The Top Sega Saturn Stories of 2024

This year began the celebration of the Saturn’s 30th anniversary, starting with its Japanese launch in November 1994 and continuing into 2025 with its release around the world. Even after three decades, Sega’s fifth-generation console and the fan community that loves it continue to make headlines.

Here are the biggest Saturn stories of 2024 as decided by members of SHIRO!

10. SAROO development continues as adoption increases

Chinese homebrew developer TPUnix continued to develop SAROO firmware after reviving the project last year following an eight-year hiatus. The SAROO, the cartridge capable of playing games off an SD card as well as providing backup save RAM and expanded RAM, has seen increased adoption this year by Saturn fans for its ease of use and lower cost compared to other optical disc emulators. The SHIRO! crew, including SaturnDave and The SegaHolic, picked one up to give our readers the low-down on the device and provide as setup guide.

The SAROO has had some controversy between the spotty quality of the Ali Express-sold hardware and the patchwork method of improving game compatibility, but it’s undeniably been a big talking point in the Saturn community this year.

Relevant SHIRO! stories: I Bought a SAROO…
NEW SAROO Firmware Update Brings BIG Changes
The SEGAGuys Saroo Set-up Guide + Fenrir Load Time Comparison

9. Bo Bayles goes whole hog on finding secrets and undiscovered cheat codes in Saturn games

Bo Bayles turned his love of Burning Rangers into an excuse to learn how to use decompilation software Ghidra in 2022 and 2023, finding some cool secrets in the final game and its prototypes. But this year he applied what he learned to a wide variety of Saturn games, unearthing cheat codes and secrets that no one had ever found before. From Clockwork Knight 1 hiding inside Clockwork Knight 2 to an unused costume and stage in Fighting Vipers to cheat codes for Savaki, Elevator Action Returns and Tokyo Highway Battle: Drift King ’97, plus many, many more, Bo has been a font of revelations for decades-old games.

He writes about all of his findings on his blog Rings of Saturn and now on the SHIRO! website in a regular Under the Microscope column as well, which we all appreciate very much.

Relevant SHIRO! stories: Bo Bayles’ hacks & cheats

8. The SHIRO! website is browsable on real Saturns with NetLink

The perfect way to keep up with Saturn news is on your Internet-connected Saturn with a NetLink modem and the PlanetWeb browser, and that was made a reality in February when SHIRO! community member ReyeMe created a proxy hosted at his own server that converts the modern SHIRO! website into an HTML 3.0-compliant one. It converts the site into a simpler version the 1996-era Saturn browser can understand, including making all the images smaller so the Saturn can load them at its 28.8 baud rate. While it only works if your neighborhood still has analog phone lines or when running the NetLink through a DreamPi with the Saturn tunneller, it’s still a super cool way to breathe new life into the Saturn in 2024 and beyond.

Relevant SHIRO! story: Version of SHIRO! Website Now Viewable on Saturn’s NetLink Browser

7. The #ChangeTheNarrative initiative

It wasn’t long after the Saturn launched before a narrative developed that the console was a failure. Too expensive, too weak to pull off 3D graphics, too difficult to develop games for … it’s a perception the Saturn still can’t shake three decades later.

That’s why SHIRO! decided it was time to change that narrative: The Saturn is a success in 2024. We can’t change history — the poor sales, the rough ports from PlayStation, the lack of translated games from its massive Japanese library — and we’re not trying to. But as SaturnDave announced on the Saturn’s 29th anniversary in the U.S. last May and emphasized by excellent videos by Dan the MegaDriver and James the SEGAHolic, none of those historical realities diminish all the good things about the Saturn today. Even this top 10 list demonstrates how much the console is thriving in modern times.

Relevant SHIRO! stories: It’s Time to Change the Narrative About SEGA Saturn…
A Sega Saturn Success Story
The Sega Saturn Didn’t Fail – Here’s What It Did Right!

6. Hidden Palace releases prototypes of Hard Boiled’s unreleased Saturn version

A lot of Saturn ports got canceled over the console’s lifespan, and every once in a while one of them leaks out. That’s what happened over the summer when Hidden Palace released three prototypes of futuristic rail shooter Hard Boiled’s doomed Saturn version. The three prototypes offered an interesting look at how the game progressed, eventually dropping true transparencies that slowed down the game and adding story cutscenes. They also give Saturn owners a new, if not quite finished, game to play.

Relevant SHIRO! story: Hidden Palace Releases Prototypes of Unreleased Saturn Port of Hard Boiled

5. Hotrodx begins recreating X-Men Arcade on Saturn

The Saturn got a lot of official ports of arcade games, but never Konami’s X-Men beat ’em up from 1992. So SegaXtreme community member Hotrodx started working this year to change that, recreating the game on Saturn. Releasing new builds showing off progress every few months, the community has been thrilled with Hotrodx’s work and the ability to play a great “new” game on their favorite console. The latest version from earlier this month features half of the final game’s levels and five playable characters out of the original’s six. Gamers can look forward to the recreation’s likely completion in 2025.

Relevant SHIRO! stories: X-MEN Arcade Recreated on SEGA Saturn
New Version of X-Men on Saturn Adds Playable Storm, Three-Player Co-op
X-Men Arcade 0.3 on Saturn Adds Nightcrawler, New Stage, New Enemies
X-Men Arcade on SEGA Saturn Gets a Major Update with Version 0.4

4. Frogbull makes proof-of-concept demo of Crash Bandicoot on Saturn and continues working on Metal Gear Solid on Saturn

A homebrew programmer named Frogbull caused a real stir last year when he showed off footage of what he claimed to be his recreation of PlayStation exclusive Metal Gear Solid running on a Saturn. The footage was verified to be genuine, and Frogbull has gone full steam ahead with getting demos of PlayStation games running on Sega’s fifth-generation console.

From Final Fantasy VII to Crash Bandicoot to continued progress on Metal Gear Solid, Frogbull has shown the world that the Saturn could always do what the PlayStation did in the ’90s. None of the demos have been made available for the public to play yet, but perhaps that will change once they become more feature-complete.

Relevant SHIRO! stories: Video Shows Homebrew Prototype of Final Fantasy VII Running on Saturn
Frogbull Teases Crash Bandicoot on SEGA Saturn…
Frogbull Teases Near-Complete Shadow Moses Island
Crash Bandicoot on Saturn! Exclusive Hands-On with Frogbull’s Latest Demo

3. SHIRO! monthly community challenges shed light on little-played Saturn games

Nights into Dreams. Daytona USA. Virtua Fighter 2. These are among the games many people would say they’ve played and loved on the Saturn. But with a library of more than 1,100 titles, the console offers legions of great games that fly under the majority of players’ radars.

That’s part of why a committee of SHIRO! community members began this year to organize bimonthly challenge events: to highlight little-played Saturn games. Plus, it’s a great way to get people playing their Saturns and talking about them. Double Dime, SegaRPGFan, Gregori Rasputin, Random, SaturnDave, Xiden and this reporter have organized six such monthlong challenges in 2024: Sega Touring Car Championship in February, Steep Slope Sliders in March, Digital Pinball in May, High Velocity and Touge King 2 in July, Blazing Heroes in September and Kingdom Grandprix in November.

Offering newly made prizes like unique patches and hats to challenge wins increases the excitement, but it seems everyone who participates has fun discovering new favorites and sharing the experience with the community.

Relevant SHIRO! stories: SHIRO! Debuts Community Challenge with SEGA Touring Car Championship
SHIRO! Drops Checkered Flag on February Community Challenge
MARCH Challenge: STEEP SLOPE SLIDERS!!!
SHIRO! Unveils New Community Challenge Schedule, Crowns March’s Winners
SHIRO! Taps Digital Pinball Titles for May Community Challenge
Nearly Two Dozen Tilt SHIRO! Community Challenge
King of the Mountain SHIRO! Challenge
July’s SHIRO! Community Challenge Sees Second Most Submissions
SHIRO! Community Challenge Ventures to the ‘Realms of Lore’
September Community Challenge Crowns Blazing SHIROs!
SHIRO! Reveals November Community Challenge Game: Kingdom Grandprix

2. English fan translations continue to pour in

Fans have stepped up in a big way over the last half a decade to create English translation patches for Saturn games that had been Japanese exclusives, and that trend kept rolling throughout 2024. Just this year, the following translation patches were finished and released:

Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight by Team Meduza
Shadows of the Tusk by Knight0fDragon
Kingdom Grandprix retranslation by Bo and Malenko
Silhouette Mirage retranslation by Rasputin3000, wiredcrackpot and CSketch
Rabbit by Ateam, Bo, Walnut and Malenko
Jung Rhythm by Ateam, wiredcrackpot, Shadowmask and Malenko
Blast Wind by Terri/C_f
Logic Puzzle: Rainbow Town by Malenko
Saturn Bomberman Fight!! by Malenko, SoloNerfHerder, Ateam and BlueMoon

English speakers weren’t the only ones treated to new patches, as Resident Evil got a Spanish dub by Salvi Garrido while French translations for Lunacy/Torico, Riven and Herc’s Adventure were created by Kitchen34.

Each translation patch essentially represents a new game for players outside Japan, bringing new life to the Saturn in 2024.

Relevant SHIRO! stories: New Castlevania Patch Adds English Text, Speech
Hackers Discover, Enable Hidden English Translation in Kingdom Grandprix
Silhouette Mirage Retranslation Patch Stays Faithful to Original Japanese Script
English Translation Patch Releases for Saturn Fighting Game ‘Rabbit’
Jung Rhythm Gets English Translation Patch
Blast Wind Patch Boosts Music, Adds English Dub
Version 25 of Shining Force III Translation Patch Releases
Fans Dub Resident Evil into Spanish
Logic Puzzle: Rainbow Town English Patch Updated
Saturn Bomberman Fight!! English Translation Patch Is Out Now

1. Princess Crown controversy

While translation patches usually are met with acclaim, one effort this year created as much controversy as elation: Princess Crown.

An action RPG by a team that would become Vanillaware, Princess Crown is one of the Japanese Saturn games that people want an English translation for the most. That’s why eadmaster’s patch uploaded to Github in October was met with jubilation. The mood turned mixed, though, once fans realized that eadmaster had used forked an old, previously public Github of an in-progress translation by CyberWarriorX and SamIAm, who have toiled quietly on a patch for more than a decade.

CyberWarriorX and SamIAm said eadmaster never asked for their permission before using their translation for his patch, with eadmaster arguing that the license under which the translation was put on Github allowed him to use it without permission. Fans were divided on who was more in the right, creating a lot of discussion, to say the least. Regardless of which side you may land on, the discourse around Princess Crown — and the hope it gave people to finally play a classic — made it this year’s biggest story in the Saturn scene.

Honorable mentions

There’s been a lot of Saturn news in 2024. In fact, we here at SHIRO! posted more than once per weekday this year! So let’s briefly mention some of the other stories that were considered for this list but didn’t quite make the cut:

AliExpress Saturn Mini: Waste of money, and harmful to the Saturn scene
New Satiator firmware adds support for multi-disc, booting retail discs and booting burned discs
Saturn MiSTer core continues to improve (Gouraud fixed, audio improvements, mouse and light gun support)
Retro-Bit announces Saturn arcade stick
Sega releases Saturn 30th anniversary soundtracks for Sega Rally and Burning Rangers
Third-party franchises that appeared on Saturn get modern revival announcements (Tokyo Xtreme Racer, Tokimeki Memorial, Croc)
Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute releases with new official English localization followed by Wolf Fang Skull Fang Saturn Tribute release
New world record set for Virtual Hydlide at Games Done Quick
Jo Engine adds voxel support
Hitomi2500 ports 240p Test Suite to the Saturn
Normal mapping on Saturn developed by homebrewers
SHIRO! NetBand tournaments (Virtual On ended in January, Bomberman ended in April, Puzzle Bobble ended in June, Duke Nukem 3D is ongoing)