Man, it was so easy to get The Silver Star too. lol ever since I found out about the no random battles (I guess im one of the few who really like random battles and overworld random battles at that) and the soundtrack differences...i've really wanted my first experiences to be the Sega CD versions, even though I got lucky with both PS1 versions (hadnt gotten around to playing them, and now i've got access to a SCD).
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Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Appreciation Thread: Alien Storm > Golden Axe
- Thread starter IrishNinja
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Man, it was so easy to get The Silver Star too. lol ever since I found out about the no random battles (I guess im one of the few who really like random battles and overworld random battles at that) and the soundtrack differences...i've really wanted my first experiences to be the Sega CD versions, even though I got lucky with both PS1 versions (hadnt gotten around to playing them, and now i've got access to a SCD).
I am Christina Aguilera
Member
Oh God, I used to have Kris Kross and C&C Music Factory, and I got each of them for $1 new. They kind of had more lasting entertainment value than a couple of Twixes would have, but not by much.
IrishNinja
Member
i hear you! sell them to me; i'll double your investment
IrishNinja
Member
i was just on atari age where people were knocking the port of the original Turrican, and i totally get it...i don't know dick about the EU amgia scene in the day but the port of it wasn't super awesome.
Mega Turrican though...i still boot that one up every month or so, it's just awesome. the OST, the weapons, the weird mechanics of it...i wanna get better at it.
Mega Turrican though...i still boot that one up every month or so, it's just awesome. the OST, the weapons, the weird mechanics of it...i wanna get better at it.
Piston Hyundai
Member
The thing about Contra Hard Corps is that it's more about not fucking up than anything. It's not too difficult to go on without dying, it's just that when you do die, it can be an incredible setback depending on what weapon you have equipped.
You just need to know what to do. The part where you actually do it really isn't that bad.
Didn't the JPN version come out first though??
If they're model 1s, only the very last revision of it is a bit compromised, sound wise. If you are comfortable opening them up, the board will tell you exactly what it is (there is a great reference sega-16 link that I can't pull up here). Just looking at it, the serial number's second digit is the production year. I think pre 1991 is all good. On the console itself, if the white sega logo has no (R) and there are no AV intelligent/high grade markings, it might be one of the last model 1 systems.
Thanks for the advice, I opened it up and it seems to be a VA4, made in 1991.
What?
Turrican 2 is amazing. The music, the open world 2D design (there are several paths to clear each level), the variety, the shmup levels, the Alien rip-off last level, the gameplay...
That game is legendary! And one of my favorite games of all time (And I say it as someone who also owns Mega, super and super 2)
Nope.
But the game is not designed around the oldschool Castlevania style. There's quite a few annoying enemies that come at angles and using the dude with the spear helps TREMENDOUSLY whereas if you don't have the right subweapon with the other dude you're kinda' fucked.
Plus the path he takes mid-way through the game is much harder and the whip swing is kind of garbage.
On the other end, SCIV feels like it wasn't really designed around the new whip mechanic. It almost feels like something they decided to add in very late in the development of the game.
Yes, exactly this. An "insanely, insanely" hard game would test your reflexes and push the skill necessary to control your character to the limit. Hard Corps is so dependable in its execution that, much like many older games, knowledge becomes far, far more important than twitch reflex.
If you see a boss's pattern, that boss shouldn't kill you ever again. If they do, it's a huge mistake on your part.
Agreed. I've seen the Sequelitis video.
Sir Ilpalazzo
Member
Even if it had, it wouldn't necessarily mean the Japanese rules are the original ones.
A Black Falcon
Member
Are you one of those people who'd also claim that games like Gradius or especially R-Type aren't hard, then, because "all you have to do" is memorize the entire game and then beat the whole thing in one try without ever dying? Because, you know, that's easy enough for anyone to do, right?
Seriously, that kind of view is crazy! Games like those are brutally, crazily hard, and Contra: Hard Corps is right up there with them. I love Contra: Hard Corps, it's my favorite Contra game and my favorite Konami Genesis game, but it's a very, VERY hard game. If "all you have to do" is memorize the entire game and then never die, that's going to be an incredibly difficult game.
On that note, I find Super Contra III on the SNES at least as hard or harder, and less fun too. I don't think I've gotten even halfway in that game! Stupidly frustrating game. Give me Metal Slug over that any day... or GunForce for SNES, which is pretty much Metal Slug's predecessor of course.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Beating Hard Corps is a matter of watching a Youtube playthrough once, then replicating it. I did as much earlier this year.
I'm not saying it's easy, but I think there are other games that require more practice even after you know what you're supposed to be doing.
I'm not saying it's easy, but I think there are other games that require more practice even after you know what you're supposed to be doing.
IrishNinja
Member
ABF, your entire post is puzzling.
1) Mzo & crew specifically were talking about boss battles, and they're right: learn the pattern & you can kill most without even moving a tremendous amount. when i think of brutal/hard games, i think those where i make little to no advancement - everytime i play Hard Corps, i get a level further, and as was said, the prior bosses can barely touch me. i don't think that's comparable to SHMUPs & bullet patterns on every screen/etc, nor is dying once a death sentence.
also i can mop the floor with most of the baddies in a given level with the special weapons the game drops on me too.
2) Contra III isn't easy but it's pretty beatable, way moreso for me than say Contra 1 without the code.
1) Mzo & crew specifically were talking about boss battles, and they're right: learn the pattern & you can kill most without even moving a tremendous amount. when i think of brutal/hard games, i think those where i make little to no advancement - everytime i play Hard Corps, i get a level further, and as was said, the prior bosses can barely touch me. i don't think that's comparable to SHMUPs & bullet patterns on every screen/etc, nor is dying once a death sentence.
also i can mop the floor with most of the baddies in a given level with the special weapons the game drops on me too.
2) Contra III isn't easy but it's pretty beatable, way moreso for me than say Contra 1 without the code.
Gradius can't really be memorized, but R-Type absolutely can. It's easier to make a mistake and screw the entire playthrough up in R-Type than in Hard Corps, though.
I don't think that point of view is that crazy. I've been playing games since I was 6 years old. I can move a sprite around a screen with a controller pretty well. It takes something more than a really obvious pattern to give me problems.
I actually did go back to Contra III with a friend of mine a few months ago and I was surprised by how short the levels were. He died by the Terminator robots and I soloed the rest until the end. It was only on normal difficulty, though.
A Black Falcon
Member
So you're saying that you're good at Contra games? That doesn't make them not hard! That's one key mistake that people who claim that hard shmups are easy make... "I'm good at it and it seems easy to me, so it's not hard" is flawed logic.
I haven't beaten Contra 1 either, but I haven't really tried all that hard; I got to the waterfall stage and gave up there, haven't played it in years now.
That's true. R-Type is even harder than Hard Corps. Hard Corps is a very difficult game, though. It's a very different kind of game, so direct comparisons aren't exact, but it's quite hard.
You're pretty good at that kind of game then... I'm not.
On the note of Metal Slug, no way! Almost all Metal Slug releases give you continues that continue you right from where you died. COntinues are sometimes limited, but the games with limited continues all have level select (up to the top level you've reached), which helps a lot. The only Metal Slug game which doesn't continue you where you died is the US version of Xbox Metal Slug 3, which restarts the level at game over. Because of that I find the game pretty much completely impossible. I've played Xbox Metal Slug 3 a lot, because I love the Metal Slug series (as I said, I much prefer it over Contra!), but I'll probably never beat that game. In either single player or co-op or starting as player 1 then switching to player 2 when I run out of lives on player 1, getting past even 60-70% of the last level, starting from the beginning of that level, is an extremely good run. I've never gotten close to the final boss, and probably never will. I think that the Japanese PS2 version doesn't do this, though, so I have no idea why they made this change for the US, but it's unfortunate.
Anyway, other than that, because of the continue and level-select features, Metal Slug games are easier to beat... unless you're talking about a 1CC, of course, but that's an entirely different question. Oh, and I mentioned SNES GunForce. That game is fairly easy, and I've beaten it multiple times. Fun game. One of the times I beat it I was playing with my cousin,.. he got game over late in the game (hadn't played it before), but I managed to beat the game with either one or zero lives remaining. That got too close...
The game is, of course, the first run & gun from the team that went on to make Metal Slug.Oh yeah, as for R-Type, I've beaten the Game Boy Color version which has level select. The best I've managed to do in the Turbografx version, which has no saving and maxes at about 20 continues, is getting to level 5 or MAYBE 7 (of 8). Sure, I know WHAT to do, but actually doing it, without mistakes, is extremely challenging. And that's how R-Type is like Contra Hard Corps -- knowing \what to do, and being able to actually pull it off without ever slipping up, are not the same thing... this will punish you worse in R-Type, but it hurts in Contra Hard Corps as well.
IrishNinja
Member
oh man that is totally not the case; you can ask Mzo, i'm quite bad at many video games. the RPGs & stuff you can wear down with sheer persistence is about the only exception, and that's tenacity in lieu of skill.
stuff like Contra III i only beat because i've literally been playing that game semi-regularly since like '92
stuff like Contra III i only beat because i've literally been playing that game semi-regularly since like '92
Great game!
Awesome soundtrack.
Piston Hyundai
Member
I'm not saying Hard Corps is an easy game by any means, but it's definitely easier to master than Gradius or R-Type. I get my ass kicked at pretty much any shmup or run and gun that isn't Hard Corps. That's probably because I don't really play them that much, but still.
That said, I think Hard Corps is easier than any of the games you listed (including Contra III) because they don't have moves that make you invulnerable and also propel you forward. The slide is really the biggest key to success in Hard Corps. It's the thing that makes the "not dying" part easier than in the games you mentioned.
Been playing Aladdin for the first time in a while this morning...quite pleasantly surprised by how well it holds up
Not that I expected it to be terrible, but I did suspect it might be a style over substance experience. While the visuals and Tommy Tallarico soundtrack are superb (if I ever go to Video Games Live, I hope I can get him to sign a copy of the game!), the gameplay is no slouch; lots of inventive and varied level design at work here, and the game moves at a satisfyingly brisk pace.
It does suffer a little from some cheap moments, plus some of the platforms in the dungeon level are a bit wonky on collision detection...but otherwise I've been enjoying it a lot, nostalgia justified!
I think I'd have to play it and the SNES one back to back to determine which is better, but honestly I don't think there's a huge gulf of quality between them; both are terrific licensed platformers. The MD one does hold strong memories for me though, used to stay up late playing it at a friend's house!
Not that I expected it to be terrible, but I did suspect it might be a style over substance experience. While the visuals and Tommy Tallarico soundtrack are superb (if I ever go to Video Games Live, I hope I can get him to sign a copy of the game!), the gameplay is no slouch; lots of inventive and varied level design at work here, and the game moves at a satisfyingly brisk pace.
It does suffer a little from some cheap moments, plus some of the platforms in the dungeon level are a bit wonky on collision detection...but otherwise I've been enjoying it a lot, nostalgia justified!
I think I'd have to play it and the SNES one back to back to determine which is better, but honestly I don't think there's a huge gulf of quality between them; both are terrific licensed platformers. The MD one does hold strong memories for me though, used to stay up late playing it at a friend's house!
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Anyone have a link to some pictures of the different motherboard revisions of a Genesis 1 that are clearly labeled? The only threads I'm turning up on a Google search have tons of broken image links.
Piston Hyundai
Member
Does anybody have any experience buying custom cases for Genesis games online? I want to get some for my loose games that originally had shitty cardboard boxes. I see that pretty much all of them have transparent casing, but that's fine considering I have some original black boxes that I could use.
So did I...thanks for reminding me about this game.Haha OMG, this game I had completely and totally forgotten about, Shadow Blasters. I don't think I've even thought about it once since 1990. I saw it in Babbage's one day, never played it. IIRC the reviews were not very good, but that boxart was sorta eye catching.
.
NP.
Funnily enough, way back in my memory, I seem to recall EGM rumored there was gonna be Altered Beast 2 on the MD.
GAF, is it possible what EGM thought was Altered Beast 2 was really, Jewel Master?
Look at the Japanese box, namely the back
D
Deleted member 22576
Unconfirmed Member
Well that's discouraging!
NP.
Funnily enough, way back in my memory, I seem to recall EGM rumored there was gonna be Altered Beast 2 on the MD.
GAF, is it possible what EGM thought was Altered Beast 2 was really, Jewel Master?
Look at the Japanese box, namely the back
How did I miss this one? I really like it. Very hard though. I don't see any resemblance to Altered Beast but who knows? Maybe it started as a sequel and deviated so much from the original that it became an entirely different game. The art style is similar so maybe it was worked by the same team who worked on Altered Beast (and who also worked on Golden Axe and the underrated Alien Storm).
I think you can literally read the board's revision on the board itself. I've seen pics of VA2-4s that were labelled so at the front. VA0 was not called out on my Mega Drive, but it should be moot since the Genesis started with VA1 in 1989, I believe.
theSlacker
Member
Sorry friend. The place I was using for that has all its pics as dead too. Shitsux.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Yeah, turns out that there's a spot where it's written on the motherboard. Mine has both VA5 and VA6, which means that it's a VA6.
I'm comparing it to a shot of a VA2.
In particular, I'm taking a close look around the video encoder at the top left of the board to see what was changed. I do notice that the VA2 has a CXA1145, while the VA6 has a CXA1145P that's also oriented 180 degrees opposite its equivalent chip in the earlier board. The components surrounding it are also slightly different. This chip is known to be the root cause of the earlier boards' significant jailbars on blue colors in RGB, like so:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e236/Konsolkongen/CXA1145LPF.png
But on the VA6, they're very faint, virtually invisible without close inspection or some image filtering:
I'm comparing it to a shot of a VA2.
In particular, I'm taking a close look around the video encoder at the top left of the board to see what was changed. I do notice that the VA2 has a CXA1145, while the VA6 has a CXA1145P that's also oriented 180 degrees opposite its equivalent chip in the earlier board. The components surrounding it are also slightly different. This chip is known to be the root cause of the earlier boards' significant jailbars on blue colors in RGB, like so:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e236/Konsolkongen/CXA1145LPF.png
But on the VA6, they're very faint, virtually invisible without close inspection or some image filtering:
Just posting for no particular reason. I'm cleaning my consoles and games today and thought I'd just take a closer look under the hood while I'm at it.
composite video as sync
unfiltered on left, equalize filter on right
sync only
unfiltered on left, equalize filter on right
If you can beat Contra 3, you arent bad at games by a long shot.
Hmm...I have a chance to maybe get Popful Mail (disc and case only). But the only thing I might part with on his want list is Cannon Spike (mine is disc and manual only) but i'm not so sure I want to. I mean I guess I could just see what he/she says, and then if so, just go after the import version, Gunspike later? Really would like to have Popful Mail...
On that note, when the hell did the game (cannon spike) get that expensive?
On that note, when the hell did the game (cannon spike) get that expensive?
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Well, here's a new candidate for "strangest thing I've found inside a video game cartridge."
A Black Falcon
Member
That's probably mostly because of how much more you say you've played Contra Hard Corps than those other games, then...
Yeah, no. In R-Type you can move around the entire screen, instead of being stuck to the floors and limited jumping that you can't entirely control, and you get a shield to protect you from the front, too! That does not make the game easy. Nor does the slide in Contra Hard Corps. Mastering the slide is challenging, and there are a lot of bosses in this game, all with different patterns and attack types.
Wow! The secret lives of cartridges that used to be rentals somewhere? Which one was this? Konami narrows it down, but still.
sixteen-bit
Member
Gunspike is kinda pricey too
I see where you're coming from...Mzo puts it pretty well in his reply. Once you get gimmicked the one way you'll likely never get gimmicked that way again. I do dislike that you can't slide-tackle on vehicles making those stages a bit more harsh on the first time through than the on-foot levels. The slide-tackle is really the panic button and kind of fills in for the health meter when I was learning the game. The times when I need to slide tackle to survive in set situations like boss fights are pretty few.
I've recently started playing it again this time with Brownie and HE is easy mode compared to the two humans. Double-jumps, and really high damage, often homing, firepower. It's been a long time since I've played this one all the way through and I'm definitely running into the case where dying takes a gun away and kind of ruins my routine for a bit. Still, perfect runs are attainable once you stop letting the game psych you out and just try to find those perfect answers no matter the life cost. Dodging is more important than firing back and Brownie's firepower can make boss fights as short as possible. I'd start with him and avoid relying on double jump so that the gameplan translates to the other 3 characters easier.
Full disclosure, Contra: Hard Corps and Shattered Soldier are my favorites in the series, but I'm sure my most played versions are Contra and Contra 3 due to having them at launch. I'd say Contra 3 is easier than Hard Corps, though...only the one path to worry about and the homing + crusher combination can deal with just about anything.