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Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Appreciation Thread: Alien Storm > Golden Axe

B

BTails

Member
Some local pickups today! Despite the pricetags, these two were $45 together, all in.

TcwV1sY.jpg
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Shining Force is in immaculate condition, it looks like the manual was never read! Shining in the Darkness has some wear on the manual, but the inside of the manual is nice, no tears or stains.

Once I get home and make sure that they both work, I'll take all those nasty stickers off and get them looking spick and span. And I'll print a SitD cover and give the cart/manual a new home (orphaning a sports game in the process)
 
T

Timu

Member
entrement said:
Rocket Knight is pretty good!

I totally missed it back in the day.
Click to expand...
I played it back in the day, enjoyed it and want to try it again but on hard this time.

sixteen-bit said:
RKA is damn good. I wish the sequels were nearly as fun as the original. This series defines one hit wonder :(
Click to expand...
I did liked the sequels, but man they don't touch the original, heck the SNES game might be my least fav of them.

entrement said:
How much was it? Turtles games are getting pricey. Was it CIB or just cart?
Click to expand...
64 bucks and cart only. CIB would be way more.
 
K

KDash31987

Member
I saw a complete copy or two of Shining in the Darkness a few days ago at the flea market. I think it was $10-$20. Not sure, since I didn't get the game. Maybe I should next time I go there, if they still have it.

Also, $64 for a cart-only Hyperstone Heist? Yikes. I'm glad I got a boxed copy like two years ago for around $24 at a Play N Trade.
 
B

BTails

Member
KDash31987 said:
I saw a complete copy or two of Shining in the Darkness a few days ago at the flea market. I think it was $10-$20. Not sure, since I didn't get the game. Maybe I should next time I go there, if they still have it.
Click to expand...

I just paid $18 for my cart/manual (no box). The cover of the manual's a bit worn, but the pages are clean looking. For what it's worth.

I also paid $1.00 at another place to buy a sports game (Real Talk Baseball) so I could give SitD a case to call it's own.

Picked up a couple more on my list today as well: Quackshot and Technocop. The latter is not a great game but it's extremely violent (skip to 1:40 to see what I mean). For $5, you can't lose.
 
P

pmj

Member
I feel good about getting my Shining in the Darkness CIB together with Sonic 2 for about $15.

My collection is starting to look pretty decent, with 39 games, all CIB, mostly in good condition. Nothing really unique or expensive, but more or less what I want to own with only a few things missing. I need to invest in shelving to hold it all.

And also RKA is driving me nuts. There's so much variety in it, which is cool, but the one-off nature of the game means it requires memorization and that learning one thing doesn't prepare you for anything else you'll encounter in the game. Worse, some of the segments tick me off to the point that when I die I usually turn the game off, even if I have plenty of lives and continues left. And I go right back to the beginning next time since there is no level select cheat in the PAL release.

I made it to level 7 once when I forced myself to carry on, which is kinda far in. I think. I may just give up on the game now that I know what it's about.
 
T

Teknoman

Member
Man i'm conflicted (not really an issue). I really want to eventually play PS3 because the scenario sounds pretty damn interesting, but the battle theme (or rather battle preparation theme) sounds like it would make me want to punch someone. The main theme is pretty cool though.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
Timu said:
I played it back in the day, enjoyed it and want to try it again but on hard this time.

I did liked the sequels, but man they don't touch the original, heck the SNES game might be my least fav of them.

64 bucks and cart only. CIB would be way more.
Click to expand...

Man, Konami games are getting pricey.
 
G

grimmer

Neo Member
One game I usually play when I plug my Megadrive in is Streets of Rage 1. Just doesn't feel the same playing the xbla/psn versions. First post by the way!
 
D

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
Was a pretty Genesis-y Christmas for me (apart from the 3DO my friend bought me ;) )

Girlfriend got me Revenge of Shinobi and Shadow Dancer. I was never able to make it too far into Revenge, although I did play a lot of Shadow Dancer back in the day (such a fantastic soundtrack... I actually like it more than the Yuzo soundtrack in Revenge!).

And my brother got me this amazing Genesis Collected Works book. I had no idea this thing even existed but its fucking awesome.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
djtiesto said:
Was a pretty Genesis-y Christmas for me (apart from the 3DO my friend bought me ;) )

Girlfriend got me Revenge of Shinobi and Shadow Dancer. I was never able to make it too far into Revenge, although I did play a lot of Shadow Dancer back in the day (such a fantastic soundtrack... I actually like it more than the Yuzo soundtrack in Revenge!).

And my brother got me this amazing Genesis Collected Works book. I had no idea this thing even existed but its fucking awesome.
Click to expand...

Revenge is a great game. I still need to beat it.
 
F

Ferr986

Member
Timu said:
I did liked the sequels, but man they don't touch the original, heck the SNES game might be my least fav of them.
Click to expand...

Everyone seems to put SNES Sparkster above Sparkster:RKA2 but I liked the Genesis version more. Atleast RKA2 tried to innovate and be its own thing. SNES Sparkster was just a worse RKA 1.

The biggest problem with RKA2 for me was that it was ugly both graphic and art-wise.

grimmer said:
One game I usually play when I plug my Megadrive in is Streets of Rage 1. Just doesn't feel the same playing the xbla/psn versions. First post by the way!
Click to expand...

Welcome! SoR1 is amazing!
 
F

Fularu

Banned
Bar81 said:
Pier Solar reprints most likely.
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No, it's just the bonus stuff for the delays.

Dear Fularu,

You are receiving this email because you did pre-order either Pier Solar REPRINT, REPRINT_EP.

Following previous newsletter, assembly of the game occurred on the 20-23 December but could not be completed for various reasons. Ironically, your gifts and goodies (to compensate for the wait) are ready and will be added to your parcel with your long-awaited preorders.
Click to expand...
 
G

galvatron

Member
JasonMCG said:
Reading Console Wars and I'm really curious about whether or not those who have a soft spot for Sega versus Nintendo is due to being exposed to one over the other first.

Growing up with an NES, Sega always seemed like the outcast brother, so my soft spot is limited to playing Sonic with my friends/cousin. My first legit exposure to Sega was with the Dreamcast–amazing system.
Click to expand...

Not so much...had NES, GB, and SNES growing up. Got a SMS on clearance and only had about 5 games for it...not a great impression of Sega from those few games.
My SNES library was about 95% highly reviewed games and I had something like 50 games, some of which are going for stupid collector prices.

Got a genesis (nomad) when I got out of college and caught up on the highly reviewed stuff that I was missing as a kid. When I go 16-bit now, I pretty much stick with Genesis or Neo Geo. I like my action games faster paced and with more enemies on screen so those systems tend to be what I end up playing.. Though I'd say I have a "soft spot" for any company that made a good game during that era.

#NotAllRetroGamers
 
B

BTails

Member
Please help Retro-GAF! My lovely looking copy of Shining Force isn't working. I'd normally just return it to the store I bought it from, but the store is a province away, so that's out of the question.

When I opened it up to clean it (White vinyl eraser followed by an isopropyl alcohol swab), I noticed that the battery had been replaced. I think they screwed up when replacing it though, as I've never seen a Genesis cart with a battery soldered like this. Pics below:

kohc6CD.jpg


dAU1RAm.jpg


As you can see, they soldered the contacts diagonally, instead of on the sides. I've never seen that in another Genesis game before. The yellow battery is a dead give away that it's new. If I unsolder the battery and re-solder it in the correct spot, should it work?

Any guidance would be much appreciated!
 
B

BTails

Member
Mzo said:
Shouldn't that only effect the ability for the game to save?
Click to expand...

No idea... But for curiosity's sake, I opened up my copies of Shining in the Darkness and Phantasy Star 3, the only other battery backed Genesis carts I have, and they're both soldered horizontally, not diagonally like my Shining Force.
 
K

Khaz

Member
BTails said:
No idea... But for curiosity's sake, I opened up my copies of Shining in the Darkness and Phantasy Star 3, the only other battery backed Genesis carts I have, and they're both soldered horizontally, not diagonally like my Shining Force.
Click to expand...

If you follow the traces you would see that it doesn't matter. Both outer solder points are connected together, same for the inner solder points.

What makes you say it has been replaced?
 
B

BTails

Member
Khaz said:
If you follow the traces you would see that it doesn't matter. Both outer solder points are connected together, same for the inner solder points.

What makes you say it has been replaced?
Click to expand...

Every battery I've seen in NES, SNES, and Genesis carts have full metal tabs, not a coloured outline. Likewise, almost every replacement battery in an old cartridge I've seen has a yellow casing.
 
wondermega

wondermega

Member
JasonMCG said:
Reading Console Wars and I'm really curious about whether or not those who have a soft spot for Sega versus Nintendo is due to being exposed to one over the other first.

Growing up with an NES, Sega always seemed like the outcast brother, so my soft spot is limited to playing Sonic with my friends/cousin. My first legit exposure to Sega was with the Dreamcast–amazing system.
Click to expand...

NES blew my mind when it came out, and the novelty wouldn't wear off for years - Nintendo was so good about keeping their console modern for a long time. SMS felt technically superior , at least visually, but between their marketing campaigns and the "who cares" games themselves, it felt like nothing on offer was particularly interesting. Also Nintendo had ALL the licensees whereas Sega pretty much had to make everything themselves. It seemed pretty flavorless.

Then in 1989 (?) I picked up that 1st issue of EGM. Learned all about the coming Genesis and Turbografx. These games looked AWESOME. NES was still boss but now it felt like actual arcade games in your own home. ghouls n Ghosts was all the hype and I needed to be a part of it. The Genesis console and controllers looked seriously futuristic and mysterious whereas Nintendo was a VCR boxy looking thing and SMS was a dumb pyramid with a pause button on the console itself and a built in snail game (for real?)

I wasn't gonna shelve my Nintendo, but suddenly now I NEEDED TO HAVE GENESIS.
 
M

MikeMyers

Member
Hey there, I'm a big Sega Genesis/Megadrive fan, and have finally got around to posting here. Just started replaying Comix Zone again, and jeez, this game is still hard. Hopefully I'll finally be able to beat it all these years later in 2015.
 
B

BTails

Member
baphomet said:
That's an original battery from the looks of it.
Click to expand...

Really? I've never seen what that had a coloured covering in a game before, only straight silver. That being said, I trust your opinion Bapho, as you certainly have way more experience in this field that I.

Regardless, I called the game store, and they told me to ship the game back, and they'll either find me a replacement cart, or refund me. So I'm going to ship the game back on Friday.

Hopefully they find a replacement, I really want to get my SF on! I've never played it.
 
P

pmj

Member
I'm trying to get ready to 60hz mod my PAL Mega Drive and I thought I'd ask if there was a preferred method or guide before I did something with my hardware that can't easily be reversed.

How about a simple 50/60hz switch (with no simultaneous region switching) and something like a Mega Key to play imports, would that be what I want?
 
P

Peagles

Member
pmj said:
I'm trying to get ready to 60hz mod my PAL Mega Drive and I thought I'd ask if there was a preferred method or guide before I did something with my hardware that can't easily be reversed.

How about a simple 50/60hz switch (with no simultaneous region switching) and something like a Mega Key to play imports, would that be what I want?
Click to expand...

I just did a single switch mod on mine using this info - http://mdpal60.net/wiki/megadrive/regionmod/start

I find it pretty awesome. Is there a reason you don't want to switch them both together?
 
baphomet

baphomet

Member
BTails said:
Really? I've never seen what that had a coloured covering in a game before, only straight silver. That being said, I trust your opinion Bapho, as you certainly have way more experience in this field that I.

Regardless, I called the game store, and they told me to ship the game back, and they'll either find me a replacement cart, or refund me. So I'm going to ship the game back on Friday.

Hopefully they find a replacement, I really want to get my SF on! I've never played it.
Click to expand...

The reason is that the battery looks machine soldered and not hand, also the horizontal holes don't seem to have ever been used. I have seen batteries with covers in games before as well.

That being said the battery wouldn't cause it not to work. Its got to be some other problem causing that.

Hopefully you get it worked out with them though!
 
P

pmj

Member
Peagles said:
I just did a single switch mod on mine using this info - http://mdpal60.net/wiki/megadrive/regionmod/start

I find it pretty awesome. Is there a reason you don't want to switch them both together?
Click to expand...

That's what has me a bit confused.

If I understand it correctly, doing this mod would make games play at the speed appropriate for their region. That is, US and Japanese games would play at 60hz, but European games would play at 50hz. And this isn't what I want. I'm in Europe, I have a PAL Mega drive, and I want to play my PAL games at 60. I also need to be able to switch between 50 and 60 since not all games support 60.

The more I was thinking about this mod the less sense it made for anyone, really, not just Eurpeans. Why would a Genesis owner want to play that one PAL game he has at 50 if it supports 60? But that sounds so dumb that I started thinking that I have to misunderstand how this mod functions.
 
K

Khaz

Member
Nah it doesn't work like that. The mod acts on two pins: the language pin and the frequency pin. Having them set on a single switch instead of two is just for convenience. For non-region protected games, switching from Europe, US, Japan (as a three-way switch would be labelled) just switches the console to English/50Hz, English/60Hz, and Japanese/60Hz respectively. The region label is just for the user convenience.

Region protected games check the status of these two pins. Having two switches or a single one won't change anything: if it detects 60Hz, your PAL protected game will refuse to start, as it will consider it's not on a PAL console.

Most games are not region protected, and it's why it makes sense to do this mod: you put your PAL game in, flick the switch to 60Hz (or US) and there, you have your PAL game at full speed. Many other only check the pins at boot, meaning if you can flick switches at the right time, you can bypass it. And finally, for the few games that glitch at 60Hz, you will need to import the cartridge from another continent. But then for this case having the switch is also essential, as you wouldn't be able to play them otherwise.
 
P

pmj

Member
Yeah, it was region thing that was tripping me up. I think I got it now. I still think I need to use an adapter for my Japanese games though, as I don't want to cut into the console's plastic. I suppose I'll leave the switch dangling on the outside as well.

All right, time to find the parts to do this thing.
 
K

Khaz

Member
Cutting through plastic is a pain in the arse, but once it's done it's just so practical. You could just drill a hole and add a toggle switch, but I find them ugly. I added an SPDT rocker switch like this one on the back of the console:




Cutting square angles is a pain but it doesn't have to be as neat as with a slide switch, the edges being covered by the outer "ring".
 
P

pmj

Member
I was just looking at ones just like it, actually, for just the reason that the border would hide an ugly incision. If you use one of those, can you confirm that you can slide it into an appropriately sized hole and have those flaps on the side lock into place?

Or would I need to glue it on the inside?
 
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