I do not like spreading negativity out there, but I needed to warn people about this device. I bought this for 80 dollars on ebay; I'm not gonna link from whom, because he or she does not deserve more sales of this awful device. When it works, it works, albeit with flaws. The image produced is sharp, as a component-video signal should be, and the colors are accurate, except that there is a green tint to the entire picture. I've read that one has to open these things up and adjust the 'pots' inside (an electrical term) with a screwdriver. I never really tried doing that or minded the green tint too much, because it's very subtle. What I did mind a lot, was the fact that sometimes, it won't work, and I'll only get audio. This is a big problem. I wouldn't mind the colors being a little off, or there being some 'noise' in the video-signal, but when the success-rate of the thing actually working is 50%, it's a deal-breaker. I paid 80 dolla...
Yesterday night, I finished Shining Force III on the US Sega Saturn. I played a patched version of the North American release by The Shining Force III Translation Project . Apparently, Sega changed the game knowing that they wouldn't release the other two scenarios. This patched version, apparently, undoes those changes. I really dig the PS1/Saturn/N64 era of games. It's when hardware-accelerated 3D became mainstream, and sprite-based graphics really started to look gorgeous. Shining Force III, like many games of its time, combined 2D sprites on 3D backgrounds to great effect. You kept the aesthetic appeal and detail of 2D sprites with the immersive effect of rotatable 3D backgrounds. The credits of the game credit Camelot and Sonic Co. Ltd. for developing the game. Camelot began using prerendered sprites around that time (think Donkey Kong Country). A more well-known example - Golden Sun on Game Boy Advance, used the same method we saw in SFIII. It looks good, especially...
Recently, I bought a Model 2 American Sega Saturn, but it came with a Model 1 controller. It was pretty good, but I liked the look of the Model 2 Japanese controller, and the d-pad seemed more comfortable. After ordering one on ebay, and opening the package I later received, I was taken aback at how 'creamy' the controller looked. It didn't look like it had changed color, like old NESes, but it didn't look as white as I had imagined. Even the photo above looks whiter than it actually is. The d-pad is better than the Model 1's, but not by too much. The face-buttons feel the same, but the Start-button is a big improvement. The biggest improvement comes in the form of the shoulder-buttons. I don't think the actual internal switches have changed, but now you don't have to press the buttons on the rear of its plastic-shell to get them to actuate. In general, they feel and sound like mouse-buttons. You won't want to use them in action-games, but f...