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

M

Mzo

Member
If anybody was interested in hearing my podcast about Sonic 2/Sonic CD that I mentioned earlier it's here. Also on iTunes under Wonder Dudes in Gamesoft World.

Pretty happy with the way this one turned out, some small guest audio problems aside. I feel like we're hitting a point where I'm not embarrassed to mention it outside my circle of friends, lol.
 
B

blast processed

Member
17 years ago today, Sega Channel was shutdown. :(
Sega Channel had over 50 games available at a time and 220 games appearing over 3 1/2 years of service. Monthly fee was $14.99 with an activation fee of $25.00

I know the only place in the US to play Golden Axe 3 & Mega Man: The Willy Wars was on the SC & I'm almost positive Alien Solider was on there but I'm not 100% sure.

I knew of the Sega Channel back way back but I had moved on to the PC at that point. it's still amazing what Sega had done at that time in the 90's.

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E

ElTopo

Banned
Sega Channel came in very late on the Genesis' life cycle. I think it came about in 95, right when most of us wanted the 32 Bit consoles. Had they found a way to get this for the Saturn it may have been more successful.
 
A Black Falcon

A Black Falcon

Member
ElTopo said:
Sega Channel came in very late on the Genesis' life cycle. I think it came about in 95, right when most of us wanted the 32 Bit consoles. Had they found a way to get this for the Saturn it may have been more successful.
Click to expand...

That would have been great, but I imagine the large size of CD games made it not work -- I mean, the Sega Channel just downloaded games into RAM. Genesis games are small so it took only seconds over the network's broadband connection (remember, it was through a cable line! Broadband, in 1995, was a quite new thing. I've read before about how Seganet may have helped push improvements to cable that helped spread broadband, or something...). But a 500-700MB CD game? That would take a lot longer, and you'd need a hard drive or something to store the data on. It'd be much more expensive, and there could be other issues as well (piracy of the downloaded games?). So, the Saturn's online service didn't have game downloading, only online play and web browsing.

Mzo said:
Yep, Alien Soldier and Pulseman.

Digital only fucking us over in the past.
Click to expand...

I've heard rumors of other Sega Channel-exclusive games as well, such as some never-released Garfield game, different from the one we did get on cart for Genesis, if I'm remembering right.

Yup: http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?22556-SEGA-CHANNEL-Exclusive-Games (The first category are import games released in the US only on Sega Channel, and the seconda re unreleased titles apparently published on Sega Channel but nowhere else, making them now effectively nonexistent.)
 
E

ElTopo

Banned
A Black Falcon said:
That would have been great, but I imagine the large size of CD games made it not work -- I mean, the Sega Channel just downloaded games into RAM. Genesis games are small so it took only seconds over the network's broadband connection (remember, it was through a cable line! Broadband, in 1995, was a quite new thing. I've read before about how Seganet may have helped push improvements to cable that helped spread broadband, or something...). But a 500-700MB CD game? That would take a lot longer, and you'd need a hard drive or something to store the data on. It'd be much more expensive, and there could be other issues as well (piracy of the downloaded games?). So, the Saturn's online service didn't have game downloading, only online play and web browsing.
Click to expand...

They (possibly) could have done online multiplayer games.But knowing how the Saturn was programmed may have made this impossible. By the time they actually did this with the Dreamcast the damage had been done to the Sega brand and enough publishers had been burned.
 
A Black Falcon

A Black Falcon

Member
ElTopo said:
They (possibly) could have done online multiplayer games.But knowing how the Saturn was programmed may have made this impossible. By the time they actually did this with the Dreamcast the damage had been done to the Sega brand and enough publishers had been burned.
Click to expand...

What? The Saturn has online games with the Saturn Netlink modem. In the US compatible games use direct-dial instead of a web hookup, but in Japan they went through central servers, so unlike the US games they can't be played via netlink anymore.
 
Hector Garfria

Hector Garfria

Member
I'm having a weird transition right now with my Genesis collecting. Now I'm buying an CIB game that are uncommon like Slime World and Shadow Blasters even though they are actually pretty bland games not worth owning. I seriously spent 5 minutes debating whether or not to buy Heavy Nova CIB at a garage sale before thankfully turning it down.

I did have a great find recently though, Dashin Desperadoes!
 
T

theSlacker

Member
Hector Garfria said:
I'm having a weird transition right now with my Genesis collecting. Now I'm buying an CIB game that are uncommon like Slime World and Shadow Blasters even though they are actually pretty bland games not worth owning. I seriously spent 5 minutes debating whether or not to buy Heavy Nova CIB at a garage sale before thankfully turning it down.

I did have a great find recently though, Dashin Desperadoes!
Click to expand...

Glad I don't have that problem. I've only ever bought and collected games that I want and find enjoyable.
 
Hector Garfria

Hector Garfria

Member
But when there's games you have never heard of don't you feel a desire to at least try it out for yourself? I don't personally care to look up some youtube e-celeb's review. I've enjoyed a lot of sleeper games this way like Ariel the Little Mermaid and Quackshot. Games no one talks about but are definitely worth playing.

For me it's a bit of a bitch move to halt the buying process to look up reviews/value of a game. Especially if the seller doesn't care all that much but is prompted to then get on their phone since I am on mine which could lead to them possibly marking up their price. Slime World and Shadow Blasters ran me about 15 bucks total anyway.
 
M

Mzo

Member
Of course, discovering old gems is part of the fun! I love to see and hear about interesting games from other people or by going through developers' histories. That's different from a blind buy (which could also lead to an undiscovered gem once in a while!)

If a game is bad, though, it's got to go.
 
B

blast processed

Member
I use YouTube as a quick reference, if there's a game I have never heard of or forgot about. If the e-celeb is irritating, I just mute it. It usually doesn't take me long to figure out if I want to jump on a game. I don't have time, or want to listen to someone scream and bitch about a game for a half an hour. Or you could just ask here. I doubt there is a game that people haven't heard of. Know body here has an agenda. At least, I dont think so.
 
U

ultimos

Neo Member
Hector Garfria said:
But when there's games you have never heard of don't you feel a desire to at least try it out for yourself? I don't personally care to look up some youtube e-celeb's review. I've enjoyed a lot of sleeper games this way like Ariel the Little Mermaid and Quackshot. Games no one talks about but are definitely worth playing.

For me it's a bit of a bitch move to halt the buying process to look up reviews/value of a game. Especially if the seller doesn't care all that much but is prompted to then get on their phone since I am on mine which could lead to them possibly marking up their price. Slime World and Shadow Blasters ran me about 15 bucks total anyway.
Click to expand...

Another way to avoid the YouTube celebrity stuff is to use the word "longplay" in your search. They're tool assisted runs of the entire games, and there's lots of them out there. The point is to more or less show the whole game, and the tool assisted part is just to avoid wasting time with deaths. I'll pull up one of these for a game I'm considering buying and just skip around to get a feel for the game.

Then again I buy old games blindly as well too sometimes so who knows.
 
T

Timu

Member
SevenDevils said:
I don't have time, or want to listen to someone scream and bitch about a game for a half an hour.
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I will try not to scream when I do the Double Dragon 3 Genesis review, but I will definitely complain because the game is unplayable!!!

ultimos said:
Another way to avoid the YouTube celebrity stuff is to use the word "longplay" in your search. They're tool assisted runs of the entire games, and there's lots of them out there. The point is to more or less show the whole game, and the tool assisted part is just to avoid wasting time with deaths. I'll pull up one of these for a game I'm considering buying and just skip around to get a feel for the game.
Click to expand...
World of Longplays is what you are thinking of, and yeah they are confirmed to be tool assisted by the youtuber World of Longplays himself.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
Been trying to beat SoR2 without continues. Man, I really suck now lol.

I could as a kid. The claw boss has a wacky hotbox.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
I've never used the six button pad actually.

I stuck with the SNES for my fighters and most other Genesis games supported the 3 button pad fine.

Also, being a kid, I didn't have much disposable income so I wasn't gonna use money on extra controllers when my original 3 button pair worked fine.
 
A Black Falcon

A Black Falcon

Member
woodypop said:
In light of the superior 6-button pads, is there any reason to keep original 3-button pads around anymore?
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For if you want to play Forgotten Worlds with a controller extension cable, because that game won't work with the 3-button controller and an extension cable even IF you try holding down Mode. But also, the 6-button controller is a lot better and more comfortable, but it's pretty cool to also have at least one of the classic style...
 
T

Timu

Member
Khaz said:
With the default 3 lives per continue?
I can't either, on normal. I'm up to the ultimate elevator with all the bosses and I have to spend one continue here.
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It was on 5 since that's the max without cheat codes, but since I found out where all the hidden extra lives are on my Mania run I should be able to do it on default.
 
G

Gunstarheroes

Member
Hector Garfria said:
I'm having a weird transition right now with my Genesis collecting. Now I'm buying an CIB game that are uncommon like Slime World and Shadow Blasters even though they are actually pretty bland games not worth owning. I seriously spent 5 minutes debating whether or not to buy Heavy Nova CIB at a garage sale before thankfully turning it down.

I did have a great find recently though, Dashin Desperadoes!
Click to expand...

I'm surprised more people don't mention this game. Single-player is meh, but 2-player is awesome!
 
S

stewy

Member
I need to get my hands on a first-run Brazilian Mega Drive for the upcoming episode of Generation 16. Can anyone in here help?

Thanks!
 
G

gelf

Member
MikeMyers said:
Just beat Golden Axe II.

That Boss theme OST. So good.
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GA2 has a great soundtrack in general, better then the first game I feel.

I get the sense that Golden Axe 2 is under appreciated. I mean sure its practically a level pack for the first game as it plays the same, but its a good level pack. I know its not the real GA2 but its at least as fun as the original.

GA3 is trash though.
 
M

Mzo

Member
I think you owe it to yourself to play Revenge of Death Adder. It's fantastic. You also get to see Gilius Thunderhead's ultimate destiny.
 
E

ElTopo

Banned
I don't really like Revenge of Death Adder too much. Aesthetically it's great, with a lot of pseudo 3D shit and effects. But as a beat 'em up (especially a beat 'em up that's a sequel to the legendary Golden Axe, a milestone for the genre that's up there with Final Fight and Double Dragon) it's pretty lacking. Enemy A.I. is atrocious and it's pretty easy to cheese the game. So to balance that out the developers made the damage extremely high and gave the A.I. the ability to just randomly attack you during a hit string. You could have full health and die in 2 hits from a non-boss enemy type.

It's an okay game but Golden Axe 2 on the Genesis is the better sequel.
 
K

Krelian

Member
lazygecko said:
I think the slowdown was also caused by the game being coded in C instead of assembly.
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This is interesting. Can you provide more information about this game (or maybe other games) being programmed in C? I can't find much information and I always thought Genesis games were usually programmed in Assembly.
 
B

Beartruck

Member
Just got a copy of Castlevania Bloodlines off ebay. It arrived today and I thought I was sent a bootleg. The condition was TOO good, the label was matte and poor quality, and the case felt fragile and had weird screws. Opened it up, and it turned out it was a Majesco rerelease! I'm a little surprised that was a thing, but at least it's not a fake!
 
Sapiens

Sapiens

Member
Krelian said:
This is interesting. Can you provide more information about this game (or maybe other games) being programmed in C? I can't find much information and I always thought Genesis games were usually programmed in Assembly.
Click to expand...

I too would like any additional detail you can dig up on this.
 
G

Gunstarheroes

Member
Beartruck said:
Just got a copy of Castlevania Bloodlines off ebay. It arrived today and I thought I was sent a bootleg. The condition was TOO good, the label was matte and poor quality, and the case felt fragile and had weird screws. Opened it up, and it turned out it was a Majesco rerelease! I'm a little surprised that was a thing, but at least it's not a fake!
Click to expand...

Yeah, Majesco stuff was done on the cheap, but thats actually a pretty hard Majesco re-release to track down, so congrats!
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
ElTopo said:
I don't really like Revenge of Death Adder too much. Aesthetically it's great, with a lot of pseudo 3D shit and effects. But as a beat 'em up (especially a beat 'em up that's a sequel to the legendary Golden Axe, a milestone for the genre that's up there with Final Fight and Double Dragon) it's pretty lacking. Enemy A.I. is atrocious and it's pretty easy to cheese the game. So to balance that out the developers made the damage extremely high and gave the A.I. the ability to just randomly attack you during a hit string. You could have full health and die in 2 hits from a non-boss enemy type.

It's an okay game but Golden Axe 2 on the Genesis is the better sequel.
Click to expand...

Man, it's rare to find someone who also thinks GA Revenge of Death Adder is overrated mediocrity. Totally agree. I played it through about a five or six times at an arcade nearby in the mid-'90s. Looks great, reminding me of the style used in many post-GA arcade Sega BEUs, like Arabian Fight, D.D. Crew, or Spider-Man Arcade and it tends to play just as blandly for a sequel to such a classic, like how Final Fight 2 or 3 compared to the near-perfection of the original.
 
E

ElTopo

Banned
MightyHedgehog said:
Man, it's rare to find someone who also thinks GA Revenge of Death Adder is overrated mediocrity. Totally agree. I played it through about a five or six times at an arcade nearby in the mid-'90s. Looks great, reminding me of the style used in many post-GA arcade Sega BEUs, like Arabian Fight, D.D. Crew, or Spider-Man Arcade and it tends to play just as blandly for a sequel to such a classic, like how Final Fight 2 or 3 compared to the near-perfection of the original.
Click to expand...

Even the diehard's don't really like Final Fight 2 and 3. They have some appreciation for the new characters that were introduced like Maki and Dean. But the general consensus is that the Final Fight SNES sequels are both skippable but 3 is a little fun for introducing special moves and supers.
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
Gunstarheroes said:
Yeah, Majesco stuff was done on the cheap, but thats actually a pretty hard Majesco re-release to track down, so congrats!
Click to expand...

I have to look at my bloodlines cuz it was pieced together years ago, but the majesco manual would've had a monochrome cover, right? I believe mine has full color cover.
 
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