Support NeoGAF

[KDash31987]

Have some questions. I did research them but wanted GAF to double check.

1.) The Game Genie lets you play imports, correct?
2.) Model 1/2 controller works on a Model 3 and vice versa, correct?
3.) Model 2 and 3 share the same AV output, correct?

Thanks for answering.

1. Yes, imports will work. You might need a code for some later games that have region locking (not many that I know of), but most should play without doing anything.
2. Yes (and they also work with the Master System and Atari 2600/7800 and I think Commodore 64, perhaps more)
3. Not sure, but a Google search seems to imply a yes

 

[MikeMyers]

Atari 2600/7800 and Commodore 64?

And yeah, this article claims that Genesis 2 and 3 seem to share the same AV cable outlet. Wanted to double check with GAF though.

 

[KDash31987]

Atari 2600/7800 and Commodore 64?

Yeah, they all share the same controller port. I often use Genesis and Master System controllers when playing Atari 2600/7800 games. I can't remember if I used them with my Commodore 64, though, as I've only used it like...twice, since all I have for it is Frogger. I might have only used the Atari 7800 controller, though I might have used the Master System one. Can't remember.

 

[Galdelico]

Atari 2600/7800 and Commodore 64?

Yeah, they all shared the same controller port/pinout. The Commodore Amiga too.
I remember using a Master System joystick and then a Mega Drive controller with my Amiga, back in the days.

Beaten like an abused Mega Drive controller, lol.

 

[MikeMyers]

Huh, that's interesting.

You know I'm surprised Sega never puts Eternal Champions on their Mega Drive compilations give that it was pretty popular back in the day.

 

[ElTopo]

Eternal Champions is pretty terrible. The graphics are "meh" at best, they kinda' remind me of that Justice League fighter on the Genesis (which is just as bad) and the inputs for special moves are incredibly obtuse.

 

[Gunstarheroes]

Eternal Champions is pretty terrible. The graphics are "meh" at best, they kinda' remind me of that Justice League fighter on the Genesis (which is just as bad) and the inputs for special moves are incredibly obtuse.

Yeah, but the world and story it built are second-to-none.

Though honestly, i've always viewed the Genesis game as an incomplete beta compared to the Sega CD version. They both have fantastic soundtracks as well.

Also, how can you not love playing as the Senator?

 

[lazygecko]

I think the visuals are pretty great. It really took full advantage of being built for the hardware from the ground up instead of relying on downscaled arcade assets. Everything is detailed and the sprites are big and well animated.

Also I wonder if they stole the hit impact samples straight from the SNES version of Street Fighter 2. I know those types of sounds are commonly used stock libraries in martial arts movies, but I can't help but feel they sound eerily similar to the specific way they had been cut down and edited for SNES SF2.

 

[ZealousD]

they kinda' remind me of that Justice League fighter on the Genesis (which is just as bad)

People should have a better appreciation for that game if just for the fact that it lead to the relationship between Blizzard and Condor (which would later become Blizzard North).

Without Justice League Task Force, Diablo would not have happened.

 

[lazygecko]

I did some further obsessive investigation with the samples, and now I am 99% sure that they ripped the sound effects straight from the SNES port of Street Fighter 2 for Eternal Champions. Most of the hit, impact and swing sounds sound remarkably similar. That in itself isn't all that remarkable, considering they can likely be sourced all the way back to a common stock library. But there is 1 particular sound from SF2 which is the long heavy impact one (0A in the sound test) which is also found in Eternal Champions (06 in the sound test). This is not a single sample, but rather strung together from one of the individual samples played in sequence at different pitches. I know this because you can listen to the samples in any SF2 .spc rip, where the individual SFX samples can be found because they are always loaded in the SPC700 RAM for the game. But that particular sound effect is nowhere to be heard among those samples. I managed to make a pretty close recreation of it using the 2 main hit sounds extracted from a .spc

Here is the sample from Eternal Champions

And here is my recreation using the sample I extracted from a SF2 .spc. It sounds a bit different because the inherent interpolation in my DAW is processing the sample, which affects it heavily when played at lower than native pitch. You can hear an alternate version here bitcrushed with sample rate and bit depth reduction to more closely match the fidelity of the Eternal Champions sample.

There's even another little signifier for the SNES sound which are the tiny silent gaps inbetween each "note", which is an inherent quirk of the DC resets in the sound chip hardware which I accounted for in the recreation. It would sound a bit smoother if they weren't there.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

I think the visuals are pretty great. It really took full advantage of being built for the hardware from the ground up instead of relying on downscaled arcade assets. Everything is detailed and the sprites are big and well animated.

Also I wonder if they stole the hit impact samples straight from the SNES version of Street Fighter 2. I know those types of sounds are commonly used stock libraries in martial arts movies, but I can't help but feel they sound eerily similar to the specific way they had been cut down and edited for SNES SF2.

it wouldn't be surprising as it was modeled after the success of SFII

Spoiler

Also: "In 2011, Complex included it on the list of ten "most blatant Mortal Kombat ripoffs" but added that it was "one of the more successful faux-MK fighters"" from wiki page]

 

[ElTopo]

People should have a better appreciation for that game if just for the fact that it lead to the relationship between Blizzard and Condor (which would later become Blizzard North).

Without Justice League Task Force, Diablo would not have happened.

It's still a terrible game.

 

[IrishNinja]

I think I heard Ms. Pac-Man is one of those games that doesn't play nice with a six-button controller unless you hold MODE down while booting it up, although I haven't broken out my copy to verify.

Mrs. Pac-man is better with the 3 button controller. I have 2 different 6 button controllers and pressing them makes her always go to the right. And yes up and down does not register well. I have to carts for some reason.

yeah, ive had it work on one of mine but not another, odd...still a really great & underrated Mrs Pac-Man game too!

GOLDEN AXE screams - Where they came from -LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTKuwJ3cFoE#t=2m30s

so these were awesome! also, dying to play Revenge of Death Adder one day

Thats part 2 right? Its tons better than the first.

+1

 

[entremet]

Ristar- Gaming Historian

I still need to buy this game. I've been sleeping on it.

 

[MikeMyers]

Supposedly Sega killed Eternal Champions 3 because they wanted Virtua Fighter to be the flagship fighter of the Saturn, which seems weird to me, because Sega also developed Fighting Vipers and Last Bronx for the system.

 

[blast processed]

Ristar- Gaming Historian

I still need to buy this game. I've been sleeping on it.

Same. I'll get around to it, everyone seems to recommend it.

Just ordered Rolling Thunder 3 because 2 is just so awesome. Hope it's just as good. Found it CIB for $30. Didn't realize it was selling for over $60.

 

[lazygecko]

it wouldn't be surprising as it was modeled after the success of SFII

Spoiler

Also: "In 2011, Complex included it on the list of ten "most blatant Mortal Kombat ripoffs" but added that it was "one of the more successful faux-MK fighters"" from wiki page]

Arguably it kind of trumps its inspiration when it comes to the depiction of gore and violent deaths. Mortal Kombat's digitized graphics have not aged well and most of the fatalities look like really cheap photo edits today. Whereas in Eternal Champions the stage deaths can be pretty gruesomely detailed (ESPECIALLY in Challenge from the Dark Side)

Supposedly Sega killed Eternal Champions 3 because they wanted Virtua Fighter to be the flagship fighter of the Saturn, which seems weird to me, because Sega also developed Fighting Vipers and Last Bronx for the system.

To me it just sounds like more of Sega of Japan's petty animosity towards Sega of America.

 

[MikeMyers]

Was the EC Beat-Em-Up any good?

 

[IrishNinja]

no
finally checked it out a little while ago..impressively bad

 

[lazygecko]

They changed Ristar's sprite facial expression to angry for the US localization, didn't they? It looks so damn jarring. At least Kirby's changes were relegated only to the box art.

 

[ElTopo]

Ristar- Gaming Historian

I still need to buy this game. I've been sleeping on it.

It's one of the best 2D platformers ever made. Right up there with Sonic and Mario.

Damn shame it flopped.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Ristar- Gaming Historian

I still need to buy this game. I've been sleeping on it.

Greatest platformer ever, IMO. DO IT. It's super cheap on Steam too!

It's fun seeing the comparison screen with Sonic, showing how much the graphics improved during that generation. Ristar must be the best looking Genesis game, probably. Fortunately, it's not all about graphics though, the game is amazing, and the video is spot-on in showing how a super mechanically simple game can have tons of depth.

 

[Timu]

Ristar- Gaming Historian

I still need to buy this game. I've been sleeping on it.

You haven't played it yet???

I played it back when it was 1st out and loved it...I need to do a playthrough of it!!!

 

[MikeMyers]

Check out the Game Gear Ristar game too. It's actually a different game if I remember correctly.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Check out the Game Gear Ristar game too. It's actually a different game if I remember correctly.

The video mentions it. He says it's roughly 70% identical to the Genesis version, so mostly the same but with some cool differences here and here (like grabbing objects dropped by enemies and using them for traversal or puzzles).

 

[MikeMyers]

Oh right, I haven't watched the video yet.

Sonic Team killed it on the Mega Drive and Saturn, damn shame what happened to them after that.

 

[ZealousD]

It's still a terrible game.

I don't disagree but I can at least appreciate it for that piece of trivia. =P

 

[KDash31987]

I hear that the SNES Justice League: Task Force is much better, and a pretty decent game. It's completely different from the Genesis game. They only share a name, roster, and story.

I own the Genesis one, and rented the SNES version back in the day. I might pick up a copy eventually if I can find one cheap.

 

[RadarScope1]

Just ordered Rolling Thunder 3 because 2 is just so awesome. Hope it's just as good. Found it CIB for $30. Didn't realize it was selling for over $60.

Damn. Ebay? You probably just snagged the one I was watching. I also didn't quite realize the going price is quite a bit higher. Thinking I'll go cart only on this one when I pull the trigger.

 

[s_mirage]

Supposedly Sega killed Eternal Champions 3 because they wanted Virtua Fighter to be the flagship fighter of the Saturn, which seems weird to me, because Sega also developed Fighting Vipers and Last Bronx for the system.

Sega of Japan seem to have been in full on petty mode back then. Personal egos seem to have been given priority over the good of the business. I guess they couldn't risk their flagship arcade fighter being outsold by an American one, so they had the competition canned.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Same. I'll get around to it, everyone seems to recommend it.

Just ordered Rolling Thunder 3 because 2 is just so awesome. Hope it's just as good. Found it CIB for $30. Didn't realize it was selling for over $60.

Rolling Thunder 3 is great, but 1 and 2 are better. 3 is easier and faster-paced than the first two, adds a diagonal shot button, and gives you powerful special weapons. The level designs are also a bit too linear, there are fewer multi-tier areas and no jumping puzzles over death pits with super-restrictive jumping. Okay, that may sound good, but I love Rolling Thunder 1 despite, and probably partially because of, how unfair it is!

I've done reviews before for Rolling Thunders 1 and 3, but not 2 yet... awesome series though, I really love it. The first one particularly. Maybe I should revisit the Rolling Thunder 3 review at some point, since then I hadn't beaten the first two games yet while now I have, but I think it's mostly good. I would say thought that Rolling Thunder 2's level designs are as close to 3's as they are 1's, but still they're definitely better than the ones in 3 because there are more multi-tier areas, some jumping puzzles, and a higher difficulty level in general.

 

[Timu]

I've done reviews before for Rolling Thunders 1 and 3, but not 2 yet... awesome series though, I really love it. The first one particularly.

I hope to try these games next year for the 1st time!!!

 

[davidwhangchoi]

Rolling Thunder 3 is great, but 1 and 2 are better. 3 is easier and faster-paced than the first two, adds a diagonal shot button, and gives you powerful special weapons. The level designs are also a bit too linear, there are fewer multi-tier areas and no jumping puzzles over death pits with super-restrictive jumping. Okay, that may sound good, but I love Rolling Thunder 1 despite, and probably partially because of, how unfair it is!

I've done reviews before for Rolling Thunders 1 and http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=523716&highlight=rolling+thunder, but not 2 yet... awesome series though, I really love it. The first one particularly. Maybe I should revisit the Rolling Thunder 3 review at some point, since then I hadn't beaten the first two games yet while now I have, but I think it's mostly good. I would say thought that Rolling Thunder 2's level designs are as close to 3's as they are 1's, but still they're definitely better than the ones in 3 because there are more multi-tier areas, some jumping puzzles, and a higher difficulty level in general.

the first rolling thunder is best!!! music was off the hook, i didn't like the pea shaped bullets in 2, i prefer those razer style bullets with the melting enemies.

 

[blast processed]

Damn. Ebay? You probably just snagged the one I was watching. I also didn't quite realize the going price is quite a bit higher. Thinking I'll go cart only on this one when I pull the trigger.

Yeah eBay. I forgot about it until I saw it listed and jumped.

Rolling Thunder 3 is great, but 1 and 2 are better. 3 is easier and faster-paced than the first two, adds a diagonal shot button,

Ok, this makes me happy

 

[A Black Falcon]

Ok, this makes me happy

Rolling Thunder 3 tries to be a bit faster-paced game for the console audience who like that kind of thing better than slow-paced Rolling Thunder. It IS still Rolling Thunder, though, so Contra fans probably will still dislike it... should have stuck with what made the first game great. Ah well.

I mean, that diagonal-shot button is REALLY useful, but it kind of makes you overpowered by Rolling Thunder standards! And if it's there because Rolling Thunder 3 doesn't have the two player co-op play Rolling Thunder 2 has, then that's disappointing too; it shouldn't have dropped the multiplayer.

I hope to try these games next year for the 1st time!!!

I hope you like them. All three games have a second loop after you finish the first one, if you want more challenge. In Rolling Thunder 1 the second loop really is the second half of the game and you only fight the boss at the end of loop two, but in the two sequels it's just a harder difficulty mode you unlock, basically -- the first game actually changes level layouts in loop two, has that new final section with the games' boss, etc., but the sequels don't do that stuff. Still, 2 at least does have a slightly different ending when you beat the second loop I believe, so there is that. I forget if 3 has something similar.

 

[Timu]

Justice League fighter on the Genesis (which is just as bad)

This review of it is hilarious.

 

[Galdelico]

Hey guys, can anyone of you using a Japanese Mega Drive 2 recommend me a good converter, in order to play NTSC Genesis games on that console?
I was eyeing one of these Mega Key/Super Mega Key, but I'm a bit clueless... They seem to work with carts from all regions, but the shape of the thing doesn't look right, in order to fit into a Japanese console carts' slot.

Any tips? Thanks in advance!

EDIT: after a bit of investigation, I've found out that what I want is probably a Game Genie, rather than a Mega Key. I'm not looking for tons of different Genesis games to play on my Japanese MD2, but most of those in my wishlist are post-'93 and region-locked, so a simple converter wouldn't do anything good.

 

[Morfeo]

Yeah, but the world and story it built are second-to-none.

Though honestly, i've always viewed the Genesis game as an incomplete beta compared to the Sega CD version. They both have fantastic soundtracks as well.

Also, how can you not love playing as the Senator?

Ok, I need this game.

 

[entremet]

You haven't played it yet???

I played it back when it was 1st out and loved it...I need to do a playthrough of it!!!

I was already focusing on the next gen consoles (at the time) so I missed it. I also didn't own my 16bit consoles anymore.

These days, I'm more patient lol. I'm still enjoying and buying stuff for PS360Wii. Although now my gaming is not really based on generations, as you can tell from my participation in these retro threads.

 

[Mupod]

I didn't get RGB scart for my Genesis until last year and man the difference is real!!!

I was going to go the lazy route and wait for the hd retrovision cables but that doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon if ever. I'll have to look into what to pick up off ebay. Not in any hurry because I'm swamped with stuff to play right now anyways.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

the best i ever had for genesis was the s-cable hooked to a nice c64 CRT monitor.

how's the jump between s-video and rgb; is it significant?

 

[sixteen-bit]

the best i ever had for genesis was the s-cable hooked to a nice c64 CRT monitor.

how's the jump between s-video and rgb; is it significant?

Whoa, was it modded, or did you have that rare Micomsoft S-video transcoder for Mega Drive?
Outside of the Wondermega RG-1, no Genesis natively outputs S-video.

RGB is stunning though. Huge upgrade over composite.

 

[IrishNinja]

the best i ever had for genesis was the s-cable hooked to a nice c64 CRT monitor.

how's the jump between s-video and rgb; is it significant?

i think so, but not nearly as big as it was from composite to RGB, that's huge

 

[Timu]

I still need to do my composite vs RGB comparison for Genesis games!!!

 

[Peltz]

yeah, ive had it work on one of mine but not another, odd...still a really great & underrated Mrs Pac-Man game too!





so these were awesome! also, dying to play Revenge of Death Adder one day



+1

Come to NY. We have a cabinet here at a local barcade.

 

[IrishNinja]

Come to NY. We have a cabinet here at a local barcade.

maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannn

 

[Tarin02543]

Hm, I just passed on a 150 € 32x on ebay. I see units coming up starting from 200 € onwards...but the games are so expensive!

 

[davidwhangchoi]

Whoa, was it modded, or did you have that rare Micomsoft S-video transcoder for Mega Drive?
Outside of the Wondermega RG-1, no Genesis natively outputs S-video.

RGB is stunning though. Huge upgrade over composite.

whoops! you are correct. it's composite, i just checked, i haven't touched genesis for ages and looked quickly at the port assuming it looks like an s-video jack.

still gritting my teeth for giving away 1 gen gamecube w/ component cables i got it for free when my friend was throwing out his CRT

i'm noob to these retro threads, i'm going to live vicariously through everyone's collection until i can read all the backposts to figure out the current values of each game. thanks for the help guys!

 

[IrishNinja]

Hm, I just passed on a 150 € 32x on ebay. I see units coming up starting from 200 € onwards...but the games are so expensive!

i know i defend it, but

goddamn

 

[Tarin02543]

i know i defend it, but

goddamn

What do you mean?