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[Gyrian]

I'll find out how great (or not) the game really is in the coming weeks.

Now to find copies of Gunstar Heroes, Hyperstone Heist, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, some more Thunder Forces, some more Phantasy Star, Elemental Master, ... so many games to pick up still. ** sigh **

I hope you enjoy it! Come back with impressions sometime!

I'm slowly working through my own wish list for this system. I thought I had pretty good perspective for the platform, yet I continue being surprised by games I didn't even suspect existed! I can't believe how many fantastic shooters came out on this, quantity and quality in spades!

 

[televator]

So ah... one of my mom's old friends mentioned in passing that she was about to toss out her son's old games. I only half intereted asked her what games they were and she couldn't name them, so she showed me...

CIB Phantasy Star IV
CIB Shining Force I&II

There was also CIB copies of Jurassic Park and a Looney Tunes game called Desert Demolition.

All the rest were sports games and those got tossed.

I saved the ones worth saving, but the problem is I fucking hate turn based RPGs. So yeah, I'll be posting up the RPGs in GAF's BST thread soon. Don't know how I'll price them, but I might entertain trades as well.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I would've saved the others just to salvage the cases, lol

 

[televator]

I would've saved the others just to salvage the cases, lol

Well not all of them were pretty. I swaped the good cases for some of the torn up ones that I kept.

 

[Gyrian]

I am sad to think how often that must happen without someone saving those games quite by accident...

 

[Psyrgery ES]

Guys I just got my Arrow Flash copy from Japan, the game looks brand new!

So, I've decided I am going to get rid of my old copy, it's the JAP version, cartridge only, and the label is quite worn on the top. Not worth anything imo, but if anyone here on Gaf wants it, I am giving it away. It works (can send pictures and videos), if you are interested please let me know

(BTW is this allowed on GAF? If it's not, then please forget everything I said!)

 

[Gunstarheroes]

Man that cover art is fantastic. US losing out again.

 

[Teknoman]

Guys I just got my Arrow Flash copy from Japan, the game looks brand new!

So, I've decided I am going to get rid of my old copy, it's the JAP version, cartridge only, and the label is quite worn on the top. Not worth anything imo, but if anyone here on Gaf wants it, I am giving it away. It works (can send pictures and videos), if you are interested please let me know

(BTW is this allowed on GAF? If it's not, then please forget everything I said!)

Its definitely allowed. People have given lots of stuff to others in retro gaf threads.

 

[Bancho]

I'm finding i'm really attached to my Mega Drive at the moment. It's really taking me back to when i was a kid. Its a very strange feeling when you hear the music from a game it can take you to a pretty specific point in your childhood. I'm glad i got to grow up in the 16-Bit era :-D

My current Asian Mega Drive is pretty beat up and i'm very fussy with the condition of my consoles and games, etc so i was really pleased to win a really nice condition Japanese MD with 6 button pad. Just excited for it to arrive now.

It's all about Castle Of Illusion for me at the moment.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Man that cover art is fantastic. US losing out again.

dat 80s anime aesthetic

 

[Fularu]

dat 80s anime aesthetic

Dat Bubblegum Crisis vibe

Also while weird, Arrow Flash is a must have in any respectable collection

 

[Teknoman]

Honestly, i'd take it, but this time of year i'm sure there has to be someone else that needs a good kickstart to having a new Genesis + converter or Mega drive at home.

I mean if no one else wants it, i've never played the game before so i'd take it.

EDIT: Ralphie can have it.

 

[Tain]

That really is a nice-looking box. Shame I'm not crazy about the game, hah.

 

[lilralphie]

Put my name in the hat - I'd love to have it. Never played it... Would love to give it a whirl!

 

[lazygecko]

Super Street Fighter 2 background graphics hack by maxxfarras in progress. The background tiles from the original are taken and then rescaled/redrawn with care to look much more arcade accurate than what we got.

Yeah, people really like hacking Genesis ports of SF2 for some reason.

 

[Psyrgery ES]

Put my name in the hat - I'd love to have it. Never played it... Would love to give it a whirl!

OK mate, you can have it!

As I said, the label is a bit worn, but I'll try to make a replacement and send it along with the game, then you can decide whether to use it or leave it as is.

 

[Gyrian]

Super Street Fighter 2 background graphics hack by maxxfarras in progress. The background tiles from the original are taken and then rescaled/redrawn with care to look much more arcade accurate than what we got.

Yeah, people really like hacking Genesis ports of SF2 for some reason.

I am fascinated by these efforts. The SF2 sound driver fix is some of the most compelling disassembly of old games I've ever read. To think a bug like this could have such a profound effect on the perception of the system's sound capabilities is pretty mind boggling.
I am soon getting an Everdrive in order to try out things like these in the real hardware. There's so much to experiment with! Alternative color palettes is another one I'm curious about.

OK mate, you can have it!

As I said, the label is a bit worn, but I'll try to make a replacement and send it along with the game, then you can decide whether to use it or leave it as is.

A huge tip of the hat to you for your generosity!

 

[Flink]

I am fascinated by these efforts. The SF2 sound driver fix is some of the most compelling disassembly of old games I've ever read. To think a bug like this could have such a profound effect on the perception of the system's sound capabilities is pretty mind boggling.
I am soon getting an Everdrive in order to try out things like these in the real hardware. There's so much to experiment with! Alternative color palettes is another one I'm curious about.

Me too! What's this about the sound driver fix, though?

 

[foobarry81]

A huge tip of the hat to you for your generosity!

+1. Very generous! Gotta love GAF sometimes.

 

[lazygecko]

Me too! What's this about the sound driver fix, though?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iE5GJNkOqs

 

[Exuro]

How do you guys go about updating your collection? I just started 2ish weeks ago and have 5 games so far. I have one big retro/new game store in two locations that I check out now and then as well as hitting up thrift stores. Sometimes I'll go to a weekend fleamarket but I rarely find genesis games there(only at the large resellers place). I'm trying to see if theres a better way I can get some games for cheap. Right now most of them have been $4-$5 and I've been trying to stick to that range, but a lot of them that I want are creeping up into the $10-$20 range. I feel like if I go by this then it'll take forever for me to even get the old games I had as a kid. Are there any online resources/stores that aren't ebay priced?

 

[MightyHedgehog]

How do you guys go about updating your collection? I just started 2ish weeks ago and have 5 games so far. I have one big retro/new game store in two locations that I check out now and then as well as hitting up thrift stores. Sometimes I'll go to a weekend fleamarket but I rarely find genesis games there(only at the large resellers place). I'm trying to see if theres a better way I can get some games for cheap. Right now most of them have been $4-$5 and I've been trying to stick to that range, but a lot of them that I want are creeping up into the $10-$20 range. I feel like if I go by this then it'll take forever for me to even get the old games I had as a kid. Are there any online resources/stores that aren't ebay priced?

Goodwill online, though you'll have to deal with people sniping and driving prices, like eBay. Craigslist is also good to check every day to see if someone is offloading stuff without trying to match inflated online prices. Garage sales are best, but highly random and time-consuming. Smaller retro gaming meets and exhibitions might be the easiest, least expensive option for many in more populated areas. It's probably the worst time to buy original retro games since the market has driven up prices to insane levels and I don't see the prices ever going back down.

 

[Exuro]

Goodwill online, though you'll have to deal with people sniping and driving prices, like eBay. Craigslist is also good to check every day to see if someone is offloading stuff without trying to match inflated online prices. Garage sales are best, but highly random and time-consuming. Smaller retro gaming meets and exhibitions might be the easiest, least expensive option for many in more populated areas. It's probably the worst time to buy original retro games since the market has driven up prices to insane levels and I don't see the prices ever going back down.

huh, is there a reason for this? I was thinking of trying out some yard sales but it's starting to get cold so I expect to see less and less of those in the ads. Gonna have to see if there are en exhibitions on my area. Craigslist has mostly been the same people selling the same stuff for high prices along with those "I'll buy your old games!" ads.

Also thanks for the goodwill thing. Had no idea they did online auctions. Going to see if I can get anything going over there. Lots of old games and stuff

 

[foobarry81]

huh, is there a reason for this? I was thinking of trying out some yard sales but it's starting to get cold so I expect to see less and less of those in the ads. Gonna have to see if there are en exhibitions on my area. Craigslist has mostly been the same people selling the same stuff for high prices along with those "I'll buy your old games!" ads.

Also thanks for the goodwill thing. Had no idea they did online auctions. Going to see if I can get anything going over there. Lots of old games and stuff

I think it's a combination of factors that lead to this situation:
- the current retro wave has now reached the masses. A huge number of people either retrocollect themselves or are aware it's hot.
- because more people are aware of it, they start looking for information on the value of their stuff before selling it.
- they typically check eBay, and start asking similar prices.
- because of this resellers buy games at increasingly higher prices.
- and so they increase their own prices

This mechanism has been ongoing for some time now.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zabL7H2wlc8

And that's enough Youtube for tonight.

 

[televator]

...
...
... robot farts

 

[sixteen-bit]

Sonic 3 by Acclaim

 

[Peltz]

huh, is there a reason for this? I was thinking of trying out some yard sales but it's starting to get cold so I expect to see less and less of those in the ads. Gonna have to see if there are en exhibitions on my area. Craigslist has mostly been the same people selling the same stuff for high prices along with those "I'll buy your old games!" ads.

Also thanks for the goodwill thing. Had no idea they did online auctions. Going to see if I can get anything going over there. Lots of old games and stuff

Part of the reasoning for this phenomenon is that people who grew up in the Genesis era are now at the age where they have enough disposable income to want to collect for the system so prices go up.

Although Genesis is still relatively cheap in comparison to SNES collecting. That Nintendo premium stings.

 

[Fularu]

Part of the reasoning for this phenomenon is that people who grew up in the Genesis era are now at the age where they have enough disposable income to want to collect for the system so prices go up.

Although Genesis is still relatively cheap in comparison to SNES collecting. That Nintendo premium stings.

If you're willing to go for SFC carts, SNES is way cheaper than Genesis/MD

 

[D.Lo]

Sonic 3 by Acclaim

Genuine giggles.

What the hell was it with western (particularly European) developers that their games made that buzzsaw sound? Not just Mega Drive either, NES and even the usually mellow SNES were not beyond their abuse.

 

[Fatnick]

Genuine giggles.

What the hell was it with western (particularly European) developers that their games made that buzzsaw sound? Not just Mega Drive either, NES and even the usually mellow SNES were not beyond their abuse.

Few potential reasons I can think of:

-harsh metallic tones come easily with FM synths, so that sound is quite a basic one to make.
-European sound designers would have been coming from a slightly different technical background from those from other regions (more home- computer rather than NES/console based)
-early 90s European games more influenced by Electronic music than those from other regions(?)

 

[sixteen-bit]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OU9BQYG/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Few potential reasons I can think of:

-harsh metallic tones come easily with FM synths, so that sound is quite a basic one to make.
-European sound designers would have been coming from a slightly different technical background from those from other regions (more home- computer rather than NES/console based)
-early 90s European games more influenced by Electronic music than those from other regions(?)

The sound drivers included in the SDKs also seemed to differ by region. Note how most Japanese games that don't use their own custom sound driver use an SMPS variant, while Western games generally use GEMS.

http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Mega_Drive/Genesis_Sound_Engine_List

 

[Khaz]

I just received the Megadrive book. The thing is massive! And it smells nice too.

[edit] France. Although it's supposed to ship from the UK, nothing says so on the parcel, I can only trace it back to some French warehouse.

 

[woodypop]

I just received the Megadrive book. The thing is massive! And it smells nice too.

Oooh, where are you? Are you in the US?

Can't wait to get mine!

 

[lazygecko]

The sound drivers included in the SDKs also seemed to differ by region. Note how most Japanese games that don't use their own custom sound driver use an SMPS variant, while Western games generally use GEMS.

http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Mega_Drive/Genesis_Sound_Engine_List

People put way too much weight on the sound drivers to explain how the music generally turns out. They didn't exactly come bundled with presets and AFAIK they all have access to the same core parameters, save for a couple of western ones that seemingly ignore the PSG functionality.

GEMS gets unfairly shat upon a lot, when the issue is moreso that American game composers in general at that time simply weren't interested in the technical aspects as much as Europe and Japan were. Frank Klepacki's soundtracks (Dune 2, The Lion King) were made with GEMS and sound just as competent as anything made using SMPS.

 

[dodgeme]

Part of the reasoning for this phenomenon is that people who grew up in the Genesis era are now at the age where they have enough disposable income to want to collect for the system so prices go up.

Although Genesis is still relatively cheap in comparison to SNES collecting. That Nintendo premium stings.

Cart only genesis collecting is still reasonable. CIB games have all gone way up in relation.

 

[Khaz]

Cart only genesis collecting is still reasonable. CIB games have all gone way up in relation.

I don't really understand why. I could understand people throwing away the cardboard boxes of handheld games, even those of Nintendo and Super Nintendo, but plastic boxes? Ok you want to keep just the cartridge, or you put all your cartridges in some custom shelf or folder. But what about cartridge and box without manual?? seriously you cared enough to keep the plastic box, why not keep the manual tucked in? Actually not caring about it means it stays in place forever, you need to consciously take it away in order to lose it. I have all my manuals and I never really cared as a kid. Hell, I even have the adverts, stuff that I definitely did not care about and probably was tempted to throw away.

Having so few boxes with manuals is one of the greatest mysteries to me.

 

[Polioliolio]

Guys I just got my Arrow Flash copy from Japan, the game looks brand new!

So, I've decided I am going to get rid of my old copy, it's the JAP version, cartridge only, and the label is quite worn on the top. Not worth anything imo, but if anyone here on Gaf wants it, I am giving it away. It works (can send pictures and videos), if you are interested please let me know

(BTW is this allowed on GAF? If it's not, then please forget everything I said!)

OOoh delightful.

I'd also like my name in the hat!

Thanks for the give away chance!


edit:

Oops, too slow.
Well it's the thought that counts. Thanks for your community charity.

 

[Bancho]

Well this showed up today.

My original Asian Mega Drive was pretty beat up cosmetically and was really getting on my nerves. I saw this on the bay and managed to win it for £16

Original Japanese Gen 1 Mega Drive, Original 6 button pad, Original UK PSU and RGB Scart lead. The console is in excellent condition hence me bidding on it. Already removed the cart lock mechanism to allow the PAL carts to fit. Just need sort the Jailbar's and all will be well

 

[sixteen-bit]

Nice pickup, bancho!

 

[Gyrian]

Original Japanese Gen 1 Mega Drive, Original 6 button pad, Original UK PSU and RGB Scart lead. The console is in excellent condition hence me bidding on it. Already removed the cart lock mechanism to allow the PAL carts to fit. Just need sort the Jailbar's and all will be well

That is fantastic, congrats!
Not only does it look great, you are also treating it to Strider already!

I received a few items this week, too, just in time to go into shooter heaven over the next couple of days. ^_^

The arcade stick is so freaking good! Beautifully built, a joy to use, and the design puts a smile on my face.
I can't recommend it any more highly, it's just a great companion to the system's arcade.
I'm seriously digging the independent auto-fire controls, too. Very handy to toy around with in some games!

On the games, I've put most time on Battle Mania and MUSHA thus far. God damn these are excellent!
Battle Mania in particular is so full of personality, it just begs to be enjoyed. And the soundtrack! The drums alone made a big impression.
I've pretty much gone Toaplan crazy. I did own at some point ago a copy of Truxton back in the day, but I wasn't ready then to appreciate how awesome it is.
I've yet to be disappointed by Sega's reprogrammed conversions, truth be told.
Zero Wing makes a pretty good first impression. I'm curious to go deeper with this infamous title.
I've had the least time with Insector-X, but apparently there's enough room for at least two bad ass bug based shooters in this platform!

I'm not sure how I managed to miss most shooters given the sheer amount on the Mega Drive, but I'm going to make this up in spades.

 

[Teknoman]

Itch to have a shooter pick a week for PC engine and Genesis thread rising...

Must be attitude for gains...

 

[Fularu]

Do it!

Let's start with either Super Star Soldier or Thunderforce 3 on maniac!

 

[Teknoman]

Or rather it would be contained within the threads like before.
Maybe omething along the lines of pick one shooter from your library you havent beat, try to blast through it, then do a mini review?1

 

[Armoured Priest]

Well this showed up today.

My original Asian Mega Drive was pretty beat up cosmetically and was really getting on my nerves. I saw this on the bay and managed to win it for £16

Original Japanese Gen 1 Mega Drive, Original 6 button pad, Original UK PSU and RGB Scart lead. The console is in excellent condition hence me bidding on it. Already removed the cart lock mechanism to allow the PAL carts to fit. Just need sort the Jailbar's and all will be well

Nice...

I also spy a toploading NES there as well.

 

[theSlacker]

I don't really understand why. I could understand people throwing away the cardboard boxes of handheld games, even those of Nintendo and Super Nintendo, but plastic boxes? Ok you want to keep just the cartridge, or you put all your cartridges in some custom shelf or folder. But what about cartridge and box without manual?? seriously you cared enough to keep the plastic box, why not keep the manual tucked in? Actually not caring about it means it stays in place forever, you need to consciously take it away in order to lose it. I have all my manuals and I never really cared as a kid. Hell, I even have the adverts, stuff that I definitely did not care about and probably was tempted to throw away.

Having so few boxes with manuals is one of the greatest mysteries to me.

Let it be a mystery no more. It is really easy to just print out a cover for genesis/mega drive games and put it in any box that you had to try to sell the game for more. Depending on the quality of the print job/paper used you may never notice it. So basically any reseller that has a ton of games and wants to get as much value as they can can just print covers for expensive ones and use donor boxes to get a higher price. Don't think you are fully safe if you see a listing with a manual either, I've had printed covers on games listed like that as well.

 

[Bancho]

Nice pickup, bancho!

That is fantastic, congrats!
Not only does it look great, you are also treating it to Strider already!

I received a few items this week, too, just in time to go into shooter heaven over the next couple of days. ^_^



The arcade stick is so freaking good! Beautifully built, a joy to use, and the design puts a smile on my face.
I can't recommend it any more highly, it's just a great companion to the system's arcade.
I'm seriously digging the independent auto-fire controls, too. Very handy to toy around with in some games!

On the games, I've put most time on Battle Mania and MUSHA thus far. God damn these are excellent!
Battle Mania in particular is so full of personality, it just begs to be enjoyed. And the soundtrack! The drums alone made a big impression.
I've pretty much gone Toaplan crazy. I did own at some point ago a copy of Truxton back in the day, but I wasn't ready then to appreciate how awesome it is.
I've yet to be disappointed by Sega's reprogrammed conversions, truth be told.
Zero Wing makes a pretty good first impression. I'm curious to go deeper with this infamous title.
I've had the least time with Insector-X, but apparently there's enough room for at least two bad ass bug based shooters in this platform!

I'm not sure how I managed to miss most shooters given the sheer amount on the Mega Drive, but I'm going to make this up in spades.

Thanks guys. I am really pleased with it. Fact it came with an official 6 button pad made the deal all the more sweeter.

Gyrian thats one hell of a group of games you picked up. I would be happy with any one of those. I really want to pick up Tatsujin. Its one of those great games thats easily attainable and not to expensive. They look in great condition. The stick looks fantastic too. Enjoy!

 

[D.Lo]

Itch to have a shooter pick a week for PC engine and Genesis thread rising...

Must be attitude for gains...

i'd be happy to participate, but would likely need 4-6 weeks lead time to buy the game on ebay first! I have been super keen to buy PCE Zero Wing though, the soundtrack is amazing on CD...

Also old school shooters can be hard, some are among the only games I never finished back in the day.

 

[hodgy100]

so i'm starting a small side project with fellow gaffer (and irl friend) CMDBob. We are using SGDK which is an excellent homebrew sdk that is proving to be suprisingly easy to use, despite having to get used to the limitations of c rather than the c++ im used to we are thinking of attempting a side scrolling shmup that takes place on a cylindrical arena akin to resogun. it should be fairly simple to "simulate" the game world by usng a front and rear plane that scroll in opposite directions. Im just using gens kmod for debugging at the moment, but fortunately I also have a flash drive for m megadrive, so I can do some hardware testing later on.

wish us luck!