Sega Genesis Collection is out today

UnscathedFlyingObject · Sat Nov 11, 2006 3:09 am

Seems like I'll keep being a filthy pirate. Arrrrrrr!

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:54 am

CecilMcW00t wrote:Sigh, I really want to like this collection... My main problem with it are the many sound glitches and weird programming techniques for them. Here are some examples:

Sonic 1: Ring collecting sound is way off
Sonic 2: Get speed boots and music doesn't speed up
Columns: The music doesn't speed up and slow down anymore and is missing entire sections, like the "critical" music sections.
Phantasy Star II: Really ear-piercing level-up sfx
Phantasy Star IV: Battle music keeps playing after battle end SFX starts running together and sounding very messy
Golden Axe: All enemies and villagers have the same male scream of death

There are more, but you get the point. They streamed the music for some reason (if you pop the disc out the music will stop), so this explains a lot of it. I know that is nit-picking but I loved the Genesis sound chip, so I have fond memories of the sounds from these games. So if you are thinking about picking it up, keep those points above in mind.

Digital Eclipse needs to hire someone new for the sound. Almost all of their recent compliations have some sort of sound flaw.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:37 pm

CecilMcW00t wrote:Sigh, I really want to like this collection... My main problem with it are the many sound glitches and weird programming techniques for them. Here are some examples:

Sonic 1: Ring collecting sound is way off
Sonic 2: Get speed boots and music doesn't speed up
Columns: The music doesn't speed up and slow down anymore and is missing entire sections, like the "critical" music sections.
Phantasy Star II: Really ear-piercing level-up sfx
Phantasy Star IV: Battle music keeps playing after battle end SFX starts running together and sounding very messy
Golden Axe: All enemies and villagers have the same male scream of death

There are more, but you get the point. They streamed the music for some reason (if you pop the disc out the music will stop), so this explains a lot of it. I know that is nit-picking but I loved the Genesis sound chip, so I have fond memories of the sounds from these games. So if you are thinking about picking it up, keep those points above in mind.

ok, so the sound is crappy - what about resolution? Looks crisp like the Gunstar pack or filtered like the Taito legends / Capcom Classic / Hamster Akumajo Dracula?

(although I'm leaning to leave it on shelf already...)

Pixel_Outlaw · Post by **Pixel_Outlaw** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:39 pm

Oh yes I want to know about that too. I hate it when they ruin pixel level details from blurring.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:44 pm

Turrican wrote: ok, so the sound is crappy - what about resolution? Looks crisp like the Gunstar pack or filtered like the Taito legends / Capcom Classic / Hamster Akumajo Dracula?

Knowing Digital Eclipse, I'm betting on filtered.

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:44 pm

Sega certainly has had their problems with sound in their compilations, haven't they? Maybe they should hire some of the folks who've made emulators to help them out in that department (such as Steve Snake of Kega Fusion fame).

As for the compilation itself, I have most of the titles on there, so I'll be waiting until this thing drops in price before I pick it up... and for more reviews of it to come out. If the emulation is botched, I'll wait until I can scrounge up the cash for the actual carts. I'm all for supporting things like this (I have quite a few compilations), but considering that there are emulators out there that do a fine job on all fronts in making Genesis games look and sound just like they did so long ago, there's no excuse for a badly produced, commercially sold compilation. After all, if those doing the work via free time can do it, those getting paid for that work sure as hell should.

Alpolio · Post by **Alpolio** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:57 pm

I miss that old RF connection blur. I always thought of it as the original anti-aliasing filter.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 11:14 pm

The Coop wrote:Sega certainly has had their problems with sound in their compilations, haven't they?

SEGA isn't the blame for this one. SEGA may have given the go ahead, but this comp was done by Digital Eclipse. Their Capcom collection, their Midway collections, and their Namco collections all have some sort of sound problems.

I also read somewhere that Genesis sound is hard to emulate on PS2. I don't know if this is true, but it isn't an excuse for sound playing in the wrong places. It certainly doesn't explain why DE games have sound problems on non-PS2 systems either.

Examples of Digital Eclipse sound problems:

Midway Arcade Treasures 1: Sound plays off sync in some places in many games
Midway Arcade Treasures 2: Similar sound problems to MAT1; Wizard of Wor sound is WAAAY off
Capcom Classics Collection: Sound is higher pitched than it should be and some games like Section Z and Forgotten Worlds play the wrong music in some areas.
Namco Museum 50th (console): Sound is higher pitched than it should be.
Namco Museum 50th (GBA): Ditto. Galaga sound is very odd and some sounds play in at different pitches at different times.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:25 am

How did the ports of the arcade games turn out on this collection? I wasn't interested in it until I learned about those.

And how well do these games play with the Dualshock2? Surely not as well as with either a 3 or a 6 button Genesis controller, I would think.

GateofThunderforceIII · Sun Nov 19, 2006 1:03 am

So far, the biggest offender sound wise that I've found is Shadow Dancer. The swooshing sound you make when slashing your sword has been neutered. A few other sound effects sounded a little retardedly slow, as in delayed. Every other game I've tried so far have sounded acceptable (Shinobi III included, thank heavens!!!). AWESOME COLLECTION!!!!!!!!!!

Pixel_Outlaw · Post by **Pixel_Outlaw** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 1:49 am

There is no such thing as a midway arcade treasure. Except for defender.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 5:18 am

Pixel_Outlaw wrote:There is no such thing as a midway arcade treasure. Except for defender.

Aw come on!

You don't even like Blaster?? I LOVE that game! Granted, it sounds like it was written by the heaven's gate cult, but it's an awesome first-person space shooter, IMO.

At any rate, I got this collection today, and it rocks!! I have to admit that I've been too harsh on the DualShock2; the games play just fine with it!

And, in the case of Super Thunder Blade, I actually think the graphics look brighter and more detailed! (Old Thunder Blade fans never die, they just keep on playing-even if it is a butchered game.)

Can't wait to play the unlockables!!

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:23 pm

The introduction of this collection poses an interesting question IMO: which version of PSIV can be considered the definitive one? SG/MD copies have dying batteries (mine died like 5 years ago), the SS version has annoying loading before every battle, and the current one has some funky streamed sound (very noticeable during vehicle battles) along with the usual fake high-res ugliness.

Guess we'll have to see how Sega handles this one themselves in the upcoming Sega Ages version (will probably even get it as well if it includes an English version or artwork that the SS PSC didn't have).

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:26 pm

Ganelon wrote:The introduction of this collection poses an interesting question IMO: which version of PSIV can be considered the definitive one? SG/MD copies have dying batteries (mine died like 5 years ago), the SS version has annoying loading before every battle, and the current one has some funky streamed sound (very noticeable during vehicle battles) along with the usual fake high-res ugliness.

Guess we'll have to see how Sega handles this one themselves in the upcoming Sega Ages version (will probably even get it as well if it includes an English version or artwork that the SS PSC didn't have).

Didn't know that the Saturn ever got an SS collection. Last night, I spent my first time, ever, playing Phantasy Star II!

Fantastic traditional RPG, and beautiful graphics to boot!

Also unlocked Zaxxon, and Zektor, which seems to be like a vert-scrolling Asteroids.

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 2:23 pm

Ganelon wrote:The introduction of this collection poses an interesting question IMO: which version of PSIV can be considered the definitive one? SG/MD copies have dying batteries (mine died like 5 years ago), the SS version has annoying loading before every battle, and the current one has some funky streamed sound (very noticeable during vehicle battles) along with the usual fake high-res ugliness.

Guess we'll have to see how Sega handles this one themselves in the upcoming Sega Ages version (will probably even get it as well if it includes an English version or artwork that the SS PSC didn't have).

I'd say it's a toss up between the SS and MD version. I'm leaning more towards the MD version though, I hate the battery problem but at least it's not a gameplay issue.

Yeah I'm also waiting to see how the sega ages version turns out, especially if it has english text. Though I have a gut feeling they're just gonna be exactly the same as the SGC versions, but with Japanese text only.

Still, all things considered I'm glad they did release this. Yeah I agree the inclusion of some games are extremely questionable (Sonic 1+2 again? How many more sonic compilations do we need?), but at least more people can get to play PS II + IV among others.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:07 pm

Amazing collection (at least on PSP...), one of my best purchases all year. Back to playing...

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 3:49 am

Yeah, I unlocked Zaxxon and Zektor!

I was already a fan of Zaxxon, but had never even heard of Zektor. Great game; it's like a vert scrolling Asteroids with very colorfull graphics, and bosses at the end of each level! And classic early '80's game speech!

What's the fastest way to get to a bonus round in Ristar? Once I get to one, I can unlock Tac-Scan.

thesuperkillerxxx · Post by **thesuperkillerxxx** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:31 am

Blaster was the shit.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:24 am

dave4shmups wrote:What's the fastest way to get to a bonus round in Ristar? Once I get to one, I can unlock Tac-Scan.

Having never played Ristar before, on my first play I did manage to find a bonus round hidden in stage one by just always climbing as high as possible through the stage.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 6:09 pm

Yup, should take no more than 3 minutes to reach the swinging pole towards the end of the stage. Hell, you could probably beat Ristar on your second sitting since the game is so easy and the bosses are pushovers.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 12:08 am

The last boss was hard.

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:07 am

I have a question about the PS2 version...

Is anyone else's arcade version of Altered Beast messed up? The lightning sound for the dragon is way, way off (I honestly don't think it plays beyond what sounds like a split second static burst), and instead of having the backgrounds change into a B&W version of the color one, most of the detail fades away completely into an ugly, almost uniform gray field behind the character and boss.

After reading reviews about how accurate the emulation was, I'm wondering if my disc is screwy, or if Digital Eclipse botched the arcade AB port.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:27 am

I'd start a Flicky high score comp. if I hated you guys.

Ristar FTW

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 5:49 pm

Rob wrote:The last boss was hard.

Maybe on the first try. Once you have his patterns down (esp. the fact that he always punches with his right hand, which is very important), he's an easy no miss.

JoshF · Post by **JoshF** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:27 pm

I miss that old RF connection blur. I always thought of it as the original anti-aliasing filter.

. Bad eyesight also works good. I'd only wear my glasses if I was playing a shmup or some other type of game where I'd likely be hindered by uncrisp looking pixels.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 1:53 am

Ganelon wrote:
Rob wrote:The last boss was hard.
Maybe on the first try.

Yeah, hard in a platformer to me means multiple attempts. I couldn't just breeze through the game. Definitely above the difficulty of any Sonic boss or RKA or the other quality cutesy platformers on the system.

GateofThunderforceIII · Sat Jan 27, 2007 6:46 pm

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was working on unlocking the arcade Altered Beast last night with no luck. I have every other extras item unlocked and have "tried" the other arcade games. And I know I've "tried" all the Genesis games. But what exactly does "try" mean when it says to "Try every game in the collection (to unlock Altered Beast arcade)?" Beat the first level in every game? Make a save file for every game? WTF? Thanks!

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:29 pm

GateofThunderforceIII wrote:Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was working on unlocking the arcade Altered Beast last night with no luck. I have every other extras item unlocked and have "tried" the other arcade games. And I know I've "tried" all the Genesis games. But what exactly does "try" mean when it says to "Try every game in the collection (to unlock Altered Beast arcade)?" Beat the first level in every game? Make a save file for every game? WTF? Thanks!

Just loading the game counts as "trying," I think, but it won't save the fact that you've tried it until you exit back to the game list (assuming you have Autosave switched on). So if you played a game and switched the console off without going back to the game list, it won't have recorded the fact that you tried that game.

GateofThunderforceIII · Sat Jan 27, 2007 9:20 pm

Yes, I do have autosave on and I always exit back to the game list screen before turning the PS2 off. I wonder if you have to beat Genesis Altered Beast? I really don't feel like booting Ecco Jr again...what a pile of kiddy crap.

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 9:49 pm

No, I unlocked arcade Altered Beast without having completed any of the other games. Either you overlooked one of the games or it might be inconsistant about what you have to do in certain titles to constitute having tried it.