Xeno Crisis [MD/NG/PS4/Switch/PC]

[BIL]

The only thing seemingly missing is Hudson yelling "They're coming out of the God damn walls!".

I make a point of yelling this during Contra III's last stage

[it290]

Fair point re: Hudson but I feel like the 'They're beneath the surface!' 'It's a trap!' and 'What happened here!?!' voices from the announcer on the modern versions make up for it. Hope all the samples make it intact for the NG version (though still not sure how the controls will fare on that platform).

[Stevens]

Fair point re: Hudson but I feel like the 'They're beneath the surface!' 'It's a trap!' and 'What happened here!?!' voices from the announcer on the modern versions make up for it. Hope all the samples make it intact for the NG version (though still not sure how the controls will fare on that platform).

After I posted I realize I didn't comment on the sound which happens to be top notch as well. For the record I love the voice samples. The overall sound design in the game is really good. Amazing what they were able to do with such "out of date" hardware.

[it290]

More codes:

Highlight 1 or 2P game, then:
LEFT + B + C + START = Boss rush mode
RIGHT + B + C + START = Infinite mode

Just gave infinite mode a spin; first score around 150,000ish. It's good fun but does't really seem to have 'waves' like you might find in other games, so you're pretty much just blasting a never-ending spawn of enemies. It's cool to see enemy combos that you don't see in the regular game, but I think it would have been nice to have a change of scenery once in a while and maybe a boss battle here and there? It's possible those things are in there and I just haven't seen them yet.

[it290]

Sorry for the double post, but just wanted to add that the game plays (and sounds!) great on the MiSTer also. I've been playing using the 8bitdo SN30 and it works perfectly for this game. Makes me wish Analogue's consoles had BT controller support and the ability to remap buttons.

[it290]

Here's an update w/some more codes I found on Sega-16 (credit to user 'molasar'):

Also, I've been playing a fair bit of infinite mode in between rounds. Current high score on Easy: 282,100 which I'm sure is still pretty bad but is enough to have all of the enemy types show up. Made it to the final boss on boss rush mode and he's a bit of a doozy even on easy, but I reckon is more doable in the normal arcade mode unless you're going for a 1cc. If I can clear this on easy I'll probably be satisfied for the time being, currently most of my runs are ending at stage 5 or 6.

Code: Select all

Xeno Crisis

pc

modes menu - hold right on 1p/2p then press START (Enter)
cheat menu - hold left on options + W (shoot up) + Q/E (grenade) then press START (Enter)
backer menu - hold right on options + W (shoot up) + Q/E (grenade) then press START (Enter)

pc - hold ctrl when launching to access unity controls

also cheat tables available here
https://fearlessrevolution.com/viewtopic.php?t=10706

gen/md

boss rush mode - hold left on 1p/2p + B(S) + C(D) then press START (Enter)
infinite mode - hold right on 1p/2p + B(S) + C(D) then press START (Enter)
cheat menu - hold left on options + B(S) + C(D) then press START (Enter)
backer menu - hold right on options + B(S) + C(D) then press START (Enter)

gen
these are action replay cheats - tested on fusion emulator

FF22B5:0063

lives 99

FF3323:0063

dog tags 99

FF331F:0063

ammo 99

FF3321:0063

bombs 99

FF3313:0063

special weapon timer

[spmbx]

Completing it on easy will probably be as far as it gets for me too, i get to stage 4 on easy Still having a hell of a time though, great game to play for 15 mins now and then, perfect arcade game really in that sense Looking forward to what the neo MVS version brings!

[cave hermit]

Is there something I'm missing here, or does your character just automatically chuck grenades whenever he feels like it without you pressing the button? I'm playing the genesis version, and I thought that maybe my M30 was acting up since I had to really shove it into the port to get it sitting flush, so I reseated it a bit more loosely, but my character is still just automatically tossing grenades.

edit: I think it's the M30, I tried my kinda crappy hyperkin controller and no misfires on that; I also found out the m30 was misfiring the mode button, which made me drop special weapons almost immediately. Not sure why this is happening, I didn't have issues with any other games, so...

I guess I'll just invest in a retrobit genesis controller...

[xxx1993]

I used cheat mode, only enabling infinite health, then went to the final stage. Then the game automatically killed me upon reaching the final boss, as if I used continues despite not even bothering with the continues. ...Yeah, the game is only worth playing on a Genesis emulator.

[it290]

Is there something I'm missing here, or does your character just automatically chuck grenades whenever he feels like it without you pressing the button? I'm playing the genesis version, and I thought that maybe my M30 was acting up since I had to really shove it into the port to get it sitting flush, so I reseated it a bit more loosely, but my character is still just automatically tossing grenades.

That definitely shouldn't happen but it's worth noting that on the M30 the L/R buttons duplicate the Z/C button functions, so you might have been pressing L without realizing it—I've certainly done it a few times on my M30. So far I've found that the Retro-Bit Saturn controller and the Asciipad Sg-6 have been the best input options for me with this game.

I used cheat mode, only enabling infinite health, then went to the final stage. Then the game automatically killed me upon reaching the final boss, as if I used continues despite not even bothering with the continues. ...Yeah, the game is only worth playing on a Genesis emulator.

That's not a bug—activating cheat mode disables the final boss, so you can't cheat your way to the ending (not without using GG codes anyway).

[cave hermit]

I just tried playing with the M30 making absolutely sure I haven't been pressing L, and my character still just chucks grenades at random.

Really sucks, this is the only game I'm having problems with on the M30, and it's too much trouble to constantly swap out controls just for one game, so I'm just going to use the kinda sucky hyperkin controller.

[xxx1993]

The only way I was able to beat this game was getting the ROM of it, playing it on a Genesis emulator, then using save states until I reached the final battle with Herzog. Other than that, all other versions of this game are impossible.

[it290]

Impossible? Hardly man. I haven't beaten it yet, but I'm 1 room away from the final boss with no continues (easy mode). On Hard I've made it to stage 6. The game is a fair sight easier than Smash TV in my opinion.

[Kiken]

I recently picked this up on Switch and am disappointed by the lack of a button mapping option as I'd prefer to play this with my customized joystick (I really hate the d-pad on the Pro Controller).

So the 3-button MD/Genesis button layout is Shoot, Grenade, Roll (no dedicated melee button), right? I wonder if they'll keep that for the Neo Geo revision or use D for melee...

[Sumez]

Any news on when they start shipping physical copies? They seem to have been very ambiguous about this.

[BrianC]

I just tried playing with the M30 making absolutely sure I haven't been pressing L, and my character still just chucks grenades at random.

Really sucks, this is the only game I'm having problems with on the M30, and it's too much trouble to constantly swap out controls just for one game, so I'm just going to use the kinda sucky hyperkin controller.

Maybe you accidentally set the turbo function (which is done/undone by holding a button and pressing the star button)?

[spmbx]

I just tried playing with the M30 making absolutely sure I haven't been pressing L, and my character still just chucks grenades at random.

Really sucks, this is the only game I'm having problems with on the M30, and it's too much trouble to constantly swap out controls just for one game, so I'm just going to use the kinda sucky hyperkin controller.

What platform? I play the megadrive rom on an android emulator using an M30 bluetooth controller and i have no issues with it.

[xxx1993]

No way. I have a friend who's also struggling with it as much as I am. And yes, even he knows about the cheap middle finger the game pulls on you if you reach the final boss after you used a continue.

[cave hermit]

I'm playing the mega drive rom on my actual genesis using an everdrive, and I was using the 2.4 ghz M30 controller.

I can't imagine how turbo would be responsible for this problem.

The thing is that the 2.4 ghz receiver is kind of crappy and doesn't fit all the way into the controller port unless you force it, but otherwise you can just shove it in lopsided and it'll work. I was thinking that maybe this was the problem, but I never had problems with other games and no matter how I shoved the receiver in I still had the same problem.

[Sumez]

Hmm maybe the game doesn't work well with unoriginal controllers? 6-button pads are kind of awkwardly implemented on MegaDrive, as it's not really built for more than 8 buttons in total.

[BrianC]

Hmm maybe the game doesn't work well with unoriginal controllers? 6-button pads are kind of awkwardly implemented on MegaDrive, as it's not really built for more than 8 buttons in total.

I have been using the M30 and krikzz Joyzz with the game on the Mega sg and HDG Genesis and didn't have any issues.

Cave Hermit, have you updated the firmware? Early M30s had connectivity issues. The dongle needs to be opened up with a hex driver (t6, IIRC) to do so, though. Another possibility is that other wifi devices can interfere with the dongle if using the same frequency.

I have accidentally set off turbo quite a few times on various controllers and just recently I thought forgotten worlds was acting up with the ascii pad with mode held down at startup until I realized turbo was on.

[cave hermit]

Well I bought my M30 at launch, so I went out, bought the right screwdriver, and opened it up for updating.

Didn't fix it. I'm pretty stumped.

You know what, the M30 is too comfortable and the hyperkin is too not comfortable to go back, I guess I won't be playing Xeno Crisis then.

I guess I can think of this as a demo in case I want to buy a console download version of the game

Spoiler

Especially since I didn't exactly acquire the ROM through official channels

[it290]

So the 3-button MD/Genesis button layout is Shoot, Grenade, Roll (no dedicated melee button), right? I wonder if they'll keep that for the Neo Geo revision or use D for melee...

That's correct. I think the lack of mapping options on the Switch is lame too, hopefully they'll patch that in at some point. Not sure what the plans are for the Neo version but I'm hoping they'll figure out some way to make the 6-button layout work on that platform as well.

Any news on when they start shipping physical copies? They seem to have been very ambiguous about this.

They're already shipping, sounds like it may just take a while to get through the backorders. My copy shipped yesterday. Not sure what order number I was but I backed the game Mar 22, 2018.

I also have had no issues with my two 2.4ghz M30s, so it sounds like maybe cave hermit just has a bad controller? Or else there's something with your actual Genesis that is causing issues. I've used the M30s on both an early Model 1 and Model 2 and have had no problems though.

[cave hermit]

When did you guys buy your 2.4g M30s? I ordered mine when they first came out (although it took them several weeks to actually ship one to me), so maybe there's some hardware difference Xeno Crisis doesn't like? I'm not sure if there's something wrong with the genesis since the hyperkin controller works fine with the game, so I'd be more inclined to bet it's something with the M30.

[it290]

I got mine with my Mega SG (actually before), so I think essentially when they first came out. I love the ergonomics of the controller although I have experienced some issues like buttons sticking during intense gameplay which leads me to think that maybe the design/QC aren't 100%. I think you're right that the M30 is at fault, although I am curious what Genesis model you're using since I have a bunch of them and may be able to try and reproduce the issue if I have the same hardware. The fact that this game is the only one giving you problems is curious to me.

[BrianC]

Have you tried the controller with other 6 button games?

I got my M30 MD/Genesis 2.4G shortly after the first update was released on 8bitdo's site and the firmware was the second made available.

[cave hermit]

I've definitely played other 6 button games without misfiring; plenty of street fighter 2, and contra hard corps (x to z let's you stay in place while firing).

I have no clue what could be the issue, but it's definitely some interaction between the M30 and Xeno Crisis.

[soprano1]

Trying the MD version, it's actually a decent put together game, with that "blasting feel" you want from the genre. Music and art is good too.

[it290]

Finally got the Easy 1cc. Time to move on to Hard!

[Sumez]

Finally got the physical XC cart.....


But right now my MegaDrive is stored across a large surface of wet concrete. What do do?