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

[LordHypnos]

Genesis FM music is some of my favorite. Star Cruiser has a kick ass title theme, though I think you'd have to know japanese and probably really well to actually play it
http://youtu.be/fu_UqLMK83U

Also gotta love watching the genesis push something like 50 polygons per second

[BIL]

Master of Monsters (turn the volume up, this is some intense apocalyptic shit!)

Fuuuck that's good. Such fat lows and crystalline highs. Wicked compositions too. Favourite track from my first listen. Beautiful.

edit: ah, so Hayao Matsuo would become a colleague of Sakimoto & Iwata a bit later on. I was going to say I was getting major Bad Omen vibes from this soundtrack's enveloping bass swells and gorgeous bell tones. Wondered for a sec if it was one of theirs!

A single track favourite of mine - Herzog Zwei's "A Breach of Contract," Devil Crash MD Version. YM2612 heavy metal fury. I like playing it loud enough to feel the kick drum in my chest, y'know?

[zinger]

Genesis FM music is some of my favorite. Star Cruiser has a kick ass title theme, though I think you'd have to know japanese and probably really well to actually play it
http://youtu.be/fu_UqLMK83U

Also gotta love watching the genesis push something like 50 polygons per second

Yeah, that soundtrack is a masterpiece. Game was kind of a let down though. Here's my summary of it (from Postback forums):

I just cleared the Mega Drive version of this. Must have been impressive for its time (the original computer version was released in 1988): an all-polygon first person shooter with an epic sci-fi setting, an elaborate plot and a huge world spanning across four solar systems and dozens of planets. Generally, you can move between planets freely (as long as you have a landing beacon for them), at which point the game turns into a flight simulator, where you can cruise (or warp) around in space as you like and fight multiple enemies at a time.

The frame-rate is generally too low for the action to really feel satisfying, and the FPS sections are extremely simplistic and just not a lot of fun. The game feels a bit too drawn out as well, with countless of "dungeons" that you have trudge your way through (they are all ugly mazes with the same music). You also have to spend a lot of time doing side-quests (like just walking around looking for certain people) that don't add much to the plot and mostly feel like a waste of time (graphics and music are reused a lot). Still, I was extremely impressed by the huge scope of the game, its technical achievements and how it manages to combine different genres into one game. The soundtrack is also one of my absolute favourites. Eventually I will take a closer look at the computer versions of the game (once I have the appropriate hardware), but more than anything now I'm interested in what similar games might have been availiable at the same time, especially outside of Japan. Star Cruiser is considered a masterpiece in Japan, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Western flight simulators (preferably with a strong emphasis on space exploration) compare.

And yes, MD version of Master of Monsters certainly has a kick-ass soundtrack too. Fun fact is that it shares some melodic content with the Ikaruga soundtrack. I showed it to a friend who recognized it as being a common musical phrase in Japanese "period dramas" (jidai geki). I uploaded recordings for comparison a few years back:

Hayato Matsuo - Black Dignity (Master of Monsters, 1991):
http://soundshock.se/forum/quotation/blackdignity.mp3

Hiroshi Iuchi - Faith (Ikaruga, 2001):
http://soundshock.se/forum/quotation/faith.mp3

Speaking of Master of Monsters, has anyone around here spent a reasonable amount of time actually playing it? If so, what are your impressions?

And what about turn-based strategy / tactical games on the MD in general? We have the Langrissers of course, which are cool, and Shining Force II is nice mainly because the atmosphere is so amazing. One game that seems almost completely overlooked though is Ninja Burai Densetsu. Everything about it is cool and insanely ambitious. I love how the map looks like an animated classical Japanese painting, and battle animations are also incredibly stylish. Love the music too, although it's annoying how it keeps changing when you encounter enemies (so you rarely get to hear an entire loop, which affects the energy/forwrd drive of the game negatively). Not the most complex game perhaps (never got too far though, my save files kept disappearing), but there are some cool and unique little details, like how you can enter towns from the main map (for weapons, items etc.), and where the graphics change from top-down perspective to side-scrolling. Finally, I'd really like to know more about The Hybrid Front. Such a bad-ass game in so many ways. I had to give up on it myself, because the Japanese is very difficult and there's tons of dialogue (during the missions), so I felt that my linguistic limitations seriously affected the pace of the game. It'd be cool to know more about how the missions feel later on, but I almost never hear anyone talk about this game?

Did I miss anything? I tried to get into Vixen 357, but gave up pretty quickly. Early missions at least are boring, with strange and crappy music, and tons of boring dialogue that I felt was just interrupting. But maybe it gets better later on?

[cicada88]

So I've been playing mainly Mega Drive STG for the past week. Here are my general thoughts.

Musha Aleste - Sick, sick, sick presentation, graphics, music. This is up there with Recca for my console only shmups as far as the total package and experience.

Slap Fight MD - I like this one overall too. Very old school in a good way. I like the funky stuff like the tiny plants on the space stations, and the space invaders bonus. Cool title screen on the Mega Drive Special version. Great that there are 2 completely different variants.

Verytex - Very polished bright graphics. Love the main ship sprite--feels ahead of it's time. Music is amazing as well. The game itself is kind of cruise em uppy until the 4th level or so though. Haven't played this as much as the above two yet, so don't know how it gets later in the game.

Shark! Shark! Shark! - This is the most difficult of the ones I've put time into yet. I like to put it on Hard mode. Fun game and the music is kind of bad sounding but well composed. I wonder if the arcade versions music has better sound? Graphics are kind of stale, but some of the tank designs are pretty cool. Haven't got too far into the game yet.

Vapor Trail - The gameplay is a bit meh. Music and graphics are among the better games I've tried on MD, but I wish there were more tracks--stuff repeats constantly.

Those are the main ones I've put some time--at least more than just a couple credits.

[drauch]

The PCB does sound a bit better for Same! Same! Same!, but it is a 1989 game. I personally dig the music. Gets me fuckin' pumped as I get destroyed by how brutal it can be.

[LordHypnos]

I felt like the AC music for Fire Shark was not significantly different from the gen, though it's been a while since I've heard it. You kind of get used to the questionable tone choices after a while, though, IMO, and notice the sweet composition more. The OST is kind of a "grower" I think.

EDIT:
I know folks have already brought up Elemental Master, but that is just such an amazing OST
http://youtu.be/_5ToqQmlzN0
Perfect 16 bit cutscene, too.

[GSK]

The Slap Fight MD developer has an account here and has posted from time to time, incidentally.

[cicada88]

Started playing Daisenpu tonight. Liking it very much. The music and sound has much better feel to it than Same! Same! Same!. I put it on hard and it is kicking my ass, but it's painful pleasure.

[Skykid]

The Slap Fight MD developer has an account here and has posted from time to time, incidentally.

For real? I want to pay my respects. That game is godly.

[zinger]

I love Daisenpuu. The atmosphere in that game is really something else, very far from the style of Same! Same! Same! as you say, or any other Toaplan game for that matter. I was always very impressed by how good and varied the background graphics are. In some respects they are very detailed, but they often have a rather scaled back appearence, that gives a sort of clean, comic-book like look (perhaps most obvious when you reach what I remember as a shoreline made of concrete). Many stylish scenes, like the take off sequence, the flooded city etc. I think the game feels kind of slow though, so I always take very long breaks between my sessions (months, or even years haha), so I haven't gotten very far yet. But I always go a little further, and I always enjoy myself.

[EmperorIng]

In anticipation of some new Genesis games arriving (Mystic Defender, and Jewel Master and Trampoline Terror), I am trying to clear some of the long-unbeaten Genesis games.

Embarrasingly, this includes Revenge of Shinobi/Super Shinobi. I think I pin this entirely on the Bay level. That one jump. You all know which one. It doesn't help that the labyrinth is right afterward. Maybe I should break down and look at a guide...

Also am close to beating Alisia Dragoon. I will join the chorus in saying it is a fine game, but the momentary freeze when jumping from high places is more than frustrating at points. The game sure has scope; it feels like an adventure. I've been pretty careful in scouring the levels for secrets, but glancing over one boss-strategy video, I seem to have missed a weapon-powerup along the way! I am sure it's pretty necessary for the penultimate stg7 mid-boss, whose Toaplan-esque attack pattern ran me ragged in all my recent attempts.

[BIL]

Aww yeee tha jump. Toughest in the game along with the one in Chinatown, but you won't die for screwing up that one. You've tried using jump magic, right?

Alisia Jump Fact: you'll get a random landing pause from the mid-height jump, but never minimal or max height. I'm pretty sure it's a glitch. Either way, you'll want to make a mental note to never use medium jumps when mobility is critical.

[EmperorIng]

Strangely I have had more success without using the jump magic than with using it. The double jump doesn't seem to give enough horizontal mobility with the jump magic. Chinatown is ok if you leave that one crate standing (something I figured out a bit back), because I don't want to waste a jump magic there.

The two jump segments feel a bit out of place since the entire game doesn't force you into such precision.

Thanks for clarification on AD's jumping weirdness. I remember the talk of it being a glitch. I'll have to soldier ahead; I'd like this game on my beat pile soon.

[Captain]

AD is ridiculously full of secrets.
Like three walls in the temple at the beginning are fake somewhere, and pillars have holes in them :/
One flying platform guy leaves his platform which takes you to a powerup.
There is a destructible wall somewhere that gives a powerup in the spaceship level.

Just some random hard ones from memory.

[Squire Grooktook]

For Shinobi: Maybe the jump magic is throwing off your timing for the double jump? Perhaps if you tried practicing it outside that area, you might find it easier.

You basically want to 1cc the game anyway for the extra life, you'll need it for the final boss lol (along with spamming ninjutsu).

[stryc9]

Got the 1cc on Mega Turrican Hard difficulty, 8 lives in reserve.

Not hugely difficult since there is an abundance of 1-UPs and the health items fill your entire bar. Trickiest parts are probably the climb up the almost vertical garbage piles in the junkyard as those bouncing balls are assaulting you, one part of the alien stage with a nasty checkpoint to reach with a bunch of hard to deal with enemies in between, and the final climb up the vertical shaft before the final boss.

The final boss himself can be bomb spammed to death, which is handy since I found some of his attacks a pain to avoid consistently.

Really enjoyed playing through the game, favourite level is the final stage since there's a fair bit going on. My only regret is that there is no Hardest difficulty, and a 1LC on Hard is probably asking a bit much of me. You only have to make a couple of small errors and your life gauge is empty. There is 100% gem collection to go for though I guess.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I really like the Atomic Runner mixes. I wonder, of the Data East updates on the MD, whether their snooker game also had good tunes.

Side Pocket on Game Boy has got music so good I suspect whoever made BurgerTime Deluxe might have worked on the former too.

Not crazy about Chelnov MD music, personally. Excellent remake otherwise.

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm, have to admit that's right, and it's been too long since I played. The MD version's remixes are just there. It's mostly the visual upgrade that I appreciate. Midnight Resistance got some great remixes on the MD, though.

Side Pocket seems...okay: link
Just easy listening stuff, though I like how they snuck in the prerequisite dark MD cityscape for the title. Looks like San Fran was the inspiration (see 2:50 for the end of stage screen).

[BIL]

DECO were really fond of the NYC skyline, weren't they?

SOUL OF NEW YORK CITY: The Art of DECO Title Screens











Well I suppose MR's could be in Detroit.

Much like Robocop 2's ARCADE BEATDOWN! (sponsored by DECO)

[Strider77]

I have to confess when I recently played Crude Buster I really enjoyed it. I was impressed with the music and enjoyed the humorous post apocalyptic theme. I thought the game itself was enjoyable also and was fun two player.

Granted it's no masterpiece but it's audio, humorous pink neon styling won me over.

Just curious what others thought. .

[BIL]

I always thought it was pretty great. Solid crowd control-intensive brawling, with a hilarious "anything that's not nailed down, and some stuff that is" weapons policy. It's not The Ninja Warriors Again brilliant in singleplayer, but it's got co-op funnins going for it. I consider it part of an informal DECO on MD trilogy along with Midnight Resistance and the big daddy CHERUNOBU.

The MD version's addition of considerable post-damage invincibility time for enemies is a bit odd, but I find it encourages good crowd control, so I don't mind.

[GSK]

I still haven't played Crude Buster but I remember seeing it listed in all the cheat mags from back in the day, with the "cheat" being "start a 2p game and just throw the second player at everyone for the entire game". From the sounds of things, they may have been onto something.

I've been looking into the DECO sound driver over the last couple days... to cut a long story short, their in-house ports (and a ton of Chinese pirate games) used a custom driver by a guy named Hiroyasu Fujimaru, and their outsourced games were generally handled partially or entirely by Hitoshi Sakimoto and used the same driver featured in other games like Gauntlet IV and Verytex.

Vapor Trail, Atomic Runner, High Seas Havoc, Side Pocket, Dashin' Desperados, etc = in-house
Midnight Resistance, Two Crude Dudes, Captain America, etc = Sakimoto

[dunpeal2064]

More Genesis/MD awesomeness.

Played a round of Sonic 2 today. Always enjoy this one. It has the fine slope placement of the first game, allowing for some wild jumps, but the spin dash gives you the speed you need on a dime, as opposed to Sonic 1's long build-up (Which I still enjoy). I accidentally triggered the Slope Glitch in this run, which changes the way Sonic interacts with slopes in the game. Found out by spin-dashing into a loop at the bottom of Aquatic 2, only to go straight through the wall. Of course the wall had no collision detection, so I fell to my death. Sonic games can be quite a mess, but thats part of the charm for me.

Also played some of the fan-made Sonic Megamix on the Sega CD. Pretty fun game actually, nice large levels that let you take advantage of Sonic's wider set of abilities. The design isn't as tight as the actual Genesis titles, but the moveset makes up for it imo. Some nice boss redesigns in there as well. Sadly, the game is unstable in its current form, and the game kept crashing in Metallic Base 3 (Scrap Brain 3).

Played Rocket Knight Adventures for the first time yesterday too, and was quite blown away by the game. RK's dash ability is great, and can be used in some really interesting ways. They cram SO much stuff into each stage. I made it to Stage 4, which looked to be near the end of the game, but had to stop there. Will certainly stick through with this one until the end. Game definitely stands as one of the strongest Genesis platformers I have played.

And, last but not least, Revenge of Shinobi. I'm... having a tough time with this one. I like it, the stages and music are wonderful, and the controls feel tight... but even knowing that its not the same game as Shadow Dancer, I am having a hard time adjusting. One hit kills have attuned me to avoid all damage, and it seems like doing this in Revenge is very hard. Some spots seem designed to force you into damage. Even the Stage 1 boss gives me several whacks before I can take him down. Will stick with it though as I am enjoying the game, I think I just need to adjust my approach a bit. Made it through the waterfall stage though, so making some progress.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Not on MD, but Act-Fancer: Cybernetick Hyper Weapon starts with one memorable skyline.

Just remembered the other thing than music I like better about the original Chelnov than MD version - the intro. Doesn't screw around, does it?

Played Rocket Knight Adventures for the first time yesterday too, and was quite blown away by the game. RK's dash ability is great, and can be used in some really interesting ways. They cram SO much stuff into each stage. I made it to Stage 4, which looked to be near the end of the game, but had to stop there. Will certainly stick through with this one until the end. Game definitely stands as one of the strongest Genesis platformers I have played.

Didn't feel like a platformer to me, but it's a goodie.

[dunpeal2064]

Yeah, it is definitely heavy on the action, but some moments (using the bounce to get up walls, using the lava reflection to jump across the ice platforms, all the tail-hanging stuff) gives it a platform vibe to me. But it is far from a hop 'n bop for sure.

[Skykid]

Rocket Knight is the stuff of 16-bit legend. When you reach the last stage you owe it to yourself to crank the volume to deafening for the uncompromising filthy bass. Special game is special.

[Captain]

It isn't even such a great game (unique as heck tough, and the sequel is great).
But that last stage theme is amazing.

Lately I've had an idea to change the level layouts of Bloodlines so that the whip swinging and spear jumping has proper uses. I'm drawing the level concepts right now, later I'll actually get to changing stuff.

[MX7]

After a quick listen to the Time Trax OST, I drew a comparison between it and the music of Ryu Uemoto. They both have that floaty yet dynamic FM sound. Very nice, thanks.

On the subject of killer Western Mega Drive soundtracks (a page or so back, sorry) I'm going to assume that everyone here has heard the OST to Vectorman, but if not, play this really fucking loud:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8_2u-EU-bL4

EDIT - @zinger Yes! I remember hearing that motif from Ikaruga in Rashomon and possibly other jidaigeki. Very cool discovery, thanks.

[zinger]

Wow really? I need to watch Rashomon again.

[zinger]

Did I miss anything? I tried to get into Vixen 357, but gave up pretty quickly. Early missions at least are boring, with strange and crappy music, and tons of boring dialogue that I felt was just interrupting. But maybe it gets better later on?

By the way, can't mention this game without posting this:
http://youtu.be/g7HMJdTK5oA