Modding goodness

I got my Saturn modded! Amazing how, with a bit of luck, you can still find someone today who will mod your favourite retro system. I was that lucky, something I never thought possible in this videogame god-forsaken land. The timing was funny, since just a week or so before I attempted to do the 50/60 Hz mod thingy, based on a guide where you just had to solder two wires into two big pads on the Saturn's board. Only to find out that my board was a different model and that I needed to solder a wire either directly into a tracer in the board or into the tiny leg of a chip. Fuck.

Still, in a cosmic coincidente, I browsed miau (that's Portugal's eBay) for the first time in months, aimlessly, just for a kick, when I found a sale for the complete service of a mod chip and switch. 60 euros and two weeks later, I got my Saturn back, and it works like a charm! Bye-bye fucking swap-trick (that was annoying as hell when I just wanted to play for 5 minutes to relax) and black borders in my picture. Now it's just putting the disc in and it will play straight away, in full screen and at full speed. Yay!


Not my video, my cellphone camera is not that good

Now the only thing lacking is a region switch, but nothing an Action Replay 4M+ cart won't solve.

You know it's Christmas when...

Firstly, I must say how humble I am to write on this well established blog. Hopefully my contributions will give you as much pleasure reading them as I have in writing them. I'm Martin, and I also write for the Dreamcast Junkyard. Obsessed with the SEGA of old and Japan, I think I can add something to this excellent blog on the SEGA Saturn.

Even though I am writing a Ph.D thesis at the moment Neb, I think I can squeeze in a little SEGA lovin'! I am indeed a segata sanshiro セガタサンシロ follower! I actually sang his song in karaoke in 2006 in Japan... you have no idea how huge he is there. People aged between 17 and 27 know exactly whom Segata is, which is just perfect. As for reading and writing Japanese, yup - I'll do my best! I know enough to get by in the games and also enjoy quite a lot of the more intricate titles... SEGAGAGA anyone...?

You know it's well and truly Christmas when you dig out your copy of Christmas NiGHTS on the Saturn and sit in awe of the amazing graphics and playability (especially if you have the analogue controller) of the Sonic Team creation: NiGHTS. 

As has been well documented before, Christmas NiGHTS is pretty much a demo version of NiGHTS, with a Christmas theme. It uses the Saturn's internal clock (CR2032 battery dependent) to 'skin' the game. In November, it's Winter NiGHTS, April is April Fool's NiGHTS and New Year also has a skin. 

Imaginative and hasn't been seen in games since. Maybe it's because most games these days are pieces of crap you don't want to come back to year after year...

I thought I would give a teeny-tiny background on the way I game and what my main system is. As you can see on the left, I have a model 2 Saturn. I also have the original model 2 Saturn that I bought back in 1996 - untouched. This Saturn however, is heavily modded. There's a region select switch (3 way) and a 50/60hz switch. The LED is also a bright blue one which is a nice touch I think.

In time, I'll review some of the 404 games I have for the Saturn... I have 404 Backup Games, 20 PAL originals and 102 Japanese Originals... and still collecting! Looking forward to getting involved in the Saturn Junkyard - this console gave me the most heartache when I was a young lad... too expensive for Christmas... friend bought PlayStation and eventually that won... oh SEGA. Merry Christmas Sonic Team, SEGA of old, and to you all!

The Best DS Lite Mod To Date

Whilst browsing the japanese Yahoo Auctions site for rare Sega Saturn goodness, I came across this modded Nintendo DS lite. Yahoo seller xxx_pumpkinfactory_xxx refurbished his DS not only with weird bling bling, which he probably stole from his girlfriend, but also with the miniature Sega Saturn Gashapon we all love. I dunno what to think about it. The Sega Saturn looks class as always, but the bling bling gives me the chills. Also note the selection of very expensive games underneath it! Psychic Assassin Taromaru (around 200 USD), Radiant Silvergun (around 150 USD), Death Crimson (! around 100 USD) and Guardian Heroes (well... cheap!) give the Saturn modded DS the stage it (probably) deserves. Oh and btw, click the picture for a bigger version.

On a sidenote: Yes, I'll also post something about Sega and the Sega Saturn in Japan, too! I still have to edit the photos I took, though. Approximately 1,100 pics! Don't worry, I won't post all of them in one single blog post.

X Box 360/ Saturn Controller Mod

The interest in Retro Gaming continues to rise thanks to the X Box Live downloadable content.
However, a rather clever and inventive young type, became a little frustrated with the 360 game pad when playing Street Fighter II. The solution? Return to a pad which was designed for 2D fighting games! Yes its the trusty old Saturn pad! So enjoy the video above, which came courtesy of the rather marvellous Gametab.com.