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

So, who wants to help a Sega fan make the best goddamn Sega Genesis panel possible?

I'm running a panel i'm calling "Gems of the Genesis" and retro gaming convention in upstate New York in a couple weeks. Well i totally have some ideas for what to show, i figured i would ask for some input from you guys, since you seem to what the kids like. This particular panel is looking at games that aren't talked about much when it comes to Genesis. So, i'm looking for you guys to really suggest the diamonds that are lost in the rough. So help a fellow Sega dude. (Also, 32x and CD are fair game, though i don't want to use them too much).
 

IrishNinja

Member
holy shit gunstar, that's an awesome gig...obviously the title of your username is prolly too obvious, heh.

stuff that's noted on different sites/known to be amazing in my mind:

Rolling Thunder II
Crusader of Centy
Alien Soldier
Battlemania 2
Rocket Knight
Flashback
Valis III
Shadownrun
MUSHA/so, so many SHMUPS of note
Pulseman
Strider
Punisher
Mutant League Football
Shining Force 1/2
Phantasy Star IV (EB's recent posts highlight so many of its great moments)
Bloodlines
Mega Turrican
Beyond Oasis (still have to really get into it...)
Land Stalker

stuff i adore & dont rightly care how it holds up for others:

The Haunting
Starflight
ESWAT
Alien Storm
Hard Corps
General Chaos
Cyberball
Theme Park
Rolling Thunder III
Super Fantasy Zone

just throwing out names cause i think your panel sounds so cool
 

televator

Member
I don't have a camera right now, but I got a CIB cardboard box version of Road Rash II! It has a the nicer regular SEGA style cartridge (Not the EA yellow tab). I also picked up Outrun 2019.
 

Shaneus

Member
So, who wants to help a Sega fan make the best goddamn Sega Genesis panel possible?

I'm running a panel i'm calling "Gems of the Genesis" and retro gaming convention in upstate New York in a couple weeks. Well i totally have some ideas for what to show, i figured i would ask for some input from you guys, since you seem to what the kids like. This particular panel is looking at games that aren't talked about much when it comes to Genesis. So, i'm looking for you guys to really suggest the diamonds that are lost in the rough. So help a fellow Sega dude. (Also, 32x and CD are fair game, though i don't want to use them too much).
Sub-Terrania. I can think of a number of great MD games, but that one is too frequently overlooked. I love the shit out of it, total quality (and the music is badarse, done by Jesper Kyd who went on to do the music for Hitman and Assassin's Creed).
 
Sub-Terrania. I can think of a number of great MD games, but that one is too frequently overlooked. I love the shit out of it, total quality (and the music is badarse, done by Jesper Kyd who went on to do the music for Hitman and Assassin's Creed).

I should give this another chance. I remember being baffled by the control scheme when I tried it.
 

baphomet

Member
So, who wants to help a Sega fan make the best goddamn Sega Genesis panel possible?

I'm running a panel i'm calling "Gems of the Genesis" and retro gaming convention in upstate New York in a couple weeks. Well i totally have some ideas for what to show, i figured i would ask for some input from you guys, since you seem to what the kids like. This particular panel is looking at games that aren't talked about much when it comes to Genesis. So, i'm looking for you guys to really suggest the diamonds that are lost in the rough. So help a fellow Sega dude. (Also, 32x and CD are fair game, though i don't want to use them too much).

These are some of my favorites i would say are overlooked.

Dynamite Headdy
Shadow Dancer
Mega Turrican
Skeleton Krew (? I think thats the name)
Mystic Defender
Alisia Dragoon
Ristar
Crusader of Centy
Beyond Oasis
Wonderboy in Monsterworld

Bunch of stuff IrishNinja listed too.
 
Diamonds in the rough, huh? So, more obscure games that are still pretty fun? That's most of my lineup as a kid :V

  • Rolo to the Rescue is a cute platformer from the guys who made James Pond, and unlike James Pond 1-3 being on the Amiga and James Pond 2 being on bloody everything, this one's exclusive to the Genesis. You play a diminutive elephant who has to save his animal buddies from the circus; stomp on a poacher who holds the key for the level, then go wild opening every cage in sight. Once you've freed an animal, it'll tag along with you (up to three at once), and you can even change your control to it and use its unique abilities to solve puzzles. The rabbit jumps absurdly high, the mole digs through specific patches of dirt, the squirrel can climb walls, the otter can swim on water (which outright kills everyone else on contact), while Rolo himself is the only one who can rescue fellow animals, but with some (level-specific) powerups, can also shrink himself, can vacuum up things and spit them out with his trunk, can squirt out water like Mega Man shots, et cetera.

    Great game, but really hard, since most things are one-hit kills (unless you're playing as Rolo and have an animal buddy on hand; they can take the hit for you instead, unless it was a water pool you landed in, in which case, sorry, you're hosed). Not to mention, the game's designed to be played in one sitting, but the map's fairly expansive, so the complete lack of saving is a bit of an issue.
  • Animaniacs on the Genesis is an interesting puzzle platformer, completely different from the SNES game. You take control of the Warner Brothers (and Sister), rotating through them with the hit of a button, and then using their unique abilities to get through several puzzles. Yakko is the only one that can push or pull crates, and has a paddleball that'll take care of Ralph if he's in your way (and he often is). Wakko has a mallet, which can press down switches or light ropes on fire (no idea, just roll with it). Dot can kiss things, which can bring some male opponents to a complete stop, and is also immune to Hello Nurse in the few places she shows up (Yakko and Wakko briefly become uncontrollable so they can ogle her). With those abilities, you have to storm five studios (the first four can be done in any order, but the fifth always comes last) and steal a precious prop so you can open up a Hollywood-themed store. Why? Who cares, the game's fun, and it's a fun pastiche on several film genres while it's at it (adventure/Indiana Jones-esque films, science fiction, westerns, horror, and action).
  • Goofy's Hysterical History Tour makes Goofy a bumbling janitor and aspiring inventor, tasked with cleaning up an entire museum in one night and become Chief Janitor Engineer, or else he'll be fired. Meanwhile, fellow janitor Pete wants that position for himself, and schemes to up-end Goofy's job. Not that he'll really have to, because Goofy's imagination runs wild while cleaning the exhibits, leading him to traverse large levels based on various moments in history (which make absolutely no sense in the context of a museum, but whatever). Visit the prehistoric era, with giant dinosaurs; check out the Wild West, complete with large mesa walls and horse convoys; witness the American Revolution, with building rooftop antics and some sort of Boston Tea Party/pirate hybrid event taking place at sea; storm a medieval castle, including this one rather nifty vertical level where you ride giant boulders being catapulted up the castle's outer wall. Meanwhile, Goofy has to rely on his trusty Extend-o-Matic contraption, which lets him grab onto certain blocks and either swing from them or extend himself upward, or he can throw these collectable blue balls ("Goofballs", officially) around. Extensions for the Extend-o-Matic give it a OHKO boxing glove, a little propeller that lets Goofy fly very briefly, or a boot that lets him jump very high if it's aimed straight downward. It's a bit hit-or-miss with others, I've noticed, but I always liked this one.
  • The Misadventures of Flink is a Sega CD game that I only recently discovered (within the past few years). I suppose it'd be mostly unremarkable, if not for one thing: it is absolutely gorgeous. It seriously boasts some of the finest pixel art I've seen on the console. It's not quite as great to play; Flink has a really slow walk that lasts way too long before he bursts into a sprint, which can be somewhat offset by jumping a lot, although I find myself launching him into pits if I do this in the wrong places. It can be somewhat annoying, especially since one of the enemies that requires two hits to take out runs away from you after the first hit, and while your sprint can catch up to him, your walk really can't, and you might lose the enemy to a pit while you're trying to catch up. Still, as a graphical showcase, well, wow.

    There is a cartridge version of this game, but it was only released for the European Mega Drive. I notice some of the sound effects are totally different between the two versions, too. Interesting?
  • The Adventures of Batman & Robin is an absolute bitch to play, because it's absurdly difficult all-around, but it's worth it just because it pulls a lot of visual tricks that the Genesis has almost no business doing; the parallax is obscene, giving the backgrounds a fair bit of depth, and there's even some scaling tricks that would feel more at home on the SNES. Also a kickin' soundtrack by Jesper Kyd; might not be the best fit for Batman, but I can't complain. Great showcase of the console's capabilities.
  • Toy Story may have also been on the Genesis and PC, but c'mon, you can't tell me the Wolfenstein-esque level wasn't impressive as hell. Plus, it has an Outrun-esque stage that the SNES version didn't.
  • Also, I really like Asterix and the Great Rescue, but most people hate it. It's definitely a fairly good-looking game, but it's just so ludicrously hard, with a somewhat unintuitive combat system (standing still while punching lets the enemies walk into you, letting you take virtually no damage, while walking while punching is more prone to getting yourself hurt), strict time limits, unintuitive boss fights (I wasn't even aware I was hurting the first boss, our first few go-arounds, because he takes so much punishment and doesn't have any visual signs to indicate you're hitting him - and the third one is a button masher, but doesn't tell you that at all, causing you to get crushed against the edge of the screen several times over)... But it's all worth it once you make it to the Germany level, because there's a stage made of nothing but giant, floating sausages. No, seriously, that's pretty nifty. The password's "
    VIENNA
    " if you wanna check it out; it's the third stage into that level.
So yeah, there's a few suggestions, I guess?
 

Beckx

Member
I don't know what counts as rare gems anymore, because the sleepers from back in the day are the ones that most people talk about today.

Having said that, Herzog Zwei, the proto RTS.
 

Southside Jim

Neo Member
I don't know what counts as rare gems anymore, because the sleepers from back in the day are the ones that most people talk about today.

Having said that, Herzog Zwei, the proto RTS.

Dumped many, many hours into Zwei. Would go out of my way to break the spirit of the AI by setting up detachments of heat-seeking missiles around his main base with supply trucks endlessly refilling their ammo then just sit back and watch him explode, re-form and explode again to the point where he didn't bother trying to escape.

(On retrospect, I probably could have benefited from a dog or an extra friend or two during that period in my life.)
 

Shaneus

Member
I should give this another chance. I remember being baffled by the control scheme when I tried it.
Do it. It's so worth it, I'm surprised there hasn't been any similar games released since (especially seeing as it'd be the style of game that'd be ideal for an indie dev to do).

These are some of my favorites i would say are overlooked.

Dynamite Headdy
Shadow Dancer
Mega Turrican
Skeleton Krew (? I think thats the name)
Mystic Defender
Alisia Dragoon
Ristar
Crusader of Centy
Beyond Oasis
Wonderboy in Monsterworld

Bunch of stuff IrishNinja listed too.
I think Beyond Oasis, Ristar, Shadow Dancer and Dynamite Headdy I wouldn't have said were overlooked, just... I dunno, not quite as popular as they should be (but still somewhat popular)? The Wonderboy title I don't think is at all, I'm sure it's been the focus of many discussions about fan translations given it's an RPG title (unless I'm mistaken).

Also in the kind-of-overlooked-but-not-really category, I'd love to say Skitchin'. Although having said that, it does seem to make it into people's lists on occasion (or maybe just mine!) so who knows.


Oh, can't forget Boogerman either. Definitely overlooked, can't remember the last time I saw someone mention that anywhere. (Edit: For some reason I thought that was MD/Genny exclusive, but looks like it came out on the SNES around a year later. There you go)

Shit, forgot about Tiny Toon Adventures (the first one), Wiz n Liz (<3 Bizarre), Bubba n Stix and Global Gladiators (the McDonald's one).
 
I think Beyond Oasis, Ristar, Shadow Dancer and Dynamite Headdy I wouldn't have said were overlooked, just... I dunno, not quite as popular as they should be (but still somewhat popular)? The Wonderboy title I don't think is at all, I'm sure it's been the focus of many discussions about fan translations given it's an RPG title (unless I'm mistaken).

Yeah, overlooked is relative. Overlooked to Genny fans and overlooked to the general retro gaming audience are very different.
 

Hubble

Member
So, who wants to help a Sega fan make the best goddamn Sega Genesis panel possible?

I'm running a panel i'm calling "Gems of the Genesis" and retro gaming convention in upstate New York in a couple weeks. Well i totally have some ideas for what to show, i figured i would ask for some input from you guys, since you seem to what the kids like. This particular panel is looking at games that aren't talked about much when it comes to Genesis. So, i'm looking for you guys to really suggest the diamonds that are lost in the rough. So help a fellow Sega dude. (Also, 32x and CD are fair game, though i don't want to use them too much).

Beavis and Butthead while sounds immature is actually a good game and I remember very popular at the time with people discussing how to beat it. It was sort of a cool strategic/adventure game. Others are Toe Jam and Earl, The Lost Vikings, and Bugsby was a great game highly overlooked game I feel are often overlooked by the general public.
 
Wow, I never actually thought of that.

It's really sad to see, you know, the Sega collection of a retro gamer who emphasizes NES or whatever. They've got like Cool Spot, Aladdin, Streets of Rage and Toejam. It's like, "wow, dude, that's what you think of Genesis, huh? Ever played Mega Turrican?"

And they just stare.
 

Khaz

Member
  • The Misadventures of Flink is a Sega CD game that I only recently discovered (within the past few years). I suppose it'd be mostly unremarkable, if not for one thing: it is absolutely gorgeous. It seriously boasts some of the finest pixel art I've seen on the console. It's not quite as great to play; Flink has a really slow walk that lasts way too long before he bursts into a sprint, which can be somewhat offset by jumping a lot, although I find myself launching him into pits if I do this in the wrong places. It can be somewhat annoying, especially since one of the enemies that requires two hits to take out runs away from you after the first hit, and while your sprint can catch up to him, your walk really can't, and you might lose the enemy to a pit while you're trying to catch up. Still, as a graphical showcase, well, wow.

    There is a cartridge version of this game, but it was only released for the European Mega Drive. I notice some of the sound effects are totally different between the two versions, too. Interesting?
  • The Adventures of Batman & Robin is an absolute bitch to play, because it's absurdly difficult all-around, but it's worth it just because it pulls a lot of visual tricks that the Genesis has almost no business doing; the parallax is obscene, giving the backgrounds a fair bit of depth, and there's even some scaling tricks that would feel more at home on the SNES. Also a kickin' soundtrack by Jesper Kyd; might not be the best fit for Batman, but I can't complain. Great showcase of the console's capabilities.

I've been tracking these two for the european Mega-CD. Bloody expensive, Batman is nothing short than 400€ on eBay and Flink... well I never saw it in good condition.

I may go with the ntsc version (cheaper and superior version with 60Hz etc) but still, I want them PAL in my collection!
 

Khaz

Member
It's like a religious experience.

I grew up in Europe so Scart is just part of my life. When I realised you didn't have access to this technology I felt so sorry. I had a few bad experience with composite (PS1 and Wii shipped with one) so I understand the "eye opener" part. I feel bad for people who have never experienced it and just had blurry gaming during the analogue era. I understand better the push for HD and flat screens now, you just wanted sharper images! (but killed CRT in the process... Oh well.)
 

baphomet

Member
Unreleated note, i was looking through power adapters at the thrift store like i always do and came across a sega channel adapter. I then proceeded to look through everywhere else to find the cart. I even asked them if they lnew where it came, and of course, they had no idea. I bought it anyway in case i ever come across the rest of it -_-
 

Shaneus

Member
It's really sad to see, you know, the Sega collection of a retro gamer who emphasizes NES or whatever. They've got like Cool Spot, Aladdin, Streets of Rage and Toejam. It's like, "wow, dude, that's what you think of Genesis, huh? Ever played Mega Turrican?"

And they just stare.
So much (although I've never played Turrican :/). As far as retro collectors go (or even people who just like to talk about "retro" gaming) if they're not completionists or Sega fanboys, there's a fair chance the MD/Genesis games they have/mention are token titles in it and not rare/unique gems. Gunstar seems to be popping up more and more though, which is something.

Yeah, RGB is such an upgrade over anything else the genesis natively outputs it's ridiculous.
How can I get this going? I assume I need an RGB cable (I guess that's easily available on eBay), but how do I hook that into my TV/monitor? Component or do I need a special box?
 

gryz

Banned
How can I get this going? I assume I need an RGB cable (I guess that's easily available on eBay), but how do I hook that into my TV/monitor? Component or do I need a special box?

oh man you are about to enter an expensive confusing rabbit hole.

look up the xrgb mini if you wanna hook it up to an lcd or plasma. if you go that route you'll need the rgb cable for your model of genesis, this cable will probably be euro scart and you'll also need a euro-jp21 adapter for the xrgb. there are some other threads on here dedicated to this.
 
I've been tracking these two for the european Mega-CD. Bloody expensive, Batman is nothing short than 400€ on eBay and Flink... well I never saw it in good condition.

I may go with the ntsc version (cheaper and superior version with 60Hz etc) but still, I want them PAL in my collection!
I should note that while the Sega CD version of Flink is more or less the same game (but with extra levels and the original Amiga CD32 soundtrack), the Sega CD Adventures of Batman & Robin is completely unrelated to the cartridge game. Actually, where the cart game is a run-and-gun, more or less, the CD game is basically what you'd get if you took the additional driving levels from Batman Returns and made an entire game focusing only on them. I haven't tried it, personally.
 
I should note that while the Sega CD version of Flink is more or less the same game (but with extra levels and the original Amiga CD32 soundtrack), the Sega CD Adventures of Batman & Robin is completely unrelated to the cartridge game. Actually, where the cart game is a run-and-gun, more or less, the CD game is basically what you'd get if you took the additional driving levels from Batman Returns and made an entire game focusing only on them. I haven't tried it, personally.

It's brilliant in terms of graphics (John O'Brien!) but it is very, very difficult. If you're a Batman TOS fan, though, it's worth it for the "lost episode".

http://www.sega-16.com/2005/11/adventures-of-batman-robin-a-sega-cd-landmark/
 
I should note that while the Sega CD version of Flink is more or less the same game (but with extra levels and the original Amiga CD32 soundtrack), the Sega CD Adventures of Batman & Robin is completely unrelated to the cartridge game. Actually, where the cart game is a run-and-gun, more or less, the CD game is basically what you'd get if you took the additional driving levels from Batman Returns and made an entire game focusing only on them. I haven't tried it, personally.

And much like the driving levels in Batman Returns, it is hard as all fuck, prohibitively so. The only good thing about Adventures of Batman & Robin on sega cd is that it contains what people call the lost episode of the cartoon, but you can watch that on youtube.
 
I do know that the trailer for Panzer Dragoon on the "Bootleg Sampler" that came with my Saturn uses the music from the Riddler's stage, so there's that, too.
 

Shaneus

Member
oh man you are about to enter an expensive confusing rabbit hole.

look up the xrgb mini if you wanna hook it up to an lcd or plasma. if you go that route you'll need the rgb cable for your model of genesis, this cable will probably be euro scart and you'll also need a euro-jp21 adapter for the xrgb. there are some other threads on here dedicated to this.
Ah, I've seen the price for that. Thankfully the price of entry is that obvious that I'll never bother entering ;)
 
Ah, I've seen the price for that. Thankfully the price of entry is that obvious that I'll never bother entering ;)

Well there are other more sneaky expensive ways. Like getting an old tube tv and a rgb to component converting box. Then you may think "oh hey, I'll just get a good 20" PVM that takes rgb natively instead". Still going to need the custom cables and a scart to BNC adapter cable. Then a set of speakers since PVMs have mono sound at best.
 

Fox Mulder

Member
Some sega fan must have dumped their collection at goodwill today. I got like 10 genesis games with cases including golden axe, streets of rage 2, shining force, a few dreamcast games which I never find in the wild, and even a sega cd copy of batman returns for $1 each. There was a $5 gen 1 sega cd with no cords that I picked up, placed back down to look around, and someone scooped it up.

Nice to find things at goodwills for all the times I go there. Just luck when stuff gets put out, as the guy that swooped the sega cd would have got all this too.
 

ckohler

Member
After 15 some years, I'm reunited with this beauty:

H5DSMwJl.jpg
 

Mikhal

Member
After 15 some years, I'm reunited with this beauty:

H5DSMwJl.jpg

*drool* I regret selling off my CDX years ago. It hurts even more that the system is worth twice the amount I sold it for back then.

My nephew was over today so I had him play some Genesis games since he was bored and I needed to test some lots I won from ebay. He was excited to see Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure in there, but was quickly let down when he found out it is not a Temple Run-style runner game like the IOS version...
 

DragonHunterG

Neo Member
oddly enough even though i dont really like sports games with some exceptions, i can remember enjoying quite a few of them on the genesis because my brother was into sports games so i would watch him play or play some two player and pretty much always get beat. NBA Live, Madden, NHL and Evander Holyfields boxing. Sega and EA seemed like good pals until the Dreamcast arrived and then that was it.
 

Bar81

Member
*drool* I regret selling off my CDX years ago. It hurts even more that the system is worth twice the amount I sold it for back then.

My nephew was over today so I had him play some Genesis games since he was bored and I needed to test some lots I won from ebay. He was excited to see Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure in there, but was quickly let down when he found out it is not a Temple Run-style runner game like the IOS version...

Factoring in the crazy amount of inflation in those 15 years and I'm not entirely sure you didn't save money.
 

Shane

Member
So, who wants to help a Sega fan make the best goddamn Sega Genesis panel possible?

I'm running a panel i'm calling "Gems of the Genesis" and retro gaming convention in upstate New York in a couple weeks. Well i totally have some ideas for what to show, i figured i would ask for some input from you guys, since you seem to what the kids like. This particular panel is looking at games that aren't talked about much when it comes to Genesis. So, i'm looking for you guys to really suggest the diamonds that are lost in the rough. So help a fellow Sega dude. (Also, 32x and CD are fair game, though i don't want to use them too much).

Splatterhouse 2. Plus it's awesome music score.

Thunder Force IV is a killer shooter that showed how the Megadrive could be pushed.

Sega online service that existed in the US. Never knew about it in the UK. I believe you could subscribe to games. Think PSN+ twenty years ago.
 

Shane

Member
And as mentioned above, EA's The Haunting was an oddity and one I like. Mechanically clunky but it has real charm.

Oh and that Crazy Golf game. With the hamburger hole. Believe it was a port from the Amiga (sure I played it on there first with a mouse). Challenging multiplayer.
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
Sega online service that existed in the US. Never knew about it in the UK. I believe you could subscribe to games. Think PSN+ twenty years ago.

It was called Sega Channel. You got it through a cable provider, wasn't really "online" per say.
 
Splatterhouse 2. Plus it's awesome music score.

Thunder Force IV is a killer shooter that showed how the Megadrive could be pushed.

Sega online service that existed in the US. Never knew about it in the UK. I believe you could subscribe to games. Think PSN+ twenty years ago.

Promote this man to full member

The splatterehouse series' atmosphere was unbelievable for the 16 bit era. It was a legitimately scary, isolating experience.
 

Ramune

Member
And as mentioned above, EA's The Haunting was an oddity and one I like. Mechanically clunky but it has real charm.

Oh and that Crazy Golf game. With the hamburger hole. Believe it was a port from the Amiga (sure I played it on there first with a mouse). Challenging multiplayer.

Zany Golf. I remember the Apple IIGS at my town library had it. Never did play the Genesis port, but I can't imagine it looking the same. Ironically, my first avatar for GAF was this:

zany_golf_burger2.gif
 
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