Official 4mb cart questions

[nevermind]

Hello guys.

I have the action replay 4 in 1 so I have been using that for 4mb games.

Is it worth buying the official 4mb cart? Some people are saying the action replay can cause problems with the cart slot and can become Unreliable over time as they're not built amazingly well.

I'm about to fit a country switch so will not need the 4 in 1 soon enough.

Should I go and buy the official 4mb cart? Any benefits?

[barryburton]

I've got a multi region console. I still prefer the AR because it lets you backup game saves and acts as a 1/4MB cart without having to switch cartridges in the slot- which as you allude to are temperamental.

The only big performance issue I've found is in Samurai Showdown 4 where there is some tolerable glitching. Some say Metal Slug runs worse. Though in fact I'm not sure the 4MB cart would work with those SNK titles anyway.

The Capcom 4MB games (e.g. SFZ3, the vs. games, Vampire Savior) have all been fine for me with the AR.

The only big flaws I've found with having the AR inserted full time are the slight hassle of having to shuffle saves before loading the game; and the fact that Panzer Dragoon Saga won't load with the AR inserted.

[zyrobs]

If you use a 4mb cart, then you won't need to go through the AR menu every time you boot up a game. They will boot up straight (assuming you don't have region issues). That's it.

There is no 1mb/4mb switching on the AR, it just has 4mb on it which is backwards compatible. Except for three broken SNK fighting games, which only work with 1mb carts. Some old AR models don't work with all 4mb games, but it's unlikely you'll get one of those.

Metal Slug runs like ass even with an official 1mb cart.

A save cart is more useful IMO, since games can save to it directly, unlike the AR cart.

[davyk]

Don't think the 4MB cart is expensive. I've seen sellers price games with and without it and it doesn't hike the price. So it might be worth picking one up with a game. I have both and I like having it.

[pocketpocket]

As far as I know the issue isn't with the Action Replay itself but more with the cartridge slot on the Saturn just being poor quality. I've never used an Action Replay on my current Saturn and it was imported from Japan so it's far less likely that one was ever used on it, but it's still pretty temperamental with the cartridges as everyone's Saturns seem to be. It's actually probably better if you're just keeping one single cart in there as opposed to constantly swapping carts in and out, between saving to either the AR or official Power Memory cart, the 4MB cart and also the 1MB cart which some games require.

[atolm]

Apr 8, 2017 21:13:17 GMT zyrobs said:

If you use a 4mb cart, then you won't need to go through the AR menu every time you boot up a game. They will boot up straight (assuming you don't have region issues). That's it.

This right here is the reason I bought an official 4 meg cart + saturn memory cart a few months ago, after exclusively using an Action replay 4 in 1 since 1998. 

Since I've installed the Rhea ODE, I no longer have a need for the region free capabilities of the 4in1.  

SNK games aren't worth playing on the Saturn IMO.  Saturn ports aren't as good as the Neo Geo CD versions, which in turn aren't as good as the cartridge version.  some, like Waku Waku 7 are completely butchered.

[zyrobs]

Waku Waku 7 only had the backgrounds butchered, I thought it was fine otherwise?

[sych]

Apr 9, 2017 5:09:47 GMT zyrobs said:

Waku Waku 7 only had the backgrounds butchered, I thought it was fine otherwise?

It plays fine on the Saturn. The only other issue is it loads after each round. Not for long though but it can be quite annoying.

I'd also have to disagree with Atolm regarding Saturn SNK games. I think they are extremley worth playing. KOF 97' RBFFS and Samurai Showdown 4 are all great Saturn games. As is Metal Slug despite its slowdown in places.

The AR will always be the better option. I really don't see the point in the 1mb or 4mb cart if you've got the AR. With the exception of KOF 96' Samurai Shodown 3 and Real Bout Fatal Fury 3 where problems will occur all other cart games work just the same on an AR4in1. And even if you want to play one of those 3 problematic games, the later versions in each of those franchises all work fine with the AR and are better games than their previous versions anyway.

The Saturn cartridge slot is not the most reliable so the less you fiddle with it by swapping out carts on a regular, the longer your cartridge slot will live. Plus if you're using the 4mb you've denied yourself of usage to the AR Cheat codes. The cheat codes add serious longevity to any Saturn game. Especially if you've completed a game and seen off all character endings and you want something extra, this is where the AR really comes in handy. i.e Playing as Apocalypse in X-Men vs SF has never been more fun and satifying.

[sych]

Apr 8, 2017 19:44:27 GMT barryburton said:

The only big flaws I've found with having the AR inserted full time are the slight hassle of having to shuffle saves before loading the game; and the fact that Panzer Dragoon Saga won't load with the AR inserted.

Isnt there a boot code you can type to the AR Cheat functions which will allow you to play Panzer Dragoon Saga with the cart inserted? I've seen people do this online.

[antime]

Apr 9, 2017 14:17:40 GMT sych said:

Isnt there a boot code you can type to the AR Cheat functions which will allow you to play Panzer Dragoon Saga with the cart inserted?

Yep.

[barryburton]

Apr 9, 2017 14:17:40 GMT sych said:

Apr 8, 2017 19:44:27 GMT barryburton said:

The only big flaws I've found with having the AR inserted full time are the slight hassle of having to shuffle saves before loading the game; and the fact that Panzer Dragoon Saga won't load with the AR inserted.

Isnt there a boot code you can type to the AR Cheat functions which will allow you to play Panzer Dragoon Saga with the cart inserted? I've seen people do this online.

I either didn't know that or had forgotten! Will investigate some time..