Newbie: How to set up Sega Saturn Japan plus some questions

Jeffrey · Post by **Jeffrey** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:50 pm

Hi. I am in my 30's and getting back in to video games. I found this site, with reviews of the space shoot'em ups I loved back then.

I purchased a Sega Saturn Japan on ebay to play some of the games reviewed here.

My question is: will I have any problems setting it up for a US tv? (Yes, I should have thought of this before buying, but its done.) If there are problems, how can they be overcome? Is there a better solution for playing classic Japanese Saturn games than getting a Saturn Japan console? Also, is there any benefit to getting a Japanese Dreamcast machine?

Also, I read that Nintendo's Revolution console will make available all or almost all their old NES games (my last console was an NES, before last week). Does this mean that all NES cartridges etc. will become outdated?

Finally, I have an old NES machine. I read online about a Blue Family Boy that allegedly plays old NES cartridges. Is this better than the old NES machine, and does it work well?

Thanks - Jeffrey

GateofThunderforceIII · Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:33 am

Welcome back to gaming! You should be okay with hooking up your Japanese Saturn to your TV. As long as you have the necessary video cables and that your TV supports it, you are good to go. Look for composite inputs (yellow/red/white), or S-Video inputs (much better than composite). The only thing I'm concerned about is the power cord. If it looks like ours, (100 volts) you're fine. But if it looks like two circular prongs, then you'll need a transformer/converter to convert US 110 volts to 240 volts that the Japanese Saturn may need.

As for Japanese DC's, owning one will open you up to much more shooters than owning a US one.

Good luck and hope this helps!!

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:01 am

Japanese Saturns run at 100v not 240v. I've had mine plugged in for years with no problem in the USA. The standard power chord is fine.

Japan uses the same TV system as the USA so no problem there.

You could of bought a USA Saturn with a cheap convertor to play Japanese games but sometimes they can be unreliable, so using a Japanese system is the best way to go.

Getting a modded Dreamcast might be a better alternative than buying a Japanese Dreamcast (it will play any DC game from any country), or using a swap disc (which I don't like doing but it works fine). Japanese DC's are pretty cheap so its no biggy, but buying a USA system and then buying a swap disc might work for you also.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:02 am

Is there a better solution for playing classic Japanese Saturn games than getting a Saturn Japan console?

Nope.

Also, I read that Nintendo's Revolution console will make available all or almost all their old NES games (my last console was an NES, before last week). Does this mean that all NES cartridges etc. will become outdated?

Nope. Rev's minimum resolution is far above the NES's max. As such the games will get 'stretched' and generally look like ass.

I recommend upgrading to at least S-video for the Saturn, preferably RGB which I recommend reading up on at gamesx.com. But of course that's not necessary just for enjoying the gameplay.

Hardware wise for the Saturn the only extra thing you'll need is a 4 megs ram cartridge to play Vampire Savior.

Jeffrey · Post by **Jeffrey** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 3:59 am

Wow. Thank you all so much for your replies.

There are a few extra things I have had trouble figuring out:

(1) I tried pulling out my old NES. I think it died. I got some 1/2 finished, fuzzy pictures of Gradius, but nothing else. What is the best replacement: a Blue Family Boy, a Kobo "neo-NES" or an old refurbished old, front-loading NES from ebay with a new 72-bit chip, or something else? Assume that the price differences of these items is not relevant. I was assuming that Revolutions would simply replace my old NES so it might not matter much, but from the feedback above about picture and gaming quality it seems that it does make sense to get the old cartridges and a good NES-style game player.

(2) Is a Japanese Dreamcast back-compatible with Japanese Saturn games? Or was it a good idea to get an Import Saturn by itself? I thought it was not compatible, and got the Saturn, but I wanted to check. I got a Gamecube for Ikaruga. It didn't seem that there were too many other reasons to get a Dreamcast (US or Japanese) over a Saturn. Did I miss anything?

So my set up will include:

A US PS2: I got this because there are lots of games for it easily available. I may or may not get a PS3 depending on what games they develop for it. I didn't see a reason to get special an additional Japanese PS2.

A Japanese Saturn, with some import Japanese shoot'em ups reviewed on this site.

A Gamecube (for Ikaruga, plus lots of other modern stuff).

A refurb NES (?) or other replacement.

I don't know whether to get a Sega Genesis (US). They are only about 20 dollars on Ebay. Not a big investment, but I don't know if the games are worth the extra space on my equipment rack. I am not familiar with the MSX platform, but one was about 40 dollars on ebay.

I will wait until Revolution and PS3 have new games out before deciding on them. I chose to miss the Xbox, since there didn't seem to be many games of the type I like for it.

Feedback on my hardware choices is welcome.

Also, I have an old CRT TV, and a new front-projection HT system. I was planning on gaming on the HT system (on order), but it seems that after a while people tend to just use their old TV, or a computer monitor. What are people's experiences with HT gaming? It seems most people use a computer or plasma, not a HT.

Thanks - Jeffrey

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:13 am

Jeffrey wrote:(2) Is a Japanese Dreamcast back-compatible with Japanese Saturn games?

Nope, the DC doesn't play Saturn games, no matter what region it is.

It didn't seem that there were too many other reasons to get a Dreamcast (US or Japanese) over a Saturn. Did I miss anything?

The DC's library of shooters is relatively small, but most of them have been pretty well-received, and the USA got a few of them released here (Giga Wing 1 and 2, Gunbird 2, and Mars Matrix) for relatively cheap. As for Ikaruga, IIRC the GC version has some extra stuff on it, while the DC port is more faithful to the arcade version in terms of graphics and such (I think the GC version might have a few bugs in it someplace). There are a couple of other Japan-only DC shmup releases (and still one or two coming out even today) you might want to look into; as was mentioned, playing imports on a US DC is pretty easy, you don't even have to spend anything if you're willing to DL, burn, and use a boot disc.

I didn't see a reason to get special an additional Japanese PS2.

If you want to play shmups, there are actually quite a lot of them on the JPS2, and most of them never made it here...not to mention that the same goes for the JPS1, whose games are playable on the JPS2. PS2s are also, to the best of my knowledge, tougher to get to play imports than DCs are, a mod is recommended IIRC.

GateofThunderforceIII · Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:19 am

Your choice of a Japanese Saturn was a great one. And in my opinion, a Japanese Saturn is better than a Japanese DC for shooters, though a JP DC is still essential. Oh yes, DCs are NOT backwards compatible with Saturns.

But probably even more essential is a JP PS2. Not only does the PS2 have an outstanding library of shooters, you can also play JP PS1 shooters. Many people consider the PS1's shooter roster to be equal to the Saturn's. I'm not one of these people, but I agree it is more than respectable.

I'm sorry I can't answer your other questions.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:44 pm

if you have the means, i would highly recommend getting a modded dreamcast, or a us system with a boot-disc. this way you have access to all the great JP only shmups, with the flexability to buy us versions if you find them cheap.

personally, i would recommend:
Gunbird 2
Mars Matrix
Zero Gunner 2 (japan only)
Bangaio
---and Rajirugi and Under Defeat look promising as well

(though i haven't played them yet)

Jeffrey · Post by **Jeffrey** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:05 pm

Two more questions:

(1) Is there any fall off in performance between a modified Playstation and an original Japanese one? Since I already bought a PS2 at a local Gamestop, and PS3 is just around the corner, if there is no falloff in performance, I would probably just wait and get a modified PS3, to cover everything PS-related. Otherwise I might invest in a Japanese PS or PS2. I already have plenty to keep me busy for months with Gradius 3-5, and the PS R-types (which kicked my butt last night), and the Gamecube shooter.

(2) What Plasma or TV do people use the most? I have an old flat-screen CRT. I would like a plasma, with a lot of video inputs, so I don't have to keep plugging and unplugging the games. I suspect that I will wind up with 3 main consoles: Revolution, PS3-modified, and a Japanese Saturn (with an old refurb NES, and a US Genesis and perhaps a few other pieces in the closet for occasional use). What TVs do people use the most here? The more connections the better. Or is there a video-switching device that lets me keep multiple consoles connected at the same time?

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:52 am

You really want to stick with a CRT if Picture Quality is your concern. All HDTV's make old games like ass because

1) they are usually 16:9

2) they need to scale to the resolution of the screen which causes all sorts of abnormal behavior.