PPR's Sega Saturn Holiday Gift Guide 2021

f the mid-Nineties were anything, they were certainly busy; R&B took over the radio, Pro-Wrestling was finding its edge, and Video Games were transitioning to the third dimension—everything was changing. Even if you grew up at that time, there’s was so much going on that it was easy to get lost in all the noise—and nothing was more overlooked at the time than Sega’s 32-Bit Curio, the Sega Saturn. The system went from Champion to Martyr in just three short years, but has still played host to a handful of genre-defining classics that have garnered a legacy in their own right. The Saturn is currently enjoying a bit of a cult following in its afterlife with spectators and enthusiasts alike—steadily driving its secondhand market into high-dollar territory as a result.

Luckily, you don’t have to have deep-pockets to appreciate the Saturn anymore as this newfound interest in the machine has also inspired a wave of new advancements and peripherals from the Retro Game Community, making the process of hooking the Arcade Powerhouse up into your Modern-day setup an absolute cinch. So much so that we here at Press Pause Radio thought that a buying guide should be in order to commemorate all of these new products for the system!

 I honestly could not think of a better time to Publish a buying guide for the Saturn then the Holiday Season that the console is synonymous for. Aside from launching in the pivotal Holiday month December in Japan, the console has also received a special Christmas-themed System Bundle exclusively in Japan, with one of the most iconic Holiday-themed Video Games in existence, Christmas NiGHTS, a demo of the title with a heavy Yuletide Spin in its presentation. Here are some essential accessories and peripherals to start your journey into the “Real World” of the Sega Saturn.

 

Arguably, the biggest hurdle that stands before comfortably playing the Sega Saturn in the year 2021 is the process of getting a good display out of the platform on a High-Definition Flat screen TV with the stock Composite cables the system came with. Even though the hardware was engineered with the visual fidelity of a CRT in mind, the designs of the Saturn also have native RGB, an output that’s far more optimal for scaling to the high-end definitions that are now standard on current monitors. Here are some of the best cables and scaling options currently available to make those SuperH RISC 3D textures and polygons POP. 

After a successful Kickstarter in 2014, Ste Kulov and Nick Mueller launched a series of cables that were designed to convert the inherent RGB signal of older consoles like the SNES and Genesis into Component video, a format that’s been adopted by most NTSC displays both old and new. The company released additional adapters in 2016 to expand the compatibility of Genesis Model 2 cables for other consoles, one of them being the Sega Saturn, and it’s objectively one of the best video cables out there for the system. The video signal they produce is not only crisp and noise-free, but they also have an internal Brightness Toggle that can regulate just how bright the picture output is to the display they’re connected to. The cables are also compatible with a wide variety of scaling devices like the Famemeister, OSSC, Retrotink5X, and many other devices for HD resolution options as well. You can snag this adapter right here.

For a no-frills RGB cable, no one does it better than Insurrection Industries, and their SCART cable for the Sega Saturn is objectively the best one on the market.

Thanks to the Nichicon UHV Capacitors in its build that’re protected by multiple layers of shielding enforced in the SCART head, this particular cable outputs one of the most immaculate pictures of its kind. Similar to HD Retrovision, Insurrection Industries has a stacked portfolio of their own with products like the Gamecube Carby Adapter, and the Spark Plug Adapter for the Turbo-Grafx 16, making RGB more accessible for players who are trying to avoid extensive modding or steep prices.

It bears mentioning that there are two versions of video sync for this cable that you will need to discern from depending on your setup; one that’s built for C-Sync, and the other built for Sync on Luma. Each Monitor, Scaler, and combination of the two will require one or the other, so be sure to double-check your layout before spending your hard-earned space bucks on this SCART cable.

You can buy this hook-up directly from Insurrection themselves here, or through CastleMania games at this link.

While there are a handful of HD Flat screens that can recognize older resolutions like 240p and 480i, a majority of them, especially anything 4K enhanced and above aren’t able to run those old resolutions natively—that’s where scalers come in. One of the most accessible scalers in terms of availability and cost is the O.S.S.C. which stands for Open Source Scan Converter; a device that line-doubles the resolution it’s fed, scaling up to 720p, 960p, or 1080p resolution.

The device produces an incredible picture that can be optimized through internal configurations and timings as well to improve visual quality and input lag, but it does have some heavy caveats that are worth mentioning when concerning the Saturn. There are a handful of titles in the Saturn’s library that use multiple output resolutions, typically cycled between menu screens or cut-scenes to standard gameplay—a method that would normally have no effect on a direct connection to an Analog display, but a bit of an annoyance when it’s being converted to a Digital display. This results in a signal delay where the picture disappears from the screen temporarily before the scaler can recognize the new resolution to scale, appearing back in place—the OSSC will still restore the picture back to your screen within a matter of seconds but it’s admittedly still a drag. The Deinterlacing capabilities of the scaler are also not all that great, so some of those titles that play in 480i may also present some problems. Still, for a majority of the 240p games in the library, this is a great way to bring the Saturn to your Flat screen, especially for its price point. With the O.S.S.C. being an Open-Source kit, several vendors have sold various iterations, for our money though, the most reliable kit can be found from Video Game Perfection right here. There’s new scaler that’s come on to the scene, however, that’s superior to the O.S.S.C. that may also be worth your attention.

After years of settling between the expensive Framemeister and the finicky O.S.S.C. for a scaling solution, a small company named Retrotink came out of the woodwork in 2018, led by the veteran engineer, Mike Chi, released another line of inexpensive easy-to-use devices that admirably achieve similar results. Looking at their entry-level device, the Retrotink 2X comes in two versions, the 2X Mini, and the 2X Pro.

The 2X Mini specializes in scaling low-end Video signals, allowing players to plug in Composite Video, or S-Video cables into it, producing a Digital signal with combing filter options that can also help clean up the unavoidable imperfections produced by the middling video formats. Operating the device is as simple as plugging the video cables in on the front-end, then routing the HDMI and USB Power cable from the backend to your Television and power supply. The combing options are not only great for the Saturn’s 3D intensive titles, but the native output does an incredible job of reproducing its trademark 2D titles to a remarkable effect. The biggest drawback Is that it doesn’t take in RGB or component, nor does it offer any sort of deinterlacing option either, limiting some of the games you can optimally run on the system.

The Retrotink Combing Filter is enabled on the left panel, while Native video is shown on the right panel. (Image Courtesy of Reddit)

The other more, premium, offering from Retrotink is their new Retrotink 5X device, a Scaler that can do everything the 2X Mini can do, and more. The available input options for example have been expanded to take in RGB SCART, Component Video, Composite Video, and S-Video connections, along with advanced integer scaling capabilities that give owners a slew of options when expanding their analog pictures to a digital display. Not only can the 5X scale sources up to 1440p, but it offers several filter options from Low-Pass Input filter for video noise reduction to multiple smoothing filters that clean up jagged edges without smearing the image output. One of the device’s strongest features is its Motion Adaptive Deinterlacer, a method that retains the original resolution as it’s progressively scanned, creating a far more capable picture for high definition scaling as opposed to Bob Deinterlacing which can only expand the field of an individual frame one frame at a time. These Detinterlacing and Filter features alone help make it one of the best Scaling devices for the Sega Saturn, especially for the 3D-Driven software that uses multiple resolutions. The price may be steep at $300.00 but it’s a cost that gives you plenty of bang for your space bucks. You can grab all of Retrotink's Scalers directly off of their shop here, while the 2X Units are more readily available at other Boutique retailers like Stone Age Gamer.

One of the biggest drawbacks to external Scalers is the extra swath of cables and boxes that you have to make room for in your entertainment center, which isn’t prudent for some setups that may be stacked with other consoles and units. This is where the RAD 2X HDMI Cable comes in; this advanced connection internal converts the RGB signal of the Saturn into a digital signal that’s automatically scaled to 480p, getting a clean, and low-latency picture to your screen that’s still a High Definition output.

How low is the latency you ask?—try 53 milliseconds of delay, less than the amount of time for a single frame, and one of the closest approximations to input registry on an analog display. The cable also features a low-pass filter and optional smoothing filter that can help with cleaning up the visuals for monitors that struggle to scale 480p properly.

The video output isn’t the only major selling point as the RAD 2X also produces a clean, noise-free 24-bit stereo sound that sounds amazing even out of the most stock audio set. The biggest selling point is the price itself—where most of these options range anywhere from a hundred to a couple hundred dollars of investment to fully optimize their visual capabilities, the RAD 2X costs around $75 at most to bring home—getting you a superior picture out of Sega’s 32-Bit monster without breaking the bank! The RAD 2X Cables are sold exclusively by Bullet Heaven Affiliate, Retro Gaming Cables.

 

Getting the most of the Saturn’s colorful video capabilities is one thing, but what about the most important part of any Video Game console?—the games; just how good are these titles that's still getting fussed over 25 years later. I mean, the answer is obvious, and I don’t know if I have to tell you that, but just in case, TLDR; the Saturn boasts an assortment of must-play titles that justify the Sega Machine’s place in just about any console rig today. There are a few big flaws to running hardware that old though. The delicate optical disc technology and media that the system’s architecture is based on regardless of how well the unit and software has been maintained and the components they’re built from simply aren’t exempt from the ravages of time, and are steadily moving towards the fate of failing disc lasers and disc rot with each passing year.

Enter Optical Disc Emulators or ODE’s for short; these are devices that either override or outright replace the Optical Disc Lens function of the Saturn to run games through a digital file instead of a physical disc. Not only do these contraptions allow you do play digital backups of your software to save on the wear ‘n tear of a significantly expensive game, but they also open the doors for homebrew development even wider with more readily available hacks that offer new modes or translations to the Saturn’s eclectic library. There are quite a few of these peripherals on the market, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, and we’re going to break down each one of them in the next section.

The very first ODE option for the Sega Saturn came from the same mind that brought us the GDEMU, an ODE for the machine’s successor, the Sega Dreamcast. Named after the moons that revolve around the real-life planet itself, the Rhea is engineered for the original model of the Saturn that uses a 20-PIN Ribbon connection while the Phoebe is designed with the Model 2 in mind. The PIN Connection isn’t the only difference as the Phoebe is a little more involved with its installation requiring a soldering mod to work properly with the 21-PIN connection variant.

The interface allows users to run their games off an SD Card, and at this time, currently boasts a 100% compatibility rate with the system’s entire library, regardless of whatever the regional BIOS for the machine is coded with. In order to achieve optimal compatibility, the file format of the games must be in the CDI Format, as other formats like BIN/CUE or MDS/MDF will either operate inconsistently or not at all. Another Drawback to the device is that it’s only compatible with an SD Card running on FAT32, which cannot only pose a limit on how many games can be stored on the card at one time but can also slow down the runtime for booting for card not optimized for fast processing.

The biggest issue with the Rhea and Phoebe ODEs, however, is their availability; the creator, Deunan, runs a literal one-man operation behind the scenes, manufacturing only a modest batch of them at a time for sale and selling through that limited stock within a matter of minutes as a result. For the price of $148 though, you’re getting a tried and tested option that features the best compatibility for operation. To order the Rhea, be sure to visit this link for any updates on Preordering, for the Phoebe, hit up this link.

As enthusiast interest continued to grow for the Saturn, Retro Video Game Boutique Developer TerraOnion began to take notice, and set out to release an Optical Disc Emulator of their own for the Sega Saturn. Riding on the success of the Super System SD 3 ODE device for the Turbo-Grafx16/PC Engine, TerraOnion’s Multiple Optical Disc Emulator or M.O.D.E. for short an ODE that can be installed into either a Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, or Sony PlayStation for the astonishing asking price of $230 before taxes and shipping.

Despite the higher cost of admission, the TO’s Solution more than makes up for it by offering far more versatility with its wider range of storage and compatibility options. Unlike the Rhea and Phoebe, the M.O.D.E. can be equipped with an SD Card, USB Flash drive, or even a SATA Hard drive—giving players plenty of freedom to load their libraries without any limitation. The M.O.D.E. can also recognize all CD File formats without any operational issues, offer a compatibility rate of nearly 100% with the exception of MPEG Video Card titles that require the accessory to run (there are patches out there to get around this obscure hindrance.) 

The TerraOnion M.O.D.E. offers the most elegant Menu UI out of all the ODE's

 In terms of the Saturn, setting up the M.O.D.E. is mostly a “Plug ’n Play” installation where the Board can snap into the PIN port of either Saturn Model, all possible with some patience and a couple of screwdrivers at your disposal. The premium price point may turn off a few folks, but the readily more available stock and the added flexibility of its storage and formatting make the M.O.D.E. a great ODE option. The best place to but this kit from Stone Age Gamer, and they luckily also offer installation services too!

A fairly new option from 8BitMods, the Fenrir is one of the more cost-effective ODE’s on the market, and is a fine choice for those who’re still dipping their toes into the dense world of the Saturn. For around $120 before tax and shipping, the Fenrir ODE is another ODE device that strictly uses SD Card media for its storage method, with the ability to recognize every CD format; this includes IMG/CCD, BIN/ISO, and the most common format of all, BIN/CUE file format. The launch was admittedly rocky with limited compatibility and even some stability issues for but as of now the firmware has a compatibility rate of 99.76% with only 5 titles within the entire library being inoperable, and as of this year, is also available in different versions to account for the various Model iterations of the Saturn.

Aside from the strange form factor that makes for an awkward seating into the Optical Drive cavity, and one of the more inelegant Menu UIs in contrast to the other options available, the steady stream of firmware updates into 2021 has corrected a majority of the Fenrir’s initial issues at launch. As it stands now, the Fenrir is a solid choice for those who’re looking for a no-frills ODE at an affordable price. The Fenrir is available through a vaiety of stores, but for our money, we reccomend sangging one from Castlemania Games here.

One of the most anticipated and somewhat controversial ODE Mods for the 32-bit Darkhorse is the Satiator from a modder named Professor Abrasive. The most unique feature of the device is that it doesn’t require you to replace the stock Optical Drive in your Sega Saturn, as it’s in the form of MPEG Card that’s plugged into the neglected Expansion Port located left-hand side of the console’s rear bay. Using the Satiator is as easy as plugging it in and powering on the Saturn without a Disc, giving you access to its UI Menu from the Console’s BIOs—a process that can be done within minutes without the need for tools or modification.

There are a number of drawbacks to the ODE—mainly that it has the lowest compatibility rate of all of its peers due to its inability to run Multi-Disc titles, along with a handful of other titles suffer from a myriad of issues. The other major issue as the device comes into conflict with a majority of the All-in-One RAM Card peripherals (more on that later), breaking functionality for anything from Action Replay Cheats to the various MB Expansions that some games require to play like X-Men vs Street Fighter. The final pill to swallow is how much the thing retails for; $260.00 not including shipping and handling, making it the most expensive choice out of the current ODE selection for the system. If a simple setup without any teardown is worth the premium to you then the Satiator is the choice for you—just bear in mind that it’s still a work-in-progress in terms of reliable compatibility. The best place to snag a Satiator in time for the Holidays is from their direct website here.

One of the most ironic bits about the Sega Saturn is how it hosts one of the best Video Game controllers ever made, yet on the other side of that same token, one of the worst stock paddles ever offered in a disastrous effort to revise a design that was FAR from broken. Still, the system featured a wide assortment of controllers, and that catalog has grown significantly bigger, with a slew of quality of life improvements that work to optimize the hardware even more Today’s media standards.

When of the best things about playing Video Games in the year 2021 is the lack of a wire tethering you to your Entertainment Center while you play, a luxury that was never reliably afforded to the past generations of console gaming. Years later, however, this luxury is now a standard, and as far as wireless controllers for the Sega Saturn go, Retrobit’s official collaboration with SEGA is the best option out there. The Official SEGA Licensed Sega Saturn 2.4 Ghz Wireless Controller from Retrobit comes with a proprietary receiver that pairs seamlessly with its paddle, with almost zero input-lag to its overall response time. The biggest appeal of the controller is that it’s a near-exact copy to the form factor of the Japanese-styled Saturn controller that the Arcade powerhouse is revered for, right down to the weight, ergonomic shape, and tactility of its concave face buttons.

While the controllers feel great and have a solid connection, the biggest flaw to these controllers is the lackluster battery life, retaining anywhere between 4-6 hours of playtime, even after putting the device through its initial 10-hour charge cycle out of the box. Still, for $35 before tax, you could do a lot worse for a Saturn controller, and Retrobit’s 2.4 Ghz Wireless offering is worth every cent. oh, and I forgot to mention the extra USB receiver that can interface with other setups like the Genesis Mini, PC, or even the Switch, which makes an even more versatile contraption to add to your lineup! If you're ready to give the gift of cutting the cord for a Saturn owner, be sure to click over here to do so!

 The Saturn is celebrated for its 2D titles, the system has plenty of exclusive 3D intensive titles that define it as well, and a select few of them utilizing the handy yet admittedly bulky Digital 3D Analog Controller. The Analog Stick may be crude by today’s standard but it definitely helped navigate the burgeoning transition of three-dimensional movement and was crucial for the platform’s 3D Exclusives like NiGHTS and Burning Rangers.

Although it doesn’t truly replicate the digital input of the original 3D Analog Controller, Retro Fighter’s BrawlerGen Next-Gen Sega Genesis/Sega Saturn Controller is the closest analog (I said what I said) emulating eight-way movement through its direction gate. The result makes for a far more ergonomic control albeit a little stiff in response at times, still wildly more intuitive than the original 3D Controller for the platform, and the advantage of it doubling as a Sega Genesis controller is a great bonus to boot. It may be wired, if you’re a fan of the 3D titles, especially the ones that don’t natively support the 3D Analog Controller like Croc Legend of the Gobbos or Tomb Raider, then the BrawlerGen Next-Gen Sega Genesis/Sega Saturn Controller is a must-own. The Retro Fighter’s BrawlerGen Next-Gen Sega Genesis/Sega Saturn Controller is sold at the fine establishments of Stone Age Gamer and CastleMania Games.

Now, if you’re in that weird minority of people who DON’T like the Sega Saturn controller (no judgment) then you’re in luck because there’s an option for you, and even those who aren’t all that attached to the beauty of SEGA’s famous little Bean-Shaped Paddle. Brooks’ Wingman SD Converter is a Wireless controller receiver that will plug into your Saturn Controller Port, and offer a wireless Bluetooth connection with just about any Bluetooth controller you can think of.

Dualshock 4 PS4 Controller?—check, Xbox One Elite Controller?—Check, 8BitDo Wireless Arcade Stick for Switch and Windows?—checkity-check. Not only are these peripherals versatile for their compatibility options, but they also emit an impeccable response time with their paired controllers—with latency so low that they’ve even been approved for official competitive use at EVO—the Biggest eSports event in all of Fighting Games. Like the BrawlerGen, this device also doubles as a receiver for the Dreamcast, complete with 200 blocks of VMU memory that can be used to save and load game data just like a Dreamcast controller! The Brook Wingman SD Multi-console Sega Dreamcast/Sega Saturn Converter can be purchased here.

 This next one is a bit tricky to recommend because as of now, it doesn’t technically exist yet, and Sinden has yet to release any official press on the product, but there has been an official response from the company in a previous exchange. As it would happen, I engaged Sinden’s support channel to inquire if the USB connection for their new HD Display-compatible Light-gun accessory would be compatible with the Brook USB Wingman Converter for the Sega Saturn. The short answer I got back was no, but that there are current plans to release proprietary adapter for original hardware setup with an HD to display to utilize their gun, with the Sega Saturn being one of their priority platforms for the project.

As far as the gun itself is concerned, the Sinden Light-Gun is a new accessory that’s designed to function with HD displays without any sort of reliance towards a CRT Display, offering compatibility with a slew of different setups. These platforms include Playmaji’s Polymega, Raspberry Pi, PC, and so many other devices, giving way for shooting classics like Virtua Cop and House of The Dead to play the way they were intended on modern screens.

Sinden’s response vaguely mentioned an update on the project would likely be announced at some point in 2022, so here’s to hoping that something comes out of it because getting to play the Virtua Cop series or other classics like Policenauts or Snatcher on a slim and practical HD screen would be a dream. Follow the link here you're interested in following any order updates for the Sinden Lightgun, or its planned Saturn Adapter. 

You’d think after covering all of the cutting edge tech to play your Sega Saturn in the year 2021 that we’d stop here, think again—there’s a bunch of other really cool shit that we would be remiss to omit off of this list.

 The Sega Saturn features a trademark rear RAM Port where players can insert additional RAM carts for a variety of applications. These features include extra memory space for game saves (or a way to get around the system’s infamously weak internal battery), Cheating devices that also doubled as bypasses for the console’s Region BIOS so that you can play import titles without any issue, or wholesale RAM Expansions for games that pushed beyond the Saturn’s native limits. As appealing as these features are, the limitation of having to switch out Carts for different functions is an admittedly annoying flaw, especially when you factor in all the wear-and-tear the Cart swapping can cause on the Hardware over time.

Thankfully, there have been some innovative carts developed over the years that offer all of these functions through a single Cart. The one we’re specifically focusing on, however, is the Psuedo Saturn Kai All-in-One RAM cart: a Cartridge that not only offers all of the aforementioned utilities, but also has its own firmware that works to specifically interface with the Saturn’s processing. The firmware provides additional functionality to your system, like the ability to play titles off of backed up CD-R copies for example. Unlike the Action Replay, the Psuedo Saturn Kai also carries all variations of the Saturn’s Bios in it, makes the bypassing process significantly smoother than the Action Replay Exploit method. Regardless of whether or not your system is loaded with an ODE, this device is a must-have for anyone who plans on regularly playing the console in their setup with no other contemporary device match the quality-of-life improvements it lends to the Sega Saturn experience. The tricky part here is reccomending a store to buy these helpful carts from as they're resold from a dozen locations with varrying quality, but after researching the various avenues to puchase from, I found that this is store on Aliexpress (Yeah, I know, but trust me) with a high rating, and reliable service record.

On a long list of cool stuff that Japanese Saturn owners got that no one else in the world seemed to get, System variants is just another entry that’s weirdly overlooked. Although it can be argued that system variants didn’t really catch on in the West until Nintendo’s “Funtastic” like with the N64, the Eastern market played host to a multitude of Saturn designs and colors that we never got to see, like the Holiday White variant or the iconic “THIS IS COOL” Derby model which featured a Gunsmoke colored skeleton shell.

Jumping on the craze of the new Aftermarket Ghost/skeleton shells that have been releasing for Sega Saturn, PC engine, and SNES, Secondhand retailers are now carrying different colored console shells to trick out the unappreciated king of 32-bit gaming. The colors range anywhere from crystal white to Neon green, each one specced with the same contours and grooves of the official shell. The biggest drawback as that with these shells being aftermarket, there’s no way to sell them with the SEGA branding and decals of the legitimate shell, and there are no matching controller shells for the more unique colors available either. Still, I’d be lying if I said that these things weren’t so damn cool to show off the best Sega system on the block with, and they're reasonably priced to boot! You can grab these sweet-ass shells from Muramasa right here!

Well, I hope you all were able to take something away from this little list of mine. The Sega Saturn is so unique as it simultaneously stands as one of the biggest Failures AND biggest Success Stories in Video Game history, as new players are continually discovering it whilst veteran ones are still playing it decades later. Even though the hardware and games are undeniably dated, the way we play them doesn’t have to be—and it’s only going to get better. If you'e going to give anyone the gift of Gaming this Holiday Season, consider giving someone the chance to experience the only platform that's famous for its Holiday Legacy...