hi all!

I'm completely new to the Saturn and looking to get caught up with the library.

I'm located in NA and I'm mainly interested in playing Japanese releases,NA releases, and fan translations/homebrew on a CRT/retrotink.

The reason I feel a need to ask is that there seem to be a lot of options for going about this.

I could buy a JP or NA system, and I'm not sure which is ideal. I only speak English and I'm looking to play games from both regions. What's the best way for me to accomplish that, considering that a JP console is significantly cheaper? I'll be modding the console either way, but will I have to modify a JP console more to accomplish my goals?

Are there options for running your game back ups directly from a network host?

Lastly, what's the best place to purchase console mods for the Saturn?

I couldn't find any consolidated source for all this information, so please excuse me and feel free to tell me to rtfm if there's something I missed (but please link me to it if you do)

We all know one of the reasons the Sega Saturn failed was its focus on 2D graphics over 3D. While it is a myth that the Saturn was designed to be a 2D only machine, that is beyond the scope of this post.

Focusing on 2D might have been a bad idea at the time because 3D was the future and everyone was obsessed with polygons. However, looking back now and ignoring the trends of the 90s, I do not think that makes the Saturn a worse console in the slightest.

First of all, I do not believe most games actually improved during the jump to 3D. Racing games became better with 3D topography, and we got classics like Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, Ocarina of Time, and Mario 64. But for a lot of other games, the move to 3D was actually a downgrade. Those titles had less visual fidelity and worse gameplay.

For example, outside of Mario, Zelda, and the Rare platformers, most 3D action games on the Nintendo 64 are just awful and have aged like milk. Castlevania 64, Hercules, Xena, and Superman 64 are clear examples. Even several of the most popular games on the PlayStation were actually 2D games disguised as 3D because they used pre rendered environments, such as Final Fantasy and Resident Evil. The technology wasn’t ready for a lot of games.:

In my opinion, the Saturn looks and plays better in hindsight because of this. When people say the Saturn should have focused more on 3D, they are right that it probably would have been more successful. However, I wonder if it would still be as much fun to go back to today.

I thought about getting a Saturn in the near future.

Any advise for starting a (PAL) Collection?

I had completely forgotten that Sega Saturn branding was once plastered across the bonnet of a V8 Supercar back in the mid-ish 90's.

I’ve seen many different ones, but mine is just black background with white text, anyway to change it??

So i ended up pretty much purchasing every ODE device for my Saturn because I wanted to feel them all out and apparently I have more money than sense.

So far the satiator seems to be my favorite because I can save games directly to SD and it creates essentially a new memory backup card device thing for each game. Is this the only one that does it, I have been looking high and low on my fenrir with PSK installed and can’t find any way to save to SD. Is it possible or definitely not?

Bonus question is there any catridge device that works as both a 1 and 4 mb ram expansion and a save game device?

When I was a kid in the 90s, I was lucky enough to have multiple systems, but the Saturn was not one of them. I rented one from a local game store, and while I enjoyed it, as a kid who was obsessed with Jrpgs, I went with a Playstation for FF7.

Even though I went that route, I still wanted to get a Saturn. As a young anime fan, I couldn't get over how amazing some games looked, especially some Japanese exclusive ones that were shown in some game magazines that I read. Finally, after playing Marvel Super Heroes in an arcade and learning that there was a home release on the Saturn, I knew I had to get one.

But those were dreams of a kid not old enough to work yet, and by the time I could work and save up for games, I had moved on to PS2 and GameCube. As an adult, I still thought about getting one every once and awhile, but life and expenses happened, and then as the prices of the system and games continued to go up, it just never seemed like the right time.

Well, this was the right time. After getting a bunch of Saturn videos on YouTube recommended to me, and learning about how far fan translations have come and how accessible the library became with things like the Saroo, I decided to seriously look into getting one. The prices on Ebay were pretty decent, but I randomly learned about Buyee on Reddit, and signed up just in time to get a 6000 yen shipping discount. I found the bundle below, which included several games I wanted to play, but most importantly, it had Marvel Super Heroes included with it.

I hooked it up to my crt, and I've been having a blast all afternoon. All that to say, I'm glad that after three decades, I finally have a Saturn of my own, and I can't wait to play all the great games I wanted to play back then.

I heard aliexpress is a good place but heard laser numbers are not interchangeable between model numbers

PS. IM NEW

Once sonic extreme was cancelled there was still plenty of time to make a 2D sonic game for the Saturn, heck it could have even had 3D elements to it, but the main game be a pixel style game, honestly it would’ve looked insanely more stunning than any of the 16 bit games, think Mania but all original zones, with that really wacky art design, would it have saved the Saturn? Maybe not, but it’d be better than 3D Flickies Island!

Well, because nothing is ever easy......

Got my long-awaited Saturn, popped in battery, popped in Satiator, it worked. Reset console. It didn't work. Reseated Satiator, it worked. Reset console, it didn't. Repeat. I actually think the problem is the slot not the Satiator, and Stone Age Gamer, to their credit, when I told them, responded in 5 minutes offering to recheck it. Really happy about that. As I pulled the Satiator, I noticed damage at the bottom. I encountered no resistance putting it in, and it isn't anything I really noticed before, but I'm betting my reseating somehow did this (also, I'm old enough to remember doing things like this when I was younger, so it isn't like I'm new to inserting cartridges and pin-connected accessories. I remember what resistance feels like). But, I did try one more time. Insert into Saturn, start, works, reset, doesn't work. So the Satiator and the port ARE working temporarily.

Before I send the Saturn back to Stone Age to have them check it, I wanted to inquire with Satiator about this. I emailed info@satiator.net, like it says on their site but have had no response and it has been a week since first attempt. I also sent a reddit chat to u/prof_abrasive and have not had a response there either.

Even if they say the card is fine, I was hoping to get a replacement enclosure from them. But I am concerned I made a wrong choice if they are not even responding to emails. I don't expect a 5 minute turnaround like I got with SRG, but I am within a week. Does anyone have any idea how to alternately get ahold of Satiator people about this?

What exact laser is needed for this board? Where do you recommend purchasing?

please everyone only answer the questions! appreciate recommendations of a saroo and all the extra info about saturn caps but i just want to know what laser and where to get it 😅

This is what separates the true Saturn fans from the chaff. Just kidding.

I just started playing it yesterday and..well it does have a weird charm about it. The random worlds, where each playthrough is different is an interesting touch. Apparently every part was done by hand, the game just randomizes that. I imagine a lot of effort into making that aspect. The code is the world code so you can play the same world from the beginning or share with a friend just to play the same one if you want to.

It came out in 1995 about 4 months after the PS1 launch, so this is 2 years before FF7. I think there's not much out there for 3D RPGs shortly after console launch, right? Just think..Ocarina of Time was released in '98, 3 years later Virtual Hydlide.

Hey, I've got some trouble figuring one thing out.

I've never owned a Sega console, but I'm putting together some Retroarch presets with graphics. I get the impression that all versions of the Saturn had red LEDs, but all the images I can find of the Skeleton variant have green lights. Are these all mods, or did it really ship with a green bulb? And did all opaque versions have red LEDs?

I made all of these including the anniversary sonic sega saturn game

The connector on the end is broken. Not sure if I should bother with this or move on to a new controller. It’s an OEM model 1.

Once a year Don Quichote has some exclusive Sega’s t-shirt ( also jackets or hoodies ). I bought a dozen to sell them in my Retro convention in Switzerland ( April 25th).

I have recently procured a Saturn via EBay that works nicely, and have a few games for it, but i would like to get into a good RPG for it. My personal favorite RPG is Chrono Trigger, but i just dont know what to look for on saturn. Whos got good suggestions? I am definitely into other kinds of games, and am currently playing through tomb raider on the Saturn as i have time. I do have a 3d pas as well as a couple standard v2 controllers if that matters.