Upgraded Genesis Ports - Which Are Worth The Purchase?

[Black_Tiger]

Originally Posted by Tears of Ash

Popful Mail -- although not many people have played it on the other few systems it came out on.

Although I think that this thread was meant to ask if a CD version is worth purchasing over the same game on a Genesis cart...

Popful Mail for Sega-CD is a full remake. The PC Engine version is a super-upgrade of the original(s).

Even though Shining Force CD is an upgrade of Game Gear games, they really maintain (and arguably surpass) the high quality of the Genesis carts.

Cosmic Fantasy Stories looks like a decent upgrade over the PC Engine games. At least for CF1.

[Baloo]

Originally Posted by gamegenie

yes like the Dragon Lair game. , except MMPR is cooler.

play this game with a Sega Activator and you will feel like you're in the game.

Hah, that's actually a rather interesting observation there. Does the Sega Activator work well, or is it really a piece of junk? I've always wanted to try it on Moonwalker or Eternal Champions.

[crazyteknohed]

Originally Posted by Black_Tiger

Cosmic Fantasy Stories looks like a decent upgrade over the PC Engine games. At least for CF1.

While we're on the Mega-CD versions > other versions topic, Record of Lodoss War on the Mega CD is different to the PCE version and, it must be said, is a lot better for it. Shin Megami Tensei is also better on the MCD than the SFC and is one of the few Japanese developed MCD to actually use the 3D capabilities of the MCD.

[tomaitheous]

Originally Posted by crazyteknohed

While we're on the Mega-CD versions > other versions topic, Record of Lodoss War on the Mega CD is different to the PCE version and, it must be said, is a lot better for it.

What's different about it. And which game are you referring to? (there's two on PCE)

Shin Megami Tensei is also better on the MCD than the SFC and is one of the few Japanese developed MCD to actually use the 3D capabilities of the MCD.

They added animation to the 3D part? I know I'll probably get crap for this, but that game sucks - be it PCECD, SFC, and probably MCD too (I haven't played it, but if it's anything like others it's overrated crap). I know for a fact that PCE one doesn't even take advantage of the CD. The ISO data itself could have been on a cart and they didn't even use CD audio tracks. The animation sucks, the colors are drab...blah-blah-blah

Cosmic Fantasy Stories looks like a decent upgrade over the PC Engine games. At least for CF1.

It better had <_<. The original one ran on 64k of ram and used chip music. It has its rather super simplistic style of charm, but I wouldn't mind playing an upgraded version.

[Black_Tiger]

Originally Posted by crazyteknohed

While we're on the Mega-CD versions > other versions topic, Record of Lodoss War on the Mega CD is different to the PCE version and, it must be said, is a lot better for it. Shin Megami Tensei is also better on the MCD than the SFC and is one of the few Japanese developed MCD to actually use the 3D capabilities of the MCD.

I thought that the Mega-CD version was going to be a Shining Force rip off. I was so disappointed when I tried it that I never played very far. Is it really a decent game? I played much further into the PCE version and although it didn't seem like anything special, it was seemed cool enough from what I could understand (this was before I developed my JRPG playing skills).

I played fairly far into SFC Megami Tensei "if..." way back when and although it was very modest in scope, as a crazed RPG fan I got enough enjoyment out of it (till I got stuck). From sampling the Mega-CD and PCE Sin games, they looked to be the same game only with a different quest/story line.


EDIT: I just checked out youtube videos of both the Mega-CD Sin MT and the PCE version. The realtime 3D hallways of the Mega-CD version are cool on a technical level, but I think I prefer the PCE version's dungeons, even without movement animation which are slow enough already, but much faster than the Mega-CD version. The Mega-CD's dungeons remind me of the one's in the original Playstation Persona.

What's more impressive about the Mega-CD version, is that it appears to have been given a noticeable bump in overall graphics, particularly the quantity. Both versions have what sounds like great system generated music.

[kool kitty89]

I assume by 3D in Shin Megami Tensei, you mean the use of scaling for a psudo-3D view of the hallways. (Wolf3D style)
The SNES version seems to use a similar layout.

However, while the "3D" scaling capabilities of the CD's graphics ASIC was underutilized, there were quite a few US releases to use it. (BC racer, deiving sequences in batman games, Soul Star, and a few more as I recall)

I've also heard the ASIC also had some limited support for polygon rendering, but this seems to have been practically unused. (it may have been used to a very limited extent in Silpheed, though it seems most of the enemies are rendered into RAM to be used as sprites, of course the background if streaming FMV)

[KnightWarrior]

How about Samurai Shodown....

I forgot why Earthquake isn't even in the Sega CD version

[Da_Shocker]

Nor is the scaling which is odd considering the Sega CD's capabilities. Also stay awy from Power Ranger's while it's not a port it is by far the worst Sega CD game ever.

[mrbigreddog]

Originally Posted by nissling

If there's one upgraded game for the Sega CD that isn't worth purchase instead of the Genesis-version, then it's Mortal Kombat. Sure that Mortal Kombat on the Sega CD is a way, way better port then Mortal Kombat on the Snes. But if you compare the Genesis-version to the Sega CD-version, the only better thing with the Sega CD-port is that it has both a pretty cool intro and outstanding music. Other then that, it's just a bunch of loading time which will make you tired and play the Genesis-port instead.

That's exactly what I was gonna say... But personally the colors are better on the SNES version... but there's no blood and toned down fatalities.... I wish they would have made a MK1 32x... that would of killed them all... But they only released a MK2 32x... which is beautiful don't get me wrong!!

[Da_Shocker]

I hated the 32X version of MKII IMO it should've been near arcade perfect not as coloful as the SNES version.

[jerry coeurl]

Originally Posted by KnightWarrior

How about Samurai Shodown....

I've been wondering that myself. Anybody played the SCD version that could shed some light on how much better/worse/exactly the same it is as the Genesis version?

[Aarzak]

SCD Samurai Shodown: Character sprites are more animated and faithful to the Neo-Geo original (Genesis sprites were already almost as big as the Neo-Geo veersion). Slightly more animation than Genesis' sprites. Music is straight out of the Neo-Geo cart, except in Redbook. Voice samples believe it or not.........WORSE than the Genesis version. Very tinny and scratchy which was disappinting. Backgrounds are noticeably less colorful and missing in details compared to the Neo and even the Genesis (this was done to concentrate on the sprites and animation most likely). No Earthquake as in the Genesis version.

Oh, and apparently the SCD version features a crippling glitch in which the game locks up when you reach the last boss, Amakusa. No "fixed" version was ever released.

[jerry coeurl]

The game speed seems a lot better, at least. More fluid. I might actually pick this up and get rid of my Genesis version.

[Aarzak]

You'd do well to just get "Samurai Shodown Anthology" instead of these old, flawed home ports, EVERY ONE of which had some sort of flaw or another that made it worse than the Neo original. SS1 was a sort of measuring stick for fighting game ports back then, as Neo games had gotten too big and advanced to be properly ported down to the consoles at the time. That's why, after SS1 and Art of Fighting 2 (Super Famicom), no more Neo ports to the 16-Bit consoles were made.

[jerry coeurl]

There wouldn't happen to be a Samurai Shodown on the Saturn, would there? I don't have any of the newer systems (my brother has a PS2 and a Wii, but I can't imagine enjoying a fighting game with either of those controllers...); the most recent console I own personally is a Dreamcast. And beyond that, I only care about collecting Sega stuff.

So if the Sega CD version is the best one available for a Sega system, I wouldn't mind picking it up.