Happy New Year 2011, Go Play Christmas NiGHTS!

Happy New Year, SJY readers! Hoping you have a safe, happy and Saturn-filled 2011. May Segata Sanshiro bless you.

While you're getting over your champagne headache, why not play Christmas NiGHTS? Today you'll be treated to a special intro screen, character costumes and stage music in celebration of the new year! Just make sure that your Saturn clock is correct (mine was thanks to my replacing of the internal battery).
image courtesy of the nightsintodreams.com forums

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!

Christmas is over...What reason is there to go on???

Greetings dear friends! For me, this is the most traumatic time of the year, as I have to say goodbye to my favourite Yuletide season. The partying is over, the decorations down and I'm off the booze. Yet, the weather is still crap, the nights are still long and I now have to get up for work everyday (in the dark!) At times like these, I have to look forward to things that sustain my will to live... One of these is the February release of the long awaited NiGHTS: Journey Into Dreams for the Wii... It's the only thing that's gonna get me through January!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's Christmas Eve and Krishna Towers is bedecked in Festive finery, the Ginger's stockings are hung up by the fire, awaiting Segata (sorry Santa) to arrive. I'll be enjoying a game of Christmas NiGHTs before bedtime, and be enjoying a lovely game of Sega Rally Revo tomorrow!

Just to say a very Merry Christmas to all our lovely contributors and commentors and all the best for 2008, which I know is going to be a very special one for the Saturn Junkyard! To celebrate the season, I've given you all another chance to see our leader scaring the shit out of load of Japanese children on Christmas day! Enjoy!

Snipped by 50p!

Hi folks! In a recent Saturn shocker, I've just found out that my recent bid for official Sega Saturn Magazine issue 26, with a free demo disc of Christmas Nights has been beaten by a measly 50p! I had made a top bid of £5.00, and then gone off for the weekend, full of hope!

However, on my return home I checked my eBay account, only to cry bitter tears as I discovered that some bastard had bid £5.50 and won!!! BAH!

Still, on a positive note, I did manage to secure issue 15 with free demo CD called 'Sega Flash' (Vol3) I think... For the princely sum of £2.39 no less! So all is not lost...

BTW, as there isn't much to this post,I thought I'd include a real picture of the Good Father, so you can finally put a human face to the patron of this particular blog... You've seen Caleb, NebachadnezzaR and now old FK... Here I am last Saturday in one of the arcades at my caravan site in Wales, posing ridiculously in the cab of my all time favourite driving game and Saturn stalwart, Sega Rally! If you're wondering about the gesture I'm rather rudely making, it's 'cos I'd just lost two games to my mate John, who is taking the picture... If you're wondering why I'm wearing shades inside, it's so I look like a bad ass! LOL!

I'll pictorially catalogue the wonderful selection of Sega arcade games on each successive visit I make. Oh well, I'll sign out and wish you a fond farewell! Oh, and in a bit of Wii news, I'm now online on my Wii and have just downloaded the Megadrive classic Comix Zone on the Virtual Console... But I'll need to chat about that over at 'the other place...' Good Night!