Do any U.S. released Saturn games require the 4 Meg cart?

[Anthony1]

Do any U.S. released Sega Saturn games require the 4 Meg expansion cart?

Also, what games import or otherwise do require it?

Are any of the games absolute must haves?


Thanks for any insight into this.

[IntvGene]

Edited from the Sega Saturn 4Meg FAQ.

The following games require the 4Meg cart:

-Xmen vs Street Fighter
-Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter
-Vampire Savior
-Street Fighter Zero 3 (Street Fighter Alpha 3)
-Pocket Fighter
-Dungeons & Dragons Collection (Disc 2 only)
-Astra Superstars (OPTIONAL)

And the following games require the 1Meg cart:
-Fighters History Dynamite
-Groove on Fight
-King of Fighters '96
-King of Fighters '97
-Fatal Fury 3
-Metal Slug
-Ragnagard
-Real Bout Fatal Fury
-Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
-Samurai Shodown III
-Samuari Shodown IV
-Waku Waku 7
-Cotton 2 (OPTIONAL)
-Cyberbots (OPTIONAL)
-Marvel Super Heroes (OPTIONAL) * had a US release


Just to cut down on the confusion, the OPTIONAL games will use it if you have the cart, but don't need it.

Any game that requires the 4 meg cart gets my recommendation. Even most of the 1 meg games are worth looking into. I hope you like 2-D fighters.

And, this is just a first try on the list... if anyone has any changes, feel free to speak up. No US games used the cart.

[Ze_ro]

How many of those were actually released in North America though? Most of those were Japan only releases if I'm not mistaken.

--Zero

[Vroomfunkel]

None of those games are US - they are all Japan only. There was only one game released outside of Japan that used any kind of cart support, and that was the PAL release of King of Fighters 95. But that was not a RAM cart, it was a ROM cart - meaning that you had to have the specific cart that came with the game to be able to play it.

There were a couple of other games that had ROM carts, I think .. but for the moment I can only think of one, which was Ultraman. The Jap version of KOF 95 also used a ROM cart which means that you cannot play it with the Action Replay because that would fill up the cart slot. You would have to have a modded Saturn in order to leave the cart slot free for the ROM cart.

I recommend all the 4Meg games with the notable exception of Dungeons and Dragons, which was almost fun until you realised that you were going to have to wait for it to load EVERY MINUTE! Immensely irritating! And although the game is reasonably fun, it is in no way good enough to convince me that it was worth the constant frustrating waits. What is most irritating is that they had the 4 Meg RAM expansion at their disposal, and STILL didn't manage to eliminate the constant "loading" breaks... lazy half-arsed programmers if you ask me...

Vroomfunkel

[le geek]

Didn't Marvel Super Heroes get a US release?

Or am I mistaken?

Ben

[ManekiNeko]

Yes it was, Ben! The great thing about Marvel Super Heroes is that even the US version is compatible with RAM carts. For some odd reason, the game refers to the cart as being three megs in size, rather than four. I don't recall anyone ever making a three meg RAM cart, but whatever.

Anyway, Marvel Super Heroes does look better with RAM cart enhancement, but it also seems to slow down more than when you run the game without a RAM cart.

JR

P.S. Are you guys sure Waku Waku 7 only used the RAM cart as an optional feature? I thought it was a requirement. I'm asking this because Waku Waku 7 was the first import I played on my Saturn.

[Vroomfunkel]

Hmm .. my mistake there! I didn't realise that Marvel Super Heroes used the RAM cart. But the RAM carts were never actually released outside Japan, right?

Or am I mistaken again?

Vroomfunkel

[ManekiNeko]

Hmm .. my mistake there! I didn't realise that Marvel Super Heroes used the RAM cart. But the RAM carts were never actually released outside Japan, right?

Or am I mistaken again?

Vroomfunkel

No, you're right... they weren't. Yet strangely, Capcom didn't bother to take the expanded RAM support out of Marvel Super Heroes when it was released in the United States. One thing they DID take special care to remove was the hidden character Anita, the creepy little girl from the Darkstalkers series. She's only accessible with a Pro Action Replay code. As much as I like Darkstalkers, I must admit that it was for the best that she's only playable this way. The game was already easy enough without her ludicrously damaging 99 hit rain of doll heads.

JR

[IntvGene]

P.S. Are you guys sure Waku Waku 7 only used the RAM cart as an optional feature? I thought it was a requirement. I'm asking this because Waku Waku 7 was the first import I played on my Saturn.

I think it might require it, now that I think about it. But, I am not entirely sure.. I don't have the game and can't test it. I'd love someone else to confirm/deny this.