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Sega Ages: Detailed refinements on Sonic The Hedgehog and Thunder Force IV (Switch)
- Thread starter Jonneh
- Start date
The emulator used in the Steam sega Classics collection is sketchy at best. These are made by the best guys in the industry and are worth every penny.
Also, this is a collection by M2, so would you guys please stop with the Taxman version?
I swear at this point the main reason I want Sega to release the Taxman versions for other systems is so people stop doing this every time.
Yea yea Mega Drive music, robotfarts etc *presses play* how good can it b...
Yeah. No concrete date for Europe and NA outside of Summer 2018, though.
Might just dip into the JP eShop to play these depending on how far out they release from the US release.
I don't have my 3DS near me to check, but didn't most if not all of the 3DS M2 games have widescreen support among the various display options? Maybe it's such a trivial thing to them they didn't bother listing it.
Yeah, some quick googling says that Sonic 1/2 did not, but most of the arcade games (After Burner II, Outrun, Galaxy Force II, Power Drift, etc) did, which is what I was remembering. Weird.
How/where do I download these? Nintendo Store?
$8 for Thunderforce IV is fine by me.
Thunderforce IV is the greatest 2D shooter from that console generation and I'm a sucker and I'm buying Sonic.
how much were the 3D classics per game? I legit don't remember.
how much were the 3D classics per game? I legit don't remember.
When's that hori dpad sadcon dropping? I'm gonna need that to be good if I'm gonna play retro stuff like this on my switch 1 and emulation on switch 2.
I think I remember them saying lack of time was the reason most games didn't receive the treatment, it's apparently more complicated to add it to sidescrollers too. It's a shame they missed the mark on this again.
Some time before the end of the month, though it appears to be sold out most everywhere. I'm thinking about opening mine up to see if I can somehow combine it with a normal joy-con to make a fully functional version lol.
Ah that makes sense then, I only played Sonic 1, 2 and Shinobi 3 on 3DS
Yeah, the Genesis games were all in their regular screen size, while the arcade games (Except for Fantasy Zone 1, I think) were in widescreen.
There's actually DIY joycon shell kits from Basstop that you can order to give your Joycons a D-Pad. Has all the functionality of the regular joycons too, so it's actually better than the Hori alternative:
(yeah i stretched my screen size in SF, sue me)
I hope they fix the bug in Sonic 1 3DS where Sonic was still vulnerable while Spin-Dashing. It seems they didn't implement it correctly then.
I would imagine implementing a widescreen mode on emulated 16-bit games is probably way more work than this project would have the budget for. They'd practically have to rebuild the entire game.
Couldn't they just port the taxman versions? If it can run on a iPhone 5 it can run on the Switch.
I don't understand why Sega wouldn't do that. Have Taxman port Sonic 1, 2, CD, have M2 work on other gems.
Definitely not buying this.
Considering the price of Sega Genesis Classics, which has a ton of games, I would say that it is too much.
Sega have already done exactly that (or at least commissioned Taxman & Stealth to do so). I am asking why they are not using that version.
Edit: To be absolutely clear, M2 are probably the best at what they do, putting out solid emulated versions of classic games, but when a version of these classic games that eclipses what would be possible via emulators are trapped on mobile phones, it's hard not to be frustrated.
M2 likely doesn't have access to Christian Whitehead's code and even if they did I doubt they want to go in and try to clean it up.
Besides, that's more or less Sonic the Hedgehog rebuilt on a new engine, M2 handles emulation of older titles for accuracy to the original product.
They have issues, yes, but still, over 50 games for $30 makes the price for these games seem high.
You know, i want them to absolutely shutdown any possibility of the games ever getting out of mobile. Only to see the meltdowns
I'm always happy for more ways to play Sonic 1, but it's such a shame we're not just getting the Christian Whitehead versions of Sonic 1, 2, and CD on Switch.
Thunderforce IV is like better than all but three or four of the games on the collection so *shrug*
The enhancements detailed are not enough to warrant $10.
If, however, they would add greater enhancements and content that bring them up to modern standards, I'd gladly pay more.
For example, Sonic 1 is kind of dull compared to its sequels. Half the levels are well-remembered for introducing going fast. The other half... I only remember them fondly for the music. It would be amazing to see Sega or M2 to expand on and smooth out level design for Green Hill Zone and such a la Mania. Going further to completely redesign Marble and Scrap Brain Zones to also be about going fast would be phenomenal. I'd gladly pay $15 or more for that.
And Thunder Force IV? More options such as disabling weapon loss and arranged modes that provide challenge but are still more fair.
And finally, just port over Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder already!
EDIT: To add, I'll likely get Thunder Force IV, but Sega needs to do more to convince us that these are the definitive versions in a world of romhacks and fangames.
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New content/functionality is a major plus for these releases. It's why I'm excited to see what goes into the Phantasy Star release. I could just play it again, but possible changes like encounter rates, movement speed, automapping, music, difficulty settings, etc. are more enticing than a simple collection release. The games will also probably not be $10 here, as previous Ages releases were $5.99.
That said, there's always a chance for a physical collection of all 15 down the line. The 3DS games did it, so i don't see why not here.
These games have been available in other forms before, true, and maybe cheaper. If you are happy with those previous versions, then good for you. But M2 stuff is for those who demand a better version.
The Taxman versions of Sonic are good, no question about it, but the switch to wide screen means that they are not accurate to the original experience. The M2 stuff is about being as accurate on emulation, while also offering some nice bonuses that only the hardcore will appreciate. Every M2 release feels like it was made by fans of the original games.
Taxman is faithful to the intent of the Sonic Games, M2 Stuff is accurate to the technical aspects of the experience.
The Steam and other ROM collections on the other hand, are about quantity above quality, as they do have numerous issues, rendering them neither faithful nor accurate. It does not meant that they cannot be enjoyable, but they are not the ideal versions.
Kinda like the SNK collections on the Wii. They were super cheap, but they only offer 480p o 480i, with no support for 240p on CRT or upscalers, and filters that soften the graphics that cannot be disabled. While on the virtual console, the Neo Geo stuff by M2 had no graphic filter and could display 240p for an accurate experience.
The Taxman versions of Sonic are good, no question about it, but the switch to wide screen means that they are not accurate to the original experience. The M2 stuff is about being as accurate on emulation, while also offering some nice bonuses that only the hardcore will appreciate. Every M2 release feels like it was made by fans of the original games.
Taxman is faithful to the intent of the Sonic Games, M2 Stuff is accurate to the technical aspects of the experience.
The Steam and other ROM collections on the other hand, are about quantity above quality, as they do have numerous issues, rendering them neither faithful nor accurate. It does not meant that they cannot be enjoyable, but they are not the ideal versions.
Kinda like the SNK collections on the Wii. They were super cheap, but they only offer 480p o 480i, with no support for 240p on CRT or upscalers, and filters that soften the graphics that cannot be disabled. While on the virtual console, the Neo Geo stuff by M2 had no graphic filter and could display 240p for an accurate experience.
I'm ok with these existing and M2 does great work, but would it kill Sega to just put out a $30 collection with Taxman's remasters on them? In fact, this was originally the plan for Mania back when it was called Sonic Discovery, before they decided to make a full game out of it.
Sell the emulated versions separately for people who just want those games and a collection that has all of them for the masses.
Cool, I've considered trying a d-pad replacement shell. How does it feel? Does it have a nice center pivot point to roll on, or can you just press the whole thing down at once?
To be honest, I am a stickler for official/OEM accessories and the Hori joy-con, missing functionality aside, looks just like the stock joy-con with an added d-pad. I've had some aftermarket shells for my GBA and GBC before and whatever plastic they used always felt cheap and "off" to me. That said, I backed the Flip Grip, so I'll probably end up looking into a conversion kit eventually anyway...unless I actually can hack the Hori joy-con somehow.
I wish Nintendo would just hurry release a normal R joy-con w/ d-pad, there's obviously demand. Especially with even more retro titles coming with the online service soon.
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I'm fine with leaving Sonic 1 as-is. Making every stage some variation of "go fast" is how we ended up with garbage like Sonic 4.
It feels better than I initially thought it would. It's a little clicky, but it feels great. Being that it's essentially a D-Pad shell over the separate button contacts though, you can kinda press everything at once, but I'm finding that even in spite of that, I don't get any missed or improper inputs, especially in fighting games.
The shells themselves (at least the ones I used) are glossy, though. If the Hori joycon's D-Pad has one with a pivot point though then yeah, it might be worth looking into possibly modding that.
Genesis Collections = those who don't mind sticking with bargain DVDs, M2 ports = spending a bit more on deluxe Criterion Blu Rays for certain movies you love, nothing wrong with either. And as someone else said earlier, the price difference isn't bad at all when compared to the bare bones Hamster ACA and ZeroDiv Psikyo ports.
Gosh, I really don't think I need to buy another port of Sonic 1 agai-
>drop dash
Kind of this.
Drop dash is legit. It is the perfect addition to Sonic' s moveset. I miss it when I play the older games the same way I missed the spin dash in Sonic 1 after playing Sonic 2.
I'm really interested to play Sonic 1 with it.
Although I'd still love the Taxman versions of 1, 2 and 3K to be released as a collection on all platforms.
The Super-Scaler arcade games were all ported. The MegaDrive, Master System and 2D arcade games were emulated though.
And Sonic 2, 3, CD and Knuckles, widely regarded as superior games.
