Sega Saturn in 2022 - Bad Idea?

[chipsgravy]

I was in the exact opposite position just before Xmas. I have always owned a Saturn since launch more or less. In fact my first eBay spend was a 50/60hz switched Sega Saturn. It was £250 and I paid by cheque. It took ages to clear and arrive... So Last Dec I bought a PlayStation. It's not the first time I have owned one, but it just never stuck before. Anyway I got an X-Station modded one and a RAD2X HDMI converter. Mainly because last year this is what I did with my Saturn. I got a Fenrir, and a RAD2X to convert the video signal.

There are ways now to tell if the Saturn is 20 or 21 pin from the serial number, which is what I did before buying my JPN Saturn on eBay. I found a seller selling just the one console with a clear image on the listing of the serial number and checked at the fenrir site. https://shop.fenrir-ode.fr/

I also replaced the 110v PSU with a newer multi voltage one. Both of these mods are plug and play and require no soldering. If you can use a screwdriver then you can replace both items. I would also recommend getting a Pseudosaturn cartridge as this will have 1mb/4mb game compatibility as well as enabling import play without mods.

[DeathAdder]

Get Manx TT Superbike. Great fun for about 100 yen.

[speedlolita]

One of my favourite aspects of the Satiator is the packaging:

[fuse]

Wasn't aware of the Satiator before now, but seems like an ideal way for me to play fan translations. Easy install without having to mod hardware or give up playing discs is a huge plus for me, only downside being that it's quite spendy to use just for that purpose...

Everyone's got you covered on the scaler front; RT5X is the current gold standard, but the OSSC's still a good shout, and if it's not a quick decision you're going to make, the OSSC Pro might be worth hanging around for. In terms of availability, price, and feature set, I think you can safely strike the Framemeister off the recommended list.

In terms of games, it's a great system that caters to a few niches really really well - shooters and fighters in particular. Yes, a lot of its biggest hitters have been ported to more modern systems, and there are more accurate ways to emulate its once-legendary arcade ports, but reading your posts it's clearly a lot about getting the right feeling, and having a physical product in front of you to actually value. To that, I say good on you. I love my Saturn collection.

[speedlolita]

Saturn, 64 and PS1 is my favourite era of gaming so having well equipped setups for all 3 is a no-brainer.

[dataDave]

I have another really nice Saturn memory. I got home from school one day and my grandad surprised me with the Virtua Cop lightgun set. I was a bit old for surprises like that, which made it even more of a surprise!

My mate and his big bro came round to play that same day, those were the guys who I swapped my PSX for. Even though they'd acquired Time Crisis you could see the slight regret on their faces after playing VC.

The HOTD port plays wonderfully as well, as does Virtua Cop 2.

FFS, I'm talking myself into one now.

[wakka]

Sort of did think that as I was typing it...

[speedlolita]

I'm not sure you'd want to with US Saturn game prices.

[wakka]

Very good point and I forget that because I've never had to do it! As a Mac user, I bet doing that is mega fiddly anyway because Mac never has all the tools for this stuff that Windows does.

Just thinking actually, a modded BIOS could be of use to Wools. If he is looking to purchase original discs for the most part, from my perspective it's useful to have access to all regions. Otherwise you're cutting yourself off from any English language stuff.

[speedlolita]

The region free BIOS isn't even really a necessity if you're going the CD-R route as you're able to modify region flags on disc images. It does make the whole thing feel more cohesive though!

[wakka]

@speedlolita ah the Fenrir had slipped my mind, I was mentally comparing to the MODE.

It does sound like Wools really wants to be able to play original discs which leaves either a Satiator or modchip+BIOS hack+CD-Rs as the solution (but most people probably wouldn't wanna do that these days as burning discs is not that convenient).

Otherwise I'm sure you're absolutely right and Fenrir is the most bang for buck for sure.

[speedlolita]

[MENTION=5490]wakka[/MENTION]: Certainly the Satiator is a good product but with it costing nearly double what the Fenrir did I found it difficult to justify the cost. If you're steadfast about retaining the ability to play discs though then the Satiator seems like a great product indeed.

[Asura]

I don't care how noisy the 360 might be, just put the volume up a bit. Even if mine had tourettes I'd still prefer it over playing aged 32-bit ports which struggled tremendously and are quite easily among the most damning examples of aged videogames you can find. I say this as someone who loved Saturn Daytona/VF2, and used to get up early before school each day to play (I'd never gotten up early for anything, before or since). That was the best option we had back then. The options for playing these games today are wide, vast, convenient, and cost-effective.

I have the PS3 versions of this, Virtua Fighter 2, Fighting Vipers and Nights: Into Dreams and they're absolutely fantastic.

That being said, I certainly have a soft spot for PAL Saturn originals of all of these, as they're such a big part of my childhood - Daytona USA in particular, as I remember opening it on Christmas Day.

The takeaway here though is honestly everyone with a PS360 should have the version of Daytona. It's amazing.

[wakka]

Go for it, the Saturn is tons of fun. Like Dave outlines, the biggest games did get ported to the 360, but there is absolutely reams and reams of stuff that has never been ported and can't be found elsewhere (including some big hitters like Panzer Dragoon Saga).

I think of it as a real Galapagos of a console. It was very much its own thing with a unique library of games, and it's almost a 'Road Not Taken' in terms of the direction mainstream gaming could have gone in the second half of the 90s.

So if I can outline what I think are your requirements:

1) Real, original Japanese hardware, possibly a sexy edition like a This Is Cool
2) The ability to play original discs
3) The ability to upscale for good picture quality on a modern display

My thinking on this would be to look at the following:

1) Good condition original unmodified hardware of your choice - £100 - £400+ depending on condition and what version of the machine you want. Don't forget you'll need a stepdown, too!

2) OSSC or RetroTink5X for upscaling purposes - used OSSCs often pop up on here for around ~£85 or can be had for about £160 new. The RetroTink5X runs about £360.

The OSSCs aren't as sophisticated as the RetroTink5X, but, to be honest, for Saturn purposes, the main bugbear of the OSSC (slow resolution switching) has never been an issue for me. It seems much more of an issue on PS1 and PS2. I've been very happy with the performance of my OSSC for Saturn (the picture is excellent even on an unfancy PC monitor), but the RetroTink5X is the splurge option with more future proofing for other retro systems.

3) Satiator - this is a cartridge which plugs into the video port on the back of your Saturn to let you play ISOs off an SD card. It runs about ~£190 plus shipping and tax.

I don't have direct experience of this (anyone who does please chime in to give more details!), but I've read good things about it. The reason I include this is because unlike other ODEs it will let you also play CD games, so you can get the original software you're hankering for AND have the option of playing ISOs.

I really would advise having some way of playing ISOs personally, for two reasons - firstly, a lot of Saturn game prices are bonkers. Personally I don't think it's worth shelling out £400, £500, £1000 for some of these games. If it's above a reasonable price level, it's great to have the option to just play it for free.

Secondly, the Saturn has a growing number of fan translations available, that you will need to be able to play ISOs to access. Sakura Taisen, Shining Force 3, Policenauts, and more can be played in full English this way. For me it's essential to have access to.

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I reckon with those three things you'd be setup, personally (although it would be nice if someone like Speedy could weigh in with a view on the Satiator because, as I say, I don't have direct experience, just read good things).

My personal setup is slightly more old school, no ODE for me. I have a grey original model Japanese unit, modded by Speedy with a Phantom Universal chip and a modified BIOS (allows the playing of originals and CD-R copies from any region), plus UK PSU to alleviate the need of a stepdown. I plug that into an OSSC which gives a delightful picture on my PC monitor. I have a handful of original games but most play CD-R copies because of the aforementioned high prices and excellent fan translations available.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Hope that's at least somewhat interesting/useful.

[Wools]

I know I don't want to just go full authetic and have a Japanese Saturn under my modern TV as it'll look like **** so I want some creature comforts like wireless controllers and an upscaler but I don't think I want the pure emulation option as I have that with my PC.

I think what I miss is the physcial colletion side as with just a PC and a Switch, I have all my gaming needs meet and as both are downloaded titles only, I have no mess to take up room in the house! But, after seeing those lovely Saturn Japanese games, I want to have some kind of collection in my life again and as I really have owned or played most great systems released since the mid 1980's, it feels like the Saturn is the one system I did want but never immersed myself in. I'm very aware not all the ports are up to scratch but the one's that are are pretty bloody good and the old charm, combined with the ability to actually buy and collect games is what I'm after.

Hmm, I feel more emboldened now! I think a white Saturn is what I feel when I think of Japanese Saturn's but the discolouration issue may put me off long term. This is Cool Saturn's are around £400 from Japan... Maybe I'm getting giddy now.

I think I do want a Japanese Saturn which is untouched which I can now start looking for but then to put it through an HDMI upscale solution solution is my next source to look into. Thanks to [MENTION=13863]speedlolita[/MENTION] and [MENTION=7652]Hirst[/MENTION] for the RetroTINK 5X Pro pointer. I watched [MENTION=1524]Yakumo[/MENTION] review his on Retro Core and he seemd to love his.

More research!