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

[BIL]

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.

Oh yeah, Telenet/Renovation published Whip Rush on Genesis didn't they I always think of it as a Vic Tokai/Sega game first and foremost, being used to the MD version. Yeah, that would easily qualify for the Granada Exception. Super solid hori. The Option play and stage design almost feel like an MD sequel to Hot-B's likable but pedestrian Over Horizon (FC) - a much better paced sequel that doesn't wait three stages to get interesting.

Kuuga Theme / Bloody Road is a rad pairing indeed - and also leads to at least one memorably disconcerting scene (I'm still pretty early) where the latter doesn't play. That laser satellite boss is a lot creepier than it probably should be with its chilly electronic BGM! There's at least one barnstorming live performance of VT's music, will go look for a YT link.

edit: ah, it was Skull Fang (Saturn)'s rendition of Bloody Road I was remembering. I was sure they'd played it live on the Game Music Festival '92 album, but it's just the main theme.

(ugh, sometimes I kinda want Skull Fang SS just for its soundtrack... )

The jungle train massacre preceding the satellite was what cinched the game for me. I've a huge weakness for sniper tanks and big ground targets in general. Dogfighting those signature DECO Jetpack Guys in the rocket silo was surprisingly intense too, fast aimed shots bonanza.

[FinalBaton]

Here's my small MD/GEN boxed collection. I definitly recommend all those titles, but they've probably been named a thousand times in this thread already, so I guess it's nothing new. I can really say each and every one of those games get me stoked as hell (and yes, that includes NHL '94 . That game's amazing!)



The way I collect boxed cartridges games is : if I consider a game elite, something that I like worship lol, them I will get it boxed. For the other games I find really cool, but don't have quite the level of awesomeness I alluded to in my previous sentance : I get carts only, that saves me a bunch of cash in the long run. Or play it on an Everdrive.

Next I'm thinking of adding, wether boxed or not : Gunstar Heroes, Ghouls and Ghost, Valis III.

Also want to add some shmups, so I will definitly backread this thread to see waht the most highly regarded shnups on the MD are.

[BIL]

GNG/Daimakaimura is still one of my favourite ever carts - would never be without mine (NTSCJ, but the Genesis one is effectively identical with its handy JP code). One of the most uncompromising arcade ports ever - takes some hits to BG detail, but gamewise it's every bit as savage and eternally replayable as the PCB.

Regarding Sega's CPS ports: definitely give Mercs/Senjou no Okami II a look. All of them are solid, but that one particularly excels with its exclusive original mode, arguably even better than the arcade game.

[Xyga]

GNG/Daimakaimura is still one of my favourite ever carts - would never be without mine (NTSCJ, but the Genesis one is effectively identical with its handy JP code). One of the most uncompromising arcade ports ever - takes some hits to BG detail, but gamewise it's every bit as savage and eternally replayable as the PCB.

I'm surprised to see it's still widely available and not horribly expensive btw.
Might grab a copy again (sold mine many years ago, dunno why, maybe because I wasn't ready for the pain at the time)

[EmperorIng]

I wonder to myself if I would want it despite having the Capcom Generations 2 pack.

[BIL]

As lovely as MD Dai and its rival SuperGrafx port are, CG2 totally obviates both. They're sterling works of arcade-to-home conversion, and still a blast today, but only of interest to fiends if CG2's 99.9% exact port is an option.

I am an incorrigible fiend.

The 16-bit ports' total absence of load times is a small but distinct advantage, though the PS1 port's are already very minimal - a ~1sec pause as Arthur passes the end-level gateway, before the skippable map screen pops up as usual. IIRC the Saturn takes slightly longer and goes to the loading screen, but it's been a while.

Mercs/Senjou II, OTOH, is definitely worth having on both MD and CG4. Former is for Original Mode singleplayer ARPGing. Latter is for arcade-perfect, full TATE, 3P simultaneous mucho manlove blooming on the battlefield. A bit like PCE Salamander, the MD cart is so good its absence is felt from the 32-bit compilations.

[Perikles]

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

I had a more thorough look at their output, Kiaidan 00 on the PCE CD is also an underappreciated little game! Many of the stages are rather uneventful, there are many memorable and fun boss fights as a quid pro quo, however. Every difficulty setting above the default will flood the screen with more and more suicid bullets, rendering the point about complacent stages moot, too, if one desires to change it. Probably the silliest scoring system out there (albeit in a benign way) and, perhaps most important of all, the game allows the player to live out his unquenched thirst for epic battles with toy robots.

Vic Tokai

Those guys also published Kidou Soukou Dion on the SFC which I consider to be one of the console's best shooters. Shameless Compile epigone that packs a presentable challenge. All four weapons are very useful in certain situations, the experience bar is well-implemented, some bombastic tracks/boss fights, too.

[BIL]

Dion is really cool, I picked up a copy last year after you, pegboy and Kollision got it on my radar. The EXP-driven multiweapon setup and harsher than average price of error distinguish it nicely in the "Compile & Co" set.

The SFC box even has the always appreciated benefit of cover-mounted quasi-Engrish! "DON THIS SUIT OF ARMOR, EARTHLING - IF YOU DARE!" Ok. Albeit it doesn't quite match Crying's almost poetic beseeching to set sail in wonderous Bioships and save Avalon. Also, I prefer HuCard Raiden to Super CD for its meaner difficulty, but god damn is the latter's artwork cooler. Moody shadow outline, gold foil logo and first-rate STG boxart prose. ;_;7

"Only an excellent pilot can operate this bomber. Maybe it's you."

Spoiler

I'll do my best, Hudson-taichou.

Vic Tokai seem to have been a consistently solid name in 16-bit STGs, also considering their Battle Mania duo. If a shooter's gonna go for leisure over intensity, their roving multidirectional action, outsized weaponry and cute style are certainly one way to do it.

[No_not_like_Quake]

I think I appreciate the weapon toggle simulator Hellfire more now, a little, once you get into the groove of things. I can appreciate what they were going for but still find something like Gley Lancer's approach to multi directional shooting a bit more elegant, it feels less like multitasking.

[No_not_like_Quake]

This thread is a great resource, and has led to checking out some games I would have otherwise dismissed. A few games I have put time into that aren't mentioned much recently and notes:

Wardner: Plays identical, or very close to the arcade game. Graphics suffer in terms of color in the Genesis version. Highly recommended if you like Toaplan's weirdo non shmups.

Arcus Odyssey: Isometric action RPG, with very slight RPG elements. Positioning is not too much of a problem like in many isometric action games. I'd say it's Wolf Team's best offering on the system.

Turrican - I think Ballistic (Accolade) was an unlicensed third party, regardless, seems sound, though very difficult and has a fugly title screen based on the box art.

Ishido: The Way of the Stone: Another Accolade title, a small 1 megabit game only playable on model 1 Genesis consoles, apparently. Decent tile based puzzle game, with apparent tile designs by the dude that made "Shanghai" but this game can actually be entertaining.

Decap Attack: Americanized Magical Hat ... well, you know. The new graphics and music are surprisingly decent and while I would recommend Magical Hat version slightly over this weird revision, they both play well, and are the best games to come out of the Kid Cool and Psycho Fox developers. If you are ok with floaty platformers, check it out.

[WelshMegalodon]

The sequence of bouncing turtles in Stage 2 of Daimakaimura AC is random, but the Megadrive port appears to have the same (difficult) pattern every time. Is this correct?

[BIL]

Oh hey, seems that's true - well spotted. Gave both versions a go (AC via Capcom Generation 2 on PS1), leaving Arthur idle at st2's opening. Although both start with a clear "low-low-high" pattern, the AC turtles' trajectories and timings vary from life to life. MD seems to get the same result every time.

Gave the SuperGrafx port a try too, out of curiosity - it behaves more like the AC version, with Arthur surviving for varying times, though the third (high) turtle always seems to land and emerge. It'll sometimes keep bouncing along in the AC version.

I might've missed something obvious in all three cases - way past bedtime here but I just had to have a quick look.

[Immryr]

been playing dai makaimura today. my god do I suck at this game. I've only made it past the first level a few times. can anyone tell me how the chests work? for a while I thought I was consistently getting armour in the chest before the final pig thing enemy rushes you in the first level, but then it started never giving me armour. are they random or is they some way to manipulate them?

*edit* also I know the ports of the makaimura games on the ps1 Capcom collection are great, but how good are the ports on the ps2 collection, particularly the pal version?

[WelshMegalodon]

I'm hardly an expert, but I believe the pattern was magician-armor-weapon for at least one of the versions, though it can change depending whether or not you have armor. All those hidden treasure chests need to be taken into consideration as well. That being said, I've gotten the magician twice in a row on the first stage. There's definitely a consistent sequence, though - it just isn't documented very well. Someone like mikehaggar would be a better person to ask.

As for the PS2 compilations, I remember a lot of hubbub on these boards about fake low res and such. Digital Eclipse isn't exactly top-of-the-line when it comes to emulation.

[EmperorIng]

I don't know about the MD version (though I assume it's the same as AC), but there is a set pattern of how chests work.

When a chest appears, it loads the next "variable" in the queue, whether it be weapon, armor, or magician - the trick here is that you have to reveal chests and not open them in order to cycle through to get what you want. The order is set, but you can cheat that order by revealing chests or selectively revealing them.

I saw a really great flow chart that mapped this all out years ago; I think even on this forum (check out the Makaimura topic in off-topic?).

[Immryr]

thanks for the replies. I'm loving the mega drive at the minute. I was telling myself not so long ago that I wasn't going to get into buying JP mega drive games, but I think I will end up starting a small collection after all. I've got my eye on dai makaimura, assault suit leynos and a couple of the cheaper shooters like daisenpu and thunder force 3 before getting some of the slightly more expensive, but still affordable games like elemental master, super shinobi 2, gunstar heroes and same! same! same!

I think that would make quite a nice small collection!


the other good thing about this is it would give me a good reason to get off my butt and do the region mod on my pal mega drive.

[Immryr]

i don't think the turtles at the start of level 2 are set, well, they seem to be the same each life of a credit but different on each credit. I was just playing and I had a perfect pattern for the first 3 which just involved holding right from the start so the first turtle goes over my head, then jumping over the second one and the third one was just narrowly going over my head each time.

next credit and the first turtle hit me each time, and the next two were different too. so yeah, it seems to me it changes each credit, but not each life.

[BIL]

Yeah, wouldn't surprise me if there was still at least *some* variability in the MD port. Perhaps tied to player position, assuming the AC version uses some other factor?

Since you mentioned Leynos - definitely give the other great MD mech sidescroller Ex-Ranza aka Ranger X a look. It's still relatively cheap IIRC. A masterpiece of ambitious action game design and utter hardcore, much like director Toshio Toyota's earlier topdown seek/destroy Granada. That one's still cheap too! This is how it starts, bahaha. ;3

[Shoryukev]

I've had lots of love for my genesis lately. Been playing a lot of sega CD (playing through Popful Mail right now), I need to get myself one of those mega-4x cd RAM carts I see online, the memory in my model 2 cd unit has been a little iffy lately. I left the unit on for 6 hours like I read somewhere online and it seems to be fine now, but it would still suck to accidentally lose my progress

I also need to get a headphone cord to go between my model 1 genesis headphone output and back of the sega CD that isn't ridiculously long, but that's neither here nor there LOL. I enjoy the fact that I can use the volume slider to turn down the audio coming from the genesis a little bit when I'm playing games where I want to enjoy the CD soundtrack more than the sound effects (Lords of Thunder for instance).

On a side note I've never played Popful Mail before, and I find it's pacing a little strange. Most of the time it seems to be "too easy" where I only get hit when I'm not paying attention, but the bosses are a huge step up in difficulty. It's like the game does nothing to prepare you for the real challenges I rather like it though for whatever reason, it might be the inherent charm in the character design or the typical Working Designs humor...but something is compelling me to keep going

[Immryr]

To dredge up a subject from a couple of pages back, I find the chest cycling system in undead line a lot easier to deal with than trying to dodge unwanted power ups which float around the screen for ages like in fire shark and other games.

Actually fire shark isn't a great example since your power level doesn't go down when you get a new power up.... But they do seem to stay on screen forever in that game.

[Skykid]

@ shoryukev

Working Designs PM is fucked up, they changed all the damage and health balancing. Better to play a patched JP ROM.

[EmperorIng]

Sometimes I wonder: is there anything Working Designs DIDN'T fuck up? Lunar SSC? Their data meddling is always so intolerable.

lol at reading Vic Ireland posts:

I don't remember changing the difficulty of [Popful Mail]. It also wasn't all that hard until the very last battle.

We did change a lot of things, just not difficulty (I don't think, but it's been a LONG TIME). The parallax scrolling clouds weren't in the Japanese version, and the opening animation music and sound effects are much better in the US version.

after someone pointing out that that's not true...

And since I dug out the translation notes, it says monster difficulty was adjusted and rebalanced to make it more challenging, so it is different than the Japanese version, but changing it isn't always to make it harder.

[Shoryukev]

Haha that's good to know, I'm only about 2 hours into it....might be time to find a patched JP disc image. Kinda nice that the sega cd plays CD-R's in instances like this.

On a side note, this forum is an incredible source of collective knowledge lol

[soprano1]

Vic Ireland is full of shit.

[EmperorIng]

Agreed, at least when it comes to balance/tweaks.

Many lols were had at the pcenginefx forums over an old interview in which Vic Ireland assured us that

A) Lunar 3 is being developed for the Dreamcast
B) He will personally make sure that Lunar 3 is made, because GameArts "are just programmers and have nothing to do with what Lunar really is" (or something)
C) He won't release it if it's on the Dreamcast, because WD will never release anything on the Dreamcast; GameArts will have to port it to another system.

Haha that's good to know, I'm only about 2 hours into it....might be time to find a patched JP disc image. Kinda nice that the sega cd plays CD-R's in instances like this.

To be fair the localization of Popful Mail is really quite nice; since the game is kind of a light-hearted comedy game to begin with.

[Strider77]

Vic Ireland is full of shit.

and a fart blossom

[FinalBaton]

"Only an excellent pilot can operate this bomber. Maybe it's you."

Coachee! ... ...




Ok! I'll train hard now!

[BrianC]

Agreed, at least when it comes to balance/tweaks.

I liked Alundra, but I'm not sure the tweaks were an improvement. While the bosses were made to do more damage and take less hits, they still took a lot of hits to kill. The one character talking like a "surfer dude" was out of place, as well.

Didn't WD publish Parasol Stars for TG-16? I hope they didn't make any tweaks to that.

[Immryr]

is it possible to get the stage 4 1up with johnny in vampire killer??

[BIL]

Yup - there's actually two, and both can be reached with a bit of whip swinging. The first one is in the first factory area - you need to reach the upper-right corner with the exit staircase, then jump and whip-swing your way over to the left.

The second is in the next room, and is actually Johnny-only AFAIK. You need to swing over the long pit using the conveyor belts, obviously not a safe process. Rather than traversing the pit twice, it's easier to reach the end of the conveyors, then drop down and grapple the ceiling as you fall. Once you land on the 1UP's ledge, swing back over the pit.

Needless to say, if you're bolstering life stock for the clear you should get the first 1UP before chancing the second.