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Sega Genesis Mini |OT| SEEEEEEEEEEEGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Kazza

Member
I recently played through Beyond Oasis for the first time - a really fun game. It's really colourful, more like a SNES game than a Megadrive game. I'm currently alternating between Phantasy Star 4 and Thunderforce 3.

I can't believe they had the guts to kill off Alys, especially so early on. Poor Chaz is trying his best to be the leader, but I'm not sure that he is up to the job.

In less important news, the Mini has finally been hacked! :messenger_beaming:

PLreleaseWide.gif



It’s been over 3 months of LONG days and nights but Project Lunar 1.0.0 is now officially live and available for all!

We know many of you would have wanted this release sooner but we wanted to ensure the first release was ready, and we could provide a safe and more-stable solution from the onset. (With a crap ton of features of course!)


WHAT TO EXPECT
With all of the hours of development and testing, does this mean 1.0.0 is bug free? Of course not! Is it safe? Absolutely. Is it stable? Yes. (…as long as it is used in the way that is expected!)

With 1 ½ months spent debugging, testing and 100+ people testing this release with 1000s of installs and uninstalls with no major fires we have covered a lot of ground… But, we are not able to cover every single permutation and possible installation scenario. Expect a bug or two to crop up with the public release.

Project 1.0.0 should be considered a Public BETA. Please set your expectations accordingly.

Now that is out the way… We are super happy with the outcome and while there is still a long way to go with Project Lunar, and more exciting features we wish to implement, we are glad we can finally share our work to the public.









Note, I haven't done this myself yet, so don't blame me if you brick your Mini!
 

Kazza

Member
Just installed Lunar and added a few games, gonna check it out later.

Great. Let us know what the emulation is like for the added games. As I understand it, the emulation for each game was tweaked a little to get it running right, so added games could possibly exhibit some minor errors (assuming that Lunar utilises the M2 emulator). I'm glad they kept the original UI rather than creating a new one.
 

Impotaku

Member
Emulation works fine for all games i added to mine it's a really slick hack the only 2 issues i have with it in it's brand new beta state is that on Japanese consoles it is missing kana fonts so when you add new games in Japanese it ends up missing characters out. To be fair the famicom & super famicom mini had the exact same problem until hackers added a font set back in. The other issue is when you install the hack it adds a couple of fake games into your game list one is for retroarch and the other for getting back to the hack selection menu. I do like that you can autoboot straight to the stock menu. Wish there was a way to hide them from the stock menu too.

For the first release it's pretty awesome so far to get the atrword added and solve a whole pile of problems is no small feat.
 
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KellyM

Member
So far most games work, the only one that doesn't is the svp chip game, Virtua Racing, I am sure it will be able to work in the future.
 
Can you also get the Artwork covers on the Mini and add the ROMs to the individual langauges so they swap seemlessly?

Say I want to add Cotton and Red Zone...could you add Cotton to the JP side and Red Zone to the Genesis side?
 
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TLZ

Banned
I recently played through Beyond Oasis for the first time - a really fun game. It's really colourful, more like a SNES game than a Megadrive game. I'm currently alternating between Phantasy Star 4 and Thunderforce 3.

I can't believe they had the guts to kill off Alys, especially so early on. Poor Chaz is trying his best to be the leader, but I'm not sure that he is up to the job.

In less important news, the Mini has finally been hacked! :messenger_beaming:

PLreleaseWide.gif













Note, I haven't done this myself yet, so don't blame me if you brick your Mini!

Finally!! My 32gb mini USB has been waiting so long.
 

KellyM

Member
Will this hack run Sega CD games, like Snatcher?
I think through the Retro Arc side. The main UI only runs Mega Drive games. Retro Arch is supposed to run Mega Drive, CD, 32x and game gear since it uses the Retro Arc Genesis plus emulator and PICO.
 

TLZ

Banned
Nice to see they overclocked it. Did they fix the picture darkening when using the CRT filter?
 

Kazza

Member
HELL YES, can't wait to install The Revenge of Motherfucking Shinobi. Seriously Sega what the fuck, why wasn't this game available?

It's still an amazing game. Admittedly, I have a lot nostalgia for the game, but nostalgia alone isn't enough to make yu want to actually play through a game. I did, and it's still a blast to play today. And yes, it should have been included in the Western version for sure.

Finally!! My 32gb mini USB has been waiting so long.

Haha, 32gb is a little overkill, unless you plan to go crazy adding Mega CD games too! I believe the base system memory is enough to add at least 50 more Megadrive games, and that will probably be enough for me.

Nice to see they overclocked it. Did they fix the picture darkening when using the CRT filter?

I haven't seen any mention of it, but I do hope they eventually add other CRT options in future updates. I agree, the one included is a little on the dark side.
 

Kazza

Member
Add NHL 95, and Madden 96 will buy today.

Yes to NHL, but no to Madden - as a Brit I find American Football too confusing. :messenger_tears_of_joy: I bought the first Madden back in the day on the back of some stellar reviews, but could only ever work out that strategy where you get the ball to the fella at the back, who then throws it to one of the wings (the quarterback?)
 
Tried Cotton and there is a Graphical Glitch on the first level (probably why it wasn't added).

Fan Translations don't seem to work on it. I was hoping Langrisser 2's English Translation would do the trick but keep getting the E4 error on top of getting it from Sonic 1 as well.

Twinkle Tale works like a charm so far, as does Red Zone, Ranger X, Rocket Knight Adventures and Vectorman (so far).

Had one issue where the menu wouldn't show on the screen but worked once I took off a game that was also fan translated.

What other things can you do on the System? All I am doing is testing ROMs and Overclocked the Mega Drive Mini.
 

Xenon

Member
Project Lunar looks great. So I'm not going to go crazy because too many roms will hurt the aesthetic. Im thinking 20 more. I have 10 so far.

1. Sonic 3
2. Outrun
3. Revenge of Shinobi
4. Dune II
5. Streets of Rage III
6. Master of Monsters
7. TMNT: Hyperstone Heist
8. Devils Crush
9. ThunderForce IV
10. Fatal Labryth
 
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Orta

Banned
Are the roms installed to the system directly or do you have to use a flash drive?

Incidentally, did Capcom's Mercs go by any other names, its not listed on the compatibility spreadsheet linked above.
 
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Xenon

Member
Are the roms installed to the system directly or do you have to use a flash drive?

Incidentally, did Capcom's Mercs go by any other names, its not listed on the compatibility spreadsheet linked above.

Directly to the system and can possibly get 100 extra roms.
 

KellyM

Member
Are the roms installed to the system directly or do you have to use a flash drive?

Incidentally, did Capcom's Mercs go by any other names, its not listed on the compatibility spreadsheet linked above.
You can do both,,, though the internal memory is not very big, Yes mercs is also known as Senjou no Ookami I
 

Kazza

Member
The Genesis was one of the episodes in Marques Brownlee's Retro Tech series detailing technology which had a big impact on industry and culture (other episodes include the original Walkman, Polaroid camera etc):



I didn't realise he was so young (he's actually only in his mid-twenties), so this is his first time playing it. The first time he tries to play he switches the power on first and then inserts the cartridge - no wonder it didn't work!

There's nothing in the video that everyone on Gaf hasn't already seen and heard a hundred times already, but I thought it was a fun video nonetheless (the other ones are decent too).
 
I added most of the ROMs that I own and tried some English Fan Translations including Rent A Hero and Vixen 537.

Holy shit Vixen is so GOOOOOD! It is essentially a Mixture of Gundam and Fire Emblem and graphically outshines Shining Force 1 and 2 and seems to have the best Opening Ever!!!

Why the hell didn't Masaya release this Westward originally??? (Only downside is the music is between okay to terrible)

In comparison, Rent A Hero is so slow, with repetitive music and no clue on how to do different jobs in the game. Took me 2 hours to do 4 Jobs as the MC moves so slooooooow.

Xenocrisis is really really good on the Mini (I legally own the ROM from the Kickstarter). It is a must have to own on the Mini!

I also added a hack that fixes most issues to Phantasy Star 2 but it has one major flaw that I think broke the Battle System. You can't choose any option for your characters in the Command Menu as it seems to not issue the orders so only Auto works.
 
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Kazza

Member
Anybody got any general tips for Comix Zone? I never played it back when it was released so am I newbie to the game. For those situations where you have some obstacle in the way, is there always a safe way of getting around it, or do you sometimes just have to use you fists and take a little damage?

BTW, it's a fun game and a really original concept, a nice mix of puzzle/beat'em up, with an interesting comic book aesthetic. It's a shame that Sega didn't build on it and take things further with a Saturn sequel.
 

RAIDEN1

Member
Anybody got any general tips for Comix Zone? I never played it back when it was released so am I newbie to the game. For those situations where you have some obstacle in the way, is there always a safe way of getting around it, or do you sometimes just have to use you fists and take a little damage?

BTW, it's a fun game and a really original concept, a nice mix of puzzle/beat'em up, with an interesting comic book aesthetic. It's a shame that Sega didn't build on it and take things further with a Saturn sequel.
I think it might have been a flop sales wise...and the fact that Sega had trouble just getting a Sonic game to appear on the Saturn tells you that Comix Zone was the LEAST of their worries...
 

cireza

Banned
Anybody got any general tips for Comix Zone? I never played it back when it was released so am I newbie to the game. For those situations where you have some obstacle in the way, is there always a safe way of getting around it, or do you sometimes just have to use you fists and take a little damage?

BTW, it's a fun game and a really original concept, a nice mix of puzzle/beat'em up, with an interesting comic book aesthetic. It's a shame that Sega didn't build on it and take things further with a Saturn sequel.
Hold the attack button until you throw a paper plane. Overpowered attack by the way.

You can also hit down repeatedly to fart.

Comix Zone is a really impressive game technically speaking, not sure that a Saturn version would have added that much as it would have still been 2D obviously.
 
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Kazza

Member
Hold the attack button until you throw a paper plane. Overpowered attack by the way.

You can also hit down repeatedly to fart.

Comix Zone is a really impressive game technically speaking, not sure that a Saturn version would have added that much as it would have still been 2D obviously.

Thanks for the advice.

The Megadrive was far from the pinnacle of 2D. The Saturn could have added more colour, more animation, some cool scaling effects (when entering smaller/larger comic boxes etc. Also, from the little progress chart they give you when you die, it looks like a pretty short game. A longer game with even more branching passes and puzzles would be even better.
 
Many apologies for the necro bump. Double apologies if my question has already been answered in this thread. In any case, I absolutely love my Genesis Mini. I got an 8bit do 2.4G wireless 6-button Genesis pad, and it's heaven playing on that thing.

But, the stock scanlines make the picture a bit too dark for my taste. Is there any way to modify/hack the Genesis mini in order to change the scanlines options? I have previously hacked both my NES Mini and SFC Mini (using hakchi), simply to add the games that I already own physically. For the Genesis, I really don't care about adding extra games (the stock ones are amazing, and I'd rather play Sonic 3 & Knuckles on my actual Genesis), I really only want to be able to change the scanlines to make the picture less dark. Does anyone know how to do this, either with hakchi or Project Lunar, or some other method?

Many thanks in advance!
 
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Kazza

Member
Many apologies for the necro bump. Double apologies if my question has already been answered in this thread. In any case, I absolutely love my Genesis Mini. I got an 8bit do 2.4G wireless 6-button Genesis pad, and it's heaven playing on that thing.

But, the stock scanlines make the picture a bit too dark for my taste. Is there any way to modify/hack the Genesis mini in order to change the scanlines options? I have previously hacked both my NES Mini and SFC Mini (using hakchi), simply to add the games that I already own physically. For the Genesis, I really don't care about adding extra games (the stock ones are amazing, and I'd rather play Sonic 3 & Knuckles on my actual Genesis), I really only want to be able to change the scanlines to make the picture less dark. Does anyone know how to do this, either with hakchi or Project Lunar, or some other method?

Many thanks in advance!

Project Lunar might be able to fix that:



It mentions "fixing" the scanlines here (hopefully this will make the picture less dark too):

  • ‘Fix’ stock scanlines by toggling smoothing off within stock emulator

There are a million "how to set up" videos on youtube, so just pick the least annoying youtube and go.
 
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