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

Timu

Member
I can sleepwalk through absolutely everything in SoR1 except Mr. X.

Range, stun, and priority on basic attacks are way too good in that game.
That's pretty much what I did, lol, even though I die at least once a stage starting with the 2nd I at least get an extra life back to make up for it, not to mention the few hidden ones as well. I used my 1st continue when I got to the Blaze Clones just before Mr. X.
 

Gagaman

Member
Ok so slightly complicated question and not sure if this is the best thread to ask but I'm having some weirdness with my Mega Drive on my TV involving Scart at RGB mode.

It's a pretty old Hitachi LCD with two scart ports, one with RGB mode, one without. RGB mode makes all my scart based consoles look lovely and sharp on it, whereas the other obviously is all blurry and poo. Recently it's been pretty finicky with the Mega Drive scart, flickering about between RGB visuals and composite, especially at 60hz where it twitches all over the place. Now it just flat out ignores RGB mode on the Mega Drive though that scart port, yet is still RGB-mode visuals with Dreamcast and Saturn.

I tried the scart cable I have on another TV with a RGB mode compatible port in it and it worked here. Is the scart port on my TV dying or is the scart I have dying? The scart cable was bought on ebay some years ago, a shop called retrocomputershack. Hope this makes sense to someone hah.

(I also want to be able to cap RGB mode quality with it but another story haha)

EDIT: Nevermind it fixed itself??
 

Khaz

Member
Ok so slightly complicated question and not sure if this is the best thread to ask but I'm having some weirdness with my Mega Drive on my TV involving Scart at RGB mode.

It's a pretty old Hitachi LCD with two scart ports, one with RGB mode, one without. RGB mode makes all my scart based consoles look lovely and sharp on it, whereas the other obviously is all blurry and poo. Recently it's been pretty finicky with the Mega Drive scart, flickering about between RGB visuals and composite, especially at 60hz where it twitches all over the place. Now it just flat out ignores RGB mode on the Mega Drive though that scart port, yet is still RGB-mode visuals with Dreamcast and Saturn.

I tried the scart cable I have on another TV with a RGB mode compatible port in it and it worked here. Is the scart port on my TV dying or is the scart I have dying? The scart cable was bought on ebay some years ago, a shop called retrocomputershack. Hope this makes sense to someone hah.

(I also want to be able to cap RGB mode quality with it but another story haha)

EDIT: Nevermind it fixed itself??

Possibly your scart cable. One of the Scart pins (16 iirc) is dedicated to switch between RGB and Composite. if the pin is high, the TV switches to RGB. A faulty connection for this pin means the TV only displays the Composite part of your signal.

Sadly the fault could also be in your TV. One of the weaknesses of Scart is that the outlets are fragile and don't support much being constantly plugged and unplugged. A switch box is strongly recommended, even if you only have a single Scart device, so that stress and wear are put on the box and the cable instead of the TV.
 

ElTopo

Banned
The Genesis had so many great Beat 'em Ups. What would be your Top 5 Beat 'em Ups on the system?

In no real particular order:

Comix Zone
Splatterhouse 3
Golden Axe 1
Streets of Rage 3
and Alien Storm
 
Recently I got myself a PAL Megadrive 2, so I went ahead and bought a brand new RGB/Scart cable from Ebay. Not official, but the picture is pretty good. Unfortunately there is a hum to the audio which is a bit annoying, so I thought, this might be cheaply made.

So I go ahead and buy an (expensive) official MD2 RGB/Scart cable. I hook it up, and guess what, there is the hum again! So I do a bit of research and come across this:

http://www.retrocorner.net/index.php...e_modification

Great I think, I'll open it up and cut the trace as explained there... So I opened it up, and find the trace is already cut O_O

So, er, what next?

Thanks!
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
I actually fitted a 4 position single switch mod on my MegaDrive sysyem and think it looks super discrete and tidy......


Just a standard DPDT on-off-on switch will do for the 3 position switch mod however...

SLIDE-SWITCH-261.jpg


Probably get one from Maplin
That looks beautiful. I did my first switch last year and used so silver toggle switches. I think it looks kind of ugly and now I wish I did one with a switch like that.

Also, as my test console, I used a PAL Megadrive as I didn't want to sacrifice one of my NTSC units yet. Turns out 60 Hz content on a PAL machine doesn't display quite right due to the crystal oscillator - content displays at 60 Hz but every few seconds there is a tiny blip where you get what looks like a single duplicate frame (kind of like the GBA Player on GC though not as obvious).

Also annoying that a number of games tuned for PAL can't be switched to 60 Hz mode due to the change in programming. :\ At least most earlier games run just fine on a US console and all Japanese games operate properly on the modded one (with the small skipping issue).
 

Khaz

Member
Was it posted? There is a new Mega Everdrive v2:
Advantages of Mega EverDrive-V2 compared to Mega EverDrive-V1:
• Battery RAM for saves. It allow to save without need to push reset.
• Better compatibility with clone systems.
• Improved hardware design and reduced power consumption.
• Improved software.

I'll add:
- incompatible form factor, you can't upgrade the board in your carved shell.
- micro-SD only, but with direct access.
 

ElTopo

Banned
Played and beat Golden Axe 2 and 3 this morning (I have a really fucked sleeping schedule). First time beating either of them. 2 has slightly better controls than 1 and it's nice to be able to stop your combo and pick up an enemy and throw them in either direction. But the A.I. is a little bit cheaper especially you knock them down and your special attack (hitting Jump and Attack at the same time) while it comes out far more consistently it's fairly worthless to do, or at least it is with the Barbarian dude. Final battle with Death Adder was great though. I could see why some dudes would prefer 2 over 1 because it's a tad easier.

3 was okay. The graphics and sound took a noticeable downgrade but the controls were solid and there was a variety of playable characters and it had branching paths. It looks like it was inspired by the Arcade-exclusive Revenge of Death Adder and took it's cue from that when it came to branching paths and one or two short stages. This is the first game where the A.I. rarely ever does the dash attack but on the other hand certain enemies are far more prone to attack you first with a completely invincible attack forcing you to cheese them.
 

Hubbl3

Unconfirmed Member
I came across Hyperstone Heist this morning and spent probably like 45 minutes debating on whether or not to get it. I ultimately decided to grab and I'm pretty glad I did! Now it's time to put it through its paces!

 

Timu

Member
The Genesis had so many great Beat 'em Ups. What would be your Top 5 Beat 'em Ups on the system?

In no real particular order:

Comix Zone
Splatterhouse 3
Golden Axe 1
Streets of Rage 3
and Alien Storm
Streets of Rage series, Golden Axe series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Hyperstone Heist, etc.
 

Timu

Member
Played and beat Golden Axe 2 and 3 this morning (I have a really fucked sleeping schedule). First time beating either of them. 2 has slightly better controls than 1 and it's nice to be able to stop your combo and pick up an enemy and throw them in either direction. But the A.I. is a little bit cheaper especially you knock them down and your special attack (hitting Jump and Attack at the same time) while it comes out far more consistently it's fairly worthless to do, or at least it is with the Barbarian dude. Final battle with Death Adder was great though. I could see why some dudes would prefer 2 over 1 because it's a tad easier.

3 was okay. The graphics and sound took a noticeable downgrade but the controls were solid and there was a variety of playable characters and it had branching paths. It looks like it was inspired by the Arcade-exclusive Revenge of Death Adder and took it's cue from that when it came to branching paths and one or two short stages. This is the first game where the A.I. rarely ever does the dash attack but on the other hand certain enemies are far more prone to attack you first with a completely invincible attack forcing you to cheese them.
IMO Golden Axe 3 on hard is the most difficult of the 3 games.
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
Recently tried out Burning Force... holy shit is this game good! Very impressive for a really-early Genesis release (I thought it was something out of '92 but it turns out it was from '89!), it's a Space-Harrier-Esque scaler run 'n' gun that runs a helluva lot smoother than the Genesis Space Harrier 2, plus has some pretty bitchin' tunes.
 
Recently tried out Burning Force... holy shit is this game good! Very impressive for a really-early Genesis release (I thought it was something out of '92 but it turns out it was from '89!), it's a Space-Harrier-Esque scaler run 'n' gun that runs a helluva lot smoother than the Genesis Space Harrier 2, plus has some pretty bitchin' tunes.

Music is awesome but it's a shame I can't seem to get past the 4th day. I just tried the other day too.
 

ElTopo

Banned
Re-playing Golden Axe 1 yet again (The last week while waiting for my job to start has been a Golden Axe week, I even played Golden Axe the Duel for shits 'n giggles). And I was deadest on understanding the best way to kill Death Adder. I should remind you that the final battle with the real Death Adder is probably one of the hardest final battles in Beat 'em Up history. For one, if Death Adder hits you with his Axe that takes off a unit of health, and he follows that up with a magic attack that is guaranteed to hit you and will take off another unit of health. And on top of this, he has 2 skeleton minions to assist him and they do not die. The skeletons have the most annoying A.I. in the game and if they hit you they take off between 1-2 units of health.

Anywho, I figured out the best way to beat the boss (jump attacks seem to work surprisingly well against the skeletons even though jump attacking is fairly worthless against every other enemy type). And I got him with my last unit of health but just as I got him a skeleton charged me and took away my last life but I had 3 continues left. And this happened:

weirdgoldenaxeglitch_zps491ad36a.png


weirdgoldenaxeglitch2_zpsd9359d97.png


The game just froze on this image with the victory music playing and I couldn't hit start or anything.

First time I've ever seen this glitch.
 

Timu

Member
Re-playing Golden Axe 1 yet again (The last week while waiting for my job to start has been a Golden Axe week, I even played Golden Axe the Duel for shits 'n giggles). And I was deadest on understanding the best way to kill Death Adder. I should remind you that the final battle with the real Death Adder is probably one of the hardest final battles in Beat 'em Up history. For one, if Death Adder hits you with his Axe that takes off a unit of health, and he follows that up with a magic attack that is guaranteed to hit you and will take off another unit of health. And on top of this, he has 2 skeleton minions to assist him and they do not die. The skeletons have the most annoying A.I. in the game and if they hit you they take off between 1-2 units of health.

Anywho, I figured out the best way to beat the boss (jump attacks seem to work surprisingly well against the skeletons even though jump attacking is fairly worthless against every other enemy type). And I got him with my last unit of health but just as I got him a skeleton charged me and took away my last life but I had 3 continues left. And this happened:

weirdgoldenaxeglitch_zps491ad36a.png


weirdgoldenaxeglitch2_zpsd9359d97.png


The game just froze on this image with the victory music playing and I couldn't hit start or anything.

First time I've ever seen this glitch.
Congrats, but holy shit what a glitch that has to be, never knew that existed. Funny enough I just uploaded my Golden Axe 2 on Hard as Gilius playthrough and will do the 1st game soon enough as well with Tyris.
 

dodgeme

Member
Man just had a crazy game of MUSHA. Made it to the level with the ladies head that shoots out rockets and shit, I'm pretty sure it's level 5. Let's just say it kicked my ass. Had 6 lives and like 35 of the little ships and I had made it through one of the giant battleships but got knocked out on the second one and couldn't recover. Ate through all of my lives but was able to beat the boss and start level 6 for the first time, then died as I had only the single shot.
 

ElTopo

Banned
So tired of dudes shitting on SOR3 because of the music. The music was fine. The only annoying track was the dance club music. That was it. It was great music.

And the gameplay was WAY FUCKING BETTER than SOR 1 and 2.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
So tired of dudes shitting on SOR3 because of the music. The music was fine. The only annoying track was the dance club music. That was it. It was great music.

And the gameplay was WAY FUCKING BETTER than SOR 1 and 2.
Half of the soundtrack was questionable. Ninja tunnel BGM was a straight-up cacophony.

All of the oomph was taken out of the punches, and the difficulty tweaks make it a chore to play at times.
 

lazygecko

Member
SoR3's music was Schranz before Schranz even existed which is what makes it excellent and forward-thinking. I think a lot of people probably misunderstand the quote about the automated music. It's not like entire songs were just randomly generated. What you do is randomly generate short isolated phrases until you stumble across something you like, then you weave that together with other phrases to form a cohesive whole. Most of the drums apart from maybe percussive elements are more likely to be sequenced by hand in order to bind together the whole thing so it starts making sense rhytmically. SoR3's style is what preceded this kind of music that would only start to show up years later.

The bad punches are probably a result of messed up sample prioritizing, so the PCM drums will often cut out the PCM punches. I think Koshiro's sound design on the system got worse as he increasingly relied on low quality samples instead of doing almost everything in FM. SoR1 had FM-based punch impacts and I think that works a lot better. Both SoR1 and Revenge of Shinobi (dat wood creak) remain among the pinnacle of synthetic sound design.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Nah, I mean that hits just don't "feel" satisfying in that game. Nothing to do with sound.

The game has its merits but it's just too full of ups and downs when its predecessor was simply consistently good.
 
Honestly, when it comes to Streets of Rage 3's soundtrack, it's Motohiro Kawashima's half of the soundtrack that I tend to more consistently enjoy than Yuzo Koshiro's.

I mean, compare Kawashima's contributions:

To Koshiro's:

Kawashima's sound more like they have catchy, listenable melodies, whereas Koshiro seems to fully embrace the randomness in most instances. I dunno, it's hard to explain when I'm not the most musically-inclined.
 
Oh boy.

That SoR3 podcast raised my blood pressure.

The analysis was pretty weak and neither person on the show got the true ending. Alarmingly, the host says something along the lines of "If Sega put (BK3) up on the eShop for $6 or so, I'd get it, but alas..." and proceeds to recommend some reproduction seller instead.

like, do ur research. It's on XBLA by M2 for fuck's sake, and $10 gets you the compilation of all 3 games with the option to play the Japanese versions.
 
Playing through Rent-A-Hero now on my OUYA and I definitely like RAH No. 1 better. I remember being so hyped for RAH No. 1 and then it got cancelled. I had a review disc for it, but no modded console to play it on for many years.

Which SOR 3 podcast raised your ire? That SOR compilation is perfect too - you can use the Saturn-style SF IV pad to replicate the Genesis 6-button pad (and overall Genny layout), and play every regional version too.
 

entremet

Member
Oh boy.

That SoR3 podcast raised my blood pressure.

The analysis was pretty weak and neither person on the show got the true ending. Alarmingly, the host says something along the lines of "If Sega put (BK3) up on the eShop for $6 or so, I'd get it, but alas..." and proceeds to recommend some reproduction seller instead.

like, do ur research. It's on XBLA by M2 for fuck's sake, and $10 gets you the compilation of all 3 games with the option to play the Japanese versions.
So many people are unaware of the M2 360 collections, which is sad since they're excellent.

Heck every time I mention them here people are surprised.

I also think many believe the collections were the Digital Eclipse Genesis garbage, which was common at first on XBLA, so they right them off in their minds.
 

baphomet

Member
Oh boy.

That SoR3 podcast raised my blood pressure.

The analysis was pretty weak and neither person on the show got the true ending. Alarmingly, the host says something along the lines of "If Sega put (BK3) up on the eShop for $6 or so, I'd get it, but alas..." and proceeds to recommend some reproduction seller instead.

like, do ur research. It's on XBLA by M2 for fuck's sake, and $10 gets you the compilation of all 3 games with the option to play the Japanese versions.

Wow, amazingly uninformed.
 

Timu

Member
So tired of dudes shitting on SOR3 because of the music. The music was fine. The only annoying track was the dance club music. That was it. It was great music.

And the gameplay was WAY FUCKING BETTER than SOR 1 and 2.
Yeah same here, I liked the music in the game. And yeah it has the best gameplay, in fact, I'm surprised that some say the 1st one is the best.

All of the oomph was taken out of the punches, and the difficulty tweaks make it a chore to play at times.
Yeah, I beat it on Hard recently and it almost took 2 hours to beat.

So many people are unaware of the M2 360 collections, which is sad since they're excellent.
I own that collection and it's great!!!
 

ElTopo

Banned
Finally beat Adventures of Batman and Robin.

Obligatory link to the game's amazing Acid House OST:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXfX4B3v9SM&list=PLA9D5DD7C356A0556

One of the best 16 bit game soundtracks that's for sure. Aesthetically it reminded me a lot of Treasure, particularly Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier and also Konami's Contra Hard Corps. The gameplay is great, it's a Run 'N Gun not too dissimilar to Batman Return of the Joker on NES. Only problem I have with it is that it feels like all of your weapons are too weak even if you've powered them up to max. You also have a jump kick (which acts as a double jump) and a melee attack when you're close but even those don't seem to do enough damage.

Still, truly epic stages and boss fights. The boss fight with Mad Hater was absolutely insane.
 

vvise

Member
Finally beat Adventures of Batman and Robin.

Obligatory link to the game's amazing Acid House OST:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXfX4B3v9SM&list=PLA9D5DD7C356A0556

One of the best 16 bit game soundtracks that's for sure. Aesthetically it reminded me a lot of Treasure, particularly Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier and also Konami's Contra Hard Corps. The gameplay is great, it's a Run 'N Gun not too dissimilar to Batman Return of the Joker on NES. Only problem I have with it is that it feels like all of your weapons are too weak even if you've powered them up to max. You also have a jump kick (which acts as a double jump) and a melee attack when you're close but even those don't seem to do enough damage.

Still, truly epic stages and boss fights. The boss fight with Mad Hater was absolutely insane.
dam well done. as a kid never beat this. maybe i should go back and give it a shot. I always got smoked in that top down level, i think i made it past it like once.
 

Teknoman

Member
So just got Beyond Oasis, had no idea it was 30 fps (menus and text are 60 though?), so that feels kinda strange. Really good looking game though, kinda strange to hear Streets of Rage style effects in an action RPG, but thats to be expected.
 

ElTopo

Banned
dam well done. as a kid never beat this. maybe i should go back and give it a shot. I always got smoked in that top down level, i think i made it past it like once.

That level isn't too hard it just goes on forever. I didn't time it but it felt like 20-30 minutes.

The key thing about the game is to get the Bolo (Green Weapon Powerup) and use that because it does the most damage of all the weapons. If you hold onto a fully leveled up Bolo you stand a good chance.
 

Timu

Member
So just got Beyond Oasis, had no idea it was 30 fps (menus and text are 60 though?), so that feels kinda strange. Really good looking game though, kinda strange to hear Streets of Rage style effects in an action RPG, but thats to be expected.
30FPS? Strange.
 

stewy

Member
Oh boy.

That SoR3 podcast raised my blood pressure.

The analysis was pretty weak and neither person on the show got the true ending. Alarmingly, the host says something along the lines of "If Sega put (BK3) up on the eShop for $6 or so, I'd get it, but alas..." and proceeds to recommend some reproduction seller instead.

like, do ur research. It's on XBLA by M2 for fuck's sake, and $10 gets you the compilation of all 3 games with the option to play the Japanese versions.

Sorry you didn't agree with the analysis. Curious why you thought it was weak.

I'm also wondering if the XBLA Vintage Collection lets you play the JP version of BK3 with an English translation. Because I'm pretty sure that's why Kevin recommended the repro version of the game on the show. Especially when you consider that BK3 is the most story-heavy of the trilogy and the plot was modified pretty massively in the original localization. Not to mention Kevin's normally a stickler for playing games on original hardware rather than through any sort of emulation.

Not trying to raise your blood pressure any more. Just honestly curious.
 
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