Sega Megadrive Retrospective: My Story
This was the first console which I ever owned, the first games I played were: Sonic Compilation, Toejam And Earl. The Megadrive is my favourite console because at the time people realised the quality of the impressive catalogue of games which were released for it, a sense of quality which could only be achieved by playing the many exclusive games.
I would have happily played and owned a SNES given the opportunity but I just couldn't. I got the Megadrive when the N64 was already out, we couldn't afford to buy the consoles at retail prices, compare that to me buying a brand new PS3 in today's market and I can see why. We spend a lot of time hassling our parents to buy us things when we're younger but that's when we don't understand something like money.
Looking back at it now I know that I had a lot of great times but also missed out on a lot of games. So now, 15+ years after I first got this console I have started collecting for it and are only just now realising the true awesomeness of this system.
Sonic was obviously a go-to game for a lot of people and is highly revered as an incredible platforming game. To this day the original Sonic is still probably my favourite game of all time. My 2nd favourite game of all time is also a Megadrive game which came up in the slideshow just as I am typing this, Toejam And Earl.
Toejam And Earl was weird, the look of the characters alone is enough to draw you in. The gameplay's premise is simple, go from A to B. Only you don't know where B is and you're pitted against a whole myriad of strange enemies, all of which are based on either myths or are exaggerated versions of groups/icons which exist in popular culture. Some are simple like the postbox, the ice cream truck but some play more on stereotypes and strange behavioural attributes such as: The Nerd Herd; Bogey Man and even Santa himself makes an appearance.
The earlier characters are weak and predictable, but later enemies prove to be real hazards and keep you on your toes. The Ice Cream Truck is crazy, get out of it's way. The Nerd Herd? Get out of the way. The Mole? Kind of just pops up when it feels like although it's easy to track where it's going to come out.
Point in case the seemingly slow gameplay of Toejam And Earl which builds and uncovers this fun and varied game through the use of increasing difficulty is what makes it shine. You could argue that every game goes up in difficulty as you progress that's the whole point of video games! Yes but this game does it right, just right, even exploring the earlier stages is still fun, even when you've beaten the game. The first levels aren't ones which you simply race through to get to the more expansive areas with more enemies. No, you enjoy them all the same.
I would have happily played and owned a SNES given the opportunity but I just couldn't. I got the Megadrive when the N64 was already out, we couldn't afford to buy the consoles at retail prices, compare that to me buying a brand new PS3 in today's market and I can see why. We spend a lot of time hassling our parents to buy us things when we're younger but that's when we don't understand something like money.
Looking back at it now I know that I had a lot of great times but also missed out on a lot of games. So now, 15+ years after I first got this console I have started collecting for it and are only just now realising the true awesomeness of this system.
Sonic was obviously a go-to game for a lot of people and is highly revered as an incredible platforming game. To this day the original Sonic is still probably my favourite game of all time. My 2nd favourite game of all time is also a Megadrive game which came up in the slideshow just as I am typing this, Toejam And Earl.
Toejam And Earl was weird, the look of the characters alone is enough to draw you in. The gameplay's premise is simple, go from A to B. Only you don't know where B is and you're pitted against a whole myriad of strange enemies, all of which are based on either myths or are exaggerated versions of groups/icons which exist in popular culture. Some are simple like the postbox, the ice cream truck but some play more on stereotypes and strange behavioural attributes such as: The Nerd Herd; Bogey Man and even Santa himself makes an appearance.
The earlier characters are weak and predictable, but later enemies prove to be real hazards and keep you on your toes. The Ice Cream Truck is crazy, get out of it's way. The Nerd Herd? Get out of the way. The Mole? Kind of just pops up when it feels like although it's easy to track where it's going to come out.
Point in case the seemingly slow gameplay of Toejam And Earl which builds and uncovers this fun and varied game through the use of increasing difficulty is what makes it shine. You could argue that every game goes up in difficulty as you progress that's the whole point of video games! Yes but this game does it right, just right, even exploring the earlier stages is still fun, even when you've beaten the game. The first levels aren't ones which you simply race through to get to the more expansive areas with more enemies. No, you enjoy them all the same.
Slideshow of All My Megadrive Games
So now I'm collecting Megadrive games with the aim of getting almost all of the games (excluding sports titles, crappy games). There are many left to get and it will take many years. So far, including all the games I had which I was a kid I have amassed about 70 Megadrive games in the last year and probably got about 100 including all the ones I sold.
I plan on reviewing all of my Megadrive games, this will stay as text format at first and maybe I'll make some video reviews for them. This page however is just a overview of my games and a little retrospective about the system and my memories with it.
Now for the aforementioned ''Sonic Compilation'', my parents bought me this along with the console and funnily enough a Competition Pro controller which are both items that can be found in the promo box release of Sonic Compilation. As far as I'm aware we never owned the box for the system though. As if it were to be the promo box case with the Sonic characters on it, I would have never thrown it away.
On the cartridge was Sonic, Sonic 2 and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. I instantly fell in love with Sonic, the character and the game, I subscribed to the comic and would go to pick it up weekly although I never collected many copies as I was heavily into collecting the Beano comics.
Sonic 2 was incredible, it surpassed my expectations in every way. I still loved the original but the addition of a 2nd player was a great touch and also helped to get my friends into it as well. As for the last game, Mean Bean Machine, it's pointless playing against someone who hasn't played it before because you will crush them.
It's simple like any game of it's kind, get 3 or 4 of the same kind of object and then you get points for making them disappear, chaining moves together and also for popping 4,5,6 beans instead of just 3.
Every time you did this you send over refugee beans, which are harder to get rid of. Only problem being that if you chain together a large amount of different coloured beans you can instantly fill the opposing player's screen and therefore win the game.
In single player mode it keeps you on your toes because you are constantly having to divert your attention to the refugees in order to clear them and make space so that you don't lose the game. It just doesn't work as well in multiplayer.
So all in all Sonic Compilation was great and brought me many, many hours of fun and was a great introduction to the system.
I plan on reviewing all of my Megadrive games, this will stay as text format at first and maybe I'll make some video reviews for them. This page however is just a overview of my games and a little retrospective about the system and my memories with it.
Now for the aforementioned ''Sonic Compilation'', my parents bought me this along with the console and funnily enough a Competition Pro controller which are both items that can be found in the promo box release of Sonic Compilation. As far as I'm aware we never owned the box for the system though. As if it were to be the promo box case with the Sonic characters on it, I would have never thrown it away.
On the cartridge was Sonic, Sonic 2 and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. I instantly fell in love with Sonic, the character and the game, I subscribed to the comic and would go to pick it up weekly although I never collected many copies as I was heavily into collecting the Beano comics.
Sonic 2 was incredible, it surpassed my expectations in every way. I still loved the original but the addition of a 2nd player was a great touch and also helped to get my friends into it as well. As for the last game, Mean Bean Machine, it's pointless playing against someone who hasn't played it before because you will crush them.
It's simple like any game of it's kind, get 3 or 4 of the same kind of object and then you get points for making them disappear, chaining moves together and also for popping 4,5,6 beans instead of just 3.
Every time you did this you send over refugee beans, which are harder to get rid of. Only problem being that if you chain together a large amount of different coloured beans you can instantly fill the opposing player's screen and therefore win the game.
In single player mode it keeps you on your toes because you are constantly having to divert your attention to the refugees in order to clear them and make space so that you don't lose the game. It just doesn't work as well in multiplayer.
So all in all Sonic Compilation was great and brought me many, many hours of fun and was a great introduction to the system.
These are my Sonic games, the only ones which I bought from Ebay separately, most others I buy in bundles or try to source them at car boot sales. Sonic 3 suffered some damage when I removed a sticker... a sticker which was on the INSIDE, on the inlay ITSELF instead of the plastic. If you're worried about people swapping stickers, use bar codes!!!!
Apart from that they're all complete in great condition with the hanging tabs.
Apart from that they're all complete in great condition with the hanging tabs.
The levels become varied as you progress which utilise various clever things in the environment as you progress into the later levels as well as varied enemy design throughout. Naturally the enemies become more advanced and in some cases devious as you advance through the levels.
It's a classic and has to be played, Bomberman fan or not the gameplay will immerse you. Everything from using the mine carts to break through blocks and instantly kill enemies to frantically backtracking around the map to collect the bonus coins. From the boss battles to the highly addictive multiplayer with intuitive unique maps. Everything about this game screams, PLAY ME.
It's a classic and has to be played, Bomberman fan or not the gameplay will immerse you. Everything from using the mine carts to break through blocks and instantly kill enemies to frantically backtracking around the map to collect the bonus coins. From the boss battles to the highly addictive multiplayer with intuitive unique maps. Everything about this game screams, PLAY ME.
Accessories
The first accessory shown here is the Maverick 3 Quickshot controller. It's a fightstick essentially, you've got slow motion which just pauses and unpauses the game, turbo fire, big buttons and a unique function. If a game involves 2 players taking turns and NOT playing split-screen, you can just flick the switch above the A and B button and have it function for player 2 as well as player 1.
That way nobody has to argue over who used the Quickshot, I think it's an anti-whiny-bitch-device, not sure what it was marketed as...
All joking aside let's face it, most 2 player games have you both appear on the screen at the same time so I really fail to see any other purpose for it. The controller however, when used in single player games, or if there's 2 of you playing makes for some really good times. This controller is especially handy in fighting games because of the arcade feel and can also be used on various other games with varying effect.
For example you wouldn't use this with Sonic the Hedgehog, it just doesn't make sense. It works for platforming but this is meant for arcade games.
That way nobody has to argue over who used the Quickshot, I think it's an anti-whiny-bitch-device, not sure what it was marketed as...
All joking aside let's face it, most 2 player games have you both appear on the screen at the same time so I really fail to see any other purpose for it. The controller however, when used in single player games, or if there's 2 of you playing makes for some really good times. This controller is especially handy in fighting games because of the arcade feel and can also be used on various other games with varying effect.
For example you wouldn't use this with Sonic the Hedgehog, it just doesn't make sense. It works for platforming but this is meant for arcade games.
3-button
Hold on a second, good for fighting games with only 3 buttons? Besides the joystick this peripheral is useless when it comes to Mortal Kombat games, can you really imagine holding down start and then pressing A,B or C to perform the other moves?
Not sure on how best to word that but on the SNES Mortal Kombat games were more playable because you had 6 buttons, on the Megadrive controller you have 3 which means you have to press start and either A,B, or C to block and to perform the move variations. It was not ideal.
That's when Sega came out with this...
Not sure on how best to word that but on the SNES Mortal Kombat games were more playable because you had 6 buttons, on the Megadrive controller you have 3 which means you have to press start and either A,B, or C to block and to perform the move variations. It was not ideal.
That's when Sega came out with this...
6-button
This 6 button controller is invaluable, it fixes everything to do with Mortal Kombat and probably other fighting games too. It's smaller than the original controller, not by much but it's noticeable. When the Megadrive first came out some people couldn't believe the size of the controller. Sega noted this and slightly down-scaled this model of the standard controller we (mostly) all know and love.
There are other peripherals such as the official Sega arcade stick which I believe has 6 buttons and also the Menacer which is a bazooka-esque light-gun peripheral which I do not own despite owning the instruction manual.
There are other peripherals such as the official Sega arcade stick which I believe has 6 buttons and also the Menacer which is a bazooka-esque light-gun peripheral which I do not own despite owning the instruction manual.
This is the only other Sega controller variation which I own, it has some nice features which one would expect of a third-party controller but will most likely only be used as a backup controller because the 6 button is just so good...
And now some more obligatory pictures of my collection.
And now some more obligatory pictures of my collection.
Megadrive Retrospective Continued
Besides Sonic Compilation and Toejam and Earl I also had Mega Bomberman, Cool Spot, Shaq Fu and Alien 3.
I got Alien 3 at a car boot sale for £2 or £3, it looked like somebody used it as a chopping board, the plastic cover is sliced up for some reason but 10 years ago it was a very decent price to pay I remember not fully understand what you're supposed to do, the main aim in Alien is to rescue the survivors, so if you get to the end of the level and don't rescue all the survivors, you may not have long to rush back and find the last guy.
Alternatively you can run out of time desperately trying to locate a survivor, not because you missed him on purpose but because the game is kicking your ass by throwing respawning enemies at you and just not having enough time to work out how to get to the survivor.
Because the levels are like mazes you can often see the survivors but you can't get to them yet, enticing you to crawl through the air ducts to find them, areas which are also full of aliens...
The game gives you 4 weapons which are equally fun to use, the game relies on you not knowing the spawn points for the enemies on your first playthrough for some cheap jump scares.Even as a kid once I remember the spawn points I would find myself running back and forth to trigger their spawn and then give myself as much room as possible between me and the alien.
I got Alien 3 at a car boot sale for £2 or £3, it looked like somebody used it as a chopping board, the plastic cover is sliced up for some reason but 10 years ago it was a very decent price to pay I remember not fully understand what you're supposed to do, the main aim in Alien is to rescue the survivors, so if you get to the end of the level and don't rescue all the survivors, you may not have long to rush back and find the last guy.
Alternatively you can run out of time desperately trying to locate a survivor, not because you missed him on purpose but because the game is kicking your ass by throwing respawning enemies at you and just not having enough time to work out how to get to the survivor.
Because the levels are like mazes you can often see the survivors but you can't get to them yet, enticing you to crawl through the air ducts to find them, areas which are also full of aliens...
The game gives you 4 weapons which are equally fun to use, the game relies on you not knowing the spawn points for the enemies on your first playthrough for some cheap jump scares.Even as a kid once I remember the spawn points I would find myself running back and forth to trigger their spawn and then give myself as much room as possible between me and the alien.
Pretty early on you will realise that the sounds in this game are. Amazing. Never has the Megadrive sound card, with that gritty heavy metal sound gone hand-in-hand with a game better than Alien 3. Play it for yourself and you'll see what I mean.
I don't want this to be a full review as that will come later so let me end by saying that I only ever got to level 5 when I was younger but I WILL return and beat this game.
I don't want this to be a full review as that will come later so let me end by saying that I only ever got to level 5 when I was younger but I WILL return and beat this game.
Mega Bomberman
This game is incredible, top 5 Megadrive games for sure and definitely a top 10 all-time game for me. It's a simple premise, blow stuff up and don't get yourself blown up. The graphics were nice and colourful with enemies well animated and the gameplay was satisfying.
Combine graphics, sound and gameplay and you have a winning formula, the game delivered in all departments. I remember one time my parents said I could go to bed when I died. I managed to get over halfway through the game (third stage of the sea level) before I died. It was a great game and you could get pretty far in a relatively small amount of time if you stay patient.
You can make mistakes easily in Bomberman, tactics do come into play as well. You have to time your explosions to coincide with enemy walk paths. The enemies are inconsistent or smart I haven't figured out which yet. Basically they won't go much in terms of motion or complex paths until you plant bombs near them.
In the beginning they just move back and forth, left and right and only sometimes do they stray from their path. You have to be wary that most of the time they will continue on their path even when a bomb is planted but sometimes they'll move out of the way.
The whole game is about planting your bomb right and being patient, waiting for the enemy to walk into it or sometimes trapping an enemy between two bombs, all whilst evading being touched by the enemies through having to move out of your own bombs, and through having a thought-out exit route to escape explosions without getting blown up in doing so.
Combine graphics, sound and gameplay and you have a winning formula, the game delivered in all departments. I remember one time my parents said I could go to bed when I died. I managed to get over halfway through the game (third stage of the sea level) before I died. It was a great game and you could get pretty far in a relatively small amount of time if you stay patient.
You can make mistakes easily in Bomberman, tactics do come into play as well. You have to time your explosions to coincide with enemy walk paths. The enemies are inconsistent or smart I haven't figured out which yet. Basically they won't go much in terms of motion or complex paths until you plant bombs near them.
In the beginning they just move back and forth, left and right and only sometimes do they stray from their path. You have to be wary that most of the time they will continue on their path even when a bomb is planted but sometimes they'll move out of the way.
The whole game is about planting your bomb right and being patient, waiting for the enemy to walk into it or sometimes trapping an enemy between two bombs, all whilst evading being touched by the enemies through having to move out of your own bombs, and through having a thought-out exit route to escape explosions without getting blown up in doing so.
Other Games
So like I said before I also owned Cool Spot. Had I have known that this was just an advertising game I would never have got this game, which would have made my Mum happy she hated the thing, the noises that Spot makes made her crazy.
And now, in 2012... I don't blame her...
The game isn't bad but the sounds are really annoying, there's not much wrong with the gameplay but I play through it now and I see how uninspired and generic it is. Every level has enemies which you would expect, no surprises.
Some of the platforming is fun though, I like how the first level has 2 routes effectively. You can go on the ground and get bombarded by hordes of hermit crabs and have to hear the painful noise over and over again or you can fly on balloons and bounce on bubbles if you choose the aerial route.
All in all it's a childhood favourite of mine which I am now not very fond of. But moving on, I did mention one other game, and it's going to annoy whoever reads this. I owned Shaq Fu.
And I loved it.
I loved this game, I beat it SO many times, now I can't even beat one character. Back in the day I used to play the story mode and I would complete it there and then, I've completed Shaq Fu more than ten times and now I can't imagine playing it once, let alone beating it once!
As a young kid I liked the characters, I didn't know about Shaq or what he was associated to, I remember my parents laughing, even they knew what was up they know that Shaq Fu was a ridiculous title. I just thought it was interesting that they threw in a pretty normal guy into a mixture of alsorts of crazy characters.
But that's just what it is, they're random, they don't make sense. Some of them generic, some puzzling but mostly generic. The moves are apparently impossible to do from what I've heard from gamers on the internet but I always found most of them pretty easy to remember and execute.
The annoying thing about the moveset is that the moves only appear in between games or when you exit a game to go back to the title screen which forced you to write them all down. I tried to play a game in this year, 2012, for the first time in probably over 10 years and that little kid trapped me in a forcefield before the game even begun.
He spent the rest of the game spamming projectiles at me which my character was too cumbersome to surmount and also froze me in the spot with a plethora of forcefield landmine things, that took a nose dive... anyway the game is horrible.
And now, in 2012... I don't blame her...
The game isn't bad but the sounds are really annoying, there's not much wrong with the gameplay but I play through it now and I see how uninspired and generic it is. Every level has enemies which you would expect, no surprises.
Some of the platforming is fun though, I like how the first level has 2 routes effectively. You can go on the ground and get bombarded by hordes of hermit crabs and have to hear the painful noise over and over again or you can fly on balloons and bounce on bubbles if you choose the aerial route.
All in all it's a childhood favourite of mine which I am now not very fond of. But moving on, I did mention one other game, and it's going to annoy whoever reads this. I owned Shaq Fu.
And I loved it.
I loved this game, I beat it SO many times, now I can't even beat one character. Back in the day I used to play the story mode and I would complete it there and then, I've completed Shaq Fu more than ten times and now I can't imagine playing it once, let alone beating it once!
As a young kid I liked the characters, I didn't know about Shaq or what he was associated to, I remember my parents laughing, even they knew what was up they know that Shaq Fu was a ridiculous title. I just thought it was interesting that they threw in a pretty normal guy into a mixture of alsorts of crazy characters.
But that's just what it is, they're random, they don't make sense. Some of them generic, some puzzling but mostly generic. The moves are apparently impossible to do from what I've heard from gamers on the internet but I always found most of them pretty easy to remember and execute.
The annoying thing about the moveset is that the moves only appear in between games or when you exit a game to go back to the title screen which forced you to write them all down. I tried to play a game in this year, 2012, for the first time in probably over 10 years and that little kid trapped me in a forcefield before the game even begun.
He spent the rest of the game spamming projectiles at me which my character was too cumbersome to surmount and also froze me in the spot with a plethora of forcefield landmine things, that took a nose dive... anyway the game is horrible.