FLips' Sega MegaDrive Thread

[FLips]

If 2022 was the year of the Commodore Amiga and 2023 was the year of the Sony Playstation, then it's only fair that 2024 gets to have a console too.
As we played Suika Game (thanks again @RedRooster you've created a pair of score monsters) over our morning coffee, I turned to my wife and asked; "what console should I obsess about this year?"
I answered myself before she could.
"I was thinking the Sega MegaDrive" and she replied "Oh I was thinking that". Whether she actually was or not is a question for the psychics, but I'm glad she was on board at least.

For a little bit on my future with the MegaDrive, I've been eyeing up an EverDrive Pro cart so I can emulate on hardware, but it's £200 so that can wait until Spring when some of our debts are paid off and our money opens up a bit more for frivolous bollocks. It'll be full emulation on the PC/Raspberry Pi for now.

For a little bit on my past with the MegaDrive, it was my 2nd ever console after the NES and the one I spent the majority of my childhood playing, even during my PS1 period.
I remember the first time I ever saw our MegaDrive; my Aunt had given one to my Dad so we're talking about maybe 92-93 and I remember every little detail about it as though that moment was frozen in time. I had wandered into my parents' bedroom on the morning, it was dark and musky (my mum is an ex-smoker so her room was pretty bleak) and there, stood on it's side in the open cupboard is a boxed MegaDrive 2 with two games. PGA Tour Golf and Mega Games 1. I distinctly remember the sleek black console and that iconic grid design on the box. Given the games I remember it was likely this bundle, though given that we also at some early stages had Altered Beast and Sonic 1 and 2, I could be mistaken about that.

 

The Sega MegaDrive era holds some of my fondest memories, both in gaming and in life in general. It's the console I most associate with my Mum, who we would come home to from school with her having pulled the sofa right up to the TV to play the Sonic games. Until Animal Crossing New Horizons she was never as into gaming as she was during this period.
I remember a birthday with my mate as we played through Sonic 2 and had to pause on Sky Chase Zone because my Mum was taking us to McDonalds. I remember the walk there, the taste of the food, and the walk back in excitement to finish the game.
I remember reading the manuals. Kneeling on the bedroom floor resting up against the bottom bunk of mine and my Brother's bunk bed as the warm sun beamed through the window on to his toy car rug (you know the ones) as I thumbed through the pages of the Sonic The Hedgehog manual looking at the drawings of all the badniks.
At one point the MegaDrive got moved onto a small TV in the dining room and my Dad would sit in there playing The Revenge of Shinobi, my Mum would play James Pond 3. I would sit at the table reading the manual for Shadow of The Beast and becoming obsessed with it. Seeing them play the Shadow of The Beast games, the game over screen from 2 would burn into my mind for life.

The MegaDrive was during the period of "growing up" as a gamer too. Talks around the playground of Mortal Kombat and the fatalities you could do, playing movie tie-in games like The Terminator but not being allowed to see the films yet. It was a way to experience adult content and violence and discuss it with other kids and thinking it was the coolest thing. Coming from the NES and owning a SNES a little later on, I could always appreciate how "edgy" the MegaDrive was for the time. A console with a cool mascot, games like Shinobi and Streets of Rage felt grown up and slick, and even something like Columns when compared to it's SNES counterparts felt more mature.
The soundchip on the MegaDrive was even grittier and more mature. There's no denying the SNES has some all time classic music, but the MegaDrive can not only match it beat for beat but it sounds so much more of it's time. Thrashing metallic sounding guitars, grungey bass and heavy synths went hand in hand with the games you were playing. It matched the speed of Sonic, the grittiness of Streets of Rage and the fast paced action of all the sports and arcade offerings.

Most importantly though it was a period where quality barely mattered and I wish I could get back to that feeling again. There were games and there were better games and we would play anything. Yeah I could appreciate Sonic 2, Streets of Rage and Mortal Kombat 3 but you know what else I could appreciate? Sylvester and Tweety in Cagey Capers, Taz-Mania, and Eternal Champions.
Some of my fondest MegaDrive memories aren't of playing just the best the console had to offer, but just getting my hands on any game I hadn't played yet. Whether this was renting James Pond's Aquatic Games from Movie Zone round the shops, or playing Prince of Persia and The Little Mermaid round my mate's house. A game was a game and any of them were good.
This was pre-piracy as well, so every second mattered. That rented game was going back, that borrowed game had to be returned whenever my mates would decide on a whim, and any game we bought cost money so you better sink time into it and enjoy it.

I said in my PS1 thread that if I could go back and get any console with a full library it would be the PS1 and that still holds true, but if I could go back to a time or a feeling it would be the MegaDrive era. Life was good and the games were even better.

If you'll indulge me, and I apologise in advance if we get halfway into the year and my brain has given up on this but my intentions are honest. Rather than burn myself out by hammering the Sega for weeks non-stop, and given my plans to acquire a cart in a couple of months, I'm going to go for a weekly update format for this one with a little more meat on the bones. One or two reviews at most, with some memories, highlights and other bits and bobs to pad it out.

Review 1 - Eternal Champions

Sega's direct response to the popularity of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter came in 1993, during the early 1990s fighting genre boom period. Around this point the market was flooded with fighting games, some good and most awful, but none as good as MK or SF. Eternal Champions suffers from the same thing that haunted most fighters from this time in that it was trying too hard to do something different it messed up the main fundamental of a fighter; easy to play but hard to master.

Eternal Champions on paper had everything going for it as a first party title, as we know (at least in hindsight) Sega are capable of making fantastic fighting games. Not to play their accomplishments down however but the core team for Eternal Champions were the same that worked on Talespin, Greendog and Sonic Spinball so we're not quite at Virtua Fighter stages yet.
Graphically it's a stunning game with a lot of effort going into each character's design, unique stages and animations. It avoided doing what other games did (including it's own dreadful spin-off) and left the pre-rendered MK graphics alone and instead focused on getting the most out of the console. The roster is fairly deep for the time and because of the story (we'll get into that) each character is unique and allowed to really shine. This means the stages do too with some gorgeous lighting effects and a glowing colour palette.

Musically it's some of the best on the console. Another thing Sega were great at in-house was making the games sound great. Eternal Champions is no different as the game opens with that unforgettable guitar riff. Each stage with a fitting theme to accompany it; Xavier's Salem stage haunts you with a tune very foggy and a little derivative of The Exorcist as a looming pyre stands in the middle of the square waiting for the next flame. Roaring drums and beats bash around as you fight on Slash's prehistoric volcano stage and lava erupts past the dinosaurs in the background. The whole game is a real joy to listen to. This looks to be in thanks to prominent musician and composer Joe Delia who has a pretty beefy back catalogue

The strongest point of Eternal Champions is the story. While its peers did have story elements (though this is long before Mortal Kombat went completely mad with it) Eternal Champions put a lot of effort into providing a deep and exciting story. An all-seeing god-like being, the titular Eternal Champion, has spent centuries gathering his strength to allow 12 people throughout history another chance at life. They all have potential to change the balance of the world for the good but their lives were taken before they got the chance. He has travelled through time to gather them all seconds before their untimely death and allow them to fight in a tournament, with the winner being given a second chance and the losers sadly being returned to the same moment in time to seal their fate.
This leads to a cracking roster made up of everything from cavemen and ninjas to vampires and cyborgs but importantly with the context and solid design, it makes what sounds like a dumb idea on paper come across as fantastic. You'd be surprised how making a cat burglar and a warrior from the sunken city of Atlantis fight each other is a lot easier to deal with when they give them a proper reason and story.
It's somewhat refreshing as well to have all playable characters be neutral. It meant you could really get into their individual stories and pick a favourite, without worrying if they were good or evil.

It takes the most popular part of Mortal Kombat and has it's own fatality-style system called Overkills, which are all stage fatalities activated easily by knocking your opponent at a certain part of the stage during the final round's climax. They're violent but mostly goofy. A T-Rex might chew you up and spit some bones out, or you might get kicked into a neon light that electrocutes you into a skeleton and pops your eyeball out. They're not on the level of MK but they're fun to see the first few times. The Sega CD sequel really ramped up the gore though compared to this.

Where Eternal Champions fails unfortunately is the gameplay which is such a huge shame. Calling back to my previous point of the best fighters being easy to play but hard to master, Eternal Champions is hard to play and even harder to master.
It tries too hard to be unique with it's move system so instead of a pick up and play quality, you have an awkward time figuring out moves and how the energy meter works. Each character has a good variety of unique attacks, which are not only compatible with the Six-button controller but also the doomed Sega Activator (shown here in the Eternal Champions manual). A benefit of using the Activator is that you would receive 50% less damage and dish out 50% more. I doubt though this made up for you flailing around like an idiot as the inputs failed around you.

The issue is the inputs are confusing with almost every special being a charge move requiring you to hold a direction for a set amount of seconds and then press another direction and button to do the move. I'm not a fan of these inputs in Street Fighter but when every character uses them it also becomes confusing to differentiate who does what. The inputs can sometimes be cumbersome as well with things like A+C or X+Z which are almost impossible to press on a Mega Drive Controller.
The moves also use up unique amounts of energy, so some may take a 1/4 of your bar but some might use 1/2, this means without your energy the move won't work and you'll fail the input.

Maybe Eternal Champions knows how complicated it is because the manual takes time to show you inputs for every move for every character for both controller and Activator modes, but also the game provides various training and practice modes to get the hang of things including a pretty unique one where you can fill the training room with various traps and obstacles to get things like timing and positioning down right. At it's core this sounds like a great idea that would really benefit your skill. However the main problem at hand is that Eternal Champions is unforgivably hard and there are no difficulty settings or cheats to make it easier. The first fight may as well be M.Bison or Shao Kahn as the input reading from the AI is insulting obvious, so they'll block and counter most your stuff and then add insult to injury with a taunt. Unless you sink a lot of time into getting really good at this, the single player is almost a waste of time.
Even when I was a kid I spent most my time playing this game in the obstacle rooms, multiplayer, or going into the single player to try and see the Overkills.

It's a shame with Eternal Champions. It has all the key elements and potential but stumbles at the most important hurdle. With easier inputs and a difficulty option this could very well have been one of the best fighters of the 16 bit era. It's a damn sight better than games like Primal Rage or Clay Fighter but it never reaches the levels it tries to.
That being said, it made enough fans of people like me to warrant spin off games, official comic books, merchandising in 7-Elevens and Panini Sticker Albums. The music was also sampled prominently in Bone Thugs N Harmony's 1995 album E. 1999 Eternal, earning them a grammy for the song Crossroad.

Talks about reviving the game get brought up every few years and always go nowhere, but with the latest announcement of Sega doing classic remakes now seems like the most promising time yet to get a modern version. Just give me quarter circle inputs and an easy mode please.

Sega Logo of The Week

A great thing about the MegaDrive is that a lot of the games have uniquely animated Sega logos. Each week I'll highlight one, usually one of the games I've played but if they don't have one then something else.
This week's game Eternal Champions has one I believe for every character in the game so here's a pick of the bunch, with the rest being saved for later.

The vampiric fighter Midknight uses his energy drain move on the logo, draining the life and colour from it.

Cheat of The Week

No cheats for Eternal Champions unfortunately, though it seems there is a bit of controversy surrounding this on various forums and the age-old thing of people making up fake cheats and secrets has really annoying some people online when it comes to this game. I found one that apparently gives you extra damage but that was a lie, and then I found said forum posts about other people who had been lied to. Strange rabbit hole.

That being said, I'll open with a classic from Sonic The Hedgehog

To access the level select menu in Sonic The Hegehog, on the title screen enter Up, Down, Left, Right (at this point you'll hear a ring sound effect) and then follow up by pressing both A+Start together. This will bring you to the level select menu where you can play any zone or special stage you like, and even allow to to play all of the games music and SFX in the Sound Select.

------

Coming Next Week:

Mickey Mouse in Castle of Illusion

 

 

Edited January 1 by FelatioLips

[Mr_Danger]

Mega Drive was for the cool kids whilst Nintendo was for babies. Fact.

[RedRooster]

50 minutes ago, FelatioLips said:

As we played Suika Game (thanks again @RedRooster you've created a pair of score monsters) over our morning coffee

What’s your top score? I’ve peaked at 2019, I’ve no idea how people are getting 10,000+ on the game

I might actually join you in your mega drive adventure, I’ve been playing Wiz ‘n’ Liz all morning - such good fun! 

[SuperBacon]

I had a SNES before I had a Megadrive, which I feel is the opposite of 99.9% of people who had both. 

We used to rent the Megadrive from the local video shop before we bought one. I'd love to say I am amazed that no one on the estate nicked it, but then again it was the only video shop for about 2 miles and no one wanted to incur the wrath of the owner, who was massive and dodgy.

Definitely up there with my favourite consoles I've ever owned. Micro Machines multiplayer was the absolute bollocks.

 

[RedRooster]

1 minute ago, SuperBacon said:

Definitely up there with my favourite consoles I've ever owned. Micro Machines multiplayer was the absolute bollocks.

I was an Amiga kid growing up (my parents wanted me to own something ‘educational’ - obviously I only used it for games, though!) - but I would visit my cousin with the specific intent of using the track editor in (I think) Micro Machines 2 - the fact you could make your own levels was pretty mind-blowing to both of us, I kind of wish we still had the game so we could revisit our shitty creations.

[Fatty Facesitter]

The name’s Pond. James Pond. 

This absolutely fantastic creation will have been the first console game I ever played. I’m getting misty-eyed thinking about it now. 

As the name implies, you take part in multiple sporting pursuits with an aquatic twist with James Pond and his cast of sea-loving famalam. I’ve been to the actual Olympic Games twice for work, but the fun across many hours of playing this MegaDrive classic shits all over those experiences any day. 

The intro music is an absolutely delightful 8-bit jingly number and that’s a common trait throughout the different tunes for the different mini-games. 

The replayability factor lies in things like two player mode and trying to beat your previous scores/records in the different disciplienes. 

Just an absolutely delightful bloody game. 

Look at the post-game leaderboard graphic as well. Literally sponsored by Penguin. What a shout that is. Who do they think they are, the International Olympic committee working with fucking Rolex? Love love love love it. 

[FLips]

23 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

What’s your top score? I’ve peaked at 2019, I’ve no idea how people are getting 10,000+ on the game

I might actually join you in your mega drive adventure, I’ve been playing Wiz ‘n’ Liz all morning - such good fun! 

I think about 2500ish and 2100ish are the top two scores. Both with us getting “the big melon”.

[Arch Stanton]

Really excited to follow this thread. Amazing work @FelatioLips

 

[RedRooster]

1 hour ago, FelatioLips said:

I think about 2500ish and 2100ish are the top two scores. Both with us getting “the big melon”.

2465 for me now, with the run ending with fruits combining, causing a cherry to bounce up out of the tank, even though I had plenty of space to work with. Very annoying mechanic!

[Joe Blog]

We were dirt poor so only ever had the Master System (which was probably a hand me down) this did however allow me to play Sonic and a game called Mercs. 
 

I have fond memories of playing my mates Mega Drive (X-men, Sonic 2, Streets of Rage) and being blown away and crippled with jealousy. I always just thought that one day we would maybe get one when we could but it was never to be. 
 

One Christmas morning my brother and I opened a joint present and were greeted by a shiny new console, the mighty N64, The Megadrive era had quietly passed us.  

[FLips]

7 minutes ago, Joe Blog said:

We were dirt poor so only ever had the Master System (which was probably a hand me down) this did however allow me to play Sonic and a game called Mercs. 
 

I have fond memories of playing my mates Mega Drive (X-men, Sonic 2, Streets of Rage) and being blown away and crippled with jealousy. I always just thought that one day we would maybe get one when we could but it was never to be. 
 

One Christmas morning my brother and I opened a joint present and were greeted by a shiny new console, the mighty N64, The Megadrive era had quietly passed us.  

A friend of a friend had a Master System and while I can’t admit to liking it then or even now, I was always impressed it had a game built in to it. 

[SuperBacon]

Who had the Mega CD? To me, this was the pinnacle of wealth, along with a Atari Jaguar and a Neo Geo. If you had either of the latter two...my word. You were mega rich.

Edited January 1 by SuperBacon
Forgot the Atari name.

[TibBo]

Being a skint kid with no other options to play was really the key to becoming engrossed in most of these games. Now you can download the full catalogue of games and install them on pretty much any device in about 20 minutes you realise how tedious some of them are.

I have similar memories and nostalgia for the console and loved it as a kid, but I have never been able to get back into it now we are older and spoilt for choice.

it still blows me away how small some of the games are file-size wise though! Incredible how they managed to fit so much Into them

[Arch Stanton]

32 minutes ago, Joe Blog said:

We were dirt poor so only ever had the Master System (which was probably a hand me down) this did however allow me to play Sonic and a game called Mercs. 
 

I have fond memories of playing my mates Mega Drive (X-men, Sonic 2, Streets of Rage) and being blown away and crippled with jealousy. I always just thought that one day we would maybe get one when we could but it was never to be. 
 

One Christmas morning my brother and I opened a joint present and were greeted by a shiny new console, the mighty N64, The Megadrive era had quietly passed us.  

I have the exact same console history! Master System to N64 was an incredible jump. Until then I'd always been jealous of mates that had the Mega Drive too. I remember playing Streets of Rage on my Uncle's MD and thinking it was the coolest game I'd ever played.

[TildeGuy~!]

The Mega Drive was my first console! Received it from my parents as a 6th Birthday present with Sonic 1 and Greendog.

I’ll always have so many fond memories of my dad and I playing Streets Of Rage 2 weekly completing it every time, he loves playing side scrolling beat em ups, he’s in his 70s and I downloaded tons of the genre on emulators and gave him an old PS4 controller to play with and he still has a crack at it every other day.