Sega Game Gear

[Blarginatorr]

Curiosity won over me and I decided to get myself a Game Gear.

I've never had one and I'm now wondering; what are the 'must get' games for it?

I got so far:

Mortal Kombat

Sonic1

Chase HQ

Columns

Ninja Gaiden

Talespin

Putt&Putter

 

I just happened to stumble upon a quite nice deal, with a "good condition GG", with bunch of games, plus a soft carrying bag(which seems to be an official Sega bag).

Columns and Talespin dont want to boot, so need to crack those open and see whats up.

 

However, today when I received it, I switched it on and noticed that it got dead sound caps. So atleast I know what I will be doing this weekend...

The unit itself is in quite good condition, with only a few light scratches on the screen plastic. I guess the carrying bag kept it well protected.

 

Here's a couple pics I took.

[HatefulGravey]

If you are replacing sound caps go ahead and replace the video caps too. It makes a world of difference from the ones I have seen. I want to do mine soon, just need the time.

 

As far as games go, if you can get Streets of Rage for a game system you should, and you can for the GG pretty cheap. So that one is a must for me.

[Blarginatorr]

I got some experience with soldering electronics, but this would be my first "cap job", so I think I'll look how the soundboard goes and then possibly proceed with the video.

The video is quite good at moment. Better colors than on my Lynx Mk1, but seems a bit more blurry.

 

I'm personally not much into SoR, but I'll give it a look.

[raskar42]

in terms of games - shinobi 2 is one of my favorites, it's a nice action platformer with puzzle elements and selectable characters.

[thegamezmaster]

Get a Master Gear Convertor and you can play most Sega Master System carts on your game gear. Instant huge library. Just started doing the cap job on game gears and the thing I noticed most was to use the smallest and thinnest soldering tip for those very tight places to reach. Love mine and with the caps replaced it's like a new system. Replacement screens are a bit pricey IMO.

[Blarginatorr]

Whats peoples opinion of the Sonic Racing games?

And Sonic games in general, as there seems to be quite an amount of them on it.

 

Also how does GameGear Outrun fare compared to its arcade versio? I love that game, and will probably still get it for the GG.

 

Yeah, the Master Gear sounds tempting.

I dont own a SMS, but it could be interesting to know if some SMS RPGs would work on the GG.

I'm thinking of Phantasy Star especially.

Aw, now that I checked, some say its not comptatible... Oh well.

 

But still, how much Adventure/RPGs are there actually on the Game Gear?

Edited May 11, 2011 by Blarginatorr

[Austin]

I think the first two Sonic platformers are great. After that, they were a mixed-bag IMO. As far as the spin-offs, I enjoyed Sonic Spinball as a kid, but going back to it now it's kind of hard to play. I never gave the racing games too much time, but they seemed OK for what they were.

 

Some personal favorites of mine are Predator 2, Revenge of Drancon (port of the SMS Wonderboy), Mega Man, Vampire, and some of the ones you already have (MK, Ninja Gaiden, the Sonic games, Columns). Now that I look back at it, despite it being my main handheld for several years as a kid, I didn't own or play nearly as many Game Gear games as I should have..

[4Ks]

Sonic Triple Trouble is awesome. You should make that one of your first games.

[Blarginatorr]

Oh yeah, Mega Man. Had forgotten there was that.

Tho, it doesnt seem so good.

And a quick price check, its way too expensive.

 

I found out that GG has a Shining Force game, or more exactly 3 of them, but only one english localization, and apparently it seems worth a try.

 

Attached a random snap for the fun of it.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Blarginatorr

[bomberpunk]

i liked Sonic Chaos, Ristar, Mega Man, NBA Jam, and... ...i think that's really all i played on that system. i spent more time with the original gameboy (as far as handhelds go).

[zylon]

If you like shooters, I'd recommend Aerial Assault, Galaga '90, & Halley Wars. Road Rash is another good one off the beaten path. Crystal Warriors plays like Shining Force, while the GG Shining Force plays like a normal RPG. Defenders of Oasis was another good RPG.

 

Just remember: 2,1,2,Down,Up for blood code on MK

[Blarginatorr]

Oh nice. I have to take a look into those RPG titles.

 

Shooters arent exactly my favorites, but I have to look around if theres any particularly interesting ones.

[Lendorien]

I use mine to mostly play Columns and Pacman. I will admit that this thread got me to take mine out and play it a bit. Centipede. Man those sprites are small.

[zylon]

Oh nice. I have to take a look into those RPG titles.

 

Shooters arent exactly my favorites, but I have to look around if theres any particularly interesting ones.

Glad I could help. I'll also 2nd getting a mastergear convertor if you have a SMS. It's not really expensive and opens up a whole library of titles including original Phantasy Star. A lot of GG titles were just ports of SMS games so I bought a convertor and sold the games that it helped replace.

[Blarginatorr]

Oh nice. I have to take a look into those RPG titles.

 

Shooters arent exactly my favorites, but I have to look around if theres any particularly interesting ones.

Glad I could help. I'll also 2nd getting a mastergear convertor if you have a SMS. It's not really expensive and opens up a whole library of titles including original Phantasy Star. A lot of GG titles were just ports of SMS games so I bought a convertor and sold the games that it helped replace.

So does Phantasy Star work with the converter?

I just read from somewhere that it doesnt, atleast not perfectly.

[SlowCoder]

SMS R-Type is a must-get space scroll shooter.

[godslabrat]

I'm in the same boat as the OP... I've always "kinda" wanted a GG, but didn't really want to take the plunge. Two questions for those more in the know:

 

1- I know the caps are the Achilles Heel of the GG, and getting them replaced is of prime importance. Aside from that, are there any other issues that seem to pop up a lot on the GG, or is it just that one? If I take care of the caps, can I be 99% sure I won't have other issues?

 

2- How much crossover is there with the SMS library? If I already have access to SMS, is the GG going to give me that many more titles, and is the larger color palatte worth it? (I realize the last part of that question is subjective.)

[zylon]

Oh nice. I have to take a look into those RPG titles.Shooters arent exactly my favorites, but I have to look around if theres any particularly interesting ones.

Glad I could help. I'll also 2nd getting a mastergear convertor if you have a SMS. It's not really expensive and opens up a whole library of titles including original Phantasy Star. A lot of GG titles were just ports of SMS games so I bought a convertor and sold the games that it helped replace.

So does Phantasy Star work with the converter?I just read from somewhere that it doesnt, atleast not perfectly.

I haven't had an issue with Phantsy Star on the convertor. I used to use it for leveling up at work.

 

 

I'm in the same boat as the OP... I've always "kinda" wanted a GG, but didn't really want to take the plunge. Two questions for those more in the know:1- I know the caps are the Achilles Heel of the GG, and getting them replaced is of prime importance. Aside from that, are there any other issues that seem to pop up a lot on the GG, or is it just that one? If I take care of the caps, can I be 99% sure I won't have other issues?2- How much crossover is there with the SMS library? If I already have access to SMS, is the GG going to give me that many more titles, and is the larger color palatte worth it? (I realize the last part of that question is subjective.)

I've only had cap failures on ones pre-broken before I got them, though I have seen a few with bad lines on the screen. I have 4 GG's and all still work fine. My oldest one I bought new in '92.

[Chuck D. Head]

Get a Master Gear Convertor and you can play most Sega Master System carts on your game gear. Instant huge library. Just started doing the cap job on game gears and the thing I noticed most was to use the smallest and thinnest soldering tip for those very tight places to reach. Love mine and with the caps replaced it's like a new system. Replacement screens are a bit pricey IMO.

So, the one I recently got works well, but the screen is a little dim and muddy. Is this something that would be helped with a cap change, or is a new screen in order?

[NightSprinter]

Mine came semi-working (missing battery covers, battery terminals have corrosion from ancient batteries, no picture or audio when booting a game up aside from a white screen). Any idea what's wrong with that?

[SlowCoder]

Mine came semi-working (missing battery covers, battery terminals have corrosion from ancient batteries, no picture or audio when booting a game up aside from a white screen). Any idea what's wrong with that?

Obviously not well taken care of. Probably used by a young kid and tossed in a box when no longer used, dropped a lot, etc. Never know though, might just need the contacts cleaned.

[zylon]

Try smacking the game down into the slot hard, then powering on. I have one that was given to me that goes to white screen. If I slam the game in, it'll work until you power off.

[Algus]

I really need to pick a Game Gear up. I kind of want to get a Sega Nomad first though. It was starting an Atari collection that put a stop to my Sega collecting

 

Vampire: Master of Darkness is a pretty good Castlevania esque platformer/adventure game.

[Blarginatorr]

So I took open the GG, actually to see if that plastic pen trick works, and to have a look inside so there wont be any surprises when I start tomorrow.

Tho, I'm having trouble getting open the cartridges. Got the screw out, and I'd assume that they're same as GB cartridges where the case halves are supposed to slide a few millimeters and then can be pulled apart. But the Columns cartridge wont bugde.

Going tomorrow and get some caps and soldering supplies.

 

The case is stamped 91/8, which gives a rough idea of age.

And there are no visible signs of caps leaking.

Edited May 13, 2011 by Blarginatorr

[Blarginatorr]

Unfortunately the electronics store I went to didnt have 100uF caps, so today I replaced just the 47uF ones.

However, this did fix both the speaker and headphones, so I guess I was lucky.

The soldering work is kinda crude, especially on the other one. Was having difficulties to get the solder to stick to the PCB contact point.

Fried some of the speakers contact plastic and the black headphones block while reaching the other caps contact point.

But after couple hours of struggling, I had a Game Gear that was able to sing its 8-bit songs again.

And some photos:

Sound board soldered and ready to go back in.

The culprits.

Tried to get a shot to show how surprisingly scratch free the screen plastic is.

And a "glamour shot" of the whole thing.

Edited May 14, 2011 by Blarginatorr