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[D.Lo]

NES/Famicom Thread: Oh no the prices everything is so expensive I wish I'd bought it all years ago for $1

Master System Thread: Wow look at all these interesting early Sega games, did you know the Master System sold quite well in Europe and Brazil

SNES Thread: Oh no the prices everything is so expensive stupid resellers

Genesis/Mega Drive Thread: It's not fair everybody hates the Genesis they're all biased it doesn't get enough credit

Isn't that really old content? HCG101 has matured over time. Here is the current page for DQ8: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/dragonquest/dragonquest8.htm

Yeah I'm an occasional HG101 writer. Old articles from the more 'bloggy' era have slowly been replaced and re-written to be more professional.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I wouldn't look to Hardcoregaming 101 as an authority on anything. I enjoy reading them from time to time, but a lot of their writers that aren't Kurt Kalata are not very knowledgeable about whole series covered in articles, or make blanket statements about specific games.

Example:

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/dq8.html

I don't find KK an authority either. Sparkster over RKA?

FOH!

 

[Genesis Knight]

Yeah I'm an occasional HG101 writer. Old articles from the more 'bloggy' era have slowly been replaced and re-written to be more professional.

Fellow HG101 writer fistbump. Guess I should have disclosed that when I defend HG101

 

[MikeMyers]

Master System Thread: Wow look at all these interesting early Sega games, did you know the Master System sold quite well in Europe and Brazil

Its true though! As a Brit, reading about how Master System was some sort of niche system they dont know about is like being told they don't know who Michael Jackson is, haha.

 

[Huggers]

Genesis/Mega Drive Thread: It's not fair everybody hates the Genesis they're all biased it doesn't get enough credit

Is this a recurring theme? I've never once seen it before

 

[Shadow Hog]

Is this a recurring theme? I've never once seen it before

Actually, yeah, although it generally only pops up when a non-Community thread talking about the Genesis comes up. There's frequently a lot of drive-by SNES fanboys poo-pooing the console, insistence that no good music has ever come from its FM synth, people who still seem to think Altered Beast is an example of the best the console has to offer... that sort of thing.

 

[IrishNinja]

Agree with you there.

Also, but did anyone play the McDonalds game by Treasure?

Yes, that Treasure.

picked it up years ago in a lot, totally forgot about it & randomly booted one day, not knowing it was treasure...man that game's trippy, but pretty fun!

NES/Famicom Thread: Oh no the prices everything is so expensive I wish I'd bought it all years ago for $1

Master System Thread: Wow look at all these interesting early Sega games, did you know the Master System sold quite well in Europe and Brazil

SNES Thread: Oh no the prices everything is so expensive stupid resellers

Genesis/Mega Drive Thread: It's not fair everybody hates the Genesis they're all biased it doesn't get enough credit

harsh, but fair

Actually, yeah, although it generally only pops up when a non-Community thread talking about the Genesis comes up. There's frequently a lot of drive-by SNES fanboys poo-pooing the console, insistence that no good music has ever come from its FM synth, people who still seem to think Altered Beast is an example of the best the console has to offer... that sort of thing.

yup - again though, feels like it's getting better overall, or maybe it's just that i post late at night and the EU crowd is in full force around then, haha

Spoiler

charlequinn still told me id never convince him it doesnt sound like robot farts though, i should work on that

 

[Timu]

Like his Atari Jaguar video when he went out of his way to play the shit games. You could make any system look bad by playing the worst games on it.

Same with Sega CD(for the most part).

 

[blast processed]

Same with Sega CD(for the most part).

He played one game on the Saturn. The Crow.

 

[Chinner]

who even hates the genesis?

 

[MikeMyers]

who even hates the genesis?

Sega of Japan.

 

[blast processed]

who even hates the genesis?

People that have never put anytime into systems library.

 

[Shadow Hog]

He played one game on the Saturn. The Crow.

Two. He played Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game during the Street Fighter 2010 review. Said it wasn't that bad, too, IIRC.

 

[IrishNinja]

Sega of Japan.

i said goddamn

Two. He played Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game during the Street Fighter 2010 review. Said it wasn't that bad, too, IIRC.

it's really not, watched Mzo try to beat it all night once though...fuck that looked brutal, but he managed it!

 

[blast processed]

There are fighters out there that are worst than Street Fighter the Movie. Like...Brutal & FX Fighter.

 

[IrishNinja]

anyone here ever play Deadly Moves? my boy Nick was so great...OLE

 

[Morfeo]

it's just fantastic - did you play through Wonder Boy in Monster World? it's one of those absolute gems i never see discussed enough too

I have only played it a bit many years ago, played a lot of Dragons Trap and Monster Land on the Master System though. Need to do a Wonderboy-marathon one of these days!

Edit: btw, had a go at trying to beat Monster Land this evening, and yeah, its short which is nice, but seems pretty hard and grindy. Also, all the secrets are cool, just hope there is nothing essensial and easy to miss.

 

[MikeMyers]

Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game

Was actually the best selling SF game on the Saturn in America.

 

[MikeMyers]

Just did another playthrough of Super Hang-On. Still an amazing game today. Might have to do a write-up on here about it one day. Possibility my favourite Mega Drive game.

 

[Danneee]

There are fighters out there that are worst than Street Fighter the Movie. Like...Brutal & FX Fighter.

The console version of SF the Movie is made with the SF Alpha engine iirc and is pretty OK. The arcade version on the other hand is straight up shitty. A lot worse than FX Fighter.

 

[Morfeo]

Just did another playthrough of Super Hang-On. Still an amazing game today. Might have to do a write-up on here about it one day. Possibility my favourite Mega Drive game.

I actually played Hang-On for the Master System a bit yesterday. Its built into my console, so I always do a few rounds of it when I boot up the machine. Pretty decent game.

 

[MikeMyers]

Are all of them built-in with it?

I prefer Super. Decided I'll do a write-up on it soon. AM2 were truly legends. Do they do anything now besides Miku games?

 

[lazygecko]

The model 1 SMS has Hang-On built in. Model 2 has Alex Kidd in Miracle World.

 

[MikeMyers]

I could have sworn there was a model with Sonic built-in.

 

[MikeHattsu]

I could have sworn there was a model with Sonic built-in.

Built-in games for EU and US

Master System 1 models:
No game built-in
Hang On + Safari Hunt
Hang On
Missile Defense 3-D

Master System 2 models:
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Sonic The Hedgehog <- Only released in EU

 

[MikeMyers]

Yeah, I was in Europe.

Although I only remember playing the thin red version of the system, which appears to be Model 1. If Sonic was bundled with Model 2, I probably did play it and just didn't remember.

 

[Morfeo]

Yeah there were lots of variations. Mine is a north american Master System 1 with Hang-On and Safari Hunt built in, but I also own a few (two i think) Master System 2 machines with Alex kidd. Had to get that model 1 for the rgb though.

 

[Huggers]

The Master System 1 is so much cooler looking plus has RGB and a card slot. These days I just use a Power Base Converter though to save space

 

[Armoured Priest]

I had the Master System that came with Hang-on/Safari Hunt on a cart, and that little snail maze game on the system itself.

 

[MikeMyers]

Read more of the Console Wars book when Sonic was first shown to the public. Al Nielsen pulled out Nintendo's recommendation guide on how they said you should buy the console that has the most games, and then pointed out the Genesis actually had more games on it than the Super Nintendo.

Amazing.

 

[MikeMyers]

Super Hang-On or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Game

Super Hang-On is a 1987 arcade game by Sega AM2. Led by Yu Suzuki, AM2 was one of Sega's biggest developers. Their games were so popular in the arcade that Namco would eventually make an entire living plagiarizing them in the 32-bit era. Lifelong fans of the Saturn and the Dreamcast will most likely remember AM2 for titles such as Virtua Fighter 2 and Shenmue, respectively. If those two games were AM2's crown jewels on the Saturn and the Dreamcast, Super Hang-On is their Mega Drive masterpiece.

At a glance, Super Hang-On doesn't seem like there is much to it. There are four tracks, each one taking place in a different continent, and each one different from the other. In a world where cinematic gaming is king, the thought of a game only having four levels seems like a ripoff. This is where, I believe, the Sega of the 90s truly differs from the competition.

Take a game like NiGHTS into Dreams.... It's only a few levels long, but is still one of the most beloved Sega games from that decade. Why? It is quite clear that the appeal of NiGHTS into Dreams... is not to beat the game, but to continue the arcade-spirit of replaying and continuing to get better and better each time.

With Super Hang-On, there are three major obstacles that are a threat to you getting to the final goal post.

(1) There is a timer. You must beat the course before the timer runs out.
(2) There are signs that will make you fall over, making you lose efficient time.
(3) There are other motorcyclists you have to avoid, otherwise you'll lose momentum if you hit them.

With those three factors in mind, it might take AGES to master, but that is only fitting for a SEGA game. Due to the extreme replayability of this, I can still come back to this games years later, and continue to try to best my previous score.

Now the last point I would like to mention, that doesn't often get mentioned a lot, is that I believe what can truly make a game special is the soundtrack. Music so good it just motivates you to play it more and more. As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to music in games, Sega truly was a king like none other, and Super Hang-On is no exception.

 

[blast processed]

All this Master System talk on the Genny board.

Spoiler

This will be my next console I pickup, can't wait.

 

[MikeMyers]

You could just get the Power Converter if you have Model 1.

Love Master System though, most underrated Sega system.

 

[blast processed]

3 model 2's

Wait...the power base converter only works on the model 1?

 

[Timu]

I used to own a Master System...I need another one though.

 

[D.Lo]

3 model 2's

Wait...the power base converter only works on the model 1?

It does work, but doesn't physically fit. You can remove the casing or I once saw one with some of the plastic at the back sliced off.

There are many, many, many Master System models and SKUs. It has maybe more than any other single console, even PC Engine.

Here's a list of just Europe's models:
http://segaretro.org/Master_System_consoles_in_Europe

 

[Cody_D165]

cross another couple of games off the want list!

yknow I fucking love this console so much. It's like my comfort food. Whenever I get fed up with some bullshit in the industry I just head out to the retro shops and buy a couple of Genesis games I've not played before.

Sol-Deace seems like quite the enjoyable shmup. I've been growing quite the little stack of shooters for the Genesis. Still really on the lookout for Gaiares and ofc the ever-elusive MUSHA

also, Dune is fucking rad

 

[blast processed]

cross another couple of games off the want list!

yknow I fucking love this console so much. It's like my comfort food. Whenever I get fed up with some bullshit in the industry I just head out to the retro shops and buy a couple of Genesis games I've not played before.

Sol-Deace seems like quite the enjoyable shmup. I've been growing quite the little stack of shooters for the Genesis. Still really on the lookout for Gaiares and ofc the ever-elusive MUSHA

also, Dune is fucking rad

Best console ever. I have a ton of games for the system and still a ton more I want.

 

[Danneee]

Got a repro copy of MUSHA yesterday and wow! I knew it was supposed to be good but it blew my expectations away. The music, gameplay and graphics are all very impressive! I don't really understand the power up system yet though.

 

[IrishNinja]

ah, keep meaning to try genny Sol Feace to see how how it holds up to the Sega-CD one

Built-in games for EU and US

Master System 1 models:
No game built-in

aw, we're not counting Snail as a full game? haha

All this Master System talk on the Genny board.

Spoiler

This will be my next console I pickup, can't wait.

prolly about the only hardware ill pick up in 2016, if i can find one with the aforementioned Snail game

Got a repro copy of MUSHA yesterday and wow! I knew it was supposed to be good but it blew my expectations away. The music, gameplay and graphics are all very impressive! I don't really understand the power up system yet though.

yeah, it does live up to the hype - as for power ups, just stick with one kind, i wanna say? forget

 

[MikeMyers]

Best console ever. I have a ton of games for the system and still a ton more I want.

It's a toss up between Mega Drive and Saturn for me. I feel like the Saturn surpassed the Mega Drive in all my favorite genres except for platforming. :/

 

[blast processed]

Got a repro copy of MUSHA yesterday and wow! I knew it was supposed to be good but it blew my expectations away. The music, gameplay and graphics are all very impressive! I don't really understand the power up system yet though.

Awesome awesome game. My favorite on the Genesis. Such a bangin soundtrack. If you die in the later levels it's a tough up hill climb to the end.

 

[tuffy]

Got a repro copy of MUSHA yesterday and wow! I knew it was supposed to be good but it blew my expectations away. The music, gameplay and graphics are all very impressive! I don't really understand the power up system yet though.

The powerup system's very Raiden-like. Picking up the weapon powerup you already have increases your power by one, and picking up a different powerup gives you that weapon at the same power you have now. So it's good to specialize until you hit level 4 and it maxes out. Having any weapon powerup keeps you from getting killed, so it's best to always have something active.

Picking up the little power chips (distributed in groups of four) increases your weapon pod count. Your pods can be pointed in a lot of different configurations as needed. Since it's easy to wind up with a big collection of pods, I'd often switch them to "free" mode and use them as shields against bosses toward the end of the game.

Cranking up the ship's speed is usually a good idea too because the game gets very hectic, very fast.

I love the soundtrack, too. I actually ripped it using Audio Overload and added it to my music collection.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Got a repro copy of MUSHA yesterday and wow! I knew it was supposed to be good but it blew my expectations away. The music, gameplay and graphics are all very impressive! I don't really understand the power up system yet though.

The opening took my breath away, and it's still impressive.

 

[Danneee]

The powerup system's very Raiden-like. Picking up the weapon powerup you already have increases your power by one, and picking up a different powerup gives you that weapon at the same power you have now. So it's good to specialize until you hit level 4 and it maxes out. Having any weapon powerup keeps you from getting killed, so it's best to always have something active.

Picking up the little power chips (distributed in groups of four) increases your weapon pod count. Your pods can be pointed in a lot of different configurations as needed. Since it's easy to wind up with a big collection of pods, I'd often switch them to "free" mode and use them as shields against bosses toward the end of the game.

Cranking up the ship's speed is usually a good idea too because the game gets very hectic, very fast.

I love the soundtrack, too. I actually ripped it using Audio Overload and added it to my music collection.

Wait, you can change the speed? I'm guessing via power ups and not manually like Thunder Force IV?
And I kind of understand that the small tube things add "option" thingies but I haven't seen any other kind of weapon other than that blue ball thing that spins around my ship...
I did get to the fourth level on my second try. Sooo good!
But I guess I'll learn as I play more. Can't wait for my SO to finish her movie so I can play some more!

Thinking about buying Granada too, liked what I played and seem to get some praise so why not.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Granada has rotating sprites, right? That's kinda rare on Genesis.

 

[tuffy]

Wait, you can change the speed? I'm guessing via power ups and not manually like Thunder Force IV?

It's manual speed control. Pause the game and move the red speed arrows further to the right to have your mech move faster.

 

[Danneee]

It's manual speed control. Pause the game and move the red speed arrows further to the right to have your mech move faster.

Ah, haha. Never thought about pausing the game. Thanks!

 

[IrishNinja]

man, Monster World IV was amazing - last dungeon (well, the real last one, since the final one is just kind've a boss rush) was pretty crazy and took some work though! absolute gem we missed out on over here, glad it came to PSN finally...man, the Super Metroid comparisons do come up here & there too.

ended up really digging the hubworld town & the changes it goes through, and like MW III i didn't really have to grind for $ much as i went either, just a fantastic game all around.

 

[Tain]

Granada has rotating sprites, right? That's kinda rare on Genesis.

Brute force sprite transformation must be a Wolfteam thing, El Viento has some scaling sprites and there's... all of Earnest Evans.