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Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Appreciation Thread: Alien Storm > Golden Axe
- Thread starter IrishNinja
- Start date
Oh god, that's horrible... even worse than I was expecting. I can only assume that Australia never got those at all, because I'm pretty sure that even 32x games were in (slightly bigger) plastic covers. Might be wrong on that, though.
But I'm almost positive the very last games to be released were still in plastic.
What the fuck were Sega thinking? They look god-awful. Guess I'm lucky in that I never owned a SNES either, so dealing with cardboard covers/cases was something restricted solely to that of blank VHS tapes
Genesis Knight
Member
They were thinking they could save some money, I imagine.
IrishNinja
Member
They were thinking they could save some money, I imagine.
a 15 year old IrishNinja was too lazy to write them that letter:
"Dear Segas,
You thought you could save money by selling me Phantasy Star IV for $100 with a cardboard box and black & white manual, maybe put some of that money towards the Saturn huh? THOUGHT WRONG.
Until you finish Phantasy Star V for Sega-CD and either Chaotix or ESWAT 2 for Saturn I will not be buying!!! Please do the right thing here."
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
It seemed impossible to keep those paper cases from falling apart no matter how careful you were, too. Worst. Case. Ever.
I'm pretty sure Europe and Australia only had a single cardboard box (Sonic & Knuckles). Everything else was sturdy plastic cases which I'm thankful for.Oh god, that's horrible... even worse than I was expecting. I can only assume that Australia never got those at all, because I'm pretty sure that even 32x games were in (slightly bigger) plastic covers. Might be wrong on that, though.
But I'm almost positive the very last games to be released were still in plastic.
What the fuck were Sega thinking? They look god-awful. Guess I'm lucky in that I never owned a SNES either, so dealing with cardboard covers/cases was something restricted solely to that of blank VHS tapes
But I imagine it's easy to make custom cases to replace cardboard cases with a random sports game case
SkyMasterson
Member
Actually, there are a few 32x games that came in the hard shells.
Namely, NBA JAM TE and both WWF games.
Go figure that Acclaim of all publishers wouldn't cheap out with the cardboard cases.
A Black Falcon
Member
You're exaggerating a lot, unless you mean 'in perfect condition' or something... I see the cardboard cases in stores sometimes, and they're sometimes in reasonably good condition. Because of the design they might be a little less solid than Nintendo cardboard boxes were (since it's a sliding cover over an inner box, and the inner box is somewhat flimsy), but still, it's not THAT bad.
Also, you can blame Tengen for them -- they were the first ones to use that box style. Sega took them on a bit later, probably in order to save money.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
The inner flaps would tear or bend with even a modest amount of use, especially if you stored your games vertically. Probably the most flimsy game packaging I've ever dealt with personally, even compared with other cardboard boxes.
D
Deleted member 74300
Unconfirmed Member
Shitty cardboard box or not that Sonic & Knuckles logo got me so hyped back then.
sixteen-bit
Member
Same and Comix Zone since I lost my cover (but still have the Sampler CD - which won't fit in the clamshell, lol)
Some games have both cardboard and plastic clamshell variants. I have both versions of Earthwork Jim 1. I think Castlevania Bloodlines was another one like that. One of the very late reprints of Sonic 2 was in cardboard as well.
Genesis Knight
Member
There's one of these I'm less interested in playing than the others...
Rygar 8 Bit
Jaguar 64-bit
nice devilish 
as for the old school 80s early 90s cases go i picked up midnight resistance
as for the old school 80s early 90s cases go i picked up midnight resistance
sixteen-bit
Member
There's one of these I'm less interested in playing than the others...
Devilish has some sick music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIYosYgJhsU
<3 Sakimoto
factoid: a sequel finally came out in like, 2008 on DS.
A Black Falcon
Member
Eh, CD jewelcases, the large ones like you see on Sega CD and Saturn, or the small ones of PC, PS1, and Dreamcast games... those are REALLY fragile With the Genesis cardboard bxoes what happened was most people didn't keep them. But with jewelcases they did, and the end result is huge numbers of cracked or broken-off-cover jewelcases.
As I said I would say that the Genesis cardboard boxes are a bit less durable than Nintendo cardboard boxes are, though. That is true. Japanse SNES and N64 cardboard boxes are even more sturdy, too, because instead of a cardboard tray inside, they use a plastic one.
I'm pretty sure Europe and Australia only had a single cardboard box (Sonic & Knuckles). Everything else was sturdy plastic cases which I'm thankful for.
But I imagine it's easy to make custom cases to replace cardboard cases with a random sports game case
Tengen (Atari Games) invented the design and later Sega of America used it too, so it'd make sense if it didn't reach other regions...
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Western style Sega CD / Saturn cases are also pretty bad, yeah.
Sega of America sure had some interesting packaging ideas.
Sega of America sure had some interesting packaging ideas.
Yeah I don't really care for the longboxes. Just too fragie and unnecessarily big.
What was reasoning here? Did they think consumers would be more impressed by the large boxes than small jewel cases? Seems like they would just take up a lot of shelf space and piss of retailers.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
I'd assume so. I also figured that was the reasoning behind gigantic PC game boxes back in the day, too.
IrishNinja
Member
well, i was impressed. =/
haha really i just like larger 90's cover art is the thing
haha really i just like larger 90's cover art is the thing
On that note, I think it would've been kickarse if MD/Genny games came in covers that were a similar size/format to older cassette tapes. Be almost reminiscent of having a C64 library!
nice devilish
Ultra thumbs up for this one.
A Black Falcon
Member
I really love the way the 'longbox' giant jewelcases look! I think they look great. They're just fragile.
I like bigger boxes, those big PC game boxes were the best... but no, that wasn't the main reasoning -- fitting in larger manuals was the original main reasoning I think. Then games which didn't have as big manuals matched them in order to not look smaller on the shelf.
Then Wal-Mart complained, and in the early '00s PC games switched to smaller boxes... and were never the same again.
BobbyRobby
Member
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SEGA-Genesis-DXBB-Speakers-RARE-No-Reserve-FREE-Shipping-/221349899217?pt=US_Other_Video_Game_Accessories&hash=item33897b6bd1
An expensive but odd item I've never seen before. Officially licensed speakers for the model 1.
An expensive but odd item I've never seen before. Officially licensed speakers for the model 1.
KDash31987
Member
I imagine those are the same ones they used to give away to people who bought a new Genesis back in the early '90s. You can see them pop up in the first commercial in this video
BobbyRobby
Member
Thanks for sharing.
I guess not a lot of people took them up on that promotion. I'd think they be more common.
IrishNinja
Member
yeah i forget what i mailed in, but i had a pair! they were...okay, i mean the price was right. i had a cheap TV at the time & could swear they'd eventually give a slight purple haze to the edges of my screen if i didn't move them further away, haha.
they'd be neat to have again as a showpiece but i'd never really use em...now that Sega power strip, oh baby! that thing'd get some use.
they'd be neat to have again as a showpiece but i'd never really use em...now that Sega power strip, oh baby! that thing'd get some use.
KDash31987
Member
Yeah, that happens to CRTs if you have speakers that don't have proper magnetic shielding too close to them.
IrishNinja
Member
^yeah i read this years later & felt better about having to get rid of em, haha
related: interesting timing here
related: interesting timing here
My old CRT, which is now long gone, had this degauss function which got rid of the magnetic disturbance. I miss that TV
Rygar 8 Bit
Jaguar 64-bit
dinoland its a pretty generic pinball game but it has boss battles like kirby pinball just but just worst
I love how Renovation has this killer line up of Genesis titles while still making time for dinosaur pinball and jennifer capriati tennis lol.
If we're talking Renovation and I had to choose a favourite it'd be El Viento all the way. The premise for the plot of that game is so awesome. I would have said Gaires prior to playing El Viento but that one takes the crown
If we're talking Renovation and I had to choose a favourite it'd be El Viento all the way. The premise for the plot of that game is so awesome. I would have said Gaires prior to playing El Viento but that one takes the crown
SkyMasterson
Member
So who here has 32X? Anyone have a complete or near complete collection?
Thought that could be fun to see.
I've got like 7 games and just won an auction for Virtua Racing for $8.50, meh lol.
I owned it back in the day and it was really impressive for the time.
Thought that could be fun to see.
I've got like 7 games and just won an auction for Virtua Racing for $8.50, meh lol.
I owned it back in the day and it was really impressive for the time.
IrishNinja
Member
god i hope any of you with a complete 32x collection didn't pay much for Web of Fire somehow
D
Deleted member 74300
Unconfirmed Member
I have like half of the released games for the 32X pretty much. Doubt I'll get much more for it.
SkyMasterson
Member
Haha.
I saw one going for $300 CIB. I thought about it and then questioned what am I really doing with my life?
If I'm going to spend $300 on a game, it's going to be Panzer Dragoon Saga haha.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
A friend was kind of amused when I said I could probably name more games with female lead characters on the Sega Genesis than I could on modern day systems. I know that part of this is due to the fact I'm way more in tune with retro games than contemporary ones, and perhaps I might just intentionally seek these games out to an extent. There's also the feeling I have that female leads were just an unremarkable, neither rare nor common thing that happened from time to time back in the day without anyone really kicking up a fuss about it one way or the other, whereas today it's a Big Deal and Special Event whenever it happens in a game with a budget, but that might just be due to age and the way information and discussion spreads in the internet age. What do you think? I'm kind of interested in other perspectives.
Anyway, here's everything relevant on the Genesis that came to mind, excluding licensed properties:
- Trouble Shooter / Battle Mania series
- Madou Monogatari & Puyo Puyo series
- Alisia Dragoon
- Monster World IV
- Valis series
- MUSHA
- El Viento & Annet Returns
- Popful Mail
- Streets of Rage 3 (ensemble cast w/ Blaze as the only playable female, but the story establishes her as the lead)
- Phantasy Star 1 (Genesis port does exist, but I think this one is kind of cheating)
Anyway, here's everything relevant on the Genesis that came to mind, excluding licensed properties:
- Trouble Shooter / Battle Mania series
- Madou Monogatari & Puyo Puyo series
- Alisia Dragoon
- Monster World IV
- Valis series
- MUSHA
- El Viento & Annet Returns
- Popful Mail
- Streets of Rage 3 (ensemble cast w/ Blaze as the only playable female, but the story establishes her as the lead)
- Phantasy Star 1 (Genesis port does exist, but I think this one is kind of cheating)
KDash31987
Member
Arrow Flash and Burning Force also have female lead characters.
sixteen-bit
Member
I'm not a huge Wolfteam fan but I always wanted to try El Viento.
IrishNinja
Member
aw man how you not gonna love WolfTeam though
I think female protagonists were extremely rare back in the day. The fact that you can name more on the Genesis has mostly to do with how familiar you are with it. How many folks outside of serious Genesis aficionados are even going to know about most of the games on your list?
sixteen-bit
Member
probably because i've never played any of their good games lol
need to play Granada too
Shadow Hog
Member
Hmm. I'm kinda curious as to how large the list gets even if you do include licensed works and ensemble casts (somewhat arbitrarily excluding fighting games). Here's the additions I can think of:
- Animaniacs (Dot is one of the playable characters, although admittedly her use is more limited than Yakko, who can move crates around and stun Ralph with his paddle, or Wakko, who can smash switches, break objects or just donk things on the head; comparatively, Dot just kisses things and is immune to the rare occurrences of Hello Nurse, where the boys become uncontrollable for a while to ogle)
- Contra Hard Corps (choice between not-Bill Rizer, a female, a furry or a robot; talk about progressive)
- Flicky (yes, she's female)
- Gauntlet IV (Valkyrie)
- Golden Axe (Tyris Flare)
- Red Zone (Mirage, although if she goes down you're stuck with the other two dudes - assuming they're still alive - for the rest of the game)
- X-Men 2: Clone Wars (Psylocke - thought she was in the first game, too, but was mistaken; in addition, the only playable females in that game were backup characters)
Speaking of Alisia Dragoon, it arrived from the Ebay yesterday. Unfortunately I have not been able to get the game to work; I just get a black screen. I have cleaned it several times with alcohol to no avail. My other games all work so I figured that it must just be the game, but I did notice that my system does not grip this game quite as hard as the others. This leads me to think that it may be that my cartridge slot needs the pins tightened. I gave the game to a friend to test out on his system to see if this is the case. If he can't get it to work either, I was going to ask the seller for a refund. Has anyone else ran into this issue with genesis carts and has anyone had issues returning games bought off of Ebay if they do not work?
A Black Falcon
Member
There are some more games which let you choose people of either gender, such as Alien Soldier or Arcus Odyssey, but yeah, it's a distinct minority unfortunately.
Really, I'm sure you'll find more games with female playable characters in modern gaming. Most 4th gen games do not have them; the ones that do are exceptions. The main exception to that would be party-based RPGs, since most 4th gen RPGs with parties either have female party members, or for games where you create the party let you choose each characters' gender. Very few of them have female lead characters, of course, though; while this is still true, and the number of JRPGs with female lead characters is still small (though maybe more than it was in the 4th gen?), more of them now let you choose the main characters' gender, I think, so there is that.
Shadow Hog
Member
I thought you played as a male bird alien thing in Alien Soldier.
A Black Falcon
Member
I meant Alien Storm, yeah. The Sega beat 'em up. Alien Storm, Alien Syndrome, Alien Soldier... it's hard to keep them straight sometimes.
(Alien Syndrome's not on Genesis, but still.)Looking through my Genesis games, some more games which let you choose characters of either gender include Wiz n Liz, Blades of Vengeance, OutRunners, Shadow Blasters, Rolling Thunder 2, Rolling Thunder 3 (via password, cutscenes still show the guy), Micro Machines, Ex-Mutants, and Combat Cars. I know there are more of course, but still, while there are some, it's a pretty small number of games compared to the majority of titles on the platform which are male character(s) only.
Oh, the Road Rash games are a bit odd -- the bike-rider sprite looks male, but then they have names for both genders for the opponents, so I guess it's supposed to be either even though it doesn't really look it?