Saturn Version of Policenauts

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Anubis
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Saturn Version of Policenauts

Post by Anubis »

I just picked up a Sega Saturn a little while ago and was thinking about how awesome it would be to play the Saturn version of Policenauts.
What are the differences between the Playstation and Saturn versions?
Are you planning on translating both versions?
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SNATCHER SERIES
Snatcher (Mega CD) [European]
Snatcher (Saturn) [Japanese]

POLICENAUTS SERIES
Policenauts Pilot Disk (3DO) [Japanese]
Policenauts (3DO) [Japanese]
Policenauts (PlayStation) [Japanese]
Policenauts (Saturn) [Japanese]
Policenauts (Saturn) [Japanese]

ZONE OF THE ENDERS SERIES
Zone Of the Enders (PlayStation 2) [European]
Zone Of the Enders: The Second Runner - Special Edition (PlayStation 2) [European]

BOKTAI SERIES
boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand! (Gameboy Advance) [European]
boktai 2: Solar Boy Django (Gameboy Advance) [European]

OTHER SERIES
Penguin Adventure (MSX) [European]
Kabushiki Baibai Trainer Kabutore (DS) [Japanese]

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Konami Krazy Racers (Gameboy Advance) [European]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) [American]
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Re: Saturn Version of Policenauts

Post by 87th »

Anubis wrote:What are the differences between the Playstation and Saturn versions?
Are you planning on translating both versions?
I believe the patch was originally planned for the Saturn, but due to the difficulty of working with the system, the project was shifted to the PlayStation, first. I understand the team plan to work on each version of the game, eventually.

The Saturn version is widely considered to be the best version of the game, due to its lightgun support and in-game encyclopaedia.
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Post by JimboKudo »

I'm pretty sure that sega used difficult code for their saturn, since 1)no emulator is very good for it, and 2)I've never EVER seen a translation patch for the games on that system. Apparently, the amount of work to figure out what the heck the original programmers did is ridiculous. This is just stuff I've read about online.
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Ghaleon
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Post by Ghaleon »

Actually, I'm pretty sure they finally got translation patches up and running for the Shining Force III parts II & III, and even the Bonus Premium disc.
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Post by Artemio »

JumboKudo, there is no such thing as "difficult code used", but I know what you mean. The platform was difficult to code for if you wanted to get the most out of it. But if you had low standards or goals, it is just like any other platform. You can view some source code on the net, and even some made by myself more than 10 years ago.

There was no intention from Sega to make it difficult, and they didn't code it that way. It simply had to be changed late in development. The hardware that is, to compete with the Playstation. And thus, they had the tools delayed, for programmers to have an SDK for the Saturn that allowed them most stuff. They released a bare bones SDK, it must have been pretty similar to what you get with early homebrew SDKs based on C and with no system calls. Later Sega made a platform that allowed higher functions, but it was never as simple as with the Playstation if you wanted all the raw power on the machine.
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Post by JimboKudo »

Ah, thanks for clearing that up for me. I was wondering about it myself, so it helps to actually talk to someone who's dealt with it instead of reading articles. (JumboKudo? Are you calling me fat? lol)
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