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

[Despatche]

oh god arcade mk1, such good fucking fm. i wish the other games in the series sounded like that, FUCK

Not crazy about Chelnov MD music, personally. Excellent remake otherwise.

chelnov md is great because it has more than just a handful of tunes. also the main theme remix is more appealing than any other version of it for some reason. it just has more going for it idk

Also (along with Dracula X) deftly sidestepped the issue of three installments releasing very close on as many platforms without resorting to lameass numerals / hardware references.

actually dracula x is itself a lameass numeral. at the time it was the 10th dracula product, not counting dracula-kun:

1. akumajou dracula (1, fc)
2. akumajou dracula (1, msx)
3. dracula ii
4. akumajou dracula (2, ac)
5. dracula densetsu
6. akumajou densetsu
7. dracula densetsu ii
8. akumajou dracula (3, sfc)
9. akumajou dracula (4, x68000)
10. akumajou dracula x

it's still pronounced "ecks", probably meant to signify both the lameass numeral and the incredible difference x has from earlier games

FUCK BITS STUDIO[/b]

bits isn't too bad, they did game boy r-type

sculptured also did snes super off-road iirc

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

sfmd was developed by mnm software, a small jp developer that had koshiro for pretty much everything they did

idk staff crossover between mnm and mindware, but mindware does the chain crusher series (it's a bit like every extend)

Undeadline.

play x68000 version. way better music

[BIL]

actually dracula x is itself a lameass numeral. at the time it was the 10th dracula product, not counting dracula-kun:

Nah. Always thought that was cute (however deliberate it really was). Firmly distinguishes Rondo from its predecessors and contemporaries, dodges a contradictory (II + II = X?), deflating and altogether lameass "Dracula 10," and possibly gives the series' hardcore a shout, all in one stylish bloody stroke. Form and function, oh wao!

sfmd was developed by mnm software, a small jp developer that had koshiro for pretty much everything they did

Indeed, and Gauntlet was M2's with Marble Madness sharing at least one staff member. Did Toaplan themselves work on SBMD? I recall a note from Uemura in its manual.

Regardless, Tengen got all this stuff published. Even the likes of EA and TWI deserve credit for keeping first-rate material out of sad, decrepit old unreleased protoland.

[Perikles]

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.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! I usually don't bother with higher difficulty settings because it doesn't afflict the core game play in any meaningful way (slightly faster bullets and/or more resilient foes are merely a slight alteration, not a substantial change) but I had to play Undeadline on Crazy once I finished it on Normal, they really went all out on that! Such a fast-paced, relentless game. I'm pretty sure you will beat it in no time at all since Gun.Smoke is infinitely more difficult (just as a comparison: I took me little less than a week of casual play to get a 1LC on the Crazy difficulty (Undeadline), but I still haven't seen the fourth stage in Gun.Smoke ).

[BIL]

I had the biggest, dumbest grin during the cemetary zombie attack, when the rotting horde started pouring out of the church and erupting from the soggy ground. I got cornered by the four-directional onslaught and died horribly after bringing down several. Authentic horror action! Looking forward to working through this one, I love these rare hellish home originals.

Gun.Smoke's got a really deceptive difficulty progression - that endless parade of wanted posters can break a man. Stage 3 is actually among its hardest, and serves as the model for 10's finale. Master working around that awkwardly bisected terrain, and you'll be in good shape for the rest of the stages. Likewise, some of the later bosses are pushovers compared to Ninja. The final one will make you sweat blood though, no worries there. ^_~

I might try to finish off my ST this coming week - I'd meant to get cracking on it after the STGW episode, but wondered if maybe that was effective enough on its own.

CRAZY THEORY CORNER ;3 ;3 ;3 did M2 take their name from the superb NTSCJ port of Marble Madness? I can't find any information on the company predating Gauntlet, which shares personnel with MM and is organised quite similarly (and is just as obsessively brilliant an MD conversion). Probably a long shot, but I've heard of less likely gaming namesakes. Katakis and Turrican come to mind!

September 1993

Gathered a bunch of friends who used to play Gauntlet together at the arcades and ported it to PC (X68000) for fun. Presented it to TENGEN/ATARI GAMES, who then sold it for the MegaDrive title after some back and forth.

So rad.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I usually don't bother with higher difficulty settings because it doesn't afflict the core game play in any meaningful way (slightly faster bullets and/or more resilient foes are merely a slight alteration, not a substantial change) but I had to play Undeadline on Crazy once I finished it on Normal, they really went all out on that!

Don't some TimeSplitters alter significantly on higher difficulty settings? I don't know anything.

[VRC-7]

CRAZY THEORY CORNER ;3 ;3 ;3 did M2 take their name from the superb NTSCJ port of Marble Madness? I can't find any information on the company predating Gauntlet, which shares personnel with MM and is organised quite similarly (and is just as obsessively brilliant an MD conversion). Probably a long shot, but I've heard of less likely gaming namesakes. Katakis and Turrican come to mind!

Tengen Japan did Marble Madness, not M2.

[BIL]

Would you happen to know if there was any crossover between Tengen Japan's staff and M2? Jun Amanai's name is in both games' credits, if I remember right. edit: ...though only as an advisor on Gauntlet. Never mind then, haha.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Is there any exhaustive list of games utilising six-button controller out there?

[Limbrooke]

Is there any exhaustive list of games utilising six-button controller out there?

http://www.mobygames.com/attribute/shee ... ,191/p,16/
More 6 button information: http://segaretro.org/Six_Button_Control ... a_Drive%29

[Blinge]

So I've been playing Phantasy Star II recently (Genesis collection ps3). Just finished the biosystems lab.

I played PS1 last year and quite enjoyed it. Thought it was a stronger game than FF1 on the NES. I enjoyed how quickly the battles went, compared to FF1 and its slow ass text.

PSII so far is frustrating my expectations somewhat, I didn't mourn the first person sections for too long. However the dungeon layouts have become even more labyrinthine and confusing for me. I'm finding it difficult to get my bearings when interrupted so often by random encounters. The battles themselves aren't all that hard, probably because being lost so often is causing my party to get quite beefy. Fuck those Blaster things though, the ones that can wreck your party in two hits if you get caught in a surprise attack.

Anyone else have similar experiences? Is this game just a slow burner? Also how are the first 4 Phantasy Stars usually rated in quality?

[EmperorIng]

I've only played Phantasy Star II and Phantasy Star IV, and 4 outshines 2 by a fair margin imo. 2 felt to me to be a really slow and stiff game. Admittedly, I didn't make it very far (a couple of hours perhaps?) but the huge dungeons kind of slogged on me. 4 by comparison was quick, engaging, and overall very enjoyable.

[Xyga]

PSII can be brutal. Depends on how you decide to play it and what you have in your inventory.

Without using the cute hand-drawn official strategy guide (Hint Book) originally bundled with it, the game will murder you a million times before you see the end credits.

Don't expect your party to ever become strong enough to spend as much time as you wish exploring the sadistic dungeons to come.
Fights of course don't get easier, it's not rare to see your party annihilated in one turn if you make the wrong decision.
If you miss some vital support items (not exactly mentioned in the guide) it will be Hell.

It's not impossible, but some of the most complex structures can take dozens of hours to solve and get through if you don't know what you're doing.

PSII has a unique atmosphere, fans of the series tend to have more love for it than the 4th despite its spartan nature.

[Blinge]

Dear lord...

Right, well.. I'll be more likely to look at a walkthrough from now on then, at the first hint of being stuck. I mean, we all love a challenge on this forum but I'm not so hardcore in my RPGs as to relish what you just described.

Also I very much dislike being able to save at towns only. So i might resort to save-scumming using the compilation's save state option.

[Xyga]

There's an item you can acquire later which lets you to save anywhere.

If you don't mind using a .pdf scan just google 'phantasy star ii hint book' and play while reading it, that's how the game should be played.
The guide isn't perfect (contains a few mistakes in maps, a couple wrong item locations or names) but it's part of the game's experience.

If you have the guide, the save-anywhere item, and know about the few 'untold' support items, the game is still hard but MUCH more manageable, really.

EDIT: oh, almost forgot that very convenient website: http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/genesis/ps2/index.shtml

[Obiwanshinobi]

http://www.mobygames.com/attribute/shee ... ,191/p,16/
More 6 button information: http://segaretro.org/Six_Button_Control ... a_Drive%29

Many thanks.

[Squire Grooktook]

PSII has a unique atmosphere, fans of the series tend to have more love for it than the 4th despite its spartan nature.

Although I know about the unique atmosphere, this is the first time I've heard it being placed above 4. I usually hear them held in equally high regard, with 4 being slightly higher.

[Blinge]

Ha and another bugbear; in PSI at least you can tell whether stairs go up or down by looking at them, looks like I'm not afforded this luxury with PSII's chutes.

so III is no good?

Thanks for the help Xyga =]

edit: found it, and it's made me laugh already


it shure is..

[Xyga]

PSII has a unique atmosphere, fans of the series tend to have more love for it than the 4th despite its spartan nature.

Although I know about the unique atmosphere, this is the first time I've heard it being placed above 4. I usually hear them held in equally high regard, with 4 being slightly higher.

I assure you we're many, 4 is objectively better in that it's much more polished and more 'modern', feels like a cartridge stuffed with programming skills and love, but people are more sentimentally attached to 2.

I think the originality (sci-fi fantasy rpg was never really a common thing even in 89) excellent tunes, dramatic story, hand-drawn guide, etc kind of offered a package that left a mark in people's minds.

Personally when I got 4 I was excited as fuck and I loved it, but it's really too easy and too short as a consequence. The story and characters are ten times more developed, but for some reason the game doesn't produce as much emotion.

In a few words 4 is light (challenge, story, atmosphere) and 2 is heavy as fuck.
That's for shure !

PS: III is atrocious, it's got a few good points but not enough to make it even an average game worth your time.

[Blinge]

PS: III is atrocious, it's got a few good points but not enough to make it even an average game worth your time.

A fair warning, I'll see how I feel after II..
..but if I miss out a game in the sequence it'll haunt me forever.

[Ed Oscuro]

PS III seems to have basically nothing to do with anything, and all the casts are essentially self-contained.

If you need a fill of lore, go read some spoilers. Seriously, PS III is just the worst. Just load up the game, look at the first town, then call it done.

PS2 vs. End of the Millennium - PS2 has the Nei story arc, Millennium doesn't.

edit: found it, and it's made me laugh already


it shure is..

Shurely you're not serious?

[BIL]

PSIII Intro + BGM always gives me big feels. Grand generations-spanning saga is beginning?!

But then, baby chickens attack. :[

[Ruldra]

Is PS III the one where you marry someone and then play as their children? A friend of mine has a HUGE hard-on for this game, wouldn't stop talking to me about it. I think he played the game enough to get all possible endings.

So yeah, Ghegs' rule.

[MX7]

PS3 may be painful to play, and believe me I've tried, but it has one of the best soundtracks on the Mega Drive. The title theme in particular is sublime. There's an awesome video of the Sega Sound Team Band playing it on YouTube somewhere.

[Xyga]

With a few tweaks and hacking it would be a good game. I did it enough times to see all endings, but at the time I was a teenager with no fucking life so I don't hold really good memories from it, maybe biased... Hell no this is a bad game.

[LordHypnos]

I've heard of people liking II better. Usually it's to do with the more hardcore oldschool kind of difficulty, though IV still has some tricky parts, but the difficulty balance seems more like a SNES RPG. Not that I'm any expert or anything.

Also PSIV has some great music. Sweet sci-fi techno soundtrack. It really adds to the atmosphere.
Cybernetic Carnival
Man, for the longest time I had no idea what that song was called

Also, I always bring up the arrangement of one of the PS1 dungeon themes that I really like:
PS1 dungeon arrange 2

Most of the rest of the soundtrack is similarly awesome. I haven't really listened to the soundtrack of III though, even though I know I should

[Ed Oscuro]

Cybernetic Carnival

This one mainly stands out to be because it seems like the reverse of most pretty good chiptune VGM: Doesn't have much in the way of the hook but the chorus/refrain is more interesting. Usually game songs fall down, if they do, with having a flat and uninteresting chorus. "Behind the Circuit" is a bit like that for me; the organ section isn't very interesting. "Organic Beat" is a nice example of how to have a slower, tense track with a short bit before the loop (quasi-refrain?) that's interesting.

Also, the battle theme's intro is wicked.

[Xyga]

@LordHypnos: Yes the difficulty and atmosphere that goes with it I would say.
When walking every step in a dungeon scares you and 'Bo's melodies make up for the shitty graphics, it's something! ^^

Otherwise PSIV is of course superior in almost every way. Again it's the "objectively best vs. the one you enjoy playing the most" thing.

[Captain]

I used to consider PS4 the best one, but I now consider PS3 to be far better for storytelling and fun reasons (although no typical rpg combat is present).

[Ed Oscuro]

I now consider PS3 to be far better for storytelling and fun reasons (although no typical rpg combat is present).

I might actually spin it up sometime just to see. PS4 has lots of presentation...but that devilish "fun factor" is hard to get right.

It is 2015 after all, production values don't matter in old games.

[Blinge]

... NOPE o_o

Would anyone object to me posting my progress through PSII here periodically? could put it in spoilertext, not sure I'll do it often enough to warrant a separate thread.