Sega

The importance of a scaler / line doubler

Posted by Henry McHenry on 06/23/2024
Posted in: Atari, Sega, SNES, Videogames. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment

Without going too deep into the tech aspect of this, modern displays (pretty much all flat screen TVs made in this century) require an input signal of 480p or better from your video game console, because they were not designed with old gaming consoles (anything before 6th gen) in mind.

Something as simple as a Retrotink 2x can make a world of difference. No need to modify your old console, just hook it up to the Retrotink’s composite or s-video input and play on your modern TV. Decent picture quality and almost no input lag.

 

 

 

 

(Better late than never) – Sonic 3 – 3 Decades after

Posted by Henry McHenry on 02/19/2024
Posted in: Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog, Videogames. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment

They say time flies when you’re having fun but this is crazy. Can’t believe it has been this long. Seems like yesterday when I was enjoying what would be my favorite Sega Genesis game.

Words cannot represent the enjoyment and excitement I felt when I first popped in the cartridge and began playing. As the Tails fan I became with Sonic 2, I had to play as him since the beginning.

Many things to love about this fantastic epic, the first one is being able to save your progress with no shortage of save slots. Not only you can continue on the last zone you left, but can replay previously completed zones. Music compositions are a delight, really capture the each zone’s atmosphere.

Playability just kept getting better with new movements and powerups. This is the first time Tails had the ability to fly and swim.

It really felt like a big adventure in a big world and at the time I didn’t know that just “half” of it.

Favorite moments from Sonic X season 1

Posted by Henry McHenry on 06/14/2023
Posted in: Movies, Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog, Videogames. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

Following up on my post about the Sonic X Japanese dub with English subtitles Blu-Ray collection.

I’m just done re watching (originally watched them in Japanese from April 2003 to March 2004) the first 52 episodes of Sonic X. I didn’t watch episodes 26 and 52 from the Blu Ray because of the missing Off Course songs, while I can understand Discotek did what they could given the circumstances, that’s not the way I remember those episodes so my OG Xbox was of great help there.

Some of my favorite moments form seaosn 1:

10. Episode 47: Cream and Tails playing Jenga.

9. Episode 2: “Shit, 行くぞ” Yup Sonic cursed.

8. Episode 9: Sonic wearing the good luck charm Amy made for him.

7. Episode 30: Tails disarming the bomb. Straight from Sonic Adventure, Tails becomes a city hero.

6. Episode 24: Amy gently blowing Sonic’s ear.

5. Episode 5: Sonic vs Knuckles. Classic Eggman tricking Knuckles into fighting Sonic.

4. Episode 35: Sonic vs Shadow at Prison Island.

3. Episode 50: Tails and Chuck good bye.

2. Episode 34: Shadow finally appears in Sonic X. Finally after months of only seeing him in the intro, the ultimate life form appears in the show.

1. Episode 52. The SonAmy scene. She was willing to wait for Sonic even if it meant reaching old age (she said baachan). If that’s not real love then I don’t know what the heck that is. Really touching. If you excuse me I think I got something in my eye.

 

 

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Posted by Henry McHenry on 11/23/2022
Posted in: Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment

Some people say sequels are not as good as the original. This was one of the exceptions, as it exceeded the original. What can I say that hasn’t been said in the past 30 years? Awesome graphics, soundtrack, controls, challenge, well, awesome everything.

One more time our hero Sonic the Hedgehog is set on an adventure to defeat his nemesis Dr Robotnik and help his friends. But this time he is not alone, sidekick Miles “Tails” Prower is here to help.

Or… you could just play as Sonic or Tails alone.

Game has plenty of variety, you still have to finish it in one sitting so make sure to obtain continues. Special stages are located at checkpoints instead of at the end of each act (they kinda remind me of Stunn Runner), collect the required rings (or more) before the end of each segment and if you survive you get a chaos emerald. Not only you’ll get to see the “good” ending if you collect all 7 of them (yup more than its predecessor) but also Sonic will be able to transform in “Super Sonic” (obviously inspired from Dragon Ball Z).

Ok, that’s it for now. Thanks to everyone involved in creating such a brilliant game, game that kept us occupied for countless hours and passed the test of time. Here’s to another 30 years of Sonic and Tails.

Sonic Frontiers impresions

Posted by Henry McHenry on 11/15/2022
Posted in: PC, Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog, Videogames. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment

The game is too elaborated for its own good. It is a good “open world” game but for some (myself included) it just doesn’t fit Sonic. Graphics are very good but wouldn’t say great. Controls are fluid but at the same time things are over complicated, too many moves to learn. The music is excellent, a work of art if you want, unfortunately some tunes are more fitting of another franchise.

After playing for about an hour and 40 minutes I don’t feel I’m making much progress, after the initial cut scene I haven’t seen Amy and Tails for example and only one Eggman cutscene has been triggered.

The game does not feel fast. The amount of collecting, searching and unlocking, some times it feels like a chore. Unfortunately the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive (like the emperor’s new clothes), I’m afraid this open world mechanic could be the future of the series, if that is the case then I’m out.

Mega Everdrive Pro

Posted by Henry McHenry on 04/23/2021
Posted in: Flashcarts, Sega. Leave a Comment

This Mega Everdrive Pro is an awesome piece of hardware. In addition to playing Megadrive roms, it also plays Virtua Racing (the only SVP game ever made), Sega Master games with FM support (for those compatible games) and Mega CD games. Also, so called MSU (aka Mode 1) patched games work flawlessly. More info about MSU here.

Highly recommended piece of hardware, no more having to mess with aging hardware, just fire up your Genesis / Megadrive console and you’re good to go.

Mega Everdrive Pro

Posted by Henry McHenry on 03/27/2021
Posted in: Flashcarts, Sega. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since I last purchased an Everdrive product. So far I have the Everdrive N8, the original Mega Everdrive and the Turbo Everdrive v1. All three of them are awesome and still running like champs.

Like many others I’m sure, the main motivation on getting the Mega ED Pro is the Sega CD support. Being able to play CD games on real hardware without having to mess with my aging CD unit sounds great. 

This, like the others before it, is a great quality product. 

Professionally made. Comes nicely packaged and with a nice detailed manual printed in full color.  

Another plus is, the creator, Krikzz, now uses the Amazon fulfillment center to help distribute his products in the US. That will help make the Everdrives more easily attainable than before.

Besides being able to emulate a Sega CD unit via an advanced FPGA, this unit allows us to play Virtua Racing (SVP chip) and Master System games (those that support it off course) with FM sound (YM2413) . 32x roms will run fine provided that ugly mushroom is hooked up.

Can’t wait to try it, possibly Monday, when I’m back home.

Update 03/30/21 I was able to try it for a brief moment today and I think it is great already. It is unbelievable how all that magic fits into a regular size Genesis cartridge.