Sunday, 11 January 2009

The Gagaman's collection of Saturn Joy



Alright there? May as well make my first post here at the Saturn Junkyard a nice meaty one with lots of pretty pictures to look at, so here's my Saturn collection.



This here is my original Saturn, which I've had since I was about 10 years old, and it has been reliable ever since. It was bought from Currys where it was bundled with Sonic Jam, Sega Rally, Manx TT, Sega Ages and Bubble Bobble collection. Most other kids in my school had moved onto Playstations, but the Sonic nutter in me made it a requirement to own one of these instead. This Saturn has been in storage for a little while mainly because last month I acquired this...



A wonderful white Japanese Saturn. I got it off eBay for about £80, and it came with a few games: Cyberbots, Vampire Savior, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Tetris Plus, Mortal Kombat II, Tongue King the Spirits 2 (what an odd name) and Virtua Cop. Unfortunately so far though I haven't been able to get a scart cable that will run this system at the optimum picture quality like my PAL one, but finally having the privilege to run the games at full screen and full speed 60HZ is fantastic in itself. Daytona USA in particular looks so much better now it's not squashed down by huge huge black bars on the screen.



Next up: my controllers. I used to have a lot more than this (including the steering wheel and a 2nd NiGHTS controller) but had to have a clear out a while ago. Now I have one Model 1 Controller (just for the novelty of having one, I never use it), two Model 2 controllers (the ones that came with the above two systems, and the greatest controller in the world ever), a NiGHTS 3D pad, and one of those cute bright blue Light guns (which I can't use anymore, darn LCD TVs..)



I got rather lucky finding this arcade stick at a car boot sale. Not only was it ridiculously cheap at just £2, but it was also brand new in the box, and had never been used before. It's not quite on par with the Dreamcast arcade stick, but it's still very good and much better than the Sega branded Saturn stick which was a bit shit. The photo also contains my memory cards: a British one i got a few years ago in Gamestation for a tenner, a Japanese one I can't seem to get to work, and an ST-Key which I was using to play import games on my PAL console before I got the Japanese one (it only ran the games in 50HZ though, so some games went out of sync with the sound).



This here is the beautiful Virtual On Twin Stick. It cost me a small lump of cash (about £30) and I still stink at playing Virtual On even with it, but I also have a Total Control 3 adapter so I can also use it for the sequel on the Dreamcast. That and I can use my Saturn controllers on the DC too, because to be honest the DC controllers are not the greatest controller in the world ever like the Saturn one is.

Now onto the most important part...the games!

First off my PAL games. Quite a lot of these were bought back when the system out in the shops but a few were eBay purchases and many were found at boot sales. I think my most lucky breaks at boot sales had to be Guardian Heroes (with a rather dried out cover) for £5, Marvel Super Heroes in perfect condition for £1, Die hard Arcade and House of the Dead for £2 each, and Street Fighter Collection for £5 which I recently sold off for £50 (I own the games on that disc on too many other systems as it is).

Next up my Japanese games. I started to slowly collect these a couple of years ago but my recent purchase of a Japanese system has drove my collecting into top gear (possibly also helped by the fact that I'm running out of Dreamcast games I want to buy). All but two of them have come from eBay (Sexy Parodius and Magical Drop III were purchased from Genki video games.), and a lot of them were bought to replace the bulkier, scratched up PAL versions I had (which are 99% in English anyway), just to save shelf space. I also grabbed X-men vs Street Fighter and a 4MB RAM cart recently so I could finally play all those great Capcom fighters that require it. Smashing.

Magazines! I subscribed to Official Sega Saturn Magazine from issue 26 onwards and it was quite possibly the best video game magazine ever written, I only wish the same staff and publisher did the Dreamcast one too. I also have a pile of back issues including issue 1 but my collection isn't complete and because they were taken to school a lot (to giggle at the fake pictures of a Tomb Raider nude cheat with mates) they're rather tatty. Still worth a good read now and again so they're not stored away. If it wasn't for this mag I probably wouldn't be the Sega and Capcom nutter I am today.

Does anyone remember this mag? It was only going for 10 issues and I have most of them, and the first few issues also had demo discs. I feel sorry for America, they apparently didn't get any Sega Saturn magazines AT ALL. I also have some issues of a magazine called Total Saturn, but I seem to have misplaced those.

Finally here's all the demos that came from the magazines and such I have, including Christmas NiGHTS and that one which is the first disc of Panzer Dragoon Saga. The Sega Flash discs tend to repeat the same playable demos on them over and over again, and were only released once a blue moon. Well that's me lot! I do have some other games in the post (Deathlete, Winter Heat, Sky Target and Golden Axe: The Duel), though.

Aww, they're kissing!

Saturday, 10 January 2009

Sega Saturn Data Link (Will wonders never cease?)



There's been a fair amount of mail firing through the Father's inbox since the announcement of Saturnalia (Saturn February) but this particular announcement couldn't wait a month to come to your attention.

It would seem that Saturn Junkyard reader and techno-genius Kent Rittenhouse, has been locked away in a Frankenstein style type laboratory, surrounded by glass valves, lightning conductors and discarded Saturn parts.

During his self imposed 5 year exile, he has been working on a device so fiendishly brilliant, that NASA are reportedly folding, due to the fact that they can't keep up with the competition... But hey! Why listen to me drone on, when you can hear about the project from the man himself?

Over to you Kent...

" Hello, I would like to provide some information on a Saturn accessory which I am actively building & selling.

After an Action Replay Plus disaster a few years ago (in which I lost 10 years of game-saves),
I began work on a device which would allow backing up
game-saves to a PC.

I ended up with a USB-based device, that I call the "Sega Saturn Data Link". It allows transfer of Saturn game-saves between a Saturn and PC. The game-save files are also compatible with the emulators SSF and Cassini.

So if you play a
game on an emulator, you can use that game-save on a real Saturn (and visa-versa).

The other cool feature of the device is that it also has homebrew applications. Small homebrew games, which are small enough to load into the Saturn's main ram, can be download to the Saturn. This allows a homebrew developer to tryout his code without burning a CDR each time.

You can also dump your Saturn's BIOS to a PC file, and I am also working on
future upgrades.

I am doing this work in my spare time, but so far, I have been able to fill every order that has come in, in a reasonable amount of time.

For further information, I have a website, www.GamingEnterprisesInc.com, which goes into a little more depth on the features.

Best regards,
Kent Rittenhouse"

Wow, how cool is that??? I'm gonna start saving up for one of those suckers RIGHT NOW. In one fell swoop, Kent has brought the Saturn into the 21stCentury! I'm gonna post a link in the sidebar that will enable you to navigate straight to Kent's homepage long after this post has gone.

Mr. Rittenhouse, we at the Saturn Junkyard salutes your genius! Oh and enjoy the video below...



Friday, 9 January 2009

The Gagaman(n) Is In The Building


One of the founding fathers of the Dreamcast Junkyard, Sega Aficionado, Multi-Media whizz kid, creator of the most excellent Sega Memories and web comic artist extrordinaire, the Gagaman(n) is all these things and more. If I'm honest, as a novice blogger, I was terrified of his criticism when I first joined the Dreamcast Junkyard and somewhat over-awed in his presence. The following achievements, listed below, might make you understand why...



Not only did he bring us Soul Calibur and Virtua Tennis as played with the Dreamcast's motion sensing fishing rod peripheral, the DCJY Wiki site, the DCJY youtube archive ,the Rummage series and so much more, I'm absolutely convinced he gave Sega the idea/impetus to bring out Samba De Amigo on the Wii!

I've wanted his encyclopaedic Sega knowledge and artistic/journalistic skills here from the inception of the Saturn Junkyard. Well now, two and a bit years later he's here. I'm absolutely filled with excitement about the upcoming possibilities that now lie in store over here at the SJY. Having slowed down towards it's second birthday, the site seems to be going through a renaissance in it's third year!



So now all that remains is for me to extend a hearty welcome to the Gagaman(n) and raise a glass to the future! Cheers!!!

Contributions Welcome!


Hi everyone!

Many of you will have already read this, as I sent it out as an email in the early hours of this morning. But I was worried that not all of our contributors/commentors will have received it (Arugulaz?) as their blogger names were not in the emails in my address book, so I thought I'd just be safe and post a general invite here for anyone who reads this auspicious missive...


Whilst all of the retro-gaming attention in 2008/2009 seems to be focused on The Dreamcast's 10th anniversary, we may have overlooked the fact that 2009 is also the year of the Saturn's 15th anniversary, as it was first released in Japan on the 22nd Of November 1994! Over at The Saturn Junkyard, we are making next month "Saturn February". During this 'Saturnalia' period we will try to play, celebrate, flag up and unearth items of interest on all things Saturn related.



We will look at homebrew,modding and emulation, lament dire marketing campaigns and corporate subtefuge, worship at the Cult Of Segata Sanshiro, trace the arcade origins of some of the Saturn's finest games and look at it's legacy in current or last gen gaming. And if you're wondering what it's legacy might be, I would point you in the direction of such titles as Sega Rally Revo (Xbox 360), Virtua Fighter 5 (Xbox 360, PS3), Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox), Baroque and NiGHTs (Wii), Resident Evil 5 ( Xbox 360, PS3) Resident Evil (DS) and so on...

As contrbutors/commentors, video game enthusiasts, retro-lovers (or people who have somehow ended up on my mailing list), I have a small favour to ask of you... Would you be able to mail me your feelings about the console? This could take the form of a paragraph of a few thoughts, jotted down as it were, or depending on your enthusiasm, an essay of epic proportions, detailing such events as when and how you first got a Saturn, what games you loved, whether or not you own or still play one today, top 10 software titles, best peripherals or whatever you want... Blatant bigging up of the Saturn Junkyard will be rewarded by material gifts of the Saturn/Dreamcast variety.





(Now there will be some of you out there thinking, what the hell is he talking about??? The Saturn aint all that! I loved the Playstation! *cough!* That's fine! I welcome humourous rebuttals, sarcastic comments, cyber insults or your opinion - even if is that "the Saturn was the wankiest console ever sold and I wouldn't even use it to wedge my shit house door closed!" - I think it would be healthy to pepper in some negativity/constructive criticism along the way.



Any way my dears, your contributions, however big or small will be very gratefully received! Simply pop them in an email to this address: revsimonearly@aol.com , together with any pictures, logos, web banners etc which you would like to accompany them and I'll cut and paste it into the finished article. I f you write a blog yourself, any publicity for the Saturnalia venture would be greatly appreciated and we will reciprocate with a role call of your wondrous blogs over here...

Thanks a million!

Father Krishna

Thursday, 8 January 2009

The Countdown Continues... Goodies Galore On Their Way To Krishna Towers!




Well, while I've been getting into re-dsicovering the Saturn, I've got a little bit carried away around the regions of eBay and Play Asia. I'm so excited about telling you what these purchases entail, but I'm saving it all for Saturn February!

The only thing I would say is that you'd find all the answers to what I'd bought, if you looked at the main page of the site. The clues are there peeps, ... On the downside, I'm going to have to justify these purchases to Mrs. K, in the aftermath of Christmas excess expenditure and an ongoing credit crunch in the UK...



Before Christmas, I got £40 for an old mobile phone that I no longer used. That cheque was deposited into an account along with a dividend from some shares I have in a bank. (Don't get too excited, it's only about £40 again... I'm no venture capitalist!)



Three of the four Saturn items have a Japanese flavour... But that's as much as I'm saying.
What I can tell you is that I also bought a VGA adaptor for my Dreamcast, from the much respected and revered Racketboy... I'm going to have HD Dreamcast hooked up to my kick ass speakers! AWLRIGHT!!!


Holy cow! I just realised, I got burned the last time I ordered from Japan... it was this! Pocket Fighter by Capcom. Remember? If I recall correctly, I was gloating a tad about this purchase... Maybe it was karma? Oh well maybe pride does come before a fall. I do remember getting an email in Japanese, but obviously I didn't have a fucking clue what it said.



I've not been asked to leave feedback for any items I've not rceived, so I'm guessing I might not have been charged for it (?) Anyhoo, be prepared for news of new treasures any time now (well in the next moth)

I didn't really have much to say tonight, I just felt the need to push the pictures of the couch further down the page, after cruel jibes from Deitrix. Please can I assure you all that despite the dull and frankly shocking pictures of my couch, that my home is not a squat. Not far off, but not a real crackhouse, nevertheless.


Tuesday, 6 January 2009

The List Updated... Father K's Saturn Collection!

.


Oh my God the house looks like a squat..

Well first test run for Saturn February is completed, with console, controllers and light gun's all working fine! Memory card and batteries working well and as I plugged it in for the first time in months the right date and time came up... Marvellous! Two things REALLY annoyed me (during this otherwise glorious evening though...)

Firstly my THIRD copy of Christmas NiGHTS has gone missing! And I was going to play it today too!!!!

What the hell is that???

Secondly, my copy of Marvel vs. Capcom (PS2) has gone missing! I bought it brand new for the princely sum of £4, 'cos it was missing it's box, but I was thrilled to have it on both Dreamcast and PS2... DOH!

I nearly went berserk when I looked in my God Of War (PS2) box to see nothing there, but I managed to find the disc. Phew!

Whilst testing my consoles, controllers, peripherals and leads, I decided to photo them. I'm throwing them in to this post as I guess they represent the whole collection along with the software... But the main reason I'm lumping together is because they're so poor, showing off my worn out sofa and carpet and on one which made me laugh, my slippers! Professional eh? I should have got pics off eBay of shiny pristine artifacts displayed on spotless laminate floors, but I decided to 'keep it real... aaiii!' So enjoy!!!



Really Father!
just how BAD are these photos????


TITLE /PUBLISHER

Actua Golf/ Gremlin
Alien Trilogy/ Acclaim
All Star Hockey 98/ Sega Sports
Area 51/ Midway
Athlete Kings/ Sega Sports
Blam! Machine Head
Break Point/ Ocean
Casper/ Interplay
Clockwork Knight/ Sega
Christmas NiGHTS Sampler (Some where... GRRRR!) Sega/ Sonic Team
Command and Conquer Virgin Interactive
Darklight Conflict/ Electronic Arts
Daytona USA/ Sega Sports
Die Hard Arcade/ 20th Century Fox
Exhumed/ Lobotomy Slaughterhouse Inc.
Fifa 96/ EA Sports
Fifa 98- Road To The Worl Cup/ EA Sports
Fighting Vipers/ Sega/AM2
Fighters Megamix/ Sega/AM2
Formula Karts Special Edition/ Sega Sports
Hang On GP 96/ Sega Sports
Hard Core Loaded/ Gremlin
High Octane/ Bullfrog
House Of The Dead/ Sega
Independence Day
International Victory Goal/ Sega Sports
Loaded/ Gremlin
Manx TT Superbike/ Sega Sports
Nascar 98/ Sega Sports
NBA Live 97/ EA Sports
NBA Action 98/ EA Sports
Nights Into Dreams/ Sega/Sonic Team
Pandemonium/ Crystal Dynamics
Panzer Dragoon/ Sega
Pebble Golf Links/ Sega Sports
PGA Tour 97/ EA Sports
Rayman/ Ubisoft
Resident Evil/ Capcom
Revolution X/ Acclaim
Scorcher/ Sega
Sega Ages/ Sega
Sega Manx Super Bike TT/ Sega Sports
Sega Rally Championship 1995/ Sega Sports
Sega Touring Cars/ Sega Sports
Sega Worldwide Soccer 97/ Sega Sports
Sega Worldwide Soccer 98/ Sega Sports
Soviet Strike/Electronic Arts
Space Jam/ Acclaim
Steep Slope Sliders/ crystal Dynamics
Street Fighter Alpha 2/ Capcom
Street Fighter Alpha Warriors Dream/ Capcom
Sreet Racer/ Ubisoft
The Horde/ Crystal Dynamics
The House Of The Dead/ Sega
The Incredible Hulk: Pantheon Saga/ Eidos
The Mansion Of Hidden Souls/ Sega
Titan Wars/ Crystal Dynamics
Tomb Raider/ Core/Eidos
Virtua Cop/ Sega/Am2
Virtua Cop 2/ Sega/AM2
Virtua Fighter/ Sega/AM2
Virtua Fighter 2/ Sega/AM2
Virtual Hydlide/ Sega
Virtua Racing/ Time-Warner Interactive
White Heat - Sega
Wipeout/ Psygnosis
World Cup Golf US/ Arc Developments
World Series Baseball/ Sega Sports
X Men: Children Of The Atom/ Akklaim


Yes those really are my slippers, with my festering feet actually inside. Note the 'capturing' of half an image of the shitty not working memory card to the left of the not working 'third party fancy pants' PSX/Saturn peripheral, that looks a little too much like a real gun... Photo journalism at it's best!




Japanese Import

Burning Rangers: Special Edition (Bonus Audio Mini-CD: 1. Burning Rangers Theme, 2. We Are Burning Rangers 3. I Just Smile
Dead Or Alive/ Tecmo
Nights Into Dreams/ Sega/Sonic Team
Segata Sanshirou Shinken Yuugi/ Sega
Virtua Fighter Kids/ Sega/AM2
Virtua Fighter Remix/ Sega/AM2


Monday, 5 January 2009

Saturn February! It's happening...




Back over at the lovely Planet Dreamcast Forums, in 2008, I proposed a month dedicated to the Dreamcast. I was so wowed by the 360, that I had neglected the Dreamcast, and more importantly/worryingly to the good folks over here at the SJY, the Saturn.

The idea proved quite popular at the PDC Forum and several of the members joined me and rekindled their retro console love for Sega's swansong. The major revelation on the Dreamcast was that I discovered and completed Sword Of The Berserk: Gut's Rage, a game that was bought and left languishing in a cupboard unplayed for four long years.

It was a epiphany like experience for me, and the game now resides in my 'favourite games of all time' list. I also had a PS2 fortnight in September when my 360 got the Red Ring Of Death. Similar story as the Gut's Rage one, but this time the epiphany was Yakuza!!


OK, back to the Saturn. Here's the idea... In the month of Saturn February, I'll only play Saturn software or their follow ups on other consoles. This could mean a trip down memory lane: I'll play stalwart favourites like Fighting Vipers, Sega Rally, Dead Or Alive, Clockwork Knight, Virtua Fighter Kids, NiGHTS, Sega World Wide Soccer 98, Daytona USA and so on... But that would be too easy and not necessarily productive or informative. It might serve as a good reminder of why I fell in love with the console in the first place, though. So maybe a launch night on February the first could be a Saturn Favourites-fest!

What needs to happen, the most important thing to do, is to play some games that I've bought, and then like a video game magpie, tossed into my tattered software nest, a disregarded shiny thing...
That means I'll have some games for the Saturn which will be for me, as fresh and virginal as the day they were bought out back in the good old Nineties. What will my Saturn revelation be? *whistful sigh...*


It might be that I devote some serious play-time to games that I've bought at no inconsiderable cost, imported from Japan or whatever and then largely ignored... Like Burning Rangers!!!



It could also mean a purchase of the Wii edition of NiGHTs, or a solid play through of Panzer Dragoon Orta or Virtua Fighter 5, or Dead Or Alive 4 on the 360... Keeping the Saturn dream alive on the current gen. (See above.)

It could mean hunting down some Saturn promotional loveliness, toys or merchandise which Elend doesn't own yet. (Unlikely... ) LOL! The more economic and sensible thing might be to grab some freebies off the net, like emulation or homebrew devs and finally learning how to utilise them on my PC or even burn to disc for my Saturn. I'd never dream of trying to chip it myself, but if I had a burned disc, I could try to conquer the swap trick. Hey! It might even be modded, it's off eBay, so who knows?

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. There is much preparation left to... erm...prepare! Job one is done. My Saturn collection is centralized and sorted. You can see it on the bottom shelf of this picture.

Job 2 is hopefully happening as we speak. I've left my two oldest boys in charge of hooking up the Saturn to the TV in the other living room. If they are obedient, I should be good to go before dawn breaks on 6th of January! (And this would mean I could legitimately play Christmas NiGHTS during the festive season, as it doesn't end till midnight tomorrow!

Job 3 is to revise the list...

That's all the games I own. This list was compiled ages ago and there have been many additions since. (It's probably doubled by now...) At this point I might have a hidden gem that you adore... Please indulge me and check it out. Let me know about anything there that floats your boat...



www.ebay.com
www.racketboy.com
play-asia

Here are some useful links to remind you of the Saturn's greatness and then it's up to you, or if this proves to be a simply solo venture, up to me. Any way I'm making myself all excited and I need to go to bed, so I'll stop now. Hope the video below gets you in the mood!

Monday, 29 December 2008

Dezaemon 2 Shmup Galore - Part 2!

Ho, ho, ho, it has been Christmas... again!

Wasn't it like yesterday, that the Dezaemon 2 Save Game Manager has been released by the Satakore.com staff around Christmas? Damn, as time goes by. It's actually 1 year by now and I wasn't even able to finish some "projects" regarding Dezaemon, which I had in the pipeline. But don't worry, soon they'll be finished and be posted here.

But the more important news today is, that the Satakore.com staff wasn't lazy and actually released the Dezaemon 2 Save Game Manager Volume 2! Oh my, what a feast. This thing opens - once again - the world of Dezaemon 2 user made shmups to you and your Saturn. On the CD are approx. 70 games and I think there are once again quite some pearls amongst them. The "Urban" series for example, which consists of "Urban Assault" (horizontal) and "Urban Uprising" (vertical).


(click for bigger versions)

Check out those great and moody graphics! Don't tell me, you wouldn't love to play all this. So, go head to Satakore.com and download the ISO of the Dezaemon 2 Save Game Manager Volume 2 and be sure to cancel all apointments, since you'll need weeks to go through all those games.

Sunday, 28 December 2008

Sega + Xbox = Awesomeness!

Can you guess what was the first game I tried on my recently purchased Xbox? No, not Jet Set Radio Future, I was already playing that on my 360. It was none other than Panzer Dragoon Orta! The only title in this magnificent series not released on the Saturn, I've waited for a chance to play it ever since it was first announced. Now, I'm not the biggest Panzer Dragoon fan out there, but I played the PD Zwei demo to death when I was a kid, and one of the first games I played when I bought my second (and current) Saturn was the original PD, so I really like the series, even though I've yet to beat Zwei and never even played Saga (it's on my list...).


Anyway, now it was the time to see how the only 128bits game in the series compared to the rest of the pack, and oh boy, was I in for a surprise. This game is fucking brilliant! I know you were expecting a more elaborate opinion, but to cut it short, that's just how it is. The game plays very much like the predecessors, you control a kid (in this case, a girl) riding a dragon through a pre-determined path and you basically just have to shoot your way out (though you don't necessarily have to kill everything), hence the name "on-rails shooter".


But, of course, Sega didn't just want to do the same thing again, they had to introduce some new twists. Now you can accelerate and decelerate your dragon to strategically position yourself on the battlefield and, even better, you can change its form. No shit, it's like having 3 dragons instead of one! Don't worry, though, for this doesn't mean that you'll have to bust your head trying to figure out what to do. The acceleration thing is only needed in some situations and the forms of the dragon are more a matter of personal taste than necessity. Some situations call for a specific form, like when there's a swarm of weak, little enemies the rapid fire of the "glide" form comes in handy, and the powerful shot of the "heavy" form helps beating some bosses, but in the end this is an action game, not strategy.


Then come the graphics, and OMG, isn't this game gorgeous. Even nowadays it still blew me away. That's because it excells not only from a purely techically point of view, but from an artistic one too. The PD universe is unique and surreal, no question about that, and this game explores that like no other. It's just...I can't really express it through words, but trust me, this game is beautiful, in any and every sense of the word. Pictures don't do it justice, and neither do videos, you really have to play it and see it in motion before your eyes. The level design is basically perfect, the scenarios are unique and varied and everything fits together so well... Playing this game is an unreal, truly fantastic experience.



Finally, to top it off, there's the extras. Not only is this a pretty long game considering genre standards (depending on player skill, it can last as long as most action games/FPS of today), but it features tons of unlockables. Really, there's a lot of stuff to unlock. You'll find detailed information about the game's universe, concept art, bonus missions with new character's/dragons and even a port of the original Panzer Dragoon! Woot!

So, in the end, this game is awesome. It's a god-send gift for fans of the series, a must-have, game something that proves that Sega didn't die with the end of the Dreamcast. Heck, it's so awesome they even made a limited edition Xbox after it!

Wednesday, 17 December 2008

Bring a taste of the Saturn to the Xbox 360

Since all the other members of the Junkyard are posting, I might as well chip in a little information about my latest project. A few months ago, I modified a Sega Saturn controller to work with a handful of game systems, including the GameCube, Wii, Nintendo 64, and 3DO. For the Cube and Nintendo 64, it was mostly a matter of personal preference, but anyone who's actually played the 3DO knows that the system was begging for an alternative to its heinous stock joypads.

The only console that I wasn't able to persuade to play nice with my hacked Saturn controller was the Xbox 360. The system uses a security protocol to filter out input from any controllers not licensed by Microsoft, and many of the official joypads use multiple grounds, forcing you to connect two wires to each pad. It's a frustrating situation, because although the stock Xbox 360 controllers are very good for their intended purpose, playing old-school titles like Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting and Pac-Man Championship Edition is a complete chore with that kludgy D-pad.

Fortunately, there was a ray of light at the end of the dark tunnel of mushy, imprecise control. A post on the Digital Press web site revealed that the MadCatz Arcade Stick was the ideal candidate for a controller hack... it's relatively cheap, licensed by Microsoft, and has a single ground, greatly reducing the amount of wires necessary for the modification. Best of all, I actually had one of these sticks in my closet! I went right to work, grabbing some spare parts lying around the house and heating up the old soldering iron in preparation for the hack.

Several hours of careful soldering and testing later, this was the end result:



There were a few hiccups along the way... I had to resolder a couple of wires that had broken off during playtesting. After this happened several times, I used a hot glue gun to permanently hold the wires in place. A good solder connection will hold fast under some stress, but glue offers that extra insurance in case you get a little too involved in a game and give the controller a not-so-friendly tug.

After a shot of glue on all the connections, the controller worked consistently, and continues to perform well even after several days of thorough testing. The only major issue I've had is that there just aren't enough buttons on the Saturn controller to handle all of the Xbox 360's functions. L3 and R3 aren't much of a loss (who uses the buttons under the thumbsticks, anyway?), but the absence of Guide and Back buttons is greatly felt; especially in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night where Back is used to access the inventory screen.

Nevertheless, I'm really happy with this hack. It's already boosted my scores in Xbox Live Arcade games, but more importantly, it's made them a lot more fun to play. If you're interested in giving this controller mod a shot, first check out this earlier post, then use this schematic as a guide. You don't need to be an electronics engineer to make this work, but some experience with a soldering iron is a must.

Tuesday, 16 December 2008

Happy Second Birthday SJY!!!


Thanks to two computers packing up in my house recently (my laptop power lead snapped where you plug it in and my PC has just given up and died) I've been unable to do much in the blogosphere of late... Having finally wrestled my son's laptop off him for about half an hour and so much has happened since I last checked in.

The first, is the most welcome addition to the family of newest contributor Martin (see below.)

The second is that I've missed the announcement of the second birthday of the Saturn Junkyard! DOH! So even if it is a few days late, may I take the opportunity to thank all our contributors, commentors and readers for helping to keep the memory of one of the finest consoles of all time well and truly alive.

Things may not have been a tad slow round here for a while due to the reasons mentioned below by Nebacha, but rest assured that there will be plenty of Saturn love posted here before our third birthday in December 2009!

Monday, 15 December 2008

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!

And then there were...7? Wow...

That's right, folks, we're now 7 (that's SEVEN!!!) here at the Yard. Since this place has been a little dead lately, I thought we could use the help of another Saturn enthusiast and Segata Sanshiro follower (I hope, forgot to ask him that...). So, everyone say hello to マーティン (that's Martin in Japanese)! He's a SEGA fan from Manchester (hey, Father, you two could have a beer together. Drink one for me too :D) and he has been in Japan for...I don't know, he'll give you the details. What matters is that he actually can talk and write in Japanese, which no doubtly will be of use to the Yard, since finally we'll have someone who can read import games (my little knowledge of katakana doesn't take me too far...).


But, more important than that, he's a true SEGA fan and his enthusiasm was what first made me want to add it to the team, so welcome Martin! Hope you'll bring some life to the Yard while Father K recovers from his shoulder, gnome works on his dissertation, ArugulaZ prepares a new video, elend waits for new weird merchandise to buy, caleb finds some game to talk about and I finish the fucking end of semester exams.

Sunday, 7 December 2008

Fighting Force prototype


I finally had the time to try out the Fighting Force (Judgement Force/Streets of Rage 3D/Metal Fist/Whatever...) prototype and, oh boy, am I glad that we could finally put our hands on this beauty. The first thing I noticed was that, for an early version, this game both plays and looks very good. It has good graphics and, more importantly, the framerate is both fast and constant, so no slowdowns or slow gameplay. Speaking about gameplay, the game offers more options than your average brawler. Besides kicking, punching and jumping, you can also do a special, rotating attack; punch behind you (useful when surrounded) or charge against your enemies. There are also some weapons, but I couldn't get firearms to work, only clubs and the like.


Other than that, I can't really comment on the similarities and differences between this and the final PSX version because I haven't played that game in a long time, but a lot of the stages seem familiar to me, like primitive versions of what ended up in the final version. It was definitely a shame that this one got cancelled, it would be a blast for any Die Hard Arcade fans since they both play very similar, but at least now we can have a taste of what that would be like.