-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Appreciation Thread: Alien Storm > Golden Axe
- Thread starter IrishNinja
- Start date
SpaceDrake
Member
So, I'm curious: is the JVC Wondermega 2/X'Eye known to have issues with its cartridge port, specifically? I actually picked up what seems to be an otherwise near-mint condition X'Eye as part of my "Christmas present to myself" (mostly because I finally found truly mint copies of Popful Mail and Lunar Eternal Blue and I wasn't about to pass on that shit), and I picked up some exclusive cart games to go with Mail & Hiro & co.
The thing is, with just the X'Eye I can't tell if it's the carts or the system. The CD-ROM works absolutely fine, no issues or skipping or anything. And my carts of Phantasy Star IV, Sonic 1, Barkley, and Star Control all seem to work just fine, but my Sonic 3, Altered Beast, Golden Axe and Castle of Illusion carts are all having issues.
It seems to be a read issue - sometimes the X'Eye will simply boot to its neutral "searching for a disc, please insert a disc" screen, even with one of the problem carts seemingly solidly inserted. Other times, the system simply hangs at a black screen on power-up (but works just fine when powered down, the offending cart is removed, and the system is powered back to the neutral screen). I also got Altered Beast to "work", but the game was full of glitches - enemy spawns weren't right, I had infinite lives but "died" in one hit and an overflowing score, and the game was basically not correctly playable. Which half makes me think there's some weird anti-piracy thing being triggered, but that still doesn't seem right because the Gen2 piracy verifier is loading/operating correctly.
I've actually gotten Sonic 3, Altered Beast and Castle of Illusion to eventually work, but they need to be inserted very carefully and deliberately... when PS4, Sonic 1 etc. don't need this.
I'm going to ask my (very excellent) retro game store to take a look at the carts, at least, tomorrow or Saturday, but I was wondering if the X'Eye had any known cart problems that I should have them look at as well.
I'm still really pleased with the X'Eye, though, otherwise. I was a solid Nintendo partisan growing up, so it's rather cool to finally have a good Sega combo device so I can play the games I was interested in on native hardware. And like I said, the CD portion of the system works fantastically.
The thing is, with just the X'Eye I can't tell if it's the carts or the system. The CD-ROM works absolutely fine, no issues or skipping or anything. And my carts of Phantasy Star IV, Sonic 1, Barkley, and Star Control all seem to work just fine, but my Sonic 3, Altered Beast, Golden Axe and Castle of Illusion carts are all having issues.
It seems to be a read issue - sometimes the X'Eye will simply boot to its neutral "searching for a disc, please insert a disc" screen, even with one of the problem carts seemingly solidly inserted. Other times, the system simply hangs at a black screen on power-up (but works just fine when powered down, the offending cart is removed, and the system is powered back to the neutral screen). I also got Altered Beast to "work", but the game was full of glitches - enemy spawns weren't right, I had infinite lives but "died" in one hit and an overflowing score, and the game was basically not correctly playable. Which half makes me think there's some weird anti-piracy thing being triggered, but that still doesn't seem right because the Gen2 piracy verifier is loading/operating correctly.
I've actually gotten Sonic 3, Altered Beast and Castle of Illusion to eventually work, but they need to be inserted very carefully and deliberately... when PS4, Sonic 1 etc. don't need this.
I'm going to ask my (very excellent) retro game store to take a look at the carts, at least, tomorrow or Saturday, but I was wondering if the X'Eye had any known cart problems that I should have them look at as well.
I'm still really pleased with the X'Eye, though, otherwise. I was a solid Nintendo partisan growing up, so it's rather cool to finally have a good Sega combo device so I can play the games I was interested in on native hardware. And like I said, the CD portion of the system works fantastically.
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".
yep, this is what I have on my jp mk1
SpaceDrake
Member
Yep, the carts and the WM itself are both clean - I cleaned the WM itself, though there wasn't much to do since the store itself cleans and tests stuff prior to selling (to the point of them offering free warranties and return policies) and the unit itself was literally kept in a dust-free, locked display case prior to my purchasing it. The carts are also clean, so I don't think it's a grime issue, doubly so since games like Phantasy Star 4 and Star Control work (and by PS4 working, I mean "it goes through a couple hours of gameplay without so much as a sniffle" working - there's no issues there whatsoever and it boots cleanly 100% of the time).
It's possible the carts are simply a bit stripped - the Sonic 3 in particular has obviously seen a ton of use and frankly I probably overpaid a bit for it given its condition. I may try cleaning the unit and carts a bit more, but I really don't think this is a grime issue - everything looks perfectly clean on visual inspection.
BobbyRobby
Member
It does take a few tries for me to get some carts working on my X'EYE.
I never experienced glitches once the game started though.
Well it only takes a little moisture to screw with the connections... All my games are "clean" as well, but every once in a while they still need some alcohol booster treatment. That's just the nature of it. A display case still gets moist air in it. if you get around to cleaning them some more try the card and cloth trick on the WM.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Secret bonus points.
CadetMahoney
Member
If you want to switch between 4 different incompatible options than a Double Pole Double Throw won't work as it only switches between 2 options.
Thats why i used a DP4T switch
sixteen-bit
Member
32X infomercial from 1994 recently uncovered
http://www.video-game-ephemera.com/049.htm
http://www.video-game-ephemera.com/049.htm
baphomet
Member
Wirehead represent!
40 times faster? Damn, gotta get me one of those.
checkeredknight
Member
I cannot believe it!
incredible game. I think that and Ristar marked the peak of the Mega Drive for me.
sixteen-bit
Member
Virtua Racing Deluxe I guess
GuyKazama
Member
Virtua Fighter has a tournament mode and widescreen support.
Shadow Squadron is a pretty impressive (for the time) free roaming space game.
NBA Jam and Primal Rage, and Night Trap (CD) are pretty good ports vs the Genesis versions.
I've enjoyed Star Trek and Metalhead, but I've seen mixed opinions on those.
Piston Hyundai
Member
Get some earplugs. Unless it's been patched recently, Retron Genesis audio emulation is dreadful.
My top 4 would be:
Virtua Racing Deluxe
Knuckles Chaotix
Shadow Squadron OR Star Wars Arcade depending on your enjoyment of the Lucasfilm IP.
Kolibri
In that order.
I also really enjoy its port of NBA JAM T.E. though.
I'm not sure I'd call it "dreadful". It's not accurate by any means, but it is still better than most clone consoles.
Piston Hyundai
Member
Gunstarheroes
Member
Kolibri
Blackthorne if you can snag it cheap
Metal Head
Space Harrier
Afterburner
Cosmic Carnage if you like dumb/bad fighting games.
Edit: Also, just snagged Heart Of The Alien, Wing Commander, and Heimdall for Sega CD for 12 bucks. Gonna be playing some games tonight!
cheststrongwell
my cake, fuck off
Doom is coming to video games!
sixteen-bit
Member
real talk this thing is chock full of hilarious, quotable phrases.
You literally stole that Heart of the Alien from whoever sold it to you for 12 bucks x_X
Sweet Jesus. That's terrible. In my brief time with one, (only go to try Sonic & Knuckles) it didn't seem nearly as bad. I retract my earlier defense.
My ears!!!=O
Damn, that is terrible! Luckily for me, I am no audiophile, and would get over the differences pretty quickly.
I think audiophile is probably too strong a word here.
They're using "Enhance sound" which is why it sounds like ass
My retron 5 is barely distinguishable from my X'Eye when no enhancements are used
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Gunstar Heroes' main control flaw is that there is no way to switch between Free and Fixed shot after you start the game. You have to pick one or the other. Super Heroes corrected this, but I can't remember how off the top of my head.
And a more general answer to "how do you play 2D action games with a 360 controller" is "you don't."
10:05 of that video they go into the menu because Jeff is bothered so much by the music.
Sound Enhancement was set to off, the only option activated was Bass Boost and he turned it off. He was still unhappy with the sound afterwards.
I don't really care either way, just saying.
I want to say I'm shocked the other guy with Jeff couldn't hear the difference in the music from the way it's supposed to sound, but the Genesis is somehow obscure and fringe in the gaming media these days.
edit: oops double post =[
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Chaser combos are usually better on Free. Fire combos are usually better on Fixed. The other two weapons are good in either.
Free Shot makes stage traversal easier but can be a pain against bosses when you don't want to move from one vantage point. Fixed Shot makes aiming at bosses easier but means you'll either have to constantly jump-and-shoot to make progress through stages or just not shoot at all
Free Shot makes stage traversal easier but can be a pain against bosses when you don't want to move from one vantage point. Fixed Shot makes aiming at bosses easier but means you'll either have to constantly jump-and-shoot to make progress through stages or just not shoot at all
I had to enable and disable "Enhance sound" to have it properly disabled when I booted up my Retron 5 the first time. The emulator they're using is prety accurate as far as the genesis goes.
I mostly use my Retron 5 to play my Megadrive games (my favorite system of all time). It doesn't give a perfect sound (nowhere near HDG units) but it's just as good as most model 2 systems.
Third party controller for 360 with a better dpad is the best option.And a more general answer to "how do you play 2D action games with a 360 controller" is "you don't."
Yep, I was surprised when he didn't noticed that.
I've got the 360 pad with a transformable d-pad so its actually very good. I'm playing Super first since its easier to get into than the original, but yeah it's just the game requires you to move, shoot, jump and sometimes even hold a shoulder button for a fixed shooting direction all at the same time.
Shadow Hog
Member
Separate buttons, IIRC. B was Free Shot, R was Fixed Shot, B+R was somewhere inbetween where your angle was fixed but you were free to move around.
So like...is there a comprehensive list of all the fan-made games on the Genny/Sega CD out there? I feel like I keep missing out on this stuff and it's time to start catching up.
Still waiting on my Pier Solar reprint, and I grabbed a couple of the early Sega CD releases. But I didn't get any of the Super Fighter Team releases, and I'm still deciding on It Came From the Desert and Project Y.
Still waiting on my Pier Solar reprint, and I grabbed a couple of the early Sega CD releases. But I didn't get any of the Super Fighter Team releases, and I'm still deciding on It Came From the Desert and Project Y.
Bar81
Member
There's hacks, etc. also like Sonic 3 complete, a fishing game based on sonic, etc. that people have turned into releases.