Barry the Nomad's Saturn Collection

Hey kids! As I was in the photo taking mood, and because I'd yet to do this, I thought I'd share my Saturn collection.

I bought my first Saturn in the winter of 1997, used, with a selection of ten games. My late arrival to the system was, in part, due to my love for my Genesis. Another reason I had held off from the system was that I was low on cash and didn't see any urgency in owning a Saturn as there was no true Sonic game for the system. It wasn't until I played NiGHTS at a department store that I knew I had to own the system.


In the past few months I've returned to the system with the purchase of a Japanese model, two stunners and a few new games.


For the most part, the games seen below were purchased between 1997 and 2000. The prize of my collection is a mint Burning Rangers that I had bought sealed in 2000 for $30, it was the first online purchase I had ever made. Recent additions include Clockwork Knight 2, Mr. Bones and the standard demo of NiGHTS.


The majority of my disc only games are fighters, my favorite being FIGHTERS MEGAMIX. The Bootleg Sampler and Bug! demo discs have been great in helping decide which games to buy. After five minutes of playing the Bug! demo, I knew that I will never want to own the full game (now watch, a month from now I'll own it and the sequel, damn ebay addition). The odd duck is Quaterback Attack, a game that I probably bought as it was 99 cents and I was in a buying mood. What was I thinking? I hate (American) football games.

So there you have it, my small but immensely fun Saturn collection! Oh, and I now write for the Dreamcast Junkyard! :D

Game Core 2009 - Saturn Edition

Yesterday I attended Game Core 2009, a current and classic gaming convention in Pennsylvania which had a Dreamcast oriented day of contests and competitions. My report of the event can be found at SEGA Nerds, but it's not the FULL report. Consider this the "Saturn Edition" of my day.

When I entered the dealer section of the convention, I had Dreamcast on the brain. However, after flicking through row after row of so-so Dreamcast games that I wouldn't mind owning but would be better off NOT owning, I found myself shifting to the Saturn sections. Maybe it's the fact that the past year has been so Dreamcast heavy, or that I've bought a good fifty Dreamcast games over the past eight months. In any case, the Saturn was a much more exciting library for me to browse and so a good portion of my convention budget went towards SEGA's big white, gray or black box that could.


Three dealers in particular had a HUGE selection of Saturn games, one of which had an excellent import selection. The photo above was of the dealer with the best deals, many games going for $4 to $15 dollars. I picked up Sonic 3D Blast for $8 after a bit of haggling.


That same dealer also had the holy grail of Saturn games, Panzer Dragoon Saga for $190. This is actually a fair price for the game. Another dealer across the hall had been asking $300!


The bin with the hand browsing through it was full of mint Japanese Saturn games and the bin to the right was full of mint Japanese Dreamcast games. Before I spotted my final purchase, I was very close to buying Napple Tale for $50.


As you see, my final purchase was a white Japanese Saturn (joy!), Sonic 3D Blast, an Action Replay Plus, MSR and a Dreamcast vinyl sticker (a prize for those who competed in one of the Dreamcast tournaments). Now that I think of it, both Sonic 3D Blast and MSR were composed by Richard Jacques. UK:RESISTANCE would be proud.


And here she is unboxed. As the Dreamcast anniversary has passed, I think it's time for me to focus much more on feeding games to this white beauty. For those curious, the console and Action Replay Plus came out to $90. Goddamn am I happy to finally have one of these!

Another Saturn Car!

(click piccy for biggy)

Thanks to the creative folks in the Forza 2 Motorsport scene, there's another Sega Saturn car! Now this car is kinda special, though, because this time it's a real Saturn car. On top of that you'll find lovely nights and Virtua Fighter artworks on the sides and a great excerpt of the white 3D pad on the back. What I love the most, is the bonnet / front lit / hood. Call it what you like. I am now actually convinced that a car design like that would also work in real life. I can't wait to try something like that out on my very own car... which I still have to buy... and make a driver's license for... Oh well.

Sega Saturn In Manga

Bamboo Blade is a Manga written by Masahiro Totsuka and illustrated by japanese artist Aguri Igarashi. It tells the tales of a broke high school teacher and kendo instructor. One day he is offered a bet by his former upperclassman. He then tries to win this bet, since he hopes that his life is les miserable when doing so.

So, the Manga has not too much to do with the Sega Saturn, yet in Book 6 of it, you can spot a nice little, white Sega Saturn there. I don't know the context because I can't read japanese, but I bet it's a heart warming scene, where someone gets a Saturn as a present and is really happy. Who wouldn't?

Watching the fairly new anime might show the Saturn in a much more glorious fashion. I don't know. I hope there are fansubs available, so we can even make out what the guy is saying, once he sees his new Saturn.


See some more (very small) pictures of the manga right here.

Also with this post I am saying kind of "good bye" to you. No, not because I plan to stop blogging here, but because I am leaving soon to Japan. On March the 23rd to be exact. Until then I have shitloads of stuff to do and thus won't be able to post anything here. I guess, after I am back I'll flood this blog with countless of Sega Saturn related photographs, stories, merchandise, flyers, whatever. I am so looking forward to it!