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

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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BIL
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by BIL »

WelshMegalodon wrote:
BIL wrote: I'm only moderately experienced with the port, and always found the second MD game to handle much more enjoyably, but I don't remember any input issues. Fired it up for a quick go in emulation, seems its usual slightly stiff but consistent self. Any specific examples?
Must be me again, then. I've always had trouble consistently getting my character to run or perform his or her back attack (executed by pressing the Jump and Attack buttons simultaneously). Being that the latter is one of the strongest normal attacks in the game, it's quite useful in spite of its lengthy startup. Tyris' back attack I can get out with some consistency, but not Gilius'.

Is it just a matter of learning the timing?
The run and back attack inputs always feel a bit strict to me, yeah. Consistently so, though - I don't think there's any input drops happening, the timing's just unforgiving. You can at least about-face and run in the same two inputs, where Bare Knuckle II needs you to pivot first before hitting F-F-ATK for its specials. That bugs me a little. As for the back attack, I always prefer it when a beater lets you just hold [Jump] for easy back attacks on reaction, ala Splatterhouse Part 3.

Incidentally the game's current SDA runner mentioned the MD port's controls were actually improved over the PCB's. No idea how true that is, but I always found it interesting, and befitting of the TLC implied by that cute "GA-MD" inscription visible on the map screen. I wish they'd kept the AC's awesomely gruesome, First Blood-ripped death screams though!
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by BryanM »

The swirly attack is functionally impossible. If you're really, really good at it you can perform it 8 times out of 10. In other words: completely useless for standard clears. (I guess you could set a button to it in an emulator or hardwire a controller to input both buttons at once if you're macGuyver.) So much so that I completely forgot that it was a move you could do.

Dashing is reliable, easier than in EVO Search for Eden. 100 times out of a hundred. And is actually necessary for reliable clears, especially in Duel mode.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by neorichieb1971 »

BIL wrote:
What region? And do you have any other Namco-published games to compare it with? I read over at the Neo-Geo.com forums that their JP inlays are on noticeably heavier paper than the norm. I'm not near my stuff to check right now, unfortunately.
Its my first Namco title in the 16 bit era. Its quite surprising how little I knew about Namco until Ridge Racer came out. I was an Amiga man during the 80's and 90's and went straight to the 3DO after that, then the playstation.

But yeah, its 3x thicker than the usual. Shame the other brands didn't do that as well. Some of games that I got ages ago I just noticed they have inlays with water damage.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by WelshMegalodon »

After over a dozen attempts over the course of two days, I'm reminded that Golden Axe MD is actually an extremely exploitable game. The dash is indeed more reliable than I had initially thought, and essential for downward thrusts. The one-trick AI is annoying, though. The game reminds of Rockman II in that it's predictable enough to be easy in theory, but finicky enough to require some execution...

I seem to recall it being said that the enemies in this console port were actually made more aggressive. Do the enemies in the arcade original also charge at you whenever they're on the same plane? (From beyond a certain distance, of course.)
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by BrianC »

WelshMegalodon wrote:Do the enemies in the arcade original also charge at you whenever they're on the same plane? (From beyond a certain distance, of course.)
I remember enemies charging quite a bit in the AC version too, but I have to check. One thing I noticed with the AC version is that the JP version has a slightly nicer character select screen with dripping blood.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by Jonst »

Anyone got any thoughts on crackdown? I've been toying with the idea of getting it.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by neorichieb1971 »

Whoa, super bubble bobble looks quite nice on the megadrive.

None on the ebay though. How do you search it on yahoo?

Cheers,

Richie.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by BryanM »

Most of early enemies will take longer to initiate a dash, but for the most part its the same quality GA Ai.

Since my memory of the differences beyond graphics was foggy, I gave it a go-over just now. Some differences:

* Swirly attack is humanly executable! You look so cool when doing it!
* Your dash attack doesn't _always_ have #1 priority over an incoming enemy's dash attack.
* Big dudes will toss you to the ground if you try to walk inside of them. This nullifies a cheesy trick you can use against them in the Genesis version.
* Is Williams Sessions possibly related to Jeff Sessions? They both seem really insistant I don't do the marijuana..

While we're talking about Golden Axe, I came across this great quote when I was looking into its sequels on wiki:
Uchida's “idea was to come up with a Double Dragon that was not a Double Dragon… Technos was an experienced rival who had been working on the Kunio-Kun series, so there was no way we could compete if we did the same thing as them. I had a feeling that arcade games should be competitive against the great hit console title Dragon Quest and therefore studied the world of magic and swords, combined this with the gameplay of Double Dragon, and finally came up with the concept of Golden Axe.”
I think that "let's do something a little different" is great.

Then decades later they try to turn a short little game made in a year by a tiny team to be enjoyed for a couple hours into a stale big budget 3d action platformer extravaganza.

Coulda been like Dragon's Crown or those DnD beat'em ups or Golden Axe, but that wouldn't be very SEGA of them.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by neorichieb1971 »

Is there a bridge adapter that allows Japanese carts to plug into a Genesis 2?

I don't want any fancy tricks, cheat code devices. Just a slot that sits in the slot without it looking silly.

I bought one for the SFC and it looks nice.

The games I want to play are not region locked, just don't fit in the slot.

Thanks.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by WelshMegalodon »

I believe the most common solution is a Game Genie.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by BrianC »

Game Genie has the option to turn cheat codes off and is cheaper than many pass-through devices that have less features. Sonic and Knuckles can work as a pass-through of sorts with the JP Sonic 3, though that is one for one game and will only let you play Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by kitten »

neorichieb1971 wrote:Is there a bridge adapter that allows Japanese carts to plug into a Genesis 2?

I don't want any fancy tricks, cheat code devices. Just a slot that sits in the slot without it looking silly.

I bought one for the SFC and it looks nice.

The games I want to play are not region locked, just don't fit in the slot.

Thanks.
i've not heard of one, sorry. when i was looking up ways to play imports (including ones that were not region-locked), i didn't come across a solution that didn't involve a big ol' thing. i use a game genie, myself, and it is hideously stupid-looking and requires a lot of extra vertical space for the shelving it gets put on. but, hey, it also lets me play the version of ristar where ristar doesn't perpetually have an angry face.

i believe you are doomed to have it look silly. if you've got one of the model 2's with poor picture/sound, it might just be worth looking into getting a jp megadrive, anyway. imo. there's a good buying guide over here that might be able to help elucidate a solution for you. will also help you identify if you own one of the good model 2's or a total stinker, too. apologies if you've already done this and i'm wasting your time.

i really hate how many variations there are in this hardware. i feel like i have to compromise picture to have good sound, or sound to have good picture. what i SHOULD do is learn how to solder, recap my pre-tmss model 1, and then RGB mod it for the ultimate experieeeence, but i'm lazy and also don't have a crt tv/monitor with scart for rgb, anyway.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by FinalBaton »

kitten wrote:and then RGB mod it
???
all Genesis variants output RGB right out of the box, you don't have to mod it




Also, they all have a good RGB signal, so video is not a matter of concern. All you might encounter is jalbars on blue colors and then you lift a pin on the video encoder chip and use good cables and your good to go.

As far as the sound, all model 1s sound great except the VA7 motherboard revision. So a model 1 is a very safe pick, if you're buying a console then ask if you can open it.

And for models 2s and 3s(and model 1 VA7) you can install a Mega Amp into them, making them functionally equivalent to model 1 VA0 to VA2



So this is not nearly the catastrophic scenario that you make it out to be.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by kitten »

FinalBaton wrote:???
all Genesis variants output RGB right out of the box, you don't have to mod it
i feel rather stupid for not having considered that! well, goodness. still, though, i lack a monitor or tv capable of RGB for the time being.

i have two model 1's, right now, both "high definition graphics," early models. one of them is pre-tmss, but that one has horrible rainbow banding and badly needs recapped. the other is the one i mostly commonly use, but it has somewhat blurry picture using composite cables (it is very much notably worse than my nomad's tv out). i also have a model 2, but it's one of the crap ones that has neither good picture or good audio.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

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kitten wrote:i feel rather stupid for not having considered that! well, goodness. still, though, i lack a monitor or tv capable of RGB for the time being.

i have two model 1's, right now, both "high definition graphics," early models. one of them is pre-tmss, but that one has horrible rainbow banding and badly needs recapped. the other is the one i mostly commonly use, but it has somewhat blurry picture using composite cables (it is very much notably worse than my nomad's tv out). i also have a model 2, but it's one of the crap ones that has neither good picture or good audio.
You gotta make the jump to RGB, it's SO worth it! your Genesis is gonna look majestic af

if you're in Europe then you gotta pick up an RGB capable SD crt (not 100hZ)
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by kitten »

FinalBaton wrote:You gotta make the jump to RGB, it's SO worth it! your Genesis is gonna look majestic af

if you're in Europe then you gotta pick up an RGB capable SD crt (not 100hZ)
i'm in the states, and i honestly don't know where to start looking or if i'd even be able to afford it. if i could find a cheap crt capable of it, i'd make the jump, but i don't know where i would. if you've got a good suggestion, i'm up for hearing it, but i appreciate the information you've given, either way.

i have been repeatedly teased by a good friend that RGB is much better for everything, but it is most drastically tempting with my genesis because of the otherwise poor picture quality i have to deal with.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by Shoryukev »

The genesis looks absolutely glorious in RGB, if you do make the jump you won't regret it. Since you're in the states the cheapest option is to look for a cheap/free CRT on craigslist that has a component video input, and then use a converter box. Overall you're looking at about $50-80 for the converter, $20-30 for a SCART cable, and $0-30 for a TV would be my guess. There are some great Sony and JVC sets you can get for practically free that look great. Obviously a PVM or BVM will be a little better, but they are much more expensive and harder to find. I have a 14" PVM and it looks a little better, but my 32" JVC television is much larger so I find myself gaming on the JVC more. Here is a look at my 32" JVC, I'm using a pre-TMSS genesis with a good SCART cable into a converter, then component video cables to the TV. Bear in mind these are cheap cell-phone pictures, so take it with a grain of salt.

Image
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by neorichieb1971 »

The easiest way to get good pictures from the Genesis is to go to hdretrovision.com if your in the USA. Last I looked the cables were out of stock.

https://shop.hdretrovision.com/collecti ... ent-cables


I will wait for a pleasing bridge slot for Genesis before I indulge then.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by neorichieb1971 »

Has anyone got a Earthworm Jim Genesis in clamshell CIB in mintish condition for sale?
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by kitten »

Shoryukev wrote:The genesis looks absolutely glorious in RGB, if you do make the jump you won't regret it. Since you're in the states the cheapest option is to look for a cheap/free CRT on craigslist that has a component video input, and then use a converter box. Overall you're looking at about $50-80 for the converter, $20-30 for a SCART cable, and $0-30 for a TV would be my guess. There are some great Sony and JVC sets you can get for practically free that look great. Obviously a PVM or BVM will be a little better, but they are much more expensive and harder to find. I have a 14" PVM and it looks a little better, but my 32" JVC television is much larger so I find myself gaming on the JVC more. Here is a look at my 32" JVC, I'm using a pre-TMSS genesis with a good SCART cable into a converter, then component video cables to the TV. Bear in mind these are cheap cell-phone pictures, so take it with a grain of salt.
that... honestly doesn't sound that expensive for such a tremendous upgrade. my worry, however, is that i'll quickly become obsessed with getting rgb mods for all my other consoles, cables for them, and then also a new switcher. this is where it truly gets me.

i very much appreciate the information (esp about the converter box) and will consider building slowly toward this, thank you.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by FinalBaton »

Yes kitten, get a RGB scart to component converter! There are a couple good choices nowadays so you're in luck. There's the Shinybow SB-2840 (http://www.ani-av.com/shop/product_info ... cts_id=220), the fusionbox, from a member on here. There's another one but I forget it's name >_<
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by Shoryukev »

neorichieb1971 wrote:The easiest way to get good pictures from the Genesis is to go to hdretrovision.com if your in the USA. Last I looked the cables were out of stock.

https://shop.hdretrovision.com/collecti ... ent-cables


I will wait for a pleasing bridge slot for Genesis before I indulge then.
I forgot about the HDRetrovision cables, they should be the same end result as what I'm using (I have the fusion one) and it's plug-n-play. If you only have a few systems you use and live in the USA they are definitely a good choice if you can get ahold of them.
kitten wrote:that... honestly doesn't sound that expensive for such a tremendous upgrade. my worry, however, is that i'll quickly become obsessed with getting rgb mods for all my other consoles, cables for them, and then also a new switcher. this is where it truly gets me.

i very much appreciate the information (esp about the converter box) and will consider building slowly toward this, thank you.
Getting started isn't too bad, but it can be a deep hole to fall down depending on how far you want to go. I just plug and unplug my systems into the TV one at a time but I agree SCART switchers are pricey! It all depends how many systems you play and how often you use them, a lot of systems do support RGB without any mods though (SNES, Genesis, Saturn, SMS, PS1/2).
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by neorichieb1971 »

The hdretrovision cables are the best solution because if you have an older mk1 Genesis you can use the 3.5mm audio jack to get audio to your TV in a nice neat solution.

I'd imagine using converter boxes would be a bit messy with a mk1.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by geosnow »

Or just buy an Amiga Philips monitor with built in scart or rbg plug.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by Shoryukev »

neorichieb1971 wrote:The hdretrovision cables are the best solution because if you have an older mk1 Genesis you can use the 3.5mm audio jack to get audio to your TV in a nice neat solution.

I'd imagine using converter boxes would be a bit messy with a mk1.
I use a SCART cable that plugs into both the headphone jack and the A/V DIN connector. It's kinda like a mullet, except it's audio in the front......RGB in the back 8)
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by soprano1 »

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017- ... the-making
https://youtu.be/f3CTqTzkgZQ
This is the correct topic, sorry...
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by IrishNinja »

surprised there's no talk in here about Paprium, Watermelon's long-overdue beat-em-up! it's looking good
Jonst wrote:Anyone got any thoughts on crackdown? I've been toying with the idea of getting it.
i never played the coin-op of it but i've had a lotta fun with the genesis port personally, took a bit to find a CIB copy for a price i wanted about a year back but i do recommend it!
...go play Mars Matrix
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by MintyTheCat »

IrishNinja wrote:surprised there's no talk in here about Paprium, Watermelon's long-overdue beat-em-up! it's looking good
Jonst wrote:Anyone got any thoughts on crackdown? I've been toying with the idea of getting it.
i never played the coin-op of it but i've had a lotta fun with the genesis port personally, took a bit to find a CIB copy for a price i wanted about a year back but i do recommend it!
There is another thread on here for Paprium but yes, could be disucssed here too.

I quite like Crack Down and sort of it hold in the same league as Gain Ground. Both are fun to play.
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

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IrishNinja wrote:surprised there's no talk in here about Paprium, Watermelon's long-overdue beat-em-up! it's looking good
See the post above yours...
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Re: The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Thread (NEW)!!!

Post by FinalBaton »

Shoryukev wrote:I use a SCART cable that plugs into both the headphone jack and the A/V DIN connector. It's kinda like a mullet, except it's audio in the front......RGB in the back 8)
Lol, hadn't seen this
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