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

[Leandro]

Been pricey for a few years now, unfortunately. Not to the levels of Twinkle Tale or Slap Fight MD, let alone Eliminate Down, but not cheap either.

Unless you're truly hell-bent on collecting CIB, in which case nothing will dissuade you (;3), Everdrives are the way to go these days.

I guess CIB is what makes them expensive. I remember I bought UndeadLine, Twinkle Tale and Devil's Crash together for a incredibly cheap price, but cart only. The labels came in perfect condition though. One of the best deals I've made, three amazing jap games for the MD

[BIL]

Cart-only's definitely a less punishing market. Superb trio of games, indeed.

[neorichieb1971]

I found the SNES CIB market more punishing than the Genesis market.

There are quite a few good games on the Genesis that go for peanuts. I just picked up Pitfall for less than $10 CIB.

I bought a few US shmups about 10+ years ago, I realize now how much they have increased in price. Musha being the most notable.

[Squire Grooktook]

I can't believe my eyes. You weren't expecting support for this opinion on shumps.org, I hope.

Chest cycling - they needed to make sure you can accidentally swill some poison when you wanted a power-up! Good idea.

I know when I'm in a den of masochists when I'm in one

Truly wretched design. Worse than Gunbird's power-up glued to the top of the screen or King's Knight's peek a boo bullshit.

There's nothing masochistic about it. You just shoot the chest a few times to get the item you want, and you're done. It's on a fixed cycle every time so it's not like you even have to react. I die a lot in Undeadline, but not because of chests.

[moonblood]

it's insane what you have to pay for some titles now, takes the fun all out of collecting. I used to own many of the now stupidly expensive games like gleylancer, eliminate down, musha, undead line, twinkle tale, pulseman, alien soldier etc etc but I sold most of them back in 2008. it was the right decision at the time so I don't regret it really but still, seeing the prices now... just wow

[BrianC]

Despite what I heard about lag, I decided to go ahead and get the 360 version of Radiant Silvergun since it's much cheaper than the Saturn version and it has that Ikargua mode. It's not the perfect version, but it plays well and runs much better than it does in MAME (It also helps that I got it for free with Xbox credit from Bing Rewards). That game has been consistent as far as high priced games go, though. Still around the same 250 dollar mark it has been at for years.

I don't mind going for a high priced game once in awhile, but only if it's something that sounds like it's worth the price. Some of the more enjoyable games I have played are ones I picked up for cheap.

[Turrican]

Speaking of cheap finds, good gaming for a few bucks, and how the Megadrive was great for arcade ports:

I got a cib Japanese Road Blasters for 19 Euro on ebay! Not mint, but a good one I'd reckon.

I also got an European Burning Force, but had to shell more than twice for that.

p.s. thanks to BrianC for his arcade conversions list a couple page before, lots of purchase hints there

[Limbrooke]

Great ports. Horrendous going rates. Ambiguous legality. The story of latter-day Tengen. In NTSCJ anyhoo.

Most of the choice import Tengen games are expensive but its no longer the 90s and there is spare change for Hard Drivin, Pit Fighter (yee-hur), Rampart, Road Blasters, RBI Baseball 4, Steel Talons (oh boy), Davis Cup Tennis, Dragon's Revenge, Mig-29, and Klax and be good to trade for the eternal Snow Bros. Stuff like Paperboy, Slap Fight (10+ years ago anyway), Awesome Possum, and Timothy Dalton The Run still run higher than most but its never been getting cheaper in this regard.

Of course titles such as Ms Pac-Man, Pacmania, RBI Baseball 93 (5), Paperboy 2, Bubba & Stix, Domark Formula 1, Prince of Persia (no-cd) and Race Drivin' (Saturn or bust) are non-import and can be worthwhile.

In NTSCU, you get to play Russian "Grind Stormer" Roulette!

At least they are repairable and easily so. I haven't had access to many other NTSC-U/C Tengen titles but few have that same later board like Grind Stormer and Gauntlet IV which are prone to failure. Good thing there are lots of suitable donors.

I bought a few US shmups about 10+ years ago, I realize now how much they have increased in price. Musha being the most notable.

Pretty much. I had several copies of Truxton and gave a friend of mine one of the last duplicate boxed copies I had. No regrets either. MUSHA is a grave offender but its not the games fault, just the hype that follows it which is definitely overblown by a huge margin.

[EmperorIng]

Truxton on the other hand is solidly-crafted and pleasant.

[DC906270]

Good to read people still playing MD. I had a huge MD boxed JP library (as well as PCE, SS, SFC) at one time, I had nearly everything including stuff like Snow Bros, Grindstormer. Vampire Killer, Contra HC on MD, Hyper Duel, Taromaru on SS.

Then I sold it all off in 2009 (a lot of the SS stuff went oin trading station in here but you couldn't sell MD and PCE stuff), as I expected the values to drop due to near perfect emulation available. I remember selling off a huge box of PCE stuff for like £400 just to get rid of it. It just wasnt in demand on ebay at that time.

Now I emulate everything , id never go back to having a huge physical game library.

[BPzeBanshee]

Not sure if someone else already covered it here on this forum but I found basically my dream hack of Rock n Roll Racing I never knew I wanted come true - a hack that fixes the constant slowdown issue on the MD port, fixes some graphics for consistency and is a much less of a walk in the park to play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGplFyjQWcg

There's alternate hack versions that are meant for up to 6 players for Netplay use, I can imagine that being fucking mad to play over a LAN if Kega Fusion and the game's stable enough.

[neorichieb1971]

I've just recently got bitten by the 16bit bug.

Pitfall and Aladdin CIB on its way to me.

[Limbrooke]

Not sure if someone else already covered it here on this forum but I found basically my dream hack of Rock n Roll Racing I never knew I wanted come true - a hack that fixes the constant slowdown issue on the MD port, fixes some graphics for consistency and is a much less of a walk in the park to play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGplFyjQWcg

There's alternate hack versions that are meant for up to 6 players for Netplay use, I can imagine that being fucking mad to play over a LAN if Kega Fusion and the game's stable enough.

Looks like a very thorough package. I never had much interest given the now improved points such as tracks, difficulty, and frame-rate so perhaps I'll check it out shortly.

With respect respect to isometric racers I finally landed a long sought after game: Championship Pro-Am complete in the clam shell. You'd think this was a common enough game but evidently not as it has taken me many years to find one for the right price.

[TransatlanticFoe]

I tried the MD version a while ago but slowdown and, unless I missed 6 button support, it's really awkward with only 3 buttons (struggles on GBA for the same reason). The SNES version, with enough buttons and sharp turns mapped to L/R, is surely the version to improve upon?

Still the vid suggests this has control options so I'll give it a spin emulated with a Saturn pad because the extra content and better AI sounds awesome. Poor AI really was the only drawback with this game, though playing through warrior with an un-upgraded dirt devil was a decent personal challenge!

[Turrican]

What's the best isometric racer? Super Skidmarks?

[Heavy Viper]

On the Mega Drive? Yeah, either that or Rock 'n' Roll Racing, I'd say. There's Super Off-Road, but I'm not sure that really counts...

[neorichieb1971]

I just bought Sonic 1 and 2 on PAL megadrive.

I'm assuming they work on a Genesis 2?

[BPzeBanshee]

I tried the MD version a while ago but slowdown and, unless I missed 6 button support, it's really awkward with only 3 buttons (struggles on GBA for the same reason). The SNES version, with enough buttons and sharp turns mapped to L/R, is surely the version to improve upon?

Still the vid suggests this has control options so I'll give it a spin emulated with a Saturn pad because the extra content and better AI sounds awesome. Poor AI really was the only drawback with this game, though playing through warrior with an un-upgraded dirt devil was a decent personal challenge!

I was actually quite proficient with just the 3 button pad on RRR but the hack does improve controls for I think 6-button support as well as a few other presets. Sega CD support is apparently a thing too but I have no idea how to set that up on an emulator these days.

I just bought Sonic 1 and 2 on PAL megadrive.

I'm assuming they work on a Genesis 2?

I can only speak for Sonic 2 but yes, my uncle had a MD2 with Sonic 2 running just fine on it.

[Turrican]

I had no idea Super Skidmarks allowed six players at once. It's a J-Cart of course, but using that in tandem with a multitap... Isn't that a sort of record for the MD?

[soprano1]

I just bought Sonic 1 and 2 on PAL megadrive.

I'm assuming they work on a Genesis 2?

Same cartridge, different labels and clamboxes and such.

[Turrican]

licensed games late in the console life cycle: Star Trek Deep Space Nine and X-Men 2 Clone Wars.
Very simple question: are we talking of stuff which is actually good, or just overpriced?

[Bar81]

licensed games late in the console life cycle: Star Trek Deep Space Nine and X-Men 2 Clone Wars.
Very simple question: are we talking of stuff which is actually good, or just overpriced?

The latter is generally regarded as very good.

[OmegaFlareX]

Despite what I heard about lag, I decided to go ahead and get the 360 version of Radiant Silvergun since it's much cheaper than the Saturn version and it has that Ikargua mode. It's not the perfect version, but it plays well and runs much better than it does in MAME (It also helps that I got it for free with Xbox credit from Bing Rewards).

Years ago I messed around with the Saturn emulator SSF and, from what I saw, it was pretty much perfect.

Now I emulate everything , id never go back to having a huge physical game library.

Same here, but the greatest benefit to playing the real thing on a CRT is no input lag. Even with emulator vsync off, there's still a frame or two of delay due to the inherent nature of PC OSes, USB protocols, and LCD monitors.

[Ex_Mosquito]

I personally don't like playing 15khz games on an LCD, even with a framemiester. Sure it looks nice but like OmegaflareX said, there will always be input lag even with real hardware. Gaming to me will always be 15khz/240p RGB on a CRT, you can't beat it

To those who say an old CRT is too bulky for the livingroom, there's always a way. IKEA-Hackz0rz

[BrianC]

Years ago I messed around with the Saturn emulator SSF and, from what I saw, it was pretty much perfect.

Thanks for the heads up. I heard that emulator suffers from input lag too, but it probably runs it much better than MAME.

[FinalBaton]

Ex_Mosquito, I like how you incorporated your CRT in a main living room setup, in a way that's Girlfriend-Approved to boot. Nicely done!

The whole setup is neat. A coupla consoles (a good number actualy, considering the space available), a coupla games... there's even a tightly calculated space for the subwoofer!
Very compact. I like it

[BIL]

Vapor Trail MD is the best thing Telenet's name ever appeared on*. YES or YES.

Not to damn with faint praise - I really like this. It is also nice to enjoy Telenet subsidiary RIOT's super badass logo without degrading my shelf.



Blast your peerless 16-bit insights Perikles! 3: I must build more shelves! ;3

*WOLFTEAM doesn't count! VT is nice but it ain't Granada! Actually fuck it, you know what - I haven't played all that many things with Telenet written on them. Several have really sucked though!

[Captain]

Something about that copter is off...

Spoiler

[BIL]

Huh I don't get it, why did you spoiler an animated gif of a mass ritual murder/suici - ohhh. Nicely done.

[Perikles]

Vapor Trail MD is the best thing Telenet's name ever appeared on*. YES or YES.

It's a tie between VT and Whip Rush in my opinion - the latter might look cartoonish, but it's actually a surprisingly good game with a respectable focus on utmost aggression and option slammin' into enemies. I'd even give Whip Rush the edge, I'm probably a bit biased towards horizontal shooters, though.

Anyway, I certainly agree about Vapor Trail, it has a subtle yet distinct understanding of how to mix up enemy formations and set-pieces. There's rarely a jet formation after stage 2 that is completely harmless, they all have their place in the stages. Boss fights are even better, fast-paced, balanced battles that can become unruly in a snap, as it should be. Great equilibrium between micro- and macro-dodging, astute understanding of how to properly adjust the detonation of the S-unit for protective purposes. I also don't mind the repetitive soundtrack, Bloody Road is fantastic, especially when facing the final boss.