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

[Ruldra]

I still remember my last playthrough of MD Fire Shark (normal difficulty). Made it to the final boss, managed to destroy him but died immediately after. Returned to the checkpoint and had to fight him again with a peashooter. My 20+ stock of lives meant nothing as I died over and over until I ran out of them. Was pretty depressing.

It's all fun and games when you're fully powered, but God help you if you die on a tough spot.

[dunpeal2064]

Huh, I knew the arcade boards had differences between regions, didn't know it made it to the ports as well.

IIRC, booting the game with a JP-region system shows the "Same Same Same" title. Anyone know if this also adjusts the difficulty, or is this just a cosmetic change?

And yeah, Max Power and the game is a cruise, with just a tad of tension watching your back/sides. Swapping between Red and Blue powerups isn't even really an issue, and gives the run some variety. But damn, one death can really take you down. I haven't died at a checkpoint that feels entirey impossible to save, but certainly had to work for some of them.

This is definitely one of my favorite shooters in the collection (For the console). I would kill to get my hands on a Slap Fight.

[Perikles]

If you happen to perish at the final boss it's best to switch to the green laser. Between the high damage output of the laser and your bomb stock he's going to die in a very timely manner. I do agree that it can be a bit difficult to recover from some spots, though, especially once you get into higher loops. The combination of the ship's slow default speed and its huge hitbox can be quite the hassle.

IIRC, booting the game with a JP-region system shows the "Same Same Same" title. Anyone know if this also adjusts the difficulty, or is this just a cosmetic change?

As I said, the enemies are more combative and their bullets are faster in Same! Same! Same!. It's not as huge of a deal as it is in, say, Truxton/Tatsujin, however. It starts to make a more significant difference towards the higher loops, but it starts out somewhat negligible.

[BIL]

IIRC, booting the game with a JP-region system shows the "Same Same Same" title. Anyone know if this also adjusts the difficulty, or is this just a cosmetic change?

AFAIK, in such cases the cart contains both regional variants and will boot the appropriate one. I know Super Shinobi/Revenge of Shinobi and Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage do this.

Thunder Force III is an interesting example of this. The title screen is identical but "Tecno Soft" becomes "Techno Soft."

How I wish later games like Vampire Killer/Bloodlines and Contra The Hard Corps had kept this dual-booting arrangement.

[BrianC]

IIRC, booting the game with a JP-region system shows the "Same Same Same" title. Anyone know if this also adjusts the difficulty, or is this just a cosmetic change?

AFAIK, in such cases the cart contains both regional variants and will boot the appropriate one. I know Super Shinobi/Revenge of Shinobi and Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage do this.

One of the stranger cases of this is Mystic Defender. US carts contain the JP Peacock King 2 version, which has some major differences, mostly having to do with cutscenes and graphics.

[dunpeal2064]

Is there a possibly a way to trick the cart into thinking its on a jp console? Game Genie maybe?

SOR3 in particular would be very nice to boot in jp, and now I'm curious about Mystic Defender as well!

[BIL]

I think SORIII and BKIII got specific regional releases, unfortunately. Booting one in the other's region will just get you a lockout message.

A good way to figure out a game's region policies is to boot the ROM in an emulator that allows you to set the country; I've found GENS very reliable for this. Multiregion carts like the aforementioned first-party releases and Thunder Force III seem limited to the system's earlier years... you won't get Thunder Force IV by booting Lightening Force in a Japanese console, for example.

[BrianC]

A good way to figure out a game's region policies is to boot the ROM in an emulator that allows you to set the country; I've found GENS very reliable for this. Multiregion carts like the aforementioned first-party releases and Thunder Force III seem limited to the system's earlier years... you won't get Thunder Force IV by booting Lightening Force in a Japanese console, for example.

Grindstormer/V-Five and the JP Gauntlet are exceptions, though the US Gauntlet is region locked.

Game Genie can trick a cart into booting in another region mode with the right codes. It's also possible to mod a US system with a region switch.

SoR3 and BKIII are not only region locked, they also only have one version of the game on the cart. It's not like Gunstar Heroes or Streets of Rage 2 where the games are region locked, but still have alternate versions on the cart. A unique case is Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine where the game is region locked with one version of the game, but has a hidden sound test if the game is tricked into playing in JP mode.

[Ed Oscuro]

http://shg.sega.jp/chara.html

Leaving this here...walking away slowly now...

[Xyga]

http://shg.sega.jp/chara.html
Leaving this here...walking away slowly now...

Hahaha... ha... ha... wut ?

I don't get why the Megadrives look so plain and the Mega CD 1 so badass.

But what is it exactly ? Some kind of dating game ?

[Mortificator]

A free-to-play action-RPG city-building card game, naturally.

[dunpeal2064]

Its too bad that SOR3/BK3 aren't on each other's carts, looks like I'll have to toss down big cash for an actual BK3. Still, glad to hear the Game Genie can trick region, since it would be fun to mess around with and see some of the regional differences. The Mean Bean Machine thing is particularly interesting.

Had a bit of a Genesis co-op night with the gf. First up was The Punisher. This game is.... okay. It feels like it really wants to be SOR1, with a lack of vertical scrolling sections and a ton of weaponry. The addition of gunplay, while not done superbly, is fun. However, the game really lacks impact. Most of the moves just feel weak, the specials are laughable, and the throws are just awkward. Fury did a cool piledriver-looking throw at one point, which looked better than the average throws, but we couldn't figure out how to consistently trigger it. There is some variety of enemies, but the same approach seems to work on all of them, and the only thing you have to watch out for is a specific enemy's legs exploding once he's killed off. I do like that you can turn friendly damage on or off, and seeing the 2 difficulties beyond Normal gives me some hope that the game might be more demanding. Overall, it really is fairly mediocre... but for some reason, oddly playable. I'd be curious to hear what others think of this one, as I've only done the one run so far.

After that, we played some X-Men 2: Clone Wars. First impression, this feels like a really cool side scrolling action game... that wasn't designed with co-op in mind. Not that the game is unplayable with 2 people, but something just feels.. wrong about it. Nightcrawler is very limited when you can't freely scroll the screen, psylock begs to fly through levels with her dash psy-punch, and even the average character's jump kick moves them to the border of the screen. That said, the feeling of playing each character is great, they all have unique abilities that really makes them feel like their comic book selves, even down to Wolverine regenerating health when he is about to die. The backgrounds in the stages, especially once you get into space, are quite colorful. The music is... middling? I get a "bad sega" vibe from it, a lot of the instruments sound very generic, but the songs are crafted well enough to not be irritating, and some of them create a decent atmosphere. Again, this is my first play of the game, and I'm looking forward to spending some more time with it, but unlike Punisher I think this will mostly be a solo venture. Would also love to hear from any fans/detractors of this game!

My best Genesis moment yesterday spotting Atomic Runner at the ol' flea market for $3. The game sounded familiar, but images of Atomic Robo kid were popping up in my head. Figured it was still well worth $3, and I was very presently surprised to find out it is Chelnov, a game I've been very interested in after reading some of BIL's post about the game (Actually, most of my want list comes from this thread!)

[BrianC]

The arcade version of Punisher is much better. The Genesis version is a weak port.

[Squire Grooktook]

Yeah, arcade version is fantastic. Don't play the genesis version.

[BIL]

Ported by nubs, IIRC. :[

edit: yup, Sculptured Software. I hate it when that happens! See also SFC Gunforce and Genocide. FUCK BITS STUDIO

Hmm. Sculptured also did Metal Mech (NES), recently slated by Ghegs in the NG topic. Bootin teh ROMZ shortly. I suspect they may soon have failed me for the last time... again!

[dunpeal2064]

Yeah, I had read about it a bit before hand, and went in expecting it to be a little weak. It was $20 though, and I have a weakness for co-op Genesis carts, so I figured this was my only chance to add it to the roster at a reasonable price.

I'll definitely give the arcade game a go, curious to see just how bad this port was.

[Immryr]

i am now the proud owner of a sega mega drive! just came back from picking up a pretty sweet megadrive / dreamcast bundle I got from someone on gumtree. it's one of the "high definition" model 1s, I'm going to attempt to do a 50/60hz mod on it once my soldering iron arrives - doesn't look too difficult even for someone as clueless as me.

the games I immediately have my eye on are alisia dragoon, ranger x and rocket knight although I'm sure i'll find a ton more.

[cicada88]

the games I immediately have my eye on are alisia dragoon, ranger x and rocket knight although I'm sure i'll find a ton more.

Musha Aleste

[BrianC]

Ported by nubs, IIRC. :[

edit: yup, Sculptured Software. I hate it when that happens! See also SFC Gunforce and Genocide. FUCK BITS STUDIO

Hmm. Sculptured also did Metal Mech (NES), recently slated by Ghegs in the NG topic. Bootin teh ROMZ shortly. I suspect they may soon have failed me for the last time... again!

I think I prefer Sculptured over Bits, though they can be hit or miss at times. Their ports of Tecmo Bowl to GB and MKII to SNES are well done. I also like some of their other stuff like Midnight Mutants for 7800 (not credited as SS, but 100% SS staff) and Ninja for Atari 800.

[BIL]

Haha, no strong feelings on either to be honest (outside of those particular cockups). I don't encounter those Western porting staples much these days. Beam's SFC Smash TV is excellent, at least.

[BrianC]

Bits is gone, but much of the staff for Sculptured Software are still making games under Avalanche Software. I know they worked on Disney Infinity, but most of their games don't sound interesting.

[dunpeal2064]

So, I decided to pop in Atomic Runner last night before heading to bed, expecting the game to be decent enough to make me come back for more.

And then this dude drops from the sky and starts running at my screen, before just blasting into the foreground right as the music hits. I hadn't even pressed start and I was in shock. I then find myself in a trance, working through the controls, flipping back and forth, shooting giant laser beams that turn into a spike-ball juggling fest. The OST just blaring into my skull. And as if the tension wasn't at max already, this giant sprite comes flying out of nowhere... goddamn. I haven't been this taken aback by a game in quite some time, and I plan to spend the day with this game when I get off work.


Question for the fans of MUSHA. I picked this one up a while ago, and had it cleared within a few credits. Though I loved the music and set pieces, the length of the game, plus the guaranteed clear, made it a rare visitor to my cart slot. Thing is, I didn't play with the difficulties before passing it along. Debating on picking it up again, and wondering how the higher difficulty is on this one? Game doesn't have to be blistering, but some resistance would go a long way.

Another curiosity, since it looks like Slap Fight MD gives you the option to start at loops up to 20, does that mean the difficulty is actually different through the first 20 loops? That seems insane.

[cicada88]

Question for the fans of MUSHA. I picked this one up a while ago, and had it cleared within a few credits. Though I loved the music and set pieces, the length of the game, plus the guaranteed clear, made it a rare visitor to my cart slot. Thing is, I didn't play with the difficulties before passing it along. Debating on picking it up again, and wondering how the higher difficulty is on this one? Game doesn't have to be blistering, but some resistance would go a long way.

It really doesn't get that much harder on the other difficulties. I remember when I started playing I got super far on the first couple of credits so I just put it on the hardest setting from then on. The last couple of stages get a bit more hectic though.

I just love the music and graphics of this game. It is long and a little too easy, but it's just such a good experience. It's like a 2D Rez in that way for me.

One thing I tried was to play through the game using a different weapon type each time. You could also nerf how much you upgrade the weapon too.

[dunpeal2064]

Yeah, the game, visually and aurally, is really top notch, to the extent that I think finding new ways to play it, like you suggest, might be worth it.

My Genesis/MD shmup library is hardly filled out though, so I'm not sure if its quite worth the dive yet. But damn, I miss that OST and that giant battleship.

[Xyga]

Musha is for teh awesomeness, not for the challenge indeed.

I wish some skilled romhacker would release a harder mode for this game, I'd buy an Everdrive just for it.

[BIL]

Another curiosity, since it looks like Slap Fight MD gives you the option to start at loops up to 20, does that mean the difficulty is actually different through the first 20 loops? That seems insane.

Up to 32 actually. ^__^ Hit A+B+C simultaneously in the Options menu to enable TOAPLAN MODE, which lets you select starting loop in Difficulty, and also causes the shield to behave like it does in the PCB. Normally it'll last until destroyed, now it'll time out (I knew that incessant beeping wasn't meant to be heard for extended periods).

I've never gone more than two or three loops in, but when starting at 32 the bullets are lightning fast. MD Mode already plays like the console shooter Toaplan never got to make, higher loops are like a console to AC port.

SFMD, Snow Bros, Gauntlet and Marble Madness are the best things ever, basically. Tengen abruptly became god tier in the MD's latter years.

[Perikles]

Having counterstopped both versions of Slap Fight on the MD, I can say with certainty that it gets progressively harder for eight loops, afterwards it starts anew. In other words: every eight loop marks the highest difficulty, then you basically start a new game on the same credit.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Captain Lang/High Seas Havoc/Capt'n Havoc is like the Data East's own Turrican, in the sense it's like a mashup (you can tell what was popular on consoles in its time and age).

[mvsfan]

I like thunderforce IV the best out of the Genesis thunderforce Games because of its awesome soundtrack.

It also plays better than the earlier ones. It runs a lot faster.

[BIL]

Undeadline.



This has all my favourite things. Immensely satisfying arcade-tough shooter combining Gun.Smoke's cruelty and Elemental Master's fireworks. Beat Swamp and Cemetary before calling it a night.