I figured I'd set out my nets here first...

[chriscaffee]

Can anyone translate this in whole or in part?

That would be really, really, really, really cool.

[Protodude]

Is this one of those Robot Taisen games that uses mechs from various series?

[chriscaffee]

It's from Kikaioh/Tech Romancer. And yeah, the mecha are all parodies/homages to various anime giant robots.

[Kishi]

William Goldman, pilot/commander of Wise Duck, resembles Big Boss from the Metal Gear series, which has a character named Coward Duck.

[Omni Hunter]

Wise Duck looks like a giant phallus with legs.
Diana 17 is definitely my cup of tea though, she tops Arcee too.

[Kishi]

Wise Duck looks like a giant phallus with legs.

Hideo Kojima, director of the Metal Gear series, also produces the Zone of the Enders series, in which the principal mecha often have inexplicable triangular dicks.

[G.Silver]

the principal mecha often have inexplicable triangular dicks.

Those are the cockpits.

[Delphine]

I laughed harder than I should have at that.

[j-man]

I like the fatty house/train guy.

[Baba O'Reily]

Pulsion holds his energy sword weird.

[Omni Hunter]

I think it comes out of his knuckles.

[Kishi]

Or it's a super-powered cigarette.

[The Scarlet Scorpion]

Chris: I must say, the game looks darn spiffy, it's a shame it's for a system I don't have. Say... just what system is it for, anyhow?

Wise Duck looks like a giant phallus with legs.
Diana 17 is definitely my cup of tea though, she tops Arcee too.

Ah, a fellow Transfan. Arcee is nice, but I do prefer Blackarachnia. Rrrehr.

What?

Damn you all.

Kishi, G.Silver, and Del: I'm embaressed I didn't get that sooner. Perhaps I have a rude joke deficiency?

And y'know, I still would like to get a Saturn, if not just for "Virtua On" (well that and "NiGHTS into Dreams...". And "Burning Rangers". And a few other titles I can't recall...). I played that game in an aracde once, and I loved it.

And just what is that house robot based off of?

[Crazy Penguin]

What fun would Virtual On be without those funky joysticks? :(

[G.Silver]

What fun would Virtual On be without those funky joysticks? :(

The Saturn version, I think, is quite playable with a pad (I played it tons before I bought a twinstick), but the DC controller simply doesn't have enough buttons. It can be played but I decided to just shell out for the DC twinstick at launch.

Kishi, G.Silver, and Del: I'm embaressed I didn't get that sooner. Perhaps I have a rude joke deficiency?

But they ARE the cockpits!

[chriscaffee]

VOOT is very playable without the twin sticks. In fact, I'm so used to the
DC setup that the rare times I played it in the arcade, I was hopelessly
lossed. My muscle memory was imprinted on the pad so I played like
chicken-n00b.

My only complaint is that walking is with the d-pad and looking is with the
analog and that means that you are essentially forced to jump cancel if
you want to face your opponent and it limits your movement to vector
dashing only. Oh and Specineff's RTLTCW move is almost impossible to
pull off and score a hit since it requires you to remove your finger from
the d-pad or analog to activate it.

I must say, the game looks darn spiffy, it's a shame it's for a
system I don't have. Say... just what system is it for, anyhow?

Dreamcast and Arcade, though the DC version is better since it has all the
extras.

[smiths32]

How good is the Saturn version of Virtual On (and Virtual On as a whole)? I've been thinking about picking it up.

Speaking of the Saturn, I've been thinking of buying some JAP games for
it but the problem is that I'm not sure how to get the motherfucker to
play them. I've had a glance at Game FAQs, but it gives out some
warning about the console being PAL or something...

So, anyone care to share with me (in real simplicity) how I can get mine to play the?

[Frieza2000]

Either buy a mod chip, or copy the game to you PC using alcohol as a .bin or .iso, edit its region code with Saturn Country Converter or SatHeader, create a .cue sheet (if you used .bin) with Sega cue maker, then burn it to a CDR with CDRWin or some equivalent program and play it using the disk swap trick (or buy one of those super rare boot disks).

If you choose the latter, I'll send you all those tools. Beware though, half of the games I tried to do this for I ended up having to buy. Cinema scenes may not work and you might not even get a hint that you're missing them. In NiGHTS I didn't even realize there was an opening movie because it didn't crash or glitch or anything, it just went to the title screen. When I bought it, I realized that some of the music was wrong too. And that disk swap trick can be a real bitch. I was never able to get Sonic Jam to work, and I've only gotten Sonic 3D to work twice of the hundreds of times I tried. It's not even timing, it's total luck. In the end, the only games I never had any problems with were the remake of DBZ hyperdimension and Sonic R, though I highly suspect I'm missing some scenes or something from that one.

Or you could just try playing it. I threw Christmas NiGHTS into my Saturn and was pleasantly surprised that is worked flawlessly despite the incorrect region code.

[smiths32]

Thanks for the info Frieza, I don't think I'll try copying the games if that's the result. Where can I buy a mod chip from?

Oh and BTW, what are the 5 in 1 carts I hear people talk about?

[G.Silver]

I am probably not qualified to talk about VO because I like it way too
much.

The Saturn version is ok. It's a million miles from arcade perfect but the
gameplay is almost 100% there and if you really have to play a 3D
Saturn game, you could do a lot worse. Like I said before, you won't
have to twist your hands into contorted positions to have access to all the
game's functions using a Saturn pad (like you do for the DC), so I
consider that a plus. The PC version looks very close to the arcade but
you may be hurting for controls and I don't think it runs under XP.

I think VOOT is way, way better than the first game, but if you have any
interest in the series you should play the first one first just to get a feel
for it, because VOOT adds a lot of complicated stuff and is way faster than
the first game, which I feel make the first game boring and slow by
comparison (there are others who feel that VOOT is too spazzy and
lacking in strategy but I am certain they are wrong) so if you do manage
to get a handle on VOOT and then go back to VOOM, you'll probably hate
it.

MARZ looks like VOOT but plays incredibly slowly, almost seeming slower
than VOOM. The dash vectoring that VOOM does so well doesn't work so
well, and the characters are slower and lacking in the complicated
armaments and moves that they developed in VOOT. Also, the character
balance is completely screwed up and yet all the characters feel as if they
have the same set of attacks. It's not a good game, but it does offer a
very large single-player campaign.

In general you will find VO to be fast and mobile, compared to other
"fighting games" where you are confined to extreme close range, and if
you're able to get into it you will probably feel constantly "cornered" in
any traditional fighter, because you'll be used to dashing away, firing a
few shots, and then darting up close to pull out a close-combat attack
when the situation is more to your advantage (those CC hits hurt like
crazy!). There is a significant learning curve to all of them, getting a
handle on the controls and how to move effectively. On the other hand,
the game can feel sloppy; in order to achieve the speed of the gameplay,
the control is highly abstracted (like a 2D game vs a 3D game) and loose.
It is a quirky action game long before it is a precise "mech game" like,
say, Armored Core. Zone of Enders is not a bad comparison.

[Frieza2000]

To get any Saturn stuff, you're pretty much limited to ebay and other online stores. If installing a mod chip isn't your think (I'm fairly certain it involves soldering), you might even be able to buy a Japanese Saturn and an electrical adapter.

Actually, forget about that. I went to look up that 5-in-1 thing and found this

http://www.classicgaming.com/saturn/con ... in-1.shtml

This is a 4-in-1. 5-in-1s are apparently bootleg. The purpose of such carts is to extend the Saturn's RAM. Some games require these. But this one also backs up your save files AND defeats territorial lockouts. So there's your mod chip. There're lots of different brands of RAM carts, and I don't know how reliable any of them are.

[chriscaffee]

there are others who feel that VOOT is too spazzy and
lacking in strategy but I am certain they are wrong

Those people are assholes.

[smiths32]

This is a 4-in-1. 5-in-1s are apparently bootleg. The purpose of such carts is to extend the Saturn's RAM. Some games require these. But this one also backs up your save files AND defeats territorial lockouts. So there's your mod chip. There're lots of different brands of RAM carts, and I don't know how reliable any of them are.

Cheers for that mate, I'll make a point of picking one of those up once I get more cash.

In other Saturn news, I just bought Saturn Bomberman (or is that
Bomber man?) today and I'm looking really forward to playing its multi
-player which impressively allows up to 10 players;course it'll take a while
for me to gain the needed amount of controllers as well as 2 multi taps
but I guess good things just take time.