Sakura Wars 1 import on US Dreamcast

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newwavebossanova
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Sakura Wars 1 import on US Dreamcast

Post by newwavebossanova »

New guy here but I'm going hard-in on Sakura Wars and I am getting obsessed with the series despite not having played a single game yet.

So I bought the SW Dreamcast games off ebay and some got here as early as Tuesday. I never have time during the week so tonight was supposed to be the glorious magical night where I boot up Sakura Wars 1 on my pre-2000 US Dreamcast. But woe is me, it doesn't boot!

I tried Utopia 1.1, then I read it isn't good for imports. So I scrambled around looking for anything. I read about DC-X and Gameshark Lite, so I download a DC-X ISO not knowing if an iso would actually work for a boot disc. It looked like it sorta worked, I get this screen with a disc symbol that changes when I open the lid, but I couldn't get anything to boot when swapping in any of the game discs.

Then I read how the Sylverant PSO patcher disc can boot imports. It sounded like a godsend instead of having to buy yet another disc and waiting another week to play anything. I try it out and the DC is reading the disc like it's about to start up but then it unceremoniously dumps me out to the Dreamcast menu. I try a few more times but with the same result. I try Disc 2 and it dumps out all the same.

Then I try the SW1 Omake disc instead and it boots! I try all three SW3 discs and they all boot! I've been looking forward to this all week and it's frustrating to see something like this happen.

The only thing I have to go on is this thread saying some SW copies don't work on US Dreamcasts. I don't know if that meant specific versions (1.00 vs 1.01), or the games (SW3 works, SW1 doesn't).
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19535

Can someone explain what's happening?
What are my options in trying to play this? Some special trick with the PSO patcher? Do I need to buy a gameshark or real CD-X disc?
I'm desperately considering buying a Japanese Dreamcast if that's what it takes.

Thank you so much in advance.
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Re: Sakura Wars 1 import on US Dreamcast

Post by Sultan of Saturn »

I got the Gameshark CDX back in the days, and I had no problem with any imports whatsoever. However, due to the age of the system, you might keep your eyes open on a Japanese Dreamcast and save yourself the trouble.
Formerly Known As "Chalavet".....
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