Those cartridges with the yellow bit on them from Electronic Arts were actually when the EA of the time reverse-engineered the Sega console lockout system to get around the unfavorable and restrictive licensing terms and fees Sega mandated at the time. They were unlicensed cartridges, like the baby blue Wisdom Tree cartridges for the SNES. I think they made that visual change so Sega couldn't sue them for trademark infringement for the actual cartridge design.
I honestly can't describe how much I love the Genesis/Mega-Drive. I might not have had a lot of games growing up, but man, all you needed was a 6-Pak cart and you were good for the rest of your life
I am in the US, but I still have my NES with quite a few games. As well as a nice SNES and now a PS1, Game cube, ps2, Xbox, Xbox 360... I think that is all...N64 Maybe... if It is still around!
The megadrive pissed all over the Amiga mate, I was an Amiga guy , the megadrive had almost perfect arcade ports , the Amiga was a home computer with its own scene , I loved my Amiga but I really wanted a megadrive
@@valley_robotYep, if you wanted to do other clever stuff, or games with a mouse then the Amiga was great but for pure games it was all about the Mega Drive.
Don't forget, you could actually have up to 8 players in Micro Machines 2, if you were willing to share half the controller between each 2 people, because it only needs 3 buttons to play. Absolutely stellar release, good times.
I remember opening up my first Klakhammus on my fourth Squansday party. Thanks for remembering to include Berbintua in your description - not many talk about us after the second major war.
Ive been watching old videos, and I mean 2006-08 videos of Ashens until the next upload. Still never disappoints. The proof that never changing a thing is a good thing.
@@Zontar82definitely, he has bloomed from something extraordinary to something exceptional, he's so unproblematic and an excellent chap. I think the man is the tits.
Man. This brings me way back. I remember my parents asking me to wish upon a star and I said, "I want a Sega Genesis" because I seen one in a store and was real impressed with it. Then next morning I got one, right in my room with Sonic the Hedgehog. Still a memory I cherish to this day. Owe a lot of my childhood to that there Genesis.
The Genesis was a core memory for me as a six and seven year old, because my uncle owned it with SO MANY GAMES. Sonic 1 and 2, X-Men 1 and 2, Vectorman, Mortal Kombat, Golden Axe II, Aladdin and many freaking others. I wouldn't eat my dinner while visiting my grandparents unless I was promised that we could play Sonic 2 afterwards.
I had a Genesis growing up and it had one of my favorite series of games ever, Toejam and Earl. It was fun and weird and my sister and I used to play it together.
I had Skitchin' on my Mega Drive back in the day, absolutely loved it. I think I'd seen it played on Gamesmaster or Bad Influence or something and fell in love with it.
Ashens is the ONLY youtuber where ill be like "i dont think im gonna watch this whole thing" then immediately after go "holy shit only 20 minutes left!?"
This is the video I have been waiting for once I realised you were covering retro consoles. I was a die-hard Sega fan back in the day. The Mega Drive era was Sega in their prime Sonic was and still is my go-to game!
Yeah, it's sad what happened to SEGA. I mean the Saturn wasn't a bad console but it was much harder to work with. SEGA (of America and Japan) just made a lot of awful choices and were both incredibly petty with each other. Really led to their downfall.
@Gatorade69 Yeah, the Saturn was a great concept, same as the Dremcast, though Sega didn't market their machines well. I always wonder what a Sega console would look like nowadays if the two divisions managed to work together properly.
I know it's an improvement in terms of larger character sprites and gameplay but I always preferred the original Streets of Rage. Something about the first game just felt more "atmospheric" to me, particularly the level with the waves lapping on the beach. Obviously, the sequel is still great, I just wish the whole Streets of Rage trilogy had been included on the original Genesis Mini instead of just the sequel.
Boy, that Ranger X unlocked some childhood memories that I thought were long lost. Don't think I ever got too far but I always found how you could fuse with your sort of bird shaped bike really cool.
I have seen the cover of General Chaos many times over the years. When seeing the gameplay though, I suddenly remembered playing it at the neighbors house a lifetime ago. Yea, That is a fun game.
15:30 "The Terradrive, sounds like something Krang would be trying to kill the TMNT with" I audibly chuckled :) Been watching this hour long masterpiece bit by bit, I love it.
One thing I liked about Megadrive carts was they were about the same size as audio cassette cases so they could be stored in one of those storage things with drawers. Also, the Megadrive version of Speedball 2 was fantastic. Turns out I was much better at playing the game with a controller rather than a joystick.
Speedball 2 🧡 I couldn't possibly recall how many hours I put into that game. Played it on and off for about 15 years lmao, and the latter part of that was playing only as manager because after you master the game it's the only challenge left. It is SUPER hard to win, for anyone who never tried manager, you missed out on a great challenge. Give it a go if you can 👍
Ah yes the good old days. Had many hours playing Shining Force, Shadowrun, Eternal Champions, Phantasy Star IV, and General Chaos. Truly a console worth the hype.
General Chaos was definitely underrated. One of the characters in the game looked like the dad of a hillbilly kid in our school. My friend and I played it pretending that character was Kinney's dad, laughing about him being blown up. Morbid, I know, but both Kinney and his dad were real jerks.
Every time Ashen makes the unavoidable jokes about CeX, I remember that the bad guys in the Rune Factory series are the Sechs Empire, which makes me giggle every time a character mentions them.
The magical ancient civilization from the Myst games is called D'ni, which is pronounced "Dah-Nee" by most characters. This seems to change in the last game, presumably because someone realized it sounded like "dunny", which is slang for a toilet.
1997 on my 7th birthday, I got a Sega Mega Drive as my first ever games console. The PS5 that I'm watching this video on has the Mega Drive to thank for kicking off my love of games all those years ago
Genesis Shadowrun is definitely one of my favorites. I haven't played the new ones yet, but I've not really seen another game handle cyberspace hacking in such an fun and interesting way. I usually play as a decker.
@@LordChesalot SNES one is great too - I had them both and preferred that one. Genesis had some great atmosphere though. it was one of the 5 games I ended up buying. Glad the new ones exist!!!!
These videos on retro consoles that you do are so cool, they bring me right back to my childhood!!! I had no clue that even half of these accessories existed for these consoles!
32:53 oh man Revolution X was at the local bowling alley. When you think of Rockin' Rollercoaster queue story line as part of the same universe, it all makes sense.
I had that game on pc. I played it with the mouse but forced my friend to play with the keyboard. We talk sometimes about it to this day how much he hated me for it :)
The memories. Here in Ireland, we could rent a Megadrive and games from our local video shop. Cue a shopping trip to stock up on crisps, choccy, sweets and TK Cola, 5 or 6 of us landing at one of our homes, and Sonic until the sun came up. Good times. I'll never forget my dad's face at handing over the deposit, and declaring that if he didn't get it back, I'd be his slave for the rest of his life. He's still alive. I mean, you spill 1 glass of coke in the wrong place.....................
Hoyl crap I just want to say, hope Stuart sees this: I ADORE these retrospective videos, Ashens is so smart and informative, not to mention funny! Thank you mate!
I, myself, am a major fan of the Sega Mega Drive. I once found one in good condition in a Charity shop here in Australia. It came in a Nuby carry case with two controllers. And it only cost $5AU! I checked it out, and it still works perfectly. Now that’s good technology! I also got a Sega Mega CD and a 32X to attach to it, and they all work great. I still play it from time to time, and it’s a worthwhile investment. Lucky!
I am so frustrated right now it's bringing forth my depression and pissed-offness. But this is a light in dark times. And there's a nod to LOTR too. Yaay. In a bit I'm gonna take a couple of wicked bong hits and zone out while watching this. Thank you Ashens.
Isn't it pretty fun seeing something you forgot and all the memories come rushing back ? Watching old retro gaming stuff I go "Ohh that game ! I remember that game !"
My SegaCD had a pop open lid and was a side by side thingy. I didn't know they made one with a mechanical CD insert. I remember one night staying up all night with a few friends, one of them was determined to beat Sewer Shark, and he finally did it just as the sun was coming up.
Aye. The first run Sega CD with the mechanical drive came with 2-3 games and a video music CD with Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, and a few other groups on it. It was also bloody $299.99.
@@Esauofisaac I saw it on TV with a kid showing a reporter all about how Sewer Shark worked, and it looked really awesome there. Later I got the game myself and holy shit was it a waste of time.
@@AdamIsUrqed It had a CD+G disc, which is the Jimi Hendrix thing you're remembering. They also had a plain audio CD. Games were the Sega Classics collection of Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Columns and Revenge of Shinobi. On another disc you had Sol-Feace. On another disc (or is it two discs?) Was Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective vol. 1. Sherlock Holmes was a very good inclusion since it shows off the multimedia capabilities. Sol-Feace is a game I wouldn't have bought otherwise so it's really cool it was in there because it's fun. It has some cool stuff in the intro. Animations and voices, but the actual game is absolutely nothing you need a Sega CD for. Sega classics was awesome because I didn't have any of those games for my Genesis, and they're all good, but it obviously doesn't show off what the Sega CD can do. The audio and CD+g discs are clearly to demonstrate those features of the machine. You got the "CD" gaming demo from Sherlock Holmes, then you had a side scroller, two beat-em ups, a puzzle game and a shmup. None of which really showed off the CD stuff but that's a pretty decent variety of stuff to get right out of the box. I'm always disappointed when consoles don't have cool pack-ins like this.
Oooooohwweee, a new upload, and it’s been ages since I last visited this channel (I forgot about it) but as of recent I’ve been looking it revisiting the vids over the last few years.
I use a scart to hdmi powered adapter with a high quality srgb md scart cable. It gets pretty nice results, nice color not washed out, great stereo. I love streets of rage series, toe jam & Earl and Gauntlet IV. I have a mega drive II that has been refurbished with new capacitors. Works great, I got it for 120 quid with 4 games included.
This is like those hour long scam videos that are aimed at old people that go on and on without getting to the point to get you to buy into it. I have now spent all of my money at CEX. I have a large retro collection but stuffed in my trunk as I had to sell the house. Thanks, Ashen’s.
The side lock thing on the Mega CD 1 is meant to keep the flat-cabled stereo mixing AUX out of the way of the drive tray. Feed the cable through the indentation and push lock into place. Now, you really don't have to do that. The MD1 does the audio mixing internally, so you just need a 3.5mm phones-phono adapter.
A cousin had the Mega Drive 1 with NBA Jam which you knew I smashed. Another mate also had the Mega Drive 1 and cousin's had the Mega Drive 2. Played so many cool games between the 3, NHL 95, Streets, Mortal Kombat 2, Pete Sampras was actually pretty good and of course Sonic 3 and Knuckles. If you put other games into Sonic and Kuckles that weren't Sonic you'd get bonus levels to catch blue spheres but on new levels. Micro Machines was genuinely excellent. So much fun with more players. Great video
Not so much at the time(at least once they weren't selling), I can remember a major chain store(which itself went bankrupt years later) clearing out the MegaCD at something like nz$50(about u$30) How I wish I bought a bunch of them and put them in storage...
I remember getting a Japanese Import Mega Drive for Christmas, I think around 1989. We had family friends that did business out there and bought one back for my brother and I. And it was glorious beyond imagination. PGA Tour Golf, Super Monaco GP and M1 Abrams Battle Tank had me transfixed as a 10 year old. To the point where I now have all three games on my MD Mini. 🤔
The reason it was called Genesis in America was because an American computer company already had the copyright to the name Mega Drive. To this day I still remember the cheat code for Sktichin, because the button combination spells the word "badass" B,A,Down,A,Start,Start
For people pining for a Streets of Rage sequel by Sega themselves - the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series has been staring at you this whole time! Created by veteran Sega dev Toshihiro Nagoshi, thee director of Daytona USA and creator of Super Monkey Ball and F-Zero GX!
@@hydro_storm4527 Yeah, bit apparently some people won't accept Sega property sequels and spin-offs that weren't made by Sega themselves. There's another subset of Sega fans who bitterly complain because Sega won't make older property games or Shenmue sequels (despite the latter being a financial disaster for Sega).
@@ffnbbq There's some really stupid SEGA fans. I owned a Genesis when I was a kid and later on had partial access to a Dreamcast so I have a lot of love/nostalgia for SEGA but some fans are simply rabid and stupid. They have never progressed past the early 90s console wars. Like there's a decent retro gaming youtuber named SegaLord X who has a lot of love for SEGA but has said he also had a NES and loved it as a kid. When he made any NES themed videos there was literally a handful of people having a fit in the comments. Then there's those people that still think SEGA is just going to somehow come back and make a new console. Lol. Those people really seem like they drank leaded gasoline.
Wouldn't someone _that_ inclined to split hairs discount the Yakuza/LAD titles? I mean, they're developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku rather than Sega themselves. Or are they an in-house development team/studio? I'm not a Yakuzahead yet, so I wouldn't know their precise relationship to Sega.
oh, that issue persisted quite a bit after the 90s as well. Like when they decided that Sega of America and Sega of Japan take care of Sonic games for their respective markets separately, only for then SoJ to show up and tell SoA that their sonic game needs to be changed But on the 90s Sega's biggest competitor was Sega.
When I was a kid I had a Mega Drive II and got my hands on a Japanese Arcus Odyssey cartridge somehow (I think it was in a box of assorted guff my parents bought at an auction?). My Dad's solution was to just literally cut/file away at the plastic casing of the cartridge until it fit in the Mega Drive, at which point the game worked perfectly.
Been watching these since I was around 5 ( yes not the most practical age to watch Ashens) and now I’m 15 turning 16 in August and about to go to college, glad to see you still uploading as you were a part of me growing up. I specifically remember one of your videos with a terminator that you would make out of some mold haha
My understanding of the Genesis name in North America is that there was already a company called Mega Drive and they'd trademarked the name in USA and Canada Anyway, I've had my MD2 since 1996, so obviously was very late to it, and only had a handful of games which i still have to this day
David Rosen denies this version of the story, saying he asked for the name change because he didn't think "Mega Drive" would sell well in North America
I was a SNES kid, despite owning Sega's previous console (Master System was crazy popular in the UK). I had Mega-Drive friends though. None of them crazy enough to buy the add-ons, but still. Streets of Rage 1&2 are still amongst my favourite multiplayer games of all time, right up there with the original Mario Kart.
You may /or may not have forgot to mention that there are some games that require both the Mega CD and the 32X. Though goin by the gradual decline in games available for each add on, there may not be many at all
I used to have a region cart adapter. With the one I had you had to plug the genesis cart in with the label facing away from you for it to work... But the cart would slot in label forward too, but they would not boot. I have a Triax TT360 pad. It was one of my favs top use. Especially playin Ecco the Dolphin series on it. Mine still works wonderfully well.
Wasn't the yellow tabby thing to indicate that EA, who were underdogs at this time had found a way to make unlicensed carts for the Mega drive by reverse engineering the whole console.
Love the MD. I bought a 386 Mega-PC and still have the game pad. The converter was essential. The japanese box art was so, so much better. Plus some releases were Japanese only ....great vid. Gonna go dust mine off I think!
I. LOVE. Shadowrun. It is my favorite Genesis game by far, and in my teens I must have played like 200 hours of it. I still revisit it and just play forever. Like its Skyrim or something.
Hay Stuart I see Mr Pegg has joined the writers strike so if your clever and get in their quick you could take over his film rolls at a fraction of the cost now you have the acting experience
Sega was cool and embraced the Game Genie in stark contrast to Nintendo's attitude towards it. Those yellow tabbed carts, I always thought was just Electronic Arts plastering their logo on everything as an aesthetic choice. Only their games had them to my knowledge. Road Rash 2 has it and it uses a password system over saving to battery backed up memory.
I worked at a USA cable company that offered Sega Channel. It was a one way download thing that stored the games in memory. A catalog of games to choose from with a new hit game every month and demos of new games. There was a kiosk in the customer lobby running a demo. Yah, no one subscribed.
Fun fact about the 9 pin controller ports that I learned the hard way back in the day; though the physical shape is the same across devices, the pin out of the internal wiring was different. I got curious about it myself and plugged an Atari ST compatible joystick into my mega drive while it was running. It instantly locked up the system and erased the save data on the cartridge. The cartridge in question was Sword of Vermillion, which is, shall we say, quite a lengthy game? Needless to say, I didn't try it again.
This CEX sponsorship has been the most significant thing to happen to this channel since Ashens was sent a packet of expired Jelly Babies.
If only Americans could get access to CEX stores 😭
Most exciting thing since Stay Fresh Cheese Bags.
I fully agree!
They were sent by a man with a very long scarf.
@@IntegerOfDoom Stay fresh, cheese bag.
Those cartridges with the yellow bit on them from Electronic Arts were actually when the EA of the time reverse-engineered the Sega console lockout system to get around the unfavorable and restrictive licensing terms and fees Sega mandated at the time. They were unlicensed cartridges, like the baby blue Wisdom Tree cartridges for the SNES. I think they made that visual change so Sega couldn't sue them for trademark infringement for the actual cartridge design.
The blue cartridges were for the NES not SNES.
Came here to say this
@@yourdrinking
They did indeed as reverse engineering isn't illegal. Ditto for Sony when they took bleem to court and lost over emulation
The larger EA carts were also a guarantee of quality on the Megadrive. They had some quality titles back in the day. What happened EA?
they reverse engineered the whole system, and made their own development tools.
I honestly can't describe how much I love the Genesis/Mega-Drive. I might not have had a lot of games growing up, but man, all you needed was a 6-Pak cart and you were good for the rest of your life
In the UK this was massive. It brought 16 bit gaming into houses, like mine, that couldn't afford the Amiga.
I am in the US, but I still have my NES with quite a few games. As well as a nice SNES and now a PS1, Game cube, ps2, Xbox, Xbox 360... I think that is all...N64 Maybe... if It is still around!
The megadrive pissed all over the Amiga mate, I was an Amiga guy , the megadrive had almost perfect arcade ports , the Amiga was a home computer with its own scene , I loved my Amiga but I really wanted a megadrive
@@valley_robotYep, if you wanted to do other clever stuff, or games with a mouse then the Amiga was great but for pure games it was all about the Mega Drive.
@@thethirdrail8397ok?
@@valley_robot
Oh mate, that's hilarious. The Megadrive was a great little console but the Amiga was lightyears ahead in ability.
I've been really enjoying these retrospective videos.
Hoping you've got more planned. :)
probaly planned as an unplanned as an hysterical pregnancy
Don't forget, you could actually have up to 8 players in Micro Machines 2, if you were willing to share half the controller between each 2 people, because it only needs 3 buttons to play. Absolutely stellar release, good times.
Dude I thought that everyone forgot about that capability 🤯 You’re the ONE!!!
Worked better on the SNES due to the controller layout. Great days sharing a pad indeed.
Did the SNES carts have 2 extra controller slots too?@@enchantededition6879
I remember opening up my first Klakhammus on my fourth Squansday party. Thanks for remembering to include Berbintua in your description - not many talk about us after the second major war.
Bro you guys doing ok over there?
Ive been watching old videos, and I mean 2006-08 videos of Ashens until the next upload. Still never disappoints. The proof that never changing a thing is a good thing.
he changed, and changed a lot, for the better fortunately
@@Zontar82definitely, he has bloomed from something extraordinary to something exceptional, he's so unproblematic and an excellent chap. I think the man is the tits.
@@Zontar82 Maybe he meant the concept? Reviewing stuff from the sofa instead of some fancy studio.
Now when I think of Ashens I think of CEX too I think I have finally hit that age those thoughts just come into my mind.
Goddamn, the animation on _Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter_ is absolutely stunning. It's so fluid and quick, I love it.
I love the proper title formatting lmao
1 hour Ashens retro gaming video... This is as good as it gets
Two years from now we will get: PS2 review 1 hour, SEGA Saturn review 1 hour 15 minutes, Dreamcast review 10 minutes.
Man. This brings me way back. I remember my parents asking me to wish upon a star and I said, "I want a Sega Genesis" because I seen one in a store and was real impressed with it.
Then next morning I got one, right in my room with Sonic the Hedgehog. Still a memory I cherish to this day. Owe a lot of my childhood to that there Genesis.
Your parents sound awesome haha
Did you say thanks? 😂
@@Beauweir No - a star brought it to him, it was magic.
That's awesome
The Genesis was a core memory for me as a six and seven year old, because my uncle owned it with SO MANY GAMES. Sonic 1 and 2, X-Men 1 and 2, Vectorman, Mortal Kombat, Golden Axe II, Aladdin and many freaking others. I wouldn't eat my dinner while visiting my grandparents unless I was promised that we could play Sonic 2 afterwards.
I had a Genesis growing up and it had one of my favorite series of games ever, Toejam and Earl. It was fun and weird and my sister and I used to play it together.
With no ability to save, you were comitted to the game for hours on end!
1 and 2 were the greatest games of my childhood! I still love to escape to their colorful, funky lands
Ah yes, I forgot Toe Jam and Earl for a moment, it was one of the 5 carts i bought after I got rid of Sega Channel and still had the Genesis!
I had Skitchin' on my Mega Drive back in the day, absolutely loved it. I think I'd seen it played on Gamesmaster or Bad Influence or something and fell in love with it.
Wish I'd played it. I just remembered the ads for it. "Skitchin'. It's Bitchin'." I missed out, seems like.
Had a ton of fun with that game at my older cousins house.
@@shadowharu Damn it ! You just had to say it.
I was going to come in here saying "Skitchin'. Was it Bitchin' ?"
You literally still record on the same couch, with the same style and the same intro. I love that!
CEX has ushered in a new era of Ashens videos and demonitisation.
He's a shill.
@@Okurka.he’s one of the best and most consistent content creators on the whole damn site. I’m glad he can make a living.
@@Okurka.getting paid to do what you like is selling out
@@Okurka. He's OUR shill.
He was never the same after he had CEX
Ashens is the ONLY youtuber where ill be like "i dont think im gonna watch this whole thing" then immediately after go "holy shit only 20 minutes left!?"
Ooh, proper, manual subtitles on this one! I don't strictly need them but they're always nice to have and a very pleasant surprise on this channel.
This is the video I have been waiting for once I realised you were covering retro consoles.
I was a die-hard Sega fan back in the day.
The Mega Drive era was Sega in their prime
Sonic was and still is my go-to game!
Yeah, it's sad what happened to SEGA. I mean the Saturn wasn't a bad console but it was much harder to work with. SEGA (of America and Japan) just made a lot of awful choices and were both incredibly petty with each other. Really led to their downfall.
@Gatorade69 Yeah, the Saturn was a great concept, same as the Dremcast, though Sega didn't market their machines well.
I always wonder what a Sega console would look like nowadays if the two divisions managed to work together properly.
4:55 "you can play Streets of Rage 2, what more do you want, absolutely nothing" wise words from a wise man
oh my god you are pushing me to the brink of insanity
Sonic 3 and Knuckles.
I know it's an improvement in terms of larger character sprites and gameplay but I always preferred the original Streets of Rage. Something about the first game just felt more "atmospheric" to me, particularly the level with the waves lapping on the beach. Obviously, the sequel is still great, I just wish the whole Streets of Rage trilogy had been included on the original Genesis Mini instead of just the sequel.
@@SteveBrandon yeah both the first 2 are great. Sor 3, at least the US version isnt great. The JP version Bare Knuckle 3 is much better,.
@@ItzSneakyMinecraftsilence Minecraft account
Boy, that Ranger X unlocked some childhood memories that I thought were long lost. Don't think I ever got too far but I always found how you could fuse with your sort of bird shaped bike really cool.
That game is definitely underrated.
Have it on my shelf. No manual :-(
Ashens does what other channels don’t.
He does it so you don't have to.
@@Marci124Nostalgia critic reference?
CEX
YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON A TECHMOAN!
@@Marci124 He stays addicted - to tat - so you can stay away.
Loving these videos! Perfect chill videos for when I'm feeling low energy.
I know... Too bad I'm feeling low on energy all the time now though :(
3 console retrospectives back to back? such a treat! love these vids, have rewatched the gameboy ones many times over!
Balls
Balls
Balls !!
I have seen the cover of General Chaos many times over the years. When seeing the gameplay though, I suddenly remembered playing it at the neighbors house a lifetime ago. Yea, That is a fun game.
man I am really loving these videos of old game systems, perfect for listening to while doing stuff
15:30 "The Terradrive, sounds like something Krang would be trying to kill the TMNT with" I audibly chuckled :)
Been watching this hour long masterpiece bit by bit, I love it.
One thing I liked about Megadrive carts was they were about the same size as audio cassette cases so they could be stored in one of those storage things with drawers.
Also, the Megadrive version of Speedball 2 was fantastic.
Turns out I was much better at playing the game with a controller rather than a joystick.
Speedball 2 🧡 I couldn't possibly recall how many hours I put into that game. Played it on and off for about 15 years lmao, and the latter part of that was playing only as manager because after you master the game it's the only challenge left. It is SUPER hard to win, for anyone who never tried manager, you missed out on a great challenge. Give it a go if you can 👍
i used to watch this guy around 5 years ago and he just came back up ion my recommended nice to see hes still going
Why would you ever stop watching? Lol
Ah yes the good old days. Had many hours playing Shining Force, Shadowrun, Eternal Champions, Phantasy Star IV, and General Chaos. Truly a console worth the hype.
General Chaos was definitely underrated. One of the characters in the game looked like the dad of a hillbilly kid in our school. My friend and I played it pretending that character was Kinney's dad, laughing about him being blown up. Morbid, I know, but both Kinney and his dad were real jerks.
That’s some funny shit !!
Wow the rarely seen tower of power and a bonus top of the sofa reveal, thanks stu , made my bloody day 😊
Every time Ashen makes the unavoidable jokes about CeX, I remember that the bad guys in the Rune Factory series are the Sechs Empire, which makes me giggle every time a character mentions them.
....how did I miss that? My younger self is very innocent, it seems.
The magical ancient civilization from the Myst games is called D'ni, which is pronounced "Dah-Nee" by most characters. This seems to change in the last game, presumably because someone realized it sounded like "dunny", which is slang for a toilet.
As someone who's played sword of sodan and owns mazin wars, this video made me smile.
Oh man, these retrospectives have been totally classic Ashens. Never gets old:)
1997 on my 7th birthday, I got a Sega Mega Drive as my first ever games console. The PS5 that I'm watching this video on has the Mega Drive to thank for kicking off my love of games all those years ago
Genesis Shadowrun is definitely one of my favorites. I haven't played the new ones yet, but I've not really seen another game handle cyberspace hacking in such an fun and interesting way. I usually play as a decker.
The new ones are great
@@LordChesalot SNES one is great too - I had them both and preferred that one. Genesis had some great atmosphere though. it was one of the 5 games I ended up buying. Glad the new ones exist!!!!
Sega's
Old
Nostalgia
Is
Consistent
I loved my Sega Genesis. So many good games. Loved Golden Axe.
These videos on retro consoles that you do are so cool, they bring me right back to my childhood!!! I had no clue that even half of these accessories existed for these consoles!
32:53 oh man Revolution X was at the local bowling alley. When you think of Rockin' Rollercoaster queue story line as part of the same universe, it all makes sense.
I had that game on pc. I played it with the mouse but forced my friend to play with the keyboard. We talk sometimes about it to this day how much he hated me for it :)
It never got any better than this. The Mega Drive was peak of gaming.
SNES was far superior my dude, had a far better joypad too.
@@scottneil1187"Far superior" is a gross overstatement, to put it lightly
@@scottneil1187
The joypad is better than the Mega Drive's 3-button one. Better than the 6-button joypad? Nope.
The memories. Here in Ireland, we could rent a Megadrive and games from our local video shop. Cue a shopping trip to stock up on crisps, choccy, sweets and TK Cola, 5 or 6 of us landing at one of our homes, and Sonic until the sun came up. Good times. I'll never forget my dad's face at handing over the deposit, and declaring that if he didn't get it back, I'd be his slave for the rest of his life. He's still alive. I mean, you spill 1 glass of coke in the wrong place.....................
GET BACK TO SWEEPING LAD
@@tamaramacadam8650 ALRIGHT, DAD!!
FFS.
I loved my Genesis, my first console and still my favorite.
Hoyl crap I just want to say, hope Stuart sees this: I ADORE these retrospective videos, Ashens is so smart and informative, not to mention funny! Thank you mate!
1.6 million subscribers and he's still filming kneeling on the floor in front of his old couch I love it haha
I had a Brazilian Mega Drive 1 with a Sega CD 2, it was the coolest thing ever to me as a kid.
And then mom got rid of it one day, sad.
I, myself, am a major fan of the Sega Mega Drive. I once found one in good condition in a Charity shop here in Australia. It came in a Nuby carry case with two controllers. And it only cost $5AU! I checked it out, and it still works perfectly. Now that’s good technology! I also got a Sega Mega CD and a 32X to attach to it, and they all work great. I still play it from time to time, and it’s a worthwhile investment. Lucky!
I am so frustrated right now it's bringing forth my depression and pissed-offness. But this is a light in dark times. And there's a nod to LOTR too. Yaay. In a bit I'm gonna take a couple of wicked bong hits and zone out while watching this. Thank you Ashens.
I look forward to every upload and this one brought me a wave of nostalgia ❤ cheers mate
That was an incredibly good time. Loving these retrospective videos. My old man brain may have forgotten a lot of this, but Stewart is the cure, lol.
Isn't it pretty fun seeing something you forgot and all the memories come rushing back ? Watching old retro gaming stuff I go "Ohh that game ! I remember that game !"
“Hey you still don’t have a Sega CD! What you waiting for Nintendo to make one?” Yeah, and I still am.
Famicom disc system and 64dd
Not in Japan mate.
My SegaCD had a pop open lid and was a side by side thingy. I didn't know they made one with a mechanical CD insert. I remember one night staying up all night with a few friends, one of them was determined to beat Sewer Shark, and he finally did it just as the sun was coming up.
Aye. The first run Sega CD with the mechanical drive came with 2-3 games and a video music CD with Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, and a few other groups on it. It was also bloody $299.99.
I don't think I ever played Sewer Shark for more than three minutes.
I remember playing Sewer Shark when I was like 6 and thinking it was the future of games lmao
@@Esauofisaac I saw it on TV with a kid showing a reporter all about how Sewer Shark worked, and it looked really awesome there. Later I got the game myself and holy shit was it a waste of time.
@@AdamIsUrqed It had a CD+G disc, which is the Jimi Hendrix thing you're remembering. They also had a plain audio CD.
Games were the Sega Classics collection of Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Columns and Revenge of Shinobi.
On another disc you had Sol-Feace.
On another disc (or is it two discs?) Was Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective vol. 1.
Sherlock Holmes was a very good inclusion since it shows off the multimedia capabilities.
Sol-Feace is a game I wouldn't have bought otherwise so it's really cool it was in there because it's fun. It has some cool stuff in the intro. Animations and voices, but the actual game is absolutely nothing you need a Sega CD for.
Sega classics was awesome because I didn't have any of those games for my Genesis, and they're all good, but it obviously doesn't show off what the Sega CD can do.
The audio and CD+g discs are clearly to demonstrate those features of the machine.
You got the "CD" gaming demo from Sherlock Holmes, then you had a side scroller, two beat-em ups, a puzzle game and a shmup. None of which really showed off the CD stuff but that's a pretty decent variety of stuff to get right out of the box.
I'm always disappointed when consoles don't have cool pack-ins like this.
That intro has not changed at all in the past decade or so! And it’s still fresh
Hello! Cheapo! Celery! I can see perfectly! *honk-honk!* *boing!* Bloody hell, are we still doing these?
You could have 8 players on Micro Machines 2. Two people can share a pad. One on buttons, one on the pad
Oooooohwweee, a new upload, and it’s been ages since I last visited this channel (I forgot about it) but as of recent I’ve been looking it revisiting the vids over the last few years.
I use a scart to hdmi powered adapter with a high quality srgb md scart cable.
It gets pretty nice results, nice color not washed out, great stereo.
I love streets of rage series, toe jam & Earl and Gauntlet IV.
I have a mega drive II that has been refurbished with new capacitors. Works great, I got it for 120 quid with 4 games included.
Man, has had breakfast, done some chores and more chores and still going, quality content here, thanks Ashens, Thanks CEX.
I had the turbo touch 360 for the SNES and loved it. I was kinda shocked when UA-cam came about and everyone had long rants on how much they hated it.
I forgot about your channel. I used to watch it a long time ago. I’m glad you’re still here!
This is like those hour long scam videos that are aimed at old people that go on and on without getting to the point to get you to buy into it.
I have now spent all of my money at CEX. I have a large retro collection but stuffed in my trunk as I had to sell the house. Thanks, Ashen’s.
The side lock thing on the Mega CD 1 is meant to keep the flat-cabled stereo mixing AUX out of the way of the drive tray. Feed the cable through the indentation and push lock into place. Now, you really don't have to do that. The MD1 does the audio mixing internally, so you just need a 3.5mm phones-phono adapter.
There is so much to love about the Mega Drive and you showed it off perfectly! 👍
A cousin had the Mega Drive 1 with NBA Jam which you knew I smashed. Another mate also had the Mega Drive 1 and cousin's had the Mega Drive 2. Played so many cool games between the 3, NHL 95, Streets, Mortal Kombat 2, Pete Sampras was actually pretty good and of course Sonic 3 and Knuckles. If you put other games into Sonic and Kuckles that weren't Sonic you'd get bonus levels to catch blue spheres but on new levels.
Micro Machines was genuinely excellent. So much fun with more players. Great video
That de-paged science book was one of the best visual jokes ever 😂
Easily pleased.
man, Shadow Squadron, that game was an absolutely brilliant game. For what it's worth, the game was worth the music alone.
Man, how badly I want the Sega CD and 32x despite having very little in terms of games, just way too expensive though
Not so much at the time(at least once they weren't selling), I can remember a major chain store(which itself went bankrupt years later) clearing out the MegaCD at something like nz$50(about u$30) How I wish I bought a bunch of them and put them in storage...
@@DoubleMonoLRThere's warehouses abroad that are sticked with Sega and Nintendo accessories
I remember getting a Japanese Import Mega Drive for Christmas, I think around 1989. We had family friends that did business out there and bought one back for my brother and I. And it was glorious beyond imagination. PGA Tour Golf, Super Monaco GP and M1 Abrams Battle Tank had me
transfixed as a 10 year old. To the point where I now have all three games on my MD Mini. 🤔
The reason it was called Genesis in America was because an American computer company already had the copyright to the name Mega Drive.
To this day I still remember the cheat code for Sktichin, because the button combination spells the word "badass" B,A,Down,A,Start,Start
46:12 Whoa, I love the wobbly deformation segmented thing with the sprites that game does! Reminds me of the Swords and Sandals flash games.
For people pining for a Streets of Rage sequel by Sega themselves - the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series has been staring at you this whole time! Created by veteran Sega dev Toshihiro Nagoshi, thee director of Daytona USA and creator of Super Monkey Ball and F-Zero GX!
I mean Streets of Rage 4 is a thing and it's very good.
@@hydro_storm4527 Yeah, bit apparently some people won't accept Sega property sequels and spin-offs that weren't made by Sega themselves. There's another subset of Sega fans who bitterly complain because Sega won't make older property games or Shenmue sequels (despite the latter being a financial disaster for Sega).
@@ffnbbq There's some really stupid SEGA fans. I owned a Genesis when I was a kid and later on had partial access to a Dreamcast so I have a lot of love/nostalgia for SEGA but some fans are simply rabid and stupid. They have never progressed past the early 90s console wars.
Like there's a decent retro gaming youtuber named SegaLord X who has a lot of love for SEGA but has said he also had a NES and loved it as a kid. When he made any NES themed videos there was literally a handful of people having a fit in the comments. Then there's those people that still think SEGA is just going to somehow come back and make a new console. Lol.
Those people really seem like they drank leaded gasoline.
@@hydro_storm4527 I'm glad to see more beat em ups recently. Streets of Rage and River City girls were both very good.
Wouldn't someone _that_ inclined to split hairs discount the Yakuza/LAD titles? I mean, they're developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku rather than Sega themselves.
Or are they an in-house development team/studio? I'm not a Yakuzahead yet, so I wouldn't know their precise relationship to Sega.
General Chaos is one of the first things I point to when I tell people EA used to make original games that had heart in them
Sega's biggest problems in the mid 90's were that the U.S. and Japanese offices were both trying to make the decisions and didn't get along very well.
oh, that issue persisted quite a bit after the 90s as well. Like when they decided that Sega of America and Sega of Japan take care of Sonic games for their respective markets separately, only for then SoJ to show up and tell SoA that their sonic game needs to be changed
But on the 90s Sega's biggest competitor was Sega.
Athens looked deep into my soul and unleashed the content I needed today
When I was a kid I had a Mega Drive II and got my hands on a Japanese Arcus Odyssey cartridge somehow (I think it was in a box of assorted guff my parents bought at an auction?). My Dad's solution was to just literally cut/file away at the plastic casing of the cartridge until it fit in the Mega Drive, at which point the game worked perfectly.
That seems like a cool game from what little I saw of it.
Been watching these since I was around 5 ( yes not the most practical age to watch Ashens) and now I’m 15 turning 16 in August and about to go to college, glad to see you still uploading as you were a part of me growing up. I specifically remember one of your videos with a terminator that you would make out of some mold haha
its been almost two months where has ashens gone has he finally been swallowed up by a giant mountain of tat and retro electronics?????
Twitch
He doesn't care about his UA-cam fans, never did
I just can't stop thinking about the pretty neat looking science book that was sacrified for the sake of that one Streets of Rage 2 joke.
My understanding of the Genesis name in North America is that there was already a company called Mega Drive and they'd trademarked the name in USA and Canada
Anyway, I've had my MD2 since 1996, so obviously was very late to it, and only had a handful of games which i still have to this day
David Rosen denies this version of the story, saying he asked for the name change because he didn't think "Mega Drive" would sell well in North America
Spent the first 20 minutes saying "Ah, but did you know about the....oh, you did...". What a happy trip down memory lane.
Arent we overdue a food special Ashens? 😩 withdrawal symptoms
I keep rewatching them. Hoping for some more soon
@@Joeharden92 I rewatch them too haha. A new foodie review fix would be great though, especially an expired food one
I was a SNES kid, despite owning Sega's previous console (Master System was crazy popular in the UK). I had Mega-Drive friends though. None of them crazy enough to buy the add-ons, but still. Streets of Rage 1&2 are still amongst my favourite multiplayer games of all time, right up there with the original Mario Kart.
You may /or may not have forgot to mention that there are some games that require both the Mega CD and the 32X. Though goin by the gradual decline in games available for each add on, there may not be many at all
I think it's just a few FMV games. Night Trap is on it. The FMV is better, though still not great.
Thank you for taking the time to explain the CEX Trade.
Where are you?
I used to have a region cart adapter. With the one I had you had to plug the genesis cart in with the label facing away from you for it to work... But the cart would slot in label forward too, but they would not boot.
I have a Triax TT360 pad. It was one of my favs top use. Especially playin Ecco the Dolphin series on it. Mine still works wonderfully well.
Wasn't the yellow tabby thing to indicate that EA, who were underdogs at this time had found a way to make unlicensed carts for the Mega drive by reverse engineering the whole console.
Love the MD. I bought a 386 Mega-PC and still have the game pad. The converter was essential. The japanese box art was so, so much better. Plus some releases were Japanese only ....great vid. Gonna go dust mine off I think!
You had to be careful ordering Genesis surround sound because some people would get Phil Collins
Or Peter Gabriel.
I. LOVE. Shadowrun.
It is my favorite Genesis game by far, and in my teens I must have played like 200 hours of it.
I still revisit it and just play forever. Like its Skyrim or something.
Hay Stuart I see Mr Pegg has joined the writers strike so if your clever and get in their quick you could take over his film rolls at a fraction of the cost now you have the acting experience
Oh my god Micro Machines! I had completely forgotten that was part of my childhood, you just unlocked a part of my brain untouched for 25 years!
Sega was cool and embraced the Game Genie in stark contrast to Nintendo's attitude towards it.
Those yellow tabbed carts, I always thought was just Electronic Arts plastering their logo on everything as an aesthetic choice. Only their games had them to my knowledge. Road Rash 2 has it and it uses a password system over saving to battery backed up memory.
I worked at a USA cable company that offered Sega Channel. It was a one way download thing that stored the games in memory. A catalog of games to choose from with a new hit game every month and demos of new games. There was a kiosk in the customer lobby running a demo. Yah, no one subscribed.
Playing Sonic on this thing is my life.
How are you able to play Sonic 06 on the Mega Drive/Genesis ?
@@Gatorade69 What? I never said that.
Fun fact about the 9 pin controller ports that I learned the hard way back in the day; though the physical shape is the same across devices, the pin out of the internal wiring was different. I got curious about it myself and plugged an Atari ST compatible joystick into my mega drive while it was running. It instantly locked up the system and erased the save data on the cartridge. The cartridge in question was Sword of Vermillion, which is, shall we say, quite a lengthy game? Needless to say, I didn't try it again.
are you okay?
Really great genesis recommendations, some stuff I never heard of!
since ashens seems to be in love with doing retrospectives lately he should do one about his own channel
Love a hour long plus video can listen to Ashens for days 😍