Game Sack

[reson8er]

Really great episode. Thanks Joe and Dave.

[EvilEvoIX]

Amazing episode.

[Medic_wheat]

Hey Joe do you have a preference on which type of Sega CD model?

If so why?

Personally I like how the model one genesis and Sega cd looks together.

But as of late have found that the Sega cdx seems to be the more reliable model.

[Joe Redifer]

I prefer the model 1 but the thing has bad cap syndrome just like a Turbo Duo. Maybe not as bad, but it happens. Plus the stupid mechanical drive/tray can sometimes cause issues. For reliability the model 2 wins. But it takes up such a huge footprint.

[VenomMacbeth]

Yo Joe, you know anyone that recaps model 1s?  I haven't had any luck finding someone.

[EvilEvoIX]

Model 1's have a stupid design where you have these tiny plastic gears that lift the entire CD mechanism after the tray pulls in.  It is very heavy for the system to handle and easily strips gears.  Bad design but I guess that was the best they could do in the early 90's.  Model 2 hands down for reliability but Model 1 for pimp status.

I was hoping you guys would go over the software updates like the different versions and if there was anything significant. 

[Medic_wheat]

Model 1's have a stupid design where you have these tiny plastic gears that lift the entire CD mechanism after the tray pulls in.  It is very heavy for the system to handle and easily strips gears.  Bad design but I guess that was the best they could do in the early 90's.  Model 2 hands down for reliability but Model 1 for pimp status.

I was hoping you guys would go over the software updates like the different versions and if there was anything significant. 

I didnt know they had any type of software updates.

I thought that was something that didn't start until the dream cast and PS2

[munchiaz]

Another great ep. I need to get a working Sega CD. I have a broken JVC X'eye and a broken model 2

[Medic_wheat]

Another great ep. I need to get a working Sega CD. I have a broken JVC X'eye and a broken model 2

I use to be in a similar boat. All I had was a wonky dfidgety model one and I finally went balls deep and bought a CDX. So far I have no complaints.

Finally completed and enjoyed Snatcher

Working on  dundgen  explorer

Played and completed Sonic CD

Planning on getting or completing my remaining Sega cd games for my library. Will probably always misses Kios Flying Squadron. But in all honestly doesn't seem like a must have like Cotton on the super cd.

Might just burn a copy on day to test it out though.

[EvilEvoIX]

Model 1's have a stupid design where you have these tiny plastic gears that lift the entire CD mechanism after the tray pulls in.  It is very heavy for the system to handle and easily strips gears.  Bad design but I guess that was the best they could do in the early 90's.  Model 2 hands down for reliability but Model 1 for pimp status.

I was hoping you guys would go over the software updates like the different versions and if there was anything significant. 

I didnt know they had any type of software updates.

I thought that was something that didn't start until the dream cast and PS2

I'm sorry I said that wrong, I meant BIOS revisions, not actual software you can install.

Below are revisions of each BIOS version according to region and model.

BIOS Revisions Version    System & Region
1.00   Mega CD (E/J))
1.10   Sega CD (NA)
2.00   Mega CD 2 (E/J), Sega CD 2 (NA)
2.11   Mega CD 2 (E/J), Sega CD 2 (NA)
2.21   Sega Multi-Mega (E), Sega Genesis CDX (NA)

Boot ROM version 2.00 and later support use of a Sega Mega Mouse on control port 2. This can be used instead of the control pad to control the CD player interface.

[BlueBMW]

How about the wondermega and xeye bioses?

[munchiaz]

How easy is it to mod a Sega CD to play Mega CD games?

[Opethian]

they made a carts where you can boot the system into either region and have more RAM to save games.

http://products.genny4ever.net/megacart_v1x.html


use this

[VenomMacbeth]

How easy is it to mod a Sega CD to play Mega CD games?

Just buy a tototek megacart, man.  It's like $70 I think, and I don't think you'll get someone to mod your console for much cheaper than that.

[Medic_wheat]

they made a carts where you can boot the system into either region and have more RAM to save games.

http://products.genny4ever.net/megacart_v1x.html


use this

That is pretty bad ass

Right up there with those alt power cables that can run multi system add one and not eat up as much space on your outlets.

[TR0N]

Another great ep. I need to get a working Sega CD. I have a broken JVC X'eye and a broken model 2

Planning on getting or completing my remaining Sega cd games for my library. Will probably always misses Kios Flying Squadron. But in all honestly doesn't seem like a must have like Cotton on the super cd.

Might just burn a copy on day to test it out though.

U.S keio is expensive but a japan one is much cheaper in price.You're not missing much in a u.s keio flying squadron,it's english dub etc is terrible.

[munchiaz]

they made a carts where you can boot the system into either region and have more RAM to save games.

http://products.genny4ever.net/megacart_v1x.html

Looks like you can also use a Mega Everdrive which i already have. Also i was able to fix my X'eye by swapping the laser out with one from a extra Sega Saturn i had laying around


use this

[TR0N]

Game Sack - Giving Games a Second Chance

[VenomMacbeth]

Not a bad episode, and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one for whom the 32x is the console of choice for playing doom.

[esteban]

This is a good topic: second chances. It allows a deeper analysis of (1) what works and (2) doesn't work in a game's favor.

I have changed my feelings about so many games...and I am grateful for it.

[Psycho Punch]

AHAHAHA I knew people would be pissed as soon as I finished the video. Whiny babies can't believe that not everyone considers Final Fantasy 7 as a classic, flawless game. Because it isn't and it is overhyped as hell.

edit: maybe I should revisit the game? Hmm.

[esteban]

UPDATE: I finally finished watching the DOOM 128 segment at the very end. THE HORROR! Who is that scary monster with a full head of hair?!

DOOM 128 is absolutely awesome.

[Medic_wheat]

Nice episode


Now you got me thinking on what games I have or HAD that I didn't like to give a second chance.   



Hmmmmm


The forever man on the genesis would be one.  I kept getting lost.


Punch out in space on the NES would be another

[BlueBMW]

One game I wrote off at first back in the day was Donkey Kong Country 3....  I just didnt like it like I liked the first two.  Last year I gave it another go and now I love it.  Its always worth giving games a second chance.

[ccovell]

Dave, I'm glad you came around on Bubble Ghost, and the music is great, seeing as it's composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto (of Magical Chase & Gauntlet IV fame.)

Joe...  Doom... blow your "WAD".  Good pun.  ;-)

[esteban]

Ok, since nobody is gonna call Dave out for his UTTER LACK OF PLATFORMING SKILLS in Bonk's Adventure... I will.

Dave, your complaints about Bonk's Adventure reveal your lack of skills. It's a damn good game, and the controls are not hard to become comfortable with.

[SamIAm]

Indeed. There is a difference between a game with bad controls, and a game where the controls are one of the skills you are supposed to become good at. It's like saying that Castlevania has bad control because the whip takes a half-second to fire up.

[Joe Redifer]

What's funny is that I recorded the Bonk's Adventure gameplay because Dave's Duo has the quick and easy s-video mod and I just don't think it looks up to snuff. Gonna have to fix that to the proper RGB-derived S-video in the future. Anyway I had to hunt and hunt to find footage of me messing up like I imagined him doing. I think he didn't know that you press the button once and then you're upside down. Press it again and you're right side up.

[Dicer]

Bonk hate, what is this I don't even.

And the Jag port of doom is the best console port bar none, even with the lack of music...

[BlueBMW]

It is a little sad that you didnt get past where you did in FF7 though.  The game is soooo much more than just that first little section.  You were no where near the end of disc 1.  It does seem to get better later in the game.  Battles can still be annoying but overall there is a lot of good stuff.  Maybe consider trying again but use a guide some?

[esteban]

It is a little sad that you didnt get past where you did in FF7 though.  The game is soooo much more than just that first little section.  You were no where near the end of disc 1.  It does seem to get better later in the game.  Battles can still be annoying but overall there is a lot of good stuff.  Maybe consider trying again but use a guide some?

Future episode: "third chance is a charm"

[BlueBMW]

While not the HD remake a lot have been clamoring for... apparently there will be a version of FF7 available for the PS4 which will be a port of the old PC version.  The PC version was a little bit better than the PS1 version graphically etc so might be worth trying there.  At the time I could never get the PC version to work with my video card right so I always ended up with poopy looking software rendering.

[seieienbu]

It is a little sad that you didnt get past where you did in FF7 though.  The game is soooo much more than just that first little section.  You were no where near the end of disc 1.  It does seem to get better later in the game.  Battles can still be annoying but overall there is a lot of good stuff.  Maybe consider trying again but use a guide some?

Funny, I think that the first 6 hours or so of the game was absolutely the highpoint of FF7.  I thought the atmosphere of Midgar was fantastic.  It was bleak and desperate and the world felt well fleshed out.  After you leave Midgar I thought there were a few cool points but overall I thought the game devolved into a huge mess.

[BlueBMW]

Oh the first part in Midgar was great and yeah some of the later parts were a little boring but some were also fantastic.  (Gold Saucer Im looking at you!)  I guess I feel like the whole game should be enjoyed

[Joe Redifer]

Why do people keep telling me that I'm nowhere near the end of the first disc? That doesn't matter! That wasn't just a "little section". I have 7 hours of recorded footage of me getting THAT far. That's longer than the vast majority of Turbo and X68000 games right there. The fanbase makes me dislike it even more. They just can't deal with the fact that I do not like it. Very annoying. If a game takes more than 7 hours just to "get good" then that is a shitty-designed game. It should be good right away. I guess FF7 fans don't understand logic like that. It's the audience that sometimes makes me hate making Game Sack.

[Medic_wheat]

Why do people keep telling me that I'm nowhere near the end of the first disc? That doesn't matter! That wasn't just a "little section". I have 7 hours of recorded footage of me getting THAT far. That's longer than the vast majority of Turbo and X68000 games right there. The fanbase makes me dislike it even more. They just can't deal with the fact that I do not like it. Very annoying. If a game takes more than 7 hours just to "get good" then that is a shitty-designed game. It should be good right away. I guess FF7 fans don't understand logic like that. It's the audience that sometimes makes me hate making Game Sack.

Personally the first PS1 era FF game I really got into was FF9. Maybe it is because it was the last (not including online) that was more traditional fantasy instead of sci fi future FF game.

[roflmao]

Personally the first PS1 era FF game I really got into was FF9. Maybe it is because it was the last (not including online) that was more traditional fantasy instead of sci fi future FF game.

Agreed. I thought FF7 was so bad that I completely skipped FF8. FF9 was awesome, though!  Totally felt like a throwback to the SNES days.

And Joe, I tried a few times to "get" FF7 and once I even made it to disc 2.  It took me 40 hours.  40 grueling hours. To get to disc 2. I stopped playing after that and haven't picked it up since.

[BlueBMW]

Well I apologize for enjoying the game and hoping that others enjoy it too.

[mackdanger]

If a game takes more than 7 hours just to "get good" then that is a shitty-designed game. It should be good right away.

If I remember correctly, people were saying the same thing about FF13. Except they were saying it "opened up" and "got good" after like fifteen hours or some shit.

[seieienbu]

Why do people keep telling me that I'm nowhere near the end of the first disc? That doesn't matter! That wasn't just a "little section". I have 7 hours of recorded footage of me getting THAT far. That's longer than the vast majority of Turbo and X68000 games right there. The fanbase makes me dislike it even more. They just can't deal with the fact that I do not like it. Very annoying. If a game takes more than 7 hours just to "get good" then that is a shitty-designed game. It should be good right away. I guess FF7 fans don't understand logic like that. It's the audience that sometimes makes me hate making Game Sack.

Obviously nobody's going to like every game and likewise, no matter how overly loved some game is somebody is going to hate it.  FF7 has a really weird feel to me that made me think that the whole game was an odd work in progress. 

It was clearly an early work in 3D where just having 3D graphics meant that stuff would happen at a weird and occasionally very slow speed.  I figure the best case in point I can think of is the Knights of the Round summon.  I think anyone who was going to like FF7 would like it from the very get go.  If what you dislike about it is actual gameplay elements, I doubt that the story/music/artwork are going to change your opinion.  I don't think playing it longer to "give it a chance" will change your mind.

I liked FF7 a lot at the time of release but upon playing it again a year or two ago I thought that the plot goes to hell as soon as the villain is introduced and actually playing the game is fairly annoying.

[Joe Redifer]

Yeah, that's what I was hoping to express in the FF7 segment. The 'tude I seem to be getting from a lot of FF7 fans (not all, mind you) is that I'm doing something wrong. There's no way anyone can genuinely dislike the game so I must be doing something wrong. They just need to accept that I've given it an honest second chance and I still don't like it. I put a lot of time into that second chance and people think I didn't "do it right". It's just not good enough for them. It's like all that effort I put into giving the game a second chance was completely wasted on them.

[HailingTheThings]

Yeah, that's what I was hoping to express in the FF7 segment. The 'tude I seem to be getting from a lot of FF7 fans (not all, mind you) is that I'm doing something wrong. There's no way anyone can genuinely dislike the game so I must be doing something wrong. They just need to accept that I've given it an honest second chance and I still don't like it. I put a lot of time into that second chance and people think I didn't "do it right". It's just not good enough for them. It's like all that effort I put into giving the game a second chance was completely wasted on them.

Don't sweat it, man. Definitely not for everyone. I remembered thinking FF7 was cool from watching my friend play it back around the time it was released. Fast forward years later and someone straight up gave me a complete black label copy because disc 1 was scratched and they had a better copy. I played it. Decided that it wasn't good enough to hold me. I asked my friend if he gave a shit if I sold it to a local shop and he's like "I. Don't. Care." So I ended up getting some Dreamcast with the credit I got for it. Thank you FF7. Thank you for helping me get games I'll actually have fun playing.

[esteban]

Yeah, that's what I was hoping to express in the FF7 segment. The 'tude I seem to be getting from a lot of FF7 fans (not all, mind you) is that I'm doing something wrong. There's no way anyone can genuinely dislike the game so I must be doing something wrong. They just need to accept that I've given it an honest second chance and I still don't like it. I put a lot of time into that second chance and people think I didn't "do it right". It's just not good enough for them. It's like all that effort I put into giving the game a second chance was completely wasted on them.

Exactly. I know that, at times, I am guilty of this myself (for example, when folks say that Legendary Axe I/II, China Warrior, ______ are bad games). I should simply acknowledge that some games may not be enjoyable to everyone. Instead, of course, I tell folks that they "really haven't given it a chance"—which may or may not be true.

You are spot-on characterizing the accusations as  "you are doing it wrong"...I have seen that from both sides of the fence. And sometimes, I have  seen it while standing on the fence. However,  I have never seen it from under the fence (what would be the point of climbing underneath?).

In summary, it is OK if FF7 is not loved by everyone.

[NightWolve]

In summary, it is OK if FF7 is not loved by everyone.

While it disappoints me to learn that GameSack Joe dislikes FF7, I've long since shed the ole "How DARE you not like/love what I do!" fanatic mentality. Heh. Ten years ago you might've jokingly (for the most part) seen me giving off a "Don't like Squaresoft ???? GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!! NOW!!" vibe but it's something one must learn to outgrow. ;)

[Opethian]

if you could skip the cutscenes I would replay FF7.

[ToyMachine78]

Have another burrito Joe. THEN you will like FF7.

[cjameslv]

FF7 was huge to me. I got it when i turned 18 and took me 3 months to beat...damn ruby and emerald weapons...anyway ya i remember playing it for a few hours every day when i got home from work. No walkthrough or anything back then!

[technozombie]

I was a freshman in Highschool when 7 came out, I was hyped up from reading about it in magazines and I loved every minute of the ~100 hours I played it. That being said I've never went back to it. FFVI on the other hand I play through once a yearl.

It's like Dragon Warrior on the NES. I love RPG's and I "should" like Dragon Warrior but I just don't.

[BlueBMW]

I've played it through three times now.

Honestly I like the magic / battle system in it.  I thought it was a very clever customizable system they used.  I didn't fully understand the story until the third playthrough though.  It was a little cliche etc but I still really enjoyed it.  Granted its no Skies of Arcadia... but still quite good.

[Joe Redifer]

I am guilty of this myself (for example, when folks say that Legendary Axe I/II, China Warrior, ______ are bad games).

Well all I can do is let people know why I didn't like it, which I did. All other people can do (or should try to do) is let me know what they like about it. So for example if someone said "Legendary Axe sucks I hate waiting for that damn bar it takes like two minutes to fill before I can swing again and I hate the weak attacks when the bar is empty" my best response would be that I like it, it adds strategy to the way you deal with your enemies. A bad response would be "You don't enjoy it because you're playing it wrong. LOL that's not even 11% into the game! You must beat the entire game before you're allowed to have an opinion on it."