Sega Saturn Trivia Quiz

Answer: Video CD player capability

Unlike the more successful PlayStation, the Saturn offered on-board memory right out of the box. Memory was sustained with the use of a CR2032 lithium watch-type battery or equivalent and could be augmented with an optional memory cartridge. For games like SimCity 2000, the memory cart was a must! Video CD capability, though not an on-board feature, was made available via a special card and software. (Thanks to FunTrivia player segadog for additional information on the video CD capability.)

Answer: Ten Pin Alley

An addictive and fun bowling game, ASC Games's Ten Pin Alley was also available for the PlayStation and the PC. Sky Target was modeled after Sega's arcade hit, After Burner; Decathlete was the clone to Konami's successful Track and Field; and NiGHTS into Dreams, a true Sega original, spawned the classic demo Christmas NiGHTS.

Answer: SimCity 2000

Though better known as a PC title, SimCity 2000 also made the rounds as a console game on the Saturn, PlayStation and Super Nintendo. With the aid of the Game Shark, SimCity 2000 players could build some pretty cool cities with unlimited funds. Transport Tycoon, also a popular PC title from MicroProse, was released for Japanese Saturns.

Answer: The Web

The first member of the "Pro Pinball" quartet to be released, The Web is arguably one of the better games released for the Saturn. In fact, it also has one of the coolest cheats--get on the high score board and enter the initials "PRO". The game really begins to test your reflexes with this code! All four tables were made available in PlayStation and PC format.

Answer: True

Like its smaller cousin, the Virtua Stick, the Mission Stick featured the requisite eight action/fire buttons also found on the normal Saturn controller, as well as variable speed controls for those buttons. Unlike the Virtua Stick, however, the stick could be detached from the controller base and positioned to be used by left or right-handed players.

The box the Mission Stick came in was almost as big as the box for the Saturn itself!

Answer: Triple Play '98 (EA Sports)

An EA Sports franchise that did not make an appearance on the Saturn, Triple Play was, at that time, relegated to the PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and the PC. Other EA Sports games, like Madden NFL '98, NHL '98 and Andretti Racing would find their way to the Saturn.

Answer: True

Because Japanese and American versions of the Saturn were constructed to meet the communications standards for each country, games made for one would not work on the other, at least not without some modification. The Game Shark, a popular game-cheat device, had the unexpected benefit of being able to fool older American Saturns into thinking a Japanese game was actually American. I own two Saturns--one an older version, the other a later version--and I can get this to work on only the older Saturn. If anyone out there has had success with this cheat on newer Saturns, let me know.

Answer: A horse

Putting in the correct secret code changes your trusty Hornet stock car into a swift racing thoroughbred. Just be careful rounding those corners, especially on the Expert track!

Answer: "NBA Action"

Long-time sportscaster Marv Albert was the voice of "NBA Action" on both the Genesis and the Saturn.

Answer: Dural

Though Sega no longer produces video game hardware, the company continues to make game software for the companies that drove it out of the business--Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. In 2004, Sega announced that it was merging with another Japanese company, slot-machine maker Sammy, and continue creating home-platform and arcade games under the Sega Sammy banner.