Reliving the Sega Genesis / Sega CD experience

[+Cafeman]

I was a big SEGA 16-bit fan before I rediscovered the way of Atari gaming. I sold it all off years ago then repurchased it later. Anyway, I recently found a stereo chord (I only had the crappy mono one before) for my Genesis mark 2 system, sitting atop a Sega CD mark 1. With stereo sound and a surround system, I've been playing and enjoying 16-bit Genny/CD games.

 

In particular, I have acquired a fascination with Road Rash II. We also have our N64 hooked up and I recently brough home Road Rash 64. I played a wee bit of it, it was okay but I'm not done playing thru Genesis RR2 yet. I would love to find the PSX port of the 3DO Road rash. Or Saturn, but Saturn games are near impossible to find around here. I don't think I really want the PSX "Road Rash 3D" or "Road Rash Jailbreak" (also in 3D using polys), but if you have reasons to recommend those, please respond and share them. But I know the 3DO version, ported to PSX/Saturn early on, was beloved by many and that's the one I want, with 2D bitmaps and not all poly.

 

Something about Road Rash II always got me. Playing thru it this week from start, it has been a difficult game for me. It took 2 nights to get some skills and beat level 1 with enough money to buy a new bike. Now I've qualified on 4/5 of the Level 2 tracks. I'm using the smallest of the Nitro bikes and thats going well. I love having the nito burst, four of 'em. Just double tap B and you accelerate from 128 MPH to 140MPH, OR you get a fast accel from a standstill. Sometimes I activate it by accident as I press and release the gas (B Button) around curves.

 

For all the framey choppy scrolling and quasi-scaling, and the low-res bitmaps of oncoming cars , cows, bears or other things you can collide with, I think RR2 is very well done. I'm addicted.

 

Question -- is anybody familiar enough with RR, RR2, and RR3 to compare and contrast them?

[+Cafeman]

Figured I put the rest in another separate post.

 

Caf Jr also played thru Rocket Knight Adventures. He beat the game in 2 nights. He's quite good at 2D games, he beat Megaman 9 in 2 nights as well (on Wii Ware). I had never seen the entire game of RKA until this week, it is quite long and challenging. Love the possum rocketeer vibe, VS pigs of all things. At the end you fight the traitor possum in a multi-part mechs and one-on-one battle, then a big mecha pig, all of this out on a pig deathstar in space. As it all comes crashing down to earth, with the mech still clutching to life and attacking you as you fall in a ship, you have to battle it until it burns up on re-entry. Awesome. Any fans of RKA? How would you compare SNES Sparkster (not Genesis Sparkster which i hear isn't very good)?

 

I also played quite a bit of Batman Returns on SEGA CD, both the driving game and the platforming game. I'm growing tired of typing here, but suffice it to say the driving levels are CHALLENGING! That one boss vehicle in the winter wonderland icey roads stages, which spits out clown cars and cannon balls, is so hard for me. The scaling, when compared to typical Genesis fare such as Road Rash games, is so smooth. The music is awesome on BR CD, even on the platformer levels, which I hadn't noticed before. Much better sounds and music than the Genny cart of BR, which I also have.

 

Other CD games I tried for the first time this past week or so were Son of Chuck (nice visuals!), and a Rise of the Dragon, which I think I've cornered myself into an unwinnable game. Nobody will talk to me in the game any more!

 

Okay, I'm done for now.

[the.golden.ax]

I too have been finding my play time as of late with Sega being increased. I hit a little streets of rage, ghostbusters, and quackshot this week.

 

AX

[VideoFever1982]

I was always big on Genesis and sega cd. Alot of my favorites are there, Night Trap, Double Switch, Sonic, Touble Shooter, Thunder Force II, Splatterhouse 2, and Splatterhouse 3.

[Christophero Sly]

I quite like Road Rash 3D. I had read some pretty tepid reviews of the game before I acquired it, so my expectations for it were low. It's far better than I'd been lead to believe.

 

The original Road Rash will always be my favorite. Out of the first three, it has far and away the best BGM. It's too bad no version has ever been able to pull off two player split-screen to my satisfaction.

Edited October 10, 2008 by Christophero Sly

[+Cafeman]

I can tolerate the music on RR2, but there is only 1 tune I truly enjoy. I think Vermont's theme. Well, the Hawaiin drums tune is kind of neat too.

 

Next time I hit the used game place, I am looking for the original RR and RR3 on Genny. I hope the original's visuals aren't too much worse than RR2.

[Atariman]

I, too, have broken out my Genesis stuff for some 16-bit goodness lately. I hooked up the Genesis/SegaCD/32x monstrosity and discovered that it takes about 7 cables for me to hook it up to my satisfaction:

 

3 power supplies

1 stereo cable (from the front of the Genesis to the back of the SegaCD)

1 set of cables going from the SegaCD to the TV

1 cable from the 32x to the Genesis (with the little Gen2->Gen1 adaptor)

1 cable from the 32x to the TV (along with an S-Video converter + cable as my TV hates the composite video from the Genesis+32x)

 

And then there's the two controllers and whatever else. The upside, though? Fantastic picture and sound. Everything is top notch. The only issue I had was that when I play Fire Shark with the Game Genie attached, I have to move the whole setup so that it isn't blocking part of the TV (seriously!)

 

I also broke out some SegaCD games to play - my most favorite being Keio Flying Squadron!

 

My Genesis/SegaCD/32x system is resting on the shelf once again, but it was fun to break everything out again for the first time in a long time!

[nathanallan]

I've been playing a LOT of Genesis and Master System lately (with the power base converter, thanks again parrothead) and that's pretty much been all of my gaming save for a bit of GBA here and there. Zero Tolerance, Astro Warrior and Fatal Labyrinth lately. I'll break out RR and Sonic 2 soon enough. My rig: Model 1 Hi Def Graphics, DIN A/V connector, Power base converter, 4-player tap, stereo lead out to input. No 32X or CD, though.

[MN12BIRD]

Sweet I've got a Tower of Power or Battle ship formation?? lol. I forget what they're calling it. Model 1 HD Genny (no TMSS), on SegaCD model 1 with a 32X on top!

 

I had a hard time playing the Road Rash games for the Genesis but that's because I played the 3DO version first. Witch I also have

 

I love that game on the 3DO... but I guess the Genesis ones are okay. I should give them another try now.

[VideoFever1982]

Nice...My rig still needs a few things before i'm done. Right now it's, Model 1 high def, with model 2 sega cd and extension to fit the model 1 Gen, 2 6 button pads, 2 3 button pads, 1 6 button arcade stick and 1 3 button arcade stick. I need to get the stereo connections and or s-video for better pic. No 32x at this time but i'm thinking about it.

[MN12BIRD]

I think the model 2 SCD may be a bit more reliable but the Model 1 looks soo much better esp with the model 1 Genesis witch I also think looks badass.

[VideoFever1982]

I think the model 2 SCD may be a bit more reliable but the Model 1 looks soo much better esp with the model 1 Genesis witch I also think looks badass.

I agree. The model 1 cd is nice but i've seen problems with them in the past. I'll probably still get a good one just to have tho.

[Artlover]

I hooked up the Genesis/SegaCD/32x monstrosity

 

The only issue I had was that when I play Fire Shark with the Game Genie attached, I have to move the whole setup so that it isn't blocking part of the TV (seriously!)

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/23/the-leaning-tower-of-sega/

Gotta love Sega......

[VideoFever1982]

I hooked up the Genesis/SegaCD/32x monstrosity

 

The only issue I had was that when I play Fire Shark with the Game Genie attached, I have to move the whole setup so that it isn't blocking part of the TV (seriously!)

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/23/the-leaning-tower-of-sega/

Gotta love Sega......

yeah i saw this awhile back. Cant think of any other system where you could do something like this

[+Cafeman]

Wow @ Genny Tower!

 

Back in the day, I had a better setup. I had the Genesi mark 1 (hd graphics) hooked up to the model 1 Sega CD. (had a 32X hooked up sometimes too but got rid of it first). The great thing about the Genesis 1 and Sega CD 1 hookup, was that I had some kind of mixing cable from front of Genesis to Sega CD. Then I could output directly from the Sega CD and it sounded great. Plus I could use the mixing slider (headphones volume control) on the Genesis console to mix the sounds / BG CD music to my preference.

 

Now I have a Genesis 2 on a SCD 1. Since there is no way to plug in the mixing cable from the Genesis 2 down to the SCD1 (is there?), I don't output from the SCD at all -- it would just be the music. So I output directly from the Genesis, now with my stereo Genesis cable. I'm not sure if it is as good quality as my old setup but it is good enough -- I hate playing in mono sound.

 

Last night I found time to progress to level 3 on Road Rash 2. Bought the 2nd tier of Nitro Bike, which you really need to keep upgrading to keep up with the faster riders on each progressive level. This bike tops out at about 144 MPH; the last nitro bike I used topped out at about 128 MPH. Plus, this new bike has 5 nitro's , the weaker bike only had 4. Still, I was terrible and didn't qualify on any of the Level 3 tracks yet. It seems that when I wreck now, that I slide about a mile and have to run back to my bike. This greatly reduces the odds of qualifying. But I'm still having fun.

 

I also played Lightening Force (died very quickly) and Biohazard Battle. I will return to these after my road rash phase is done.

[nathanallan]

I just found this and it's getting its own thread (no hijacking here).

[Atariman]

I hooked up the Genesis/SegaCD/32x monstrosity

 

The only issue I had was that when I play Fire Shark with the Game Genie attached, I have to move the whole setup so that it isn't blocking part of the TV (seriously!)

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/23/the-leaning-tower-of-sega/

 

Gotta love Sega......

 

And remember - that isn't even the tallest configuration! If that Genesis had the Model 1 SegaCD under it (like my setup), it would have been even taller! Then again, I don't recognize the setup in that picture as authentic as it wouldn't actually "work" (it has the Genesis cleaning cart in the middle of it). One of these days I might have to plug in the Game Genie along with Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 2 and see if it works. I think that's about as tall as you can get while still having something functional!

[Tempest]

I, too, have broken out my Genesis stuff for some 16-bit goodness lately. I hooked up the Genesis/SegaCD/32x monstrosity and discovered that it takes about 7 cables for me to hook it up to my satisfaction:

 

3 power supplies

1 stereo cable (from the front of the Genesis to the back of the SegaCD)

1 set of cables going from the SegaCD to the TV

1 cable from the 32x to the Genesis (with the little Gen2->Gen1 adaptor)

1 cable from the 32x to the TV (along with an S-Video converter + cable as my TV hates the composite video from the Genesis+32x)

 

And then there's the two controllers and whatever else. The upside, though? Fantastic picture and sound. Everything is top notch. The only issue I had was that when I play Fire Shark with the Game Genie attached, I have to move the whole setup so that it isn't blocking part of the TV (seriously!)

 

I also broke out some SegaCD games to play - my most favorite being Keio Flying Squadron!

 

My Genesis/SegaCD/32x system is resting on the shelf once again, but it was fun to break everything out again for the first time in a long time!

 

I have the same setup (minus the cables from the CD to the TV). I call it Devistator.

 

Can you use a Game Genie with the 32X? Last time I tried it wouldn't work.

 

Tempest

[Atariman]

Can you use a Game Genie with the 32X? Last time I tried it wouldn't work.

 

Tempest

 

Well, I don't know if there are multiple revisions of 32x/Game Genies, but it worked just fine for me. I was using the black-label Game Genie if that helps (I know there is a gold label version as well - I doubt there's any difference, though). The only game I used it on with that setup was FireShark

 

EDIT: Also, do you have the cable going from the front of the Genesis to the SegaCD? (you mentioned that you just didn't have the cables going from the SegaCD to the TV) If so, you don't need to. The reason it's necessary to have both of those cables is that the SegaCD can pass sound to the Genesis, but not vice versa. By patching the stereo from the headphone jack to the back of the SegaCD, it mixes the SegaCD+Genesis sound together and passes it through to the stereo jacks on the back of the SegaCD. The stereo jacks on the back of the unit only output the sound coming from the SegaCD itself otherwise.

Edited October 10, 2008 by Atariman

[Artlover]

I just found this and it's getting its own thread (no hijacking here).

[+Cafeman]

I also don't have the mentioned Genesis Headphone jack-to-Sega CD back mixing cable. Can you use any kind of standard replacement?

[Atariman]

I also don't have the mentioned Genesis Headphone jack-to-Sega CD back mixing cable. Can you use any kind of standard replacement?

 

Yeah, pretty much any of those male-to-male stereo mini jacks work just fine. Lots of PC speakers use them and I know that Radio Shack sells them as well:

Mini Stereo Cable

 

The one listed there is a little over the top (maybe if someone were doing a 'Pimp My Genesis' show or something), but that's the basic item you need. After that, you just use standard RCA cables from the back of the SegaCD to the TV.

[Tempest]

Can you use a Game Genie with the 32X? Last time I tried it wouldn't work.

 

Tempest

 

Well, I don't know if there are multiple revisions of 32x/Game Genies, but it worked just fine for me. I was using the black-label Game Genie if that helps (I know there is a gold label version as well - I doubt there's any difference, though). The only game I used it on with that setup was FireShark

 

EDIT: Also, do you have the cable going from the front of the Genesis to the SegaCD? (you mentioned that you just didn't have the cables going from the SegaCD to the TV) If so, you don't need to. The reason it's necessary to have both of those cables is that the SegaCD can pass sound to the Genesis, but not vice versa. By patching the stereo from the headphone jack to the back of the SegaCD, it mixes the SegaCD+Genesis sound together and passes it through to the stereo jacks on the back of the SegaCD. The stereo jacks on the back of the unit only output the sound coming from the SegaCD itself otherwise.

Yes I have a cable going from the headphone jack in the front to the back of the Sega CD. I just don't have the video cable going from the Sega CD to the TV, I just use the one from the 32X. Of course this means I can't play the 3 or 4 games that don't work with the 32X, but I never play those anyway.

 

Tempest

[Atariman]

Yes I have a cable going from the headphone jack in the front to the back of the Sega CD. I just don't have the video cable going from the Sega CD to the TV, I just use the one from the 32X. Of course this means I can't play the 3 or 4 games that don't work with the 32X, but I never play those anyway.

 

Tempest

 

I think I understand what you meant (there isn't any video connection on the SegaCD). It looks like the stereo cable going from the headphone jack to the back of the SegaCD probably isn't necessary, though.

 

As for the 3 or 4 games that won't work with the 32x, I'm the same way. The only two I have that won't work with it are Exodus (craptastic game, anyway) and Virtua Racing (I might as well play the 32x version, anyway)

[fiddlepaddle]

And remember - that isn't even the tallest configuration! If that Genesis had the Model 1 SegaCD under it... ...I think that's about as tall as you can get while still having something functional!

Actually, you can plug a bunch of Game Genie's together, and maybe even a bunch of Sonic & Knuckles together, or a combination of the two. Haven't tried it, but should work I think, at least until the bus got too long (up to the second floor, maybe?).

 

Might need a bigger power supply. How much power would each extra GG require?