Had a surprise find in a Half Price Books last night, apparently someone dumped their entire Genesis collection at the store. I limited myself to just 2 of the games, I was able to grab Castlevania Bloodlines and Contra Hard Corps for a little over a hundred bucks. Not as cheap as they would have been a couple years ago but better than eBay. Castlevania is complete but Contra was missing the manual, and both are hard case versions not the cardboard boxes.
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Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Appreciation Thread: Alien Storm > Golden Axe
- Thread starter IrishNinja
- Start date
sixteen-bit
Member
Nice pickups. I love those games. Along with RKA they make up my favorite Konami games on the system.
If you go to the website, there are actually even more options you can choose from. You have to generate a whole new rom file to do so though.
http://www.s3complete.org/
sixteen-bit
Member
Sonic 3 Complete needs a sound test accessible from the main menu, imo.
IrishNinja
Member
..this is incredible. fuckin' bravo to this team!
Laevateinn
Member
The Sonic fan community really represents the best and worst aspects of gaming culture.
I know it's not especially related here, but I figured I'd try to play through the Sonic 1 port on iOS to kill some time.
Jesus christ, fuck Marble Zone. I don't remember it being this hard on console, which I finished. But maybe my timing's off, given I'm used to playing it at 50Hz.
Jesus christ, fuck Marble Zone. I don't remember it being this hard on console, which I finished. But maybe my timing's off, given I'm used to playing it at 50Hz.
IrishNinja
Member
haha yeah, i keep forgetting to post at sonic retro before they give me the boot or something
that sounds brutal
its weird, i never hated Marble Zone like most - i mean, Labyrinth Zone slowed things down before so i was ready for the change i guess, though that one boss race thing could be rough. still, later water stages like Hydrocity feel a lot more fun
It's probably a combination of being used to 50Hz, and playing on a touchscreen. However I've just (hopefully successfully) region modded my MD, so I'll give the games a go at 60Hz and see what happens.
Also, just bought Monster World for $24AU, considering it's supposed to not run all that well on a flash cart. Better be worth it.
theSlacker
Member
That is the only way I could do it alone as a kid. As in not with a friend playing Tails.
Marble Zone is my favorite level in Sonic 1... I've never understood the hate it got.
ChamplooJones
Formerly Momotaro
Gotta take the bad with the good.
I'm always been fine with a lot of supposedly hated Sonic levels. I don't mind a bit of a slower platforming intermission to mix things up. Marble Zone is fine. Labyrinth on the other hand does outstay it's welcome though, I wish there was a proper Scrap Brain Act 3 rather then it being basically Labyrinth 4.
I don't hate it. It's just harder than I thought!
Not that I've reached it this playthrough, but from memory Starlight Zone was my fave. And the music!
Ooooh, that music is the best: https://youtu.be/RVAzxhh_cB8
For whatever reason, it gave me the same vibes of that Bee Gees song "How Deep is Your Love": https://youtu.be/XpqqjU7u5Yc
Laevateinn
Member
Starlight Zone is the only zone I have any trouble with nowadays. I can blast through Sonic 1 in about an hour but if my momentum is going to fall apart it's there.
IrishNinja
Member
starlight's interesting cause after marble/etc the music is so chill you think you're good, but some spots can fuck you up.
i'm okay there (especially if i have almost all the emeralds) but scrap bran zone can fuck me up if i'm losing steam
Starlight Zone is one of those weird tracks that I prefer in the slower PAL versions. Just feels nicer, but may be the nostalgia bias.
https://youtu.be/9ZgapK14qwk
I've never really listened to it in it's faster form. I should fire up my console and have a play!
All the Sonic 1 music sounds weird to me when I hear it in remakes, rips and re-releases:/
Edit: On that note, is there a way to play games at their slower speed on emulators?
This is an interesting question, I've never thought of doing that before. From what I was able to find online, simply setting your system's region to European should be enough to do it, however this didn't work on my emulator (OpenEmu). I was able to get the effect to happen using roms specifically from EU only (Sonic 3, Earthworm Jim, Mega Man: Wily Wars), but any rom that was designed for multiple regions, such as Sonic 1, I couldn't get the effect to happen.
sixteen-bit
Member
Is there a 50hz/60hz setting in addition to the region settings?
Ditching Tails is the best thing you can do for getting all the Chaos Emeralds... Unless you have a buddy who can play Tails in the bonus stages. Being AI controlled, Tails just loses TOO MANY rings in the final couple special stages: I don't think there's anyway to get them all.
Laevateinn
Member
Get better and get the rings before tails does. Tails should be behind you mostly so the rings he gets are rings you missed.
I think having Tails just distracts me too much. I've collected all the emeralds before as Sonic alone, but never with Tails.
Another good tip: try to hit up multiple bonus rounds in the same Act during the first few Zones: it's much easier to collect enough rings (and keep them) at the start of the game.
Laevateinn
Member
I agree with this. If I haven't gotten the emerald from every bonus stage chance by the time I get to the end of Emerald Hill Zone I usually reset the game and try again.
The ring requirements in Sonic 2 special stages are higher for Sonic + Tails than for Sonic or Tails alone. It is possible but not easy to beat them as single player with Sonic + Tails. Since there are 8 star posts in Emerald Hill Zone, you can be Super Sonic at the first boss battle already.
Also, on a soft reset, the Genesis Sonic games do not clear the part of the RAM that stores the collected Chaos Emeralds. Meaning you can simply start a new game, reach and beat the first special stage, then press the reset button on the console (or in an emulator do a soft reset, if supported), and repeat until you've collected them all.
Also, on a soft reset, the Genesis Sonic games do not clear the part of the RAM that stores the collected Chaos Emeralds. Meaning you can simply start a new game, reach and beat the first special stage, then press the reset button on the console (or in an emulator do a soft reset, if supported), and repeat until you've collected them all.
This just blew my mind. I would've been over the moon as a kid if I knew this.
theSlacker
Member
Well the thing is that if you have Tails with you the check points/end require you to have more rings as well, while there is still the same amount of rings in the level. I mean it is still a case of getting better, but there is a reason why people just drop Tails when they are learning the patterns.
Edit: Derp, should have refreshed before posting, someone already covered it.
Laevateinn
Member
All this time I had no idea the ring requirements were different when you played with or without tails.
Woah, really? That's actually super cool.
I also had no idea the ring requirements were different. I knew you can get Super Sonic by the end of EHZ tho, but I've never known the best route to repeatedly get 50 rings then a new checkpoint.
Flizzzipper
Member
I've been playing wonder boy in monster world quite a bit. Up to the ice castle. I've always had a blind spot for wonder boy so I was excited to try it. It's excellent.
I finished Wonder Boy this weekend. I really enjoyed my time with it, though the last boss was surprisingly difficult compared to the previous bosses. And that last dungeon was annoying, too.
Anyway, here are some pics from the ending. The last two are more spoilery, so don't look at them if you haven't finished the game
Anyway, here are some pics from the ending. The last two are more spoilery, so don't look at them if you haven't finished the game
davidwhangchoi
Member
^ i couldn't secure a copy yet =(
been trying find a clean copy CIB without getting ripped off.
been trying find a clean copy CIB without getting ripped off.
Laevateinn
Member
So these guys have one of the most questionable design choices in gaming right?
I also said what the hell and played through Monster Land for the first time. It's pretty great. I couldn't decide if it was easier or harder. I can't wait to play this on my Switch.
I also said what the hell and played through Monster Land for the first time. It's pretty great. I couldn't decide if it was easier or harder. I can't wait to play this on my Switch.
Flizzzipper
Member
Wow, I didn't realize the health hearts stacked like that. I have a bunch more to get apparently.
Laevateinn
Member
Yup. It had been a while since I played so when I started I was worried I was finding them all too easily. Then I realized that there was a lot I missed. There were two I never ended up getting. If you have a lot of patience, I think you can buy extras to get a full set but I was able to beat the last boss with the number I had after a couple tries.
Laevateinn
Member
Are you playing blind? If so, it could easily take 15 hours. If you're using a guide or have played a few times before less than ten. I got to the final dungeon in about 4 or 5 hours on my recent play through. The last dungeon and final boss took about 3 because I fucked up a bit and wanted to farm money to double my magic.
For saving, you save in town by going to an inn.
I beat the game for the first time in about 7 hours, but I thought I was going rather quickly.
You can only save at inns, but they're placed pretty conveniently throughout the world.
IrishNinja
Member
so glad to see folks seeing Wonder Boy through!
seriously, it's always the last few ones for me
i know i could GIT GUD but it's like 25 years later and it's just not happened
oh my god at all of this post
welp, looks like this dream's coming true, thanks so much Surta!
seriously, it's always the last few ones for me
i know i could GIT GUD but it's like 25 years later and it's just not happened
oh my god at all of this post
welp, looks like this dream's coming true, thanks so much Surta!
Literally my first time playing it! Might have to add an hour or two because I'll be playing in PAL
This might not be 100% relevant here, but of the new Everdrive releases, the base one can have an SMS pause button added even though it's not an official feature. Krikzz released early x3 carts with an x5 board but with features removed (he said so himself) but I wasn't sure the solder points would still be connected and work.
Turns out they do, thankfully!
Turns out they do, thankfully!
Flizzzipper
Member
I finally beat Wonder Boy in Monster Land today. I have no idea how I beat the last boss, I was getting destroyed over and over again. Landed a series of power attacks to finish it off on my last run. Good game.
Played some more Wonder Boy. The ice-area is really annoying!
All in all, i feel this game is slightly overrated and not on the level of the Dragons Trap on Master System. Maybe im just used to more modern games, but the level design feels almost non-existant, the puzzles are cryptic, and the progress doesnt really come from earning new abilities as in Dragons Trap, but just by keys (in the form of the amulet, ocarina and so on). So yeah, enjoyable and good looking, but not really anything special imo.
Edit: Guess my post comes off as a stark contrast to the last post lol. I like the game still, but guess more progression have given me some more perspective on it.
All in all, i feel this game is slightly overrated and not on the level of the Dragons Trap on Master System. Maybe im just used to more modern games, but the level design feels almost non-existant, the puzzles are cryptic, and the progress doesnt really come from earning new abilities as in Dragons Trap, but just by keys (in the form of the amulet, ocarina and so on). So yeah, enjoyable and good looking, but not really anything special imo.
Edit: Guess my post comes off as a stark contrast to the last post lol. I like the game still, but guess more progression have given me some more perspective on it.
Laevateinn
Member
Have you guys had a chance to play MW4? It's been a few years but I remember the mechanics centered around Pepelogoo were a lot of fun and the animation being impressive for a 16-bit title.
Yeah, I started it just recently, though I only have it as part of the Monster World Vintage Collection on Xbox 360. I immediately fell in love with the music, the game plays and looks great too. Haven't gotten very far yet but I will continue soon. Such a shame the game was never released in the west until this collection arrived.
Btw, are there any plans for a game of the month for February? January is almost over now.
IrishNinja
Member
got halfway through the PS3 PSN release years back before my system tragically died, ended up finishing it a while after that on a repro cart....man, what a great game. the Monster World series really should've taken off out here more than it did.
We are doing Comix Zone next month!
And I agree on MW4, a real shame it was never released here back in the day.
sixteen-bit
Member
I'm pretty hype to play Comix Zone. I haven't beat it in a while, and IIRC there are some instances where the game can freeze/hard lock, but I still love it.