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 remo