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

[Mero]

I'll tell you what a good tune is - Izayoi off Shinobi III/Super Shinobi 2. Pretty much all the tunes are good, in fact.

Attempted to clear this yesterday, no missed most of the game then lost all my lives by falling down holes.

What do you get the Shinobi bonus for? I've cleared stages without taking damage or using magic so it's not that.

[BIL]

Shinobi III's OST is brilliant - shame it seems less praised than Revenge's and never got a dedicated album release, as it's no less worthy of recognition. Immense energy, atmosphere and tunes with just the right degree of dark shading (I like the subtle use of a downcast leitmotif throughout, starting with the level intro screen BGM).

My favourite tracks are usually Solitary (that hammering intro, seamlessly transitioned to soaring funky leads; dig the hi-hat!), My Dear D (erratic, pulverising energy in the drums and bassline backing the grungy lead's metamorphosis into beautifully fragile arpeggios) and Inner Darkside (an intensely brooding expansion of the leitmotif, given a morose energy by driving bass and almost physically violent drumming). The rollicking Trap Boogie absolutely rocks too - perfect chorus to the final stage's solitary, superhuman acrobatics.

The Shinobi Bonus is awarded for using only melee attacks, IIRC.

[greg]

I found a site with a list some of the differences. Mostly cosmetic changes, but added parallax for the US sounds pretty cool.

Man, I love these late-90s game-tribute websites. This one is particularly nicely crafted. They just don't make websites like this anymore. ^^

Tell me about it! There's not enough websites like this made anymore. HTML homepages have been replaced by boring blogs by people who are too lazy to figure out simple HTML. Okay, maybe I am being harsh, but essentially the newer media have swept away the old, dedicated, menu-based homepages. Now everything must be searched through hashtags and keywords, and facts have been replaced by opinions.

I really need to work on my Super Famicom page more. I haven't touched it much in the past 5 years or so.

[Ed Oscuro]

The Shinobi Bonus is awarded for using only melee attacks, IIRC.

The no-shuriken bonus? I am pretty sure it's called that in Shadow Dancer...it might have the same name in III.

Agreed about the soundtrack, though I got kinda bored listening to it on winamp long ago Revenge has tracks that stand out more for people but it also has a couple that aren't so memorable, too.

[BIL]

The no-shuriken bonus? I am pretty sure it's called that in Shadow Dancer...it might have the same name in III.

Indeed - same principle, different name. It's too bad III doesn't have a true "no shuriken" option like Shadow Dancer MD, although I guess learning to gauge the melee range is a neat skill in itself.



I'm so glad I snapped up SDMD on a whim a while back. I grew up thinking of it as a poorer relation to Revenge/III (where mah cool scenery + doublejump?!) and initially didn't have much interest in tracking it down, but god damn does it work well as a no-nonsense Rolling Thunder-esque. Almost makes me not bummed M2 never got around to a PS2 Shinobi collection.

[Ed Oscuro]

Yeah, trying to go through SIII while avoiding the shuriken was rage-inducing, and of course the proximity-based melee avoidance of throwing shuriken has been rage-inducing since the original arcade game. But what's new there? Come to think of it, now there's the explanation for why I didn't know the name.

[BIL]

Somehow, until now I never connected the original game's (and Revenge/III/Shadow Dancer's) non-damaging "bump" upon contact with most common enemies to the melee range (with the charming proviso "if it looks freaky / is a dog / is Spiderman, don't touch!"). How magnanimous!

Of course in Rolling Thunder it's guns only and limited ammo makes accuracy paramount, so it makes sense getting too near an enemy is punished.

edit: I wish more sidescrollers had taken Metal Slug's approach of zero contact between players and enemies with both resorting to melee attacks at close proximity. Lets you get right into the scrum, with the understanding that a moment's hesitation = rifle butt smashing ur face!

[Mortificator]

After playing Shinobi III with the hack for six-button support, I can't go back to vanilla.

Speaking of, I think both Shadow Dancer games would be a little better with a dedicated dog button. Neither up + attack or hold & release attack feels quite right.

[BrianC]

After playing Shinobi III with the hack for six-button support, I can't go back to vanilla.

Is it similar to the 3DS version where you can assign block to its own button? I like how Hard Corps has six button support, even if it's just for switching between stand and fire and move and fire. Support seems somewhat inconsistent. I don't understand why some games like Midway's Greatest Hits need you to press the mode button while the game is paused, rather than detecting it automatically like most fighting games.

[GSK]

Is it similar to the 3DS version where you can assign block to its own button?

Yup. It's a hidden option in the original release, you don't need a patched ROM to unlock it on real hardware. Here's how to do it:

-Plug a six-button pad into the first controller slot and any other pad into the second controller slot
-Boot the game, highlight "OPTIONS" on the main screen
-Hold down Mode on the P1 controller and Up+C on the P2 controller; continue holding all these buttons and press Start on the P1 controller
-If you've entered the code correctly, the title at the top of the screen will say "OPTION" rather than "OPTIONS"; you'll be able to use all six buttons once you start the game

Controls are as follows:
A: Block
B: Melee
C: Jump
X: Ninjitsu
Y/Z: Shuriken

What do you get the Shinobi bonus for? I've cleared stages without taking damage or using magic so it's not that.

Shinobi Bonus: no shurikens, worth 30k points
No Ninjitsu Bonus: no ninjitsu (obviously!), worth 5k for every ninjitsu in stock
Technical Bonus: based on remaining health; worth 5k per health unit
Special Bonus: finish with a full health bar; worth 10k points
Perfect Bonus: no damage/max health/no shuriken/no ninjitsu; worth 50k points

I don't think it's possible to get a perfect bonus on every round in the game, but don't quote me on that.

[BIL]

Yup. It's a hidden option in the original release, you don't need a patched ROM to unlock it on real hardware. Here's how to do it:

Whoa, thanks for the info. Will definitely give this a go on my cart.

edit: blocking on reaction Also nice being able to use shuriken while near crates. Very cool, thanks again!

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh hey, this six-button mode means I don't have to worry about tossing shuriken anymore. No need to fiddle with any other settings once that's done then!

Kind of annoying to need a second pad, but I'm quite sure even the Mega Jet and Nomad both have P2 controller ports.

[Mero]

Shinobi Bonus: no shurikens, worth 30k points
No Ninjitsu Bonus: no ninjitsu (obviously!), worth 5k for every ninjitsu in stock
Technical Bonus: based on remaining health; worth 5k per health unit
Special Bonus: finish with a full health bar; worth 10k points
Perfect Bonus: no damage/max health/no shuriken/no ninjitsu; worth 50k points

I don't think it's possible to get a perfect bonus on every round in the game, but don't quote me on that.

I'm guessing you meant to write 500 points per health unit?

And yeah, just messing around I managed to get the Shinobi bonus on the first stage, but not without taking some damage (the ninja's that I usually despatch from afar kept jumping in the air and hitting me with projectiles, and those big fat Samurai posed a problem too, one of them is positioned awkwardly). Good luck getting it on the later stages!

Anyway I cleared the game yesterday, great game for sure but the one part I think they could do away with is the first part of the stage 6 boss fight where he and a doppelganger keep coming out of doors in the dark, that gets a bit tedious.

[CIT]

First time I hear about 6-button Super Shinobi II; mind is blown.

[BIL]

New favourite thing: long jumping sword slash into into divekick into rebound somersault and shuriken burst I only wish you could throw shuriken while running ala Shin Shinobi Den.

III/SS2's invincible frames are so well thought-out for flexible yet accountable play.

Short hop during running slash = invincibility VS projectiles; vulnerable to melee damage.
Divekick = invincibility VS melee damage; vulnerable to projectiles
Standing sword/dagger slash frames = upper body invincibility VS projectiles; lower body/back vulnerable.
Running slash frames, during attack = total invincibility. "Sliding stop" recovery afterward = no invincibility.

I love taking down 5-1's miniboss (cyber trooper guy, last survivor of stage 4's trio) with a perfectly timed invincible slash straight through his afterimage booster dash, right after blocking his pulse rifle (the force of which still blasts Joe back). Sidescrolling ninja action par excellence.

[BrianC]

It's interesting how the 3DS version labels the 6 button mode as "expert mode". A bit misleading, but still neat, especially since it's available without a code. I was really surprised by how well the Genesis ports were handled with 3D. M2 definitely put some effort into getting the 3D to look nice. I wish Alien Soldier had 6 button support.

[GSK]

It's interesting how the 3DS version labels the 6 button mode as "expert mode". A bit misleading, but still neat, especially since it's available without a code.

They were upfront about it in their interview:

http://blogs.sega.com/2013/12/17/sega-3 ... eloper-m2/

I'm guessing you meant to write 500 points per health unit?

Ah, yeah, my bad.

[null1024]

It's interesting how the 3DS version labels the 6 button mode as "expert mode". A bit misleading, but still neat, especially since it's available without a code. I was really surprised by how well the Genesis ports were handled with 3D. M2 definitely put some effort into getting the 3D to look nice. I wish Alien Soldier had 6 button support.

I think I would play a lot more Alien Soldier if the game had 6 button support.

also, been playing Shadow Dancer -- I'm awful, but I'm having fun. I really should sit and focus on one game at a time, but...

[trap15]

I've been thinking/considering/etc making a hack of Alien Soldier for 6btn support for quite a while. Maybe I'll actually finish it at some point \:V/

[drauch]

I've been thinking/considering/etc making a hack of Alien Soldier for 6btn support for quite a while. Maybe I'll actually finish it at some point \:V/

DO IT.

[IrishNinja]

^please do, a 6 button Alien Soldier would be dope!
also, love this thread; still my favorite system ever.

[Captain]

Theres a patch for shinobi 3 that adds a no-shiruken toggle in the ninjutsu menu, along with improving tons of other stuff.

[trap15]

I've been thinking/considering/etc making a hack of Alien Soldier for 6btn support for quite a while. Maybe I'll actually finish it at some point \:V/

DO IT.

DID IT.

Need to verify that it works on console, then I'll release it, I guess.

[Ed Oscuro]

Aw yeah. This will be nice.

[drauch]

Yeahhhh buddy. Thanks dood; you da man.

[Strider77]

I'm psyched also.... What kind of button layout? Is it customizable?

[trap15]

The layout I gave it is: X = shot mode change, Y = teleport, Z = counter.
Easy for me to change it, but making it user changeable is way more effort than I can bother with. Default buttons still do what they did before, so you can still use a 3btn pad or even just ignore the top row on a 6btn pad.

[neorocker]

Impossibly hyped to play Alien Soldier like this, thank you!

[stryc9]

Anyone else ever notice BKIII (and presumably SOR3 as well) has some sort of glitch where if you come into contact with an enemy they will take damage for no reason? This works both ways, from you grabbing enemies and vice-versa, on all difficulties.

I noticed this back in the day, but somehow forgot about it until recently on my way to 1CCing Very Hard.

[trap15]

Glitch? That sounds pretty normal to me.