturn owners will either have to construct their own cable, or purchase the Japanese one. Thanks to Gamers X and Jerry Lynds, the following describes the pinout configuration, so you can can construct a stereo NTSC cable for your Saturn. You will need a 10 pin mini-DIN plug though. If you can't find one, some rewiring may be necessary. /-----------\ | O1 O2 O3 | | | |O4 O5 O6 O7| | | | O8 O9 O10 | \-----------/ <---- Ground 1) Chrominance 2) Luminance 3) Comp Video 4) Blue 5) Green 6) Red 7) 5 VDC 8) Stereo L 9) Stereo R 10) Sync If you require better pictures (my ASCII art kinda sucks, you should go here: http://www.gamesx.com/avpinouts/saturnav.htm One might be able to coax a cable out of www.redcab.com (Redmond Cable). In the old days NCS had them, and they're still available if you're in Japan. UK SCART ones are probably still available as well. Note that the UK cables and the Japanese cables look alike, but the SCART end is wired differently (and the Japanese one isn't called SCART). --------------------------------------- 4.3 What monitors can I or can't I use? --------------------------------------- Information from GamersX: Any SCART or RGB capable TV should work fine if you can find or build a cable for one. A VGA monitor will not work. With only a few exceptions, a VGA monitor will not synchronize with a video display below 31kHz horizontal sweep. Check your users guide, it will list the supported frequencies. Current VGA monitors have a minimum horizontal scan rate of about 31kHz. To adapt the output of a game console to a higher scanning frequency is usually more expensive than buying another monitor! For example, an upscan convertor can cost upwards of $200, where an old Amiga RGB monitor can be found for $25+. Amiga monitors will work (the Commodore 1084 is a favourite). Atari ST (Colour) monitors should work, with some effort (They require separated sync). Arcade monitors (Raster only!) will work. Certain early model NEC Multisync monitors will work. Very few others will. EGA and CGA monitors will not work - they utilize a digital signal format and you'll only irritate yourself trying to wire these up. If you do not have a suitable monitor, especially VGA, DO NOT USE IT!! You will, at best, shut down your monitor temporarily. At worst, a very nasty sounding high pitched whine, and then silence as your monitor kills itself trying to do what you want. --------------------------- 4.4 What about power cords? --------------------------- Sega sold both a notched and non-notched power cords. To find out what you need, see section 3.1, or just check the back of your Saturn. It goes without saying though that you'll have to get the right leads based on the country you live it. I must stress that the Saturn power cords are not special. Gone are the days where you need to read voltage ratings on an AC adapter. You can easily use a multi-unit AC power cord sold at your nearest Radio Shack or any half-way decent electronics store. A Playstation power cord will also suffice nicely. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4.5 Can I run my Japanese Saturn using a North American outlet or visa versa? ----------------------------------------------------------------- A cautious yes. Japan actually runs at a really bizarre 100 VAC. This is completely different just about every place else on the globe which run between 110 and 240 VAC. North America runs anywhere between 110 and 125 VAC depending on location, with 115 VAC being the commonly accepted average. Most people have experienced little to no trouble with the 10 to 25% difference in voltage. Others have said it'll work, but the Saturn will run a little hotter than normal. If you want to play it safe, the use of a simple step-up converter would be wise. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.6 Can I run my European Saturn using a North American or Japanese outlet or visa versa? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Absolutely not without a converter. Otherwise you'll fry damn near every component, and there is a very real risk of fire. You generally won't need to worry about the cycle rate (50 or 60Hz) because the Saturn's power supply converts the AC power source into 12 VDC for internal use anyways. Any converter that supports a 25 watt load or greater (most do) should be sufficient. -------------------------------- V. AUDIO/VIDEO RELATED QUESTIONS -------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.1 Can the Saturn perform transparency and light sourcing effects? ------------------------------------------------------------------- The answer depends on the context in which this question is asked. The Saturn is at *least* capable of generating transparent layers for use in 2D spirte-based images. Furthermore, pseudo 3D transparencies (like the water in Panzer Dragoon) are also possible. These effects can be done directly by the VDP2. If anybody doubts this (and there have been a few), you can check out games such as Astal, Darius Gaiden, and Radiant Silvergun. These are but a few examples. You can also simply powerup your Saturn and check out the system settings. The menu screens themselves provide a glimpse at the Saturn's layered transparency effects. Effects such as these are nothing really new, as they were seen earlier on Nintendo's Super Famicom, and perhaps on other platforms that preceded the Saturn. Where the Saturn does have trouble, is in the generation of these effects in a 3D environment. Along with lightsourcing, three dimensional transparency must be generated through software code. This is not a problem if the developer is familiar with writing Saturn software or was provided with the necessary programming libraries. For instance, Sega's "Sonic-R" features 3D transparency throughout the "Radiant Emerald" course, and lightsourcing can clearly be seen along the corridors of Lobotomy's "Powerslave" ("Exhumed" in the UK). Brian Osserman writes: "The situation with transparencies on the Saturn is exceedingly odd. The most common kind is via the background processor, which can more or less put two properly texture-mapped translucent perspective correct planes. This is what Panzer Zwei and Panzer Saga use for water, for instance. Beyond this, I don't remember the details, but Sonic R and Burning Rangers seem to use two different hacks to get non-dithered transparencies. I can't remember whether there are any other examples, though. I think these were cases of exceedingly clever programming, though, and it's no coincidence they were both late in the Saturn's lifetime." ------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.2 Can the Saturn really display a 704x480 or 720x576 resolution? ------------------------------------------------------------------ Yes. The VDP2 can produce a maximum displayable resolution of 704x480, with a 24-bit color depth. Only a couple of Saturn games used this mode in-game however. US Sega Saturn manuals related a max spec of 720x576. This may be in reference to the PAL resolution, or it could simply be an error. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.3 How come the FMV on the Saturn doesn't look as good as the FMV on the Playstation? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Full motion video on the Saturn is widely described as exhibiting more video artifacts (granulation, pixelation, or ghosting) than what is commonly seen on the Playstation. For the most part, this has to do with the fact that the Playstation hardware is handling video decoding in the form of motion JPEG, though its custom MDEC chip. The end result is a much cleaner video image. On the other hand, the Saturn uses a software codec written on each game CD for video playback. This is similar to how it works in a computer environment like Windows. In the majority of early cases the codec used happened to be Cinepak, although the move to Truemotion by some developers greatly increased the quality of FMV in 90% of the cases. Raymond McKeithen II : "Truemotion on average looks better than Cinepak, but Cinepak done really well beats Truemotion done badly. The very best video quality I've ever seen (even looks better than the MPEG card, the resolution is better) on Saturn is Lucid Motion, C's Ware's proprietary system they use in Desire and Eve The Lost One (I suspect that this is optimized for cartoon animation). The upcoming Friends from NEC Interchannel is supposed to have another proprietary format that gets hi-res mode with 24 bit color." ----------------------------------------------------------- 5.4 How come the audio is certain Saturn games sounds poor? ----------------------------------------------------------- Although, the components used in the Saturn's SCSP chipset are of a high quality, the system has some unfortunate limitations that creep up every now and then. On certain games, digital PCM samples can sound muffled and/or scratchy. All Saturn PCM samples must be loaded into audio RAM while in raw form, where as the Playstation supports hardware compression. Loading files in raw form naturally means a larger file size, which in turn means that overall sample quality will suffer in an effort to cram everything in. This is particularly bad for games that require a great number of samples loaded into memory all at once. Virtua Fighter II is a good example of this. Many fighting games by Capcom and SNK reveal similar problems. So while the Staurn might have an audio suite rivaling that of the Playstation, memory limitations can stymie attempts playback samples at the highest quality. Streamed yellowbook audio plays directly off the CD. It does not need to be loaded into RAM, and thus does not have the memory constraint problems that the PCM samples can face. Macross DYRL, for instance, streams Apple AIFF files recorded at 22Khz 16 bit stereo as its soundtrack (and sounds great!). Good programmers can often produce excellent digital sound from the Saturn, while games that were programmed for another platform, or directly ported from the PSX can often sound rather crude. "Saturn's sound hardware is phenomenal. It's way, way, better than the PlayStation's sound - you can basically plug in a synthesizer and play it through MIDI." --Saturn Developer, Next Generation, December 1995 ----------------------------------- 5.5 What is the video decoder card? ----------------------------------- The video decoder card is a daughtercard-like peripheral that plugs inside the Saturn though the door the battery is accessed from. It allows hardware playback of MPEG-1 (version 1) video in certain games, as well as playback of Video CDs (Whitebook). There were versions this card manufactured by Sega, JVC, and Hitachi. There have also been reports of unlicensed video decoder cards. A version of the card manufactured by Sega was also sold in Europe. There are 3 versions of the JVC MPEG card. The first is more-or-less like the Sega card, and the second was called the Twin Operator and added support for PhotoCD. I believe the third is just like the second but comes in a different package and sold for a lower price. The interesting thing about the JVC Twin Operator card is that it is both NTSC and PAL compatible and comes with instructions that are written in both English and Japanese. These cards are somewhere hard to find now, but probably a lot easier if you're in Asia, the UK, or have a good import source. Games that used the card include (not necessarily complete list): Lunar Silver Star Story complete MPEG version (the only game that *requires* the card) Sakura Taisen Hangumi Tsuushin Sakura Taisen Nekki Radio Show (a.k.a. Steam Radio Show) Vatlva Chisato Moritaka disc Moon Cradle Wangan Deadheat + Triangle Love Falcom Classics 1 (disc 2 of the limited edition) Gungriffon 1 (Japanese version only) Only one of these games was released in the US (see below), and VCDs never really caught on outside of Asia (instead, we now have DVD which is far superior in that it uses MPEG-2 compression). VCD resolution is 352x288 for PAL and 352x240 for NTSC. I've been told the US version of Gungriffon still has MPEG movies on the disc but that they are not played during the game. Instead, the in-game movies have been apparently converted to Cinepak or Truemotion (not sure). The card fits in all versions of the Japanese Saturn (the Hi-Saturn naturally comes with MPEG capability). Early Japanese Saturns (i.e. the gray ones) have the connector for it on a second circuit board inside the unit, later ones have the connector on the main board. It cards should work in all versions of the US Saturn, but you'll need a language switch to play the above list of software. ----------------------- 5.6 What is Truemotion? ----------------------- Truemotion is a audio/video compression format developed by the Duck Corporation. It was used by several Saturn games as an alternative medium-quality format between standard Cinepak that many Saturn games used for FMV, and the use of the VCD card. Generally speaking, Truemotion is of much higher quality than Cinepak, but inferior to the MPEG compression of the video decoder card. Games that use Truemotion usually feature the "TM" logo both on the packaging and before the game's title screen. Although Duck is an American corporation, numerous Japanese licensees used TM. Duck's webpage can be accessed at http://www.duck.com/ There have also been rumors that Truemotion would have been the compression method used by Working Designs to achieve high quality full screen movies without the video decoder card on Lunar SSS, had the US Saturn version actually been produced. ---------------- 5.7 What is ADX? ---------------- ADX is an audio compression method developed by the Japanese company CRI. It appeared on the scene relatively late in the Saturn's life, but was used in a number of Japanese Saturn games, sometimes as the audio track for Cinepak video. Today, it's commonly used in Dreamcast games. ------------------- 5.8 What is QSound? ------------------- QSound is a patented audio encoding method by QSound Labs which was created in an attempt to model a three dimensional sound environment though two speaker stereo equipment. This is accomplished by using a series of spatial processing algorithms that trick your ears into thinking a sound is emanating from a different direction. QSound does not require any special hardware to work. I say "attempt" because it obviously will run into the limitations of using only two speakers (Dolby Surround it is not). QSound was licensed for use in certain Saturn games. Namely those published by Sega and Capcom. A number of people have commented that QSound really sounds best when using a set of quality headphones. QSound Labs has a webpage at: http://www.qsound.com ----------------------- 5.9 What is Cybersound? ----------------------- Cybersound was a combination MIDI instrument set and software driver used by many Saturn games such as NiGHTs, Dragon Force, and Sakura Taisen. It was also used on other platforms such as the PC and Macintosh. Since the samples are contained within the software itself for subsequent digital playback, you could also liken the mechanics to that of a Amiga music module or a software-driven wavetable like those currently being offered by Yamaha. The company that developed Cybersound (InVision Interactive) is now out of business, and a search of the newsgroups will reveal a number of people wondering what to do with a product that is no longer supported (doh! >.<). ------------------------------------------------------------ 5.10 Were there any games designs to take advantage of Dolby Surround? ------------------------------------------------------------ Joe Doucette writes: "Actually, Croc uses Dolby ProLogic. I'm not sure it adds much to the game, but it's noticeable in areas, and does identify it as Dolby Surround in the sound config." No Saturn games use or can use Dolby Digital (AC-3), as the SCSP sends all signals through the DAC before outputting the signal to your TV or receiver. AC-3 requires a raw digital bitstream. ------------------------------------------------------------ 5.11 Does the Saturn ever use its FM Synthesis capabilities? ------------------------------------------------------------ The Saturn's SCSP has the ability to generate up to 8 channels of FM synthesis effects. As of yet, I do not know if this feature was ever used, nor do I know the quality of the FM Synth (I imagine it would sound at least as good as the YM2612 used in the Megadrive, but that is idle speculation on my part). The FM Synth support was likely included because most Sega consoles and arcade boards through the System 32 had a Yamaha FM chip in one form or another, and that would be easier to port these games to the Saturn. Raymond McKeithen II writes: "Two games from adult developer KID I've heard play music that sounds like an old PC Adlib card (I'm not kidding, even the "tempo" problems inherent to Adlib are there), perhaps they were using it. Then again, it might just be streamed yellowbook audio..." -------------------------------------- VI. INTERNAL MEMORY AND BIOS FUNCTIONS -------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- 6.1 Help! Games won't save, or I have to constantly reset the date and time! Why? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Check to make sure you pulled out the ribbon from under the battery. It's there to prevent the battery in your new Saturn from making a connection and draining itself before you unpack it. Not pulling it out is a very common oversight among new Saturn owners. If your Saturn is not new, then the battery is probably dead. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.2 Okay, my Saturn is old or used, and the battery is finally dead. What do I do? -------------------------------------------------------------------- You can replace the battery with any type CR2032 lithium battery. Sega recommends using only UL listed batteries. These can usually be acquired at your local Radio Shack, Walmart, or anyplace that sells watch or calculator batteries, and shouldn't set you back more than $5 at the very most (probably much less). The CR2032 is the same exact battery type used by the Dreamcast VMU and the Neo Geo Pocket (including the Neo Geo Pocket Color). The only difference is that the DC VMU requires two batteries, while the Saturn and NGP/NGPC only require one. ------------------------------------------- 6.3 How often should I replace the battery? ------------------------------------------- The battery that comes with a new Saturn lasts generally lasts about 2 to 3 years. The longest I've heard has been a little over 5 years, but that's seriously pushing it. Sega recommends you replace your battery once a year, but again, that's not in keeping with the norm per-say. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 6.4 Can I replace the battery without loosing all my saved data? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Raymond McKeithen II writes: If you have a memory cart, you can copy the data to the cart while you change the battery. You can also carefully change the battery while the system is turned on. The manual says don't do this, but that's just for your safety (very small chance you could shock yourself or something). The battery is out of the circuit when the system is on so it's safe as far as the system is concerned. WARNING: We take no responsibility for any electrical shock that may result from doing this. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 6.5 Does the time and date function on the Saturn really serve a useful function? ---------------------------------------------------------------- "Useful" is subjective, as there are no-doubt people who could care less. However, it does indeed serve a purpose. There's a few games that use the date/time function of the BIOS to trigger certain events. Christmas NiGHTS was probably the most talked about game in the US to take advantage of this. But, all in all, Japanese games tended to make better use of the feature, and in turn, used it much more often. The dating sim "Roommate" is one such game that prompted some people to comment that it was almost surreal in its ability to keep pace with time in the real world. I personally consider the Saturn's clock/calander an often overlooked and underappreciated feature. ---------------------------------------------------- 6.6 What games take advantage of the clock/calendar? ---------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to: Chris Heim Will Shaffer Jeremy Goodwin Darrius Joiner Yana This list is NOT complete. ---- Aquazone Atelier Marie Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition Christmas NiGHTS - duh! Everybody knows this. Dracula X - There's a clock room in the game that will display the time. Also, you if you leave the title screen on, Shiina Hekiru will anounce the time in 10 minute intervals(or was it hourly?). Saturn Bomberman - (includes US version) extra lives if played between 10am & 11am. Enemy Zero - (includes the US version) New Years or Christmas messages. Puyo Puyo Sun - You gain additional artwork in the options menu. Roommate \ Roommate 2 | - Life simulation game in which the game clock mimics Roommate 3 / the Saturn clock. Saturn Bomberman - Not THAT much, but putting in different times will allow some cheats, like extra lives on regular mode. Steep Slope Sliders - Whatever the time is on your Saturn internal clock, will depend what time of day it is on the game, if it's midnight the game will be at night time, etc. Sokyugurentai Tengai Makyo: Daiyonno Mokushiroku (Far East of Eden: Apocalypse IV) Twinkle Star Sprites Waku Waku 7 Yuna Remix Yuna 3 Finally, the NetLink Browser uses the clock/calendar. -------------------------------- 6.7 Is the Saturn Y2K compliant? -------------------------------- Yes. Unlike many popular computer systems, the Saturn's internal calendar runs on a four (as opposed to two) digit year. However, the highest date you can set it to is 12/31/2199. The date WILL roll over to 1/1/2200, and I have no idea how high it will ultimately go. More importantly, I can't think of any reason why the year is absolutely critical to the Saturn's function. Most games rely on the time, day and month, and don't even care what year it is. Obviously, this question is less important now that we're past that point and the world hasn't blown up. :) ---------------------------------- VII. EXTERNAL MEMORY AND RAM CARTS ---------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- 7.1 What's the difference between a memory cart and a RAM Cart? --------------------------------------------------------------- The terminology gets rather confusing, but the general consensus is that a memory cart will act as a repository for saved games, while a RAM cart adds extra (R)andom (A)ccess (M)emory for texture storage and thus allow for better and more fluid sprite animation in certain select games. RAM carts do NOTHING whatsoever for polygon count. That's tied directly to the Saturn's hardware rendering capabilities. It's merely for bitmaps. There were a few carts created and sold in the US and the UK primarly to take advantage of imports. However, Marvel Super Heroes Fighter and Pocket Fighter were two US games that COULD (but did not require) use the 1 or 4 meg RAM carts. King of Fighters '95 was released in the UK along with it's specialized ROM cart. To make things even more confusing, Sega calls their Saturn and Sega CD memory carts "Backup RAM" cartridges. Technically, that's correct, but easily confused with the above. E.M.S. insists on calling everything a RAM card; being a term usually reserved for Playstation memory cards. Sega manufactures both a Memory Cart and two RAM carts (the latter being Japan only). They will always insist you use their official products, but most people have had no problem with most of the 3rd party products (with the exception of Interact products). -------------------------------------------- 7.2 Do memory carts require battery changes? -------------------------------------------- Sega-brand Saturn memory carts use flash-memory and thus have no battery to replace. I'm not sure about third party carts, but I'd assume they'd be the same. --------------------------------------------------------------- 7.3 What memory carts & RAM carts are available for the Saturn? --------------------------------------------------------------- The following list is incomplete: Official Sega Backup RAM Cart Manufactured by Sega Enterprises. 8 megabit (1 Megabyte) capacity. ??? Blocks Comments: Official Saturn memory carts came in at least four different flavors in Japan: 1) First one is gray, somewhat lighter than the gray Saturn. 2) Later ones are lighter gray, but darker than a white Saturn. 3) A pink one that came with the game Tamagotchi Park. 4) A turquoise one that came with Tokimeki Memorial limited edition. In the US and the UK, there is only the black cartridge. E.M.S. 8 Meg Memory Cartridge Manufactured by E.M.S. Industries LDT. of Hong Kong. 8 Megabit (1 Megabyte) capacity. ??? Blocks Comments: None E.M.S. 16 Meg Memory Cartridge Manufactured by E.M.S. Industries LDT.of Hong Kong. 16 Megabit (2 Megabyte) capacity. Approx. 32,511 Blocks. Comments: Can serve as an import converter. Supports direct save. E.M.S. 64 Meg Memory Cartridge Manufactured by E.M.S. Industries LDT. of Hong Kong. 64 Megabit (8 Megabyte) capacity. ??? Blocks. Comments: None Action Replay Plus Manufactured by E.M.S. Industries LDT. of Hong Kong. 512K of backup memory. ??? Blocks. 1 Megabyte RAM Cart Compatibility. Can link with PC Comms card. USA/JAPAN/EUROPE Converter. Comments: Compatible with the Sega HSS-0155. Referred to as the 4 in 1. Does NOT support direct save. Action Replay 4M Plus Manufactured by E.M.S. Industries LDT. of Hong Kong. 512K of backup memory. ??? Blocks. 4 Megabyte RAM Cart Compatibility. Can link with PC Comms card. USA/JAPAN/EUROPE Converter. Comments: Compatible with Sega HSS-0150 and HSS-0163 RAM Carts. Sometimes incorrectly referred to as the 5 in 1 because it covers both the 1 meg and 4 meg RAM cart. Does NOT support direct save. Expand RAM Card Manufactured by E.M.S. Industries LDT. of Hong Kong. 1 Megabyte RAM Cart Compatibility. Comments: Compatible with Sega HSS-0150 RAM Cart. 4M Expand RAM Card Manufactured by E.M.S. Industries LDT. of Hong Kong. 4 Megabyte RAM Cart Compatibility. Comments: Compatible with Sega HSS-0150 and HSS-0163 RAM Carts. Interact Memory Card Plus (P-465A) Manufactured by Interact 8 Megabits (2 megabytes) of backup memory. Approx. 15,562 Blocks. Comments: 4 Megabits physical RAM See section 7.8 for a special notice. Blaze Hi-Capacity Memory Card Manufactured by Blaze (??) 1 Megabits of backup memory. ??? Blocks. Comments: Sold in the UK. I don't know much about it, although I hear it loses save files just as bad as the Interact carts. Sega Saturn RAM Cart (HSS-0150) Manufactured by Sega Comments: For use with games listed in section 7.5. Sega Saturn 4 Megabyte RAM Cart (HSS-0163) Manufactured by Sega Comments: For use with games listed in section 7.5. Ultra Madness 4M Turbo Key Manufactured by ??? Acts as both a 4MB RAM cartridge (for use with games listed in section 7.5), and as an import converter. ----------------------------------------------------- 7.4 How does the block system work when saving games? ----------------------------------------------------- Chris Heim writes: This gets a little tricky. You see, EMS and Sega have different calculations for their backup memory block sizes. EMS uses a practical method of 64 bytes = 1 block, but Sega uses an unusual format with has just over 73 bytes (about 73.148) = 1 block. I'm unsure of which method Interact uses although the 32768 blocks for 2 Megs looks about right based on my friend's MEMORY CARD +. Using these methods here's how the memory carts break down: Carts and Kilobytes | Blocks in EMS & Sega Formats -------------------------------------------------- Internal Memory 32k = 512 EMS / 448 Sega Carts with 512k = 8192 EMS / 7182 Sega Carts w/1024k (1Meg)= 16384 EMS / 14364 Sega Carts w/2048k (2Meg)= 32768 EMS / 28728 Sega Carts w/8192k (8Meg)= 131072 EMS / 114912 Sega ---- Both methods are more efficient than the PSX block system which fills up entire blocks regardless of whether the data requires that much space. In other words, a PSX shooter save file would take up as much block space as many typical RPG save files (ie. Final Fantasy VII). On the Saturn, the blocks allotted better reflect the amount of physical space actually required by the file. --------------------------------- 7.5 What games support RAM carts? --------------------------------- Special thanks to Sega Force for this list: Name Developer Required? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Groove on Fight Atlus 1MB RAM Ultraman* Bandai Proprietary ROM Cyberbots Capcom NONE - 1 or 3MB modes Dungeons & Dragons Capcom 1MB RAM (Disc 2 only) Marvel SH Capcom NONE - 1 or 3MB modes Marvel SH vs. SF Capcom 4MB RAM Pocket Fighter Capcom NONE - 1 or 4MB modes Street Fighter Zero 3 Capcom 4MB RAM Vampire Savior** Capcom 4MB RAM X-Men vs. SF Capcom 4MB RAM Fighters History Dynamite Data East 1MB RAM Fatal Fury 3 SNK 1MB RAM King of Fighters '95* SNK 1MB Proprietary ROM King of Fighters '96 SNK 1MB RAM King of Fighters '97 SNK 1MB RAM Metal Slug SNK 1MB RAM Ragnagard SNK 1MB RAM Real Bout Fatal Fury SNK 1MB RAM Real Bout Fatal Fury Special SNK 1MB RAM Samuari Showdown III SNK 1MB RAM Samuari Showdown IV SNK 1MB RAM Cotton 2 Success NONE - 2MB mode Astra Super Stars Sunsoft NONE - 4MB mode Waku Waku 7 Sunsoft 1MB RAM NOTES ----- * Refer to section 7.7 for important compatibility information. ** Refer to section 7.6 for important compatibility information. ------------------------------------------------------------- 7.6 Are the different RAM & memory carts compatible with each other? ------------------------------------------------------------- Nearly. Provided you satisfy the RAM requirements for a particular game. Vampire Savior has difficulty with older versions of the Action Reply Plus 4MB cartridge (those manufactured before April 17th, 1998). The newer revisions of this cartridge (manufactured 2-4 weeks after the game's release) work fine. Special thanks to Sega Force/Shin Force for this info. You can modify you old Action Replay cartridge to work with Vampire Savior by following these instructions posted on Sega Force's website: http://www.cyberdrive.net/~gskalba/SAT-4MBRAM-mod.htm Some people have voiced other problems with using the EMS products, but these problems are currently unsubstantiated. The number of people with favorable reviews outweigh reports to the contrary. Problems could be related to any number of issues, including a worn out cartridge port. Nobody has isolated anything yet. King of Fighters '95 is *not* a RAM cart game. It won't work with anything other than its own proprietary ROM cart. See section 7.7. Memory carts should be completely compatible with each other regardless of the country lockout (with the caveats for the Interact products explained below). Be advised though that both the Game Shark and the two EMS 4 in 1s do not support direct save. Files must be moved from the Saturn's internal memory to the card, and back again when you want to play. All Saturns will also display saved items in Japanese characters if a Japanese game is saved. The same is naturally true for the internal memory. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 7.7 What about the cartridge distributed with King of Fighters '95 and Ultraman? ------------------------------------------------------------------ King of Fighters '95 used a special 1 Megabyte ROM cartridge that predated the use of RAM cartridges. The ROM cartridge came packaged with KOF '95, and was manufactured by SNK and Sega. It included all the additional textures needed by the game in self-contained (R)ead (O)nly (M)emory chips. The SNK ROM cartridge will not work on any other game, and you can not substitute a RAM cartridge in order to play KOF '95. The only other game to use a specialized ROM cartridge was Bandai's Ultraman. This cartridge would look exactly like the KOF '95 cart if it weren't for the label. The same limitation on compatibility applies here as well. You also can't use this cart to play KOF '95. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.8 What is all the bad press concerning Interact Memory Cards about? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Many Interact memory products have been getting complaints over the years. Complaints have centered around save files suddenly being corrupted. These complaints have held sway over both their Saturn and Playstation memory products. The Interact nightmare really came into the light when Victor Ireland, President of Working Designs, advised his customers not to purchase Interact products. --- "We are advising ALL SEGA Saturn owners AGAINST purchasing and/or using any of the unlicensed Interact memory cartridges (pictured below). They are sold as "Game Shark", "Memory Card", and "Memory Card Plus." "The problem with these devices is that they were created without technical help from SEGA, and since this requires reverse engineering, they CANNOT be guaranteed to be fully compatible. Also, there are about 10 or more revisions of the BIOS in these carts, and 5 or more revisions of the SEGA Saturn BIOS. Finding a fair match is nearly impossible, and even then, it only means less problems, not the elimination of Interact RAM problems." "Another problem is that even though these devices boast "8 megs" of storage, they actually only contain 4 megs of physical RAM, and they therefore compress data to achieve 8 megs of storage in only 4 megs ofRAM. The problem with this is that on large save files (such as Dragon Force, amongst others) the compression time is longer than small save files, and this can upset the required timings on the SEGA Saturn, thereby corrupting or even DESTROYING data." "In fact, these carts can even corrupt the INTERNAL RAM on the Saturn, requiring that the SEGA RAM be cleared to fix the corruption before any games can be guaranteed to work correctly once again." "Most users decide on these cartridges for one of three reasons: Cheat codes made possible with the Game Shark, relatively cheap price of these carts ($39 or so) compared to the official SEGA RAM cart ($60 and up), or the difficulty finding the SEGA RAM cartridge in stores, since store buyers prefer to carry the Interact carts since they are less expensive and offer better price margins." "We used to make the Official Saturn RAM cartridge available for $49.95, delivered to your door, including Federal Express 2 day shipping, as well as a custom Dragon Force Backup RAM Sticker. However, SEGA, in their infinite wisdom, deemed that we were only authorized to publish software and not authorized to sell hardware (as the RAM cart is considered), and threatened legal action. Since then, they have given us the stall for the last 5 months and counting with regard to our request to receive authorization to continue making these scarce RAM carts available to consumers. As has been the case under SEGA's new and "improved" management, you, the consumer lose." "However, if you have a Saturn, we personally don't care WHERE you buy the Official SEGA Backup RAM cart. Just buy IT, and not these shoddy Interact products. These carts are our #1 support problem on our game help lines. Users have experienced frequent lockups, corrupt backup RAM data, destroyed backup RAM data, problems with the Saturn recognizing the carts, Corrupt internal Saturn RAM when an Interact card was used once or more, Saturns that load and perform erratically with the carts installed, etc, etc, etc...the list goes on and on. Would you risk 50, 60, even 100 hours worth of game saves simply to save $20-30? It's just not worth it. Just say no." - Victor Ireland A quick look at Dejanews archives will reveal plenty of posts made by people who were having troubles. This of course, it not to say that you WILL experience problems with the Interact memory carts. I have received messages from a couple of people stating that they have worked just fine for them. Incidentally, a similar warning was later issued by WD concerning the PSX memory cards, and then broadened yet again to include *most* third party carts/cards. Following that, Interact threatened to sue WD for slander they didn't take the warning down from their webpage. Mr. Ireland clarified the meaning of the message, but it still remained very critical of Interact and all their memory products. The Working Designs page later goes on to reprint scathing testimonials of people suffering from Interact woes. The WD webpage can be accessed at http://www.workingdesigns.com Check the "Newsroom" section. --------------------------------------------------------------- 7.9 I'm having some problems with my Interact Memory Card Plus. Can you help me? --------------------------------------------------------------- Because the Memory Card Plus interfaces with the Saturn BIOS differently than the official Sega carts do, a couple of issues have arisen from their use. First of all, when booting a Saturn with an MCP in the cartridge port, you will end up at the CD Player instead of going stright to the game. Simply select the "Start Application" icon and you're all set to play. If you change games by opening the lid of your Saturn and switching out the CD, the new CD won't read the cart, and you'll have to hard reset. There's also a reported bug where the Saturn will lockup if you go into the Systems Setting screen and attept to exit, forcing you to hard reset the Saturn. There is no known workaround for this, but the settings will be saved, so it's not debilitating. Thanks to Garrett Albright for this info. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 7.10 I'm having problems with my Saturn cartridge port in general. Can you help me? ------------------------------------------------------------------ Some people have argued that since Saturn cartridge port contacts are made of cheap tin instead of a higher quality material (like gold which is a much better conductor of electricity), and that the contacts are much cheaper then that of an NES, SNES, Genesis, ect., they were never meant for frequent usage and tend to wear down faster. This is seen as a cost cutting procedure by Sega, and thus the connectors tend to become corroded or worn out rather easily. I personally don't know if this is true, and I've heard some people contest this paragraph's inclusion in the FAQ. On the other hand, Raymond McKeithen presents a different take on the qualitative matter: "From my experience (a 4+ year-old Japanese Saturn that works fine and has never had a problem plus 3 other import ones) and what I've been able to tell from others, the only people that have trouble with cart slots are those that use 3rd party cartridges. I believe that once you do that, the *cart* damages the slot, and then even Sega carts won't work reliably." "If you look at the card edge on a Sega cart compared to most 3rd party carts, there are 2 clear differences. The Sega carts have the edges of the card filed/tapered so it isn't sharp/abrasive, the 3rd party ones typically don't. Probably more importantly, look at the thickness of the circuit boards in the two. Every 3rd party one I've seen has a "thick" circuit board, which will spread the cart-slot contacts which can certainly cause a problem if a non-thick one is used afterwards; it may damage the slot in other ways since it wasn't specifically designed for thick boards." ---- For dirty/corroded contacts: Cleaning the contacts with isopropyl alchohol will help. Just be sure to thin out the mixture with some tap water until you get about a 50/50 mixture. Using a artist's erasier may also help somewhat, as will a can of compressed air for removing dirt and deposits. The same can be done with the cartridges themselves. Blowing on the contacts may offer temporary relief, but you run the risk of moisture on the contacts by way of your own saliva. It may be possible to get a replacement contact part if yours become too corroded and causes frequent problems. Contact Sega of America at 1-800-USA-SEGA. Also, if anybody knows if and where these parts can be ordered via third party, please let me know (include addresses and contact info for these establishments please). Raymond McKeithen II writes: "With the machine off, remove and insert the cartridge several times. If there's some minor corrosion on the cartridge or machine contacts, this should clear it up. This is especially a possibility if you've never used the cartridge slot before. I've seen exactly the same situation on another new white Saturn..." ------------------------ VIII. TELECOMMUNICATIONS ------------------------ ----------------------------- 8.1 What is the Sega Netlink? ----------------------------- Essentially it's a 28.8bps modem designed to be used in conjunction with the Saturn's cartridge port. You can use it to connect to the web, read e-mail, and play multiplayer against another human miles away who also has a Netlink and the same game. Later versions also supported IRC chat and secure online ordering (SSL). The NetLink can be used in conjunction with any ISP that supports PPP (Point to Point Protocol). You can also connect to any e-mail server that supports the POP3 and SMTP protocol. Sega had teamed up with Concentric Network Corporation, and offered referrals to use their own service at reduced rates. However, it should be stressed it is NOT necessary to use Concentric's services to connect to the net using a Netlink. The Netlink is driven by browser software on CD. Settings and files can be saved in your Saturn's internal memory. When you first power up your Saturn with the NetLink, you'll be asked a series of questions about your ISP (the number to dial, DNS, IP, ect.). There were four different versions of the Netlink browser released. All were programmed by PlanetWeb. Version 2.0 was incapable of viewing framed websites. Version 3.0 added recognition of frames, but required that you switch between each frame to view them. Version 4.X, which is a beta version, added SSL support for secure shopping online. All browsers were capable of viewing .JPG, .GIF, and .XBM images up to 400K in size. .WAV, .AIFF, and .AU sound files up to 400K in size are also supported for immediate playback (you can not save them). The Netlink comes packaged with a 30 foot RJ-11 phone cable, complete instructions on how to use the Netlink, and the NiGHTs sampler CD. It has a "pass through" phone connector so you don't have to disconnect your phone line in order to use the NetLink. Optional peripherals include a keyboard and a mouse. The NetLink is a inexpensive means of connecting to the Internet, especially if you have an existing dial up account, but I wouldn't recommend it as a substitute for a halfway decent desktop computer. The Netlink does not recognize Java, VBScript, DHTML, or standards other than plain HTML. It can not download program files. It's limited in terms of size of what it can download. Version 3.0+ includes an IRC client, but its limited as to what servers it can connect to (ie. I can't seem to get on DALnet at all). It also occupies the Saturn's cartridge port, meaning you can't use a memory carts or other peripherals when the Netlink is in use. As far as playing games, the Netlink does NOT support online play, although you can directly dial into another Netlink and play that way provided that both gamers have copies of the same game. The Netlink was never released in Europe. For more information on the Netlink, you can view the Official Netlink FAQ, here: http://www.planetweb.com/netlink/faq.html Paul Carson writes: "Netlink never made it to Britain. Apparently Sega Europe thought that we weren't ready for it, and judging by the lack of Netlink games available overseas, it was probably just as well. It's a strange situation however, because in Sega Touring Car Championship where the rest of the world played the special net event courses on Netlink we got to play the 'extra courses' at the specified times, we then got a password and then we had to log on to www.sega.co.jp/stc/ to register the times within 24 hours of the competition start. There's a bit of paper in every Euro copy of STCC detailing this. This was their workaround! The Netlink system was 4 years ahead of it's time, trying to ride on the wave created by Quake and it's revolution of multiplayer. If there had been a Netlink Quake version I'm sure the system would have gained mass popularity because people would have been able to play Quake online cheaply. I know there's still a group of staunch Netlink users out there who still surf using their Saturn. They have a website somewhere, but where..." ------------------------------------------ 8.2 What are the Netlink's specifications? ------------------------------------------ INTERFACE * Telephone Circuit * 2 Wire Interface (RJ-11 Type Phone Jack) NCU * AA Type * Pulse: (10PPS/20PPS), Tone (DTMF) MODEM * Complies with: ITU-T (V.21/V.22/V.22bis/V.23/V.32 V.32bis/V.34, V.42/V.42bis), BELL (103/212A), MNP 2-5 * FSK/PSK/QAM * 75, 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 7200, 9600, 12000, 14400, 19200, 28000bps * Transmission level less than -9dBm * Reception level 0dBm to -43dBm OPERATING CONDITIONS * Temperature level 41 F to 95 F (5 C to 35 C) * Humidity level 20% to 90%RH --------------------------------------- 8.3 What Netlink Software is available? --------------------------------------- Netlink WebBrowser 2.0 Comes packaged with the Netlink itself. Supports all HTML 2.0 tags, and most HTML 3.0 tags. Unable to view framed webpages, and does not support IRC chat. Somewhat comparable to early versions of Netscape. Netlink WebBrowser 3.0 Comes packaged with the Netlink game package. Adds support for the viewing of framed pages, sorta. All it really does is allow you to access each frame individually, but not view them all at once. Also adds a fairly basic IRC client. This IRC client is crippled in that it can't connect to major servers like DALnet and EFnet. Netlink WebBrowser Golden 1.135 Same code as 3.0 except no CD was ever pressed and it does not include the "Netlink City" front page. Available for download fron Planetweb's site. Netlink Beta 4.035 Adds SSL support for secure online ordering. Available for download on Planetweb's site. This is the final version of the Netlink Browser that will be offered. No CD was ever pressed, meaning you have to redownload it each time you want to use the Netlink (It's not worth it in my opinion). ----------------------------------- 8.4 What games support the Netlink? ----------------------------------- Virtual On (Netlink Edition) Sega Rally (Netlink Edition) Daytona USA CCE (Netlink Edition) Saturn Bomberman Duke Nukem' 3D Benjamin writes: "There are only five Netlink games released in the US. Since Virtual On, Sega Rally, and Daytona USA CCE were all released before the Netlink came out, special Netlink Edition versions were distributed. Saturn Bomberman and Duke Nukem 3D came out after the Netlink, so there is no need for a second printing." "[Virtual On (NE) and Sega Rally (NE)] were included with the Netlink about a year or so after its release. Daytona USA CCE was only available from Sega's web site and is perhaps the most difficult to find Netlink game. I know [VO and DUSA CCE] came in a jewel case with four "long box sized" black-and-white manuals. I don't know how Daytona USA CCE was packaged, but I suspect it was similar to the prior two released games. Saturn Bomberman and Duke Nukem 3D were regular Saturn games with the typical packaging." "The Netlink Editions of Virtual On and Sega Rally are marginally better than the standard version. Virtual On has an option to let you color your mech, and Sega Rally has two animated sprites on the track side. Nothing spectacular. Supposedly the graphics were improved a bit (frame rate, clipping, etc.), but I can't tell. Daytona USA CCE reportedly is much better than the US standard release. The Netlink Edition is based on the Japanese game; the US one was rushed for a Christmas release and is missing several features and options (night time courses, etc.). I never played it, so I don't know much about it. There's been a few discussions about that version you can look up at Deja [ www.deja.com ]." "All are direct dial games. The Sega Netlink did not feature online play, so to compete over a phone line meant calling someone who has a Saturn, Netlink, and the game you wish to play with person. If it is not a local call, then prepare to pay long distance fees." ----------------------------------- 8.5 Is the Netlink still supported? ----------------------------------- Sega's support status of the Netlink is currently unknown. Much like the rest of the Saturn, support is either not advertised or no longer directly offered. Planetweb still mainatains a section of their webpage dedicated to the Netlink. You can download the Beta 4.0 browser, as well as Saturn savegames. There is also a messageboard that is rather sparse as you can imagine. Although Planetweb offers info and downloads relating to the Netlink, don't expect anything new to pop up. http://www.planetweb.com/netlink/ ---------------------------- XI. MODIFICATION INFORMATION ---------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ 9.1 Can I play games from another region on my Saturn? ------------------------------------------------------ Not out of the box. There are certain hurdles to clear and steps to take in order to successfully play games from one region on a system designed for sale in different region. Briefly, these hurdles include the territorial lockouts, and the television system your country uses (NTSC, PAL, ect.). --------------------------------------------------------------- 9.2 I've decided to play games from another region. What are my options? --------------------------------------------------------------- In many cases, your options of playing imports are wide. Assuming you have a US or Japanese NTSC Saturn you have three distinct options: 1. Install a language switch. 2. Resort to "Disc Swapping" (Not Recommended!). 3. Get one of the multitudes of converter cartridges. 4. Use an Interact Game Shark. European Saturn owners have to ensure that their system will support NTSC if they wish to play US or Japanese games. On the other hand, US and Japanese owners will have to support PAL if they wish to play European games. Still, yet another distinct possibility.... From the Saturn MOD FAQ by The Axledental DJ : "You (in theory) could disassemble the info on the BIOS chip and rewrite the bits where it looks for CD authentication, making your machine a "universal" unit that plays ALL games no matter where it came from, including a game you might of copied yourself to a gold or silver CD-R disc. Then you would burn the patched ROM image to an EEPROM and attempt to play foreign/pirated games." See section 9.10 for more information on how this may be possible. --------------------------------------------------------- 9.3 What is NTSC and PAL and why might they be a problem? --------------------------------------------------------- NTSC and PAL are television broadcast frequencies. NTSC is about 60 (actually 59.94) fields per second, 525 lines per frame (each frame is 2 fields). PAL is 50 fields per second and 625 lines per frame. Parts of Europe, Hong Kong, and Australia use PAL, while North America and Japan use NTSC. There were NTSC and PAL versions of the Saturn released in the appropriate regions, and knowing what system you have is important when buying games from another region. There is no SECAM Saturn. The French used the same PAL Saturn as the rest of Europe with a SCART connector. The Sony CXA1645M, the video output chip in the Saturn, is capable of outputting both NTSC and PAL signals. The problem is in instructing the mainboard to run at the correct field rate desired by the game. If you play a NTSC game on a PAL console and the game is not programmed to notice what kind of console you're on, there are two effects: first, the game's screen is squashed because the 525 lines fit on a narrower portion of the screen, and second, the game runs about 17 percent slower _if_ the game's timing depends on events that happen at a specified rate compared to the frame. (Or if its timing depends on the current, but it probably won't, because part of Japan is 50 hertz but 60 fields per second.) The opposite happens in reverse: the screen is stretched out (and probably rolls badly) and the game is too fast. You can correct this problem by building a 50/60Hz Switch. Some Saturn software will run just fine regardless of whether you're using an NTSC or PAL console. Chris Foulger has provided a list of what works, and what doesn't. "In response to posts about PAL Saturn games running on NTSC Saturns I have made a quick list of the effects this has on some titles. I have a Saturn with a PAL/NTSC switch so this is how I have got these results. The 3 columns relate to picture overscan, glitching (polygon dropout, games not loading or other effects) and if the game has been modified to play on a PAL Saturn whether the game runs too fast on an NTSC Saturn. I made this list mostly from memory so please be aware that there may be some errors. As a rough rule I would say that SEGA released 3D titles tended to get a PAL enhancement and 2D sprite based games usually received no changes." TITLE - OVERSCAN - GLITCHES - TOO FAST -------------------------------------- Amok N N N Athlete Kings Y N N Baku Baku Animal N N N Bubble Bobble N N N Burning Rangers N Y N Christmas Nights N N N Croc N N N Clockwork Knight N N N Dark Savior N N N Daytona CCE Y N N Daytona USA N N N Deep Fear Y N N Die Hard Arcade Y N N DOOM N N N Duke Nukem Y N N Enemy Zero N Y N Exhumed N N N Fighters Megamix Y N Y Fighting Vipers Y N N Formula Carts Y Y N Guardian Heroes N N N Gun Griffon N N N Highway 2000 N N N House of the Dead Y N N Jurassic Park 2 N N N Kieo Flying Squadron 2 N N N The King of Boxing N N N King of Fighters 95 N N N Last Bronx Y Y N Manx TT Superbike N N N Marvel Super Heroes N N N NBA Action 98 N N N NiGHTS N N N Parodius N N N Pandemonium N N N Panzer Dragoon Y N N Panzer Dragoon Saga Y Y N Panzer Dragoon Zwie Y N N Puzzle Figher 2 Turbo Y N N Quake Y N N Resident Evil N N N Riven: The Sequel to Myst N N N Saturn Bomberman N N N Sega Ages N N Y Segal Rally Y N Y Shining Force 3 N N N Sonic Jam (Sonic World Section) Y Y N Sonic 3D (3D Bonus Stage) Y Y WILL NOT LOAD Sonic R N N N Street Racer Y N N Steep Slope Sliders N N N Story of Thor 2 N N N Street Fighter Alpha N N Y Street Fighter Alpha 2 N N N Street Fighter Collection N N N Theme Park N N N Tomb Raider Y N N Toshinden S N N N Touring Car Y Y N Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 N N N Vampire Hunter N N N Virtua Cop Y N Y Virtua Cop 2 Y N Y Virtua Fighter Y N N Virtua Fighter 2 Y N Y Virtua Fighter Kids Y N Y Virtual On Y N N Wing Arms N N N Winter Heat N N N Wipeout N N N Wipeout 2097 N N N X-MEN Children of the Atom N N N Of course, the easiest thing to do would be to get NTSC equipment if you wish to play US or Japanese games, and PAL equipment if you want to play PAL games. However, then you would need to buy a power converter, and it can be a pain in the ass....or "arse", depending on who's reading this. "^_^" ----------------------------------------------- 9.4 How do I build a 50/60Hz (PAL/NTSC) switch? ----------------------------------------------- Information is provided on Tony's Sega Saturn page. His dual DPDT switch mod also does the country modification at the same time. One of these days I'll provide detailed instructions on building a PAL/NTSC switch here (hopefully). http://www.trsoft.demon.co.uk/satmod.htm ------------------------------------------------------ 9.5 What exactly is a MOD switch or a language switch? ------------------------------------------------------ A MOD Switch or a language switch (it can referred to as both) is quite simply a modification to your Saturn that will allow you to play games designed for one region on a system originally designed for play in another region. Each Saturn CD contain a region code (similar to region coding for DVD players). It, in effect, configues the Saturn's mainboard to run in either a Japanese, US, or European configuration. The reason why it's sometimes called a language switch harkens back to the days when Sega used to include dual language ROMs in their games. I've been told that this applies to certain Saturn games like Die Hard Arcade/Dynamite Dekka. If you play Die Hard Arcade on a Japanese Saturn or a US Saturn switched to masquerade as one, but use a Gameshark to boot the game, what you get will be Dynamite Dekka, complete with the original Japanese text. Don't get excited though, as this doesn't pertain to any RPGs, so you won't get full translated text in many of your games. The modification usually consists of a single DPDT switch that can be toggled between US and Japanese software. This is arguably that best (certainly most permanent) way to play imports if you are a serious gamer. Assuming you have all the tools and equipment, the MOD will also cost you only about $4 for a single DPDT switch and wiring. This should *NOT* be confused with a MOD Chip, which is different (see next question). The switch does *NOT* allow to to play CDRs, pirated software, or software developed for different television standards like PAL and NTSC. The modification can be performed on virtually any Saturn, although the procedure for each system is slightly different, and the jumpers that you need to solder wires to are located on different places on the bottom of the motherboard, depending on model. Also, performing the modification will, of course, void your warranty. If you'd like to do this modification yourself, see the next question. The video game importer NCS will also perform the modification via mail order for $35 if you don't want to do it yourself (that price by the way, includes return postage, but you still have to send the system yourself and pay for the outgoing postage). Customer satisfaction with this service has been very high. You can visit the NCS homepage at: http://www.ncsx.com/ ...or refer to the "Contact Information" towards the end of this FAQ. ---------------------------------------- 9.6 How can I install a language switch? ---------------------------------------- By far, Jerry Lynds & Kirk Patten have provided the most reliable method for installing a language switch on your Saturn. This information only pertains to Japanese and US systems however, and have not been confirmed to work with PAL equipment. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * For the modification of the Saturn, you will need: * Phillips Screwdriver, Standard Size * Phillips Screwdriver, Small * Flatblade Screwdriver, Small * Sidecutters * Pencil Tipped 15 Watt Solder iron * (1) DPDT Switch, Small * ~8" 6 strand ribbon cable, or 6 pcs 8" wire * Needlenose Pliers with Bent Tip * X-Acto or other sharp knife * Drill In its most basic sense the modification consists of hooking a DPDT switch up across two pairs of two jumpers to allow you to alternate between two jumper configurations conveniently. Currently, I am aware of four versions of the Sega Saturn Hardware that are for sale. This document details performing the modification for each of these versions of hardware. There do exist other versions of this hardware (ex: the White Saturn), but they do not differ signifigantly relating to the modification. ___________ Disassembly Before modifying any of the three hardware configurations, it is necessary to completely disassemble your Sega Saturn unit. The jumpers will be located on the main PC board, and in order to access them you will have to remove this board from the unit. In all three versions of the hardware, this is located at the very bottom of the case. I have found it helpful to lay out the parts on a towel or some such to facilitate easy re-assembly. Be careful when disconnecting wires and ribbon cables, they are fragile. Note that on the newer versions of the Saturn, you will have to lift the CD drive off its mounting posts, and remove a small phillips screw holding the CD grounding strip to the metal shielding. If you do not do this, you will be unable to lift the drive, shield, or main PC board from the case. Take your time disassembling the unit. There is nothing very difficult, but some components are easily damaged, and it will be easier to re-assemble if you take care to remember where the components are located. It is not necessary to remove the battery from the PC board to perform the mod, but it is a wise precaution. If you do remove the battery, your saved data will all be lost. ______________ Wiring the Mod The 6 posts of the DPDT switch will be referred to as A-F, as below. B and E will be the center terminal designations in this document. An X signifies that the connection point will not be used in the modification. Simply connect the corresponding letters on the switch to the corresponding letters on the main PC board for the version of your hardware. DPDT Switch Left Right A D B E C F ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1 JP# LeftRight JP11 F E JP10 D X JP7 A X JP6 C B This version of the mod is for the original version of the Saturn. This hardware version will have the MPEG daughter board, and the power connector will not have any notches in it. The jumpers are located in one bank on the bottom of the main PC board. There will be two small traces on the circuit board shorting JP6 and JP11, or JP7 and JP10. You will have to physically cut these traces before you wire for the switch to function properly. The common posts of JP10 & JP11 and JP6 & JP7 are on the right side in both instances. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 2 JP# LeftRight JP11 X A JP10 B C JP# LeftRight JP# Left Right JP6 D X JP7 F E In this version the power cord is notched. This version was manufactured from approximately 8/95 - 3/96. You will have to remove two small components from either JP7 and JP10 or JP6 and JP11. They are unimportant and serve merely to short the jumpers that establish the world area in which your machine is designed to operate. JP10 & JP11 are located on the top of the main motherboard near the center in the configuration shown above. JP6 & JP7 are on the bottom in a side by side configuration like in the table above. The common post of JP6 & JP7 is on the right, while the common post of JP10 & JP11 is on the left. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 3 JP# LeftRight JP6 X A JP7 B C JP# LeftRight JP11 D X JP10 F E In this version the power cord is notched. This version was manufactured from around 3/96 - 7/96. You will have to remove two small components from either JP7 and JP10 or JP6 and JP11. They are unimportant and serve merely to short the jumpers that establish the world area in which your machine is designed to operate. In this version of the hardware, the jumpers are all grouped together on the bottom of the board. The common post of JP6 & JP7 is on the left, while JP10 & JP11 is on the right. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 4 JP# LeftRight JP# Left Right JP6 A X JP7 B C JP# LeftRight JP# Left Right JP10 F E JP11 X D In this version the power cord is notched. This version was manufactured starting 7/96, it is the second version that does not have a drive light. You will have to remove two small components from either JP7 and JP10 or JP6 and JP11. They are unimportant and serve merely to short the jumpers that establish the world area in which your machine is designed to operate. In this version of the hardware, the jumpers are all grouped together on the bottom right of the board. The common post of JP6 & JP7 is on the right, while JP10 & JP11 is on the left. ___________ Re-assembly In all four versions, you should be able to feed the connecting wires from under the main PC board to a location near the reset switch. You should be able to re-assemble the machine with the top not screwed down and the switch hanging on the outside to test it. When you are ready to finalize the mod, there is ample room to drill a hole in the top of the case to the right of the reset switch. In all four versions of the hardware, there should be room inside the case for a regular microswitch in this area. ________________ Additional Notes Again, if you do not understand part of this document, then it is not a good idea to utilize any of the information contained herein. I do not intend to answer questions about this from now until the end of time, so only do this mod if you understand this document as it stands. I will not answer questions about this unless I feel like it. You should not have to cut or change any part of your machine except the jumpers, and drilling a hole for the switch. You can even avoid drilling the hole to mount the switch if you make the connecting wires long enough to feed the switch out the battery access door in the rear of the unit. [John's note:] You can also cut a square hole in the battery door and mount the switch there. The plastic is very soft and easy to work with and it holds the switch nicely. --- On the other hand, U.K. Saturn owners may find Tony Ross's guide more informative, as he takes PAL modifications into consideration at the same time. You can view that particular procedure here: http://www.trsoft.demon.co.uk/satmod.htm ----------------------------------------------------- 9.7 Can I play CDR discs (copied games) on my Saturn? ----------------------------------------------------- Not without a MOD, a special cartridge, or an official Sega boot disc. The Saturn has a security lockout code on each disc that the Saturn must read in an effort to discourage piracy. Adam Pavlaka writes: "For playing CDRs on a Saturn there is always the "official" way - use one of two system boot discs. Sega had a 1st party disc (which was used to boot Sega games on CDR) and a 3rd party disc (which was used to boot 3rd party games on CDR). These were used by developers and press to test games on the Saturn." No, I do NOT know where you can get these. Please don't e-mail me about them. ----------------------- 9.8 What is a MOD Chip? ----------------------- A MOD chip is a little dubious. Japanese, US, and UK software contain lockout codes that prevent and discourage illegal copying of CDs. This lockout code should not be confused with the regional recognition codes of above. When you copy a CD, the CD Burner will not copy this code, so whenever you put a copied CD in your Saturn regardless of whether or not it's an import or domestic game, you won't be able to play it. The Saturn will assume that in the absence of that lockout keycode the disc is unsuitable to play. The MOD chip is designed to overcome this by fitting in between the drive ribbon cable, and the drive itself, and allow you to play copied games. Naturally, we would hope that the only reason why you'd want to play copied software is for backup purposes. >=) MOD chips can also be purchased cheaply in Hong Kong, or so I'm told. Bear in mind, MODing is much trickier then a language switch, and the 21 pin MOD chips that are sold don't work in every system. If you have an older Saturn with oval buttons, the MOD *may* not work (see "Saturn Models") since those require 20 pin MOD chips. The only way to be sure is to count the number of pins. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.9 Is there a single "one-time" modification that will allow me to play imports *AND* CDRs without the use of a cartridge? ------------------------------------------------------------------- There used to be. Game World USA sold a MOD BOARD for the Sega Saturn. The Sega Saturn Mod Board allowed gamers to play US Import AND CDR back up games. A feat which no other mod has been able to match before or since. Unfortunately, Game World USA went out of business before this FAQ could be posted, and the board itself is no longer manufactured. If anybody offers something similar, or has the specs for this thing, please let me know. ------------------------------------------ 9.10 What's this about rewriting the BIOS? ------------------------------------------ Joe Doucette writes: A friend and I looked into that. Having presumably found the location(s) that does the CD authentication we came up with a modified BIOS image to try out. (Could do all sorts of goofy things to the bootup sequence -- make it not see cartridges, make it not see CD's, combinations etc.. The development kit/documentation was very helpful looking for entry points etc. ;) Couldn't find any EEPROMS anywhere NEAR the right size/shape to fit where the original BIOS went. (Plus..it's surface mount. OUCH! Could create an interconnect to a standard socket on the board, but then it'd be too thick for the cover et al to fit on properly. He finally designed a LOT (a couple games worth, IIRC) of AR+ codes to do the modification. (It was a multistage code patch, copying parts of the rom into spare RAM locations, modifying the RAM, and pretending that was the BIOS. No go. Finally, looking through datasheets, I noticed that the processor on the CD drive itself has like 32k of ROM on it. That is most likely impossible to dump, and would require MAJOR effort to replace. (i.e. redesign CD controller circuit board..) So it may not necessarily even be POSSIBLE to make a BIOS replacement mod by just replacing the main BIOS -- it may be codependent on the ROM in the CD drive CPU. (An emulator with debugging utilities would help greatly here to figure out if this is the case. :) ) Note that I had seen a web page where someone had claimed to have patched his ROM on his Saturn..had some comment to the effect of "If you can't figure out how to do it, you don't deserve to know.". Seemed to brush it off as easy. At least a LOT easier then it really was.. So..I think the way the mod chips work is just intercept calls to the drive to read the security track and chessily return the security track, so the drive is never the wiser that you even wanted to look at it. (All in all, kudos to Sega for an EXCELLENT copy protection scheme..If they combined circuit boards with the CD unit instead of using ribbon cables, we might not have ever seen mod boards for the Saturn..) Now..here's the interesting bit..From reading around, it might be possible to use 2 cdr drives to burn "normal" looking Saturn CD's. One drive would need it's firmware replaced to command it to go to position X and write the security track data. This process would probably prevent it from ever burning a normal CD again, but you could churn out a bunch of CD's with security tracks on them. Then take those to a "normal" CDR and copy the game over. So..basically... if you're willing to put several months of development/engineering time into it, there are (probably) other ways to play CDR's. It's very much not worth the effort, though. ------------------------------- 9.11 What about "Disc Swapping"? ------------------------------- Disc swapping is a risky proposition, and should be discouraged. It involves opening the lid to the drive while it is running so that you can swap out the game after it checks and confirms the code on the first game. Doing this repeatedly can damage your drive electronics, and it doesn't always work all the time. It also requires you to *short out* (!!!) the lid sensor on the CD drive, and you constantly have to swap, or play the entire game in one sitting (impossible for many RPGs). However, it is a last resort measure for playing imports or CDRs. From the Saturn MOD FAQ by The Axledental DJ : "Either manually, or with the Super Strong Card 2.0, you can do the infamous "swap trick" to play all foreign games on your Saturn. What you do is short / disconnect the lid sensor, so you can have access to the disc while the Saturn reads it. Put in an American game, let it load, then immediately after the black SEGA logo, pop the other disc in. If you did it at the right time and quick enough, you can play the other game." "The main problem is this, the Saturn also reads the American game's TOC, Table Of Contents, which has the length of each track. The other game you swapped may have a totally different TOC, so the music might dropout, and (most likely)the game will freeze or glitch. On top of all that, it's difficult to do, and swapping will eventually cause damage to your Saturn's drive motor. Playstation owners have this exact same problem too." ----------------------------------------------------------- 9.12 What is the Sega Satellite, ST Key, and CDX converter? ----------------------------------------------------------- The Sega Satellite is a cheap 3rd party cartridge manufactured by E.M.S Industries Ldt. of Hong Kong. It allows you to play import games (USA, Japanese and European) without a switch. The Cartridge is *ONLY* a converter cartridge and lacks the ability to save games, or act as a RAM cart like the Action Replay 4 in 1 or 5 in 1. It also does nothing for CDRs. It's a plain looking white or blue cartridge with a sticker that says Sega Satellite, and can be purchased in various places for around $20. I do not know how reliable they are. The ST-Key and the CDX converter do the same thing. The CDX was only sold in Europe as far as I can tell. --------------------------------------- 9.13 What is the Super Strong Card 2.0? --------------------------------------- This rather unique cartridge device slows down the Saturn's CD drive to better allow for disc swapping (see section 9.11). From the Saturn MOD FAQ by The Axledental DJ : "There is a rumor that some pirated HK games REQUIRE the Super Strong Card 2.0. It's totally false, just a rumor generated so dealers can unload those useless things that they have so much of. NO game requires any certain brand of converter to be played." ----------------------------------------------------------- 9.14 How can I use a Game Shark or Ineract Memory Card Plus to play imports? ----------------------------------------------------------- From Tyler V. Snow "You can also play imports using Interact's Game Shark accessory. Just press Start while holding down X+Y+Z when the Game Shark asks if you want to start the game with/without enhancements. Newer Game Sharks apparently let you just press Start without having to hold down X+Y+Z when it asks that question." With the Memory Card Plus, all you have to do is boot the Saturn as normal, and when you are booted to the CD Player screen, start the application. You will be able to play any game, regardless of what region it's from. Thanks goes to Terrence Huey for this info. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 9.15 What if I have a converter cartridge like the ST Key or Sega Satellite and I want to play a RAM cart game? ----------------------------------------------------------------- You're screwed. Well I hesitate to say, but that's not entirely true. There is a way to swap out the cartridge, and it's rather straightforward way at that. Simply pull out the converter and replace it with the RAM cart after the CD player screen says "Checking Disc" and the "Start Application" button appears. Suffice it to say, this is stupid as it can screw up your cartridge port. You should never insert or remove a cartridge while the system is running. You have been warned. If you think that the risk of screwing up your Saturn doesn't justify the cost of getting a switch installed, or getting a 4 in 1 cart then continue are your own peril. From the Saturn MOD FAQ by The Axledental DJ : "I have seen many Usenet posts about people who have damaged their Saturn by cart-swapping to play import games like KOF'95 and Real Bout. Despite what you might hear, cartridge swapping WILL damage your Saturn, maybe the cart port will no longer work, maybe no games will run, etc. No matter how much you like a game, Don't SWAP!! It's not worth one round of King of Fighters '95 (well, maybe =) to risk your $200 Saturn machine." -------------------------------------------------------------- 9.16 Will these methods allow me to play any game from another region? -------------------------------------------------------------- Assuming that the mod you choose will allow you to satisfy any extra peripheral requirements (such as RAM and memory carts), yes. However, reliable information from NCS tells us the Japanese version of the shooter known in the US as "In The Hunt" does *not* work on a US Saturn under any circumstances (switch, converter, etc.). ------------------- X. IMPORT QUESTIONS ------------------- -------------------------------------- 10.1 Why would I want to play imports? -------------------------------------- "Should I, or shouldn't I?" seems to be a dilemma among many Saturn fans. It's a big question, and many Saturn supporters have asked it in one form or another. The question of whether or not imports are for you rests upon how much of a gamer you actually are. Imports open up a whole new world of opportunity for the Saturn fan. If your into RPGs, anime games, or just more games period, then importing is something to definitely think about. Importing is also a bastion for staunch supporters of the Saturn who are displeased with the catalogues of other systems, or who simply believe that the Saturn import tiles can offer a higher level of enjoyment for them. This is not to say that you should limit yourself to just the Saturn, and you should realize that the difficulty level in acquiring imports and the ability to play them increases significant in many cases, as well as the money involved. You should decide whether or not the ends will justify the means in your case. Everybody is unique. The deciding factor should be made after through analysis of the import environment. Check magazines, post to USENET, visit some of the websites listed at the bottom of this FAQ and see if anything interests you. -------------------------------------- 10.2 Where can I get Japanese imports? -------------------------------------- Please refer to section XIX. ------------------------------------- 10.3 What is the "Saturn Collection"? ------------------------------------- The Saturn Collection is a basically a series of re-releases in Japan, from Sega, on some of the more poplar Saturn titles. These were sold at a flat 2,800 Yen price. This program was extended to third party titles as well. The following list is provided by the Sega of Japan website, and is translated courtesy of Terrence Huey. Current Saturn Collection (SATAKORE) titles (as of 3/11/99): RPG: Terra Fantastica Dragon Force Langrisser III Langrisser IV Albert's Oddysey Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner Sword & Sorcery Falcom Classics Princess Crown Action: Sonic Jam Dynamite Deka(Die Hard Arcade) NiGHTS K-1 Fighting Illusion Saturn Bomberman Dragon Ball Z Dragon Ball Legends Gundam Silhouette Mirage Rockman X4 Rockman 8 Fighting: Virtua Fighter 2 All Japan Pro Wrestling Featuring Virtua Street Fighter Zero 2 Sports/Drive: Sega Ralley DEKA Street Fire Pro Wrestling 6 Men Scramble Steep Slope Sliders J-League Pro Soccer Club wo Tsukurou! 2 Pro Baseball Greatest Hits '98 Choro Q Park Shooting: Bulk Slash Metal Black Gun Griffon Layer Section Do Donpachi ThunderForce V The House of the Dead Simulation: Command & Conquer Advanced World War Sea Bass Fishing 2 Sankyo Fever Simulation S Princess Maker 2 The KONBINII~Ano Machi wo Dokusen se yo~ Chaos Seed Adventure: Sakura Taisen Tomb Raider D Enemy Zero Puzzle: Puyo Puyo Sun Puzzle Battle 2 X Jookai Banri no Choujou(Great Wall of China) Baku Baku Animal World Puyo Puyo Tetris S Magical Drop 3 Table: Tou Tarou Doochuuki Kochira ?ShokuKuKiYuu Kooen ZenHa Shussho: Nakagawa Land Dai REESU! no Kan Honkaku Pro Majhong Tetsu? Special Gyuwanburaa Jiko Shin-ha Tokyo Majong Land Pro Mahjong Kyoku S DX Jinsei Game KARUDOSEPUTO/Culdcept Side Pocket 3 TEKUSUTOOTO RUDO ~ARUKANA Senki~ Variety: Koden Koosetsu Jutsu Hyaku Monogatari ~Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi 2-do Rukoto wa SANDOAARU Techno Motor ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.4 What Saturn games have files designed to be used by a personal computer ("Omake" Directory)? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Some Sega Saturn imports (And even a few domestic games) will have a directory titled "Omake" somewhere on the disc. Sega Saturn CDs are formatted in standard ISO-9660, and can thus be read by most computer CD-ROM drives. These "Omake" directories usually contain pictures, text (of various subject matter), and sometimes even Screen Savers. Other Saturn games will just mix these files into the root directory of the CD. "Omake" loosely translated into english means: "Extra" or "Bonus". Sometimes it's also translated as "A gift for you". I'd like to get a list of these games, so if somebody wants to send in submissions of games that have these, I'd be grateful. Games that have Omake directories --------------------------------- Castlevania: Dracula X (also .pcm music - unknown format) Enemy Zero (BMP Dir) Falcom Classics II (.bmp and .mp3 files in separte Dirs) Langrisser IV (multiple .jpg images and .scr format screensaver) NiGHTS Without Seperate Directories (mixed in with the regular data): -------------------------------------------------------------- Pocket Fighter (screen saver - .scr format) Shining Wisdom (.bmp files - unknown format) Puyo Puyo Two (.aif sound files) Enemy Zero - all discs (.aif sound files) Dark Savior - .HTM file - Climax's Company info & Link (Japanese) ------------------- 10.5 What is Anime? ------------------- From the now defunct rec.games.video.* FAQ previously maintained by Ken Arromdee: "Anime refers to Japanese animation. It's often better done, less censored, and aimed towards an older audience than, American animation. (Cautionary note: some American fans go overboard in thinking anime adult; a lot of series popular in America _are_ aimed at children or teenagers.) In the past, lots of anime was hacked up and changed for the US market (Speed Racer, Star Blazers, Robotech), but in the last few years new companies have released unedited anime with better translations. The connection with video games is that many Japanese video games are anime-based or have anime-style art, and moreover such games are often either not ported or drastically changed for American release because of supposed lack of interest in anime. Also, much anime is made _from_ video games; the Fatal Fury, Samurai Spirits (Samurai Shodown), and Street Fighter II anime are available in America. (The US TV series, however, of SF2 is not anime.)" The Saturn has a vast number of anime based or anime themed games in Japan. Precious few of these were released outside of Japan though. -------------------- 10.6 What is Hentai? -------------------- Hentai is often in reference to sexually explicit or suggestive anime. I bring this up only because there are a number of hentai games available for the Saturn in Japan. *NONE* of these have been ported for the US Saturn. The amount of hentai on the Japanese Saturn is greatly exaggerated however. ^_^ Hentai games on the Saturn basically pale in comparison to their PC counterparts (usually for the Japanese Windows 95) and have been censored. Nevertheless, there are nearly 50 hentai titles available for the Saturn, accounting for about 15% of all titles (figure is a rough estimate, and does not count illegitimate, pirated, or non-licensed games). A lot of the material in the Saturn versions of many hentai games are simply suggestive (ie. underwear, but little nudity) or implied sexual encounters with strategically choreographed fadeouts. "^_^;" While character interaction is normally the focus of many of these games, the artwork is usually very nice, and i've been told that the company ELF produces hentai games that are very well written (as far as plot is concerned). Note: "Puppy Love" simulations like Tokimeki Memorial, Sakura Taisen, Roommate, etc., should *NOT* be confused for hentai. Trying to hit on cute anime chics does not automatically imply the existence of mature themes. =P~ ------------------------------------------------------- 10.7 Can you explain the Japanese rating system please? ------------------------------------------------------- The Japanese rating system is really quite simple. On many Saturn games you will see a little colored box (usually on the front of the manual through the jewlcase), with Kanji in the center. The rating system breaks down as follows: Green: Suitable for all ages. Yellow: Some adult situations Red: Adult situations & nudity There's also a blue colored box, but it states the same as the green box. Raymond McKeithen II writes: "Many early Saturn adult games were what's usually referred to as "redlabel" (there is a red rating symbol that says "X18" and some other stuff on them). These allowed nudity to be shown, but that's about as far as it goes in what you actually could see (in other words, red-label equaled about PG-13 for US movie standards). Around Oct. 1996 (think that's the right date) these were disallowed and we were left with "yellow label" in which nudity was not allowed but the games still contain "adult situations" (I'd say, in general, nothing you can't see on daytime soap operas or something like Melrose Place)." A variant of this system was also imposed for Dreamcast games, although it's more of a bar instead of a box, and is located on the back of the jewlcase insert. ------------------------------------ XI. MISCELLANEOUS HARDWARE QUESTIONS ------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.1 Can I build a custom joystick for my Saturn (controller pinouts)? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sure, but know the joystick port appears to be of a proprietary design. Building a connector may prove difficult. Little has been written about the Saturn control pad other than it uses two TC74HC153A controller chips. Here is some pinout information I've managed to scrounge up. Joystick pinouts: # Name 1 GND 2 d2 (in) 3 d3 (in) 4 Vcc(5V) 5 s1 6 s0 7 d0 8 d1 9 Vcc(5V) Some people have provided instructions for modifying an arcade control stick to work on a Saturn. It involves using some wiring from a cannibalized Saturn controller. It might be a good starting point. http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/misc/file/arcade_joystick.txt --------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.2 Is there anyway I can use a better/faster CD drive in my Saturn? -------------------------------------------------------------------- I've often heard wild questions to the effect of "Wouldn't it be cool to stick a Quad-Speed CD-ROM drive in my Saturn?". The truth is, I honestly don't know if it'd work. I err on the side of caution when I say it probably wouldn't. The CD drives controller chip may have trouble negotiating with a different *model* drive, much less a faster one, and most Saturn software is only designed to be run at 2X. Sorry. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.3 What's the port marked "Communication Connection" on the back of my Saturn? --------------------------------------------------------------------- That's the high speed serial port listed in the specs. Technically it can be used for any number of things, but only a handful of devices actually ever used it. 1. Link Cable 2. Floppy Disk Drive and 3. MIDI Keyboard There may be more. All three peripherals are Japan-only, although the port was included on all models of the Saturn. The link cable works fine with US and UK Saturns, although I'm not sure about the other two. -------------------------------------------------------- 11.4 How does the link cable work and what games use it? -------------------------------------------------------- The link cable hooked two Saturns together for head to head play. Each Saturn was in turn hooked to its own television set or monitor. You also needed two copies of the same game. In this respect, the link cable was reminiscent of the "Jag Link" used by the Atari Jaguar. One link cable was manufactured by "Custom-built". The catalog number is FTN-6500. There might be other models. Games that used link cables (not necessarily complete): Doom (unconfirmed, and does not work with European copies) Gebockers Gun Griffon 2 Hexen (accessed through debug menu) Steeldom Raymond McKeithen II writes: "AFAIK the Sega cables were never sold separately but were just packed in with the above games. GG2 and Steeldom came both ways, Gebockers, being the first game, I think always came with the cable. There are 3rd party link cables that apparently don't work right and don't work with all the games." "One of the US FPS games (Doom, Duke Nukem, something) I think has a hidden option for linkmode that may or may not work well. Since there's no US linkcable they didn't document it, perhaps they didn't finish it either? I've only read about this on newsgroup posts." Robin Whittleton writes: "Other link cable games are Doom (couldn't get this to work with two European copies) and Hexen (apparently v. buggy and only available from the debug menu)." -------------------------------------- 11.5 What about the floppy disk drive? -------------------------------------- Raymond McKeithen II writes: "The floppy disk drive is a rare animal it seems, and it's not even listed on the peripheral sheet that came in late Saturns though it was listed earlier. I can't *prove* it came out, but it is shown in some magazines I have, and Japanese Panzer Dragoon Saga supports it directly, as does Dezaemon 2, the shooter construction kit. I forget the exact size, but a single save file of Dezaemon 2 takes most of a memory cartridge (and obviously can't save to the Saturn's internal memory)." Joe Doucette writes: "One other thing regarding the floppy drive. It might not have been on external peripheral lists, but it was in the dev kit info. In fact, it even looked like anyone who used Sega's libraries (they're in the BIOS) to writesavegames could have supported the floppy drive. They might have intentionally not done that, given that it would have been impossible to test without the drive, but the save libraries do support removable storage to some extent. (Internally, it supports selecting partitions,directories, etc.)" ------------------------------ 11.6 ...and the MIDI keyboard? ------------------------------ Not much is known about this peripheral, except that it plugged into the communication port, and was used in conjunction with the "Saturn Music School" game developed by Waka. ----------------------------------- 11.7 Can you "soft reset" a Saturn? ----------------------------------- Yes. Hold A B and C, and then press start while still holding the buttons. The game software will reset, usually to the title screen. Pressing the buttons again will result in the system rebooting to the CD player. This may not work in all games, but it works in all the games I've tried, and I'm begging to think its coded into the hardware. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.8 Is there any way to get Saturn software to always play in mono so don't have to keep entering it in the game's option menu? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes. Most Saturn software will check your systems settings to determine if you have your Saturn set to output mono or stereo. You can change the setting by going to "Other Options" in the system settings main menu, and then select either mono or stereo depending on what you want. ---------------------------------------------------- XII. ACCESSORIES, PERIPHERALS, AND REPLACEMENT ITEMS ---------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 12.1 What optional controllers are available for the Saturn? ------------------------------------------------------------ The following information reflects products that are (at the time this FAQ was written) available in the US and elsewhere. Please mail any corrections to me. Please check with the company to ensure availability and current price. Also, many of the information here is taken directly from the manufacturer. None of the FAQ authors are endorsing ANY of these sticks. What follows are NOT reviews. This list is also...you guessed it...incomplete! - Bomberman Joypad (JAP) | Hudson | HC-735 Boasting a rate of setting down 26 bombs in sequence with the quickness when fully powered up, this joypad is the perfect weapon for the Bomberman otaku who plays the game religiously. Pad design is similar to the original, slim-style Sega pads with the likeness of a Bomberman figure in the top-center of the pad [Info courtesy of NCS] - Cobra Light Gun Compatible for use with both the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation, auto bullet reload with programmable number of bullets from 1-15. It has variable speed rapid fire, rapid fire + auto bullet reload combination, a red LED shooting effect on both sides during play and a single cable with dual end plug that simplifies hookup to both systems. - Densha de Go! Controller (JAP) | Taito | TC-5175290 The Saturn gets it's own special Densha device in the form of the original train conductor controller design with swivel lever and gear shift knob. Colored light grey and perfect for use with the Saturn Densha de Go! EX game. [Info courtesy of NCS] - Eclipse Pad | STD/Interact* 8 fire buttons, slow motion, LED display panel, programmable with extra long cord. - Eclipse Stick | STD/Interact | SV-462A 8 Fire buttons, Independent auto-fire control, Programmable synchro-fire, Slow motion, LED display panel, Durable metal base, and an extra long cord. Often criticized as being the worst of the three arcade sticks in terms of construction. - Grip X Controller | ASCII | Single handed jogging controller that is perfect for RPGs. The entire controller fits in your grip and the buttons are arranged around the directional pad for easy access to all buttons. [Info courtesy of NCS] - Naki Lightgun | Naki No data. Looks like a purple .357 Magnum revolver though. - Psychopad JR Gamepad Unleash HYPER programmable mayhem in your favorite fighting and action games. With HYPER programmable 10 in 1 technology, Psychopad JR delivers up to 10 moves with a push of a button. Check out these features: 12 HYPER Programmable buttons, 4 user defined macros, game default setting, pause and continuous motion control and stay in play programmability. - Strike Pad | nYko Technologies Original factory design layout, six front fire buttons, tip mounted L & R buttons, an eight way directional pad and a 6 foot cord. - Super Pad 8 | Interact* Features auto-fire, simulated slow motion, eight way direction pad, six fire buttons, and an extra-long cord. It carries a suggested a suggested retail price of $14.99. - Virtual Gun Machine Gun fire power! Most Advanced technology! Don't settle for less. The Virtual Gun out guns the competition with features such as the Machine Gun mode that combines auto-fire and auto-reloading. Three speeds of autofire or single fire action. Auto-reload up to 15 shots or reload manually. Manual reload button. Special button f or launching other game weapons and an exciting LED shooting effect! ---- * NOTE: Slow motion on the Eclipse Pad and Super Pad 8 is achieved by pressing the pause button rapidly. Therefore the screen may flicker when these pads are used. -------------------------------------------------------- 12.2 Can I extend the cord length of my Saturn controls? -------------------------------------------------------- Yes. Interact manufactured and sold a 6 foot cord extension as part of their Performance product line. It plugs in between the Saturn and whatever control device you are using. Finding it is the difficult part. http://www.videogamedepot.com/ sells them for $5. You can try E-bay or the newsgroups to see if anybody else is selling them. Mad Catz manufactured a similar cable that was 7 feet long. You can purchase these at Video Game Depot as well. In the UK there's the X-tender cable, which adds an additional 1.5 meters to your Saturn control pad. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 12.3 What's the difference between the new and old Saturn control pads? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Sega manufactured two different standard control pads for the US and UK markets. The first of these pads (MK-80100) were packaged with the older model Saturns (those with oval buttons). The controllers were larger, had a different button design and featured sunken L & R buttons. The second ones (MK-80116) were packaged with newer model Saturns (with round buttons), and more in line with the Japanese controllers. Most people who have used both controllers prefer the durability and feel of the newer, "Japanese-style" model. Surprisingly, there were also two different Japanese control pads, although its harder to tell the difference compared to the US models. Raymond McKeithen explains: "I'm aware of two primary versions of the [Japanese] controller. They look the same (not talking about the early crap US controller). They are also all numbered HSS-0101. However, internally they are completely different. Saturn controllers have a "plus-sign" shaped piece of plastic inside the controller under the D-pad. The pad is raised above this and that's what gives the pad the "rocker" feel as opposed to the mushy feel of a Nintendo or PSX controller." 1) First version. Easily breakable within hours of play. This plastic piece *is* plastic, and has ridges in it in such a way that it adds to its fragility. I don't use pads at all, and a friend broke this one day, the first time it was ever used. I had a second one that I'd made a joystick out of, I switched the housings, and that one broke quickly too. This version has a tan circuit board, and the primary chip on it is a regular"through-hole" IC with the markings sanded off. The board doesn't even say "Sega" on it, if I didn't know better I'd think it was a counterfeit (since one came with the system and the other was a separate controller it's near impossible, besides it still has the official plug that says Sega on it etc.). 2) Second version. Durable. Plastic piece is now nylon, and no longer has ridges. Circuit board is now green, says "Sega" on it, and uses surface mount chip. With some minor changes all controllers were still like this until the end. "The gray Japanese controllers that Toys R Us sold were the second version (ones I've seen anyway) so it must have been changed relatively quickly. The switches for L/R are different on the two versions too, they were softer on the first version and I think felt better. Parts between the two versions for the most part are not interchangable, most of the plastic parts have been altered in one (non-obvious) way or another. However, the nylon piece will fit in the old-style, so if there's some source for that part..." --------------------------------------------------- 12.4 What pads and games supported analog controls? --------------------------------------------------- Certain Saturn controllers featured analog directional controls, and quite a few games took advantage of this. Controllers: Sega Saturn 3D Control Pad* Sega Arcade Racer Sega Mission Stick * The Saturn 3D Control pad supports both analog (thumb pad) and digital (standard directional pad) control selectable via a two-way switch on the pad. None: Although many games will recognize an analog control pad, some can not decern between the different types. Daytona USA and Sega Rally will read the 3D pad as if it were an Arcade Racer, and the options screen will reflect this. Despite this disorienting flaw, you should have no trouble with a little work. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 12.5 What is the Sega Mission Stick, and what games supported it? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Phaedrus writes: "More or less. It's an analog stick, with the usual Saturn buttons (which can be flipped to the left or the right of the stick), as well as trigger buttons on the stick. Interestingly enough, there's an expansion connector on the bottom of the stick, as well as support for mounting something else on the opposite side of the stick from the button panel, so there's a possibility that someone could add a slide throttle/extra buttons/whatever at a later date." As far as anyone knows, no expansion accessory was ever developed for the Mission Stick. It was also one of the more expensive Saturn control peripherals. Because of design differences from the regular digital control pad, not all games will recognize the Mission Stick (ie. Thunderstrike 2). Furthermore, certain games such as Solar Eclipse will ignore custom button configurations you set. I'd like to get list of games that support/do not support/have problems with the Mission Stick. There have been rumors on r.g.v.s. that an undocumented feature in Panzer Dragoon II would allow a gamer to pair up two mission sticks for dual controls (one controlling your dragon, and the other your crosshairs). I have no found confirmation of this though... As with most Sega accessories, a white version was released in Japan. ----------------------------------------------------------- 12.6 What is the Saturn Mouse, and what games supported it? ----------------------------------------------------------- Sega released a four button (three mouse buttons plus a start button) mouse peripheral for the Saturn in Japan. The first model was gray in color with the second being white. They were both sold separately. White versions came packaged with the Limited Edition of Sakura Taisen, but these were no different than those models that were sold separately. In the US, a similar four button mouse was released for use with the Netlink system, except it was black. The US Mouse is compatible with the Japanese mouse. A UK release was planned for late '95, but I'm told it never reached stores. As of yet, I don't have a list of mouse compatible games, but I hope to have one in a future release. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 12.7 What multiplayer adapters are there, and what games support them? ---------------------------------------------------------------- A multiplayer adapter is a peripheral that plugs into one of your Saturn control ports, and acts as a junction box for more than two controllers to be used simultaneously through one port. Two muliplayer adapters exist for the Saturn. The first is the official Sega version which supports up to six controllers. This version WAS released in the US (MK-80102). The second, is a special licensed Hudson Soft adapter (HC-736) packaged with the Japanese Bomberman game and shaped like Bomberman's head. This version also supports up to six controllers, and was NOT released in the US. There are several multiplayer games designed to take advantage of these multiplayer adapters, and I'd imagine they're great to have around for parties. Games that supported multiple players (not complete): Blast Chamber (up to four players) Bomberman* (up to ten players) Bomberman Fight! (up to four players) Duke Nukem 3D** (up to six, maybe seven, players) Firepro Wrestling: Six Man Scramble (up to six players) Guardian Heroes (up to four players) Madden '98 (???) NBA Action '98 (???) NHL '98 (???) Powerslave (Exhumed in the UK)** (up to six players) Three Dirty Dwarfs (up to three players) Worldwide Soccer '98 (???) * Bomberman will work with Hudson Soft's own adaptor, or with the official Sega one. Only one level supports all 10 players, and you'll need two multitaps . However, the multitaps can NOT be linked together, so both control ports must be utilized. ** Powerslave has a hidden multiplayer game called "Death Tank", which supports the multitap. Duke Nukem 3D has the sequel, "Death Tank Zwei". Worms was a 1-16 player game, but it did NOT support the multitap. One controller was passed from player to player. True Pinball supports up to 8 players but in the same respects that Worms supports up to 16 (controller sharing). ------------------------------------------- 12.8 I lost my Saturn manual! Can you help? ------------------------------------------- Sega of America sold new Core System manuals for $3 plus S/H. They still might, so give them a call at 1-800-USA-SEGA. ------------------------------------- 12.9 ....but what about game manuals? ------------------------------------- You'd have to contact the individual company that makes the game. That's too much contact information to list here, but GameSages provides a handy reference guide at: http://sages.ign.com/features/developers/ This is assuming the companies can or will even provide this service anymore. -------------------------------- XIII. SOFTWARE RELATED QUESTIONS -------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- 13.1 How are Capcom conversions on the Saturn? ---------------------------------------------- To be completed. ----------------------------------------------- 13.2 How are Neo-Geo conversions on the Saturn? ----------------------------------------------- Short answer: Close, but not quite the Neo. Much better than the PSX. Long answer: The Saturn WILL seem inferior to an actual Neo-Geo system, but not because of anything relating to processing power. If you were to compare the Neo Geo CD to the Saturn and PSX, you would find the Neo-CD has 56 megabits (7 megabytes) of RAM, compared to the 16 megabits (2 megabytes) of RAM in the Saturn and Playstation. What this means is that Neo Geo conversions on either system may miss frames of animation, and probably experience added slowdown. The absence of load time with the Neo Geo cart system will obviously appeal to arcade purists as well. The Neo Geo cart system is also free of most memory constraints as it using the ROM contained inside the cartridge itself for storage and quick access to textures. A similar feature was used with the KOF '95 for the Saturn, which came with its own special ROM cart. The 1 megabyte RAM cart brings the Saturn's total RAM up to 24 megabits (3 megabytes), which allows for far smoother animation over PSX conversions. The difference can clearly be seen when playing PSX and Staurn Neo Geo conversions side by side. The number of animation frames are greater. Metal Slug on the PSX has to stop and swap out RAM data in mid-level! Unfortunately, when all is said and done, some of the larger Neo Geo games will still suffer. SNK never used the 4 megabit RAM cart as Capcom did, which is a shame, as the added 4 megabytes would have brought the Saturn very close to the Neo CD's full capabilities. Furthermore, there have been complaints about the clarity of sound effects in many of the Saturn Neo Geo ports. One thing the Saturn does surpass the Neo-CD in is loading time. The Saturn's CD drive has a faster access time than the 1X drive in the Neo-CD, and there have been reports that it is faster than the 2X in the CDZ as well. The Saturn also supports CD-XA which allows music to play as the system loads new data into RAM. The Neo-CD does not support CD-XA, which means that music playback must stop as the game loads between levels. All Neo Geo conversions were released in Japan only. None of these were censored, so you can play with all the blood and Mai's bounciness. Of course, when fighting censorship, it's not the content, but the principle behind it. ^^;; -------------------------------------------------- 13.3 What demo discs were released for the Saturn? -------------------------------------------------- Christopher Coleman has taken the time to compile a list of every Saturn demo disc (that we know of) released for the Sega Saturn. I have since added to this list. If you know more, please e-mail the FAQ maintainer or Chris directly. Special thanks is extended to: Chris Evans, Ryoni Schouten, Glen Varley, Clint Dyer, Robert Worne, Gloworm, Steve Wargo, Barry W Cantin, Bruce Tomlin, Glen Bussell, Rich Depping, Chris Foulger, Pat Strobel, and Adam Pavlacka. Also you may elect to check out Mr. Coleman's Demo CD gallery here: http://users.wantree.com.au/~coleman/updated/gallerynew.htm - Special Discs Section: ** Ferrari Demo This demo, although never released to the public (it was in-house only), was a FMV demo of a Ferrari racing through town that was made to show off the Saturn's prowess when it comes to FMV. ** In House Demos (seen so far: Virtua Cop 2, Virtua Fighter, Virtual Hydlide) These demo CDs were circulated internally to SoA, sent from SoJ to be used to showcase/preview titles, and/or to demonstrate progress made in the completion of development on a game, and are labelled "Work in progress" Examples can be seen at the above demo CD gallery. ** Trade Demos A few games were released as "trade demos." These discs are labeled as demo discs, but have the full game program on them. They shipped in simple blue and white Sega Saturn sleeves. Three that I know of are Time Warner's Virtua Racing, Last Gladiators Extreme Digital Pinball and the TNN 4x4 game. All the demos have the same disc ID as the release version. The main reason for these demos is that no licensing fee was charged to produce them. Cheaper for a developer to distribute review copies this way (or to give in-store play copies to retailers). This is also done with PSX games. ** Panzer Dragoon E3 Demo Don't have any information about this, but judging by the title it seems pretty clear what it was. - NTSC/American Demo CDs: ** Bootleg Samper Vol. 1 Playable: World Series Baseball, Sega Rally Championship, Clockwork Knight 2, Bug Video: Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, Mystaria, Wing Arms, NHL All Star Hockey, Panzer Dragoon, Daytona, "other games" (brief shots of Ghen War, Cyber Speedway, Virtua Fighter Remix, Black Fire, Astal, Mr Bones, Congo: The Movie, The Mansion of Hidden Souls) ** Bootleg Sampler Vol. 2 (Aka. Sega Screams Vol. 1) Playable: Virtual On, Daytona CCE, Bug Too!, Three Dirty Dwarves, Baku Baku Animal Video: Mr Bones, Sega Worldwide Soccer 97, Fighting Vipers, Virtua Cop 2, Dark Savior ** Bug! Sampler Contains a playable level from Bug. Came with the second run of Saturns in the USA. ** Choice Cuts A non-playable set of video sampler clips from the following games: Black Fire, Bug, Clockwork Knight, Myst, Panzer Dragoon, Solar Eclipse, Virtua Fighter, NHL All Star Hockey, Pebble Beach Golf, Worldwide Soccer, Daytona USA, VR Virtua Racing ** Christmas NiGHTS A playable level of NiGHTS with Christmas and winter-specific graphics added, along with other in-game extras. ** NiGHTS into Dreams Sampler Two playable levels from NiGHTS (one for Claris, and one from Eliot). Came with some new Saturn units. ** Panzer Dragoon Playable Preview A playable level from Panzer Dragoon. ** Rayman Sampler A playable level from Rayman, produced by Ubi Soft, "Rayman's Dream Forest". Contained a $5 coupon off on purchase of the full game (It expired on 5/1/96). - PAL/European Demo CDS ** Block Rocking Beats Audio CD - contains tracks from various games. From Saturn Power #3. ** Bootleg Sampler Vol 1 See the entry in the NTSC/American section. ** Christmas NiGHTS See the entry in the NTSC/American section. ** Eidos Sampler Contains playable levels of Tomb Raider, Blam Machinehead and Fighting Force ** Total Saturn #1 coverdisk Playable levels of Europe '96, Loaded and Actua Golf ** Saturn Power #2 coverdisk Playable levels of Reloaded, Hardcore 4x4 and Actua Soccer Club Edition ** Panzer Dragoon Playable demo of level 2 of Panzer Dragoon. Received when sending in console registration in the UK. ** Pinball Graffiti A playable table from Pinball Graffiti - "Circus Fantasia" ** Sega Flash Vol 1 Playable: Virtua Fighter 2, Baku Baku Animal, Golden Axe: The Duel, Panzer Dragoon 2 Zwei, Sega Rally Championship Video: UEFA Euro 96 England ** Sega Flash Vol 2 Playable: NiGHTS, Sega Worldwide Soccer 97, Athlete Kings, Panzer Dragoon 2 Zwei, Baku Baku Animal Video: "Demo Movie" - Virtua Fighter Kids, The Story of Thor 2, Three Dirty Dwarves, Exhumed This CD was also a pack-in with Australian Saturns. ** Sega Flash Vol 3 Playable: Daytona CCE, Virtual On, Tomb Raider, Worldwide Soccer97 Video: Bug Too!, Fighting Vipers, Virtua Cop 2, NiGHTS, Dark Savior, Mr Bones ** Sega Flash Vol 4 Playable: Sonic 3D, Die Hard Arcade, Virtual On Video: Manx TT, Fighters Megamix, Mass Destruction, Saturn Bomberman, Sky Target, Torico, Amok, Scorcher, Sega Ages 3 in 1 ** Sega Flash Vol 5 Playable: Sonic Jam, Sonic 3D, Sega Rally Championship, Die Hard Arcade Video: Last Bronx, Resident Evil, Dragon Force, WipeOut 2097, Duke Nukem 3D, Sega Touring Car, Enemy Zero ** Sega Flash Vol 6 Playable: Sega Touring Car, Steep Slope Sliders, World Wide Soccer 98 Video: Lost World, NBA Action 98, Sonic R, Enemy Zero (the intro), Panzer Dragoon Saga (the intro) ** Sega Flash Vol 7 Playable: World League Soccer, Steep Slope Sliders, Sega Touring Car Video: Burning Rangers, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Enemy Zero, Shining Force III, House of the Dead, Winter Heat, Sonic R, NBA Action 98 ** Sega Preview Vol 1 Playable: Alien Trilogy, Loaded, NHL Powerplay '96, Keio Flying Squadron 2 Video: Tomb Raider, Exhumed ** Total Saturn #2 coverdisk Playable demo of Impact Racing ** Victory Boxing Playable demo of JVC's Victory Boxing, was Saturn+ #1's cover disk. ** WipeOut 2097/Saturn Power 5 coverdisk A playable track from WipeOut 2097. From Saturn Power #5(?), a UK magazine. - NTSC/Japan Demo CDs ** Ma Jan Kyo Jidai/Ma Jan Kaigan Monogatari/Sekushi Aidoru Hen Translating to "Mah Jong Seaside Story - Sexy Idol Edition" (roughly), this is a playable demo of a rude mahjong game, more details unknown. ** Teikoku Kageki Dan Tai-in na Meibo This translates to "Imperial Radical Group Member Name List", but other than that, not a clue yet as to what the demo CD contains. A quote from the owner, Clint Dyer: "I have to say, though, that even after playing it and choosing everything, I have NO idea what the game is like. The disc didn't have anything playable (that I could find), but had character bios, interviews, etc." ** Silhouette Mirage Mentioned in a preview in the UK's Sega Saturn Magazine, this may be a press only demo, or a Japanese release one.. no other info available. ** Grandia There is a sampler/preview demo CD of Grandia available in Japan, but that's all the info available at the moment. ** House of the Dead There is a demo CD included in a special pack from Japan that includes Virtua Cop 1, Virtua Cop 2 and a black stunner as well. ** Sega Flash Vol 1 Playable: Darius Gaiden, Sega Rally Championship, Mobile Suit Gundam Video: Magical Drop, (some isometric Godzilla game?), Guardian Heroes ** Sega Flash Vol 9 Playable: Magical Drop 2, Steeldom (a bad Virtual On clone), Video: SNK Real Bout , Ogre Battle , Sakura Wars [NB: This demo CD wouldn't work with an analog controller in either port..a single screen with a giant exclamation mark and a bunch of Japanese text came up, and exited to the Saturn startup screen] ** Sega Flash Vol 10 Playable: Tryrush Deppy, Fist, Master of Monsters, Le Livre De Lulu Video: Riglord Saga 2, World Series Baseball 2 ** Tech Vol 1 Spring 1995 - Saturn Tsuukei (Total Saturn) Has an assortment of demos and FMV clips and other oddities: - graphics of ships, tanks and planes, possibly from a game - a playable demo of Side Pocket 2 - Interview clips with a Japanese woman (singer? actor? who knows) - Video clips of two different standup comedians' acts. - Screenshots from (a lot of) upcoming games - A couple cartoon strips (manga?) of Sir Polygon ** Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Collection demo disc. This disk contains CGI images of Virtua Fighter characters from the individual portrait collections. Each character had their own collection, with about 10-13 different hi-res pics and this disc contains 1 picture from each. --------------------------------------------------------------- 13.4 I'm having trouble in this one part in a certain game, can you help me? (Or: Do you have codes for this one game?) --------------------------------------------------------------- I can certainly point you toward those who can: http://www.gamefaqs.com/ is the ultimate archive of video game FAQs (you might already know this if you're reading this FAQ there). http://www.gamesages.com/ is the ultimate repository of game codes (including those for Game Shark). Please do NOT e-mail me requesting help with a certain Saturn game. These two sites can help you far better than I can. I'm a really lazy person that has to reprimand myself just to get this FAQ and other commitments done. Trust me. "^_^" --------------------------------- XIV. EMULATION / COMPUTER RELATED --------------------------------- ------------------------------------ 14.1 Are there any Saturn Emulators? ------------------------------------ Several Saturn emulators have been in development for a while now. All of them are very incomplete, and *none* of them currently run any games. All of these run on PCs, save for one Unix emulator. For more information, or if you wish to download any of these, I recommend you visit Zophar's Domain at: http://www.zophar.com/ - Satan was the very first "emulator", although it really nothing more than a CD header reader, and doesn't really emulate anything. Development was discontinued at version 0.1a. Satan ran on Windows 95. - UltraSat is another CD header reader, and can only read the copyright information from 15 games. This is a DOS program which was discontinued at version 0.04. - SSEmu was the first emulator to emulate some of the instruction sets. It only emulates the Saturn control unit however, and nothing else. This project has been discontinued at version 0.7a, although the author is willing to sell his research documentation to interested parties. For Windows 9x platform. Homepage: http://www.zianet.com/marshallg/ssemu/ - A-Saturn seems to be the one most along in development. It currently emulates 99% of the main SH2 processors, 96% of the 680MC00, and considerably less of the other chips. A-Saturn runs on Windows 9x and DOS, and requires Direct X 6.1 or higher. This emulator is still being developed. Homepage: http://www.emuunlim.com/A-Saturn/ - Lucifer (previously Sat'On'Em) is closer to where A-Saturn is. It can currently emulate 89% of the CPU core. It is a Windows 9x emulator, and is still in development. Homepage: http://www.emuunlim.com/Lucifer/ - Semu is the only UNIX/Linux emulator for the Saturn in development. Currently very incomplete, but development is continuing. Homepage: http://emu.simplenet.com/semu/ --------------------------------------- XV. CONTROVERSIES AND BURNING QUESTIONS --------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ 15.1 Is it true the Saturn's processors are underpowered, and it's hard to program 3D games for the Saturn? ------------------------------------------------------------------ In a 1995 Next Generation article, it was explained that the Saturn's twin SH2 processors not only don't run in tandem, but also have trouble accessing memory at the same time (although a RAM cache will help). The article further went on to explain developers like Peter Molynuex of Bullfrog and Yu Suzuki of Sega voiced strong dissatisfaction with the Saturn's processing architecture. Quoted from Yu Suzuki: "Trying to program for two CPUs has its problems. Virtua Fighter uses a different CPU for calculating each character. The two CPUs start at the same time but there's a delay when one has to wait for the other to catch up. One very fast central processor would be preferable. I don't thank that all programmers have the ability to program two CPUs - most can only get about one-and-a-half times the speed you can get from one SH-2. I I think that only one 100 programmers are good enough to get that kind of speed out of the Saturn." Furthermore, the problem is compounded by the fact that most Japanese programmers use the C programming language, where as Assembly is needed to achieve optimal performance from the Saturn. Virtua Fighter uses Assembly, and runs 1.8 times faster than it would on a single SH-2. I've heard that "Alien Trilogy" has the dubious honor of using only one SH-2 chip. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 15.2 Were the Saturn's 3D capabilities added at the last minute? ---------------------------------------------------------------- The claim that the Saturn was originally developed without 3D in mind appears to be popular USENET myth. In a 1995 Next Generation article it was mentioned that the Saturn was originally intended to be more like a home version of the Model 1 arcade mainboard. Therefore, the Saturn was always designed with 3D capabilities. However, the myth is not too far from the truth in that modifications were undertaken to the hardware after Sega caught wind of the Playstation specs in 1993. Hayao Nakayama, then president of SEL, demanded that the Saturn be improved to put it on more even terms with the PSX. At the cost of several months delay (leading some to speculate the Saturn might be canceled), an additional VDP chip was added to give the Saturn better texture mapping capabilities in both 2D and 3D applications. So, simply put, the Saturn was always designed to push polygons. The difference is, after the PSX specs were leaked, it pushed better *looking* polygons. ------------------------------------------------------------- 15.3 What is the Sega Jupiter, and why was it never released? ------------------------------------------------------------- When the Saturn was under development, there were plans for two different variations using the same chipset. One would use a CD-ROM drive, and the other would use ROM cartridges for primary input. The latter cartridge based machine was codenamed "Jupiter". The Jupiter would also support an add on CD-ROM drive with additional RAM, which would make it in effect, a Saturn. However, it was decided that it would be a illogical to sell inferior cartridge based versions of games when cheaper CD versions were available. Consequently, the Jupiter project was scrapped. Shortly thereafter, the Jupiter project was retooled to become the "Mars" (which we know as today as the ill fated 32X). The Mars was primarily and interim machine created to fill the time gap between the phaseout of the Genesis and the appearance of the Saturn in the North American market (where the Genesis was still popular). This way Sega of America would not loose their well established userbase. Contrary to popular belief, the 32X was released in Japan as well, although it did very poorly in terms of sales and was regarded somewhat as a novelty item. The Jupiter and Saturn were to be compatible with each other, while the Mars was no longer compatible with the Saturn. The Mars used two slower running SH-2 chips (23Mhz as opposed to 28Mhz), but an otherwise completely different architecture. Finally, it's interesting to point out that the ST-V/Titan arcade board is more or less a cartridge based Saturn (see Section 1.8). -------------------------------------------------------------------- 15.4 Is the Satcast really a hoax? I thought it was announced before April? -------------------------------------------------------------------- Some people have said that the Satcast must be real because other websites broke the news before April '99. There seems to be some truth in this. Indeed, in March of that year, the infamous "Magic Box" reported a surprise announcement by SEL regarding the Satcast, and this was later picked up my katana-edge.com, and numerous other non-professional or semi-professional gaming sites. The rumor mill *MAY* have originated inside Sega of Japan. However, it is important to stress that these sites are often prone to posting rumors. As near as anyone can tell, Dave Halverson and the jokers over at Gamers Republic decided to report this established rumor as a bonifide fact for an April Fools joke (in other words, "Satcast" was never their idea from the beginning). Other gaming sites quickly picked up the story, and it spread like wildfire from there (IGN editors were *not* amused when they found out it was hoax). With the combined strength of rampant internet rumors, the GR article, and thanks in no small part to a slow-coming clarification on the issue by the editors of Gamer's Republic, some people still cling on to the belief that the Satcast is coming. The important thing to remember is that Sega of Japan has officially denied that the Satcast exists or will exist. ------------------------------------------------- 15.5 Why does Dracula X look worse on the Saturn? ------------------------------------------------- While most 2D games look great on the Saturn, Dracula X was a rather perplexing exception. The Saturn version lacked a lot of the special effects (transparency and light sourcing mainly) present in the PSX version, and there was a noticeable increase in slowdown and loading time. There's really no logical reason as to why this is the case. The most often heard reason for why the Saturn falls short is that the two versions of the game were not handled by the same division within Konami. KCET was the original programming team that did the PSX version, while KCEN ported the game to Saturn. In other words, it was a poorly done port farmed out to a second party within Konami. ----------------------------------------------------------- 15.6 Why did the Saturn fail to do better on the US market? ----------------------------------------------------------- This subject has been bantered around a bit on rec.games.video.sega and an overview of the answers and theories bear repeating here. I'll add to this list as time goes on. Sega Saturn: "The Chimera Console" ---------------------------------- There's absolutely no reason why the Saturn needs 11 processors, and not all the problems were last minute changes made with good intentions. The dual CPUs were part of the package even before the PSX was announced. The Saturn was a needlessly complex system that was needlessly difficult to develop on. The proprietary toolkit distributed to developers was met with a poor reception. Programmers were initially receptive to Saturn development, but jumped ship upon discovering what a nightmare it was. See section 15.1 and 15.2 for more on this. The general perception that Sega was damaged goods -------------------------------------------------- SOA amputated a fair share of their credibility with the 32X and their earlier mishandling of the Sega CD. High price and early launch --------------------------- Michael R. Baraniecki writes: "The 6 month early release was a mistake, pure and simple. (though personally, I loved playing Daytona that whole May and the rest of the summer before the Playstation was released) The Saturn had an initial price tag of $400. But the suprise early launch (May 1995) excluded many retailers, such as WalMart, KayBee Toys, and much more. It was only really released in game stores, and Toys R Us, as far as I know. Later on during the 'real launch' in 9/95, the retailers wouldn't stock the Saturn out of choice, partially because of this." Joe Ottoson writes: "At the time, the Saturn actually sold quite well. It was the fact that Sega's early launch meant that gamers had to sit though a long drought until the other developers were able to release their products at the original Sept release date that really hurt Sega. VF1 gave a bad first impression and Sega's lack or promotion when the games actually started coming in really hurt the system badly. Didn't help that EGM and Next Generation blatantly went out of their way to make Sega look as bad as possible. EGM screwed Sega over in their 1995 buyer's guide, ignoring Virtua Cop, Sega Rally, and VF2 in their awards and system ratings etc. Next Generation INVENTED stories stating that Sega was dreaming of becoming a PSx only developer and dropping the Saturn. Bad press and no advertising castrated the Saturn." Six months later, Sony countered with a price tag $100 lower and better advertising. Sony's deeper pockets --------------------- We must also consider the fact that Sony has deeper pockets. This allows them to sign exclusive contacts with powerhouse developers like Eidos and EA. Allergic reaction to RPGs ------------------------- It was no secret that SOA had a problem with RPGs. CEO Bernard Stolar even went as far as to discourage their development. As a result, SOA had next to nothing available to counter hit PSX titles like FFVII. PDS and SFIII were too late coming to turn the situation around, and while Grandia was reportedly considered, it wouldn't have made any difference that late in the game. No "mascott" game ----------------- History shows us that mascott based games are usually good sellers. Especially among the younger crowd. Sonic was nowhere to be seen, while Sony actively promoted Crash Bandicoot as a PSX icon, and Nintendo retained Mario. By the time Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic R came out, virtually nobody cared anymore. Poor marketing -------------- Sega failed to run many television and print ads for the Saturn, and when they were run, they were often very sparatic. There was too much of an effort to best the PSX in high performance 3D games, and a reluctance to coast on the substantial 2D software that was available in Japan. Solid titles like Thunderforce V were passed over because they looked "out of date". When SOA adopted it's "Five Star" policy in '97, it became clear that games were being judged more on an aesthetic level than anything else (TFV was an old school shooter). ----------------------------------------------------------- 15.7 What's the deal with Sega and Neon Genesis Evangelion? ----------------------------------------------------------- Sega was one of two sponsors offering financial backing for Gainax's anime hit "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (the other was Kadokawa Shoten, a popular publisher). Sega apparently got a really nice merchandising deal out of Gainax, that involved "Real Models" (toy figures), video games, and probably some other stuff. All Saturn EVA games up until "Girlfriend of Steel" were and remain Saturn exclusives. The Saturn also makes an appearance in the actual anime. Olivier Hagué writes: "In episode 6, you can also see Kensuke playing with a Sega Saturn (a _1000 bit_ Sega Saturn, according to the staff ^_^; ) at Touji's house. I'd have to check, but so does Asuka at Hikari's, in episode 23, if I remember well." Menacer writes: "1000 bit? Maybe 1024 bits, since these game systems like to run on binary powers (e.g. 2^3 [8], 2^4 [16], 2^5 [32]) and since I can't see Sega deviating from their binary path just because half of the world population dies, my guess is 2^10. ^_-" Special thanks to the EVA FAQ and the above members of japan.anime.evangelion for some of this info. ------------------------------ XVI. SATURN SOFTWARE CATALOGUE ------------------------------ Ken has given me permission to reprint his Complete Saturn Catalogue here. Please be advised however that this list is only about 98% complete, there may be duplicate entries, and neither Ken or myself make promises as to its accuracy. ---------------------------- 16.1 Japanese Software (A-M) ---------------------------- Japanese Complete Catalog A-M Vers. 2-4-00 with 362 items listed here 702 Japanese items total By Ken Tam (PaladinKen@hotmail.com) Acknowledgements: Bobby Alexander Matt for having screenshots Daigoro Shou-Sama Rich Harper Craig , Matt Damian Gick The members of the Saturn-list@joyce.eng.yale.edu If you're going to repost this list, please give us credit. Especially me. It isn't easy gathering all this information. Need help finding a game? Netscape and Internet Explorer have `Find' options. You can use this to search the list for games by using keywords. --------------------------------------- Legend (H) - hentai/yellow label (HH) - HENTAI/red label (SC) - Saturn Collection Re-release Title Catalog ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2DO Arukotowa Sandoahru (Sega Ages Classics) T-5802G 3x3 Eyes T-21301G 6 Inch My Darling T-19721G Advanced VG T-32506G (SC)Advanced World War After Burner 2 Air's Adventure T-20301G Akumazensho 2 T-14421G (SC)Albert Odyssey Gaiden: Legend of Eldean T-1517G (H)Album Club (H)Alien Trilogy All Japan Pro-Wrestling Featuring Virtua GS-9158 Alone in The Dark 2 T-10206G Anarchy in the Nippon T-28902G AnEarth Fantasy Stories T-27801G Angel Grafitti S T-7308G Angel Paradise 2 T-2405G (H)Angel Lips T27001G Angelique Duet Angelique Premium Angelique Special T-7615G Aponashi Gals Aquazone T-24001G Arcana Strikes T-10311G Assault Suit Leynos 2 T-2501G Astra Superstars T-1521G Asuka 120% Ltd T-16708 Atelier Marie T-15033G Augusta Masters T-11401G Ayakashi Ninden Kunoichiban Plus Backgainer Act 2 Bakabones T-17001G Baku Baku Animal (SC) GS-9144 Bakuretsu Hunter R T-24903 Baroque T-33901G Batsugun Battle Atheletes Daiundoikai T-24601G A Battle Cos-Player T-34501G Battle Garegga T-10627 Battle Monsters T-18701G Beach De Reach Become the Coach for the National Team Bio Hazard Dash Black Matrix T-20113G Blast Wind T-1810G Blue Breaker T-4314 (H)Blue Chicago Blues T-5302G (H)Blue Seed GS-9014 Body Special 264 T-21003G Bomberman T-14314G Bomberman Wars T-14320G Breakthru T-21501G Bubble Symphony T-19905G Bulk Smash Burning Rangers GS-9174 Campaign Girl '97 T-30808G (H)Can Can Bunny Premiere T-19703G (H)Can Can Bunny 2 T-19705G (H)Can Can Extra Capcom Generation 1 (1940 series) T-1232G Capcom Generation 2 (G&G series) T-1233G Capcom Generation 3 (Sonson,Higemaru,etc) T-1234G Capcom Generation 4 (Mercs,Commando,Gun Smoke) T-1235G Capcom Generation 5 (Street Fighter 2,etc) T-1236G Cebu Island '96 T-2204G Choaniki Kyukyoku Otokonogyakushu T-2503G Chaos Seed Ltd T-30902G Chatting Parodius(Forever w/me) T-9513G Chibi Maruko Chan T-9507G Chisato Moritaka GS-9172 Choro Q Park T-10314G (H)Classmate ~if~ (H)Classmate 2 Clockwork Fukubuku (1&2) Clockwork Knight GS-9004 Clockwork Knight 2 GS-9029 Clockworks T-22302G Code R Columns Collection GS-9161 Cotton 2 T-9904G Cotten Boomerang T-9906G Coveni 2, The T-4317G Creature Shock T-1303G (H)Cross Romance T-7103G Crossworld T-10503G Crystal Legend GS-9019 Cube Battler Ltd T-21004G Culdcept T-31401G Cyberbots T-1217G Cyberbots: Limited T-1216G D Daina Airan Daisenryaku: Strong T-21202G Daisuki T-18510G Daitoride T-29201G Darius 2 T-1104G Darius Gaiden T-1102G Dark Savior T-22102G Daytona USA GS-9013 Daytona USA: CCE GS-9100 Dead or Alive T-3603G Deadalus GS-9008 Death Crimson T-23202G (H)Debut S Decathlete GS-9150 Deep Fear GS-9189 Deka 4 - Tough the Truck T-4313G Densetsu Ogre Battle T-5305G Densha de Go! EX T-10317G (H)Desire T-15031G Destruction Derby T-18604G Detana Twinbee Yahho-! Deluxe T-9505G Devicereign Devil Summoner(SC) T-14417G Dezaemon 2 T-16804G Digital Angel Digital Dance Mix: Amuro Namie GS-9133 Digital Monster Ver. S. Digimon Tamers DJ Wars T-18807G Do Don Pachi T-14424G Doukoku Soshite T-1315G (H)Doukyuusei Special T-25302G Dracula Detective T-2103G Dracula X: Noctourne in the Moonlight T-9527G Dragon Ball Z: Legends T-13305G (SC)Dragon Ball Z: Legends T-13317G Dragon Ball Z: Shin Butoden T-13302G Dragon Force GS-9028 Dragon Force 2 GS-9184 Dragon Knight 4 Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes I & II T-37101G Dragonmaster Silk T-19503G Dream Generation T-2511G Dream Square Drift King '97 T-15019G Dungeons and Dragons Collection T-1224G Dungeon Master Nexus T-9111G D-Xhird T-10307G Dynamite Dekka (Die Hard Arcade) GS-9122 El Hazard T-22202G Elan Doree T-38202G Elevator Action Returns T-19903G Emit T-7602G Enemy Zero T-30001G Eternal Melody T-27802 (H)Eve Burst Error T-15032G Eve the Lost One T-15035G Falcom Classics (Ys, Xanadu, Dragon Slayer) (SC)Falcom Classics (Ys, Xanadu, Dragon Slayer) T-31506G Falcom Classics Ltd (Ys, Xanadu, Dragon Slayer) T-31502G Falcom Classics 2 (Ys 2, Asteka 2) T-31505G Falcom Classics 2 Ltd (Ys 2, Asteka 2) T-31504G Fanta Step T-5710G Fantastic Pinball T-1801G Fantasy Zone GS-9136 Farland Saga T-32507G Feda Remake! T-21001G FIFA Soccer 96 T-10606G Fighter's History Dynamite (Karnov's Revenge) Fighter's History Dynamite (Karnov's Revenge) GS-9107 Fighters Megamix GS-9126 Fighting Vipers GS-9101 (H)Final Romance IV T-3003G Find Love (H)Find Love 2 T-34604G Fire Pro Wrestling: Blazing Tornado T-4302G Fire Pro Wrestling: 6 Men Scramble T-4308G (SC)Fire Pro Wrestling: 6 Men Scramble T-4316G Fist (Pretty Fighter X 2) T-15015 Fist of the North Star T-20601G From TV Animation Slam Dunk T-13301G Funky Fantasy T-20002G Funky Head Boxers T-20003G Gaia Breeder T-34801G Gakko No Kowai T1205G Gal Act Heroism Galaxy Fight T-1510G Galaxy Force II GS-9197 Galaxy Fraulein Yuna 3: Lightning Angel T-14311G Galaxy Fraulein Yuna Remix Gale Racer (Rad Mobile) (HH)Galjan Mahjong T-29101G Gal's Panic SS Game Basic T-2111G Game of Life DX T-10302G Game of Life DX 2 T-10310G Game Paradise, The T-5711G Gameware Vol. 1 Gameware Vol. 5 T-17006G Garoudensetsu 3: Road to the Final Victory(FF3) T-3102G Gebockers T-5303G GeGeGe No Kitaro T-13310G Gekirindan Genso Suikoden Girl Revolution Utena GS-9182 Girls in Motion Vol 1 T-21002G Godzilla Rettousinkann GS-9050 Golden Axe: The Duel GS-9041 Good Island Cafe T-25201G Gotha GS-9009 Gotha 2 T-7608G Gotha 3 T-2205G Gradius Deluxe(1&2) T-9509G (H)Graduation 2: Neo Generation T-5301G Graduation 3: Wedding Bell T-10506 Graduation Album T-10504G Graduation Crossworld T-10503G (H)Graduation S T-20103G Gran Chaser GS-9022 Grandia T-4507G Grandia Digital Museum T-4512G Grandread T-20603G Great Adventure T-23101G Greatest Nine '97 GS-9139 Greatest Nine '98 GS-9185 Greatest Nine Summer Action 98 GS-9202 Groove on Fight (Power Instinct 3) T-14413G Groove on Fight (Power Instinct 3) GT-24 T-5714G Guardian Force T-9905G Guardian Heroes GS-9031 Gulliver Boy T-14303G Gun Bird T-14402G (H)Gun Blaze S T-19710G Gun Frontier Gungriffon T-4502G (SC)Gungriffon T-4509G Gungriffon 2 T-4510G Gunbuster XTO Gussun Oyoyo S T-26101G Gussun Oyoyo S 2 T-20604G Guyferd T-1242G Hakaider Harukaze V-Force T-19904G Hat Trick Hero S T-1103G (H)Haunted Casino Heartbeat Scramble Henry Explorers(Crypt Killer) Hideo Nomo World Series Baseball GS-9061 (H)High School Terra T-19715G Hokago Renai Club Ltd T-19714G Hokuto No Ken T-20601G Hop Step Idol T-20507G Hot Blooded Fighting Family House of the Dead, The GS-9173 Hunter Lime Collect T-22402G Hyper 3D Pinball T-7007G Hyper Dual Hyper Reverthion T-1803G Hyper Securities S T-9105G (H)Idol Star Mahjong T-31001G Image Fight & XMultiply T-2611G In the Hunt T-15005G Inspector Minton T-5307G International Victory Goal GS-9044 Irem Arcade Classics T-22403G Jajamaru Ninja Japan Super Bass Classic '96 Jewel Bem Hunter Lime Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball '95 T-9502G Jissen Mahjongg T-15002G JL Go Go Goal! T-3602G J-Swat T-20602G Jung Rhythm T-16607G Jungle Park Island T-18009G (H)Kakyusei T-28002G Keio Yugekitai 2 T-6003G King of Boxing (Center Ring Boxing) T-6001G King of Fighters '95 T-3101G King of Fighters '96 King of Fighters '96 T-3108G King of Fighters '97 T-3120G King of Fighters Best Collection T-3125G King of the Spirits Kingdom Grand Prix T-18506G Kisuisyoudensetsu Asutaru (Astal) GS-9019 Kiwame S Konami Antiques MSX Collection T-9530G Krazy Ivan Kunoichi Torimono Kururin Pa! T-24201G Kururin Pa 2 (Shingata Kururin Pa!) T-24202G Kyukyoku Tiger 2 T-18715G Kyuutenkai (Fantastic Pinball) Langrisser III T-2504G Langrisser III Ltd Langrisser IV Ltd T-2505G Langrisser V: The End of Legend T-2509G Langrisser Drama(I & II) T-2507G (H)Lapis Lazuli Ltd T-19722G Lapurus Panic T-21503G Last Bronx GS-9152 Last Gladiators T-18901G Last Gladiators T-4804H Last Gladiators V9.7 T-18903G Layer Section I (Galactic Attack) T-1112G Layer Section II T-26409G Lemmings 3D T-15013G Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team! GS-9165 Let's Travel in Japan DX T-10306G (H)Lindacube Again Linkle Liver Story GS-9055 (H)Literary Fragment, The T-21204G Lode Runner: The Legend Returns T-25101G Lode Runner Extra T-25103G Logic Puzzle Rainbow Town Lost World GS-9162 Lovely Pop 2-in-1 Ltd. ed T-5802G Lulu de Livre GS9118 Lunar 2: Eternal Blue T-27905G Lunar: Silver Star Story T-27901G Lunar: Silver Star Complete T-27904G Lupin III Lupin III: Chronicles T-18806G M ~kimi wo tsutae~ T-31202G Machi T-34081G Macross: Ai Oboete Imasu Ka T-23403G Madou Monogatari T-6607G Magic School Lunar T-27902G Magical Drop 2 GS-9104 Magical Drop 3 T-1318G Magical Girl Pretty Samy: Heart no Kimochi T-20112G Magical Hoppers (Pandemonium) Mahou no Janshi (H)Mahjong Gakuensai Majong Goku T-10601G Majong Taikai 2 (HH)Majong Wakakusa Mansion of Hidden Souls GS-9005 Manx TT Super Bike GS-9102 Marica T-6008G Marie Atelier T-15033G Marriage T-10501G Martian Successor Nadesico GS-9142 Martian Successor Nadesico 2 Marvel Super Heroes T-1215G Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter T-1239G Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter Master of Monsters: Neo Generation T-5301G Masters Harukanaru Augusta 3 T-11401G Meltylancer Ltd Metal Slug T-3111G Mighty Hits Miku The Metal Fighter T-6002G Milky Way Heroes T-22301G Milky Way Plus T-22303G Minataka Hakudo T-14414G (H)Minisuka Polis (Miniskirt Police) T-30812G Mizubaku Adventure T-19910G Mobile Suit Gundam T-13303G Mobile Suit Gundam Gaiden I T-13300G Mobile Suit Gundam Gaiden II (Side Story) T-13309G Mobile Suit Gundam Gaiden III (Side Story) T-13312G Mobile Suit Gundam Giren T-13327G Mobile Suit Gundam Z T-13315G Mobile Suit Gundam Z Houhen T-13320G Momotaro Dochuki T-14309G Monster Slider (H)Mujintou Story R T-28901G (H)My Best Friends My Dream: On Air Ga Matenakute T-21303G My Fair Lady Virtual Mahjong 2 ---------------------------- 16.2 Japanese Software (N-Z) ---------------------------- Japanese Complete Catalog N-Z Vers. 2-4-00 with 340 items listed here 702 Japanese Items total By Ken Tam (PaladinKen@hotmail.com) Acknowledgements: Matt for having screenshots Daigoro Shou-Sama Rich Harper Craig , Matt Damian Gick The members of the Saturn-list@joyce.eng.yale.edu If you're going to repost this list, please give us credit. Especially me. It isn't easy gathering all this information. Need help finding a game? Netscape and Internet Explorer have `Find' options. You can use this to search the list for games by using keywords. --------------------------------------- Legend (H) - hentai/yellow label (HH) - HENTAI/red label (SC) - Saturn Collection Re-release Title Catalog Nanatsu Kaze National Wrestling: Featuring Virtua GS-9158 (H)Natsuiro Memories Necronomicom T-18902G (H)Neo Generation 2 T-5301G Neon Genesis Evangelion GS-9141 Neon Genesis Evangelion 2nd Impression GS-9129 Neon Genesis Evangelion Digital Card Library GS-9159 Neon Genesis Evangelion Eva and Good Friends T-35103G Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel GS-9194 New Theme Park T-10618G Next King Ltd. (H)Nightruth T-20204G Nights (Into Dreams) GS-9046 Ninku GS-9036 Ninpen Maru T-35502G Nobunaga Returns T-7614G Noel 3 Special Edition T-22205G (HH)Nonomura Byoin no Hitobito T-28001G Noon T-5206G Ochige Designer T-9106G Ogre Battle T-5305G Oh-Edo Renaissance T-9104G (H)Ohsama Game T-21904G (H)Ojousama wo Nera T-38101G Omakase! Savers GS-9030 Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty T-1302G Outrun GS-9110 Paneltia Story T-21510G Panic Chan T-15010G Panic Chan Ltd T-15029G Panzer Dragoon Panzer Dragoon Azel (Saga) GS-9076 Panzer Dragoon Zwei GS-9049 Parodius Deluxe Pack T-9501G Pastel Muses T-30602G Phantasy Star Collection GS-9186 (H)Pia Welcome Carrot T-19708G (H)Pia Welcome Carrot 2 T-20114G Pinball Graffiti T-9101G Planet Joker (H)Playboy Karaoke (H)Playboy Karaoke 2 Pocket Fighter T-1230G Policenauts Popoitto Hebereke T-1504G Power Drift GS-9181 Pretty Fighter X T-15001G Princess Crown T-14418G Princess Crown (SC) T-14425G Princess Maker Princess Maker 2 T-5203G Princess Maker: Faery Tales Come True T-35101G Princess Quest T-24604G Prisoner of Ice Private Idol 1 T-30801G Private Idol 5: Nanako Fujisaki T-30811G Private Idol 6 Pro Baseball '95 Double Header T-5703G Purikura Daisakusen T-14409G Puyo Puyo 2 T-6604G Puyo Puyo Sun T-6603G Puzzle Bobble 2X T-1106G Puzzle Bobble 3 Pyon Pyon Caruru's Mahjongg Diary T-31101G Quantum Gate T-18502G Quiz Nanairo T-1220G Quo Vadis T-174901G Quo Vadis 2 T-17402G R?MJ T-13322G Rabbit T-10610G Race Drivin T-4802G Radiant Silvergun T-32902G Real Bout Best Collection (RB & RBS) T-3124G Real Bout Fatal Fury Real Bout Fatal Fury T-3105G Real Bout Fatal Fury Special T-3117G Real Bout Fatal Fury Special T-3119G Real Mahjong Adventure T-16511G Real Sound Refrain Love T-5308G Riglord Saga 2 GS-9084 Rise 2: Resurrection (Rise of the Robots 2) T-8104G Road Blaster/Thunderstorm T-20701G Road Rash T-10609G Robopit T-16603G Rockman 8 Rockman X3 T-1210G Rockman X4 T-1222G Rockman X4 Ltd T-1221G Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV T-7601G Ronde T-14415G Roommate T-19502G Roommate Ryoko Roommate in Summer Vacation T-19504G Roommate III Roukanitcaidantoa GS-9043 Ryouko's Chatting Room T-19509G Ryuteki 5000 years (Dragons of China) T-15025 Sailor Moon Super S T-15701G Sakura Radio Show GS-9160 Sakura Taisen GS-9037 Sakura Taisen Columns GS-9138 Sakura Taisen Ltd GS-9109 Sakura Taisen 2 Sakura Taisen 2 ltd GS-9169 Sakura Teigeki T-32602G Sakura Hanagumi Tsushin GS-9134 (H)Sakura Tsushin: Remaking Memories T-38401G Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus Samurai Spirits 3 T-3105G Samurai Spirits 4 T-3118G Samurai Spirits Collection (3&4) T-3123G Samurai Spirits RPG T-3112G Sangokushi Eiketsu T-7603G-11 Sangokushi V T-7606H-11 Saturn Bomberman T-14302G Saturn Bomberman Fight T-14321G Savaki T-5208G SD Gundam G Century S T-13324G Sea Bass Fishing 2 Sega Ages Memorial GS-9135 Sega Ages Memorial 2 GS-9163 Sega Ages Mickey Mouse/Donald Duck Sega Rally Championship GS-9047 Sega Touring Car GS-9104 Sega Worldwide Soccer '98 GS-9187 Segata Sanshirou Shinkenyuki GS-9204 Sengoku Blade Sentimental Grafitti T-20106G Sexy Parodius T-9514G Shadows of the Tusk T-14319G Shanghai: The Great Wall T-1505G (H)Shes'n T-19717G Shienryu T-29102G Shin Kaitei Gunkan Shin Megami Tensei Shin Shinobi Den GS-9010 Shining Force 3 GS-9175 Shining Force 3: 2nd Scenario Shining Force 3: 3rd Scenario GS-9203 Shining Force Premium Disc Shining the Holy Ark T-33101G Shining Wisdom GS-9057 Shinoken/Ragnagard T-3113 Shiroki Majou T-14322G Shukudaiga Tanto GS-9042 Side Pocket 3 T-1314G Silhouette Mirage T-32901G Simulation Zoo T-18811G Six Man Scramble T-4316G Skull Fang T-1311G Sky Target GS-9103 Slayers Royale T-27903G Slayers Royale 2 T-27907G Snatcher T-9508G Soccer Kids Sol Divide T-14423G Solo crisis T-23501G Soldnerschild GS-9155 Sonic Council T-20611G Sonic Jam GS-9147 Sonic R GS-9170 Sorvice T-16609G Soukyugurentai Otokuyo T-10626 Soul Hackers T-14420G Space Harrier GS-9108 Space Invaders T-1107G Stakes Winner T-3107G Stakes Winner 2 T-3115G (H)Stand By Say You T-4312G (H)Stand By Say You T-4311G (H)Stand By Say You T-4311G (H)Stand By Say You T-4311G (H)Steam Hearts T-32502G Steamgear Mash T-10301G Steeldom T-1805G Steep Slope Sliders T-9112G Stellar Assault T-4403G Strahl T-20501G Street Fighter Anime T-1204G Street Fighter Collection T-1223G Street Fighter Real Battle On Film T-1201G Street Fighter Zero T-1206G Street Fighter Zero 2 T-1244G Street Fighter Zero 3 T-1247G Street Fighter Zero 3 T-1246G Street Racer Extra Strikers 1945 T-14407G Strikers 1945 2 Suchie Pai Adventure T-5713G Suchie Pai 5 Year Anniversary Ltd T-5716G Suchie Pai Secret Album T-5717G Suikoenbu T-1302G Suikoenbu Fuunsaiki T-1305G Sugoventure (Dragon Master Silk Gaiden) T-19505G Summer Fantasy Super Casino Special T-7306G Super Factory Ltd. ed Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo T-1213G (H)Super Real Mahjong (HH)Super Real Mahjong Graffiti T-16504G (HH)Super Real Mahjong PVI T-16507G (H)Super Real Mahjong P7 T-16509G Super Robot Wars F T-20610G Super Robot Wars F Deluxe Super Robot Wars F Final T-20612G Super Tempo T-26413G Sword & Sorcery T-5202G (SC)Sword & Sorcery (Lucienne's Quest) T-5207G Tactical Fighter T-21402G Tactics Formula T-34101G Tactics Ogre T-5306G Taiheiyo No Arashi 2 Taiheiyo No Arashi 2 Premium Pack Tama T-4801G Tamagotchi Park T-13325G Tenant Wars T-19707G Tenchi Muyo 4 (HH)Tenchi Muyo Gokuraku Tenchi Muyo Touko Muyo T-26103G Tenchi Wo Kurau 2 Tengai Makyo: The Apocalypse 4 T-14301G Terra Cresta 3D T-7102G Terra Phantastica GS-9054 Tetris Plus (SC)Tetris S T-20804G Texthoth Ludo T-23102G Thor (Legend of Oasis) GS-9053 Those Who Hunt Elves T-16605G Those Who Hunt Elves 2 Thunder Force V T-1811G (SC)Thunder Force V T-1814G Thunder Force V Ltd Thunder Force Gold Pack 1 (TF2 & TF3) T-1807G Thunder Force Gold Pack 2 T-1808G Thunderhawk II Tiger 2 Plus (Kyukyou Tiger 2 Plus) T-18715G Tilk T-32508G Titan Wars (Solar Eclipse) T-15503G Tokimeki Columns T-9512G (H)Tokimeki Mahjong Graffiti T-20202G Tokimeki Memorial T-9504G Tokimeki Memorial Drama Tokimeki Memorial Drama Vol. 2 T-9529G Tokimeki Memorial Drama Vol. 3 Tokimeki Memorial Selection: Fujisaki Shiori T-9517G Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Tokkaedama T-9524G Tokyo Mahjongland T-4504G Tomb Raiders T-5010G Top Angler Torico GS-9056 Toshinden S GS-9078 Toshinden URA T-10305G Tournament Leader T-6007G Tower, The T-21601G Tryrush Deppy Turf Wind '96 T-5707G Twinbee Yahoo Deluxe Pack T-9505G Twinkle Star Sprites 37301G Tuukai! Slot Shooting T-21504G Ultraman T-13308G Ultraman Collection T-25501G Universal Nuts Uno DX T-26414G Valhollian Vampire Hunter (Night Warriors) T-1202G Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3) T-1228G Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3) T-1229G Vandal Hearts T-9526G Vatlva T-31501G Victory Goal Victory Goal '96 Victory Goal '97 (H)Virtua Call S T-19718G Virtua Cop GS-9060 Virtua Cop 2 GS-9097 Virtua Fighter GS-9001 Virtua Fighter 2 GS-9079 Virtua Fighter Kids GS-9098 Virtua Fighter Portrait: Akira Virtua Fighter Portrait: Jacky Virtua Fighter Portrait: Jeffrey Virtua Fighter Portrait: Kage GS-9067 Virtua Fighter Portrait: Lau Virtua Fighter Portrait: Lion Virtua Fighter Portrait: Pai GS-9066 Virtua Fighter Portrait: Sarah GS-9062 Virtua Fighter Portrait: Shun Virtua Fighter Portrait: Wolf Virtua Fighter Remix GS-9039 (H)Virtua Photo Studio Virtual Casino T-27301G Virtual Hydlide Virtual On: Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Cyber Troopers (SegaNet vers.) GS-7106 Virtual Open Tennis Virus T-14304G Voice Idol Maniacs Wachenroder GS-9183 Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon T-6508G Waku Waku Seven T-1515G Waku Waku Seven (H)Wangan Deadheat Real Arrange T-9103G Wangan Deadheat 2 Wara Wara Wars T-21507G Whizz T-36102G Willy Wombat T-14306G Wing Arms GS-9038 Winning Post 2 T-7612G Winning Post 2 Program '96 T-7620G Winning Post 3 Program '98 T-7671G Winter Heat GS-9177 Wipeout XL With You T-20137G Wizard's Harmony Wizard's Harmony 2 T-22004G Wizardry Llyllgamyn Saga (1-3) T-38601G Wizardry VI & VII Complete T-1306G Wizardry Nemesis T-37001G Wonders 3 T-26107G World Advanced 2 World Advanced 3 World Cup Soccer '98 World Evolution Soccer World Heroes World Heroes Perfect T-3103G X-Men: Children of the Atom T-1203G X-Men vs Street Fighter T-1227G X-Men vs Street Fighter T-1226G Yakyuken Special T-27901G Yellow Brick Road Yukyu Gensokyoku Ensemble T-27805G Yukyu No Kobako T-27806G Yukyu Gensokyoku 2nd Album T-27807G Yumimi Mix Remix (H)Yu-No T-28004G Zap! Snowboarding Trix Zap! Snowboarding Trix '98 T-7504G Zero 4 Champ Doozy J Type R T-21401G Zero Divide: The Final Conflict T-31001G (H)Zoku Hatsukoi Zoop T-26406G Zork 1 ---------------------- 16.3 US Software (A-Z) ---------------------- US Complete Catalog - Vers. 12-31-99 with 301 items in all listed, 25 unreleased items, 3 demos, and a partridge in a pear tree By Ken Tam If you see wrong or missing info, e-mail me the info that I need. Acknowledgements Rich Harper Marlin Bates IV Bruce Wayne Jair Whitlock Avery Moore" the members of the Saturn-list@joyce.eng.yale.edu If you're going to post this list elsewhere, please give us credit. Especially me. This isn't easy to do, especially counting ever single title by hand. Need help finding a game? Netscape and Internet Explorer have 'Find' options. You can use this to search the list for games by using keywords. --------------------------------------------------- Legend (U) - unreleased Title Catalog 3 Free Games Pack 81606 3D Baseball T-15906H (U)Abuse - Albert Odyssey T-12705H Alien Trilogy T-8113H All Star Baseball '97 T-8150H Alone in the Dark T-29401H AMOK 81604 Andretti Racing T-5020H Arcade's Greatest Hits: Atari T-9706 Arcade's Greatest Hits: Williams T-9703 Area 51 T-9705H Astal 81019 Baku Baku 81501 Bases Loaded '96 T-8150H Bases Loaded '96: Double Header T-5703H Batman Forever: The Arcade Game T-8140H Battle Arena Toshinden Remix 81029 Battle Arena Toshinden Ultimate Revenge Attack 81054 Battle Monsters T-8137H Battle Stations T-5021H Battlesport T-8149H BioHazard Five Black Dawn Black Fire 81003 Blast Chamber T-131003 Blazing Dragons T-15907H Blazing Heroes (Mystaria) 81303 Bootleg Sampler 81031 Braindead 13 T-12103H Break Point Tennis T-8145H Bubble Bobble (& Rainbow Islands) T-8131H Bug! 81004 Bug Too! 81040 Burning Rangers 81803 Bust a Move 2: Arcade Edition T-8132H Bust A Move 3 T-31103H (U)Buster Bros Collection - Casper T-12512H Center Ring Boxing T-6005H Christmas NiGHTS 81067 Clockwork Knight 81007 Clockwork Knight 2 81036 College Slam T-8111H Command & Conquer T-7028 Congo: The Movie 81010 Contra: Legacy of War T-9507H Corpse Killer: Graveyard Edition T-16201H Courier Crisis T-25415H Creature Shock SE T-1304H Crime Wave T-8807H Criticom T-2302H Croc: Legend of the Gobbos T-16105H Crow, The: City of Angels Crusader: No Remorse T-5014H Crypt Killer T-9509H Cyber Speedway 81205 (U)Cyber Sled - Cyberia T-12508H D T-8106H Darius Gaiden T-8123H Dark Legend T-1305H Dark Savior 81304 Dark Sun Darklight Conflict T-5022H Dawn of Darkness Daytona USA 81200 Daytona USA: CCE Daytona USA: CCE 81213 Decathlete 81115 Defcon 5 T-1301 (U)Destruction Derby - Die Hard Arcade 81057 Die Hard Trilogy T-16103H Don Pachi Doom T-25405H Double Switch Dragon Force T-12703H (U)Dragon's Lair II - Dragonheart - Fire & Steel T-8117H Duke Nukem 3D 81071 (U)Dungeons & Dragons Collection - Earthworm Jim 2: Special Edition T-13203H Enemy Zero 81076 (U)Eternal Champions: Challenge from Dark Side - Extreme Pinball F1 Challenge MK-81206 FIFA Soccer '96 T-5003H FIFA Soccer '97 T-5017H FIFA Road to World Cup 98 T-5025H Fighters Megamix 81073 (U)Fighting Force - Fighting Vipers 81041 (U)Fox Hunt - Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball T-8138H (U)Free Runner - Galactic Attack (Layer Section) T-8116H Galaxy Fight T-1504H Gex T-15904 Ghen War 81001 Golden Axe: The Duel 81045 Grand Slam Baseball Grid Runner T-7025H Guardian Heroes 81035 Gungriffon 81046 Hang-On GP 95 81202 Heir of Zendor: The Legend of the Land T-7605H Herc's Adventure T-23001 Hexen T-25406H High Velocity T-14402H Highway 2000 T-31101H Hi-Octane Horde, The T-15909H House of the Dead, The 81802 Hyper 3D Pinball T-7015H Impact Racing T-8139H In the Hunt T-10001H Incredible Hulk T-7905H Independence Day: The Game T-16104H (U)Iron & Blood - Iron Man, XO Manowar in Heavy Metal T-8119H (U)Iron Rain - Iron Storm T-12701H Johnny Bazookatone T-7909H (U)K-1 The Arena Fighters - Last Bronx 81078 Last Gladiators Digital Pinball T-4804H (U)Legend of Kain - Legend of Oasis, The (Thor) 81302 Loaded T-12519H Lost World: Jurassic Park 2 81065 Lunacy T-14403H Machine Head T-7914H Madden NFL '97 T-5010H Madden NFL '98 T-5024H Magic Carpet T-5006H Magic Knight Rayearth T-12706H (U)Major Damage - Mansion of Hidden Souls, The 81012 Manx TT 81210 Marvel Super Heroes T-1214H Mass Destruction T-18007 Maximum Force T-9707H Maximum Surge Mech Warrior 2 T-13004 Mega Man 8 1216 Mega Man X4 T-1219H Minnesota Fats Pool Legend T-1302H MLBPA Bottom of the 9th T-9505H Mortal Kombat II T-8103H Mortal Kombat Trilogy T-9704H Mr. Bones 81016 Myst T-8101H Mystaria 81300 NASCAR 98 T-5028H NBA Action 81103 NBA Action '98 81124 NBA Jam Extreme T-8120H NBA Jam: TE T-8102H NBA Live '97 T-5015H NBA Live '98 T-5027H Need for Speed, The T-5009H Netlink Browser Version 2.0 80118B Netlink Browser Version 3.0 80118D Netlink Game Pack 81608 NFL '97 81111 NFL Quarterback Club '96 T-8109H NFL Quarterback Club '97 T-8136H NHL '97 T-5016H NHL '98 T-5026H NHL All-Star Hockey 81102 NHL All-Star Hockey 98 T-7013H NHL Breakaway 98 NHL Powerplay '96 T-7013H Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge T-1208H NiGHTS Into Dreams 81020 NiGHTS Into Dreams 81048B Nights Into Dreams Sampler 81063 (U)Ninja - Norse by Norsewest T-12522H Off-World Interceptor Extreme T-15908H Olympic Soccer Olympic Summer Games 96 Pandemonium T-15914 Panzer Dragoon 81009 Panzer Dragoon Playable Preview 81018 Panzer Dragoon Saga 81307 Panzer Dragoon Zwei 81022 Pebble Beach Golf Links 81101 PGA Tour '97 T-5011H Powerslave T-13205H Primal Rage T-4802H (U)Primetime NFL Football - Prize Fighter Pro Pinball T-12520H PTO 2 T-7604H Quake 81066 Quarterback Attack T-16213 Rage Racer Rampage World Tour T-9708H Rayman T-17701H Resident Evil T-1221H Return Fire Return to Zork Revolution X T-8107H Rise 2: Resurrection T-8114H (U)Riven - Road Rash T-5008H Robo Pit T-10002H Robotica T-8104H Romance of the 3 Kingdoms IV T-7601H (U)Sacred Pools, The - Saturn Bomberman 81070 Scorcher 81214 Scud: The Disposable Assassin 14003 Sega Ages T-12707H Sega Rally Championship 81207 Sega Rally Championship Netlink Ed. 81215 Sega Saturn Choice Cuts 81600 Sega Screams 81075 Sega Touring Car 81216 Shanghai: Triple Threat T-13001H Shellshock T-7901H Shining Force 3 81383 Shining the Holy Ark 81306 Shining Wisdom T-12702H Shinobi Legions T-2301H Shockwave Assault SimCity 2000 12601 Skeleton Warriors T-13204H Sky Target 81051 Slam 'n Jam '96 T-15902H Solar Eclipse T-15911H Sonic 3D Blast 81062 Sonic Jam 81079 Sonic R 81800 (U)Sonic X-Treme - Soviet Strike 5013 Space Hulk T-5007H Space Jam T-8125H Spot Goes to Hollywood T-7001H Star Fighter 3000 T-8135H Steep Slope Sliders 81128 (U)S.T.O.R.M. - Street Fighter Alpha T-1206H Street Fighter Alpha 2 T-1213H Street Fighter Collection T-1222H Street Fighter: The Movie T-8105H Street Racer Striker '96 T-8133H Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo T-1215H (U)Swagman - (U)Syndicate Wars - Tempest 2000 T-12516H Ten Pin Alley T-13705 Tetris Plus T-5704 Theme Park T-5001H Three Dirty Dwarves 14002 Thunderstrike II T-7902H TNN Motor Sports 4x4 T-13703H Tomb Raider T-7910H True Pinball T-16406 Tunnel B1 T-8144H Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 T-9701H Valora Valley Golf 2303 Viewpoint Virtua Cop 81026 Virtua Cop 2 81043 Virtua Fighter 81005 Virtua Fighter 2 81014 Virtua Fighter Kids 81049 Virtua Fighter Remix 81023 Virtua Fighter Remix 81027 Virtua Fighter Remix 81028 Virtua Racing T-4801H Virtual Casino T-31102H Virtual Hydlide T-14401H Virtual On: Cyber Troopers 81042 Virtual On: Cyber Troopers Netlink Edition 81072 Virtual Open Tennis T-8129H VR Golf '97 T-12518H VR Soccer T-12517H WarCraft II T-5023H Wing Arms 81024 Winning Post T-7602 Winter Heat 98 81129 Wipeout 81211 (U)Wipeout 2097 (XL) - World Cup Golf Pro Edition 7903 World Series Baseball 81109 World Series Baseball 2 81113 World Series Baseball '98 81127 Worldwide Soccer 81105 Worldwide Soccer '97 81112 Worldwide Soccer '98 81123 Worms 16403 WWF In Your House T-8126H WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game T-8112H X-Men: Children of the Atom T-8108H Zoop (U)Zork - ---------------------- 16.4 European Software ---------------------- Under Construction. ------------------------ 16.5 Unreleased Software ------------------------ This section contained a list of software titles that were either in development or officially announced, but either never released, or had changes made that confuse some people. US -- Iron Rain (US) - Sega/Game Arts This is actually Gungriffon. Sega originally planned to change the title to "Iron Rain" and distributed preview copies of the game using this title. It was later released in the US after changing the title back to Gungriffon, so this doesn't really count as an unreleased game, just an unreleased "title". :) Policenauts (US) - Konami Released in Japan Canceled indefinitely. Konami never gave an explanation, other than it was a decision made by their marketing department. It has been alleged there was an issue with the main character smoking, but many people assume this to be a cover story as there have been plenty of games released in the US where characters have smoked (I mean, Solid Snake smoked in Metal Gear Solid for Christ's sake!). The smoking excuse COULD be a rumor that got out of control. Another, more sinister theory is that Sony rejected the PSX version using their adversion to sprite driven (non 3D) games as the basis to their decision. As a result, Konami didn't see the trouble in going recoding, translating, and dubbing the game purely for the comparatively weaker Saturn market. The third theory is simply that Konami felt they wouldn't make enough money off the title at all to make it worth while. All theories are just that. Believe what you want. The game case was pictured on a poster that came with the 80000A Saturn, and listed as "Coming Soon". Translation was started, and was reportedly 75% complete when it got the ax. A beta CD was NOT burned (so don't bother looking for one). The Playstation version was also canceled. Konami has a policy forbidding other firms to translate their own titles so this means the prospects of seeing this game in the US (even on PSX) are very low. I don't know if Konami was ever set to release it in Europe (though Snatcher, it's pseudo-sequel was released on the PAL Mega CD, so it's a definite possibility that they were). Sonic X-Treme (All Regions) - Sega Sega felt the game stood up poorly against it's 32-bit competitors (namely Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot), and it was canceled. Some have speculated that it was reprogrammed as Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast, but this seems unlikely given that X-treme was created in the US by Sega Technical Institute (Comix Zone, Bug!, ect.), while Sonic Adventuer was a genuine Sonic Team project from the beginning. There's also a few differences in terms of Gameplay and the screenshots released to the public don't look anything like Sonic Adventure. Also, here's a list of software that was apparently coded to some degree, but never released: Major Damage Abuse --------------------- 16.6 Rumored Software --------------------- Under Construction. ----------------------- XVII. FACTS AND FIGURES ----------------------- ------------------------------------ 17.1 What was the _____ Saturn Game? ------------------------------------ First Public Saturn Game: Virtua Fighter First RPG (Japan): Virtual Hylide Last US Saturn Game: Magic Knights Rayearth Last European Saturn Game: Courier Crisis* Last Japanese Saturn Game: Yukyu Gensokyoku Perpetual Collection** * I've also heard it might be Deep Fear (October, 1998) ** No, it's not Final Fight Revenge as previously thought. NCS is taking preorders for Yukyu Gensokyoku Perpetual Collection, and it will ship on December 7, 2000. -------------------------------- 17.2 How many Saturns were sold? -------------------------------- It depends entirely on who you ask (or want to believe). Sega quotes figures slightly under 2 million units in North America, while Next Generation only claims a 1.6 million unit userbase in North America (source: December 1997 issue). IGN once gave an a low figure of 1.2 million that has drawn criticism. In Japan, between 5 and 6 million seems about right. The sum total of systems sold worldwide is in the neighborhood of 8 or 9 million. I have no data on Europe, or other regions, so I don't know what percentage of the pie chart they account for. -------------------------------------- 17.3 What are the rarest Saturn games? -------------------------------------- There's been some debate on USENET as to exactly what Saturn games are the rarest. I have composed a list of titles which consistently come up. All these titles *HAVE* been released one way or another. They are not vaporware. Also, don't confuse rare with uncommon. There are many games not on this list that are still hard to find in their own right. This list could also be slightly skewed as it's being presented from an American perspective. Foreign perspectives are welcome. NEVER under any circumstances let anybody on Ebay persuade you into thinking an item they'll selling is rare just because they say so. This is often not the case. USA --- Title Publisher Manufactured --------------------------------------------------------------------- Buster Bros. Collection Capcom ??? Panzer Dragoon Saga(US)*** Sega 20,000 (???) Return Fire* Crystal Dynamics (?) ??? Mysteria ** Sega ??? --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Return Fire *WAS* released. Some people on USENET claim it wasn't, but this is simply untrue. It has been reportedly seen in a few bargain bins back in 1998 as well. ** Pretty rare under the "Mysteria" name. Changed to "Blazing Heroes" becuause of copyright issues. *** The Japanese version of Panzer Dragoon is not rare, and in fact, it sold relatively poorly. You should be able to find a copy. - Contrary to popular belief, Christmas NiGHTs is not thought to be rare. Some Blockbuster Video chain stores are (or were) selling off their copies for $5. The only time it might presumably become rare is if they don't sell to the point that Blockbuster destroys all their backstock. - Reportedly, 10,000 copies of Magic Knights Rayearth were pressed. However, it appears to be a semi-common item up for sale on Ebay and USENET (Not to mention WD's own page), and doesn't seem to qualify at this time (at least nowhere near the level Lunar: Eternal Blue for the Sega CD does). This may change in the future however. - Galaxy Fight by Sunsoft *may* be rare. It can be at least categorized as uncommon. Japan ----- Title Publisher Manufactured --------------------------------------------------------------------- Black/Matrix* NEC Interchannel 60K/40K/2K Blue Seed Sega Unknown Psychic Assasin Taromaru** Time Warner Interactive 7,500 (Japan) Sakura Taisen LE*** Sega/Red 100K/??? --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Approximately 60,000 were originally pressed. Supposedly if you didn't pre-order it in Japan, you didn't get it. It sold about 47,000 the first week according to Saturn Fan and was out of the top list the next week. NCS never got it at all. There were two reprints. The first one had a different cover and 40,000 were pressed. The second had basically the same cover as the original, but only 2,000 were pressed. Thanks to Raymond McKeithen II and Shou-sama for the info. ** Only a mere 7,500 of these were pressed before Time Warner Interactive (Japan) folded. Joe Petrancosta writes: "The company folded because Midway a couple months previous bought out Time Warner Interactive ala Atari Games (basically the new name at the time for Tengen, Atari Games' home brand)." *** The limited edition box set contains, in addition to the regular edition Sakura Taisen 2-CD set, a white Saturn mouse, a Sakura Taisen mouse pad (one of two designs) and a laminated character sheet. Only 100,000 of these were made originally, and all were sold almost instantly. It was re-released 6/20/97 to celebrate Sakura Taisen winning the CESA Awards, says Red. (Info courtesy of Ming's Sakura Wars Page at: http://pei.physics.sunysb.edu/~ming/anime/sakura.html) I don't know how many were made in the re-release, but the game is not available from nearly all importers. NCS used to sell copies briefly for $115 before it ran out of stock. Never to be reordered. ------------------------- 17.4 What does Sega mean? ------------------------- Sega is short for "Service Games". Amusingly enough, it's also slang for "masturbate" in Itallian when it is pronounced in the same way it's pronounced here in the U.S. What a coincidence! ^_^; (No)Thanks to Ken Arromdee's rec.games.video.* FAQ for pointing this out. ---------------------- XVIII. OTHER REFERENCE ---------------------- ------------------------------------- 18.1 What Saturn Magazines are there? ------------------------------------- Unfortunately there are no US Saturn magazines (an indication of the respect the system holds in the US, or lack thereof). There was however two UK-based Saturn Magazines, and a prominent Japanese one. First of all, let me say this section would not have been possible had it not been for the selfless effort put forth by Paul Carson. 'Sega Saturn Magazine' This one ran for 37 issues, up to November 1998. It covered absolutely everything and anything to do with Sega. It covered the first technical demos of the Dreamcast, got all the latest games first from Japan and even gave walkthrough guides to games in Japanese like Grandia so that people who couldn't understand the game could get an idea of what was happening and appreciate it. For an 'Official Sega Magazine' who were only supposed to cover most of the Sega Europe things they spent most of the time covering imports because towards the end of the Saturn's life Sega Europe were getting more and more lax with releases and they (Sega Saturn Magazine) were concerned with the Saturn gamer having to retire their saturn early. I think they did more for the Saturn in terms of keeping it alive than Sega Europe did! In the last two issues (36 and 37) there was an enormous two part tips section which covered as many UK releases as they could manage. You can try their back issues department at:- Sega Saturn Subscriptions, Sovereign Park, Leicester LE98 4PA UK Phone (01858) 435350 (+44 1858 435350 outside the UK) ...or you could try their editorial offices:- Sega Saturn magazine 37-39 Millharbour, The Isle Of Dogs, London E14 9TZ Editor's Note: Sadly, the demo disc(s) you could get in the UK with the purchase of the mag were not available outside the country (something to do with trade laws). 'Saturn Power' This was a magazine that renamed itself. It used to be 'Sega Power' until the June issue of 1997 when it changed it's name and format to 'Saturn Power'. It only ran for 10 issues before it folded. It promised a cover disc every month, but only delivered 4 in it's short lifespan. It covered UK and some import games and had what was probably the best tips and cheats section out of the three magazines, usually in the form of a pull out section you could keep by your saturn. The interviews were usually spot-on and the style of writing was usually jokey and fun. It also carried an invaluable 'top 100' saturn games list every issue which I use as my 'Bible' for buying saturn games! There was also a great Cheat book in issue 3. The Address for the magazine's back issue department is (although I wouldn't get your hopes up):- 'Future Publishing Ltd' Cary Court Somerton Somerset UK TA11 6TB Phone (01125) 822511) (or +44 1225 822511 outside the UK) You could also try:- Future Publishing, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW Phone (01225) 442244 (that's +44 1225 442244 outside the UK) or Fax (01225) 732274 (+44 1225 732274 outside the UK) The Japanese magazine was titled "Saturn Fan", it was a very popular monthy Japanese magazine that covered all aspects of the Japanese Saturn market. It was renamed to "Dreamcast Fan" when the Dreamcast came out, and no longer covers the Saturn. I've mentioned it just in case anybody is interested in acquiring backissues. I'd like to get phone numbers and addresses for getting back issues of Saturn Fan. If somebody wants to write a review, that's great too. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 18.2 What webpages are there on the world wide web concerning the Saturn? ----------------------------------------------------------------- The ebb and flow of Sega Saturn related webpages has dwindled significantly in recent months. However, there are some still alive that should be worth a visit: Dave's Sega Saturn Page http://www.sega-saturn.com/ Now back online! Hands down the best Saturn site on the Internet. Sega Force http://www.cyberdrive.net/~gskalba/ Great source of Saturn information. Including reviews, and analysis of the Saturn hardware/software. TK's Saturn Page http://www.crl.com./~tehyang/ Effectively dead since late 1997, but still up (mostly). Back in the day, this site was really great for Japanese Saturn info in English. Also includes a sub-site dedicated to the SRPG series, Langrisser. Dimension S http://www.dimension-s.com/ Covers Sega Saturn, and the Dreamcast. Has reviews, editorials, news, screenshots, ect. All reader submitted. Gaming Age - Saturn Section http://www.gaming-age.com/saturn/ Has many in-depth reviews and previews of import and domestic games with accompanying screenshots. UK Resistance http://www.mars01.demon.co.uk/saturn/ or http://www.ukresistance.com/ A site started up by members of Sega Saturn Magazine disgruntled with Sega Europe's ridiculous treatment of the Sega Saturn. Really funny stuff on this site. Please also check out the Yahoo search engine (http://www.yahoo.com) under Sega Saturn. There are a couple of fan pages still alive. ---------------------------------------------- 18.3 What newsgroups are there for the Saturn? ---------------------------------------------- - rec.games.video.sega is the most populated, but you'll have to wade though a lot of Dreamcast stuff lately. - alt.games.video.sega-saturn is not as populated, but entirely Saturn oriented. - fj.rec.games.video.home.saturn is a Japanese-language Saturn newsgroup. - alt.games.video.import.japanese is a good group for import information. - rec.arts.anime.games is a good group if your interested in anime derived video games (plenty of which are on Saturn). Your newsreaders may or may not carry these groups. You could also use Deja.com at http://www.deja.com/ to read and post. ------------------------------------------------------------ 18.4 What electronic mailing lists are there for the Saturn? ------------------------------------------------------------ The Sega Saturn Mailing List is maintained by BT Garner & Rich Harper and you may join the list my accessing the following webpage and following the directions: http://joyce.eng.yale.edu/~bt/saturn/subscribe.html You can also join manually by sending a message to: saturn-list-request@joyce.eng.yale.edu ...with the word "subscribe" in the body of the message. The list has medium traffic and it *IS* moderated. Flaming or abuse will not be tolerated, and neither will CDR trading. You will receive a note outlining the rules of conduct upon sending your subscription request to the listserver. Recently the Saturn Mailing list has added Dreamcast discussion to its itinerary (Boo!!! Put it on a separate list!). Be sure to tell those deadbeats I sent you. Maybe they're actually contribute more to the FAQ. "^_^" ------------------------------------------------- 18.5 What IRC channels are there for the Saturn? ------------------------------------------------- I only really know of one channel. There is a Sakura Taisen DALnet channel named "#SakuraTaisen". For information on connecting to DALnet, please visit: http://www.dalnet.com/. I'm a semi-frequent lurker on #SakuraTaisen and maintainer of their webpage, so I guess this is a shameless plug. ------------------------ XIX. CONTACT INFORMATION ------------------------ SEGA: ------------------------- Sega of America Sega appears to have dropped most Saturn support. Although they do seem to provide repair service. Homepage: http://www.sega.com/ ------------------------- Sega of Japan Still offers quite a bit of Saturn support. Homepage: http://www.sega.co.jp/ ------------------------- Sega of Europe 266-270 Gunnersbury Avenue, London W4 5QB UK Phone: +44 181 995 3399 Fax: +44 181 996 4499 Homepage: http://www.sega-europe.com/ -------------------------- IMPORTERS: ------------------------- National Console Support Monday through Friday 10AM to 6PM Eastern Standard Time 121 Baxter St, Suite #1 New York, NY 10013 Phone: (718) 523-5774 Fax: (718) 523-7069 Pager: (917) 788-0699 E-mail: ncs@escape.com or ratnuts@panix.com Homepage: http://www.ncsx.com/ ------------------------- Tronix 347 Fifth Avenue, Suite # 1508 New York, N.Y. 10016 Phone: (212) 447-5980 Fax: (212) 727-8934 E-mail: tronix2@worldnet.att.net Homepage: http://www.tronixweb.com/ ------------------------- Video Game Depot 10:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M. Mon thru Fri. Video Game Depot Corporation 130 Hoffman Lane Islandia, NY 11722 Phone: (631) 582-5663 Fax: 1-800-327-0455 E-mail: Sales@videogamedepot.com or pac_jr@videogamedepot.com or tk@videogamedepot.com Homepage: http://www,videogamedeopt.com/ ------------------------- Video Source Mon-Fri: 9:30 AM PST - 6:00 PM PST Sat: 10:00 AM PST - 3:00 PM PST Sun: Closed 973 Foxglove Drive Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Phone: (408) 720-8575 Fax: (408) 720-8576 E-mail: vidsourc@netcom.com Homepage: http://www.video-source.com/ ------------------------- Wolfgames http://www.wolfgames.com/ Note: This is an online dealer based in Japan that does mail orders to the US. Has many rare and hard to find games. ------------------------- PARTS AND ACCESSORIES: ------------------------- Sega Parts Phone: (888) 271-5678 Fax: (714) 569-0204 Homepage: http://www.sega-parts.com/ Sells parts and accessories for Sega's "Legacy" series (ie. Everything predating the Dreamcast). ------------------------- Highly incomplete! ------------ *END OF FAQ* Thank you for reading. Please feel free to contribute anything you feel is needed to make this FAQ more complete. (c) 1999-2000 John Hokanson Jr. and all FAQ authors. All rights reserved.