The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

[EmperorIng]

Hard Corps is already one of the most expensive Genesis games, sans junk like Crusader of Centy (lol).

While for the most part it has been great to transition to a console whose games are relatively cheap (coming from the Saturn), Hard Corps and Castlevania Bloodlines (the two big Konami games) cost roughly $30ish each. That's a hefty tag for a Genesis game. I admit putting far more time into Bloodlines, just because that one feels a lot more beatable (haven't had time to play it in forever)!

[Squire Grooktook]

Ah, thank you all for the positive feedback. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it.

If i make a run, will anyone watch it? I one-lifed hard corpse many times.

Sure, I'd watch it.

Rocket route, Fang B only, no-miss. ;3

Heheheh, now that would be interesting.

I was actually thinking of trying another run on the Rocket route (mostly for Claw Bahamut). Maybe with Ray to see if his more straightforward weaponry would make the Alien Cell battle a little bit more involved. If not I'd just play Sheena again.

Have you finished Shattered Soldier? I'm guessing the Mission 6/Relic boss's jellyfish form must be a favourite of yours too.

I haven't actually completed Shattered Soldier, but I did make it through Mission 6 (I actually game overed against the Relic's final form lol). Indeed, that boss fight is great, and I also do enjoy the rest of his forms (froggy is pretty fun too with his cue tip vomit). The whole of stage 5 is also a massive highlight for that game too.

Shattered Soldier is definitely up there too. I think the bosses are really well polished and designed. No safe spots or exploits (as best I remember), multi phased and dangerous the whole way through, and each successive pattern requiring a different strategy. Maybe not enough rng twitch patterns, but the few that are there are quite intense. I guess I could say though that compared to Hardcorps it feels a slight bit more "sterile". The reliance on the the charge shot for boss killing, in a game full of boss fights no less, essentially turns it into Mega Man combat throughout the whole game. Also outside of the awesome stage 5 (those fucking propellers...), the run and gun sections don't have quite the same blindingly fast pace as 3 or Hard Corps. It's really hard to pick between the two as they're both amazing games with their own unique strong points, I slightly lean towards Hard Corps now for feeling more manic with its pacing, variety, and design, even if that feeling isn't completely consistent.

Of course, that could still just be me recovering from the excitement of the 1lc, ha ha. Maybe I'd have to do an equivalent run of Shattered Soldier to accurately compare them lol.

[Captain]

the problem with Fang's B is that it leaves you standing still during the attack, basically making you a sitting duck unless you're a jump wizard.

[Squire Grooktook]

the problem with Fang's B is that it leaves you standing still during the attack, basically making you a sitting duck unless you're a jump wizard.

True, such a run would be all about jump cancelling and planning. Worth noting though, but in addition to jump cancelling, it's also possible to slide cancel the punch (even into the opposite direction)

[BIL]

The real ultimate challenge would be Fang D, uncharged only. Hard Corps Euroshmup Label. :3 (for the love of god, nobody attempt this - you'll hate the game and me too!)

Good point about Ray vs Alien Cell phase 1 - he'd probably make Alien Queen phase 1 more interesting too. I guess that's his purpose, to integrate more conventional Contra weapons... I can't resist the crazier stuff the three "new" characters bring though. Even if Sheena D is brazenly overpowering of anything involving lots of small targets, it feels so damn good to wipe out screenloads of popcorn with a smart tracking laser straight out of Badass Eighties Manga. Especially fun in the Big Magnum base escape, where the game just fucking empties an entire Contra's worth of popcorn directly into your blazing laser deathrifle. The grainy explosion SFX and thrashing death animation / splosion sprites are glorious.

Speaking of nice splosions:



God I love these two games. Immense 2D joy de vivre. I wonder if Oh!Aji is Takashi Takeda? He's in both games' credits, along with a few others. Vampire Killer has that same unmistakable craftsmanship, with plenty of its own bouncing, flailing multi-sprite monstrosities that parade all over the screen before going out in blasting gouts of fire and debris.

For the SS Mission 5 propellors, you can actually just

Spoiler

tickle them with the flamethrower (uncharged, for the love of god! ) and run straight through without breaking stride. Then keep on going past the Popcorn Ejector Box right up to the Contra Wall, aim straight up to take out the snipers + guns, then destroy the core while fending off sword zako. I love doing this!

Maybe overkill spoiler tagging that, but figuring out The Best Pattern is a big part of HC & SS.

[Pointman]

Aside from the hitpoints, they're exactly the same game. That's the only difference.

Well, the only gameplay difference - the JP version also has dedicated cutscene scripts for each character and pairing, which the US junked for a generic one size fits all. JP also has some cheats, the most notable being level select which is handy for practice on a real machine. US was stripped of these (didn't stop several magazines from printing them!). And IIRC, the US one limits credits to five where JP is unlimited.

As far as the meat of the game, its level designs, weapon balance, enemy patterns and behaviour, etc, they're totally identical in my experience. I've never seen anything in one version that didn't apply 1:1 to the other, down to the tiniest quirks.

I grew up with the US one, and I still think it's a more memorable game with its rather terrifying instant kills. But I definitely see why, with the game's heavy emphasis on patterns, the JP ver would have its proponents. These days I stick with the latter, which might be the best of both worlds. You can go for a hardcore no-miss run in 1P, or fire up 2P for more casual fun. Or eventually work your way up from casual to no-miss! In the US version you're given much less leeway.

Better boxart+manual in JP too. But the JP one is much more expensive complete, for now at least (who knows where the US "retro" market is gonna end up, haha).

Ah it's good to hear that I wouldn't be missing too much from either version. The US version does seem more "hardcorps" (hoho) with the one hit kills but dat JP boxart is so sweet. Tragically I used to have JP Hardcorps (along with the likes of Vampire Killer and Alien Soldier) but sold it years ago, the love for MD gear just wasn't flaming my soul back then. I sense a boss approaching and it's name is "Big Wallet Hole"

[Captain]

how about a spreadshot-only run

[BIL]

Pretty much any single-weapon run could be interesting, since you want both popcorn clearing and boss demolishing options on hand, and HC generally keeps these attributes balanced. Even Browny C isn't strictly the best option 100% of the time despite it Killing Bosses Dead. I think Fang D (CHARGE OK) could actually be neat given its similar weakness against huge crowds and Fang's large hitbox making evasion tricky.

TBH though, I prefer to see a player exploit everything at their disposal to wreck a game. I'd rather see a Fang player smash a boss's face in with a couple D shots before roasting a wall of popcorns with C, than deny his massive BUSTAWULF firepower. Though there's obviously certain setups with clear exhibition potential. Fang B vs Claw Bahamut would be goddamn intense, and the Alien Cell would be interesting (as would any boss where you really want to be able to fire vertically ;3 ).

BTW Squire, I had no idea about the jungle boss's heli form safespot! I always just batter the shit out him with something unstoppably rapid like Sheena D or Fang C, haha. In a 2P game it becomes the best home port of Pong ever, shame it's not bootable from the title screen.

[Captain]

I imagine that B vs claw behamut would be all about waiting for the spin attack and getting a few shots, then avoiding until he does it again.

[Kiken]

Received my copy of Ragnacenty in the mail yesterday. Easily spent 3 hours playing last night. A really solid little Zelda-like.

[BIL]

I imagine that B vs claw behamut would be all about waiting for the spin attack and getting a few shots, then avoiding until he does it again.

His random hopping would still be pretty nasty to contend with as FangBox limited to B, even just while retreating after getting your hits in. Though actually Deadeye Joe Super Jetpack Ver might be trickier.

[Captain]

Maybe its worth it though. That seven force knockoff and the doctor will be very easy.

[BIL]

You Know What I Wish - that the badass hidden bosses (joke ending path) were fought in the lab, instead of Prof. Crab PhD's shitty, weenie little scrubs. Even Ray can annihilate them before they're out the door! Buh. At least the final one is a real monstrosity with lots of flair, even if it too is EZ to scrub. Thank the lord FORMAT X gets a fight to do it justice in the potentially quite terrifying Orbital Elevator battle (red rod + spin blade options = aieee, chibi walker pattern = lolololol but nice splosions).

SIMON 1994RD
PRAMFACE MURDER MACHINE
RIPOFF OF SCARFACE FROM SMASH TV
and finally
UGLY BOWLEGGED FUCK THAT EATS THE PROF

Now there's an atrocity exhibition!

[Squire Grooktook]

That would be great. Love the Simon battle in particular. Too bad X-Format doesn't play during the Crab Battle

Also yeah, both bottom sides of the screen are completely safe from Heli Joe. I'm guessing they simply didn't want to completely drop the mechs sprite off screen.

What I want to see from Fang

[BIL]

Messed about with Fang B aka MASTER OF THE FISTING - it's pretty amusing for the most part, but certain very easy bosses just become a pain in the ass and boring to play/watch (like the lego dude and the waterfall MG robot).

I'd never really bothered with this weapon, actually. It's cool how it has an optimal range - does pretty enormous damage if you can get the "gust" to cover the target (can kill lots of bosses faster than charged D), but inflicts next to nothing if there's only minor contact. Being dead-on point blank like Sheena C is no good, you actually want to be some distance back. I wonder if that was intentional balancing to offset the disadvantage of a short-ranged weapon that immobilises you while firing. Might start using it in my Fang runs now, punching the fuck out of baddies great and small is distinctly gratifying!

Unsurprisingly this was the highlight of my research:

[Captain]

Well i practiced will all the dohickey weapons since I wanted to be original.

I am ready to make a 1lc now.

But first you get to choose.

-Ray's B. (weaknesses include low damage and fire rate, bad for rng)
-Ray's C (low fire rate, low damage unless point blank, can be abused like sheena's laser, unique gameplay style)
-Ray's D (I like to think of it as pacifist mode. Avoid stuff while the boss loses his health SLOWLY)
-Sheena' B (Curved angle, average weapon)
-Browney's B (Unique weapon that orbits around you greatly in the direciton you fire it, low fire rate, bad for groups)
-Browney's D (homes, mediocre damage, requires button tapping, low fire rate, unique gameplay style, bad for rng and groups)

Take yer picks and Ill make the vid in the next two days.

[BIL]

Ray C sounds the most interesting. Please no Ray D, it's why I got sick of the game in the 90s! I liked its sound effect.

[Pretas]

I now own it in cart form and I can affirm that Herzog Zwei is the best versus multiplayer experience on any 16-bit system.

[cicada88]

Just bought an AV Intelligent Terminal and an Everdrive MD..look forward to leaching off this thread

[Captain]

Now streaming Contra runs Till i do it right. Using Ray C

Ededit:First run finished with two lives lost. C-only.

Have to practice more. Second stream tommorrow.

[Squire Grooktook]

Been messing around with Ray a bit in Hard Corps. At first I found him very annoying to play, because it was difficult to ascertain whether A or B did the most damage, or even if a point blanking C did more, but now I think I'm getting a better feel for it.

B actually does solid ranged area damage but is terrible at point blanking. The brunt of the damage doesn't come from the shells themselves, but the napalm mist they leave behind when they explode at the end of their trajectory. As a result, B is probably the best weapon to use when manuevering or dodging around bosses (since you'll be at long range), or aiming at fast and slippery bosses (since you can cover the general area with napalm and have a consistent and fairly strong dps against them).

A is your standard machine gun. Porbably the best bet if you can get a close and consistent shot at the target (waterfall boss, for example), but can't get close enough to use a point blank C.

C is actually pretty fun to use. It's fun to blow away zakos during run and gun sections, but is not quite as auto pilot as Sheena's D and forces you to dodge and aim a fair bit. It's also incredibly powerful when point blanking, perhaps even more so than Sheena's C. Unfortunately you have to be really close to the target, and being even a little too far away can result in getting pitiful baby damage. So I'm not finding it that useful outside of a handful of specific encounters (Stage 4 bosses reflect laser is probably the best time to use it).


Also really sad to find out that Ray too can bypass the stage 4 bosses opening pattern. He seems to actually have to fight a few of the doctors creations though, with the dog/fly hybrid being the most fun due to its high speed and unpredictable attacks. Though I'll have to mess around a bit more to see if he can bypass these with the right positioning + weapon too.

[cicada88]

My AV Intelligent Terminal arrived today.



It's going to be a tough wait for the Everdrive MD to get here.

[BIL]

Beautiful. ^__^ Makes me miss my ol' model 1, currently on the opposite of the Atlantic from me.

16-BIT

[Xyga]

16-BIL

[BIL]

If Edmond doesn't let me have "THE BOOK OF BIL" for my autobiography title plz let me use that one ;3

[Ed Oscuro]

btw, did you guys see the stack of sonic & knuckles cartridges?

[null1024]

btw, did you guys see the stack of sonic & knuckles cartridges?

That's unholy.
also, something tells me the issues are from the power draw of all that shit stacked together, but I am not even remotely an expert in this sort of thing

[BrianC]

btw, did you guys see the stack of sonic & knuckles cartridges?

cool. A pic from the Real Adventures of Johnny Quest! I liked that show quite a bit.

Crazy stuff with those S&K carts. Those glitches are insane.

[trap15]

also, something tells me the issues are from the power draw of all that shit stacked together, but I am not even remotely an expert in this sort of thing

My assumption was a combination of that, and the dramatic increase in the time needed for accessing the top cart caused by extending the circuit so far. It probably takes so long that some data is missed or only partly valid.

[Ed Oscuro]

I think it probably maxed out the available amps after a handful of carts, and the ones at the top experience a severe voltage drop, like down to nearly nothing.

Circuit stacking has always been a dark art as far as I'm concerned, never really did have an idea how it's supposed to work when there aren't physically separate address lines. I assume that's a problem here.

In terms of the distance...about a foot of copper wire passes a signal in roughly a nanosecond (a bit slower than light in a vacuum). That distance could be dramatically more given the circuitry within components, but it seems like the actual constructions and intended employment of the chips has more to do with this than the physical distances.