theSlacker
Member
I love how they just so happen to show off 3 really expensive segacd games when showing off the segacd. Pls gib Popful Mail, Snatcher, and Keio Flying Squadron. :c
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Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Appreciation Thread: Alien Storm > Golden Axe
- Thread starter IrishNinja
- Start date
I love how they just so happen to show off 3 really expensive segacd games when showing off the segacd. Pls gib Popful Mail, Snatcher, and Keio Flying Squadron. :c
Posted this in the scanline thread as well. Some juicy screenshots I took of Alien Soldier on actual hardware SCART through a component converter box on a Sony WEGA KV-20FS120. Also, anyone know of a good way to take pictures of CRT images well, I have to adjust the camera because it freaks out and flickers with a few black bars at times.
dreamcastmaster
Banned
32x improved the RGB output of my gen 1 Megadrive.
D.Lo
Member
I think it's just the comparison between crappy composite and nicely amped RGB, and the bold arcade style colours of the best MD games really pop.
The only real consoles that support RGB but output 'bad' RGB are the Mark III (dim), model 1 SNES (soft) and some Neo Geos (soft). Master System, Dreamcast, PS1, GameCube, Wii etc all output perfect, strong RGB too.
That's weird, I've never heard of that. It must mean some MD1 consoles have worse RGB?
entremet
Member
It's crazy sharp. Crazy how poor the composite out is for it.
It's like the reverse of the SNES. Pretty good composite out, but lacking in the RGB.
D.Lo
Member
Only the original model with separate sound chip. Later versions are bright and sharp.
It's the opposite of the Mega Drive sound situation basically, model-wise.
Also the SNES higher colour palette meant many games don't 'pop' as much since some games used more muted colours. The Mega Drive's limited palate is kind of like having the contrast and saturation turned up, and when used well just has a great 'arcade like' look.
EDIT: Actually the MD's higher resolution helps too!
sixteen-bit
Member
I hit up the flea market today on a whim after not going for 8 months or so. Glad I did. I got Spider-Man, NHL '94, Eternal Champions, and SPLATTERHOUSE 3 for a total of $10. I've never played any of them before, so I'm thrilled.
That's epic!!!
entremet
Member
Crazy price for Splatterhouse.
blast processed
Member
WOW! Great deal on Splatterhouse. That game is preclous, take care of it. Also, it's a requirement in these threads that you upload photos from flea market finds.
Seconded.
maxxfarras still working on his SSF2 background graphics hack.
Here's the original Genesis background for Blanka's stage:
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And here is the revised version made from the original arcade assets:
The color gradient is way better in the revision. It really expresses detail much better. I ain't even a SF fan, but there's a whole lot of games that could use this kind of treatment.
MightyHedgehog
Member
Nice. At some point, I'm going to have to get myself an Everdrive for these sorts of community improvements. Would have been nice to have seen Alpha or Alpha 2 get a shot on Sega's 16-bit...probably would have been better than the SNES version even despite the lower color video.maxxfarras still working on his SSF2 background graphics hack.
Here's the original Genesis background for Blanka's stage:
And here is the revised version made from the original arcade assets:
sixteen-bit
Member
maxxfarras still working on his SSF2 background graphics hack.
Here's the original Genesis background for Blanka's stage:
And here is the revised version made from the original arcade assets:
I just got Eternal Champions and that seems like the kind of game that would really benefit from a palette mod. Lots of weird clashing tertiary colors like turquoise and fuscia all over remind me of game boy color, lol.
Seeing as Eternal Champions is heavily reliant on dithering it would probably be way harder to work with since all the colors would be way more interdependent on eachother.
I think Eternal Champions is still the best looking 16-bit console fighter though. It owes a lot to being natively developed for the hardware instead of being downscaled from superior arcade assets. It uses the full 320x224 resolution, the backgrounds are detailed, the sprites are very big and also well animated.
Speaking of which, here is what the game looks like with the anti-dithering in Retroarch:
zero shift
Banned
So I'm playing Rolling Thunder 3 and I personally think this game is great. I don't get why people say this is the worst in the series. Sure its easier (a little too easy), but to be fair the 2nd entry was a bit too difficult, so I see them as canceling each other out in a way in that aspect. The 3rd game has more weapon variety, more enemy variety, unique locations, and an actual story(!).
The music blows the majority of everything away too.
On that note, just beat Jewel Master. Pretty good Castlevania-ish game. Great soundtrack, bosses could've have been a little more inventive in their patterns, and a way to actually earn extra continues, but all in all a fair challenging game. Grab it if you're a fan of challenging action platformers with soundtracks that show the Genesis strengths.
Seriously, Motoaki Takenouchi should have had more work back then.
Stage 1
Stage 3
King Turtle
EDIT: Heh looks like he did Shining Force II and CD as well.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
What the...? Music by Motoaki Takenouchi too? How did I never hear about this?? *investigates furiously*
sixteen-bit
Member
Whoa, this bangs.
RoryDropkick
Member
The music blows the majority of everything away too.
On that note, just beat Jewel Master. Pretty good Castlevania-ish game. Great soundtrack, bosses could've have been a little more inventive in their patterns, and a way to actually earn extra continues, but all in all a fair challenging game. Grab it if you're a fan of challenging action platformers with soundtracks that show the Genesis strengths.
Seriously, Motoaki Takenouchi should have had more work back then.
Stage 1
Stage 3
King Turtle
EDIT: Heh looks like he did Shining Force II and CD as well.
Huh! I own this too, I never gave it a second look... It's been a game room day too. Time to pop it in tonight after dinner.
Just a heads up. I know learning patterns are key to old school bosses, but some of the later fights will feel like endurance challenges.
Yeah someone posted about stage 1's music long ago, and it made me track down the game.
Dunno what my next Genesis game should be, or if I should tackle a Sega CD game like Final Fight CD. Need to show N64 some love at some point lol, Jet force gemini has been sitting for a minute.
RoryDropkick
Member
Tackle Final Fight. I had been planning on doing that since I haven't given the Mega CD a proper workout. I sadly have only gotten 2 games for it since I bought it a few months ago, Final Fight and Popful Mail :/ I really wish there was an easy way to play US games on a JP system without having to do nonsense like burn them with a different region or do a complicated BIOS wiring.
Yeah I mainly thought 3 was just too easy, every other aspect seemed like a step in the right direction, besides maybe being able to shoot upwards. 2's difficulty level is welcome imo, it didn't feel unfair.
The JP boxart on those Jewel Summoner tracks is pretty wicked, the US one is pretty lame. I think that game is OK overall, not a total walk in the park either.
A Black Falcon
Member
The first Rolling Thunder is the best, sure it's completely unfair (the jumping puzzles, the enemies right where you need to drop down, etc.) and ridiculously hard but it's a great, great game and I love it! The NES version is really fantastic too, as well as the arcade original. The second game is also great, but is less unfair and I don't like the level designs quite as much. The third game though, adding things like the diagonal shot and all those weapon powerups makes it too easy, and the level designs are even blander than the second game, most stages are just a straight corridor with maybe two platform levels. Rolling Thunder 3 is still a good game, but it's not quite as good as the previous ones in either level design or gameplay.
I've done reviews of both the first one for NES and the third one for Genesis: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1023667 http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=523716 and I should do a Rolling Thunder 2 review sometime too. Love that series.
The unfair one is the first game. The second one removes almost all of the most unfair elements of the first game, save only one, which it expands on (in the Genesis version of 2 particularly): hard boss fights. The original Rolling Thunder has only one boss in it, the final boss, but the second game on Genesis has more, and they're pretty tough. I actually haven't beaten 2 yet, because the final boss is quite frustrating... and after a while of trying, I decided that I'd rather play Rolling Thunder 1 instead. The result was my review there, some time later. I don't know, 2 is a lot easier than 1 for sure, I just like playing the first game a bit more.
The 1st 2 songs are good but that last one is awesome!!!
Yeah sounds like something you'd expect from Elemental Master. I kinda wish retrostyle devs today would go for music styles similar to that.
zero shift
Banned
Well I mean, it isn't like the second game's levels weren't mostly straight corridors. The third one also mixes things up a bit more by having straight corridor levels (first level), motorcycle & jet ski stages, vertical levels (Dread's building), and a "no place to hide" level (Easter Island). I haven't gotten past Easter Island so far though. I also enjoy that you can now shoot up as it provides a bit more flexibility and that the game's enemy placement was actually designed around it so it doesn't feel cheap on the player's end.
But anyway to each his own, also great threads.
A Black Falcon
Member
Sure, most levels in all three games are straight corridors, but only the third game has lots of areas with only one platform level you can be on -- in the first two games you usually have both a higher and lower platform, but not so much in game three. There are still some, certainly, but not enough. Jumping puzzles are pretty much entirely gone, too. Sure, the second games' level with jumping puzzles is only a tiny fraction as hard as the ones in the first game, but at least it still had them. Game three... nope.
The isometric motorcycle and jetski levels are neat distractions, but they aren't really serious levels. The airplane level is different and really tough though, learn to use that knife... that level was interesting, the game needed more things that presented a challenge like that did, and less easy stuff. Yeah, it was all on one plane, exactly what I just complained about, but as a short special stage it works. I wouldn't want the whole game to be like that, but it is a nice special stage.
The problem with shooting up is that it makes the game too easy, particularly when combined with the new special weapons. Also, it's a weak replacement for the second games' co-op multiplayer! Why is Rolling Thunder 3 one player only, after game 2 on the same system had two player co-op?
I mean, Rolling Thunder 3 is a good game and I definitely like it, but it is the weakest one. I can see how people intimidated by the difficulty of the first game and the bosses in the second game would prefer it though.
zero shift
Banned
I wouldn't say "intimidated" by the second game as I have gotten pretty far in it. I'd say that the third one is more fair. The coop complaint is a good one, but I don't usually do coop for these types of games.
Never had a Mega Drive as a kid and only played Sonic and Fifa back then at a friends house.
Pretty happy I picked these 10 complete games up for 50 today - the local seller still had like 15 games left, which i might pick up in a month or two. (Didn't notice i took World of Illusion twice...)
Now im trying to find a nice boxed system.
Pretty happy I picked these 10 complete games up for 50 today - the local seller still had like 15 games left, which i might pick up in a month or two. (Didn't notice i took World of Illusion twice...)
Now im trying to find a nice boxed system.
blast processed
Member
The design of those Mega Drive Classic boxes look like utter puke, piss, shit brown! Sega's had a lot of case designs, but this is the worst. I even prefer the bland Master System case to this.
It's a brown paper bag special, notice the artwork behind busting through.
I don't understand why all greatest hits type releases have to look so terrible in every platform ever. The awful designs can't really do much to move copies, can they?
Congrats on the games, BTW, lots of favorites among that set!
I don't understand why all greatest hits type releases have to look so terrible in every platform ever. The awful designs can't really do much to move copies, can they?
Congrats on the games, BTW, lots of favorites among that set!
sixteen-bit
Member
I thought Chiki Chiki Boys was another one, but apparently the port was done by Visco Games and not Sega.
D.Lo
Member
it's a deliberate strategy to make the more expensive newer games look 'premium'. It also makes the 'budget' part of the shelf stand out for the price-conscious consumer, they just need to look for the bright colour for cheap games etc.
PS1 USA fluro green is the worst one ever really.
Oh shit! Mercs with that original mode is pretty great!
A Black Falcon
Member
I really wish that Genesis MERCS had two player co-op, though, that's a really great feature in that genre and games always suffer its absence... otherwise it's a very good game though. The original mode is great, but it's a bit overly difficult -- you get no lives or continues at all, just one chance for the whole thing!