Very lucky to retrobits for receiving one complete in box, I loved my 32x as a kid and played it so much with my cousin because it had a great version of NBA Jam and Doom on it, along with a few other fun games like a GREAT version of Mortal Kombat 2. If only a few more games had released for it. Still love my 32X and own it with my genesis and sega cd, but no original box (I wish I had that amazing 32X box)
That’s awesome! Glad you were able to go through with the deal. About 18 years ago I had a friend offer me a Sega Dreamcast and a decent library of games for only $150. I had a lot going on during that time. I was uncertain about the future. I should have bought it. I regret it badly. Especially since I have been collecting Dreamcast games for several years now.
@@AngryCalvin If it makes you feel any better, (most of?) the Dreamcast will take CD-Rs, not the best for collectability but just getting the console is enough if you want to play the games. I have one, but it sits on a display shelf because it's so easy to emulate.
Was just about to apply with the same info (former Air Force, myself). Some of the best deals could be gotten at US. Military Base Exchange (BX) dispensaries controlled by legacy AAFES (as @cwoanthony alluded to, this term is now antiquated today). I and a buddy of mine got an entire run of official Resident Evil Toys based on the first PSX game in the nineties for pennies on the dollar. They're pretty rare now...
Doom 32x was my initial Doom experience and despite it all, it was FANTASTIC!. Instant, total obsession. We just weren't spoiled to games back then like we are now and we were totally conditioned to work with a game in its natural state, having grown up on 2600 games. I played Doom32x literally every waking moment I could until I had exhausted it. I saw the sprites on the insides of my eyelids while I slept and resumed my progress as soon as I woke up. Unfortunately my progress ended when a door on level 17 (if memory serves me) seemed to glitch and not open all the way. Does anyone else have this experience? My favorite 32x was Shadow Squadron. It was much smoother than Star Wars Arcade and had some pretty original game elements like space aircraft carriers.
Absolutely. My first DOOM as well! I enjoyed it so much! Even the music was awesome in my head. Most seemed like they purposely made it sounds rough to add to the ambiance. Who knew it had a PC port that had "better" music? Also the American version of DOOM had a faster gameplay that just about every other version!
32X Doom really is quite good considering when it came out and the time constraints they had to work under. It was one of the first console ports and despite that, it still easily beats several of the console ports released way later. It's an enjoyable experience and that's what matters. Having said that, Doom 32X Resurrection shows what the 32X was truly capable of when firing on all cylinders and boy, it is freakin' amazing. I'd happily play that version through the entire way, despite all the other options for playing Doom available today.
@@Astfgl You're right, it was very enjoyable even at its most intense. I was deadly with the controller and never felt like the game was letting me down and I was having to compromise. We know its faults now, but I was no where near having a PC at the time and imho it delivered the Doom experience.
The music in the 32X DOOM use to creep out my friends. It wasn't until later I realized the music was intended to be rocked out and not scary sounding "resurrection fixed this and rocked it out" .. but the music in 32X original will be remembered as this unintentionally creepy soundtrack that fit the game well.
@@drphilxr The maker of the EverDrive (Krikzz) is based out of the Ukraine. Prices shot-up in 2022, for obvious reasons. Plus yeah, it's a niche market. You have to own the original hardware to use an Everdrive. A more cost-effective system would be the MiSTer Pi FPGA console by Taki Udon, which would give you tonnes of amazing arcade cores, and all the console cores (up-to N64/PS1/Saturn era), plus continuous development. Perfect FPGA retro gaming, all in one neat little package.
@@drphilxr The standard Mega Everdrive X3 and X5 aren't that expensive, and those support playing 32X games. The Mega Everdrive PRO is quite pricey though, but that's because it has an FPGA in it that simulates an entire Mega CD at the hardware level. It allows you to play the full library of Mega Drive, 32X and Mega CD games from a single flash cartridge. The TerraOnion MegaSD does the same thing, and it's equally pricey.
@@Astfgl Yeah you can get Everdrive clones but the firmware is busted on them and they read slower, there's the official open everdrive which is meant to combat the cheap chinese clone flash carts. The X5 does a lot of useful stuff and it's really not too expensive compared to the Mega SD or Everdrive PRO especially just for the FM synth core for master system and the saving, CD bios and backup cart compatibility.
Not surprised at all. Got it at a kid for xmas and it never disappointed. The party was just over in a year is all. Doom, Star Wars, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, Afterburner, Space Harrier, NBA Jam, all best ports of their time to home consoles. If you liked FMV like I did, those 32x CD games basically brought them up to 3DO port levels. $700 for the 3DO at the time.
Same I got one as a kid and absolutely loved it, especially when the games went on sale after it was discontinued. I think Sega should have scrapped the Saturn and stuck with the 32x as the budget conscience decision for parents and milked the life of the Genesis just a few more years.
And that was the issue. It was too good. Sega blamed it for the Saturn flopping (and not that it was over $400 back when people weren’t paying that kind of money for game systems) and thought killing the 32x would drive people to that instead of what most 32x owners ended up doing and getting a PlayStation for $299.
@@mrjfrostbite Daytona USA 32X was a planned game before it was canceled. Imagine if they made a 32X CD version of it. Get that amazing soundtrack, and best 3D racer at the time.
It’s hilarious that Sega went out of their way to say it isn’t compatible with the CDX when that is the main way that I play 32X. I imagine it was because it couldn’t get FCC clearance for use with CDX. I do notice the video signal appears to be pretty dirty so maybe it isn’t optimal but it definitely does work.
True, I just recapped my own 32X earlier this month and while the caps in it are old and a little tired, they were still all in decent condition with no signs of leaking at all. Sega used quality Nichicon and Rubicon capacitors for their consoles at the time and those do tend to last.
@@Astfgl There was a period of time around 1999-2006 or so when many caps did not last and caused millions of premature failures of electronic equipment. Everything from radios to PCs. Probably a lot of counterfeits in the supply chain. This problem was VERY widespread and that is why he called it the 'bad cap era' But it simply didn't happen in 1994. Still, 1994 is 30 years ago and in most cases, this stuff has been sitting for decades (caps do not like sitting unused), so it's not a bad idea to check or change them. But if you take the time to bring caps up slowly, a lot of much older caps will work fine. A lot of medium system computers from the 70s are loaded with 20 dollar (a piece) caps. But if you reform them by bringing up the mains voltage slowly and letting them sit there with no load on them, they will reform and work great. All capacitors will stop working from sitting. But that doesn't mean they are bad. Unless they are dried up or physically damaged, they will usually start working again. There is a lot of literature on this.
@@tarstarkusz Yeah I'm aware of the capacitor plague from the early 2000's, I suffered several broken motherboards from bulging or leaking caps myself around that time. But that's not the only time in history when devices were affected by bad caps. A lot of Macintosh models from around 1990 for instance suffer from leaking SMD electrolytics, simply because Apple started cheaping out on parts around that time. Any Mac from that time period is practically guaranteed to have corrosion on the motherboard by now if it hasn't been serviced. Generally it's just a good idea to recap consumer devices from 20+ years old if you plan to keep using them, if only just for peace of mind.
@@Astfgl That's not the bad cap era though. Cheap caps are and have been made over long, long periods of time. Purple Panasonic/Matsushita caps from the 70s love to pee on circuit boards, for example. This goes back to the tube error. There is one type they call black beauties where they are known to short. many of them will rapidly disassemble. Now, granted, they are so old that many of them are just dried out. We're talking 70 years and more (stuff made in the 30s through the late 60s). The bad cap era affected almost all brands (there was probably a lot of counterfeiting involved as this was the time china was approved to be in the wto) of equipment and caps. Plenty of bad Nakamichi caps out there from this era. Apple chose to use the wrong or cheap caps, but most caps from the early 90s are still fine. A large percentage of electronics front the early 2000s has bad caps. WAY higher than what you would expect. That's why they call it the bad cap era. Also, this stuff is not failing today. It was buy a computer and 2 years later you have leaking or deformed caps and a computer that produces random errors on boot-up. I cannot tell you just how many computers I took out of service for this reason (I work in IT).
That might be true, BUT THEY ARE 30 YEARS OLD. I wouldn't say a cap that lasted 30 years is from a "bad era", I also wouldn't blame anyone for changing a 30 year old cap.
What a coincidence! I just picked up a Genesis 32X myself a few weeks ago at a retro games convention. Same as you, I had pretty much already given up on the idea of ever owning one, but then ran into a pretty good deal. Coincidentally I am also combining it with a PAL VA4 Mega Drive model 1. I didn't run into the same video sync issues as you did though, perhaps it might be because you don't have a dual-frequency oscillator in your MD1? Without one, NTSC video signals coming from a PAL console will be slightly out of spec and I can imagine the 32X having trouble locking on to that. My 32X does act a little bit flaky at times, particularly when trying to boot Virtua Racing Deluxe or Tempo from a MegaSD flash cartridge. I already opened up the 32X, cleaned it out entirely and recapped the boards, including the video noise fix. I also installed a small auto-region mod, so the 32X will work in PAL mode as well. Nice to have it all clean and refurbished, but it didn't really make a difference for its flakiness. I don't know, it might just be a compatibility issue with the MegaSD as well. Either way I'm pretty happy with finally owning a 32X and I have to say, just Virtua Racing Deluxe and Doom 32X Resurrection alone already make this thing worth owning. It may have been a superfluous add-on console and it may have failed in the market, heck it may even have indirectly caused the demise of Sega's hardware division, but when just taken on its own it does certainly have its merits.
PAL VA4 can run a 32X properly if you remove specific components from the bottom of the board. I don't remember which, but UA-camrs like GadgetUK have videos on how.
@@ZonicMirage Yes there is a service manual around that was also mentioned in this video. I'm a bit reluctant to perform those modifications though because my issues don't really match the symptoms described in that manual, so I'm not convinced that that will solve anything. Most of the time the 32X works fine on my VA4 and I'm not getting any screen shaking or game freezes with it.
@@Astfgl I'm basically parroting that service manual I read independently of this, my apologies. Yea, I'm the same way with the glitches; the service manual info applies to everything including the VA6 line, but I've never had problems with mine before.
@@ZonicMirage No worries! I'm always grateful for constructive and helpful suggestions. I'm still fairly new to the 32X and I don't have all the tools yet to fully diagnose what is going on, why my 32X sometimes just refuses to boot games. I'm strongly suspecting the MegaSD to be part of the problem, but I don't have any other 32X cartridges or flash carts to compare. I'll also need to test the 32X on a model 2 Mega Drive and see how it behaves there, though since my 32X is a VA0 which is known to have freezing issues with MD2's if you don't have an expansion port terminator, I'm not sure how much that would tell me. There's plenty of experimentation and research to be done still, and for now I'm happy to just work around these issues. At least when my 32X works, it works perfectly well.
The 32X did have pack in titles, I remember seeing a bundle that came with Doom before I got my 32X and after I got the system I later saw Star Wars Arcade and Virtua Racing. the packing I got at the time was the one that came with no games.
No thr original was released no games and coupons he is correct..it came out late 94 stopped Atari from getting ahead by 95 Saturn was out so they lowered price added game by Feb 96 it was in 39 buck range.
The best thing about the 32X was that it was so simple in design so extremely easy to code for. The only complication being 2cpus and a simple video chip but other than that, just a bitmap screen so it didn't take long for developers to produce stuff that really pushed it
But its simplicity IS also its complexity. Sure, it's a simple frame buffer.. but gimped by limited amount of RAM for the SH processors... RAM which is very much needed because cart rom access is at a slow 7.16mhz speed. Now you have to come up with convoluted methods to keep the framerate up (limited ram for graphics/cells/frames/etc). I think a simple 2D hardware blitter would have gone a long way not having to jump through hopes just to get even 30fps performance on 2D games. And an option for the hardware blitter to do straight from rom to buffer as well, leaving interleaved access for the SH on ram.
@@TurboXray yes very good point, it's been so long I was probably looking through rose tinted spectacles. I just remember it being much easier than the Saturn and forgot about the memory issues that had to be overcome to try and prevent bottlenecks
@@TurboXrayI think that for 2d games the genesis hardware should be used. The SH2 are meant for special tasks. So you could for example roto zone some sprites. The framebuffer of the 32x could be used as static sky (I think that they forgot scrolling hardware). And check out the Jaguar if you think that a blitter is useful for more advanced effects. At least it is better than the one in the STE. It would be really mind blowing if the blitter could execute RISC. There would be ADD delta, fraction;ADC delta, integer (with vec4 in registers and flags). Also an decimal adjust after like instruction which detects when an address moves into the next word (needs a LOAD [address] vs just inside a word (needs ROR). Predicate copy for z buffer and transparency. Maybe even a way to share the Multiplier unit on the chip. Queues to really saturate it aka systolic. So linear filtering for textures or translucency could be applied (in a limited way).
The 32X was pretty good for procedural rendering, stuff that didn't require too many reads from ROM and mostly just had the CPU's writing pixels to the framebuffers. So things like rasterization of polygons, vector graphics and ray casting targeting 20-30 fps was where the 32X excelled, combined with the Mega Drive doing more traditional tile-based backgrounds. It is quite an oversight though that they didn't include a good fast way to blit sprites from ROM into the framebuffers, which led to ports like Pitfall running noticeably worse on the 32X than it did on the base Mega Drive.
@@TurboXrayonce again the problem lies with bad linkers. On 6502 computers they might not align code and const data with pages. Don’t know when to swap zero page entries or stack. On 3do or N64 they don’t optimize for cache. On Jaguar and 32x they don’t manage the scratch-pad memory properly. Doom was written as imperative C code. Not many function calls or even method calls. Lots of Fortran like for loops over simple and stupid arrays. How can a (dynamic) linker not properly load code overlays? How can’t it detect if arrays with fixed length fit into scratchpad memory?
I bought my 32x for about $30 dollars when Toy's R Us was liquidating them in late 90's. To see them go for more than MSRP is a little nauseating. 😆 You seem to be missing the RF shielding inserts that went into your Genesis cartridge slot like a dental retainer. My 32X also made a horrible high pitched screeching noise when powered on.
I got one in like 96 i wanna say and they were at a lowered price. Come to find out they were almost all defective units that froze up a minute into a game. I ended up getting in store credit and picked up sonic 3d blast and ultimate mortal kombat 3
Hi, in the beginning of the video you mentioned checking out composite, which is actually quite the upgrade over Genesis composite video. Then you get all the intended color blending without all the rainbowing
Good to know, thanks! Since I never got the modded Megadrive 1 to work properly I didn't show it, but I did test composite video coming out of the 32X off-camera. It was also out of sync just like the RGB but I'm sure it would work fine despite the triple bypass mod had I applied the service bulletin changes.
I cringe at posting comments, but these sounded like questions. The 40X more powerful than 16-bit line is a reference to the MIPS ratings of the 68k versus the SH2s. The 68K scores a whopping 1 MIPS, the SH2s are 25 MIPS each by some sources, so 40 MIPS is actually a conservative tech spec. The YM2612 + PSG requires either the Z80 or the 68K as the sound CPU, depending on what sound engine was used. So the Z80 actually was a usable part of the "sub system."
68k was 1.3 MIPS by some charts. The point of the 40X performance statement was a conservative in game estimate, typical of Sega in the 90s (outside of Europe?). In other words, it wasn't false advertising.
@gamecomparisons BTW, the 68k could be overlooked to 12MHz, had SEGA included a switch. Had they included some pins running out to the expansion port, the Sega CD could've offered the full 128KB VRAM, double the bandwidth, and much higher colors. All for no increased cost on the Mega Drive.
I had actually bought a 32X in late 1995 with just to play Doom with plans on collecting other games despite it being discontinued but I couldn't play it because I didn't have that full-sized A/V adapter. If I remember correctly it only came with the mini adapter that fit the Genesis Model 2 but not the one to convert it to fit my Gens Model 1. None of the local shops I went to in my area had that model 1 adapter either so I was left with needing to order from Sega themselves or a magazine mail order. Instead of jumping through extra hoops I just gave up into getting a refund and then using that money to buy Vectorman.
When I was building my retro console collection, I decided that my "golden rule" to know which systems I would eventually get and which ones I wouldn't was that the console needed to have a few good exclusives or superior versions of multiplatform games. For example I decided I would pass on Atari Jaguar because I only was interested in one game (Tempest 2000). I was really on the fence about the 32X, but eventually decided to add it to my collection. I'd say the games that make it worthwhile (and can't be played on anything else) are the following : Knukles Chaotix (important to complete that classic Sonic game collection), Rogue Squadron (maybe the best exclusive on the console), Star Wars Arcade (only console port of that great arcade game), Kolibri (unique game from the makers of the Ecco the Dolphin series) and Super Tempo (average but great looking platform game from the Bonk serie developers).
Love the info & the epic fail (the first attempt) on the "fix". 🤩🤩🤩 Honestly, I gave you HUGE side eye for showcasing Cosmic Carnage but no mention of Knuckles Choatix!?!?!? 😒😒😒 Great video, indeed!!! Liked & subbed. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
One of the best things about the 32x that isn’t mentioned often is it’s composite output improvement. The standard output on the console has loads of rainbow effects but this improves it dramatically. It means you can take advantage of the dithering effects lots of games use without it being a massive trade off from scart.
Loved the 32X. Afterburner 2, Doom, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, Mortal Kombat 2, Cosmic Carnage.. all super fun games I loved playing with my cousin. Sadly, haven't seen my cousin in years, but he introduced me to so many great games I would have never known about before, like Tekken and Twisted Metal 1 on the PS1. And the original GTA 1 and 2. I haven't seen my cousin in like 20 years, but still remember playing the best console version of MK2 with him. We also played a lot of Primal Rage on the 32X, though that game was less memorable thanks to its horrible special move combinations. I always forget about Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing on the 32X. Once Tekken 1 came out on PS1, Virtua Fighter was all but forgotten. Tekken 1 and Tekken 2 were such amazing ports to the PS1 for their time. I played an insane amount of Tekken 2 back in the day. There were many 32X games I wanted to play, like Star Wars Arcade, but just never saw them available to rent or buy. That was kind of the problem with the 32X, many games you just couldn't find anywhere. I think the 32X had the best home console version of NBA Jam as well, it was a lot of fun to play. It also had my favorite version of Doom. It was actually the first version of Doom that I owned growing up, despite playing Doom on a high school kids laptop (man that thing was beefy back then being able to play Doom, I knew it as an expensive Laptop) I never got a chance to play Doom myself until the 32X version came out.
I always imagine the conversations between the 32X engineers being a bit like that scene in Apollo 13. The number of hacks and workarounds they had to come up with were ridiculous.
32x doom was still killer, even though it was not 100% complete. I also have Virtua Racing and Moto cross. I do not understand the hate of this console, it was way better than all that other fmv crap on other consoles. White Zombie Astro creep 2000 and the Remix album should always be blasting on a tower stereo while playing 32x doom.
Wow I had no idea that the 32X could run Tomb Raider that good. I was lucky to have one back in the day along with the Sega CD. The thing was huge lmao.
It is compatible with the CDX. I had both back in the day. The only reason I think they would list that is because the CDX’s drive door wouldn’t open fully with the 32X attached, so it had to be removed to insert CD games… and the unit was top heavy and liked to fall over side to side with the 32X on top of the CDX. It did work fine though.
I love how you pronounced AAFES. AAFES stands for Army Air Force Exchange Service, it's the department store you find in US military bases. We always pronounce the aa as a long a, think "ayfees".
The Z80 was supposed to be used to control audio on a vanilla Genesis I believe. I think I had heard about developers, using it to offload processing in general. To let the genesis do things it had no business doing.
The Saturn would have done much better in North America if it could play the entire Genesis library. That also would have eased the transition to a new disc format.
The Saturn was already expensive, and bolting on compability would have increased the price even further. I'm sure it was considered, but everything comes with a tradeoff.
I would go further and have software compatability to allow Saturn games to be also played on Megadrive-MegaCD and 32X combo just like how a PC game could be played on different systems with lower settings and you could easily have the game detect what system you have and automatically adjust settings. This would have allowed a viable entry route into Saturn Gaming and not alianated people who had Genesis and allowed the parents the choice between the new system with its adavantages or upgrading the system they had.
I still want The Real Ghost Corps : Episode 0032 - Xtreme Apocalyptic Cores with blast processing 32bit power, Xtreme techno soundtrack and 8 player link mode!
I loved my 32X. I had Virtua Racing, Star Wars, Doom, Afterburner. I liked playing Doom but I didn't realize how gimped that version of the game was. It only had 15 levels, so it missed the entire 3rd and 4th chapters of the game. There was no cyberdemon. The sprites were always facing you, which I didn't realize was unusual until I played the PC version where enemies are often facing away from you. I actually beat Doom 32x on nightmare difficulty. The PC version of nightmare is way harder because the enemies respawn.
I only have model 2, (since sonic 2 bundle release). Back then it played on a 13in samsung dual dail tv via rf cable. Had a knack of connecting multiple systems together. It was my main console till 1998 when I got the Playstation. I did get the 32x back then along with space harrier, one thing never used and don't even remember it being there was that termination block. Anyway the only problems I have had was the common startup problems similar to nes... and bumping the system causing pin connections to momentary disconnect would crash it. Because of that unreliability I often left it disconnected and now most accessories are gone. But now I want that new doom
I seriously would like to see what the modded community can actually do with the 32X/Sega CD combo. I believe Core was the only developers that did anything with the Sega CD
Yeah, always riles me that Sega launched a bit of kit with superb scaling and rotation hardware then fully failed to take advantage of it. Seeing what Core did with Thunderhawk and Soulstar or the Batman Returns driving segment, the Mega CD could definitely have done justice to the massive (and hugely popular) back catalogue of Super Scaler games. If they had released proper versions of Outrun, Afterburner, Thunderblade, Power Drift, Monaco GP, Super Hang On, Space Harrier amd Galaxy Force (among others) along with some original titles (even rip offs of things like F-Zero and Mario Kart), the thing would've sold like hotcakes.
Game Arts made a pretty banger showcase called Silpheed. A vertical shmup with FMV backgrounds with collision detection per frame, real time 3D polygon sprites (really! not pre-rendered, 60FPS action with 0 slowdown), rockin' soundtrack, voice samples, truly an epic game. Check it out!!
@@nou9964 I've played it. Game was amazing. It got bad reviews during the Bit wars from Publications like EGM who were obviously in Nintendo's pocket at the time
I've always been a big fan of the 32X. I bought mine when stores dropped the price to $20 and had Doom as the pack-in title. When I broke my leg in the summer of 1998, having it and Doom saved my sanity. Today my 32X sits on a shelf seated atop my beloved model 2 Genesis and a newly added model 2 Sega CD.
19:31 - Way before I had any kind of multimeter, o'scope, or other type of test gear, I just used to use contact cleaner, and reseat chips and cables etc. That used to do the trick far more often than people might think. Quite often, a fault can be as simple as a small bit of corrosion or dirt on a connector. Obviously it looked like the sync issue on this specific 32x was likely caused by a failing cap, but I think it's always worth cleaning and reseating stuff while you have the device apart. Useless trivia: The SH2 CPUs on the 32x allow you to run them with a 16-bit wide Data bus, or a 32-bit data bus (on each chip). The 32x runs them in 16-bit wide mode, the Saturn runs them in 32-bit wide. lol So if the marketing team were to say the 32x is "32-bit" by adding up both 16-bit Data busses, that would also make the Saturn a "64-bit" console. :p
Oh, btw, that fix for the EDCLK signal... About six years ago, I repaired a 32x for somebody. It was a later-revision PAL model. It had issues with gradually losing sync after warming up for 20 minutes or so. Since it was a later model, the 32x already had most of the "fixes". For whatever reason, after I replaced a series resistor on the EDCLK line (with the *same* value), it seemed to fix the problem? Maybe the original resistor went out-of-sync somehow. It seems like the 32x is very sensitive to slight changes in timing of clock edges, etc. I think that's part of the reason the 32x is shaped like it is... They wanted to get the important pixel clocks and cart signals to the chipset whilst keeping the trace lengths fairly short. The top board is obviously mainly for the cart passthrough, and the analog video mixing stuff.
More useless trivia: The 32x really does mix the RGB video from the MD/Genesis in the analog domain. There is a "YS" signal from the console's cart slot, which denotes whether the MD is displaying background tiles, or sprites (IIRC). That YS signal is used by the 32x, to know when to switch over to the (analog) RGB output from the main console. That's how it can mix the graphics between the two systems. The (CXA?) chip on the top board has an analog switch for the two RGB inputs. The 32x VDP is more than just a "DAC", of course... But, the VDP doesn't support many special features, tbh. It has a basic framebuffer (actually two), but does support a Line Table. That's where a table of values tell the 32x which lines of graphics from VRAM to display on-screen. Those values can be updated quickly, and allow for some neat scrolling and wave effects. The VDP also has an RLE (Run-Length Encoding) mode, which can help it render things like flat-shaded polygons more quickly. Other than that, and a few different colour modes, everything else is done in *software* on the two SH2s. Even the sprite scaling seen in certain games like Afterburner II is done on the SH2s. The 32x has two 128KB VRAM chips, IIRC. That's so it can do basic double-buffering, where it can write graphics into one chip while displaying the framebuffer from the opposite chip.
Really enjoyed this video. I loved my 32x back when I had one in the 90s. I considered getting one now since I once again have a model 2 Genesis. Only thing now that keeps me from making a nostalgic purchase is the bulky nature of it. (2 power supplies and extra wires), and the fact I can emulate every game from the library on my JMachen hyper base. In my perfect world this system would have seen a much larger library and I would have kept the one I owned.
We had one for our sega growing up, we would break it out on special occasions we only had 3 games for it (doom, shadow squadron, and Motocross Championship. It never disappointed, was always excited to play. Wish the 32X had more games, and devs had more time to make some, I think it could have been great if Sega didn't rush things.
The 32X Virtua Racing has a full drum set, as where standard Genesis basically only has a snair drum hehe.. Its one thing ppl dont notice! Also the drum set in Virtua Racing 32X is the identical drum set in Knuckles Chaotix. Imo. Knuckles Chaotix in sound options shows what all 3 sound chips are doing.
I bought a 32X, and I never regretted it despite how short it lasted. Also, the 32X is compatible with the CDX. The reason that sticker is there is because connected to the CDX is not FCC compliant.
Amazing video and perfectly done information about the retro console. Very informative and interesting content including hardware specifications. Very high quality content.
The Dreamcast was the final Sega console. I still lament the games which we have lost out on. One game which we didn't miss out on was GTA III. That's a game which was originally destined for the Dreamcast. I would have cared to see the game on Dreamcast version (naomi engine). The Dreamcast has such a distinct aesthetic, in the same way that ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC does). As for the 32X; lamentable.
In an alternate universe, the 32X would have never flopped and we would have seen what potential it really had. I had one as a kid too and loved it. Doom, MK 2, Virtua Fighter and Star Wars. I had a 6 button controller that you could toggle auto fire on and it made Star Wars so much easier!
There's a fix for the model 2's crappy audio available on RetroRGB. It's well worth it both for the audio quality bump and the convenience of not having to use the earphone jack to get stereo sound. It's also pretty obvious that you're not getting a sync signal to your monitor from your PAL MD. My guess is the 32X relies on composite video for sync instead of the TTL sync, since that line isn't present on all Genesis models.
I had a tower of power back in the day, my brother had a Saturn but I was determined to get ahold of everything that I could plug into a Genesis. That poor console looked like a science experiment with a CD hanging off the side and a mushroom sticking out of the top. It wasn't a bad add on, just bad timing. I had most of these games, they were great and if you've seen that newer Doom for the 32x it's surprising what it actually could have been.
It does work with my 32X. They were full of it. I read somewhere that it likely was published with notes saying not to use it because they didn’t go through FCC shielding and certification in time.
We had the 32X and Sideload Sega CD. At that time, I was a Sophomore and all I cared about was girls. 32X didn't get too much playing time. ;) I do remember the rat's nest of cables.
New subscriber here. I love the 32X. It's a crazy and clever mutant that's tremendously powerful. Even with Doom Resurrection it'll probably never see its true potential. I love how the Doom guys managed to offload some of the processing to the Sega CD though! I just added a third to my collection (found a Tower of Power at Goodwill for a reasonable price) and in the rare instances where I find them uber cheap, I pick them up. They're just so weird and neat to have! Don't be too intimidated with replacing that ceramic capacitor that you didn't want to touch: Just add extra solder to either side to build up the heat density, then heat one side of it while grabbing the capacitor with tweezers. When you see the flux on the far side start to bubble you can probably pull it off the board. Put kapton tape on other components around it to protect them just in case if you want. The ceramic will hold all the heat and distribute it into the ground plane so you probably don't fry much even if you ham-fist it.
The 32X actually is compatible with the CDX. The issue wasn't the hardware between the CDX/32X. The issue was the FCC giving Sega approval, therefore the support for the 32X to connect to the CDX was never put into production that is seen in the instruction manual. There is however schematics to make a support for the 32X. I use the 32X on my CDX currently. Work flawlessly. Also, with the triple bypass, you can also restore composite video compatibility. This is made a lot easier with the modern triple bypass v2.1 boards these days.
For the different versions of the Genesis connections, 1 that isn't shown that I used to have was the JVC X'Eye, which I had the 32X connected to. I'm surprised that for Primal Rage, you didn't show the comparison between the Genesis and 32X versions like you have been doing with the other games that are reskins of the Genesis games. Castlevania Symphony of the Night was originally being developed for the 32X before it was shifted to the PlayStation.
No...Sega of Japan was TOTALLY against the success of Sega of 'Merica (America) - including the launch & lifeblood of the 32x. But, not initially...👺👺👺 Kalinske & company (SOA) were chewing bubble gum & kicking @zz during the 16-bit days & the competition was heating up between Sega & Nintendo - VERY profitable. Instead of synergizing with SOA, SOJ continued to cut the legs out from underneath Tom & his team. This, NOT marketing, was the the downturn of Sega's profitability, failure of the Saturn, ALMOST DOA of the Dreamcast and ultimately their exit from the hardware business. A lack of killer games on the 32x also dwarfed their financial success. This fact is kinda echoed in the lifespan of the mighty SegaCD...💔💔💔 All in all, Sega was a great company, with FANTASTIC ips. It's a damn shame SOJ were too proud to allow Kalinske & company to launch them into greater success. Tom had a proven track record of (Sega?) vision for financial success & also attracting the right top talent to help propel the team. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Today, Sega are a shell of a great company they use to be. TRULY ironic...😞😞😞
I was able to get one of these in the 2010s, so it wasn't horribly priced. Ended up with Tempo, Space Harrier and Chaotix. Also, it DOES actually work with the CDX. You can pick up a 3D printed spacer, which allows the CD door to function. Additionally, the terminator cart you plug into the expansion port only applies to the launch VA0 run of the Mega Drive 2. It won't work otherwise. There are compatibility issues with other revisions, which can be solved by either modding an MD1 (which yeah, it includes the PAL VA4 all the way to 6.8), or using a flash cart with an MD2. I got this information from a wiki called Console Mods. I'd link it, but UA-cam will eat it. Has the service manual mentioned in the video, which I'm parroting.
My story. - mom got me this when it came out for Xmas. I got it home. Could not figure out how to set it up. I thought it was broke. We return for a new one. Turned out I did not know how to change the input to accommodate for this system! lol sad but true. I loved 32x
I'm surprised there isn't a push to port Genesis games to the *32X* *CD* to expand upon their features and content. You get the benefits of both the 32X and the Sega CD. The extra storage space needn't be used for audio either, the RF5C164 chip in the Sega CD is capable of 8-channel PCM playback, similar to the audio chip in the SNES, which means you could offer SNES-like soundtracks (in addition to the standard YM2612 soundtracks) and use the majority of the space in the CD for new game content.
The CD sticks in the cartridge slot. It looks just like a mapper I guess. So why not use a mapper for more contents? SD Card . No tower of power ugliness.
@@ArneChristianRosenfeldt The Sega CD connects to the _bottom_ of the Genesis / MegaDrive console and it's much more than a mapper: It adds a faster co-processor, hardware-based sprite scaling and rotation, and the aforementioned 8-channel sample playback chip. All of these features can be accessed by 32X CD games, in addition to accessing the 32X hardware and the standard Genesis / MegaDrive hardware at the same time.
@@blast_processing6577 oh the bottom. So every MegaDrive pays for two high pin count connectors. The hardware on the SegaCD is slower than dual SH2 . So you could only think about using it in parallel. How does the CD inject its graphics? Render to sprite? So very constrained regarding color and size?
@@blast_processing6577 I tried to find the electric contacts for this. So the CD can add RAM to the main CPU?! But it is limited by the color palette of the genesis. So it works like SuperFx? Likewise we lose all genesis 2d backgrounds? Or just one? I would rather spend time on SH2 code optimization and data compression than on genesis or its CD. Doom resurrection is pure 32x , I think?
The 32X actually had very good compatibility, but the various required adapters and spacers confused a lot of people. The reason they tell you not to use it with the CDX is that it blocks the CD tray and it sits kind of awkwardly. Otherwise it actually works fine.
The Z80 is used for SMS backwards compatibility mode... In fact there's at least one game I own that was released for the Genesis without any external converters that is a repackaged SMS title using the backwards compatibility mode. However, the Z80 is ALSO the Genesis' sound subsystem processor. So it CAN still be used with 32X games, and in fact I believe the cartridge-only version of Doom Resurrection (fan re-port) utilizes it. That aside, yes... Most 32X games were built with minimal documentation and support, with heavy time constraints. So they rarely showed off the system's prowess. The best examples of what CAN be achieved are (as you showcased) Doom Resurrection and the offshoot Doom CD32X Fusion, alongside the in-progress port of Tomb Raider.
I had the Genesis model 2 and a 32x growing up. They look great together and looks like 32x was designed to fit that aesthetic. I never liked the look of the model 1. We only had Doom and Star Wars Arcade, but had a lot of fun with those.
My guess is that the VA4 Mega Drive still has the original oscillator in it, which is meant for PAL video output. The console works in NTSC mode with that but the video it outputs will be slightly out of spec, and the NTSC Genesis 32X might have trouble locking onto the sync signal. The way to get around this would be to install a dual-frequency oscillator into the Mega Drive.
AAFES I believe is or was a military base shopping center. Like PX. At least that's what I vaguely remember. I might be wrong but I believe I went to one there on base in South Carolina back in the day.
Unfortunately i passed on it in 95/96 when it was on clearance for only $10 at Walmart. I was way into the Saturn at that point and figured it wasn't worth going backwards.
I tested a few in-circuit first and all of them after removal. Only one had signs of leakage but many had ESR that was higher than nominal. I'm not a advocate of recapping things blindly, but when I see something like video stability issues I usually start there.
Only those who did not owned a 32x spread shit about the 32X ...i owned one and he gifted me years of hours of fun. In less than one year from his release, he had at least 10 killer applications. There are console remembered by the big audience as succesful machines that not even in 3 years since the release of those machines get this result.
I think the problem with the model 1 is it needed the metal clips installed because some time it won’t work with out it. My 32x I recently got with a model 2 mega drive did not come with them and it work, but I have seen people online have issues with it not displaying with out them
The 32X was such a cool piece of kit in 1994. I tried to get one for Doom, but...they were all sold out (imagine that). I wanted Doom so bad I could taste it, so I went with the other obvious choice, the Jaguar. I felt I waited long enough, and I loved it, but I digress... Looking at Star Wars Arcade for the 32X, it reminds me of the X-Wing and Tie-Fighter PC games. I never understood the hate for Star Wars Arcade because it looked better than those two games, albeit it's a much simpler game. I would love to see an indy developer fix Star Wars Arcade and show us what the 32X really could have done. I bet it could run an arcade close port of the arcade game with simplified geometry. Addendum- You asked if there was a better follow-up to Doom: 32X Resurrected....there is. Apparently, they have just ported Doom 2 in its entirety to the 32X!
Thank you so much for giving my 32X a second life! All the work you put into it is well appreciated!
Thanks "Steve" without you there would be no video. Legend.
And thanks to you "Steve" for offering it, much appreciated!
@@NumosG Thanks, Steve :)
Wow, you gave the 32x with fantastic conditions, I'm envy!
Very lucky to retrobits for receiving one complete in box, I loved my 32x as a kid and played it so much with my cousin because it had a great version of NBA Jam and Doom on it, along with a few other fun games like a GREAT version of Mortal Kombat 2. If only a few more games had released for it. Still love my 32X and own it with my genesis and sega cd, but no original box (I wish I had that amazing 32X box)
I paid a kid at school $50 for the 32X and 8 or 10 games, and every one was a banger. Doom, Metal Head, VF, VR, Star Wars, I loved them all.
Bingo
That’s awesome! Glad you were able to go through with the deal. About 18 years ago I had a friend offer me a Sega Dreamcast and a decent library of games for only $150. I had a lot going on during that time. I was uncertain about the future. I should have bought it. I regret it badly. Especially since I have been collecting Dreamcast games for several years now.
The motorcross game was fun, despite the bad reviews
$50 for any console and 5 or so of it's best games is always a good deal.
@@AngryCalvin If it makes you feel any better, (most of?) the Dreamcast will take CD-Rs, not the best for collectability but just getting the console is enough if you want to play the games. I have one, but it sits on a display shelf because it's so easy to emulate.
AAFES is the Army/Airforce Exchange. So this guy was a military kid.
All my stuff came out of the BX
Yes. Army and Airforce Exchange Service. Now simply the Exchange. He should have called him Joe.
Usually the two "A"s get pronounced as the name of the letter "A" so it kind of sounds like A-fees
Was just about to apply with the same info (former Air Force, myself). Some of the best deals could be gotten at US. Military Base Exchange (BX) dispensaries controlled by legacy AAFES (as @cwoanthony alluded to, this term is now antiquated today). I and a buddy of mine got an entire run of official Resident Evil Toys based on the first PSX game in the nineties for pennies on the dollar. They're pretty rare now...
@@austinformedude You are correct! My parents bought this from the Eglin AFB BX.
Doom 32x was my initial Doom experience and despite it all, it was FANTASTIC!. Instant, total obsession. We just weren't spoiled to games back then like we are now and we were totally conditioned to work with a game in its natural state, having grown up on 2600 games. I played Doom32x literally every waking moment I could until I had exhausted it. I saw the sprites on the insides of my eyelids while I slept and resumed my progress as soon as I woke up. Unfortunately my progress ended when a door on level 17 (if memory serves me) seemed to glitch and not open all the way. Does anyone else have this experience?
My favorite 32x was Shadow Squadron. It was much smoother than Star Wars Arcade and had some pretty original game elements like space aircraft carriers.
Absolutely. My first DOOM as well! I enjoyed it so much! Even the music was awesome in my head. Most seemed like they purposely made it sounds rough to add to the ambiance. Who knew it had a PC port that had "better" music? Also the American version of DOOM had a faster gameplay that just about every other version!
32X Doom really is quite good considering when it came out and the time constraints they had to work under. It was one of the first console ports and despite that, it still easily beats several of the console ports released way later. It's an enjoyable experience and that's what matters. Having said that, Doom 32X Resurrection shows what the 32X was truly capable of when firing on all cylinders and boy, it is freakin' amazing. I'd happily play that version through the entire way, despite all the other options for playing Doom available today.
@@Astfgl You're right, it was very enjoyable even at its most intense. I was deadly with the controller and never felt like the game was letting me down and I was having to compromise. We know its faults now, but I was no where near having a PC at the time and imho it delivered the Doom experience.
The music in the 32X DOOM use to creep out my friends. It wasn't until later I realized the music was intended to be rocked out and not scary sounding "resurrection fixed this and rocked it out" .. but the music in 32X original will be remembered as this unintentionally creepy soundtrack that fit the game well.
@@Lightblue2222 i 100% agree! As a 18 y/o that music and being my first experience to it, it was atmospheric, grungy, and creepy.
The DOOM Resurrection rom rebuild for the 32x is probably the best port of the game. If you have an Everdrive, you need to try it.
why are everdrives so so $$$? niche market or just gouging?
@@drphilxr The maker of the EverDrive (Krikzz) is based out of the Ukraine. Prices shot-up in 2022, for obvious reasons. Plus yeah, it's a niche market. You have to own the original hardware to use an Everdrive. A more cost-effective system would be the MiSTer Pi FPGA console by Taki Udon, which would give you tonnes of amazing arcade cores, and all the console cores (up-to N64/PS1/Saturn era), plus continuous development. Perfect FPGA retro gaming, all in one neat little package.
@@drphilxr The standard Mega Everdrive X3 and X5 aren't that expensive, and those support playing 32X games. The Mega Everdrive PRO is quite pricey though, but that's because it has an FPGA in it that simulates an entire Mega CD at the hardware level. It allows you to play the full library of Mega Drive, 32X and Mega CD games from a single flash cartridge. The TerraOnion MegaSD does the same thing, and it's equally pricey.
@@Astfgl Yeah you can get Everdrive clones but the firmware is busted on them and they read slower, there's the official open everdrive which is meant to combat the cheap chinese clone flash carts. The X5 does a lot of useful stuff and it's really not too expensive compared to the Mega SD or Everdrive PRO especially just for the FM synth core for master system and the saving, CD bios and backup cart compatibility.
@@drphilxr Get an Open ED for like $29? Admittedly the one game it won't support is Doom Resurrection because it uses the SSF mapper...
Not surprised at all. Got it at a kid for xmas and it never disappointed. The party was just over in a year is all. Doom, Star Wars, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, Afterburner, Space Harrier, NBA Jam, all best ports of their time to home consoles. If you liked FMV like I did, those 32x CD games basically brought them up to 3DO port levels. $700 for the 3DO at the time.
Exactly
Same I got one as a kid and absolutely loved it, especially when the games went on sale after it was discontinued. I think Sega should have scrapped the Saturn and stuck with the 32x as the budget conscience decision for parents and milked the life of the Genesis just a few more years.
And that was the issue. It was too good. Sega blamed it for the Saturn flopping (and not that it was over $400 back when people weren’t paying that kind of money for game systems) and thought killing the 32x would drive people to that instead of what most 32x owners ended up doing and getting a PlayStation for $299.
@@mrjfrostbite yeah it was a transition add on , even in magazines they labeled it that
@@mrjfrostbite Daytona USA 32X was a planned game before it was canceled. Imagine if they made a 32X CD version of it. Get that amazing soundtrack, and best 3D racer at the time.
To me the 32X is modelled on the ship from flight of the navigator and not a mushroom...
The mid 90s was such a mad rush of consoles. 3DO, Sony, and Atari were also launching around this time. Ultra64 was looming in the magazines.
Also Apple Pippin, Philips CD-i, NeoGeo CD, and Super Grafx as well. All of those got like around 20-50 games at best.
Apple pippin, cd32, fm towns marty were all living room gaming pc disguise as video game consoles. Including the cdi which is a multimedia TV device.
It’s hilarious that Sega went out of their way to say it isn’t compatible with the CDX when that is the main way that I play 32X. I imagine it was because it couldn’t get FCC clearance for use with CDX. I do notice the video signal appears to be pretty dirty so maybe it isn’t optimal but it definitely does work.
ur naughty
You're exactly correct, it was a lack of FCC compliance because of shielding.
A very well put together video. I would have loved to see more titles, I remember playing Pitfall on the 32x as a kid.
1994 is NOT part of the bad cap era, let alone the peak of bad caps. The bad cap era is from like 99 to 06
True, I just recapped my own 32X earlier this month and while the caps in it are old and a little tired, they were still all in decent condition with no signs of leaking at all. Sega used quality Nichicon and Rubicon capacitors for their consoles at the time and those do tend to last.
@@Astfgl There was a period of time around 1999-2006 or so when many caps did not last and caused millions of premature failures of electronic equipment. Everything from radios to PCs. Probably a lot of counterfeits in the supply chain. This problem was VERY widespread and that is why he called it the 'bad cap era' But it simply didn't happen in 1994. Still, 1994 is 30 years ago and in most cases, this stuff has been sitting for decades (caps do not like sitting unused), so it's not a bad idea to check or change them.
But if you take the time to bring caps up slowly, a lot of much older caps will work fine. A lot of medium system computers from the 70s are loaded with 20 dollar (a piece) caps. But if you reform them by bringing up the mains voltage slowly and letting them sit there with no load on them, they will reform and work great. All capacitors will stop working from sitting. But that doesn't mean they are bad. Unless they are dried up or physically damaged, they will usually start working again. There is a lot of literature on this.
@@tarstarkusz Yeah I'm aware of the capacitor plague from the early 2000's, I suffered several broken motherboards from bulging or leaking caps myself around that time. But that's not the only time in history when devices were affected by bad caps. A lot of Macintosh models from around 1990 for instance suffer from leaking SMD electrolytics, simply because Apple started cheaping out on parts around that time. Any Mac from that time period is practically guaranteed to have corrosion on the motherboard by now if it hasn't been serviced. Generally it's just a good idea to recap consumer devices from 20+ years old if you plan to keep using them, if only just for peace of mind.
@@Astfgl That's not the bad cap era though. Cheap caps are and have been made over long, long periods of time. Purple Panasonic/Matsushita caps from the 70s love to pee on circuit boards, for example. This goes back to the tube error. There is one type they call black beauties where they are known to short. many of them will rapidly disassemble. Now, granted, they are so old that many of them are just dried out. We're talking 70 years and more (stuff made in the 30s through the late 60s).
The bad cap era affected almost all brands (there was probably a lot of counterfeiting involved as this was the time china was approved to be in the wto) of equipment and caps. Plenty of bad Nakamichi caps out there from this era.
Apple chose to use the wrong or cheap caps, but most caps from the early 90s are still fine. A large percentage of electronics front the early 2000s has bad caps. WAY higher than what you would expect. That's why they call it the bad cap era. Also, this stuff is not failing today. It was buy a computer and 2 years later you have leaking or deformed caps and a computer that produces random errors on boot-up. I cannot tell you just how many computers I took out of service for this reason (I work in IT).
That might be true, BUT THEY ARE 30 YEARS OLD. I wouldn't say a cap that lasted 30 years is from a "bad era", I also wouldn't blame anyone for changing a 30 year old cap.
What a coincidence! I just picked up a Genesis 32X myself a few weeks ago at a retro games convention. Same as you, I had pretty much already given up on the idea of ever owning one, but then ran into a pretty good deal. Coincidentally I am also combining it with a PAL VA4 Mega Drive model 1. I didn't run into the same video sync issues as you did though, perhaps it might be because you don't have a dual-frequency oscillator in your MD1? Without one, NTSC video signals coming from a PAL console will be slightly out of spec and I can imagine the 32X having trouble locking on to that.
My 32X does act a little bit flaky at times, particularly when trying to boot Virtua Racing Deluxe or Tempo from a MegaSD flash cartridge. I already opened up the 32X, cleaned it out entirely and recapped the boards, including the video noise fix. I also installed a small auto-region mod, so the 32X will work in PAL mode as well. Nice to have it all clean and refurbished, but it didn't really make a difference for its flakiness. I don't know, it might just be a compatibility issue with the MegaSD as well.
Either way I'm pretty happy with finally owning a 32X and I have to say, just Virtua Racing Deluxe and Doom 32X Resurrection alone already make this thing worth owning. It may have been a superfluous add-on console and it may have failed in the market, heck it may even have indirectly caused the demise of Sega's hardware division, but when just taken on its own it does certainly have its merits.
PAL VA4 can run a 32X properly if you remove specific components from the bottom of the board. I don't remember which, but UA-camrs like GadgetUK have videos on how.
@@ZonicMirage Yes there is a service manual around that was also mentioned in this video. I'm a bit reluctant to perform those modifications though because my issues don't really match the symptoms described in that manual, so I'm not convinced that that will solve anything. Most of the time the 32X works fine on my VA4 and I'm not getting any screen shaking or game freezes with it.
@@Astfgl I'm basically parroting that service manual I read independently of this, my apologies.
Yea, I'm the same way with the glitches; the service manual info applies to everything including the VA6 line, but I've never had problems with mine before.
@@ZonicMirage No worries! I'm always grateful for constructive and helpful suggestions. I'm still fairly new to the 32X and I don't have all the tools yet to fully diagnose what is going on, why my 32X sometimes just refuses to boot games. I'm strongly suspecting the MegaSD to be part of the problem, but I don't have any other 32X cartridges or flash carts to compare. I'll also need to test the 32X on a model 2 Mega Drive and see how it behaves there, though since my 32X is a VA0 which is known to have freezing issues with MD2's if you don't have an expansion port terminator, I'm not sure how much that would tell me. There's plenty of experimentation and research to be done still, and for now I'm happy to just work around these issues. At least when my 32X works, it works perfectly well.
I still have my Sega with the CD addon and the 32X. Still works except for the memory backup. It needs a new battery,
The 32X did have pack in titles, I remember seeing a bundle that came with Doom before I got my 32X and after I got the system I later saw Star Wars Arcade and Virtua Racing. the packing I got at the time was the one that came with no games.
No thr original was released no games and coupons he is correct..it came out late 94 stopped Atari from getting ahead by 95 Saturn was out so they lowered price added game by Feb 96 it was in 39 buck range.
The best thing about the 32X was that it was so simple in design so extremely easy to code for. The only complication being 2cpus and a simple video chip but other than that, just a bitmap screen so it didn't take long for developers to produce stuff that really pushed it
But its simplicity IS also its complexity. Sure, it's a simple frame buffer.. but gimped by limited amount of RAM for the SH processors... RAM which is very much needed because cart rom access is at a slow 7.16mhz speed. Now you have to come up with convoluted methods to keep the framerate up (limited ram for graphics/cells/frames/etc). I think a simple 2D hardware blitter would have gone a long way not having to jump through hopes just to get even 30fps performance on 2D games. And an option for the hardware blitter to do straight from rom to buffer as well, leaving interleaved access for the SH on ram.
@@TurboXray yes very good point, it's been so long I was probably looking through rose tinted spectacles. I just remember it being much easier than the Saturn and forgot about the memory issues that had to be overcome to try and prevent bottlenecks
@@TurboXrayI think that for 2d games the genesis hardware should be used. The SH2 are meant for special tasks. So you could for example roto zone some sprites. The framebuffer of the 32x could be used as static sky (I think that they forgot scrolling hardware).
And check out the Jaguar if you think that a blitter is useful for more advanced effects. At least it is better than the one in the STE. It would be really mind blowing if the blitter could execute RISC. There would be ADD delta, fraction;ADC delta, integer (with vec4 in registers and flags). Also an decimal adjust after like instruction which detects when an address moves into the next word (needs a LOAD [address] vs just inside a word (needs ROR). Predicate copy for z buffer and transparency. Maybe even a way to share the Multiplier unit on the chip. Queues to really saturate it aka systolic. So linear filtering for textures or translucency could be applied (in a limited way).
The 32X was pretty good for procedural rendering, stuff that didn't require too many reads from ROM and mostly just had the CPU's writing pixels to the framebuffers. So things like rasterization of polygons, vector graphics and ray casting targeting 20-30 fps was where the 32X excelled, combined with the Mega Drive doing more traditional tile-based backgrounds. It is quite an oversight though that they didn't include a good fast way to blit sprites from ROM into the framebuffers, which led to ports like Pitfall running noticeably worse on the 32X than it did on the base Mega Drive.
@@TurboXrayonce again the problem lies with bad linkers. On 6502 computers they might not align code and const data with pages. Don’t know when to swap zero page entries or stack. On 3do or N64 they don’t optimize for cache. On Jaguar and 32x they don’t manage the scratch-pad memory properly. Doom was written as imperative C code. Not many function calls or even method calls. Lots of Fortran like for loops over simple and stupid arrays. How can a (dynamic) linker not properly load code overlays? How can’t it detect if arrays with fixed length fit into scratchpad memory?
I bought my 32x for about $30 dollars when Toy's R Us was liquidating them in late 90's. To see them go for more than MSRP is a little nauseating. 😆 You seem to be missing the RF shielding inserts that went into your Genesis cartridge slot like a dental retainer. My 32X also made a horrible high pitched screeching noise when powered on.
I got one in like 96 i wanna say and they were at a lowered price. Come to find out they were almost all defective units that froze up a minute into a game. I ended up getting in store credit and picked up sonic 3d blast and ultimate mortal kombat 3
Hi, in the beginning of the video you mentioned checking out composite, which is actually quite the upgrade over Genesis composite video. Then you get all the intended color blending without all the rainbowing
Good to know, thanks! Since I never got the modded Megadrive 1 to work properly I didn't show it, but I did test composite video coming out of the 32X off-camera. It was also out of sync just like the RGB but I'm sure it would work fine despite the triple bypass mod had I applied the service bulletin changes.
I cringe at posting comments, but these sounded like questions. The 40X more powerful than 16-bit line is a reference to the MIPS ratings of the 68k versus the SH2s. The 68K scores a whopping 1 MIPS, the SH2s are 25 MIPS each by some sources, so 40 MIPS is actually a conservative tech spec. The YM2612 + PSG requires either the Z80 or the 68K as the sound CPU, depending on what sound engine was used. So the Z80 actually was a usable part of the "sub system."
68k officially posted 1.2 MIPS but could peak higher than that for tight loops working on registers only. Most instructions consumed 4 or 6 cycles.
68k was 1.3 MIPS by some charts. The point of the 40X performance statement was a conservative in game estimate, typical of Sega in the 90s (outside of Europe?). In other words, it wasn't false advertising.
@gamecomparisons BTW, the 68k could be overlooked to 12MHz, had SEGA included a switch. Had they included some pins running out to the expansion port, the Sega CD could've offered the full 128KB VRAM, double the bandwidth, and much higher colors. All for no increased cost on the Mega Drive.
I had actually bought a 32X in late 1995 with just to play Doom with plans on collecting other games despite it being discontinued but I couldn't play it because I didn't have that full-sized A/V adapter. If I remember correctly it only came with the mini adapter that fit the Genesis Model 2 but not the one to convert it to fit my Gens Model 1. None of the local shops I went to in my area had that model 1 adapter either so I was left with needing to order from Sega themselves or a magazine mail order. Instead of jumping through extra hoops I just gave up into getting a refund and then using that money to buy Vectorman.
Having the Sega CD hooked up as well would be good
When I was building my retro console collection, I decided that my "golden rule" to know which systems I would eventually get and which ones I wouldn't was that the console needed to have a few good exclusives or superior versions of multiplatform games. For example I decided I would pass on Atari Jaguar because I only was interested in one game (Tempest 2000). I was really on the fence about the 32X, but eventually decided to add it to my collection. I'd say the games that make it worthwhile (and can't be played on anything else) are the following : Knukles Chaotix (important to complete that classic Sonic game collection), Rogue Squadron (maybe the best exclusive on the console), Star Wars Arcade (only console port of that great arcade game), Kolibri (unique game from the makers of the Ecco the Dolphin series) and Super Tempo (average but great looking platform game from the Bonk serie developers).
AAFES is a department store on US military bases. You don't pay sales tax, so it saves veterans a ton of money on higher end items.
I got this for Christmas '94 with Doom and VR Deluxe - I was blown away by it, despite it being a fiddly pain to set up. 😂
Love the info & the epic fail (the first attempt) on the "fix". 🤩🤩🤩
Honestly, I gave you HUGE side eye for showcasing Cosmic Carnage but no mention of Knuckles Choatix!?!?!? 😒😒😒
Great video, indeed!!! Liked & subbed. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Great vid as always! Guess I need to dust mine off as I havent touched it since the 90s.
One of the best things about the 32x that isn’t mentioned often is it’s composite output improvement. The standard output on the console has loads of rainbow effects but this improves it dramatically. It means you can take advantage of the dithering effects lots of games use without it being a massive trade off from scart.
Thank you "Steve"! What a nice gift for the channel.
Whatever you do, don't miss Shadow Squadron/Stellar Assault, it's fantastic
Loved the 32X. Afterburner 2, Doom, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, Mortal Kombat 2, Cosmic Carnage.. all super fun games I loved playing with my cousin. Sadly, haven't seen my cousin in years, but he introduced me to so many great games I would have never known about before, like Tekken and Twisted Metal 1 on the PS1. And the original GTA 1 and 2.
I haven't seen my cousin in like 20 years, but still remember playing the best console version of MK2 with him. We also played a lot of Primal Rage on the 32X, though that game was less memorable thanks to its horrible special move combinations. I always forget about Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing on the 32X. Once Tekken 1 came out on PS1, Virtua Fighter was all but forgotten. Tekken 1 and Tekken 2 were such amazing ports to the PS1 for their time. I played an insane amount of Tekken 2 back in the day.
There were many 32X games I wanted to play, like Star Wars Arcade, but just never saw them available to rent or buy. That was kind of the problem with the 32X, many games you just couldn't find anywhere. I think the 32X had the best home console version of NBA Jam as well, it was a lot of fun to play. It also had my favorite version of Doom. It was actually the first version of Doom that I owned growing up, despite playing Doom on a high school kids laptop (man that thing was beefy back then being able to play Doom, I knew it as an expensive Laptop) I never got a chance to play Doom myself until the 32X version came out.
First video seeing after seeing you at VCF Midwest. Love the format! Also, pronounced "a-fees" 😀
Mad props Steve! My best friend got this for Xmas the same year. We were young enough that the graphics alone blew us away 😂
I always imagine the conversations between the 32X engineers being a bit like that scene in Apollo 13. The number of hacks and workarounds they had to come up with were ridiculous.
I remember this in 1995. My best friend had it and we played MK2 like there was no tomorrow 😅💯
I like the 32X! It has the best home version of Virtua Fighter 1, Virtua Racing and Tempo was awesome!
32x doom was still killer, even though it was not 100% complete. I also have Virtua Racing and Moto cross. I do not understand the hate of this console, it was way better than all that other fmv crap on other consoles. White Zombie Astro creep 2000 and the Remix album should always be blasting on a tower stereo while playing 32x doom.
I bought mine in 94 from AAFES while stationed in Germany, and it worked just fine on the CDX
Wow I had no idea that the 32X could run Tomb Raider that good. I was lucky to have one back in the day along with the Sega CD. The thing was huge lmao.
It is compatible with the CDX. I had both back in the day. The only reason I think they would list that is because the CDX’s drive door wouldn’t open fully with the 32X attached, so it had to be removed to insert CD games… and the unit was top heavy and liked to fall over side to side with the 32X on top of the CDX. It did work fine though.
It was actually because they couldn't get FCC compliance for signal interference because if a lack of proper shielding between the two.
I love how you pronounced AAFES. AAFES stands for Army Air Force Exchange Service, it's the department store you find in US military bases. We always pronounce the aa as a long a, think "ayfees".
The Z80 was supposed to be used to control audio on a vanilla Genesis I believe.
I think I had heard about developers, using it to offload processing in general. To let the genesis do things it had no business doing.
I still think the Saturn should have been backwards compatible with the megadrive and 32x
That would have been the right move especially since they had a slot on there.
The Saturn would have done much better in North America if it could play the entire Genesis library. That also would have eased the transition to a new disc format.
The Saturn was already expensive, and bolting on compability would have increased the price even further. I'm sure it was considered, but everything comes with a tradeoff.
@@todesziege true
I would go further and have software compatability to allow Saturn games to be also played on Megadrive-MegaCD and 32X combo just like how a PC game could be played on different systems with lower settings and you could easily have the game detect what system you have and automatically adjust settings. This would have allowed a viable entry route into Saturn Gaming and not alianated people who had Genesis and allowed the parents the choice between the new system with its adavantages or upgrading the system they had.
The Sega 32X and Sega Saturn remind me of when Cyrix released the 5x86 alongside the 6x86. The cut-down product often gets phased out quickly.
I still want The Real Ghost Corps : Episode 0032 - Xtreme Apocalyptic Cores with blast processing 32bit power, Xtreme techno soundtrack and 8 player link mode!
I loved my 32X. I had Virtua Racing, Star Wars, Doom, Afterburner. I liked playing Doom but I didn't realize how gimped that version of the game was. It only had 15 levels, so it missed the entire 3rd and 4th chapters of the game. There was no cyberdemon. The sprites were always facing you, which I didn't realize was unusual until I played the PC version where enemies are often facing away from you. I actually beat Doom 32x on nightmare difficulty. The PC version of nightmare is way harder because the enemies respawn.
I only have model 2, (since sonic 2 bundle release).
Back then it played on a 13in samsung dual dail tv via rf cable. Had a knack of connecting multiple systems together. It was my main console till 1998 when I got the Playstation. I did get the 32x back then along with space harrier, one thing never used and don't even remember it being there was that termination block. Anyway the only problems I have had was the common startup problems similar to nes... and bumping the system causing pin connections to momentary disconnect would crash it. Because of that unreliability I often left it disconnected and now most accessories are gone.
But now I want that new doom
I seriously would like to see what the modded community can actually do with the 32X/Sega CD combo. I believe Core was the only developers that did anything with the Sega CD
Yeah, always riles me that Sega launched a bit of kit with superb scaling and rotation hardware then fully failed to take advantage of it. Seeing what Core did with Thunderhawk and Soulstar or the Batman Returns driving segment, the Mega CD could definitely have done justice to the massive (and hugely popular) back catalogue of Super Scaler games. If they had released proper versions of Outrun, Afterburner, Thunderblade, Power Drift, Monaco GP, Super Hang On, Space Harrier amd Galaxy Force (among others) along with some original titles (even rip offs of things like F-Zero and Mario Kart), the thing would've sold like hotcakes.
Game Arts made a pretty banger showcase called Silpheed. A vertical shmup with FMV backgrounds with collision detection per frame, real time 3D polygon sprites (really! not pre-rendered, 60FPS action with 0 slowdown), rockin' soundtrack, voice samples, truly an epic game.
Check it out!!
@@nou9964 I've played it. Game was amazing. It got bad reviews during the Bit wars from Publications like EGM who were obviously in Nintendo's pocket at the time
@@nou9964 That was the Mega CD on it's own though?
I've always been a big fan of the 32X. I bought mine when stores dropped the price to $20 and had Doom as the pack-in title. When I broke my leg in the summer of 1998, having it and Doom saved my sanity.
Today my 32X sits on a shelf seated atop my beloved model 2 Genesis and a newly added model 2 Sega CD.
18:08 There's something that is so satisfying when retro-tech is brought back to life.
19:31 - Way before I had any kind of multimeter, o'scope, or other type of test gear, I just used to use contact cleaner, and reseat chips and cables etc.
That used to do the trick far more often than people might think.
Quite often, a fault can be as simple as a small bit of corrosion or dirt on a connector.
Obviously it looked like the sync issue on this specific 32x was likely caused by a failing cap, but I think it's always worth cleaning and reseating stuff while you have the device apart.
Useless trivia: The SH2 CPUs on the 32x allow you to run them with a 16-bit wide Data bus, or a 32-bit data bus (on each chip).
The 32x runs them in 16-bit wide mode, the Saturn runs them in 32-bit wide. lol
So if the marketing team were to say the 32x is "32-bit" by adding up both 16-bit Data busses, that would also make the Saturn a "64-bit" console. :p
Oh, btw, that fix for the EDCLK signal...
About six years ago, I repaired a 32x for somebody. It was a later-revision PAL model.
It had issues with gradually losing sync after warming up for 20 minutes or so.
Since it was a later model, the 32x already had most of the "fixes".
For whatever reason, after I replaced a series resistor on the EDCLK line (with the *same* value), it seemed to fix the problem?
Maybe the original resistor went out-of-sync somehow.
It seems like the 32x is very sensitive to slight changes in timing of clock edges, etc.
I think that's part of the reason the 32x is shaped like it is...
They wanted to get the important pixel clocks and cart signals to the chipset whilst keeping the trace lengths fairly short.
The top board is obviously mainly for the cart passthrough, and the analog video mixing stuff.
More useless trivia: The 32x really does mix the RGB video from the MD/Genesis in the analog domain.
There is a "YS" signal from the console's cart slot, which denotes whether the MD is displaying background tiles, or sprites (IIRC).
That YS signal is used by the 32x, to know when to switch over to the (analog) RGB output from the main console.
That's how it can mix the graphics between the two systems. The (CXA?) chip on the top board has an analog switch for the two RGB inputs.
The 32x VDP is more than just a "DAC", of course...
But, the VDP doesn't support many special features, tbh.
It has a basic framebuffer (actually two), but does support a Line Table.
That's where a table of values tell the 32x which lines of graphics from VRAM to display on-screen.
Those values can be updated quickly, and allow for some neat scrolling and wave effects.
The VDP also has an RLE (Run-Length Encoding) mode, which can help it render things like flat-shaded polygons more quickly.
Other than that, and a few different colour modes, everything else is done in *software* on the two SH2s.
Even the sprite scaling seen in certain games like Afterburner II is done on the SH2s.
The 32x has two 128KB VRAM chips, IIRC.
That's so it can do basic double-buffering, where it can write graphics into one chip while displaying the framebuffer from the opposite chip.
Really enjoyed this video. I loved my 32x back when I had one in the 90s. I considered getting one now since I once again have a model 2 Genesis. Only thing now that keeps me from making a nostalgic purchase is the bulky nature of it. (2 power supplies and extra wires), and the fact I can emulate every game from the library on my JMachen hyper base.
In my perfect world this system would have seen a much larger library and I would have kept the one I owned.
Awesome overview of this system! Always wanted one... so I got to live vicariously through your video :)
Played fine on the CDX, just needed a RF shield adapter to be FCC compliant. Which I didn't have (or need).
I had the CDX & it did work with it. Only problem was that it had to be propped up so it wouldn't tip the system up.
You are an excellent content creator !!
Thank you so much 😀
We had one for our sega growing up, we would break it out on special occasions we only had 3 games for it (doom, shadow squadron, and Motocross Championship. It never disappointed, was always excited to play. Wish the 32X had more games, and devs had more time to make some, I think it could have been great if Sega didn't rush things.
The 32X Virtua Racing has a full drum set, as where standard Genesis basically only has a snair drum hehe..
Its one thing ppl dont notice!
Also the drum set in Virtua Racing 32X is the identical drum set in Knuckles Chaotix. Imo.
Knuckles Chaotix in sound options shows what all 3 sound chips are doing.
I bought a 32X, and I never regretted it despite how short it lasted.
Also, the 32X is compatible with the CDX. The reason that sticker is there is because connected to the CDX is not FCC compliant.
Amazing video and perfectly done information about the retro console. Very informative and interesting content including hardware specifications. Very high quality content.
Glad you enjoyed it!
The Dreamcast was the final Sega console. I still lament the games which we have lost out on. One game which we didn't miss out on was GTA III. That's a game which was originally destined for the Dreamcast. I would have cared to see the game on Dreamcast version (naomi engine).
The Dreamcast has such a distinct aesthetic, in the same way that ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC does).
As for the 32X; lamentable.
In an alternate universe, the 32X would have never flopped and we would have seen what potential it really had. I had one as a kid too and loved it. Doom, MK 2, Virtua Fighter and Star Wars. I had a 6 button controller that you could toggle auto fire on and it made Star Wars so much easier!
There's a fix for the model 2's crappy audio available on RetroRGB. It's well worth it both for the audio quality bump and the convenience of not having to use the earphone jack to get stereo sound. It's also pretty obvious that you're not getting a sync signal to your monitor from your PAL MD. My guess is the 32X relies on composite video for sync instead of the TTL sync, since that line isn't present on all Genesis models.
Never played the 32x, always wanted one. Just got a Mister FPGA and loading it up with the entire library. Gonna be a fun night.
I had a tower of power back in the day, my brother had a Saturn but I was determined to get ahold of everything that I could plug into a Genesis. That poor console looked like a science experiment with a CD hanging off the side and a mushroom sticking out of the top. It wasn't a bad add on, just bad timing. I had most of these games, they were great and if you've seen that newer Doom for the 32x it's surprising what it actually could have been.
It does work with my 32X. They were full of it. I read somewhere that it likely was published with notes saying not to use it because they didn’t go through FCC shielding and certification in time.
Nice video, first time viewer so was not expecting the tear down, which was a bonus imo
We had the 32X and Sideload Sega CD. At that time, I was a Sophomore and all I cared about was girls. 32X didn't get too much playing time. ;) I do remember the rat's nest of cables.
Well girls can be entertaining too and don't require so many cables.
New subscriber here. I love the 32X. It's a crazy and clever mutant that's tremendously powerful. Even with Doom Resurrection it'll probably never see its true potential. I love how the Doom guys managed to offload some of the processing to the Sega CD though! I just added a third to my collection (found a Tower of Power at Goodwill for a reasonable price) and in the rare instances where I find them uber cheap, I pick them up. They're just so weird and neat to have! Don't be too intimidated with replacing that ceramic capacitor that you didn't want to touch: Just add extra solder to either side to build up the heat density, then heat one side of it while grabbing the capacitor with tweezers. When you see the flux on the far side start to bubble you can probably pull it off the board. Put kapton tape on other components around it to protect them just in case if you want. The ceramic will hold all the heat and distribute it into the ground plane so you probably don't fry much even if you ham-fist it.
You can't underestimate how great it was to play virtua fighter on your mega drive at that time.
The 32X actually is compatible with the CDX. The issue wasn't the hardware between the CDX/32X. The issue was the FCC giving Sega approval, therefore the support for the 32X to connect to the CDX was never put into production that is seen in the instruction manual. There is however schematics to make a support for the 32X. I use the 32X on my CDX currently. Work flawlessly. Also, with the triple bypass, you can also restore composite video compatibility. This is made a lot easier with the modern triple bypass v2.1 boards these days.
For the different versions of the Genesis connections, 1 that isn't shown that I used to have was the JVC X'Eye, which I had the 32X connected to. I'm surprised that for Primal Rage, you didn't show the comparison between the Genesis and 32X versions like you have been doing with the other games that are reskins of the Genesis games. Castlevania Symphony of the Night was originally being developed for the 32X before it was shifted to the PlayStation.
Fascinating !! Very detailed ! Set - up was confusing !!! Most of us cannot fix motherboards !! Now in a glad I never bought one !!
Here in Brazil we called the complete setup (SEGA CD+Genesis+32x) as MEGAZORD! LOL
i don't ever remember anyone saying the 32X was a bad design, it was just a bad idea from a marketing perspective and it failed accordingly
And for the company as well. Sega was bleeding money prior to the saturn launch.
No...Sega of Japan was TOTALLY against the success of Sega of 'Merica (America) - including the launch & lifeblood of the 32x. But, not initially...👺👺👺
Kalinske & company (SOA) were chewing bubble gum & kicking @zz during the 16-bit days & the competition was heating up between Sega & Nintendo - VERY profitable. Instead of synergizing with SOA, SOJ continued to cut the legs out from underneath Tom & his team. This, NOT marketing, was the the downturn of Sega's profitability, failure of the Saturn, ALMOST DOA of the Dreamcast and ultimately their exit from the hardware business. A lack of killer games on the 32x also dwarfed their financial success. This fact is kinda echoed in the lifespan of the mighty SegaCD...💔💔💔
All in all, Sega was a great company, with FANTASTIC ips. It's a damn shame SOJ were too proud to allow Kalinske & company to launch them into greater success. Tom had a proven track record of (Sega?) vision for financial success & also attracting the right top talent to help propel the team. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Today, Sega are a shell of a great company they use to be. TRULY ironic...😞😞😞
Virtua fighter virtua racing doom etc better on 32x than saturn
I was able to get one of these in the 2010s, so it wasn't horribly priced. Ended up with Tempo, Space Harrier and Chaotix.
Also, it DOES actually work with the CDX. You can pick up a 3D printed spacer, which allows the CD door to function.
Additionally, the terminator cart you plug into the expansion port only applies to the launch VA0 run of the Mega Drive 2. It won't work otherwise. There are compatibility issues with other revisions, which can be solved by either modding an MD1 (which yeah, it includes the PAL VA4 all the way to 6.8), or using a flash cart with an MD2.
I got this information from a wiki called Console Mods. I'd link it, but UA-cam will eat it. Has the service manual mentioned in the video, which I'm parroting.
My story. - mom got me this when it came out for Xmas. I got it home. Could not figure out how to set it up. I thought it was broke. We return for a new one. Turned out I did not know how to change the input to accommodate for this system! lol sad but true. I loved 32x
Dude the 32x was awesome! I had a great time with it back in the day!
I'm surprised there isn't a push to port Genesis games to the *32X* *CD* to expand upon their features and content. You get the benefits of both the 32X and the Sega CD. The extra storage space needn't be used for audio either, the RF5C164 chip in the Sega CD is capable of 8-channel PCM playback, similar to the audio chip in the SNES, which means you could offer SNES-like soundtracks (in addition to the standard YM2612 soundtracks) and use the majority of the space in the CD for new game content.
The CD sticks in the cartridge slot. It looks just like a mapper I guess. So why not use a mapper for more contents? SD Card . No tower of power ugliness.
@@ArneChristianRosenfeldt The Sega CD connects to the _bottom_ of the Genesis / MegaDrive console and it's much more than a mapper: It adds a faster co-processor, hardware-based sprite scaling and rotation, and the aforementioned 8-channel sample playback chip. All of these features can be accessed by 32X CD games, in addition to accessing the 32X hardware and the standard Genesis / MegaDrive hardware at the same time.
@@blast_processing6577 oh the bottom. So every MegaDrive pays for two high pin count connectors. The hardware on the SegaCD is slower than dual SH2 . So you could only think about using it in parallel. How does the CD inject its graphics? Render to sprite? So very constrained regarding color and size?
@@ArneChristianRosenfeldt 32X CD games can utilize the enhancements of the 32X, including color palette, screen resolution, etc. etc.
@@blast_processing6577 I tried to find the electric contacts for this. So the CD can add RAM to the main CPU?! But it is limited by the color palette of the genesis. So it works like SuperFx? Likewise we lose all genesis 2d backgrounds? Or just one?
I would rather spend time on SH2 code optimization and data compression than on genesis or its CD. Doom resurrection is pure 32x , I think?
AAFES: Army, Air Force Exchange Service.
They just go by “The Exchange” these days. Steve’s parent(s) was likely military.
The 32X actually had very good compatibility, but the various required adapters and spacers confused a lot of people. The reason they tell you not to use it with the CDX is that it blocks the CD tray and it sits kind of awkwardly. Otherwise it actually works fine.
First time viewer. I love the format. Great video! Subbed.
The Z80 is used for SMS backwards compatibility mode... In fact there's at least one game I own that was released for the Genesis without any external converters that is a repackaged SMS title using the backwards compatibility mode.
However, the Z80 is ALSO the Genesis' sound subsystem processor. So it CAN still be used with 32X games, and in fact I believe the cartridge-only version of Doom Resurrection (fan re-port) utilizes it.
That aside, yes... Most 32X games were built with minimal documentation and support, with heavy time constraints. So they rarely showed off the system's prowess. The best examples of what CAN be achieved are (as you showcased) Doom Resurrection and the offshoot Doom CD32X Fusion, alongside the in-progress port of Tomb Raider.
I had the Genesis model 2 and a 32x growing up. They look great together and looks like 32x was designed to fit that aesthetic. I never liked the look of the model 1. We only had Doom and Star Wars Arcade, but had a lot of fun with those.
I love Wirehead, have it on the Sega CD. The add on is pretty cool though I do wish it had a few more games.
I would have bet dirty cartridge contacts were the reason for the rolling image
I didn't show it in the video, but I did apply contact cleaner to both the cart and the slot just to try and rule that out before anything else :P
Great video Matt! Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
The best definitive version of Blackthorne. amazing game.
fantastic video...i too own a usa 32x CIB..lately i bought a repro DOOM Resurrection cartridge for my 32x...what a fantastic port, indeed!
I didn't think that looked like a cap or reseating issue. But what is it?
My guess is that the VA4 Mega Drive still has the original oscillator in it, which is meant for PAL video output. The console works in NTSC mode with that but the video it outputs will be slightly out of spec, and the NTSC Genesis 32X might have trouble locking onto the sync signal. The way to get around this would be to install a dual-frequency oscillator into the Mega Drive.
AAFES I believe is or was a military base shopping center. Like PX.
At least that's what I vaguely remember. I might be wrong but I believe I went to one there on base in South Carolina back in the day.
Unfortunately i passed on it in 95/96 when it was on clearance for only $10 at Walmart. I was way into the Saturn at that point and figured it wasn't worth going backwards.
I have the sega cd and 32x here somewhere.
I bought my 32x in the bargain bin at EB toys one year after the saturn was released. They had a bin full of them that they were selling for 59 bucks.
12:52 the tower of power begins to grow 💪
How did you test your caps ? Were the in circuit ?
I tested a few in-circuit first and all of them after removal. Only one had signs of leakage but many had ESR that was higher than nominal. I'm not a advocate of recapping things blindly, but when I see something like video stability issues I usually start there.
The Z80 was used for the Genesis sound chip. I might be wrong.
I know no one much likes knuckles chaotix but I honestly love it
Only those who did not owned a 32x spread shit about the 32X ...i owned one and he gifted me years of hours of fun. In less than one year from his release, he had at least 10 killer applications. There are console remembered by the big audience as succesful machines that not even in 3 years since the release of those machines get this result.
I think the problem with the model 1 is it needed the metal clips installed because some time it won’t work with out it. My 32x I recently got with a model 2 mega drive did not come with them and it work, but I have seen people online have issues with it not displaying with out them
The 32X was such a cool piece of kit in 1994. I tried to get one for Doom, but...they were all sold out (imagine that). I wanted Doom so bad I could taste it, so I went with the other obvious choice, the Jaguar. I felt I waited long enough, and I loved it, but I digress...
Looking at Star Wars Arcade for the 32X, it reminds me of the X-Wing and Tie-Fighter PC games. I never understood the hate for Star Wars Arcade because it looked better than those two games, albeit it's a much simpler game. I would love to see an indy developer fix Star Wars Arcade and show us what the 32X really could have done. I bet it could run an arcade close port of the arcade game with simplified geometry.
Addendum- You asked if there was a better follow-up to Doom: 32X Resurrected....there is. Apparently, they have just ported Doom 2 in its entirety to the 32X!