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

[CIT]

I've considered it many times myself. Ultimately it's the ROM running on real hardware that matters to me... the physical library aspect is just geek porn. Geek porn I refuse to go without! It's my vice.

Same here, although I'd go even further to say that for me the packaging and manual (and Japanese MD games really do have some beatifully illustrated manuals) are part of the enjoyment of the "artistic vision" for me.

I actually just read the interview with the Koutetsu Teikoku dev on shmuplations and he mentions that they made the manual like a movie pamphlet to tie it in with the silent-film reel attract mode of the game. —> That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about.

About Crying: For me it's a prime candidate for that "Shmups you really wanted to but couldn't like" thread. The setting and game mechanic is really unique, some of the graphical detail is really neat, and I like the weird and creepy music, but on a whole the game just doesn't come together for me. I think it's because the fast pace doesn't go to well together with the heavy emphasis on option placement and even heavier emphasis on the charge shot IMO.

However, it's also a game where the avant-gardistic box art and manual again really add to the overall enjoyment.

[BIL]

I actually just read the interview with the Koutetsu Teikoku dev on shmuplations and he mentions that they made the manual like a movie pamphlet to tie it in with the silent-film reel attract mode of the game. —> That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about.

Damn, somehow I didn't know he'd put that up. Just shows I have to pay more attention, will enjoy reading that.

Zero Wing has maybe my favourite JP MD manual so far (viewable here for anyone who's not seen it). Although it being one of the earlier MD games I got probably has something to do with it, you can still tell whoever illustrated it really enjoyed themselves drawing all those enemies and bosses. It's practically a miniature artbook. Both of the Super Shinobis' manuals are pron too.

[railslave]

Starflight is an incredible game for the time...

The amount of times i past this over (in my thousands of roms) because of its horrendous graphics.

But its so deep, deserves some love.

I realy like how you enter the planets orbit, then fly above it at high altitude looking for places to mine(top down), then your going about getting minerals in your vehicle on the ground, shooting stuff.

Realy influenced Mass effect apparently



Im a bit sad i have a boxed copy but no manual, apparently its huge, some nice reading fodder to sit on the toilet with !!


damn.

[BIL]

Another recent pickup... an absolutely killer FM synth album from Hitoshi Sakimoto and company that, in rather novel fashion, was not only released directly to Mega Drive cartridge, but includes a fun bonus shooter to play while you listen! Yes, I could only be talking about VERYTEX.

There's little to criticise technically. Controls, collision and framerate are all smooth & solid. Weapons cut through baddies satisfyingly, with the seven-way homing missiles providing excellent fun, and the ship is super-agile. Level designs are briskly paced with lots of spiralling zakos and heavy targets to blast away at. Artistically it manages well on both the hyperalloy metallic and gruesome organic fronts.

Where it falls down in its Compile-ish competence is a failure to create any real resistance, or sense that things are ever near getting out of your control. The lack of a second loop or any harder mode really hampers this game. And as quick as the levels move they're also overlong and too transparent in their recycling of the same few enemy routines. It's simply too easy to keep under total control*. Dying and being sent back to the last checkpoint in a factory-fresh ship will cause momentary panic but it's all too short-lived.

*Until the hilarious last boss and the bludgeoning checkpoint that'll send you back to the beginning of the last stage, at least. Got my ass handed to me a couple times before finding a nice safespot and killing it, then came here to see others' thoughts on it. Amusingly someone else had a totally different safespot, and checking YT yielded yet another via ReplayBurners. Scary barrage of lasers and bullets, but the former have glaring blind spots and the latter are totally destructible by max spread, so yeah. Not a glorious sendoff.

This one is right on the borderline, for me. It wasn't particularly cheap and several other Compile and Hudson STGs already in my library do a similar fullscreen console vert style, only better. But that brilliant OST and the aforementioned consistent if somewhat pedestrian solidity go a long way towards making it a very likeable shooter. I find myself making the ship dance to the BGM a lot as homing missiles flood the screen in search of prey. A "good" game in the strictest sense - most definitely not great but too well-executed to be called mediocre. Fans of Sakimoto and that particular "fullscreen console vert" ethic typified by the PCE Star Soldier games may want to try it out.

[trap15]

Verytex is seriously one of the best VGMs of all time. All of Sakimoto's works on MD were absolutely amazing. One time I went on a code writing binge for like 20 hours just listening to them all on repeat

[railslave]

Verytex is seriously one of the best VGMs of all time. All of Sakimoto's works on MD were absolutely amazing. One time I went on a code writing binge for like 20 hours just listening to them all on repeat

Amen....

i was listening to that outside the "jobcentre" the other day on my phone emulator, could have realy used a soundtest in that game ...

"Clock tower" on badomen though !!, not quite thunderforce 4... but so, so, close.

[BIL]

My favourite Sakimoto (somewhat, for now, there's "Transparent Obstacle" too...)

So elegant and so damn heavy.

[railslave]

My favourite Sakimoto (somewhat, for now, there's "Transparent Obstacle" too...)

So elegant and so damn heavy.

That game could have been so good....

what a waste ...still nice to own it just for the music

wizorb reminds me of it quite a bit .. well what it could have been

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKCnCOd7jXA

[Leandro]

Another recent pickup... an absolutely killer FM synth album from Hitoshi Sakimoto and company that, in rather novel fashion, was not only released directly to Mega Drive cartridge, but includes a fun bonus shooter to play while you listen! Yes, I could only be talking about VERYTEX.

There's little to criticise technically. Controls, collision and framerate are all smooth & solid. Weapons cut through baddies satisfyingly, with the seven-way homing missiles providing excellent fun, and the ship is super-agile. Level designs are briskly paced with lots of spiralling zakos and heavy targets to blast away at. Artistically it manages well on both the hyperalloy metallic and gruesome organic fronts.

Where it falls down in its Compile-ish competence is a failure to create any real resistance, or sense that things are ever near getting out of your control. The lack of a second loop or any harder mode really hampers this game. And as quick as the levels move they're also overlong and too transparent in their recycling of the same few enemy routines. It's simply too easy to keep under total control*. Dying and being sent back to the last checkpoint in a factory-fresh ship will cause momentary panic but it's all too short-lived.

*Until the hilarious last boss and the bludgeoning checkpoint that'll send you back to the beginning of the last stage, at least. Got my ass handed to me a couple times before finding a nice safespot and killing it, then came here to see others' thoughts on it. Amusingly someone else had a totally different safespot, and checking YT yielded yet another via ReplayBurners. Scary barrage of lasers and bullets, but the former have glaring blind spots and the latter are totally destructible by max spread, so yeah. Not a glorious sendoff.

This one is right on the borderline, for me. It wasn't particularly cheap and several other Compile and Hudson STGs already in my library do a similar fullscreen console vert style, only better. But that brilliant OST and the aforementioned consistent if somewhat pedestrian solidity go a long way towards making it a very likeable shooter. I find myself making the ship dance to the BGM a lot as homing missiles flood the screen in search of prey. A "good" game in the strictest sense - most definitely not great but too well-executed to be called mediocre. Fans of Sakimoto and that particular "fullscreen console vert" ethic typified by the PCE Star Soldier games may want to try it out.

Good writeup. I have to play this game now.

[Drachenherz]

Another recent pickup... an absolutely killer FM synth album from Hitoshi Sakimoto and company that, in rather novel fashion, was not only released directly to Mega Drive cartridge, but includes a fun bonus shooter to play while you listen! Yes, I could only be talking about VERYTEX.

There's little to criticise technically. Controls, collision and framerate are all smooth & solid. Weapons cut through baddies satisfyingly, with the seven-way homing missiles providing excellent fun, and the ship is super-agile. Level designs are briskly paced with lots of spiralling zakos and heavy targets to blast away at. Artistically it manages well on both the hyperalloy metallic and gruesome organic fronts.

Where it falls down in its Compile-ish competence is a failure to create any real resistance, or sense that things are ever near getting out of your control. The lack of a second loop or any harder mode really hampers this game. And as quick as the levels move they're also overlong and too transparent in their recycling of the same few enemy routines. It's simply too easy to keep under total control*. Dying and being sent back to the last checkpoint in a factory-fresh ship will cause momentary panic but it's all too short-lived.

*Until the hilarious last boss and the bludgeoning checkpoint that'll send you back to the beginning of the last stage, at least. Got my ass handed to me a couple times before finding a nice safespot and killing it, then came here to see others' thoughts on it. Amusingly someone else had a totally different safespot, and checking YT yielded yet another via ReplayBurners. Scary barrage of lasers and bullets, but the former have glaring blind spots and the latter are totally destructible by max spread, so yeah. Not a glorious sendoff.

This one is right on the borderline, for me. It wasn't particularly cheap and several other Compile and Hudson STGs already in my library do a similar fullscreen console vert style, only better. But that brilliant OST and the aforementioned consistent if somewhat pedestrian solidity go a long way towards making it a very likeable shooter. I find myself making the ship dance to the BGM a lot as homing missiles flood the screen in search of prey. A "good" game in the strictest sense - most definitely not great but too well-executed to be called mediocre. Fans of Sakimoto and that particular "fullscreen console vert" ethic typified by the PCE Star Soldier games may want to try it out.

Good writeup. I have to play this game now.

Me too.

[BIL]

I had to play it again myself. Definitely keeping this one now. It's held back by a lack of intensity, but it's a damn good half-hour's simpler blasting that handles with refreshing smoothness. And that soundtrack is immense.

Forgot to mention, I do appreciate how each stage starts you out with no shield, regardless of how many you've stocked in the previous one. The opening of stage 5 sends a lot of fire your way before the shield carrier arrives. Stage 5 mecha boss is a high point with his onslaught of homing missiles. With both yours and his going head-to-head it's very close to Itano Circus territory.

[stryc9]

I've been playing... wait for it...

RASTAN SAGA 2

I'm afraid all the talk about cheap hits happening in this one is pretty much BS, I almost 1cc'd it last night. The weapons are more balanced than it would first appear and the ability to block is welcome. I'm pretty sure if you were good enough you could 1LC this game.

I actually like the graphics through RGB, nice pre-Sonic MD flavour, and the main sprite animation is limited but cool in a retarded sort of way that I can dig. Shame to see the big black dude and the 2p mode from the AC gone but all in all a great port IMO.

Rastan Saga 2 has been more or less universally shat on by the gaming community as a whole, but I gotta say it's better than I gave it credit for. Sure BITD we all hated it upon seeing it appear in arcades as it looked slow, retarded, clunky and nothing like the first game, but I don't mind it being around these days.

Shit sounded pretty good through the stereo, too

[BIL]

Everything's better with Zuntata.

I've been playing lots of Granada lately. It's fucking ace. Right from the intro you know this is the real MFN deal.

SOMEBODY CALLS IT "GOD OF AFRICAN CONTINENT." ANOTHER CALLS IT "GHOST OF SOLDIERS." ONLY THOSE WHO ACTUALLY HAPPEN TO SEE IT KNOW THE TRUTH.

Apparently some of the staff went on to do Ex-Ranza at Gau Entertainment. It definitely shows in the pitting of strafe shooting against sometimes fiendishly tricky enemy behaviour. Even minor enemies often require considered tactics to dispatch safely, and most bosses won't expose their weak points without simultaneously unleashing burning laser death. I'm quite fond of its look, again recalling Ranza with the sharp machine designs, gritty gunmetal/earth palette and screen-jarring explosions. Soundtrack rocks hard, albeit not quite as hard as the X68000 original's. Also like Ranza it moves with a slight, consistent chop that's easily adjusted to.

I love both Ranza and Assault-style overhead seek and destroy tanking, so this has been like goddamn catnip. Telenet games don't have the greatest rep overall, but this one is quite superb and worth a look for any fan of overhead roaming shooters. Cheap as teh chips too! Amusingly, the X68000 cutscenes missing from the MD version are lovingly screencapped and captioned in the manual, giving heroic "LEON" more face time than just the manful ending animation.

Small caveat: I definitely suggest altering the control setup right away, so that Shoot and Strafe are on the same button - much comfier than having to hold down two. Luckily the buttons are extensively reconfigurable.

Big thanks to Enhasa for his excellent writeups and blistering Mania scoring run getting me into this. Also for bringing my attention to the hilarious Genesis advert and its sig-worthy proclamations. THIS GAME IS PROFOUND AND WILL ALWAYS BE NEW.

[null1024]

SOMEBODY CALLS IT "GOD OF AFRICAN CONTINENT." ANOTHER CALLS IT "GHOST OF SOLDIERS." ONLY THOSE WHO ACTUALLY HAPPEN TO SEE IT KNOW THE TRUTH.

that text is so damn cool

I remember playing this out of nowhere once and finding it surprisingly great. And the feeling of might when you fire your cannon is amazing. Lots of stuff on screen too. And yeah, the soundtrack is cooooooool.

Shame about the framerate though.

And thanks for the tip about the control, having those on different buttons is a pain.

[Koa Zo]

Telenet games don't have the greatest rep overall, but this one is quite superb and worth a look for any fan of overhead roaming shooters.

Not sure of the ins and outs of the Telenet/Wolf Team/Renovation company relationships, but pretty sure Ganada was developed by Wolf Team.

edit: checked, yes developed and published by Wolf Team in Japan

[CIT]

Wolfteam used to be a wholly owned subsidiary of Telenet.

[Drum]

Just played Granada for the first time thanks to this thread. I fucking love this game. That screwy shot prism satellite is some hot shit.

[BIL]

that text is so damn cool

Amen - when the Engrish planets align it's truly transcendent. The OST tracknames are great too. ADVANCE "GRANADA"

Wolfteam used to be a wholly owned subsidiary of Telenet.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at - also Riot and Laser Soft, along with Telenet's in-house stuff. As you said a few months back they were never exactly a seal of quality... their stuff can be weirdly compelling though. I'm 60/40 on getting El Viento sometime.

Just played Granada for the first time thanks to this thread. I fucking love this game. That screwy shot prism satellite is some hot shit.

Check out the X68000 intro that attempts to show REFRECTA in action - but only those who actually happen to see it know the truth!

[zinger]

Incidentally, I've also been playing Granada lately. Never been too crazy about it, but thought I'd give it a second chance. I'd love to try the X68000 version on real hardware and compare it to the MD version, which I've been playing almost exclusively. Interesting to hear about a possible connection between Granada and Ex Ranza, there are definitely some parallells that can be drawn there! Anway, the prism satellites in Granada have always confused me. What's their use?

EDIT: El Viento is quite a unique experience, I had a good time with that one and I'd recommend it!

[BIL]

Basically you can do two things with the reflector.

1) Hit it with [shot] and it'll send your fire ricocheting in enemies' general direction (it'll attempt to aim at them - no angling necessary on your part).

2) Hit it with [blaster] and for several seconds it'll stick close to you while firing regular shots at any nearby enemies - useful if you're retreating or passing through quickly and need some support.

This is complicated by the thing's screwy AI, of course. When nothing's onscreen, it'll stick close and attempt to shadow you (it's easy to leave it behind by either blaster boosting - see Enhasa's vid - or simply getting it caught on something like a large enemy/obstacle). With enemies onscreen, it'll generally try to position itself near them so you can connect ricochet shots while staying out of harm's way. If you hit it with the blaster, it'll go back to shadowing you while firing at anything nearby.

It's an odd little thing. But I really dig the erratic, almost convincingly autonomous behaviour from it and several enemy types. I find it quite handy in stage 3 when destroying the target enemies, those aggressively shooting airborne units. Of course you get a range of different powerups depending on the stage, all with their little quirks. For example, the homing missile addons you can collect in stage 2 double as shields - they'll block most bullets, making it worthwhile to get all four.

Here's the control config I use currently:



I like it since with [fixed cannon] tied to both shot types, you can easily enter and exit strafe mode with either, as well as hold [shot] to lock direction for easy blaster boosting. The third button [fixed cannon hold] is handy when I want to toggle strafe mode without firing. Putting the most frequently used button [shot] in the middle ensures easy access to the adjacent two.

I wish Enhasa still posted here, his enthusiasm for this and other less-feted awesome games was inspiring.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Incidentally, I've also been playing Granada lately. Never been too crazy about it, but thought I'd give it a second chance. I'd love to try the X68000 version on real hardware and compare it to the MD version, which I've been playing almost exclusively.

Nothing seemed wrong to me with Win68Khighspeed v. 094 (the one that displays transparencies in Aquales correctly), using a PlayStation controller via USB adapter on WinXP Pro. Granada (and Final Zone), although Granada still slows down, worked. I say a CRT for your PC would be more universally useful than real X68000, but what do I know?
Just heed my words - 640x480 with thin scanlines on a CRT looks better than any attempt to emulate lo-res on LCDs I've ever seen.
Some photos of 640x480 picture. This isn't even a particulary great CRT. Captured using Kega Fusion's native scanlines with increasing degree of density:

0%


25%


50%


75%


100%


Worth stocking up on tubes if you ask me.

[zinger]

I like the controls as they are by default in Granada, what I definitely think improves the game a lot though is changing the default number of spare lives from three to none at all. I don't like how you benefit from playing defensively but don't really feel encouraged to do it because of how goddamn much life bar you're allowed to use up (come to think of it, that's what the biggest problem with Ex-Ranza was, but in a sense that game was even worse considering every stage had this generator where you could charge back up to full health as long as you were willing to do a bit of back-tracking and sit around and wait for your energy meter to recharge). Anyway, changing this setting in Granada adds a much needed sense of danger, makes it feel like an arcade game.

[BIL]

Where does the time go...

Finally picked up Snow Bros and Gauntlet (as Gauntlet IV is known in Japan). Further to my old inquiries, I'll let you gents know if either spontaneously melts or otherwise dies on me! Slap Fight MD's still running strong after 30+ hours of hard slapping, hopefully it's just Tengen's Grind Stormer carts that had PCBs made of Stilton.

It's been a year and THE SNOW AINT MELTED YET. Hopefully I won't receive a savage fiscal bumming from faulty Tengen carts after all! Hell, I've had V-V (NTSCJ) for six months now with no issues, but that one's the ultime mystery of them all. Will check in.

[BrianC]

Snow Bros interestingly has a message from Tatsuya Uemura on the last page of its manual. I find the relationship Toaplan had with the MD pretty fascinating... also got Visco's Wardner no Mori Special, no idea who the personnel were for that port. Judging by the end credits it didn't seem to involve Toaplan themselves at all, though unlike Treco's Kyuukyoku Tiger it's a very decent port.

Definitely looks better than the FDS Wardner port, which has disappointing music and has a life bar instead of lives.

[BIL]

Neat - I didn't know there even was an FDS port. The MD version is very nice, though not Snow Bros super deluxe nice (fortunately it's also nowhere near as pricey, so it evens out). Graphics are inexplicably poor in comparison to the PCB with reduced shading and detail, but it plays great and I prefer its music (usually do, with Toaplan MD conversions). That's the stage 3 BGM being butchered in the FDS vid - here's how it's meant to sound.

[greg]

I played Burning Force for the first time last night. Cute girl with no pants, riding a rocket cycle. NICE. It's a nice Space Harrier-style game, however I wish the control of the Y axis was inversed, as in up is down and down is up, because when I'm flying in jet mode, that is how I subconsciously want to control the ship. There's no option in the menu, like there is with Space Harrier II or Night Striker. I just have to try to overcome that reflex.

[railslave]

I played Burning Force for the first time last night. Cute girl with no pants, riding a rocket cycle. NICE. It's a nice Space Harrier-style game, however I wish the control of the Y axis was inversed, as in up is down and down is up, because when I'm flying in jet mode, that is how I subconsciously want to control the ship. There's no option in the menu, like there is with Space Harrier II or Night Striker. I just have to try to overcome that reflex.

Now play the arcade version to hear stuff like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEj70pwmmGY


I realy love the premise of this game but... doesnt quite work in that version imho

[EmperorIng]

The game looks cool - better than Harrier 2 in any case. I might pick up a cheap cart. Rail Shooters aren't exactly the Genesis' forte, but for $5, who cares?

[BrianC]

I wish there were more rail shooters on Genesis that looked as nice as Panorama Cotton.

[greg]

The game looks cool - better than Harrier 2 in any case. I might pick up a cheap cart. Rail Shooters aren't exactly the Genesis' forte, but for $5, who cares?

Yeah, I paid 800 yen for it on YAJ. I really dig the '80s SF anime look to the vehicle designs and the gir's character design on the box and in the manual. I thought that Space Harrier 2 was great on the MD, but after playing Burning Force, I see now how choppy the character movement is. SH2's ground scrolls nicely, but your guy moves choppily.


EDIT: Hiromi from Burning Force shows up in Namco Cross Capcom! You can see her attacking here.