The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread - http://www.mmcafe.com/ Forums


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"The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Tue 17 Sep 12:09post reply

Visualshock! Speedshock! Soundshock!

That’s right, it’s time to set your 68000 heart on fire for the Mega Drive (Mini) thread!

Use this thread to talk about your wonderful MD Mini and how you have bought ten copies to thank our masters at M2 and to convince Sega to make a Mega CD Mini next, or about your MD memories or favorite games in general which may or may not be included. And if you’ve never played a Mega Drive, IT IS TIME TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM

The MD Mini feels more momentous than other minis, not only because Sega has gone its customary extra mile with M2 on emulation and twice as many games, but because it’s basically reintroducing the console to Japan, where it was for niche enthusiasts. And unlike the SFC Mini, where I can think of literally 29 significant games** off the top of my head that aren’t there, the (Japanese) MD Mini is only missing about six important games (Shining Force II, Phantasy Star II, Alien Soldier, Ristar, Strider, and Rocket Knight…and I suppose the other Sonic games, if you must).

For localized nostalgia purposes, it does make sense that the US version trades the godly Langrisser II and Musha Aleste for mediocre American platform games, so shouldn’t they also have at least included one of the EA sports games that made the system a hit there, as well as Zero Wing in honor of the 1990s English-speaking internet’s favorite mistranslated ship captain? “Take off every ‘ZIG!’”



(**In case you were curious: FFIV, FFV, Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu 3, RomaSaGa 2, RomaSaGa 3, Live-A-Live, Front Mission, Tactics Ogre, Estpolis II, Mother 2, Shin Megami Tensei, DQV, DQVI, Soul Blader, Illusion of Gaia, Tenchi Souzou, Toruneko, Fuurai No Shiren, Star Ocean, Tales of Phantasia, Harvest Moon, Akumajou Dracula, Puyo Puyo 2, Magical Quest, Super Mario Collection, Turtles in Time, Final Fight, Super Bomberman 2)





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"Re(1):The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Tue 17 Sep 16:18:post reply

I heard that, despite being rather great given the selection, and the insane attention to detail to the point you could recreate your very own "Tower of Power", The Mega Drive/Genesis Mini is not exactly M2's finest in terms of port accuracy and quality (some minor sound/music issues and noticable input latency). What's worse, the lack of interpolation means some games can cause noticable pixel shimmering.

That said, it's still leagues better than what Sony had with its own offering. And given its robust lineup and catalogue is definitely presenting more value than what the SNES Mini had.

(Also Maou, if I recall, Super Castlevania 4 was on the SNES Mini.)

Meanwhile, NERD has been steadily getting better at this porting "game", too. (Even looking to the Super NT for some minor graphical enhancements?)

So...Sega does what NintenDid?





[this message was edited by sfried on Tue 17 Sep 17:10]



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"Re(2):The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Wed 18 Sep 03:14post reply

Wha, what's this? A sign of imperfection from our lord and savio(u)r, M2? Ah, well...42 games was a lot of games to port, and ...

Let me try again. Just like a fundamentalist who's presented with 250 million year old dinosaur fossils and retcons them into 6000 year old leviathans, I have hereby retroactively remembered all those issues as having been there in the original MD release, as well!

I do look forward to going through every one of these games when my MD Mini arrives in the mail and reporting, hopefully with all of you! As a Lunar/Game Arts zealot, I'm super-excited to have a working copy of Alisia Dragoon, and anyone who comes into my house is going to be forced to play Gunstar Heroes straight through to the end, every time.

NOW TELL ME YOUR MEGA DRIVE STORIES


(and sfried, we're both right: Dracula is not in the SFC Mini but is in the SNES Mini, likely reflecting the series' much greater popularity abroad...kind of like...the MD!)






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"Re(3):The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Wed 18 Sep 09:35post reply

quote:
Wha, what's this? A sign of imperfection from our lord and savio(u)r, M2? Ah, well...42 games was a lot of games to port, and ...

Let me try again. Just like a fundamentalist who's presented with 250 million year old dinosaur fossils and retcons them into 6000 year old leviathans, I have hereby retroactively remembered all those issues as having been there in the original MD release, as well!

I do look forward to going through every one of these games when my MD Mini arrives in the mail and reporting, hopefully with all of you! As a Lunar/Game Arts zealot, I'm super-excited to have a working copy of Alisia Dragoon, and anyone who comes into my house is going to be forced to play Gunstar Heroes straight through to the end, every time.

NOW TELL ME YOUR MEGA DRIVE STORIES


(and sfried, we're both right: Dracula is not in the SFC Mini but is in the SNES Mini, likely reflecting the series' much greater popularity abroad...kind of like...the MD!)




Well, I ordered but planned to keep it as a collection. If I play it, I may spend to much time with the no time I have. If it was handheld, yes. But The games are addicting! Sorry wont have a review.





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"Re(4):The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Wed 18 Sep 12:28post reply

I don't have anything to contribute regarding this MegaDrive mini, but since good Maou asked for old stories, there I go.

While I've always been (and always will be) a Nintendo man, I have really fond memories of swapping consoles with a friend for a couple of weeks when I was a kid, and being able to play Aladdin, Shinobi 3, Shadow Dancer, Sonic (I always liked 1 better than 2 for some reason), Duck Tales and, above all, every entry on the Streets of Rage series. I love Final Fight with a passion, but Bare Knuckle and its music from another world will always have a place in my heart.

My console-swapping friend, on the other hand, always spent all of his Super Nintendo time playing Legend of Zelda, as any sensible person would do.






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"Re(5):The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Wed 23 Oct 14:06post reply

I bet you thought I forgot about this thread! ...Well, maybe I did, but I was nowhere near a TV to hook up this glorious little system until recently, so!

The hardware: it's so...mini! Very cute. Much has been made of how the original designer was called in to do this one, which explains the loving details like the (pointless (but essential)) movable headphone volume switch and cartridge slot. The removable expansion port cover to connect the non-existent-but-desperately-needed Mega CD Mini pains me.

That menu: as Spoon noted ages ago, the Koshiro Yuuzou music that cheerfully greets you on startup is perfect, with all the right beats that sound just like they're about to segue into Dreams Come True bassist Nakamura Masato's Sonic 1 and 2 soundtracks until they don't. It's a thoughtful touch that changing the language to English transforms all the box art to the super-shitty American versions, which I'm sure will be nostalgic for someone, somewhere.

The games: a friend and I zipped through the never-released Tetris port (whatever), Sonic 2 (platformers are somehow harder on larger TV screens now), Musha Aleste (outstanding as always) and Gunstar Heroes (ditto). With a super early 1990 release like Musha Aleste, we were impressed by how much was going on screen without any slowdown. Going beyond Sega of America's marketing about imaginary magic processors, arcade-style games always did seem to shine on this much weaker system compared to the SFC, and I wonder why. With a game this early, it can't even that that people had learned to use the hardware better after some time. How is this happening?

You bet your @$$ I'll be constantly resurrecting this thread like Dracula as I slowly do decades-overdue playthroughs of treasures like Alisia Dragoon, Phantasy Star IV, Langrisser II, Landstalker, and Thor, all with regular Puyo Puyo 2 breaks. Goodbye, other video games!





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"Re(6):The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Mon 6 Jan 00:48:post reply

quote:
I bet you thought I forgot about this thread! ...Well, maybe I did, but I was nowhere near a TV to hook up this glorious little system until recently, so!

The hardware: it's so...mini! Very cute. Much has been made of how the original designer was called in to do this one, which explains the loving details like the (pointless (but essential)) movable headphone volume switch and cartridge slot. The removable expansion port cover to connect the non-existent-but-desperately-needed Mega CD Mini pains me.

That menu: as Spoon noted ages ago, the Koshiro Yuuzou music that cheerfully greets you on startup is perfect, with all the right beats that sound just like they're about to segue into Dreams Come True bassist Nakamura Masato's Sonic 1 and 2 soundtracks until they don't. It's a thoughtful touch that changing the language to English transforms all the box art to the super-shitty American versions, which I'm sure will be nostalgic for someone, somewhere.

The games: a friend and I zipped through the never-released Tetris port (whatever), Sonic 2 (platformers are somehow harder on larger TV screens now), Musha Aleste (outstanding as always) and Gunstar Heroes (ditto). With a super early 1990 release like Musha Aleste, we were impressed by how much was going on screen without any slowdown. Going beyond Sega of America's marketing about imaginary magic processors, arcade-style games always did seem to shine on this much weaker system compared to the SFC, and I wonder

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


Good Info Maou. Looks like it was everything you hope to be. Glad that its turning out good in general. SEGA gets no love ever since the original Genesis. Can only hope that they do actually release a Saturn Mini. But can it deliver a product that can move the masses to a black friday fight for the system? Maybe not. Some will say cost is expensive. For me, I think it needs three very important things.

1. No loading Time. Emulation needs to run games with no loading time......ever. Does it really make since to have loading times in games? I mean even in this day in age, there is still loading times. i thought it would be dead this decade. Even cartridge games like DS and Switch have load times. That is extremely weird. I am not a tech guy when it comes to loading so maybe someone can fill me in on why its necessary to have loading time. Did the Playstation Mini have loading times in the games?

2. Sounds and Graphics Should Be Enhanced. No question here. There should be graphic options to make the sound and graphics better some how. Enhanced, HD, whatever you can call it. Something that can make it look clean and smooth for most 3D games.

3. Games should be fully translated. Well, at least the Japanese games. Lets be serious. 99% of the best games for the Saturn came from Japan and where not released in America. Will that be an easy task? Should be. Sega should reach out to all those fan developers who have been translating games lately.





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"Re(7):The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Mon 6 Jan 04:44post reply

quote:
1. No loading Time. Emulation needs to run games with no loading time......ever. Does it really make since to have loading times in games? I mean even in this day in age, there is still loading times. i thought it would be dead this decade. Even cartridge games like DS and Switch have load times. That is extremely weird. I am not a tech guy when it comes to loading so maybe someone can fill me in on why its necessary to have loading time. Did the Playstation Mini have loading times in the games?


If you mean to ask why loading times still exist for modern games, that is because larger and more complex games continue to increase not only the amount of data that must be moved and processed, but can also increase how often data must be moved. Data transfer may be fast, but it isn't instantaneous. Even your Switch is loading data from cart to (often faster) internal memory, but the loading itself takes time. Then you have compressed data, and caching, and texture data to pass to the GPU, and...


In regards to why you may want to retain loading times for emulation, that is because things may start to break if you significantly reduce or remove load times.

If the load time is from the system processing data, then the only way to speed it up is to speed up the emulation of the system itself. Basically, to activate a fast-forward function during loading. But how do you determine when to start fast-forwarding and when to stop? You obviously don't want to fast-forward the regular gameplay, but an emulator isn't going to know what is gameplay and what isn't.

Note that it is possible to safely shortcut some set-up loading with save states. I'm pretty sure some commercial emulation packages do this to skip boot up sequences in some arcade titles. Particularly, this is how I assume games like the PC port of Twinkle Star Sprites was handled. TSS has a modern PC menu "wrapper" around the emulated gameplay, and pressing to button to play will jump you straight into the emulated game (even skipping the "How To Play" instructions); I assume this is done by loading a save state while tweaking any necessary values to fit whatever set-up is necessary.

If the load time is from a physically slow data transfer, such as a CD drive, then it is a different story. Indeed, an emulator coder would have to go through additional effort to "emulate" slower load times. The potential issue with eliminating this kind of load time is that games were sometimes coded with the expectation that this load time would be present. 98% of games might have zero issue with such load times eliminated, while the remaining 2% have anything from minor to fatal issues.







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"Re(8):The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Sat 11 Apr 07:16post reply

What better time to break out all 42 games of the glorious MD Mini than a global lockdown? Here are some impressions from someone with a huge appreciation for Mega Drive but who, back then, really only spent time with a select few games and the rest on the Mega CD:

Alisia Dragoon: This rare non-CD-based Game Arts treasure is pretty tough and it's got that weird bad MD metallic instrumentation, but it was really cool as a Lunar megafan to see that the series' aesthetic of pseudo-Assyrian carvings from MCD Lunar 1's ROCKING opening actually originates here!

Gunstar Heroes: Still more fun and cuter than any Contra!

Game No Kanzume Otokuyou/A Can Packed Full of Games: HOLY COW, this has Penguin Land in it and I didn't even notice until today?!

Shining Force, Landstalker: Towering achievements, though I do wonder why so many of the great Sega system RPGs had to make all dialogue boxes make those bloop-bloop sound effects ALL the time.

Bare Knuckle 2: I never really played these iconic Sega beat em ups, but you sure can see Blaze's underwear when she jumpkicks!

Story of Thor/Beyond Oasis: I remember a friend had this obscure Zelda-Aladdin cross, and those late-gen MD graphics are HOT HOT HOT. I feel like we're practically headed to Saturn.

Sonic 2: The second-best Sonic is oddly glitchy here.

Dynamite Headdy: Treasure managed to get two whole entries, yet I still can't believe this is here instead of the peerless Alien Soldier. VISUAL SHOCK!

Vampire Killer/Castlevania Bloodlines: This B+ but highly creative Dracula game probably could have sold countless more MD Minis if it hadn't appeared in that Konami collection at the same time.

Phantasy Star IV: I've been wanting to place this for years on a friend's recommendation and have always been impressed by the series' in-game still frame animations, though I'm surprised the field graphics basically still look like Phantasy Star II.

Puyo Puyo 2: My favorite puzzle game I'm bad at!

Musha Aleste: The first ten seconds of action and music are the most Mega Drive thing on the entire collection, and the most exciting start to a space shooter until at least Ikaruga.

Monster World IV: What beautiful art! It also feels like we're moving into Saturn, even if the level design of having to go into every door to beat monsters before a pathway opens isn't much fun.

Langrisser II
: Like old sports games, I'm not sure how appealing it is to go back and play early strategy RPGs, but it's an impressive effort and I see they had a huge variety of facial portraits for character text boxes before the Lunar remakes did!

Rockman Megaworld/Wily Wars: Is it the fault of a port of a port that I'm even worse at Rockman 2 now? One thing's for sure: I definitely can't defeat Air Man (anymore).





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"Re(9):The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Mon 13 Apr 13:31post reply

quote:
What better time to break out all 42 games of the glorious MD Mini than a global lockdown? Here are some impressions from someone with a huge appreciation for Mega Drive but who, back then, really only spent time with a select few games and the rest on the Mega CD:

Alisia Dragoon: This rare non-CD-based Game Arts treasure is pretty tough and it's got that weird bad MD metallic instrumentation, but it was really cool as a Lunar megafan to see that the series' aesthetic of pseudo-Assyrian carvings from MCD Lunar 1's ROCKING opening actually originates here!

Gunstar Heroes: Still more fun and cuter than any Contra!

Game No Kanzume Otokuyou/A Can Packed Full of Games: HOLY COW, this has Penguin Land in it and I didn't even notice until today?!

Shining Force, Landstalker: Towering achievements, though I do wonder why so many of the great Sega system RPGs had to make all dialogue boxes make those bloop-bloop sound effects ALL the time.

Bare Knuckle 2: I never really played these iconic Sega beat em ups, but you sure can see Blaze's underwear when she jumpkicks!

Story of Thor/Beyond Oasis: I remember a friend had this obscure Zelda-Aladdin cross, and those late-gen MD graphics are HOT HOT HOT. I feel like we're practically headed to Saturn.

Sonic 2: The second-best Sonic is oddly glitchy here.

Dynamite Headdy: Treasure managed to get two whole entries,

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


I want to like Alisia Dragoon, but I dont understand that well the powerup system.

The game that impressed me on how good it was vecause I have never played one is Road Rash







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"Re(10):The Mega Drive (Mini) Thread" , posted Mon 14 Feb 12:19post reply

You'd better believe I'm saving the MD Mini thread from getting scrolled off the active threads page, and not just because I'm having such huge fun with Phantasy Star IV at last! The Koshiro Yuuzou menu music is so impressive, especially that little ditty at 1:20 that makes use of the ugly-fun Mega Drive bass. It's interesting to hear such Sonic-esque music out of Koshiro, and a good reminder that MD sound could have been a lot greater overall if there had been sound programmers as good as the Sonic 1 and 2 people for every game.

They are still readily available in Japan and elsewhere, and I'm quite impressed they include all language versions (where available) matched to the OS language you select. In conclusion: Phantasy Star IV is great, I keep calling Fal/Rika "Nei" by accident, and everyone should consider whether they are demonstrating sufficient devotion to the Mega Drive compared with unofficial Mega Drive idol/megafan Aizawa Memi.





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"Mega Drive Mini (CD) TWO!!!!!" , posted Sat 4 Jun 06:59:post reply

Ye gods, our brutal sacrifices of Super Famicoms on a pyre prayers have come true: IT IS THE MEGA DRIVE MINI 2!!!!!

Mere HOURS before this, I was rambling to Iggy about how I would convert him to the glorious Mega Driver Army, and now here we have it, a new version of the best of the mini consoles, again with M2 on emulation, now with a 50+ game library that includes Mega CD games just like we've always dreamed!

It's got Game Arts' career-making 3D space shooter, Silpheed! Sonic CD! Shining Force CD! Legendarily unavailable action RPG Popful Mail!! Why, if they manage to untangle the rights to get the superior Mega CD versions of Lunar 1 and 2, Urusei Yatsura, and Time Gal, they will have all the MCD games the most incredible lineup in history and I will literally buy five copies so I can walk around with extras in my backpack to force upon random people/mail to Cafe members, whether they want one or not!

Time to (re) set the 68000 Heart on Fire!

EDIT: there will be 20 (?!) Mega CD games since M2 was secretly working on MCD emulation even before Sega asked if they would do it. I LOVE IT. Since there are only maybe 77 MCD games period, maybe they really WILL achieve Lunar 1 and 2, the holy grails of MCD and never reissued anywhere in their pristine original forms!





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"Re(1):Mega Drive Mini (CD) TWO!!!!!" , posted Mon 27 Jun 05:37post reply

I will happily Maoublog alone forever about Mega CD just like with Lupin, but any fellow Mega Driver should jump in---I just know some of you were part of the non-SFC heretics growing up!

They've already announced wonderful base MD games not on the first MD Mini: Fantasy Zone, Shining and the Darkness, Thunder Force IV, the unreleased Star Mobile port (!!), and somehow even got the rights for the Nadia RPG (!!!!). With 30 out of 50 non-MCD games, I'm sure they'll get Treasure's glorious Alien Soldier, ahead-of-its-time Phantasy Star II, and Shining Force II.

Much more exciting are the limited 20 out 50 slots for MCD, which is secretly the Dreamcast of 16-bit with a small but great library that is better than PCE (you heard it here first). 20 out of 77 known MCD games gives you (me) a good chance of getting all the best ones, but also nail-biting if they start to take on dead weight. The first five announced were solid, the next three less so. If they don’t make a single mistake, there are 11 key games left for 12 slots.

They have:

1. Sonic CD
2. Popful Mail
3. Shining Force CD
4. Mansion of Dreams/Hidden Souls
5. Silpheed
6. Starblade
7. Ninja Warriors
8. Nightstriker (I was initially disappointed, but people seem to LOVE it)

They need:

9. Lunar 1
10. Lunar 2
11. Yumimi mix
12. Garou Densetsu Special
13. Final Fight CD
14. Time Gal
15. Urusei Yatsura (if they mananged to get Nadia, why not this one as the new TV show airs?)
16. Keio Flying Squadron
17. Shadowrun
18. Switch/Panic
19. Den’nin/Robo Aleste

I was feeling pretty confident until I dug through the entire list of releases and found a few threats, all of which are way weaker than what I have, but are they possible!?

Hated rivals:

1. Prince of Persia (people seem to like this version, maybe the music)
2. Legend of the Three Kingdoms III (I’m worried about this popular edition)
3. Shin Megami Tensei (they’d better not waste space on what was really a SFC icon)
4. Captain Tsubasa (I would be so annoyed)
5. Heimdall (somewhere on the internet there is a super fan of this RPG)
6. After Burner III (they already have After Burner II)
7. Dark Wizard (I hear this one is good, too…uh oh)
8. Night Trap (yes, it did come out in Japan, too, though its best known version was the US Congressional Hearings Fearmongering edition)
9. Lethal Enforcers II (yikes)
10. Echo the Dolphin CD (god no)





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"Re(2):Mega Drive Mini (CD) TWO!!!!!" , posted Mon 27 Jun 10:54post reply

quote:
10. Echo the Dolphin CD (god no)


I'd expect Ecco CD to get a spot. Ecco is a title that is strongly associated with the Genesis/Mega Drive.

As Sega is also releasing a flight stick accessory(?!), After Burner III might have a higher chance than you'd otherwise expect.







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"Re(3):Mega Drive Mini (CD) TWO!!!!!" , posted Mon 27 Jun 11:15post reply

quote:
I'd expect Ecco CD to get a spot. Ecco is a title that is strongly associated with the Genesis/Mega Drive.

As Sega is also releasing a flight stick accessory(?!), After Burner III might have a higher chance than you'd otherwise expect.

These are good points---though on the other hand, Ecco was never a significant series in Japan, which is my orientation when talking about MD Mini 1 and 2 since the first one required weird game substitutions abroad and the second one would need way more (if it even releases) since most announced titles thus far were never translated.

It's a great point on After Burner III being more likley in light of the wonderfully insane move to release a special MD Mini version of the X68000's beloved Cyber Stick to use with After Burner II, which MD Mini project leader Okunari Yousuke had dreamed of ever since his high school days! He's said you ought to have several games besides After Burner II to use the Cyber Stick with, pointing to the included MCD flying games Starblade and Night Striker, so that could be another reason for After Burner III.

People might enjoy Okunari's latest interview with Famitsu, which talks about his mad quest for the Cyber Stick, which even Sega higher-ups viewed quizzically, as well as his adventure wandering to four or five different rightsholders to get the okay for the first-ever re-release of the Nadia RPG, which ends differently from the TV show and some people believe reflects the original scenario, before the infamous filler episodes and changes to the finale. Either way, it is amazing it's here!





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"Re(2):Mega Drive Mini (CD) TWO!!!!!" , posted Tue 28 Jun 03:16post reply

quote:
Nadia RPG (!!!!).



What???
I remember reading good things about this game, but being a JP exclusive never played it (I don't even know if years later someone did a translation patch or not).

quote:

12. Garou Densetsu Special



Did this port had anything special?







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"Re(3):Mega Drive Mini (CD) TWO!!!!!" , posted Tue 28 Jun 04:41post reply

quote:
I remember reading good things about this game, but being a JP exclusive never played it (I don't even know if years later someone did a translation patch or not).



The Genesis/Mega Drive Nadia game was fan translated about a decade ago.
https://www.romhacking.net/translations/1630/

NES game was fan translated in 1998.
https://www.romhacking.net/translations/194/





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"Re(4):Mega Drive Mini (CD) TWO!!!!!" , posted Tue 28 Jun 06:35post reply

No Eternal Champions?





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"Re(5):Mega Drive Mini (CD) TWO!!!!!" , posted Tue 28 Jun 09:44post reply

quote:
No Eternal Champions?

Hahahaha. But actually, as the Cafe's expert on incredibly violent American fighting games despite being one of our most gentle posters, you might be interested to know that the MCD version of Mortal Kombat is one of the vanishingly few entries ever to come to Japan, unlike Eternal Champions! Neither have any chance of being on the Mini 2, but now that you mention it, I suppose it could be a potential substitute for an untranslated game if they release it abroad!

Even more than the PC Engine Mini, I feel Sega is challenged with the international edition because so many key games did not make it abroad or have tangled translation rights. I saw that the Mini 1 substituted some super shitty American games for untranslated or less famous Japanese titles (dropping the godlike Musha Aleste is an unpardonable crime), yet they could not substitute the American sports games that made the system such a success there. Unless they are crazy enough (in a bad way) to ironically flood the international version of the Mini 2 with horrible American FMV games like they did back then, I feel like they'll have to break up the 30 MD/20 MCD game ratio abroad.

...not that this should matter to the refined tastes of the Cafe, where everyone has of course placed multiple Japanese preorders, yes???? Remember: the Japanese version of the Mini 1 contained all international versions where available if you switched the menu language, and even swapped in the hideous American box art!





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"Re(6):Mega Drive Mini (CD) TWO!!!!!" , posted Tue 28 Jun 20:08post reply

quote:
No Eternal Champions?
Hahahaha. But actually, as the Cafe's expert on incredibly violent American fighting games despite being one of our most gentle posters, you might be interested to know that the MCD version of Mortal Kombat is one of the vanishingly few entries ever to come to Japan, unlike Eternal Champions! Neither have any chance of being on the Mini 2, but now that you mention it, I suppose it could be a potential substitute for an untranslated game if they release it abroad!

Even more than the PC Engine Mini, I feel Sega is challenged with the international edition because so many key games did not make it abroad or have tangled translation rights. I saw that the Mini 1 substituted some super shitty American games for untranslated or less famous Japanese titles (dropping the godlike Musha Aleste is an unpardonable crime), yet they could not substitute the American sports games that made the system such a success there. Unless they are crazy enough (in a bad way) to ironically flood the international version of the Mini 2 with horrible American FMV games like they did back then, I feel like they'll have to break up the 30 MD/20 MCD game ratio abroad.

...not that this should matter to the refined tastes of the Cafe, where everyone has of course placed multiple Japanese preorders, yes???? Remember: the Japanese version of the Mini 1 contained all international versions where available if you switched the menu language, and even swapped in t

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


To be fair, Eternal Champions's controls were quite confusing.

I remembered about this game after watching the Console Wars documentary and the animosity between Sega's American and Japanese branches. If I remember correctly, SOA wanted EC to become their signature fighting game, but then SOJ made Virtua Fighter and made the projects for a third EC game be dropped. Which seems kinda petty - but then again, VF was indeed a much better fighting game (I'd say that, even with all of its shortcomings, Genesis's VF2 was still a better game than EC... EC's sprites looked better, though).





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"LUNATIC FESTA" , posted Fri 15 Jul 23:43post reply

It happened. It finally happened. After 30 years, the first-ever port of the superior Mega CD original verisons of Lunar~The Silver Star and Lunar~Eternal Blue are both on the MD Mini 2. After the carnival-like atmosphere of three 10-game announcements so far, they finally confirmed they had cut through all the rightsholder issues to include the MCD's most important RPG (and its perfect sequel), which sold in a 1:3 ratio with the entire system, an uptake rate that even Square's era- and console-defining RPGs never achieved on SFC or anything else despite higher raw numbers on more popular systems.

Oh, and for the Cafe: Final Fight CD is here, too! Pretty sure no Garou Densetsu Special since they have the cartridge Garou 2.

Making rare non-lagfest related explorations of twitter has been a great eye-opening reminder of the diversity of people's tastes! Everyone loves something, and I was amazed at how many more rivals the Lunar games had for these limited MCD spaces than what I wrote before based on what people were hoping for---not that I care anymore as long as the Lunars are here, but still. Place your bets!

They have:

1. Lunar~The Silver Star
2. Lunar~Eternal Blue
3. Final Fight CD
4. Shining Force CD
5. Sonic CD
6. Popuful Mail
7. Mansion of Dreams/Hidden Souls
8. Silpheed
9. Starblade
10. Ninja Warriors
11. Nightstriker
12. Wondermega Collection (the obscure pack-in variety game from Victor's combined MD-MCD console?! Woah!)

Other candidates:

13. Yumimi mix
Garou Densetsu Special
14. Gen'ei Toshi (Illusion City) - how did I forget this PC9800 port?!
15. Tenka Fubu (beloved strategy game with Nobunaga, another oversight)

16. Time Gal
17. Urusei Yatsura
18. Keio Flying Squadron
19. Shadowrun
20. Switch/Panic
21. Den’nin/Robo Aleste
22. Dark Wizard
23. Romance of the Three Kingdoms III
24. Prince of Persia
25. Shin Megami Tensei
26. Captain Tsubasa
27. After Burner III
28. Lethal Enforcers II
29. Echo the Dolphin CD
20. 3x3 Eyes
31. Mahou Shoujo Silky Lip (more people remember Telenet's magical girl RPG than I thought)
32. Ranma 1/2

PS: I see they have announced a US version of the mini, but as with MD Mini 1, the titles are quite bad since MD Mini 2 is for hardcore fans already, and many key titles have no translations, or the rights to translations (Lunar, Popful Mail) may be complicated.





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"Re(1):LUNATIC FESTA" , posted Mon 18 Jul 17:56post reply

quote:
It happened. It finally happened. After 30 years, the first-ever port of the superior Mega CD original verisons of Lunar~The Silver Star and Lunar~Eternal Blue are both on the MD Mini 2. After the carnival-like atmosphere of three 10-game announcements so far, they finally confirmed they had cut through all the rightsholder issues to include the MCD's most important RPG (and its perfect sequel), which sold in a 1:3 ratio with the entire system, an uptake rate that even Square's era- and console-defining RPGs never achieved on SFC or anything else despite higher raw numbers on more popular systems.

Oh, and for the Cafe: Final Fight CD is here, too! Pretty sure no Garou Densetsu Special since they have the cartridge Garou 2.

Making rare non-lagfest related explorations of twitter has been a great eye-opening reminder of the diversity of people's tastes! Everyone loves something, and I was amazed at how many more rivals the Lunar games had for these limited MCD spaces than what I wrote before based on what people were hoping for---not that I care anymore as long as the Lunars are here, but still. Place your bets!

They have:

1. Lunar~The Silver Star
2. Lunar~Eternal Blue
3. Final Fight CD
4. Shining Force CD
5. Sonic CD
6. Popuful Mail
7. Mansion of Dreams/Hidden Souls
8. Silpheed
9. Starblade
10. Ninja Warriors
11. Nightstriker
12. Wondermega Collection (the obscure pack-in variety game from Victor's combined MD-MCD console?! Woah!)

O

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


It would be great if they could slip Super Real Mahjong V in there. Really prove that Sega does what Nintendon't

In all seriousness though, wow what a lineup! We used to have a Sega CD back in the day! The only games I really remember being impressed by on it were Lunar, Silpheed and Sonic CD. There weren't that many options in the US! Which is weird cos ya know, Sega's always had more market share in the US and Japan. Too bad they had such terrible leadership in that era!

I really need to learn Japanese so I can just spend the rest of my life playing all the cool Japan only games that I missed out on! Shadowrun for the Sega CD always looked so incredibly rad. It has such a cool vibe to it! It's so straightforwardly cool and gritty in a way that most anime/manga/games just aren't anymore. Also WTF I didn't realize there was a Shin Megami Tensei for the Mega CD!






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"Re(2):LUNATIC FESTA" , posted Tue 19 Jul 04:53post reply

quote:
It would be great if they could slip Super Real Mahjong V in there. Really prove that Sega does what Nintendon't



If that is a legit screenshot, then whoever censored that image missed.







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"Re(3):LUNATIC FESTA" , posted Tue 19 Jul 06:26post reply

quote:
It would be great if they could slip Super Real Mahjong V in there. Really prove that Sega does what Nintendon't
whoever censored that image missed.

Ha! I believe in the industry that is what is referred to a nipsl...WHOOPS moving on, we must forgive Nobi’s misremembering Super Real Mahjong as having appeared on MCD when it was actually on PCE (and later Saturn, which ironically was the successor to both MCD and its PCE rival’s aesthetic), not only because the two software libraries had such a similar awesome vibe but also because of his obvious love for Mega Drive!

...though it still does remind me of the hard feelings that all Mega Drivers secretly harbor in Japan over how the technologically superior MCD lost out to the PCE CD, just like MD vs. PCE themselves. But while non-CD PCE games mostly really suck compared with MD’s late era masterpieces, I must admit that the two CD expansions are both really compelling alternate realities, with really great standout titles in similar genres. The sheer importance of Tokimeki Memorial and in some ways Snatcher (ironically, the only English version is a US-only MCD port) make PCE slightly more key historically, though MCD's Lunar is better than PCE's Tengai Makyou and lasted slightly longer as a series.

As for SHADOWRUN, I think it would be a very cool choice with a great almost PC-9800-like aesthetic and quite a unique version of the game. The next lineup annoucement's theme is "The Whereabouts of Light and Shadow," which I originally was certain was a reference to the glorious and haunting Lunar~Eternal Blue end theme "Rondo of Light and Shadow," but that is now safely already announced, so my money's on Shadowrun!





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"Re(4):LUNATIC FESTA" , posted Tue 19 Jul 12:08post reply

quote:
It would be great if they could slip Super Real Mahjong V in there. Really prove that Sega does what Nintendon't
whoever censored that image missed.
Ha! I believe in the industry that is what is referred to a nipsl...WHOOPS moving on, we must forgive Nobi’s misremembering Super Real Mahjong as having appeared on MCD when it was actually on PCE (and later Saturn, which ironically was the successor to both MCD and its PCE rival’s aesthetic), not only because the two software libraries had such a similar awesome vibe but also because of his obvious love for Mega Drive!

...though it still does remind me of the hard feelings that all Mega Drivers secretly harbor in Japan over how the technologically superior MCD lost out to the PCE CD, just like MD vs. PCE themselves. But while non-CD PCE games mostly really suck compared with MD’s late era masterpieces, I must admit that the two CD expansions are both really compelling alternate realities, with really great standout titles in similar genres. The sheer importance of Tokimeki Memorial and in some ways Snatcher (ironically, the only English version is a US-only MCD port) make PCE slightly more key historically, though MCD's Lunar is better than PCE's Tengai Makyou and lasted slightly longer as a series.

As for SHADOWRUN, I think it would be a very cool choice with a great almost PC-9800-like aesthetic and quite a unique version of the game. The next lineup annoucement's theme is "The Wherea

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


I'm sorry I had a momentary lapse of reason. I consciously knew that was a Saturn game, but somehow it didn't seem wrong posting about it in a Sega CD thread. I guess cos they were both CD-rom systems by Sega? Or maybe just the thought of 2 decade old cartoon boobs overrode everything else. My brain is mush!

Man, Shadowrun rules though! It very much looks like a Japanese PC game! That's a whole world that I only have the slightest glimpse into. A really important and influential part of videogame history that's just barely documented in English! The little I do know mostly comes from this amazing book.






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"Re(5):LUNATIC FESTA" , posted Tue 19 Jul 13:34:post reply

quote:
Saturn game, but somehow it didn't seem wrong posting about it in a Sega CD thread.
2 decade old cartoon boobs overrode everything else
That is legit! And surely this is all part of your ritual to channel the fates to create a follow-up Saturn Mini one of these days.

The PC-9800 series is also one of the few officially approved derailing topics for the Mega Drive thread, and if we are speculating about whether the MCD port of PC-9800's Gen'ei Toshi (Illusion City) is coming to MD Mini 2, we are even technically ON TOPIC☆

Rugal is the authority on this wonderful and visually influential device, but I'm here with the good news that you don't have to read some dude's book when you can experience it yourself! From treasures like Rusty, which is one of the best Dracula/CV games whether it's official or not, to Gen'ei Toshi and the Slayers game Rugal likes, to (intellectually) stimulating games like Cyber Academy with their officially licensed adult depictions of key series like Nadia and Aim for the Top/Gunbuster drawn by real Gainax artists (!) to remind you of how fun and freewheeling the early industry was, there is something for everyone.

Hilariously, the family tree again takes us back on topic: the uninhibited PC-9800 leads clearly to the (slightly) more mass-market PCE, with MCD in parallel and receiving occasional ports, and with the failure of the PC-FX, both streams flow into Saturn, including occasional daring moves like having the same uncensored Super Real Majhong as PC-98 and PCE. It's holding it all together!





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"march of Sorcerians meets King Colossus" , posted Sun 14 Aug 03:15:post reply

Up until now, the hottest thing about MD Mini 2 has been the first-ever ports of the glorious Mega CD library, but the the latest additions to the base MD soft now collectively make the two Minis a treasure trove of every important non-Nintendo RPG and simulation in the 16-bit era! Foundational console RPG Sorcerian from 1987?! Phantasy Star II, complete with easy mode without having to play the ugly PS2 Sega Ages remake!?! King Colossus, the super-rare action RPG made by a lot of the Phantasy Star IV team?!?! They even have Populous!

I suppose I have to eat my hat after the baffling decision to waste a MCD slot on Echo the Dolphin CD (with the dubious distinction of being the only Hungarian/American-developed game included), but who cares when you can spend the rest of your life playing the first ever reissue of the beloved Nobunaga strategy game Tenka Fubu that launched the system, or both the MD and MCD versions of Romance of the Three Kingdoms III!

Project director Okunari admitted in a Dengeki interview that he couldn't add get the rights to any more Game Arts games, meaning the tragic loss of the Urusei Yatsura game even after getting the Nadia RPG (5 out of 7 releases is impressive, but losing UY sucks!), though the Lunar 1 & 2, Silpheed, and Tenka Fubu reissues alone are worth three times the price of this console.

Only three MCD spots left! I sure would love to see Shadowrun, Keio Flying Squadron, and Dark Wizard!

They now have:

1. Lunar~The Silver Star
2. Lunar~Eternal Blue
3. Final Fight CD
4. Shining Force CD
5. Sonic CD
6. Popuful Mail
7. Mansion of Dreams/Hidden Souls
8. Silpheed
9. Starblade
10. Ninja Warriors
11. Nightstriker
12. Wondermega Collection
13. Echo the Dolphin CD (bah!)
14. Den'nin/Robo Aleste (rearranged US version too!)
15. Shin Megami Tensei (there are new scenes at least)
16. Tenka Fubu (go Nobunaga, go!)
17. Romance of the Three Kingdoms III (MD and MCD versions!)



Other candidates:

Yumimi mix
Garou Densetsu Special
Urusei Yatsura
Ranma 1/2
18. Gen'ei Toshi (Illusion City)
19. Time Gal
20. Keio Flying Squadron
21. Shadowrun
22. Switch/Panic
23. Dark Wizard
24. Prince of Persia
25. Captain Tsubasa
26. After Burner III
27. Lethal Enforcers II
28. 3x3 Eyes
29. Mahou Shoujo Silky Lip





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"MD Mini 2: Welcome to the Next Level" , posted Sat 20 Aug 02:48:post reply

Five festival-like game roster announcements and TEN bonus games later, the Mega Drive Mini 2 is not only the most impressive retro console, it's the best game collection I have ever seen, period. At 60 almost entirely great games, they've approached the volume of the maligned cheap third-party American consoles of the past, yet with the craft and care of top-class emulation talent of M2. In reviving 20 out of 77 total Mega CD titles, the MD Mini 2 is also a legitimate game history preservation achievement, far beyond a novelty toy, and all the better given how fantastic this small but influential library was.

I feel like modern Sega's hapless handling of Sonic takes attention away from the incredible spirit of game-loving people (in the best sense) at the company, especially on the Mini team. There's so much devotion here, even beyond the herculean effort of tracking down difficult licensing rights and adding insane bonus titles. For instance, looking back on Baines' much earlier comment on the technical challenges of emulating load times, Okunari has talked about how with the never-before-emulated Mega CD titles with long movies, synching the audio that no longer had a delayed timing off the CD was incredibly difficult, but they worked over and over to get marvelous spectacles like Lunar~Eternal Blue's 10-minute opening cinema right.

As for the final roster announcement, I could have done without wasting a MCD slot on Night Trap, an obscure camp FMV game whose only claim to fame was getting pilloried by the US Congress and leading to the rating system, but at least the Japanese version had top-level voice actors speaking over the Z-grade original. I'm sad that the rare MCD-only version of Shadowrun isn't there, but it is historically interesting to have included Mahou No Shoujo Silky Lip, Telent's magical girl RPG whose TV anime-style episode structure was described today as the precursor to Sakura Taisen. And lots of global MMC soccer superfans may like Captain Tsubasa, and this is on impressive take on it with 39 voice actors (!) from the show.

The cartridge games are not what I was expecting (too bad about Rocket Knight and Ristar), but some GREAT stuff like the Treasure-level graphics of run-and-gun Ex-Ranza (Ranger X), alleged Gunstar Heroes inspiration Midnight Resistance, and rare Zelda-like Ragnacenty (Crusader of Centy).

And good god, look at these bonus titles! Two updated versions of Party Quiz Mega Q (that's 3000 trivia questions, you know!) to include modern triva and Sega trivia!? A new M2 port of 1982 train sidescrolling action game Super Locomotive?! A new MEGA DRIVE PORT of Saturn's Puyo Puyo Sun, by its own director, who just so happens to now be the M2 director of this whole project!??! A fixed home port of Space Harrier 2, at last, 35 years later!?!?!!?

I don't need to tell the international Cafe crowd to forget about the horrendous US edition of the Mini 2 that's missing 1/3 of the games and all of the best ones and has a miniscule print run anyway, and to instead seriously think about getting this towering achievement (or importing from Amazon Japan as needed, the yen is cheap this year!) and all the fun that's coming along with it.

Mega CD final roster:

1. Lunar~The Silver Star
2. Lunar~Eternal Blue
3. Final Fight CD
4. Shining Force CD
5. Sonic CD
6. Popful Mail
7. Mansion of Dreams/Hidden Souls
8. Silpheed
9. Starblade
10. Ninja Warriors
11. Nightstriker
12. Wondermega Collection
13. Echo the Dolphin CD
14. Den'nin/Robo Aleste
15. Shin Megami Tensei
16. Tenka Fubu
17. Romance of the Three Kingdoms III
18. Mahou No Shoujo Silky Lip
19. Captain Tsubasa
20. Night Trap





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"Re(1):MD Mini 2: Welcome the Next Level" , posted Sat 20 Aug 03:44post reply

quote:




As for the final roster

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


Captain Tsubasa? I used to emulate this excellent Sega CD version back in the day!!
SOLD!!!
To be clear; this is being sold on Amazon Japan correct?





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"Re(2):MD Mini 2: Welcome the Next Level" , posted Sat 20 Aug 03:52post reply

quote:
Captain Tsubasa? I used to emulate this excellent Sega CD version back in the day!!
SOLD!!!
To be clear; this is being sold on Amazon Japan correct?

I KNEW soccer and SNK were the strongest glue holding the Cafe together! Added the Amazon Japan link above. The Captain Tsubasa game is not a traditional sports action game, but you'll love the cinematics...they worked to the very end to get -every- single voice actor's permission, all 39!





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"Re(3):MD Mini 2: Welcome the Next Level" , posted Sat 20 Aug 05:03post reply

quote:
Captain Tsubasa? I used to emulate this excellent Sega CD version back in the day!!
SOLD!!!
To be clear; this is being sold on Amazon Japan correct?
I KNEW soccer and SNK were the strongest glue holding the Cafe together! Added the Amazon Japan link above. The Captain Tsubasa game is not a traditional sports action game, but you'll love the cinematics...they worked to the very end to get -every- single voice actor's permission, all 39!



Thank you for the link!!! I (now) understand that the superior version has already been released in Japan and the Genesis Mini 2 is the (inferior) US version being release soon.

Oh! I have played every single TECMO Captain Tsubasa game since the same year the 1st Famicom CT game was released. It forced me to learn some Japanese! Love those games (and the manga/series) they are based on.





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"Re(1):MD Mini 2: Welcome to the Next Level" , posted Sat 20 Aug 15:25post reply

quote:
Five festival-like game roster announcements and TEN bonus games later, the Mega Drive Mini 2 is not only the most impressive retro console, it's the best game collection I have ever seen, period. At 60 almost entirely great games, they've approached the volume of the maligned cheap third-party American consoles of the past, yet with the craft and care of top-class emulation talent of M2. In reviving 20 out of 77 total Mega CD titles, the MD Mini 2 is also a legitimate game history preservation achievement, far beyond a novelty toy, and all the better given how fantastic this small but influential library was.

I feel like modern Sega's hapless handling of Sonic takes attention away from the incredible spirit of game-loving people (in the best sense) at the company, especially on the Mini team. There's so much devotion here, even beyond the herculean effort of tracking down difficult licensing rights and adding insane bonus titles. For instance, looking back on Baines' much earlier comment on the technical challenges of emulating load times, Okunari has talked about how with the never-before-emulated Mega CD titles with long movies, synching the audio that no longer had a delayed timing off the CD was incredibly difficult, but they worked over and over to get marvelous spectacles like Lunar~Eternal Blue's 10-minute opening cinema right.

As for the final roster

-- Message too long, Autoquote has been Snipped --


HOLY COW what a magnifient lineup! I can't read Japanese, but I'm still filled with desire for this device!!

Magical☆Taruto-kun was a pleasant surprise for me! One of the early GameFreak games! This game has absolutely magnificent sprite art. Ken Sugimori is a genius character designer and sprite artist. The sprites in this game look like they're from the GBA era. They look more stylish and sophisticated than most high bit indie games to this day. Some of the most refined stuff out there. It's incredible how he captured the energy of Egawa's vibrant art in pixel form!

Also lovely to see Midnight Resistance on there! That was part of my family's Mega Drive library back in the day! I recently read that it may have inspired Gunstar Heroes and that makes sense! It had such fun run and gun gameplay. And the last boss was BANANAS. But the most memorable thing to me was the leadup to it,

Spoiler (Highlight to view) -
where you can select which family members to free. How do you prioritize their lives? Go for the best corresponding weapon linked to them? For me I always saved the grandpa like a proper Confucian child haha.

End of Spoiler

This was seriously a much harder "moral choice" than the typical "do you want to be a child murderer or not?" scenarios that would take gaming by storm several console generations down the road. What a great game!






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"Re(4):MD Mini 2: Welcome the Next Level" , posted Wed 24 Aug 10:41post reply

quote:
Captain Tsubasa? I used to emulate this excellent Sega CD version back in the day!!
SOLD!!!
To be clear; this is being sold on Amazon Japan correct?
I KNEW soccer and SNK were the strongest glue holding the Cafe together! Added the Amazon Japan link above. The Captain Tsubasa game is not a traditional sports action game, but you'll love the cinematics...they worked to the very end to get -every- single voice actor's permission, all 39!


Thank you for the link!!! I (now) understand that the superior version has already been released in Japan and the Genesis Mini 2 is the (inferior) US version being release soon.

Oh! I have played every single TECMO Captain Tsubasa game since the same year the 1st Famicom CT game was released. It forced me to learn some Japanese! Love those games (and the manga/series) they are based on.



Glad to know there are fans of Captain Tsubasa. Currently watching it at the moment, the original run in Spanish. It's a great anime.





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"Re(1):MD Mini 2: Welcome to the Next Level" , posted Wed 24 Aug 12:05post reply

quote:
Five festival-like game roster announcements and TEN bonus games later, the Mega Drive Mini 2 is not only the most impressive retro console, it's the best game collection I have ever seen, period. At 60 almost entirely great games, they've approached the volume of the maligned cheap third-party American consoles of the past, yet with the craft and care of top-class emulation talent of M2. In reviving 20 out of 77 total Mega CD titles, the MD Mini 2 is also a legitimate game history preservation achievement, far beyond a novelty toy, and all the better given how fantastic this small but influential library was.

I feel like modern Sega's hapless handling of Sonic takes attention away from the incredible spirit of game-loving people (in the best sense) at the company, especially on the Mini team. There's so much devotion here, even beyond the herculean effort of tracking down difficult licensing rights and adding insane bonus titles. For instance, looking back on Baines' much earlier comment on the technical challenges of emulating load times, Okunari has talked about how with the never-before-emulated Mega CD titles with long movies, synching the audio that no longer had a delayed timing off the CD was incredibly difficult, but they worked over and over to get marvelous spectacles like Lunar~Eternal Blue's 10-minute opening cinema right.

As for the final roster

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Never been an expert on Sega stuff, but I'm surprised to see Night Trap on that list. I was under the impression that, even back in the day, it was one of the quintessential kusoge of MegaCD. Was it really memorable enough to include it here? Aren't there more worthwhile MegaCD games out there? Man, Sega lore is so difficult to grasp...






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"Re(2):MD Mini 2: Welcome to the Next Level" , posted Thu 25 Aug 01:31post reply

quote:
I'm surprised to see Night Trap on that list. I was under the impression that, even back in the day, it was one of the quintessential kusoge of MegaCD. Was it really memorable enough to include it here? Man, Sega lore is so difficult to grasp...
It's deep, man! Night Trap is horrid but in Japan it is a rare curiosity: the type of Dragon's Lair-style horrible full-FMV junk "game" where you only occasionally press buttons that flooded the system in the US, plus it's got a top-end Japanese dub in contrast to the Z-grade camp of the original, with huge names like our eternally-17 queen Inoue Kikuko and Ishida Akira (both Lunar people, appropriately enough for Mega CD).

Like the PC Engine CD-ROM2, the MCD was defined by games featuring gorgeous anime cinemas and acting, some quite extensive like Lunar~Eternal Blue (50 minutes), and even with its smaller library, game-for-game, I insist that MCD is every bit as good as the more successful PCE. And like the PCE, the huge majority of these MCD games were never released abroad (only plucky Working Designs translated a few key treasures like Lunar and Cosmic Fantasy), with the system evidentally remembered in the US mostly for its piles of execrable live-action FMV non-games, to the point that "FMV" was a dirty word in English for a long time.

Including Night Trap may be a wasted slot, but beyond being a curio it is also (probably unintentionally) an interesting historical symbol of missed opportunities and foolish underestimation of the US market for RPGs and anime, especially as contrasted to a somewhat similar game like the beloved and lavishly produced point-and-click Urusei Yatsura game (whose licensing issues make this the most painful absence on the otherwise-perfect MD Mini 2).





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"Re(3):MD Mini 2: Welcome to the Next Level" , posted Wed 7 Jun 05:35post reply

While I'll probably be a year late with my MD Mini 2 field report, I already know the answer (preview: everything is perfect and great, put these Mega CD games on Switch ASAP), so instead, here is other related important stuff: good news for once, someone who actually knows something is writing about Sega's console wars days! Yes, MD Mini series project leader Okunari Yousuke himself is releasing a new book, Record of Sega Hardware War (I deliberately use the same slightly awkward but classic Record of Lodoss War diction), based on his many days with Sega starting in 1994 and his earlier memories as a fan before that. After a glut of slightly dubious books written in English by amateurs and people I haven't heard of, I'm really glad to hear some classic console tales from people who were in the industry at the time, and this covers things from the earliest SG-1000 days all the way up to MMCafe's Favorite Console (maybe), Dreamcast. This comes out in July, 40 years after the SG-1000. I will probably read this. Maybe you should, too!





人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...