/vr/ - Retro Games

How do you beat the part where Sonic is on a hang glider? They don't tell you how and it wasn't in the manual. I never could get past that when I was a kid.

Here is a picture of most of my boxed games. What I really love about Game Gear boxes is the variety: Sega had always standardized with look of the boxes and companies followed their direction, but Sega changed the boxes twice! You can tell what year a game came from by both the label of a game, the box exterior and the box interior.

The earliest games had a black label on the bottom. Other than that, games were allowed to be any colour and design. These games all come from the years 1991 and 1992. Some of them have a plastic interior casing which holds the game and manual comfortably in place. This plastic interior prevented the box from being crushed and so games from this era are usually in surprising good condition despite their age. However, others were allowed to opt for a paper shell. The paper shell made the box lighter and cheaper to ship, and since it was made from recycled paper it was cheaper to make. It protects manuals in much the same way, but the box was less resistant to crushing. Speaking of manual, All manuals from the 1991-1992 era featured coloured covers and were made from high quality paper that resisted curling, bending and the effects of time. As such nearly all manuals from this time frame are in very good condition. I have the following games from this era:

-Chuck Rock (plastic interior - teal box)
-Star Wars (paper shell - black box)
-Super Smash TV (plastic interior - navy box)
-Vampire: Master of Darkness (paper shell - red box)

As you can see, boxes from this era are in pristine condition. My exception is Vampire, because it used a paper shell, has some crushing damage. Note that games from this area are never rated.

>>867396
Your collection is utter garbage.

No Mickey Mouse games.

No Shinobi games.

No GG Aleste games.

Utter garbage.

Get:

Shinobi 1
Shinobi 2
Castle of Illusion
Land of Illusion
Legend of Illusion
In the Wake of Vampire

Your welcome.

>>867454

and GG Aleste 2.

>>867409

You have to quickly press forward, back, up and down to make it. To build up speed I usually hit back and up rapidly, while I press down and forward to cover extra distance when I actually have some speed. However, to be honest, the controls are not consistent: doing the same thing will not always yield the same result. You just have to try anything and hope takes you across.

---

The next era of games was the 1993-1994 era. This was the first time ratings were posted on the boxes, manuals and carts. While Sega did the ratings themselves, they quickly changed designs and as such a wide variety of logo variations exist. This era is most easily identified by a dark purple border on the bottom and left side of the box, although the bottom border is not always present. The words "Game Gear" on the left side could be written in either silver or white text during this era. These boxes always used the paper shell described earlier and continued using the high quality manuals the 1991-1992 era introduced. A benefit of the paper shell is that it gives just enough room in the box for another manual to be placed inside, whereas the plastic inserts are very snug and will stretch the box if you try to put more inside. As such I use this era of games to hold my extra manuals and everything is perfect. I have four games from this era:

-Dragon the Bruce Lee Story
-Primal Rage
-Sonic Chaos
-Streets of Rage 2

While the paper shell isn't as resistant to crushing, it is still effective. All of my games from this era are in near mint condition.

>>867454

I wouldn't say my collection is garbage. I have many great games like Shining Force, the Sonic games, Power Rangers, Bust-A-Move, Streets of Rage 2, Virtua Fighter Animation, Dragon Crystal, Psychic World, Garfield Caught in the Act and the Majors Pro Baseball. Just because I don't have EVERY great game doesn't mean my collection is garbage. Also, frankly, most of my games I got for good prices and unless I find a game at a fair price (like half of my boxed games I got brand new, sealed and for $20 or less each) I don't buy it. It's that simple. I haven't run into any of those games for good prices yet. Also, In the Wake of the Vampire is the Japanese name for Vampire: Masters of Darkness, which I have.

--

The last era of Game Gear games is the 1995-1997 era. These games have the following telling features: none of them use the dark purple bottom border and only use the side border and the side border was brightened to a magenta colour. The interior of the box was changed as well: they neither use paper shells or plastic inserts. Instead the box was built in with a very minimalistic slot to hold the game and that's it. The manuals were all cheapened as well, ditching the high quality paper for a plain paper manual with black and white covers. As such games in this era are the most susceptible to the effects of time and damage. The manuals are often warped by time and the boxes are easily crushed because there is nothing inside to prevent that. I have three games from this era:

-Bust-A-Move (was crushed because some weight was put on it)
-Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya (my worst box, but it is very rare to find complete)
-Virtua Fighter Animation (pristine condition)

It's interesting how much change was undertaken in the 1991-1997 lifespan of the system, Sega was always trying to change thing up, although usually to save on costs. However, because of the changes they did in standardization, my collection looks unique in its own right.

Here's the remainder of my games. Most of the worst games I have are in this picture: Ariel the Little Mermaid, Batman Forever, Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble, Chicago Syndicate, Streets of Rage, VR Troopers and Chuck Rock are all bad games that should be avoided.

I forgot to mention but there's a few neat things about the carts. First, nearly all carts are stamped "Sega" but a select few are not. The only game I have that isn't is Pac-Man, which is branded "Namco". Also, five of my games came from fellow ma/vr/icks: Mortal Kombat II, Poker Face Paul's Blackjack, Psychic World, Super Monaco GP and Pac-Man, so thanks to you guys for helping me get some good games (especially Psychic World).

Last up is accessories. The Game Genie is awesome and works great, but it has a small design problem. It's just a bit too close to the AC adaptor jack, so unless I shave the Game Genie down a millimeter or two, I can't use both at the same time. A real letdown. The magnifying glass is called the Wide Gear. There's an attachment you screw onto the back of your Game Gear and then the Wide Gear snaps in. These were quickly phased out in favour of the Super Wide Gear which did a much better job of magnifying the screen but also was less resistant to breaking. Since the Wide Gear juts out so much, lots of them were broken. They've become an uncommon item as a result. The Deluxe Carrying Case is a common accessory for the game gear. It has front and back pockets, and the interior can hold 12 games, a powerback, an AC adaptor, the Game Gear itself and another accessory. It's big, but it helps keep the Game Gear safe in transit and holds all of my loose games.

Well, that's all I have to say about the Game Gear. The last game I played was Virtua Fighter and it's actually pretty damn good as far as 8-bit fighters are concerned.

>>867495
Trust me. When you get games like SHinobi 2 or Land of ILlusion or Aleste 2 you'll be like "holy shit what have i been missing out on all this time"

>>867548

If I find them for a good price then I'll consider getting them.

>>867557
and btw, don't take my "garbage" statement literally. this is the internet.

>>867579

Obviously. I am not surprised that someone would come out unprovoked and tell me that every game I have is crap because I don't have Mickey Mouse or some other game. Even so dude, chill out.

>>867582
I can't help it. I live on the edge.

Nice. I've been looking for Shining Force for a while now, with no luck. One of these days I'll get an everdrive so I can play through the translated versions of Sylvan Tale and Royal Stone.

>>867679

Yeah it's a really good game, I hope to pick up the Gaiden 1 and Final Conflict games sometime too

>>867396
I love the Game Gear.

Especially the Sonic games.

I only played them on the Sonic collection since I collect Game Gear games but I dont actually own one.

Haven't played my Game Gear in years, because it no longer turns on.

I got a refurbished GG with the LED mod a while back, seems almost strange having a Game Gear with a 10+ hour battery life. I love how huge it is, I have huge hands (to the point where I can play a Gameboy Color/Pocket with one hand) so this feels quite comfortable to hold. My one regret is picking it up so late, I always found the TV tuner interesting but its useless after the digital switchover that hit the UK a few years ago.

>>867857

You live somewhere in Europe don't you? Lots of those games look like the PAL versions.

>>867952

LED mod? What does it do? Also I wish I got the chance to try the TV tuner too. I think it might still work in my area.

For some reason, I never really "got into" the GG (and SMS) despite having accumulated I suppose ok libraries. Dunno, it doesn't quite set of a spark in me.

Though if something like this is put into production, I'd be all over it.
http://sega-addicts.murnaumusic.com/?p=31671

I'll post my collection when I get home later.

>>868628

That is super cool. Some people have also modified GGs to be able to output the video onto a TV like in this link

http://members.optusnet.com.au/eviltim/ggrgb/ggrgb.html

I wish I had the know-how to make this happen.

>>867396
How is the TV Tuner working for you? I still get two channels in my area with an old analog TV antenna.

>>868803

Don't have one. One company still broadcasts analog here so I'm sure it would still work.

Last week or two weeks ago I scanned and dumped all of the box scans and manuals I had. I promised the others later, so here they are. Starting with box arts:

Now it's manual time.

I want to play Nepgear!

Next manual. I like this one because of the artwork, it feels like it came from a bygone time.

Man..I love Smash TV for being in the vein of Running Man/Robocop, media satire..intense kill for prizes mentality..GO GO GO..dat theme.wav
Secks.

This manual is very useful to have since it tells you all the input commands. It has good art too. It's also the last manual I have to share.

>>869376

>>869394
>>869396
You guys...*blush*

>>869391

I like the concept of Smash TV too. It's a really good satire of how far TV will go for ratings. Plus it parodies itself by setting the game in the far off year of 1999

>>869396

Oh you

>>869401
That was a popular year. And 199X. Badass year.

>>869414

In story mode, Akira fights Pai and if he wins she has to kiss him. She even comments on how his breath tastes. This actually surprised me

>>869424
>Meiji era

That's actually pretty damn new for a supposed "ancient tradition", less than 150 years.

Look at this design... dear god. Those boobs are so far apart. And her crotch appears to be... well, I think you can see for yourself. But the most disconcerting part to me is her individual toes. They just look screwed up.

And that's it.

>>869442
czech out zis guy

Am I the only one with a HandyGear.
I got all this for 7.50 plus adapter

>>869493

I've seen them but I don't have a Handygear. It would be cool to make my GG a tank.

>>867579
I want to see your copy of gg aleste, like the way you made it sound like it was easy to find. I'm sure everybody would love it in their collection, but they are both hard to find.

I actually just got mine in the mail recently. I never had one when I was younger but I did buy one at a garage sale once and my friend who was a really huge sonic fan wanted it really badly so I actually traded it to him with the bunch of games it came with just for mario 64. I decided to get one again recently because of how stupid cheap they are. This is what I've got so far I've got a bunch more games coming in the mail of course.

>>867857
NO shinobi?

No land of illusion?

garbage collection

>>869580
nice. shame you don't have land of illusion though.

otherwise:

NOT garbage

Sonic Drift 2 was actually a pretty fun racer. Almost on par with Super Mario Kart.

Anyone ever play Crystal Warriors? It's a game with turn-based gameplay like Fire Emblem (sorry i don't know what the genre is called) and a system for recruiting many different types of units. I can't recall much beyond but it was the first game I ever got addicted to

>>869657
there is a store that has it nearby im going to trade in some of my duplicates for it

>>869680
Dude. Absolutely do it. Land of Illusion is imo the most quality game on game gear

>>868519
Yup France

>>869656
That's actually an old picture and I bought them since then.

>>869760
yeah i got a whole bunch of other quality games coming in the mail too, should I pick up chakan? I do have the genesis version already and love it

game gear mortal kombat is so awesome too bad its missing kano though :(

>>869662
Crystal Warriors is great. I highly recommend you play the sequel, Royal Stone. Unfortunately, the translation isn't done yet. Fortunately, the translation project is still alive, and has made substantial progress very recently.

http://agtp.romhack.net/news.php?date=2013-04-25+16%3A20%3A22

>>868628
I must have another stash of games elsewhere as there's a curious lack of Sonic in this set.
I know I also have the Game Genie and a SMS converter.

>>870038
And have some bootlegs multicarts.
The switched one on the right contains SMS games.

this whole thread, and no master gear converter.

Did a quick search. No one ever talks about this game at all. This is probably the best Game Gear game ever made. It's not really rare but it is very hard to find a copy out in the wild.

It's called Magical Puzzle Popils, here is some footage from it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxViEixcvfE

>tfw you traded your game gear and games for marijuana years ago.
I was younger and it was a lot of pot, but nothing will put right what I did.

>>869580

Nice collection. The bottom picture says "Assault" by Konami? Never heard of it. Is it any good?

>>869662

I want to get this game but it's always way too expensive. People want like $30 for the cart only, fuck that.

>>869792

It's not bad but I prefer Primal Rage, Virtua Fighter and Power Rangers in terms of Game Gear fighters. Although, fun fact, there is a rare Mortal Kombat 3 on Game Gear but it was only released in EU territories. Last one I saw complete sold for $100.

>>870038

Cool collection. I'd like to get Baku Baku and Fatal Fury someday.

>>870136

This game appears pretty cheap, I'll pick it up sometime. I've never seen an NA version though, just EU and JP versions.

>>870157
>trading anything for pot
What's wrong with you? If you smoke cannabis, buy some seeds and grow some, one time payment.

>>870327
As an adult, I now grow my own, this game gear incident was like in the ate 90's

my games

>>870863
also

>charger master race

>>870870
It's a battery pack, sir. I have several.

>>870982

That's what the game gear needs, something to make it even BIGGER

>>870863

Nice, you got Megaman. I'm always looking for one but it's ridiculously expensive considering many people like to shit on that game.

>>871317
thanks, it's a very hard game. I still have the level codes written down from when I was little haha

>>872476

I might have to settle and just emulate it someday, but I'd hate to do that.

I just got a Gamegear for like 10 bucks, I'm sad though; the speakers seem to be messed up, and the screen seems a bit dark. Came with the carrying case though.

>>872710
bad capacitors man most game gears start to do that I have 2 with bad speakers and 1 that works well. You gotta either replace the capacitors yourself or get someone to do it there are services for game gear repair online

>>872710

Game Gears were built from capacitors which later proved to be faulty. Not all GGs are though. The one in OP pic (mine) has capacitors which are not defective so the sound and screen is perfect. However I had a second game gear with faulty capacitors, so the screen was extremely dark. I noticed however that if I left the Game Gear on and just let it heat up for about 15 minutes, the screen would brighten up significantly, at least enough that I could see. Get an AC adaptor and give it a shot if you want, it's cheaper and easier than getting it repaired if you can stand doing so

>>872732
AC adaptor makes no difference if the caps are blown, and its not just game gears from that era with bad caps it was all across the electronics industry.

>>872740

I'm not saying it makes a difference to the caps, I'm saying that your batteries will be wasted quick if you're letting it warm up for 15 minutes before playing. And yes I know that bad caps do not affect just Game Gears

>>867396
I had a GG and loved it as a kid. Not very portable because that battery life. So I would only play it at home.

I yes, Shinobi 2 is a great game. That's my favorite GG game and in my top of all time best.

I just bought a sealed Sega Sports Trivia for a buck. I'm in for a shit time, aren't I?

Found a Game Gear at a thrift store for $3 and decided to take a chance. Sadly, the caps are absolutely shot. It's impossible to play unless I crank the brightness up and tilt it at an angle. Is it worth it to try and fix my current GG, or should I buy a Majesco GG instead?

>>875232

It takes some soldering skill and a cap kit costs $15. This is the best deal I've found on replacement caps (if anyone has a better seller please post)

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Sega-GameGear-Capacitor-Replacement-Kit-/170903112000

If you have the skill and a security bit to open your GG, I recommend trying to fix it. It's better than just letting the thing rot anyway. I haven't seen a Majesco GG in a very long time. As far as I can tell the only indicator is that the "Game Gear" symbol on the left of the screen is black and white instead of green/blue/red so if you can find one for cheap that's probably the best option

>>872759
It's worth a shot. I've seen some more for about 5 bucks, so if all else fails I can just get another one. And I have some oldschool Sony speakers (that I used with my Genesis in the 90's, they're very small) that will work well if need be.

>>875603

That sounds much more complicated than I imagined. I've never soldered anything before in my life, and this doesn't look like an ideal project to begin with.

What's a good GG game to get for my friend? She likes Tails Adventures, but that's about all she's played.

>>875603
>As far as I can tell the only indicator is that the "Game Gear" symbol on the left of the screen is black and white instead of green/blue/red so if you can find one for cheap that's probably the best option

I'm pretty sure the start button is purple, rather than blue, too.

>>879685
Lucky Dime Caper is a good platformer. Failing, that, you could fork out for an everdrive and give her all of them.

>>879685

Out of the games I own I would recommend these to anybody:

Bust-A-Move
Shining Force The Sword of Hajya
Streets of Rage 2
Sonic Triple Trouble
Psychic World

These ones require more appreciation for games to enjoy so they may not be her style but they are still good and I still recommend them:

Dragon Crystal
Vampire Master of Darkness
Power Rangers & PR the Movie
Sonic 1 and 2
Virtua Fighter Animation
Majors Pro Baseball
Garfield Caught in the Act

The other name for Aleste is Power Striker, right?