Loading Saturn backups with cartridge, normally possible?

Is there a way to change the region of the Saturn and not the games? Much like the Dreamcast and Wii? Sounds like a stupid question, but is it possible?

 

Some months ago I've read about a modified Bios Chip for the Saturn.
This chip (according to the author) contains a Regione Free Saturn Bios.
I've never used it , so I really can't say if this is really fully working.

 

I think it does work, but it requires soldering all that jazz.

 

There's a thread on it here and it was brought up recently:
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33602&highlight=saturn+region+free+bios

And yeah, it does require that you know your way around a soldering iron I think.

 

Switchless mod.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzvK1uagAbQ

Dual BIOS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EV1UDE-DSU

Not showing how to do it, but what is actually possible. See here for more detailed info.

http://mmmonkey.co.uk/

 

Pretty cool to see that in action, I tried that reset button trick incase this was a fully decked out V-Saturn..Sadly it wasn't, only a modchip

 

Easily installed for anyone seasoned with soldering. Anything less and you can easily damage it forcing someone seasoned into the mix.

Though I personally do find it odd it took all of this to find out it had a chip in it despite it being very clear what was going on, screwdriver or not. A few of you need to give your head hamsters some more food.

 

That dual BIOS mod is pretty good, unnecessary but cool. I've always liked the sound of the Japanese boot screen, not so convinced about the logo they used, but yeah interesting.

 

Nothing beats the Hi-Saturn boot screen :nod:

 

Again, I love the boot sound and animation, if that could be combined with the Saturn planet logo at the end that would be my ideal boot sequence.


*sigh*
I need to get out more....

 

x

 

That would be cool:thumbsup:

 

THe Hi-Saturn BIOS can be hacked to be region free, at least I would assume it can be. The J/U/E BIOSes were slightly different in content but the areas that need patching and what to patch them with was the same. The file circulating around the internet for the moment is based on the 1.01 Japanese BIOS.

I'll probably go hack it now purely for kicks.

EDIT:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MJ57AWNN

Have fun. Haven't tested it myself and as I've discovered trying to use emulators to test these hacks is FAR from useful.

 

I preffer the Japanese logo, although I understand why it was changed for the western markets. It has a more "home entertainment center" feel to it, kind of like Sony/Panasonic/JVC etc, something which is quite Japanese (obviously lol). I think the western logo has a more "arcade/videogame system" feel and is more friendly to a broader market, like families, kids etc. Only your dad would buy something branded with the Japanese logo in this country and it would sit in his huge wooden cabinet with the rest of his entertainment equipment, that's the feel it gives me.

 

I'm another that doesn't like the western Saturn logo. It looks too fat and childish plus the font is nasty. The sound on boot up is crap as well :nod: The Japanese logo looks far more mature, stylish and professional to me. nothing beets the Hi-Saturn though.

Yakumo

 

I guess that's why I like it so much, it reminds me of my youth, dribbling over the system logo and screen shots in magazines (never got to own one though as it was too expensive!). I do love the font as well I must confess, the whole thing makes me feel like a little kid every time I see it. In fact I've probably spent more time staring at the box (blue planet with the games ring around it) and system itself than actually playing on it so far. lol

The Japanese logo to me looks unimaginative and bland really. Like I said before, I really love the way the sound builds up on the JP boot sequence, I also like the little riff you get when the disc tray is opened, or when the CD player part sounds. The EU high pitch chime noise gets on my tits.

I do quite like the EU boot noise, sounds really nice switching it on and it comes at you in stereo sounding slick. I just prefer the JP boot music.

 

I guess it depends on your age. When the Saturn was released in Japan I had started my first ever real job at the age of 19 (I think). With my very first wage packet I bought a Sega Saturn with Virtua Fighter for a whopping 500 pounds. Maybe that's why I love the Saturn so much. It was the first console I ever bought with my own money. I still own all the games I imported for it from Japan and they still all look mint.

Funny really. I imported about 20 games from Japan 15 years ago and now they are back in Japan with me. Yes, Saturn is a special system to me. Far more than Dreamcast even though I was here on Day of release waiting in line with my ticket to buy one.

Yakumo

 

Haha, I was 11 years old when it was released and desperately wanted one, in fact I would have settled for a 32x but that was out of the question as well (and in retrospect I dodged the bullet on that one). I still had a JP mega drive at this point as well bought from a mate some years earlier.

I was only until my bro brought home a PlayStation not long after launch that I made the transition into the 32bit era (was very late for school that first week), by far the most special era for me hence why I play on the PS and Saturn the most out of all my consoles.

I remember seeing the Japanese Dreamcast in the local games store before it launched here, and being blown away at how small and cool it looked (white consoles were new to me! lol). And seeing it run for the first time was pretty amazing, though I didn't much like the controller and with the launch of PS2 around the corner, well, you've heard this story a thousand times before.

 

Definitely, the western font was HORRIBLE.. looks like someone just jump in photoshop used a bunch of filters and said DONE!

Japanese versions were awesome, when I did some work experience the boss had a white Saturn (this was my first time seeing one) hearing and seeing that boot up was interesting. I then thought, "WHY DIDN'T WE GET THAT!?"OH:

When I saw the Dreamcast in the pod it looked amazing, the clear graphics awesome framerate. Playing 18 wheeler on it was so fun, I only played the Dreamcast once until I finally found one years and years later.