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

[MintyTheCat]

the neo geo library is good(especially for such a small amount of titles) but i hardly think it compares to the range of games that megadrive provides playability wise.
the fact the neo never pulled off a truly great sidescrolling beat em up is a complete travesty.they had the perfect hardware to pull it off but never got above average.
even most of the one on one fighting games are meant to be too broken for expert tournament style play though i find them a lot of fun.

As stated earlier: the NeoGeo was an arcade platform and as such catered to the more immediate tastes of the arcade market.

I do not think that this entails that the level of craftmanship can be discounted on the NeoGeo though - some of the very best examples of 2D animation and artwork is found on the NeoGeo - a darn site more so than the MD, PCE and the SNES.

I think that we can largely blame SFII for the shift that it caused; something like 60-70% of all NeoGeo games are fighters with very few brawlers, shmups and platformers. If only SFII had not have appeared when it did we might have seen more in the other genres.

To me Last-Resort is very like R-Type - just more polished with better music and artwork.

[Turrican]

Speaking strictly of my own collection...

...is something I also like to do, because it's best when you dirt your hands with the stuff you're talking about. So, here's the arcade conversions in my MD and Snes collection:

1985, Atari - GAUNTLET
1989, Atari - KLAX (The Namcot one)
1988, Capcom - DAIMAKAIMURA
1990, Capcom - SENJOU NO OOKAMI II (stripped down of multi)
1988, Data East - ATOMIC RUNNER
1989, Data East - MIDNIGHT RESISTANCE (stripped down of 2p)
1989, Data East - KUUGA
1991, Data East - JOE & MAC
1990, Kaneko - AERO BLASTERS
1988, Namco - PHELIOS
1989, Namco - DANGEROUS SEED
1989, Namco - MARVEL LAND
1990, Namco - ROLLING THUNDER 2
1990, NMK - FIRE MUSTANG (stripped down of 2p)
1984, SEGA - FLICKY
1988, SEGA - JUUOUKI
1989, SEGA - GOLDEN AXE
1989, Taito - DARIUS II (stripped down of 2p)
1986, Toaplan - SLAP FIGHT MD
1988, Toaplan - TATSUJIN
1989, Toaplan - ZAME! ZAME! ZAME!
1989, Toaplan - DAISENPUU

22 arcades on a total of 101 cartridges, it's roughly the 21,7% of the total of my MD softography. I left out Insector X, Shadow Dancer, clearly rooted into arcades but definitely their own thing on MD.

1989, Capcom - AREA 88
1990, Capcom - MAGIC SWORD (stripped down of 2p)
1991, Capcom - THE KING OF DRAGONS (from 3P to 2P)
1992, Capcom - STREET FIGHTER II TURBO HF
1993, Capcom - SUPER STREET FIGHTER II
1996, Capcom - STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 2
1992, Compile - SUPER PUYO PUYO
1994, Compile - SUPER PUYO PUYO 2 REMIX
1991, Data East - JOE & MAC – TATAKAE GENSHIJIN
1989, Irem - SUPER R-TYPE
1991, Jaleco - SUPER EARTH DEFENSE FORCE (stripped down of 2p)
1989, Konami - GRADIUS III
1990, Konami - PARODIUS DA!
1991, Konami - SUNSET RIDERS (supports up to 2P)
1991, Konami - TMNT – TURTLES IN TIME (supports up to 2P)
1994, Konami - GOKUJOU PARODIUS (stripped down of 2p)
1990, Mitchell - SUPER PANG (stripped down of 2p)
1991, Namco - COSMO GANG THE VIDEO
Nichibutsu - MOON CRESTA (1980), CRAZY CLIMBER (1980), FRISKY TOM (1981)
1994, Rare - KILLER INSTINCT
1988, Taito - SYVALION
1989, Taito - CAMELTRY
1994, Taito - PUZZLE BOBBLE
1991, Tecmo - STRIKE GUNNER STG
1992, Video Systems - SONIC WINGS
1990, Williams - SMASH TV

25 titles (considering Nichibutsu as a pack) out of 163 Snes cartridges, roughy 15,3% of the total.

[BrianC]

I don't think Gauntlet needs to be left off. Tower may be all new, but the standard mode is a direct port of the original arcade game plus music.

Here are the arcade conversions I have for Genesis:

Atari - Arcade Classics - Terrible conversions of 2600 Missile Command and 7800 Centipede
Atari Games - Gauntlet IV
Atari Games - Marble Madness (EA version)
Atari Games - Race Drivin'
Atari Games - Roadblasters
Atari Games - Steel Talons
Capcom - Chiki Chiki Boys
Capcom - Daimakaimura/Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Capcom - Forgotten Worlds
Capcom - Mercs
Capcom - Street Fighter 2 Special Champion Edition
Capcom - Strider
Capcom - Super Street Fighter II
Compile - Puyo Puyo
Compile - Puyo Puyo Tsuu
Data East - Atomic Runner
Data East - Midnight Resistance
GCC/Midway/Namco - Ms Pac-Man
Midway - Mortal Kombat II
Midway - NBA Jam
Midway - NBA Jam TE
Namco - Burning Force
Namco - Pac-Man (in Pac-Man 2)
Namco - Rolling Thunder 2
Sega - Altered Beast
Sega - Columns
Sega - Flicky
Sega - Golden Axe
Sega - Outrun
Sega - Super Hang-On
Sega - Super Monaco GP
Sega - Virtua Racing
SNK - Samurai Shodown
SNK - Super Baseball 2020
Taito - Darius II
Taito - Rainbow Islands
Taito - Volfied
Toaplan - Daisenpuu/Twin Hawk
Toaplan - Fire Shark
Toaplan - Hellfire
Toaplan - Tatsujin/Truxton
Toaplan - Twin Cobra
Tradewest - Super off Road
Williams/Midway - Arcade's Greatest Hits (Defender, Defender II, Joust, Robotron, Sinistar)

SNES:

Capcom - Final Fight
Capcom - Magic Sword
Capcom - UN Squadron
Capcom - Street Fighter II
Capcom - Street Fighter II Turbo
Compile - Super Puyo Puyo Tsuu Remix
GCC/Midway/Namco - Ms. Pac-Man
Irem - The Irem Skins Game
Konami - Gradius III
Konami - Sunset Riders
Konami - Time Pilot '95
Konami - TMNT Turtles in Time
Midway - Mortal Kombat II
Midway - Mortal Kombat 3
Midway - NBA Jam TE
Midway - Super Smash TV
Midway - Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Mitchell - Super Buster Bros.
Nichibutsu - Arcade Classics (Crazy Climber, Moon Cresta, Frisky Tom)
Rare - Killer Instinct
Seibu - Raiden Trad (ugh)
SNK - Samurai Shodown
Taito - Space Invaders (on GB cart)
Universal - Mr. Do!

[BIL]

Yeah, agreed - great story behind MD Gauntlet, too. A nascent M2 actually ported the AC game to X68000 as a fan project, then Tengen negotiated an MD release, which ended up getting mind-blowing Sakimoto/Iwata BGM and massive arrange content. Legend.

I wish I could read the message from Ed Logg in the back of the Japanese manual, haha.

[Turrican]

I don't think Gauntlet needs to be left off. Tower may be all new, but the standard mode is a direct port of the original arcade game plus music.

You're right, I was just too focused on the new content. This one need to be there. Edited the list.

One of my favorite MD cartridges, hands down.


...damn you guys made me shell some cash for the Tengen Marble Madness

[BIL]

Great ports. Horrendous going rates. Ambiguous legality. The story of latter-day Tengen. ^_~

In NTSCJ anyhoo. In NTSCU, you get to play Russian "Grind Stormer" Roulette! :O

[BrianC]

I still need to get Marble Madness JP. I only have the crappy EA version.

[EmperorIng]

I sure hope I don't with NTSC-U Guantlet IV. I thought only Grind Stormer was the bad egg.

[BIL]

I'm not entirely sure Grind Stormer's ailment extends to their other NTSCU releases, myself. I keep an ear out...

I'm pretty confident after three years' regular use (and who knows how many from prior owners) that their JP stuff is okay, or at least no frailer than any other MD carts. Dunno if I'd count on any to stop bullets or even doors, but they put in the hard hours with customary lack of complaint.

[charlie chong]

quite enjoying the midnight resistance port at the moment. i even like the control scheme which isn't a bad workaround.seems like it might be relatively easy to 1 credit too due to the short easy to memorize stages and even the basic peashooter is pretty good.
it dosn't have the flash of gunstar heroes or contra hard corps but i think it's definitely a solid title and i imagine will only become more fun once i get a bit more used to the controls and have the muscle memory activated.

[BIL]

Helluva soundtrack, too. Sakimoto's booming resonance does a lot more justice to DECO's manly action BGM than the weedy arcade version.

Shame the AC voices are missing (PICK A WEAPON), but I actually kinda like the MD's item rooms. Silent as a tomb but for that ominous klaxon, as you sprint through robbing all the bad guys' shit from their lockers!

Sakimoto's MD soundtracks (plus the ones he worked with Iwata and others on) would make a monster compilation album. Actually this could be a fun fan project to put together, if nothing official exists. I have teh lossless line-out ripz, for a start

[EmperorIng]

Finally sat down and credit-fed through Wardner (I usually gave up the ghost around stage 4). I had so much fun that I immediately jumped back in and was able to make it to the penultimate level on a single credit.

What a difference the game is from the arcade, now that I've watched some 1CCs of the arcade version. Wardner's genesis port adds all of the best bosses that are missing from the arcade original: AC doesn't have any spider boss, no worm-tentacle monster, and no rock monster shooting dangerous volleys of bullets you have to quickly lead away from you. It makes the game feel a lot cheaper when you go up against the same dragon miniboss over and over again. Another big difference is how much better the Genesis/MD port sounds. A much more capable sound driver was given for the port: just compare the anemic final level theme in AC with its much more upbeat and driving cover (drums yeah!). It really makes a difference boppin' your head to good music while the self-styled Wardner is hopping around everywhere shooting fast aimed bullets at you.

Fantastic difficulty all around. The game is balanced to go from super-hard to pleasant the moment you buy the Sun Magic weapon, a straight-shot laser that destroys bosses and enemies alike. At that point the environment becomes the greatest threat, with tricky jumps and spikes making poor Dover's life hell. Props to the final boss for having a truly ghoulish design, and an attack pattern that calls for extreme precision with an almost nonexistent margin of error - that is if you didn't die and retained your all-important fairies, essentially options that nullify enemy projectiles. I had died so many times that I was out of luck, and had to jump that narrow gap each time (and usually die in the process!).

Checkpoints in the game are very fair, usually after every major challenge. The final boss even has checkpoints for his first form and second - very convenient!

There are a few flaws. I noticed one egregious programming error - a pit in stage 5 that is supposed to kill you with its flames. However, if you fall into the pit with your one-hit-free cloak, you will be stuck down there, forced to painfully wait out the clock. I was very as the timer slowly ticked down.

After all of that I put some more time into Rocket Knight Adventures. Almost the opposite of Wardner in terms of polish and graphical prowess. This game is too good, though I find it easy to die again and again barreling into bosses to hurt them.

[BIL]

I'm laid up with the flu this weekend and instead of sensibly taking a break from glaring screens and pounding speakers, I'm messing about with Daimakaimura while blasting Danzig and Megadeth.

SOME MONTHS AGO re MD DAIMAKAIMURA...

^^^Does the Mega Drive port have the same difficulty as the Japanese arcade version? I seem to recall one region or port had nerfed enemy aggression and more chests.

IIRC, the PCB region difficulty goes US <<< World < Japan, right? I want to say the JP MD version is based on its region's PCB, but I'm not quite familiar enough with the game.

I'm now 90% certain the MD port's default difficulty ("Professional") is based on Daimakaimura, not Ghouls (World or USA). I always fire this port up expecting a relatively mild time but good lord it's a mean SOB! As it should be! Surely one of the all-time greatest home conversions - it's incredible this appeared merely a year after the arcade game. All set enemy/chest spawns seem correct, with respawners, random spawners and monster aggression+HP likewise arcade-spec.

I'm sure there are subtle differences here and there, but from a base 2-ALL survival standpoint, they're not apparent right now. As Ex_Mosquito once said, you can practically use the MD cart to practice the PCB. I like to think the "Professional" setting implies the port could stand in for a faulty arcade cabinet, provided you had sufficient muscle on-site to enforce pay per play.

I was a bit curious about the Genesis version (Ghouls n' Ghosts) and took a quick look around. The difficulty is on "Practice" rather than Pro by default, and the joystick is set to home rather than arcade. As far as difficulty nerfs, one immediately stood out: Genesis GNG institutes boss checkpoints, where MD Dai is exactly like its arcade counterpart (one per stage, at halfway). Probably not gonna bother investigating further, I've little interest in the game's non-JP incarnations.

Also I swear I don't do this intentionally, I only look 'em up because they're useful in many regards

It also has a cheat mode where you can slow down the game, play it in Japanese, make Arthur invulnerable (you will be amazed at how difficult the game is even then), or select which level to begin at. Given that the game is essentially impossible without these cheats, this is easily the best version of the game and arguably the best platformer on the console.

What a story! Agreed though, desert island MD sidescroller fo sho!

It has been made the slightest bit easier by giving it more restart points, several difficulty settings, and the ability to continue infinite times. You can also change directions when crouched, which actually makes the game notably easier—in the arcade version, you had to stand up, turn around, and then crouch back down.

From a quick deco I could only find "Practice" and "Pro" difficulties, and just like AC/MD, there was no crouching 180 turn. I might be mistaken or looking at the wrong ROM though.

Never twigged until now that Vampire Killer lifts (Dai)Makaimura's control options exactly (jumps are non-adjustable / air direction freely switchable / no crouch 180). Even has Dai's vertical jump attacks. Previously I'd compare VK's revisions to Ninja Gaiden (NES), nowhere as accurate a statement!

[BrianC]

I have to check, but doesn't Rolling Thunder also lack crouch 180? I have to check to be sure, but I think setting Ghouls 'n Ghosts to JP mode makes it behave like the JP version. I remember the checkpoints being different.

[Squire Grooktook]

Thanks for the info BIL. A little disappointed to hear that the Genesis version is altered, as I had my eye on a copy of one briefly (and I don't have a mega drive/jp console). Still good to know, I'd love to own a copy of Dai.

[Strider77]

Buy it... it's cheap, or has it gone up to retarded prices now? Plus this game boots to whatever region the system is. Add a region switch and it can be BOTH!

[BIL]

I'm glad I checked back! Just gave the Genesis ROM (US/EU) a quick spin. As Brian says, the "Japanese code" (it's a snap) seems to perfectly replicate the NTSCJ cartridge even on a US system. No more boss checkpoints.

Moreover, other than the boss checkpoints, the Genesis "Professional" mode seems pretty close to the MD Pro anyway. Cleared both loops without noticing much difference in enemy numbers or aggression, or boss HP. No extra/more favourable chests, either. Again I'm 90% sure about all this... been a while since I actually played GNG US/World in MAME, but comparing the MD+Gen to Dai, it looks pretty good.

Given the Genesis cart allows the boss checkpoints + cheats for those who want them, while letting you play the straight MD Dai, it probably is the best release overall. Just not quite for the reasons HG101 suggest*. ^_~

My objectively favourite console port is Capcom Generation 2 (NTSCJ PS1), which seems studiously close to the Japanese PCB and includes a similarly excellent port of Makaimura, plus the interesting option of slowdown-free Chou. I find the MD port absolutely charming, though. It's like the difference between an ultra-polished concert album and a gritty cassette bootleg, you know?

*I don't think I've ever seen someone advocate playing a game with a fucking invincibility cheat before. That's just going too far, I'm sorry. :[ Kids that is the worst advice ever, pls don't ruin your games by fake playing them.

Don't be this 3:

Spoiler

Be this ;3

Spoiler

[Rob]

Fake playing games is truly bullshit.

Anyone like Ghostbusters?

[Squire Grooktook]

Ah okay. If it's identical otherwise, that's fine. I usually play the game for 1lc's nowerdays anyway :3

[BrianC]

Ghosts 'n Ghosts also starts as Dai-Makaimura when played on a Japanese system.

I'm curious about the different revs of GnG/Dai-Makaimura, myself. I gave the AC version a try and the US rev seems to be more generous with checkpoints. The world rev of GnG seems to stick closer to the JP checkpoints.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

I don't have specific details on hand (I'd be interested in seeing them too, though) but the world version also has more forgiving chest patterns, with more frequent armor drops (compared to the Japan revision). Less aggressive enemy spawning, too.

[BrianC]

I don't have specific details on hand (I'd be interested in seeing them too, though) but the world version also has more forgiving chest patterns, with more frequent armor drops (compared to the Japan revision). Less aggressive enemy spawning, too.

World or US? I wouldn't be surprised if world was also made easier, but US is defintely more generous with checkpoints. At one point in the US version, I was actually sent to an area past where I died on the next life.

[Mero]

Anyone like Ghostbusters?

Not played it since the 90's (don't have a Megadrive anymore ;;) but I used to like it back in the day. I know I cleared it multiple times, though I doubt any of those were 1CC's. I remember Mr Stay Puft was a motherfucker.

[Turrican]

Surely one of the all-time greatest home conversions - it's incredible this appeared merely a year after the arcade game. All set enemy/chest spawns seem correct, with respawners, random spawners and monster aggression+HP likewise arcade-spec.

Agreed. This was Naka's last effort before Sonic the Hedgehog. In the Megadrive Complete Works book I remember reading how important this experience was for the development of Sonic.

[jepjepjep]

I haven't spent much time with the MD ports, but I know the difficulty differences of arcade Daimakaimura.

Ghouls (US) << Ghouls (World) << Daimakaimura

The US version is easiest. More checkpoints and the bosses take substantially fewer hits to kill. The World and JPN versions have identical checkpoints, but enemies are more aggressive/numerous in Daimakaimura.

I don't have specific details on hand (I'd be interested in seeing them too, though) but the world version also has more forgiving chest patterns, with more frequent armor drops (compared to the Japan revision). Less aggressive enemy spawning, too.

I believe you're thinking of the US version. The world version has the same chest system as JPN.

[Imhotep]

I've played through Light Crusader in two sittings this weekend. Outside of a magazine review from back in the day I had zero nostalgic feelings for this one.

It's a conventional title for Treasure standards, could almost be a quality contract work.

The game takes place in one town and a multiple storey dungeon beneath it. This rootedness to one specific building, together with the stunningly detailed dungeon walls (whose ornamentations are barely of human hands), fitting soundtrack and somewhat interesting and unfolding story create a rather dense atmosphere which forms the strong part of the game. I liked that the very first image you get to see is a cloaked human proclaiming his personal revenge to his former close ones.

The gameplay itself, consisting mostly of primitive close combat and transport puzzles, doesn't exceed being the minimal backbone the game needs, though I found it fun and not tedious for most parts.

7/10

[Strider77]

I enjoyed that game more than I was expecting. I thought it was solid and fun... was actually motivated to play it once I started.

[Captain]

Light crusader is in my opinion just not a good game.

It goes to say it has its pros, definitely isn't a bad game either, but below some other treasure stuff. You guys know what I'm talking about.

[BrianC]

One thing worth mentioning is, despite using the US names, the versions of Ghosts 'n Goblins and Ghouls 'n Ghosts in the Capcom Classic Collection are based off Japanese revisions. I'm not sure which revisions of Makaimura and Ghosts 'n Goblins the Capcom Arcade Cabinet uses. I need to play Daimakaimura on Genesis more. I like what I played of that port quite a bit and, as was said, it seems to be very close to the original.

This might sound bad, but when I have a game in a well emulated official collection like M2's Vintage Collections for the 360, it lowers my interest in getting that game for the actual system. Not because I don't want to play the game on real hardware, but because there is so much to choose from that I don't have elsewhere. I like how the SoR collection supplied a cheaper way to get a hold of BKIII. Much better than its US counterpart.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

I believe you're thinking of the US version. The world version has the same chest system as JPN.

Maybe so. I played the World version fairly extensively, and when I tried out the Japanese version recently I felt like it was less generous with giving out replacement armor. I could be misremembering, though.