Dragon Force Issue on Action Replay 4 in 1

[andrewds]

Hi everyone, have an odd issue with my copy of Dragonforce that maybe you can help with. I am using a PAL Model 2 Saturn, NTSC copy of Dragonforce and an Action Replay 4 in 1 cartridge which I got the other day.

Basically the problem I am having is that at random times in the game play, usually when the Saturn goes to load the battle screen when you storm a castle or get attacked, the Saturn goes to a black screen and freezes. Opening the disc tray stops the disc but it doesn't return to the BIOS menu as it normally would.

Most of the time the battles load just fine and there is no issue. Sometimes it also crashes when it goes to load again when the battle is finished. This issue occurs every time I try to play the game and gets annoying after awhile =P

Not sure if it matters but during the game play the drive sounds like it is constantly reading the security ring, and when I opened it up and taped the lid switch down so I could watch it and the laser definitely sits on the edge of the disc.

The disc itself is in impeccable condition, especially considering how beaten up a lot of Saturn games are, well in my experience anyway =P

I have tried booting other games via the Action Replay's built in menu and they run fine. I only have PAL games to test it with, so I haven't tested it with any other NTSC games.

So anyone have any idea as to what is going on?

[termis]

I'm not positive about this one, but some NTSC games seem to have problems running in 50Hz -- though it's usually just graphic glitches rather than freezing up.

[andrewds]

Ah right, yeah I think I have heard of issues like that happening before with other people =( If only I were more confident of my soldering skills I could add a 50/60hz switch to my Saturn and see if that fixes it =S

[termis]

Actually, I just realized that Dragon Force was released in PAL territories in a non-optimized format -- that is, PAL copies are basically the same as NTSC copies, so considering that, you shouldn't be having those problems, so I doubt that's the problem now...

[andrewds]

Hmmm it is quite odd isn't it? And its kind of difficult to eliminate variables when it freezes at different spots every time =S

[andrewds]

To anyone who is interested, I believe the problem did indeed lie in that fact that it needed to run at 60hz, as I have now fitted a switch and haven't had any problems since =)

Also, here is the tutorial I used, for anyone who is interested =)
djoen.dommel.be/Console/saturn/saturn-model2.html

Still get some crashes but I have a feeling those stem from a worn out cartridge port \(

[andrewds]

Interesting....still get occasional crashes on my new White Saturn =S Maybe the disc was buffed at some point and some data is missing. Just seems in awfully good condition for a 2nd hand Saturn game =P

[Le Roi]

I just googled this issue and got led straight back to this forum! My NTSC-US Dragon Force keeps giving me a black screen of death on my PAL Saturn.

The user above hasn't been online for 18 months.

Has anyone else found a 100% fix for this?

[andrewds]

I ended up by ripping a copy of my Dragonforce disc and loading it from CDR and I didn't have any issues after that...so sorry that I can't help you further

[Le Roi]

Ok cheers mate. I will mod my Saturn one day, but for now it looks like Dragon Force will just have to sit on my shelf.

[blackfrancolin]

This is a common problem with Working Designs games I have found. A lot of them are just buggy. This happened with my NTSC US copy of Dragon Force too. Random freezes and black screens. A PAL copy worked without trouble. Albert Odyssey is like this as well. Random black screens particularly in the early parts of the game. (Although patience will get you around that one, if you wait long enough the game will eventually continue, but it can take up to 30 minutes). Maybe if you leave it long enough the same thing will happen with Dragon Force. But you're probably better off just trying the PAL version.