Saturn

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Phøde ODE

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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SEGA Talk #119: Shining Force III (1997)

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SEGA Talk takes a journey into the last Shining Force game by the original developers, Shining Force III! Not just the first game, but also scenario 1, 2 and 3. We also discuss the fan translations, development and more!

[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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Red Moon Lost Days is an indie RPG/visual novel for the SEGA Saturn

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In the days of old, the long long ago times of 2009, professionally pressed indie games for SEGA consoles were both a rarity and a luxury. There were, at most, two or three games a year for consoles like Master System, Genesis and even the Dreamcast. Nowadays it seems that a new indie game is releasing every few weeks with all the bells and whistles of an official release, including color manuals, pressed CDs and cartridge labels. But, through all that time, rarely (if ever) was the SEGA Saturn given attention. That is why the game Red Moon Lost Days caught my attention.

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Lost Sega FMV game “The Sacred Pools” discovered; now available to download and try

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An unreleased Segasoft game named “The Sacred Pools” has finally been found and dumped online for all to try. According to The Gaming Alexandria, who made and released this discovery, The Sacred Pools was developed as an “Erotic Thriller” sci-fi FMV (Full-Motion Video) game for Sega Saturn, PC, and PlayStation (I did not stutter, thank you). It was actually shown at E3 in 1996, where it was slammed by press, causing Segasoft to quietly shelve the game despite all the work that was already done on it. Now, in late 2022, the game was released online with help from former Sega of America employees Joe Cain (Game tester) and David Grey (Associate producer on The Sacred Pools). The latter had held onto several CD-Roms, each containing alpha builds of the game for Saturn, PlayStation, and PC, which were all thankfully preserved online with no trouble and now playable on some emulators and on real hardware.

See more of the brief history on this game after the break.

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SEGA Talk #104: Sonic R (1997)

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Can you feel the sunshine? Strap yourself in to your… uh… I mean grab the controller as you race as Sonic and his friends (and foes) in the SEGA Saturn and PC classic Sonic R! We talk about the history, the game, the tracks and of course the awesome soundtrack.

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #97: Policenauts (1994)

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We put on our space suits and ready our weapons as we dive into the Hideo Kojima cult classic Policenauts! We look at the influences that shaped the game, look at why the SEGA Saturn is the definitive version and… why do the lead characters look like the stars of Lethal Weapon?

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #75: Panzer Dragoon Saga (1998)

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This time on SEGA Talk, we dive deep into the development history, characters and explore the world if the SEGA Saturn classic Panzer Dragoon Saga. Or as its known today, one of the most expensive games on the SEGA Saturn!

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #63: D (1995) Kenji Eno Retrospective

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We are dedicating February to Kenji Eno, the game creator and founder of Warp. Eno passed away 8 years ago and left a brief but impactful legacy on the game industry. On this SEGA Talk, Barry and George discuss 1995’s D. Learn how Eno got his start developing games, what led to the founding of Warp, and the crazy stories behind how his FMV adventure game came to be.

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Play Music – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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figmaPLUS SEGA Consoles collection now available for pre-order – tiny accessories for your Figma action figures!

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If you’re unfamiliar with Figma, Figma is a Japanese action figure line produced by Max Factory and distributed by Good Smile Company. Various anime, movies, video games and even the occasional celebrity have Figma figures, what what’s so cool about them is that they are all the same scale, are super articulated and can mix and match accessories. The figmaPLUS line focuses on accessories and playsets, and of interest to SEGA fans is the figmaPLUS SEGA Consoles collection, which is now available for pre-order!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #45: Die Hard Arcade/Dynamite Deka (1996)

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Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherf-! On this SEGA Talk, Barry and George fight their way through AM1 and SEGA Technical Institute’s Die Hard Arcade/Dynamite Deka! We discuss how SEGA’s first 3D beat ’em up has the DNA of Altered Beast and Golden Axe, the differences between the Japanese and western versions and we cover the remakes and sequels.

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Play Music – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #40: Segata Sanshiro

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Please almighty Segata Sanshiro! We need to stop playing our SEGA Saturns for just one hour to talk about your greatness! On this SEGA Talk, George and Barry discuss the inspiration for SEGA Japan’s Saturn mascot, as well as the many commercials and the legacy Segata Sanshiro left behind– oh! He found us-! UGH! I can’t… breathe…

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Play Music – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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