Monthly Archives: January 2008

Lately I have been on a retro gaming kick. I am pretty much at the point where I want to stop when it comes to systems. They take up a lot of space. I moved some of my transformers collection around to make room for the consoles. A few days ago I picked up a switch box from Gamestop, so I don’t have to mess with the cables when I want to switch between systems. I really wanted to get a stereo T.V., but decided to use some old computer speakers instead. They sound better than any built in speakers anyway. The systems shown are SNES, model 1 Genesis and Sega CD, Sega Saturn, and Sega Dreamcast (Black Sports Version). Now that I have everything setup I need to take on the task of replacing the game save batteries in several of the cartridges.

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While in St. George over Christmas, Sarah and I decided to go to D.I., and I found a Sega Saturn for $6. I never had one of these and decided I couldn’t go wrong at that price. I also thought the security would be like the Dreamcast (nonexistent) and I would be able to play backups without problems. I soon found out that this wasn’t the case and that a modchip would be required. It was also pretty easy to install and only required two wires to be soldered. I figured why not. I was actually surprised I was still able to find a site that sells modchips for a system that is over 10 years old.

Once all was said and done though the D.I. Saturn appears to be faulty. Luckily I found another one on KSL classifieds that I bought last night. This Saturn was very well taken care of. It looks like new and even included the original box. I moved the modchip over and it works flawlessly.

The U.S. library of Saturn games has a few gems, but Japan got some great games that didn’t make it here. The first one I fired up was Capcom Generations 5 which is a Japanese import with perfect arcade translations of the original Street Fighter 2, Champion Eiditon, and Turbo Editions. These versions have all the sound effects and missing animations that didn’t make it into the Genesis and Super NES versions. I almost feel like it was worth the cost of the chip and system for this game alone. Another game I am looking forward to playing is Castlevania Symphony of Night. This game did get released for the Playstation in the U.S., but the Saturn version was Japan only. This game is regarded by many to be the best Castlevainia game ever. My favorite up until now has always been Castlevaina IV for the Super NES.

So far from what I have seen the Saturn was aimed to be the ultimate 2D system from Sega. Unfortunately for them it was at a time when everything was moving to 3D and it didn’t get much of a chance because of the Playstation. The Saturn though does still have a few 3D titles like virtua fighter and nights into dreams. Anyway I think I am going to be having a fun time with my Saturn. Hopefully I can find some time in between homework.

Here is a generic pic of the Saturn and then some pics I took of the modchip installation. It require taking out the ribbon cable that connect the cd-rom to the motherboard, plugging the cable into the modchip and then the modchip into the motherboard. The red wire is the power wire, so it is soldered onto a +5 connection on the power supply and then the green wire is soldered onto the 14th pin of the chip on the cd-rom.

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