Collectors Corner

Posted on Feb 6th 2019 at 01:00:00 PM by (Addicted)
Posted under Saturn, Ram Cart, Play Action Replay, Pseudo Saturn

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/oZ2gnzg.jpg[/img]

I've been a fan of the Sega Saturn ever since I was gifted one in 1996. It had a library of games that you couldn't find anywhere else with titles such as Panzer Dragoon, Dragon Force, and Radiant Silvergun. The Saturn was also the first system I imported heavily for discovering titles such as X-men VS Street Fighter, Waku Waku 7, and Metal Slug. It is now 2019 and Saturn games are no longer cheap. To get the most out of my money and Saturn I purchased an all in one Pseudo Saturn cart from eBay seller choijustin. What does this cart do, and why should you buy one over an Action Replay?




Pseudo Saturn is a program that was developed to bypass the Saturns copy protection. This is useful for playing games that aren't in your Saturns native region or it can be used for more illicit purposes. The most popular method is to flash it to an Action Replay cart but in doing so removes the ability to save to the cart. The internal memory for game saves is small at 32kb or 0.032MB so having another place for saved games is important. The internal storage on the Saturn is notorious for data loss as the CR2032 battery used quickly drains and takes the game saves with it.

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/rdJ2KgT.jpg[/img]
The Saturn itself has very little space for game saves

The Pseudo Saturn All in One cart has three modes or features with each mode being selected by moving a switch at the top of the cart. The Pseudo Saturn software and boot menu start the same on all three modes. The first mode activates the 4MB ram allowing games such as X-Men VS Street Fighter or Vampire Saviour to play. The second mode activates the 1MB RAM allowing games such as Metal Slug and King of Fighters to play. The third option allows it to act as a RAM backup cart and has 8MB or 8000kb of storage space. This extra space is especially helpful for titles such as Shining Force 3 which creates large saves files.

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/jtrTNrC.jpg[/img]
The Pseudo Saturn cart can handle a lot of game saves

I started off my testing of the Pseudo Saturn cart by switching to the 4MB mode and played some X-Men VS Street Fighter and Street Fighter Zero 3. I was worried that there might be some graphical glitches, but both titles played without issue. I then switched the cart to 1MB mode and played some Metal Slug and King of Fighters '96. Both games played without issue. Last I switched the cart to save cart mode and tested Saturn Bomberman, Thunder Force Gold Pack 2, and Magic Knight Rayearth. All three recognized the cart as a save cart and I didn't have any save corruption or issues after repeated use.

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/z2OOnZ3.jpg[/img]
The switch is well made and stands up to repeated use

The Pseudo Saturn cart itself is well made and feels similar in quality to an official Saturn save cart or Action Replay. The switch at the top is sturdy and slides to the appropriate position without a lot of force and won't accidentally slide to a different position when set. I tried the Pseudo Saturn cart in four different Saturns and didn't have any trouble with the system recognizing it. The Psuedo Saturn software can be upgraded by following the instructions from the Pseudo Saturn site: http://ppcenter.webou.net/pskai/#download

The Pseudo Saturn cart is a well-made product that expands the capabilities of the Saturn by adding support for 1MB and 4MB games, the ability to play games from any region (illicit or otherwise), and provides ample save space for save games. In my opinion, it's well worth the $52 asking price and should be in every Saturn owner's collection.


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Comments
 
Sounds like I need an upgrade! I definitely want to have the save feature. I only have a few games that will take advantage of it, but this will be useful nonetheless. Also, the 1M capability will be great if it works with King of Fighters '95 and '96, because then I could finally play those games. Great write-up, sir!
 
I’ve got a modded Saturn and a 4MB PAR, so I think I’m good here. It’s nice that there is now an easy solution for those that don’t want to alter their console. Good news.
 
@MetalFRO: Thanks! It will work with all 1MB games except KOF 95 and  Ultraman: Hikari no Kyojin Densetsu as those games stored sprits on the carts.

@Duke.Togo: More options is never a bad thing. Owning a modded Saturn and 4MB PAR is a great way to go!
 
I had my Saturn modded back in the day ($80USD!) but recently my RAM cart crapped out on me Sad

I may be in the market for something like this (or the Action Replay) at some point in the future when I need to get my King of Fighters on.  Thanks.
 
I can't find one with the three way switch. Could we message the seller and find out if more will be available? Ali Express and BangGood don't have one either.
 
@bombatomba: The same seller also has a version with 1MB ram, 4MB ram, and Pseudo Saturn but I would recommend the one with saving capabilities. sorry to hear that your Ram cart crapped out.

@shane: I asked him when he plans to restock. He sells them in batches of 10 and they usually sell out in a day.

 
@shane: He replied back with: It will be in stock around two weeks. Will message you once in stock. Thanks.
 
I own one of these babies and I love it on a regularly released Sega Saturn, but I have the PSY-Q Development System Sega Saturn Version but it will not read that cart at all.  I am wondering if it is incompatible, or if I am doing something wrong.  It only does that to this one particular model.
 
Is it possible to use the 1M/4M feature without the original discs at the same time (using backups)?
 
I had an issue with the Pseudo Saturn I bought as it wouldn't let Grandia run, sometimes it would get to the start screen but would freeze when picking an option.

Turns out that the cart was putting out electromagnetic interference and that EMI was effecting how the Saturn tried to load the game. I had to disassemble the Pseudo Saturn, wrap the PCB in electrical tape and then use kitchen foil to create a barrier inside the cart.

Reassembled the cart and Grandia now loads perfectly.

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