Between SNES and Genesis, the Genesis ones are better, OP.what the best ver. of (at least) the first 2 games was between SNES and Genesis/MD
Some of the GOG reviews were saying that they were the wrong version and not the Special Edition that the Sega CD and Windows 95 versions were titled.I'm curious if the GOG/Steam versions are the ones people are talking about >_>
DOS versions are actually better than the Win 95 game, I should note. The extra content in SE is not bad, but not essential. Also, those two Activision W95 games are a pain in the ass to deal with on modern PCs. I'm not sure there's a really good solution there outside of a VM - and then performance is an issue.Some of the GOG reviews were saying that they were the wrong version and not the Special Edition that the Sega CD and Windows 95 versions were titled.
IIRC the PC version was a port of the Sega CD version with some extra bells and whistles, so that would make it the best one.
Alright, I just made some comparison shots...
The DOS version looks even better than I remembered. Clearly the best looking version of the game as it maintains the original designs with improved color gradients plus it has the same soundtrack as Sega CD.
Unfortunately, having just sampled on DOSBOX, I can confirm that it doesn't really run quite right. It runs at the correct speed but is not 60fps unlike the others. Maybe with some tweaking it's possible?
Genesis
DOS
SNES
Ah, you're talking about W95The PC port has a few 256 color screens, but is otherwise a straight port of EWJ Special Edition on the Sega CD.
Either way, you need either version of Special Edition.
Yes, I know, I own both.The DOS version lacks the Special Edition content, IIRC. It has the Intestinal distress level from the Genesis version, but lacks the extra areas and the big bruty level.
The Windows 95 PC port is the one that is a port of Earthworm Jim Special Edition. It does not feature the in-game 256 color graphics like your screens show, but it does have some static 256 color screens. Otherwise, it's a straight port of the Sega CD Special Edition.
Nah, dude, the DOS port looks better than the Windows 95 version. Big time. ALL graphics are redrawn in 256 color rather than just small portions. It was still improved over the Genesis/Sega CD versions, though, so it was well made.The best version of the game is the Windows 95 release, which has not been re-released digitally. It has the best graphics (including much better color than the Sega CD release), the extra level from the Sega CD version, the extra areas added to some levels, and the best music. I haven't tried the game on Windows 10, but it did work on Windows 7, as I recall.
Great fucking game, btw.
Nah, dude, the DOS port looks better than the Windows 95 version. Big time. ALL graphics are redrawn in 256 color rather than just small portions.
Actually, now that I think about it, I do remember it having improved visuals all around. I was going with Krejlooc's notion, actually. He has a Win 95 PC ready to go, though, maybe he could share an example?Really? That's the first I've heard of it. You wouldn't happen to have any examples of it, would you?
Argh, I left my retro PCs back in the States.I got a Windows 95 PC in 256 color mode right next to me, and the Win 95 version of EWJ on the shelf lol. I actually gave the Win 95 version a play earlier this year.
Pitfall The Mayan Adventure, however, was completely redrawn in 256 color for Windows 95 and looks amazing. It's the mostly 32x visuals, actually, but it ran better.
32x version runs with Genesis 64 color backgrounds (at 60fps) while all foregrounds are 256 color but 30fps (or worse). Jaguar version is also 30fps and features 256 color graphics. It was possible to run the PC port at 60fps on a fast enough Pentium but it's not very compatible today.
Yeah, the save feature in the Jag version is great as is the menu in the Win 95 versions of those games.One big perk of the Jaguar version over the 32X version - it boasts game saving. Both EWJ and Pitfall on windows 95 did as well, technically - you could choose your starting level from the pull down file menu as you reached them, but they'd be greyed out prior. Neither the Sega CD version of EWJ SE, nor the 32X or Sega CD versions of Pitfall had this save feature. But the Jaguar version does, owing to the mandatory bit of flash memory in the Jaguar game cart.
??and cinematic frames per second
The Win95 version includes a couple extra levels including extended level oneOK I'm a bit confused lol, could someone jot down the major differences between the W95 and DOS versions please?
Yeah what's up with multiplatform 16 bit games back in the day? The snes was more powerful, why did the Genesis output in a higher resolution? I didn't find out about that until very recently when I came across a The Lion King SNES/Genesis YouTube comparison video and noticed you you could see more in Sega's version. And apparently it wasn't only in that game.Genesis both times due to resolution
The video modes supported were the issue. The NES, SNES, and Turbo Grafx all output at 256x224 while Genesis could support either 256x224 or 320x224. Most games used the higher resolution mode. The higher res SNES mode, however, was more like 512x239/448 or something weird which was not feasible for most games.Yeah what's up with multiplatform 16 bit games back in the day? The snes was more powerful, why did the Genesis output in a higher resolution? I didn't find out about that until very recently when I came across a The Lion King SNES/Genesis YouTube comparison video and noticed you you could see more in Sega's version. And apparently it wasn't only in that game.
What gives???
I especially want to get Pitfall going as that version looks amazing.
Was the SNES version the wrong one? Ah damn it
Yep, Genesis, Sega CD, DOS and Win 95 versions are better.Was the SNES version the wrong one? Ah damn it
Yeah what's up with multiplatform 16 bit games back in the day? The snes was more powerful, why did the Genesis output in a higher resolution? I didn't find out about that until very recently when I came across a The Lion King SNES/Genesis YouTube comparison video and noticed you you could see more in Sega's version. And apparently it wasn't only in that game.
What gives???
Now, this was not actually a serious problem back then for image quality due to the fact that CRT TVs could accept all modes and display at proper aspect ratio.
I've been trying to get the Win 95 version of both EWJ and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure to run for years with no luck.
I especially want to get Pitfall going as that version looks amazing.
It's a great often overlooked platformer.
Yeah, the save feature in the Jag version is great as is the menu in the Win 95 versions of those games.
I just couldn't believe that Pitfall was running at only 30fps on the Jag. If it were the 3DO? Sure, that makes sense, the way it handles visuals made it difficult to replicate tile based graphics (since it didn't really do it that way) but the Jag should have been able to produce a 60fps version of the game. Bad porting, I guess. It had an interesting take on the water effect as well.
The SNES and GBA versions are shit, though. Totally different visuals and animation work with much less parallax.
I've found that, for the Sega CD version of Pitfall (and some other heavily dithered Genesis gaems), the XRGB can help. By changing the H_SCALER value to 15, 16, or 17 the image is slightly blurred but, if V_SCALER is 7, pixels still remain sharp enough. Yet, the softening helps blur the pixels more like you'd see on a CRT using composite but WITHOUT composite artefacts (since I'm using RGB). It's the best solution I've found to improve the situation.
??
Genesis/Sega CD versions are 60fps.
The Win95 version includes a couple extra levels including extended level one
The DOS version looks even better, though the Win95 version is still improved over Genesis
The DOS version shipped with EWJ2 in the same box also redrawn in 256 colors
Win95 version allows you to save progress, basically
The DOS version runs easily in DOS BOX but not perfectly while the Windows 95 version basically demands Win95 (maybe 98) running in 256 color. You can use a VM but it runs poorly, I've found. You really need a genuine retro PC for it.
Both versions include the excellent redbook audio from the Sega CD version.
So while I prefer those versions visually, I still think Sega CD is the way to go for ease of use (I own the real disc and a Sega CD *BUT* it's very easy to emulate at 100% speed).
I also thought the game was best on DOS as the PSX and Saturn versions both added a lot of cheap looking CGI elements to the game in an effort to appear "next-gem". Also, the DOS version lacks the "Lorenzo's Soil" level which is great as it's a stage I absolutely HATE playing through. It's an interesting idea, but it's tedious and ugly.Well, I'm learning some shit today. Maybe it's worth having both the DOS and Win95 versions of the game, then, for the best of both worlds?
So how about Earthworm Jim 2? Would you say that the DOS version is the best version of that, too? I know that one gets a little confusing, because there's some dramatic differences with the PS1 and Saturn versions...
I basically said as much beneath that quote.For the average user you're probably right that the IQ didn't matter that much, since it was all bottlenecked by the output. But the resolution does make a significant difference for screen real estate. A game like Sonic would probably suffer significantly if that extra bit of horizontal space was cut.
is the sega saturn version the same as the sega cd one?
I've been trying to get the Win 95 version of both EWJ and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure to run for years with no luck.
I especially want to get Pitfall going as that version looks amazing.
It's a great often overlooked platformer.
Right, EWJ2 was not released on Sega CD or Windows 95OK so to clarify-
Earthworm Jim 1: W95, DOS, SEGA CD and Genesis ver. are good
Earthworm Jim 2: DOS, Saturn and Genesis ver. are good
In the cas of EWJ2, it didn't get a SEGA CD nor W95 release right?