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Saturn inspired racer Parking Garage Rally Circuit coming soon to Steam; actual Saturn version teased

July 24, 2024 by Big Elk

This is for the Sega Saturn racing fans out there. Solo indie developer Walaber (Creator of the Jelly Car series and credited on Where’s My Water?) is paying tribute to the mighty Saturn with his brand new retro styled time trial racer Parking Garage Rally Circuit. This game is designed to look like an authentic Sega Saturn game from 1998 and is currently listed on Steam, where it is planned to release for Windows, Linux, and Steam Deck sometime within 2024.

More exciting than that is that Walaber wants to bring this game to Nintendo Switch and the very console he’s paying homage to, the Sega Saturn. He will bring the game to Switch if it can sell 50,000 downloads on Steam, and then make a special Saturn version of the game after achieving 100,000 downloads on Steam. If you wanna see this game in your collection for either console, then you can start by wishlisting the game on Steam right now and then buying it after it’s released. Let your money do the talking.

But if you need more convincing than that, we have extra info for you beyond the break. We bet you’ll be heading on down with this kind of ferocity.

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All-In-One Sega FPGA console “SuperSega” in development; shows world’s first Dreamcast FPGA footage

July 23, 2024 by Big Elk

There’s been talk lately of an all-in-one Sega FPGA console in the works called the SuperSega. Lots of people are excited by the reveal of this indie project, while others are skeptical about its chances of fulfilling its promises or even coming out at all. We’ve waited a bit for more concrete info about the SuperSega before reporting, so now we’re ready to talk about it at last.

The SuperSega is an FPGA console currently in development that can play games from every single console Sega has ever released (Except the Game Gear, for some reason, at least for now). We’re talking about SG-1000, Mark III, Master System, Genesis/Mega-Drive, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, and Dreamcast games. Currently, the only Sega FPGA console ever released commercially was Analogue’s now decommissioned Mega SG, which was designed to play Genesis games, as well as SG-1000, Mark III, Master System, and Game Gear games via separately available cartridge adaptors. The SuperSega, on the other hand, only needs an original 32X unit for 32X cartridges. It has built-in cartridge slots and a disc drive for everything else.

It sounds impressive so far, but as of this writing, no hardware prototype has yet been produced. Work has been done on the software, and a hardware prototype is planned to be produced this September. The SuperSega team has put together test videos, including one of Dreamcast games running on their targeted hardware. At least this way, we know it’s unlikely to be fake. Stop in past the break to see these videos and to learn more.

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Homebrew Games Summer Showcase 2024 showcases 120 new homebrew games, including many for Sega consoles

June 7, 2024 by Big Elk

Yesterday, on June 6th, 2024, NES Homebrew developer extraordinaire Matt Hughson aired the second ever Homebrew Games Summer Showcase video presentation. The 34 minute long presentation showcased a whooping 120 games across many retro game systems, most notably including many Genesis/Mega-Drive, Master System, and Game Gear games, as well as even one Saturn game and two Dreamcast games. You can also expect many games for NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and SNES, as well as two Turbografx-16 games and even a Virtual Boy game. This is one video you can’t miss if you’re really interested in seeing what talented developers are doing with long retired game hardware today.

You can watch the whole video above, but join me past the break for a quick list of all the games shown that are coming to Sega platforms, as well as links to follow their developers and/or download the games.

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Burning Rangers gets lost 2P Co-Op mode restored with downloadable patch

June 4, 2024 by Big Elk

Did you know that Burning Rangers (1998) was planned to have a two-player co-op mode during development? This was shown in early previews and was found in some prototype builds of the game, but no such mode exists in the final retail release. Turns out that the code for the co-op mode was left within the game’s data, so dedicated Sega Saturn reverse engineer Bo Bayles has restored that co-op mode with a special patch. You can download the patch and try it out with your own image file of Burning Rangers. (Which I trust you obtained legally from a copy you own, which you may or may not have paid hundreds of dollars for, but that’s not my place to judge.)

Now then, to the next phase and to the next stage. Come with me past the break for the patch download and more info.

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SEGA Talk #141: Virtua Cop (1994)

May 31, 2024 by Barry

On this episode of SEGA Talk we get lock and loaded into the criminal underworld of Virtua City and break the case of SEGA’s 1994 revolutionary light gun shooter Viruta Cop, we look at its history, ports and legacy it left behind. ALL THIS AND MORE ON … SEGA TALK!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

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Homebrew Saturn port of X-Men arcade gets updated demo, adding 3-player co-op and playable Storm

April 3, 2024 by Big Elk

Remember the homebrew port of the 1992 X-Men arcade game for Sega Saturn being worked on by hotrodx? They just came out with an all-new version of their demo adding Storm to the playable roster, as well as 3-player co-op and a new 2nd stage.

Might as well cut to the chase. Check in past the break for info on the update as well as a download link.

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Japanese Saturn classic Kingdom Grand Prix discovered to have a hidden English translation setting, now unlocked with patch

February 4, 2024 by Big Elk

The long lost discoveries in Sega Saturn classics just keep on coming. Usually fans have to translate Japan-exclusive games in English themselves with fan translations, but it seems the cult arcade shooter Kingdom Grandprix, or Shippuu Mahou Daisakusen (1996), already had one prepared and hidden away in the game all along. Thanks to Saturn homebrew enthusiast and fan translator Malenko, who also discovered hidden characters in the Saturn version of NBA Jam Tournament Edition just last year, as well as Bo Bayles, who it turns out is another familiar name behind some recent crazy Saturn discoveries, a previously undiscovered English language script was found deep within this game’s code. Just like with his NBA Jam discovery, Malenko just happened upon this while poking around in the game’s code. He intended on making his own fan translation of Kingdom Grandprix, and he still ended up doing so as the ready made English script was… rough, to say the least, but it was still enough to aid him as a base for his new script.

Race straight on through the break to learn more and to download the English patch to try for yourself.

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240p Test Suite now available for Sega Saturn

January 23, 2024 by Big Elk

This is for retro gamers who love to get very technical with their TVs and monitors. The well known 240p Test Suite, created as an open source software by Artemio Urbina, is available on all sorts of retro consoles, but until now, the Sega Saturn was not among them. A version of the Test Suite has now been ported to Saturn by SegaXtreme forum member hitomi2500 for this year’s Sega Saturn Homebrew Competition. However, the Saturn version is currently work-in-progress, so it may still have some issues that need to be worked out, but for now the port is available for you to mess around with on your Saturn.

Check in after the break to learn more about what 240p Test Suite is and to download it.

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New secret level select codes discovered in the Saturn game Bug! after 28 years

January 22, 2024 by Big Elk

Bet you didn’t know that the 1995 Sega Saturn game Bug! (1995) had level select codes in it. Well, actually people did know, but nobody knew there were actually two very different ones until now. On January 11th, 2024, 11 days ago, @memory_fallen revealed on Twitter (X) that they had discovered cheat codes in both the North American and Japanese versions of Bug! that had never been revealed before. There’s a bit of an interesting caveat to the new code in the North American version in particular as well. You can check in after the break to see what these new codes are.

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Homebrew port of Konami’s X-Men arcade game being worked on for Saturn; playable demo now available

January 6, 2024 by Big Elk

Arcade flyer scan courtesy of arcade-museum.com

We’ve talked al lot about homebrew developers porting games to Genesis/Mega-Drive lately, so lets switch things up with a homebrew Saturn port this time. Developer hotrodx is working on converting the 1992 X-Men arcade beat-em-up by Konami to the Sega Saturn and now has a demo ready for the public to try out.

X-Men is one of the most beloved arcade classics of all time and one of the shining examples of classic beat-em-ups, right up there with Sega’s own Streets of Rage series, but somehow the game never received an official home port on any game console in the 90’s. Decades later, it would finally receive official home ports to PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010, an iOS port in 2011, and its own Arcade1up home arcade cabinet in 2011. Only the latter is still available, as the digital-only 2010 port was removed from the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace in 2013 with the iOS version going away in 2014.

The port is early in development, with the demo available as of this writing being version 0.1.1. The demo only consists of the first stage and gives you access to only two characters: Wolverine and Cyclops. Developer hotrodx also has a message displayed in the demo saying that they’re not using any source code derived from the original game and are, instead, eyeballing the whole game, trying to match the arcade game’s feel as much as possible. It sounds difficult, but based on this demo, they seem to be on the right track, but you can try it with an ODE such as a Fenrir, Satiator, or Phøde on real NTSC Saturn hardware and judge for yourself.

The download link will be past the break, along with a video of the demo in action.

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Secret code for Clockwork Knight 2, unlocking the original Clockwork Knight, discovered after 28 years

January 2, 2024 by Big Elk

Tell me, Sega Saturn fans: Do you own a North American copy of Clockwork Knight 2, but not the original Clockwork Knight? Well guess what? You actually do own a copy of the original Clockwork Knight after all.

It turns out the North American version of Clockwork Knight 2 contained a secret code all along that unlocks access to the game’s prequel, right off of the same game disc. For many years, this code was actually rumored to exist in old video game magazines, but until Christmas Eve, 2023, it was never actually confirmed to exist. Now we know for sure. It is indeed real, it works, and you can access it with a simple button combination from the title screen.

Check in after the break if you wanna see what this long rumored code is, then you can try it for yourself.

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NBA Jam announcer Tim Kitzrow (and Fox) just discovered as hidden players in Saturn version of NBA Jam: TE after 28 years

October 17, 2023 by Big Elk

As reported by SEGA SATURN, SHIRO!, Saturn hacker Malenko, who created Saturn romhacks (For lack of a better word) Drift King ’97 and NBA Jam TE Walrus Edition, discovered two never before seen or reported on secret characters in NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, who seem to be exclusive to the Saturn version for whatever reason. The first, and most exciting, is NBA Jam’s legendary announcer, Mr. BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA himself, Tim Kitzrow. (Who was also featured in other sports titles like NFL Blitz, NBA Showtime, NCAA College Slam, and Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball) The other is some guy named Fox. (We’re sure he’s a nice guy)

To anyone’s knowledge, the existence of these characters has never been revealed by anyone after all this time. Who knows if even Tim Kitzrow himself was aware? (UPDATE: He was not.) Malenko discovered this just from perusing the Saturn game’s hex data and finding curious entries within the character data area, which allowed him to figure out the secret codes for both characters.

Check in after the break for the secret codes to play as these two special guests.

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Wireless Pro Saturn controllers with hall effect analog sticks announced by Retro-Bit; coming December

October 10, 2023 by Big Elk

What’s that? I think that’s the sound of Retro-Bit making another announcement.

If you need a new Sega Saturn controller, they’ve had you covered since 2019, but now they’ve got something new to offer that they kept people waiting four years for: the new Wireless Pro Saturn controllers, in both black and Japanese white with 2.4 Ghz wireless technology for original Saturn consoles, Nintendo Switch, and computers. This could very well be the ultimate Saturn controller.

And yes, people have been waiting with bated breath for this controller since Retro-Bit first revealed it at CES 2019, but wasn’t able to say much throughout the years since besides that it was never cancelled. Retro-Bit cites the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, the ultimate party pooper, as the main factor for its delay in their own timeline of their collaboration with Sega. Even so, salivating fans kept asking about it on social media after every other Sega controller they’d made was announced. (Not to mention asking about their new Dreamcast controller, which there is still no more news for yet) The wait will soon finally end, as the estimated release date has finally been made: December 2023. Let’s hope it can make it out in time for Christmas.

But enough about that. Time to wait a few seconds more as you check in past the break to hear more info. (Unless your internet is out, in which case, I feel bad for ya.)

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New Phøde ODE, supporting Dreamcast, Saturn, Sega CD, and more, launches pre-orders

May 31, 2023 by Big Elk

If you’re looking for a device to play your digitized disc backups of your favorite Sega console classic games, then look no further than the Phøde, a brand new Optical Drive Emulator created by engineer Fixel. This single device supports almost every CD-Rom based game console from the 90’s, not just including the Sega CD (Models 1 and 2, Genesis CDX, and JVC X’Eye), Saturn (Both the 20 and 21-pin models), and the GD-Rom based Dreamcast (Models VA0, VA1, and VA2), but also various models of the Sony PlayStation and even the Philips CD-I, with more to be announced later. Fixel has just launched pre-orders for the Phøde in batches from their website. Batch 1 is still available, as of this writing, at $249.99 USD.

Check in after the break for extra info.

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