Mega EverDrive X7 - Almost Everything You'd Want in a Flash Cart

Mega EverDrive X7, courtesy of Amazon.com

 A long time ago, over six years in fact, I purchased my first Krikzz product.  This was the Mega EverDrive (v1), then by far the most capable flash cartridge ever released.  I wrote about it here.  Recently I have had the opportunity to acquire its successor, the Mega EverDrive X7.  Let's revisit the use of flash carts on the Genesis/Mega Drive with the X7.

Sega CD - The Other CD Expansion

The Sega CD is treated like the unwanted step-child of the CD expansions.  Early CD systems and expansions before the PlayStation were not the breakthrough product their manufacturers hoped they would be.  They did not deliver the substantially superior gaming experiences they promised and were generally considered too expensive for what they did deliver.  And what they delivered was often unimpressive, ports of cartridge games with enhanced audio and superfluous cutscenes, FMV games which relied on route memorization, PC game ports that had no business being run on hardware that did not have a hard drive, a keyboard or a desk with which to use a mouse and interactive entertainment software which was barely interactive and not entertaining.  Today we are going to take a look at the Sega CD, its hardware, its quirks and ultimately the games that make it worth considering as a device on which to play games rather than to put on a collector's shelf.

The Analogue Mega Sg – A Preview of the Next Chapter in the FPGA "Console Wars"

Analogue Mega Sg JPN Version

Today, Analogue has made an announcement of its next FPGA retro console. This was a reveal which had been long expected. When the console was revealed as an implementation of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, it came as no great surprise to observers like myself familiar with Analogue’s history. Let’s explore some of that history, the specifications of the unit, what you will get for the $189.99 retail price and how this console may fare in today’s increasingly-crowded retro-console market.

Cartridge Bankswitching Outside the NES

Bankswitching in cartridge based games is most famous on the NES, especially its Japanese version, the Famicom.  The NES, Famicom and their unofficial clones were popular in many parts of the world, but the inherent limitations of its 8-bit CPU required software developers to devise ever more complicated systems to increase the amount of memory the system could address.

But the NES did not invent bankswitching.  Most, but not all, 8-bit home consoles, home computers and handheld systems had cartridges with extra hardware to allow the system to address more memory.  In this article I will trace the evolution of that hardware outside the NES and give links to sites and documents where the user can find more technical information.

Sega Genesis - Is the Stinker really that bad?

Official Sega Genesis and Mega Drive consoles vary quite a bit in terms of their built-in sound quality.  When I was looking to acquire a Genesis several years ago, I read that the conventional wisdom was that the original Model 1 was the one to get because it had the best sound quality and did not have the TMSS copy protection scheme.

The original Model 1 is the one with the headphone jack and mono line audio output.  I did not know at the time that there were Model 1s with the High Definition Graphics text and Model 1s without the High Definitions Graphics above the cartridge slot.  The one I acquired did not have the High Definition "HDG" text. Sometime thereafter, I found out that the non-HDG Model 1s had such terrible sound quality compared to HDG Model 1s that they have been given the nickname "the Stinker."  Faced with this reputation, I quickly bought myself an HDG Model 1.  I believed that all HDG consoles would not have TMSS, but the one I got did.

Model 1 of the Sega 16-bit console had several motherboard revisions, as had its successor the Model 2.  Using the information here : http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?7796-GUIDE-Telling-apart-good-Genesis-1s-and-Genesis-2s-from-bad-ones, I have created this table identifying the distinguishing features of all models of the Sega 16-bit console where such information is known :

33 Sega Master System Games Worth Playing

The Sega Master System was not very successful in the United States or Japan, where Sega was unable to overcome Nintendo's massive successes.  It was markedly more successful in Europe and especially Brazil.

Unfortunately, only 116 games were released in the United States.  Quite a few of those games are pretty decent, but there is a lot of crap and uninspired games for the system.  There are also quite a few decent games that only came out in Europe.  However, for the US only releases, I can still cull 30 games worth playing from the library.  Usually I list every game in a series because the gameplay is usually consistent and you can know what to expect, but I will exclude a dud game.

I am not including any SMS games that were ports of Genesis games or which have a Genesis version unless the SMS game offers something special.  The Genesis is an extremely common system and the first two models have backwards compatiblity with SMS games with an adapter.

Title	Notes
Action Fighter
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Alex Kidd: High-Tech World
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars	FM Synthesis Support
Alien Syndrome	FM Synthesis Support
Bubble Bobble
California Games	FM Synthesis Support
Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse	Not a Port of the Genesis Game
Choplifter!
Fantasy Zone
Fantasy Zone II	FM Synthesis Support
Gangster Town	Light Phaser Required
Golden Axe Warrior
Golvellius: Valley of Doom	FM Synthesis Support
Master of Darkness Maze Hunter 3-D Missile Defense 3-D	FM Synthesis Support, 3-D Glasses Required Light Phaser & 3-D Glasses Required
Penguin Land	Battery Backup; FM Synthesis Support
Phantasy Star	Battery Backup; FM Synthesis Support*
Power Strike II
Psycho Fox
R-Type	FM Synthesis Support
Rampart
Shinobi	FM Synthesis Support
Sonic The Hedgehog Sonic The Hedgehog 2	Not a Port of the Genesis Game Not a Port of the Genesis Game
Space Harrier 3D	3-D Glasses Required; FM Synthesis Support
Wonder Boy
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap	FM Synthesis Support*
Wonder Boy in Monster Land	FM Synthesis Support
Zillion
Zillion 2: Tri Formation	FM Synthesis Support

I tried to include Light Phaser and 3-D Glasses games since these were significant (Light Phaser) or unique (3-D Glasses) peripherals.  I also have noted which games have battery backup save RAM, which is a rarity for 8-bit Sega cartridges.  Finally, I have also noted which games have an optional FM Synthesis soundtrack.  For the games with an asterisk, you will need a hack to play them in anything other than a Japanese system.

If you buy a SMS, you will have a built-in game.  Early consoles will have a simple snail maze game, later consoles may come with Hang On and Safari Hunt, just Hang On or Missile Defense 3-D.  Master System IIs should come with Alex Kidd in Miracle World.

There are a couple of games that almost made the list.  Ys: The Vanished Omen has FM Synthesis but the game is too slow and difficult compared to the Turbo CD version.  King's Quest is interesting but not nearly as good as its PC original.  Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord is the only other RPG released for the system, but it has nothing to really distinguish itself from a typical JRPG before they became good.

Europe got more games than the US did, and some of them are pretty good and will run in a 60Hz NTSC System.  Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar is a superb port of the PC game, much more faithful to the PC source than the NES version and has FM Synthesis music.   Ninja Gaiden is a passable game if you need an 8-bit Ninja Gaiden fix, but it is not near the NES games.  Despite what SMS Power! may contend, Sonic 2 runs without any real issue in an NTSC machine.