Sega Saturn
The Saturn plays discs from roms/saturn/. Two cores run it, and which one you get depends
on where you are playing:
| Core | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| PC | Beetle Saturn | The accurate one, and the one with everything on this page. RetroXR downloads its own build. |
| Quest | YabaSanshiro | Light enough for a headset. It has no ROM cartridges and no link cable. |
You can change the default under CORES, as described in about cores.
The Saturn is still a procedural stand-in.
The BIOS
Section titled “The BIOS”Beetle Saturn needs a real Saturn BIOS: sega_101.bin (Japan) or mpr-17933.bin
(US/Europe), in the system folder. See BIOS files.
Saves live in the console
Section titled “Saves live in the console”A Saturn saved to memory inside the console, not to a file per game. As of v0.8.0 RetroXR does the same: every game saves to that console’s own System Memory, which travels with the console when you save the room. Open the console’s menu and its Saves tab to see what is in it, and to delete saves.
The Backup RAM Cartridge
Section titled “The Backup RAM Cartridge”To carry saves between consoles, or just to have more room, the Saturn had a Backup RAM Cartridge. Spawn one and push it into the cartridge slot behind the lid. Copy saves between it and the console with the Saturn’s own Memory Manager: start the console with no disc, choose System Settings, then Memory Manager.
See game saves and backups for where these live on disk and how they are backed up.
Cartridges behind the lid
Section titled “Cartridges behind the lid”As of v0.10.0 that slot takes the Saturn’s other cartridges too, one at a time as on the hardware:
| Cartridge | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Backup RAM Cartridge | Saves (above) |
| Extended RAM Cartridge, 1 MB | The twenty-odd games that want 1 MB of extra memory |
| Extended RAM Cartridge, 4 MB | The handful that want 4 MB, X-Men vs. Street Fighter among them |
| The King of Fighters ’95 ROM cartridge | Half of that game; needs mpr-18811-mx.ic1 |
| Ultraman: Hikari no Kyojin Densetsu ROM cartridge | Same again; needs mpr-19367-mx.ic1 |
Seating one sets the core up for it, so you never set a core option by hand. A game that wants a cartridge that is not there shows whatever the real game showed without it.
The two ROM cartridges are offered only once their dumps are in the system folder, and they run on Beetle Saturn only.
The Video CD Card
Section titled “The Video CD Card”The Video CD Card goes into a slot of its own at the back of the console, so it
stays in while cartridges come and go. With it the Saturn plays Video CDs. It needs a dump of
the card, mpeg_card.bin; seating the card switches it on in the core.
The link cable
Section titled “The link cable”As of v0.9.0 two Saturns link through the Communication Connector on the back with the Saturn link cable, the Japan-only “Taisen” cable. Six games use it: Daytona USA Circuit Edition (the Japanese disc), Doom, GunGriffon II, Gebockers, Hyper Reverthion and Steeldom.
It needs Beetle Saturn on both consoles, which in practice means a PC, and a BIOS. The Saturn’s lead does not fit a PlayStation, and the PlayStation’s does not fit a Saturn. See link cables.
Beetle Saturn also supports rollback netplay, including a cabled pair.