new to retro gaming

tobothehobo

Hi guys I'm trying to get into retro gaming on a budget so I bought a megadrive which was the console I had when I was a kid. It's amazing how well some of the 16 bit games hold up. Now to try and build a humble collection with what money I have spare. If anyone has some spare games I might be interested.

o1s1n

Great choice, always the best starting point I reckon. So many games can be had for dirt cheap. Unlike the Snes!

What games do you have so far?

tobothehobo

I have one of the mega 6 carts with sonic1 streets of rage, revenge of shinobi ect. I have golden axe, micro machines, Disney world of illusion and taz-mania. I'd like to pick up some more as soon as I have the spare cash but picking up one at a time on ebay is a pain I'd rather just save up and get a job lot.

CiDeRmAn

tobothehobo wrote: »

I have one of the mega 6 carts with sonic1 streets of rage, revenge of shinobi ect. I have golden axe, micro machines, Disney world of illusion and taz-mania.

Streets of Rage?
Golden Axe?
Not games!
Just exercises in misery and sh1te!

Seriously though, get Thunderforce 3 and 4, they are the bees knees.

CiDeRmAn

tobothehobo wrote: »

Hi guys I'm trying to get into retro gaming on a budget so I bought a megadrive which was the console I had when I was a kid. It's amazing how well some of the 16 bit games hold up. Now to try and build a humble collection with what money I have spare. If anyone has some spare games I might be interested.

Mod Note:
Just to say that no trading or looking for things to buy here in the main forum.
We have a Marketplace for that sort of thing, though I would suggest you familiarise yourself with the rules as laid out in the charter, both for this forum and the marketplace.
Also, there is Adverts.ie that usually has Megadrive stuff for sale.
Ok?
Good.

moonlighting

http://krikzz.com/

tobothehobo

moonlighting wrote: »

http://krikzz.com/

Yea the thought about one of those but I'd really rather have a little collection of the original carts hopefully with boxes. I have noticed they tend to be more expensive than I would have suspected on ebay. Does anyone know of any good website for retro games. I'm in kilkenny but I don't think theres anywhere close by selling this sort of stuff.

Retr0gamer

tobothehobo wrote: »

Yea the thought about one of those but I'd really rather have a little collection of the original carts hopefully with boxes. I have noticed they tend to be more expensive than I would have suspected on ebay. Does anyone know of any good website for retro games. I'm in kilkenny but I don't think theres anywhere close by selling this sort of stuff.

Ebay really or else the marketplace here which is much better value.

One piece of advice is if you want cheaper games look into getting US or Japanese copies of the games. They tend to be cheaper than european equivalents. Getting the Megadrive modded is worth it for the cheaper prices. Also since the megadrive isn't big on wordy RPGs japanese games are fine and most are in english. Also don't go by the price they are on ebay, plenty of chancers on there, if you check the sold auctions you'll get a better idea of price.

I think most import games will play in a standard megadrive and fit in the cart slot? Someone else maybe can back me up on that.

the groutch

I remember using a US (Genesis) version of Eternal Champions on a PAL console way back when, so you may be right.

safetyboy

Ghouls and ghosts and Strider.

Atavan-Halen

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I think most import games will play in a standard megadrive and fit in the cart slot? Someone else maybe can back me up on that.

Majority will but you'll need to cut the little corners on the slot on the console for them to fit. Also if it's a PAL console you'll be locked to 50hz so like you say get it modded.

tobothehobo

Is it just the cartridge slot that limits use of non pal games? Is the board itself the same?

Retr0gamer

tobothehobo wrote: »

Is it just the cartridge slot that limits use of non pal games? Is the board itself the same?

Yes although some later ones have protection you can by pass with a simple mod. Worth getting the mod though so you can play games in 60 Hz and no borders like they are meant to be played.

Chris_Heilong

yeah the boards were the same, just different solder points to tell the system if its 50 or 60 hrtz and what region. Later games where designed to look for these differences and lock you out, I remember Earth worm jim would not play if you had the wrong Megadrive. Easy to fix with a region mod.

o1s1n

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

yeah the boards were the same, just different solder points to tell the system if its 50 or 60 hrtz and what region. Later games where designed to look for these differences and lock you out, I remember Earth worm jim would not play if you had the wrong Megadrive. Easy to fix with a region mod.

I'm fairly sure that's incorrect and it's all software based on the cart side.

The Megadrive's region lock is controlled by the ROM header. You can actually open a ROM up in a hex editor, change the country ID letter (J, U, or E) and it'll get around the region lock in some cases.

Ah wait, are you talking about the region jumpers on the Megadrive PCB itself rather than the carts?