Hi everyone,
I 've been wanting to do a list for PAL optimised games on SEGA Saturn (games which can't work properly when you switch them in 60 Hz or have a cut display at some point in the game) for years but I had not the full set, not the time, not the energy, not the right tools. But this summer, there was an alignment of planets and what randomised gaming had published in the past, I decided to run my own tests according to my observations with my Saturn "gear and stuff". I'm sorry, my comments are in French for now. I will update the files when I bring something new (superior versions for PAL only SEGA Saturn games for example compared to PlayStation, I need to finish this).
Games with orange background are PAL optimised games (half of them depending on the Excel file you choose) which may have or have visible glitches or disturbing apect ratios or cropped displays during menu or title screens in 60 Hz.
Games with green background are NTSC 60 Hz compatible with full screen display and the 60 Hz speed that so many players from PAL countries appreciated so much during good old times.
Here is the link with three files :
- One Excel file which favours the real time "flow" (one second is one second in reality) in games needing time records (PAL games tend to respect more the flow of the running time - NTSC games from what I observed speed up the time records, which blur our senses of reality. It made me crazy when I realised that ^^'). 16 games are concerned for this difference of time flowing. I let you take that into consideration and apply your own subjectivity on that, knowing that these games display properly in 60 Hz, so it's up to you to choose what you want to focus on (slow contemplation of Panzer Dragoon Saga for example and right flow of time in the box game or more energic flights with the pace of your wings flapping more regularly the air OR in another example harder difficulty in Burning Rangers with faster fire explosions triggered in NTSC versions with faster camera response then less time to see what's happening on screen compared to PAL version where the slower camera allows the player to anticipate the fire explosions better plus the natural flow of time (one second being one second in reality) which is respected.
- One Excel file which favours 60 Hz at all costs, no matter what, whatever the "kind" of time flowing, and mimicking the NTSC 60 Hz versions when PAL games are switched to 60 Hz (with a switch modded Saturn or an automatic frequency change made by the ODE = Optical Drive Emulators like the MODE, the Fenrir, the Satiator or the Saroo)
- One Word document which details the 16 games I picked presenting different time flows from NTSC to PAL versions, but still working flawlessly in 60 Hz despite the timing problems. The games which are concerned by that are :
1) Athlete Kings (timer?) → Faster timer in 60 Hz, normal in 50 Hz. Screen cut off at the top. Readability issue in NTSC60.
2) Mighty Hits (timer?) → NTSC60 = 1 sec. = 1 sec. PAL60 = accelerated timing. Less time allowed for mini-games, making the game more difficult to complete challenges. PAL50 = 1 sec. PAL optimized.
3) WipeOut (timer?) → Timer accelerated in NTSC 60, even more accelerated in PAL60. Timer identical to US cadence in PAL 50. Native PAL game cadence respected in US.
4) Daytona USA (timer US/Jap/PAL versions) → NTSC60 Jap and US: black bar at the bottom, time slightly accelerated. PAL60: time too accelerated, still black bar at the bottom. PAL50: giant black bars, squeezed image, timer runs at the same speed as the NTSC versions.
5) Scorcher: NTSC 60: timing respected and clock not accelerated, same in PAL60, time elapsed slower than one second in PAL50. Interesting observation...
Games that have a minute equivalent to 60 real seconds in PAL, but accelerated/broken minute in US and Japan, which is 50 seconds in real time.
6) Burning Rangers → PAL 60 = NTSC60 even though time is standardized in PAL50
7) Highway 2000 (timer?) → NTSC60 = accelerated timing. PAL50: normal timing but wide black bars and less fluid animation. NTSC60 = PAL60 → game not optimized.
8) The Need for Speed (chrono?) → NTSC60 = PAL60→ slightly accelerated chrono. PAL50: normal chrono, wide black bars, squeezed image, slower car
9) Panzer Dragoon Saga → PAL 60 = NTSC60 even though time is standardized in PAL50
10) Saturn Bomberman → slightly accelerated timing in NTSC 60 and PAL 60. Normal time scrolling in PAL 50. PAL 50: Rather wide black bars, squashed image, characters moving less quickly on screen.
11) Sea Bass Fishing (timer?) PAL 50: 1 min = 11 sec. NTSC 60 (Japanese): 1 min = 10 sec. PAL60: 1 min = 10 sec. PAL60 = NTSC60. PAL 50: Rather wide black bars, crushed image when normally displayed in full screen. Switch to windowed fishing mode. No Japanese characters on PAL version.
12) Virtua Racing (timer?) → Timer slightly accelerated in NTSC60, full screen. PAL50 strictly adheres to the standard time, but with significant black bars and slower gameplay.
US or Japanese versions that have a timing of 1 minute = 60 seconds but have their timer accelerated in their PAL version switched to 60 Hz, with no glitches except for faster time scrolling:
13) Dark Savior
14) Destruction Derby
15) SEGA Ages vol.1 (Out Run)
16) Steep Slope Sliders
Interesting note for the PAL version of Doom on Saturn:
Doom (image cropped at the top and bottom during the demo and in the credits, PAL optimized if it is the only version to have a full image during the demo and credits?) → Does not start if the link cable is connected to another Saturn that is turned off. NTSC60 = PAL60 crop level, full screen, and smoothness. PAL 50 → full image in PAL 50 during demos and credits. Medium black bars in PAL 50. PAL improved.
Link : 97.9 KB folder on MEGA (Updated 11th January 2026 5:55 AM, Rennes, FRANCE)
I 've been wanting to do a list for PAL optimised games on SEGA Saturn (games which can't work properly when you switch them in 60 Hz or have a cut display at some point in the game) for years but I had not the full set, not the time, not the energy, not the right tools. But this summer, there was an alignment of planets and what randomised gaming had published in the past, I decided to run my own tests according to my observations with my Saturn "gear and stuff". I'm sorry, my comments are in French for now. I will update the files when I bring something new (superior versions for PAL only SEGA Saturn games for example compared to PlayStation, I need to finish this).
Games with orange background are PAL optimised games (half of them depending on the Excel file you choose) which may have or have visible glitches or disturbing apect ratios or cropped displays during menu or title screens in 60 Hz.
Games with green background are NTSC 60 Hz compatible with full screen display and the 60 Hz speed that so many players from PAL countries appreciated so much during good old times.
Here is the link with three files :
- One Excel file which favours the real time "flow" (one second is one second in reality) in games needing time records (PAL games tend to respect more the flow of the running time - NTSC games from what I observed speed up the time records, which blur our senses of reality. It made me crazy when I realised that ^^'). 16 games are concerned for this difference of time flowing. I let you take that into consideration and apply your own subjectivity on that, knowing that these games display properly in 60 Hz, so it's up to you to choose what you want to focus on (slow contemplation of Panzer Dragoon Saga for example and right flow of time in the box game or more energic flights with the pace of your wings flapping more regularly the air OR in another example harder difficulty in Burning Rangers with faster fire explosions triggered in NTSC versions with faster camera response then less time to see what's happening on screen compared to PAL version where the slower camera allows the player to anticipate the fire explosions better plus the natural flow of time (one second being one second in reality) which is respected.
- One Excel file which favours 60 Hz at all costs, no matter what, whatever the "kind" of time flowing, and mimicking the NTSC 60 Hz versions when PAL games are switched to 60 Hz (with a switch modded Saturn or an automatic frequency change made by the ODE = Optical Drive Emulators like the MODE, the Fenrir, the Satiator or the Saroo)
- One Word document which details the 16 games I picked presenting different time flows from NTSC to PAL versions, but still working flawlessly in 60 Hz despite the timing problems. The games which are concerned by that are :
1) Athlete Kings (timer?) → Faster timer in 60 Hz, normal in 50 Hz. Screen cut off at the top. Readability issue in NTSC60.
2) Mighty Hits (timer?) → NTSC60 = 1 sec. = 1 sec. PAL60 = accelerated timing. Less time allowed for mini-games, making the game more difficult to complete challenges. PAL50 = 1 sec. PAL optimized.
3) WipeOut (timer?) → Timer accelerated in NTSC 60, even more accelerated in PAL60. Timer identical to US cadence in PAL 50. Native PAL game cadence respected in US.
4) Daytona USA (timer US/Jap/PAL versions) → NTSC60 Jap and US: black bar at the bottom, time slightly accelerated. PAL60: time too accelerated, still black bar at the bottom. PAL50: giant black bars, squeezed image, timer runs at the same speed as the NTSC versions.
5) Scorcher: NTSC 60: timing respected and clock not accelerated, same in PAL60, time elapsed slower than one second in PAL50. Interesting observation...
Games that have a minute equivalent to 60 real seconds in PAL, but accelerated/broken minute in US and Japan, which is 50 seconds in real time.
6) Burning Rangers → PAL 60 = NTSC60 even though time is standardized in PAL50
7) Highway 2000 (timer?) → NTSC60 = accelerated timing. PAL50: normal timing but wide black bars and less fluid animation. NTSC60 = PAL60 → game not optimized.
8) The Need for Speed (chrono?) → NTSC60 = PAL60→ slightly accelerated chrono. PAL50: normal chrono, wide black bars, squeezed image, slower car
9) Panzer Dragoon Saga → PAL 60 = NTSC60 even though time is standardized in PAL50
10) Saturn Bomberman → slightly accelerated timing in NTSC 60 and PAL 60. Normal time scrolling in PAL 50. PAL 50: Rather wide black bars, squashed image, characters moving less quickly on screen.
11) Sea Bass Fishing (timer?) PAL 50: 1 min = 11 sec. NTSC 60 (Japanese): 1 min = 10 sec. PAL60: 1 min = 10 sec. PAL60 = NTSC60. PAL 50: Rather wide black bars, crushed image when normally displayed in full screen. Switch to windowed fishing mode. No Japanese characters on PAL version.
12) Virtua Racing (timer?) → Timer slightly accelerated in NTSC60, full screen. PAL50 strictly adheres to the standard time, but with significant black bars and slower gameplay.
US or Japanese versions that have a timing of 1 minute = 60 seconds but have their timer accelerated in their PAL version switched to 60 Hz, with no glitches except for faster time scrolling:
13) Dark Savior
14) Destruction Derby
15) SEGA Ages vol.1 (Out Run)
16) Steep Slope Sliders
Interesting note for the PAL version of Doom on Saturn:
Doom (image cropped at the top and bottom during the demo and in the credits, PAL optimized if it is the only version to have a full image during the demo and credits?) → Does not start if the link cable is connected to another Saturn that is turned off. NTSC60 = PAL60 crop level, full screen, and smoothness. PAL 50 → full image in PAL 50 during demos and credits. Medium black bars in PAL 50. PAL improved.
Link : 97.9 KB folder on MEGA (Updated 11th January 2026 5:55 AM, Rennes, FRANCE)
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