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Top ten essential Mega drive/Genesis games for new retro players
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Retro collecting isn’t just about chasing expensive grails, it’s about finding the games that still feel alive the second you hit power. We put together our ten best “start here” picks for Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis collectors, balancing must-play classics with a few smart value choices you can actually get on a real-world budget.
We dig into why prices have shifted in the retro gaming market, how we’d approach collecting today, and simple ways to store loose cartridges without turning your room into a wall of cardboard. Then we get into the games: Road Rash 2 as pure pick-up-and-play chaos, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 as the platformer that still looks razor sharp, and Comic Zone as a late-era showpiece that turns a beat-em-up into a living comic book. If you want the console to “feel like Sega,” Streets Of Rage 2 delivers that neon, gritty arcade energy in the best possible way.
We also cover the multiplayer staples and deep cuts that keep a collection in rotation, including Sensible Soccer for fast, technical matches and Micro Machines for instant party rivalry. On the collector side, we talk TMNT Hyperstone Heist and why it commands real money, plus Desert Strike as a mission-based classic that’s somehow still cheap for how good it is. And if you’re curious what you can try before you buy, we call out which picks are available through Nintendo Switch Online.
If you enjoy this kind of Mega Drive and Genesis talk, subscribe, share the show with a friend who needs a retro rabbit hole, and leave a review. What’s the first Mega Drive game you’d buy today?
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Welcome And The Big Idea
SPEAKER_01Hello and welcome to Flash Black. Game Love Stories you forgot. And as always, it's me, RGT, and I'm just gonna give him a simple intro this week because he is an absolute legend in the podcast world. The CEO, the lead presenter, the god of gaming, it is UCP George. How are you today, George?
SPEAKER_00Simple as a simple does. I like the intro. That appeals not that after bit, that squaddle. I wanted it simple, then you flowered me in platitudes, the liking of which I don't deserve.
SPEAKER_01You do deserve all of it. You deserve it.
SPEAKER_00No, I don't deserve it, but I'm gonna wear them anyway, like medals.
SPEAKER_01If it weren't for the UCP and your foresight to invent a podcast, none of this would be here. We wouldn't be friends, we wouldn't have the community, we wouldn't have the Discord, we wouldn't have flashback what we're on now.
SPEAKER_00Hmm. So yeah. Put a thousand monkeys in a room, RGT. Listen, I'm hyped up. We got a special episode here.
SPEAKER_01We have got a special episode, yeah, and that's that's because the popularity of the last one. We done uh 10 games to play. Um very well.
SPEAKER_00I ought to now inversely shower you in platitudes, but I actually think that we ought to save time and just get straight to the meaning.
SPEAKER_01I think you're right. There's not many things you can think of, so I wouldn't worry. Um, yeah, so the PS2 one done really well. We've done 10 games to you know to purchase when you first or top ten games to buy when you first purchase a PS2. We're now gonna do that again, but we're going back a little further here. We're going back quite away. We're going to the Mega Drive slash Genesis for our friends across the sea. Um, so we're gonna go five games each that we think you should purchase if you just get into collecting for that system nowadays.
SPEAKER_00Mate, I'm I'm itching like I fell in the nurse's bin because I've had to go in the loft, and there's a bit of a there's a little bit of a crazy amount of loft insulation up there, pal. I just can't stop itching and scratching all over me, but I've got the I've got the I've got the gold down.
SPEAKER_02Brilliant.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, this is good. This is a good one. And uh again, that was one of them where like the PS2, when we first agreed to do this one, we said, right, we'll do Mega Drive slash Genesis. Started looking through the shelves of the Mega Drive games, thinking, right, well, I could start pulling them forward, that one, that one, that one, that one. Then you think, hmm. Yeah, there's quite a lot there we could actually pick. So picking five is quite tough. There's a lot on this system.
Collecting Prices And Storage Tips
SPEAKER_00I've tried to be eminently sensible as well, although we've run these through the computer after picking them, and we're a little bit hesitant to bring them forward. But there are some left field choices on this system because of the amount of games that there are. But as you say, and as you said in the last episode, and as you said this episode, these are the ones that we think you are going to enjoy or get the most mileage out of when you first get the console, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and remember as well, me and George we sort of got our Mega Drive collections quite a few years ago. So, you know, the prices were a little bit different then, and they have shut up and they have started to come down. We've spoken about this on the show with you know that sort of demographic who got the disposable income, who got the mega drive collection because they had it as a kid is moving on a bit now, and there's more the PS1 collectors, and people are moving up the generation, so it's yeah, so it's um it's a bit different now. So some of these are a little expensive, but some of them have come down quite a lot, don't you think, George?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, my good fellow. What more can I say about that? Um, yeah, the price has walked up slightly. I think, as you say, we see certain people exit, and that has seen some games, in my opinion, tumble without too many spoilers. I've got an EA produced title here, and you have as well, that's actually come down to what I would call reasonable value for a retro console.
SPEAKER_02Definitely.
SPEAKER_00So there are games here that you can that are definitely eminently affordable, and I would say RGT's a number cruncher. He's gone and done the car only numbers on these as well, because I think if you just start collecting for a system, you can have these loose in a drawer. You're playing them at first, right?
SPEAKER_01Exactly, yeah.
SPEAKER_00As you develop more of an interest in them, swap those out, trade in an upgrade for a boxed version or whatever you want to do. RGT, before we spin off, you've got some or had some experience of some loose cart kind of multi-fit adapter boxes. So even if you've got loose carts, you can get these collector cases. Give the uh listener a little bit of that if they end up going down the loose cart route because they can save themselves without going down the full official route, can't they?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. These are um these are universal cases, you can buy them online. Obviously, the more you buy, the cheap they are, but they have a multi-fit system in. So I think you can do N64, Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, Master System, they got all the different shapes. You can click on it.
SPEAKER_00What about EA Mega Drive? Will it take that?
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, with the little yellow tab. I think they do.
SPEAKER_00Just a bit taller, a bit more aggressive.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you can you go that way or that way. I think they do. Um, but there used to be a thing online called the cover project. You could go on there and people would upload either mega drive covers, the Genesis covers, or custom covers. So you could have your own custom covers and they line up like little videos on your shelf. Now, I used to have over a hundred of these from the loose cartridges. The reason I changed is because I didn't have the room. So I've gone down to loose cartridges and bought some 3D printed racks for them. That's what I've done. But you can go down this route and buy these. Now, I don't think the cover project is still running, but it's so easy nowadays. If you Google the size measurements of a Mega Drive cover case, you can find them, do it on your computer, size it up to the millimetre, and you can print out and slide them in the front. Now, even if they're matte finish on paper, they still have that glossy finish because you've got the sleeve, so they do look quite glossy. So it's actually uh um it's a really good way if you want that uniform video look to them. They're really good. Um what I will tell you.
SPEAKER_00Tips from the UCP fresh world here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, if you want any help with that or you know, find it a bit weird or never heard of these before, email us at questions at unofficial controller podcast.com or hop on our Discord or um you know jump on the um our website or even we're on Instagram on retrograde.
SPEAKER_00Hey, I don't want to throw anyone under the bus in the Discord, but you know, if people join the Discord with this particular uh issue, I would say quite a few people would rush forward to help them. Uh damn near make it easy for them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we've got some big mega drive collectors in there and like people like Digital Monkrees collected the whole movie set of all the movie-tying games and things like that. So yeah, there's plenty of people, plenty of experience with that. Um and I will just say before we start, what I have noticed price-wise, when we were researching this, I noticed the games like Pixel games have come back, your pixel beat-em-ups have come back, you know, on your Switch or your PS5. Them games have risen in price, the retro pixel five beat-em-ups. And because that style's a bit back in, but you find you you're your big sort of big heavy hitters, a lot of the heavy hitters on the mega drive that you would always think straight away, if you think back to a mega drive, oh, I'd have that, I'd have that, I always had that, they've all sort of dipped off. But the ones that are in fashion a bit at the minute are are spiking. But mostly, most of these are very affordable. Um, do you want to go first, George, with your first pick?
Road Rash 2 As Pure Fun
SPEAKER_00Yeah, let's let's get stuck in there. Before we do, I just want to do a little bit of housekeeping because if you're here because you're into Mega Drive Genesis, over on the main channel on Official Controller Podcast, we did interview a very prolific and um almost celebrity, I would say. Mike Rouse, uh aka retro gamer boy on YouTube, is trying to track down a full pal set, and I do mean everything. So please go check that episode out because there's more collecting, um, storing and restoring tips there. But straight out the gates, RGT, the first game I would like to bring to this party for the Mega Drive Stroke Genesis is Road Rash 2 by EA. Now, when I first obviously as a kid, I was aware of Road Rash. I um played it around bigger boys' houses, was always kind of came away from it sort of impressed. It's an into-the-screen racing game. It does have um sort of hills and hollows in it, so and corners, obviously, but they're done in that classic into-the-screen style. Roadrash handles it particularly well, it feels almost 3D on the Mega Drive, especially Road Rash 2 in its implementation. Very, very cleverly done. Your areas are kind of loosely themed around North American sites, so if you're in like a wooded area, you're gonna pass some moose on the side of the road. It it's kind of okay. One of my takeaways from Road Rash 2 when I played it more recently as an adult is the music is absolutely perfect. Everything about that gives you that real gut punch Sega, Genesis, Chip Tunes music, they've nailed it in Road Rash. It brings forth that rock aesthetic, makes you feel like an absolute hero as you crest those hills chasing down your next opponent. Controls-wise, Road Rush 2 is very easy. Obviously, you've got go and stop, right? But then you've also got attack. You can collect different weapons along the way, and and that I know the name of the game is Road Rash, and therefore it's suggested, and the box art suggests you can club each other with weapons. You absolutely can. I found the best method is just to get your head down and just gun it. I don't know about you, RGT, but I tend not to get involved in the fry car and I just race.
SPEAKER_01I I'm always too tempted because you'll find that bloke that's had a little kick out at you as he's gone past. I think you're marked, son. Viper. I remember for you, Viper. You're marked. Oh, I've picked up a chain. Here comes Viper.
SPEAKER_00I just realized that you're the wheelstone raider of video games.
SPEAKER_01Yep. You want some? You want some? You want some? Um yeah, I've the thing I the thing that got me a road rash is. I'll give it to you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The thing with Road Rash is I'd played Super Hang On. Um, yeah. It was good, and then my friend had Road Rash, played it round his, and then I was just like, well, hang on, there's a bit of a story to this. And then I thought, hold on, you can upgrade to get to that, yeah. Yeah, and then not only that, you can club people. I was just like, this is like it almost felt to me like, is this game allowed? Are they allowed to play? Yeah, it did.
SPEAKER_00I think the violence police, you know, edgy rock music, you could argue it was saving the white hot edge of what is decent, and for that reason was probably bought or um wished for by many an underage kid, you could argue. It was part of the shtick of selling it. There were no ratings on games at this point in time. You could get away with blue murder.
SPEAKER_01Well, I think to me, because I love cannonball run, and this always reminded me of a motorcycle cannonball run. So I always got feeling cannonball, yeah.
SPEAKER_00You've obviously got to negotiate the police while you go, and as RGT hinted as well, you collect money up for your race performance. Uh, with that money, you can either upgrade the bike that you've got or roll that in to a newer bike, which then can be further upgraded. So the levels of uh upgrade or modification that can be applied along the way are incredible. The ability to kind of do it your way, you know, are totally open to you. I love Road Rush 2, and I don't want to rock the boat too hard, RGT, because hey, hey, I'm here to rock the boat. You know what controversy sells the internet. Is Road Rush 2 the best game on Mega Drive?
SPEAKER_01It's it's gotta be up there, depending on your tastes, it's gotta be up there because you know I'd never played anything like this. I played racing games, I played Chase HQ, Spy Hunter, I played racing games, but I hadn't played a racing game where you could do all this and you you know it had that movie feel, you felt like you're breaking a law, and then the first time you hit a laying down cow and you use it as a ramp, I mean it was just absolutely fantastic.
SPEAKER_00To be fair, mate, I mean you make another good point there. The you know it's easy to gloss over these things, but the details that were here in this game is if you hit something on your bike or got knocked, you tumbled off, and the crash animation, much like super hang on, actually look quite realistic. Oh, did you? You have to cross the road. Let's say you get parted from your bike, and I've got very frustrated with this game over this, but you got it off your cap to it.
SPEAKER_01If you if if if you if you wipe out when you're doing a bit of lick, you you you're a long way from that bike.
SPEAKER_00But worse, mate, if you have to cross the road, you're probably gonna get run down three times before you get there. Your guys all confused, flashing invincibility stands or well, oh, another one. Like, oh my god, give me a break.
SPEAKER_01Do you know what I really did love with that though? This is and this is a minor thing, but I think if you if you if you're really into your games, this is a great little technique they done. If you lose your you'll come off your bike, right? Say you're going really fast, like I said, a bike slides 500 yards down the road, you get up and you have to run after your bike. After a while, you hear a faint noise of the engine just ticking over, and the closer you get, the louder the engine gets as you get closer to your bike. And I just thought, for a little mega drive game, that is that's quite clever, that's a good technique. And I used to love that because I could just hear you'd just hear a little in the distance, you're like, oh no, my bike's miles away. So you keep running and keep trying to get closer, so you can hear that louder engine. But yeah, what a game. I mean, yeah, there's obviously three versions on the Mega Drive, one, two, and three. Um all good. Um, but yeah, Road Rash 2 is fantastic.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for me, like I've dabbled with one, I've dabbled with three. Obviously, I loved two so much, had to get them all. Gotta catch a mall, wow, Road Rash 2. But two is the one that I always circle back to. Three, yeah, take it leave in one, take it, leave it two, sweet spot nailed every time. No, I think you're right, yeah. And when I put it up there, and the only reason why I dare voiced it up to the idea that it could be number one, only because if you have something like Sonic in there, yeah, Sonic deserves to be there, but it's locked behind the frustration of the gameplay of a 16-bit 90s platformer, and you could hop into Road Rash, slap the cart in, turn it on, press A, and you're going down the road. There's no guarantee a modern gamer's gonna get to the end of Sonic level. There's always something to be had from that. Some of these other beat-em-ups, you're gonna have some fun within them. But Road Rash 2, pick it straight up and go. You don't need to learn any combos or anything religious. It's it's immediately playable and fun.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think if you judge it on what you would a game, so you think music was really good, yeah, gameplay, really good, controls, fantastic. The little story arc is good, you've got upgrades which are good, and they're not they're not stupidly expensive, but there's some things that just out of reach. You what's you know, you have that you have that dilemma. Do I save? Do I make it?
SPEAKER_00Game's got cutscenes, dude. Yeah, 16-bit cutscenes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, oh yeah, you know, and it's it's got that cheesy sort of cutscenes to it, it's really good. You know, Road Rash went off on a bit of a spiral once we got to 3D and things, but Road Rash 2. Um, should I do some prices?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think I've waxed the ruckle enough about a bargain basement bin and tried to foist it up as the best game on Mega Drive.
SPEAKER_01No, I don't think you're wrong at all, because I mean this is another plus in this, you know, in this armour, because it's if you want that box complete, you can pick it up for as little as ten to twelve pounds if you want that cartridge only. Look at sort of four to six pounds. But for boxed being that cheap for a game that is that good, you know, make that your first make that your first game box complete. And also, there's many games on these older systems which are like the the trophy games. You're probably not gonna play them, but you've got it. Oh, I've got this, I've got that for the system. This game is one you're gonna play, even if you're a modern gamer, you're gonna put this in, you're gonna play it, and you're gonna have fun with this because it's brilliant. People have tried replicating this over the years with different motorcycle combat games, but no one's done it as good as Road Rash 2, not as far as I'm concerned. Absolutely brilliant choice. Yeah, that's a brilliant one to start with, George.
SPEAKER_00What have you got then, mate? What's your next what's your first one?
SPEAKER_01I've gone a bit I'll say I've gone a bit boring. I've gone with what I think you should get, which is one of the my favourite version of um the series, and that is Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Um Sonic 1. I always have a lot of nostalgia. I have a lot of memories of um firing up my 16-bit in my bedroom on my Orion portable TV.
SPEAKER_00It's not quite as powerful as the master system, though, is it?
SPEAKER_01Oh no, that is that is the creme de la month.
SPEAKER_00Um I love how I'm gonna get sick for that now. George episode sound time stamp blah.
SPEAKER_01You said the master system get in the flashy bee back catalogue that's yeah, listen to Christmas special, you'll see why. But and and I I loved Sonic that just going from Mars system to a mega drive, seeing the graphics, seeing the games, the music, everything's brilliant, and then Sonic 2 come along. And um, I'd saved up, I got Sonic 2 brand new. Um, because obviously Masonic 1 was a pack-in, but buying a brand new game was brilliant, breaking this you know, the cellophane off is absolutely brilliant.
SPEAKER_00Um you need to be careful because we're gonna get we're gonna get brought up in an algorithm because the way you said no. The way you said Masonic sounded like you said Masonic.
SPEAKER_01No, I think that you're definitely on the wrong podcast if that's what you're tuned in for. Um but Sonic 2, and then you had the added hold down, you had the added spin, you had tails added in, and it just took it to the next level. And I just remember I remember playing this game thinking this is probably one of the best platformers I've ever played. I thought it was and I still think that to this day. I've I like Marios, I've never really been a hardcore Mario fan. I've always liked Sonic, I loved the speed of Sonic, um, and there was just something about Sonic 2, the levels, and even when you'd done the bonus stages in sort of a half tube, like a a faux 3D, but at the time I was just like, whoa, you know, we're getting I've never seen graphics like this before.
SPEAKER_00Oh, 100%, mate.
SPEAKER_01You know, yeah, and you know, when you're in like the chemical is it chemical zone where you'd get under the water and you'd want to put it in the room.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the music, mate, in the chemical zone.
SPEAKER_01Trying to find my way round, it was quite a maze on there and doubling back and getting the little ramps. But and everything I always think was you can tell it was a first-party game because you'd have like when you were running out of air, and you get and you're looking for the air bubbles, and then when he gets the air bubble, he has the little animation and he goes whoop where he inhales the air, and you're off again. It's so good, and every little detail, a bit like Road Rush, every little part of the game that they tried to do worked.
SPEAKER_00Though I know this you know, I know I voiced Road Rush up there, mate, and in some ways I still believe it to be the most immediately playable and therefore definitely in consideration. Sonic too is and the thing is it's a work of freaking art, mate.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean Sonic Mania, look how well that done. And that is just a 16-bit version, different levels of Sonic games put into one, changed a bit, and is still as popular as anything. You know, it yes, it's 16-bit, but it hasn't aged. Anyone can play this nowadays, anyone can go on this and not go, oh, that's dated and old. It wouldn't because the these 2D games are still about, they're still kicking around, there's people are still releasing 2D platformers. Um, and this is one of the very best, I think. Um, I've got a great history with a I think it's a must-buy from day one, um, especially as a Sega himself, and he was he was the icon of Sega at the time. Um, what about you? Do you have many memories of Sonic 2? Was it a game you got early on?
SPEAKER_00So many. I didn't get it early on. I saw it, wanted it, dreamed about it, read about it, touched every game every time I could get my hand on it at a friend's or whatnot, it would be me go-to game. I remember being an Atari ST owner when the the tsunami that was Sonic Tuesday hit the shores here in the UK. It was everywhere. He was on the side of buses, he was on Formula One cars, he was the real deal.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00For a while he was looking like he was the he was gonna dethrone Mario. You know, it felt like it had that wave behind it. When Sonic 2 hit the shores, and we saw, as RGT alluded to, the Faux 3D levels, the and this was right in the midst of the UK sort of Sega TV advertising gimmick as well, that was all fast, flashy images. You imagine some fast paced Cut shots of the chemical zone, and you've with the sh white Sega and that Skull and Crossbones logo that they had at the time. That was a license to print money RGT. That literally looked like cool itself walking off his screen. I haven't even got to the game yet. You've stole like a few of the points I would talk about, like the animation, the fact that this really is, you know, a game I think Sonic Team, Sega Technical Institute could be, but Mark Cerny was involved in this. I was gonna say Mark Cerny's involvement in this and a few other games really is a you could say a hallmark of uh his ability or his overreach as a project manager. I super impressed by Sonic 2, probably Mark Cerny on the back step there on that one, but certainly everything about it, as you say, is first class, it feels very, very good production values, considering, as you say, it's a game that's got to be at least what getting on for 35 years old, looks as crisp as the day it was made. The first time that you sort of bob Sonic down and whiz him up in that sort of holding still speedball phase where you kind of pulled down on the D-pad and whiz whiz-wiz him up. That feels great. And don't forget, this is Sonic 2, the sequel to Sonic 1. So, what did Sega do? He added two playable characters in, didn't they? Now, there's a lot to be said about Tails, Miles Tails Power, as is his full name. Um the kid's absolutely great. He's probably one, especially when Sonic 2 came out, he was like the icon, he was the thing that everyone was drawn to. This fox with two tails that could fly by spinning his tails into a helicopter. Now, I don't really have much value for this, but I'm sure you do RGT. There was many a time I think I was maybe the tails player at this point in time in my gaming career where bigger boy would play and then tan you the second controller to play his tails. But do you know what? It doesn't really matter if you stand still or what, because we're all good here. Sagral make this look slick, and even as a kid with the controller upside down, or probably three-quarters of it in your mouth, it's all still happening, really. And you gotta say, you know, it felt great to work through one of these Sonic titles together, and then RGT probably back to you with a little bit more experience of it, allowed you to kind of move forward together in a more productive way, almost kind of short couple levels of it.
SPEAKER_01And I mean, even the thing that I loved as well, even when you played single player and Tails was with you, you had that added benefit that if you're if you're fighting a boss, he'll copy, he'll mirror what you do, but just a second after. So you jump at Dr. Robotnik and you don't Tails don't him as well, so you've got that double power, and you you feel oh yeah, he's helped me out, you know. That's almost like an NPC in the game has come with you to fight along, and I always loved that. I thought it was brilliant.
SPEAKER_00Um he's aesthetically very pleasing as well. Yeah, and the design on Sonic and Tails is out of this world, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Superb artwork, the pixel artwork is absolutely you know fantastic. And also you've got to remember with the the popularity of Sonic, Sonic really hit the ground running on the Mega Drive, it was absolutely brilliant. And a lot we always say it's the hard second album. What you do? Yeah you know, you make the levels bigger, you make them better, you make an you add a character in, you add all this new music in.
SPEAKER_00Hey mate, if you look at it compared to Nintendo, they absolutely bobbed themselves and bought Doki Doki Panic and did a reskin for the US market, yeah. Right? It was years later when we got lost levels.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00They absolutely bobbed it and gave us an absolute cop-out. So their second album was a car crash. Mario 3 saved it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00But in between, it did look great. So Sega looking really good at this point.
SPEAKER_01And also the thing was, you know, with the popularity of the early Mario games, you know, Sega needed a platformer, but they didn't just clone it. We need something different. What do we need? Well, rather than do a precision platformer, let's go for speed, let's go for bright colours, big sprites, let's go for that. And that's what they've done. And Sonic 2 is that that is the Genesei Quar of the uh Sonic uh games, I think, anyway. I think that's the one to play, I think it's the one to get.
SPEAKER_00Um I think it starts to drift a little bit with three. You do get some added functionality thrown back in if you put this into the lock-on Sonic and Knuckles cart, right?
SPEAKER_01But it's not really no, they going forward, they every game they they seem desperate to really must add something, we must change it, we must make it three D classic. And they just they went a bit too far as if you actually just kept 2D Sonic games running, but in different worlds, we've all seen with games like Castlevania's and and Metroids, and they could be just as popular. Just give us a different setting and a different story, and we're all in on it. We'll we'll play it, you know. So yeah, they went a bit off piece, but Sonic 2 is is peak for me. Um price-wise, if you want box complete, yeah. What we're looking at, you're looking at about eight to ten pounds uh box complete. Um you could pick a cartridge up for two to four pounds for Sonic 2.
SPEAKER_00It's criminal that. So that's your second box complete game for your collection because you might as well not mess about there. Yeah, and uh it's you know, with mate, the box art's iconic for Sonic 2 as well.
SPEAKER_01Oh, he's absolutely stunning. And when we're at uh Bristol, the guy who done the box art was there and he was selling prints. Uh Scott bought one, our fellow presenter on Unofficial Controller Podcast, uh Marathon Gaming on YouTube. He bought one of the ones that he'd done, one of the prints that they didn't use. So slightly different with Dr. Robotnik coming out and the mist in the background over Sonic. That's cool. Very good. Yeah, and he was there selling all these prints now. Really good. Um, iconic artwork, absolutely stunning. I love the way the two has like the grid of of the levels, the dirt of the levels on on the back of it, and yeah, absolutely brilliant. So, your first two games, we're saying you should get Road Ash 2 and Sonic 2. Um, you you got plenty of gaming hours in there with the sorry bear.
Comic Zone And Late Era Showpieces
SPEAKER_00Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna mix things up a little bit this time. Um I'm gonna come at you, if I may be so bold, RGT. You mentioned it earlier, Mark Cerny was involved in something called Sega Technic Technical Institute, aka S T I sexually transmitted infection. Nice name, Mark. Well done. Uh shooting for the shooting for the stars air, pal. Anyway, the game that they developed was an interesting title, came late in the Sega's lifetime from my memory, although RGT correct me on that. It's a game, it's a blue spine game again. It's Comic Zone by Sega themselves, as I say. Now, in this for me, RGT. As soon as I first saw about this game, and I think I first saw about it on Bad Influence, I knew I had to have it. Now it took me a few years then to get a Mega Drive and track down Comic Zone and get it. But I'll tell you one thing I was not, and that's disappointed. I think you play as a character called Sketch Turner. I think he's an artist on work with me here, and you get zapped into the page, and uh you're a character in your own book, I think, from memory. Anyway, that's regardless. You're playing across the street, you're playing across the panes of comic book as an action character. So you hit and punch and swing your way through. Uh, every now and then this omnipotent hand will come down and uh draw in baddies and change the level a bit around you, and that really is the gameplay gimmick that you're shooting for. In terms of action games on the Mega Drive, this one's not only coming at it with probably one of the most unique gimmicks that I've ever seen, but it's coming at it with some really great fisticuffs gameplay RGT that you know is as matched as the other beat-em-ups that you find in this genre. But this presents itself as an action game, the likes of which I don't think we got until a bit later on in the 3D universe. There's a strong story there propelling you along through the cartoon panes with the speech bubbles, etc. Lots of lovely details in the background. This Pixel Heart's really doing some hard yards in terms of selling the concept of you kind of walking through a cartoon with ripped paper and little torn edges as you drop through, and then when you get to the end of a pane, you drop down to the bottom pane and work from right to left. I mean the the idea of what they're doing is first class and the execution the same. In terms of a showpiece of what the Mega Drive or Genesis can do, you could do no wrong than slapping comic zone if someone's expecting you to turn it on. It looked like Pong, you turn it on a slapping comic zone, and uh be a few collective jaws need swooping up off the floor. I from memory I remember it having a really killer soundtrack, really great aesthetic. Um, and I enjoyed every single minute I played of it. RGT, hit me up with your memories and then seduce me with the price of this because I'm hoping this is a cheap game.
SPEAKER_01Um Comic Zone, um, when obviously when we were younger, you had your console, you needed to trade that bad boy in to get your next one. So it was later on, as most people do, that collectors like me and George got collector. I got my mega drive. Um, once I got my mega drive and just had that nostalgia wave, and I kept thinking, what games did I see back in the day that I couldn't get but I'd really like now?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's the methodology I use.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. First one was Road Rash, and I you know, Sonic's always there, Road Rash was there, and then I kept thinking, what was the other game in the comic? Comic. So I googled Comic, Comic, Comic, and then it came up Comic Zone, and I was like, that's the one spelt with an X, Comic Zone, gonna get it. Now it was really cheap when I bought it, and I played it straight away as soon as I bought it and I started collecting, and just thought, how unique is this game? They've really fought outside the box, but not only tried something different, they actually pulled it off, you know, the going between the comic book strips and the pages and dropping down to levels and having that fight and then moving on to the next. It's tough. I mean, we've had it as a challenge accepted as one of our challenges on the United States Controller podcast Discord, um, and that was brilliant to see how how people got on with that, but just for the unique factor, because I've never played a game like this since. I've you know, it it was to play for a comic book, I just think is so unique. Um, and you think someone might have tried to replicate that since, but as far as I know, I don't think anyone has.
SPEAKER_00But also, like you said, I think people have used a similar vein, but then explored it through 3D. What makes Comic Zone so unique is the smashing through the white panel joints that link these panels together, so such a good idea, and graphically super you are in a comic book, really well done. As I say animations of I you would put this on to impress someone who came round to have a look at your mega drive, right? Even back in the day, definitely now. And I'm full of controversial opinions today. It was possibly one of, if not the best looking games on the system, came late as well. Blue Spine.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, without a doubt. It's um, I think if if you're into collector now and you know, you'll get your standard games. We've got a few of them on here, you know, ones that we think like you should just pick up, they're a good price, you can have fun with them, they look great, they play great, and we try and cover different genres. But if you want something that's unique, well thought of, well regarded, plays really well, graphically stunning, then if you can get comic zone.
SPEAKER_00RGT, tell me another game where you can slide kick a rat.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. That that's a 10 out of 10 for me straight away. But and also there's there's little bits we have to work out to get out of the rooms as well, which is quite clever.
SPEAKER_00That's what are like the there's a slight puzzle element that I referred to in the opening Gambit, unless I forgot. And that and that really is it, the navigation of the panels all the escaping of the rooms. It's nothing too, you know, you're not gonna be struggling to get into mental with these bad boys, but sometimes it gives your men an R, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_01And also, if some of these games you find are a little expensive for what you'd want if you're on a budget, if you've got Nintendo Switch and you've got online, some of these are on the online.
SPEAKER_00I think Comic Zone is.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'll tell you at the end all the ones that are on Nintendo Online. But yes, there is a few of these that are on there. So if you want to go and dabble and play, if you've got a switch at home, you've got online, go and have a go now. Go and have a play now, because they still look brilliant.
SPEAKER_00The way the lights sit in your face right now, you you almost look you look very royal. You've got the look of a Roman Emperor about you.
SPEAKER_01Hmm. I'm not sure about that, but Roman Emperor.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, you've got this little like authority, you've got the the kind of hairs right, yeah, it's perfect.
SPEAKER_01Thank you very much. No, it's it's all good. Anyway, back to comic zone.
SPEAKER_00Um it might be the toga to be fair. I mean, that's doing a lot of the heavy lifting here.
SPEAKER_01I'm only comfortable at home if I'm in a toga, so I know that.
SPEAKER_00Hey, hey, this is one of the beauties of audio only shows over here on Flashy B. We get to sit in our comfy clothes.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Um price-wise comic zone. Um box copy is pushing a little bit nowadays. When I bought my box copy, I think I paid ten or twelve pounds for it. Now£20. You're looking sort of£45 to£60 for a but you can pick the cartridge up. If you're just interested in playing the game,£10 to£12. You can pick the cartridge up.
SPEAKER_00Do it and do it.
SPEAKER_01And do it. Definitely for the price of two binds of lager nowadays, you've got Comic Zone, which is one of the best looking games, if not the best looking game, on Sega Mega Drive. And and you wouldn't have played anything like it, and it's so much fun. Definitely do it. Um, another absolutely stellar, shall we say? I think that is a brilliant, brilliant one, Comic Zone.
SPEAKER_00Okay, well, what have you brought to the table, good sir? What's next?
Sensible Soccer And Forever Replay Value
SPEAKER_01Well, what's next in the RGT pile of uh 16-bit goodness? Um I've had an art of different games. I've brought this one in. Uh people who know me or listen to UCP is gonna go, oh, for God's sake, RGT, that's all you ever talk about this game. I know. But hear me out. The game I'm bringing next is Sentable Soccer.
SPEAKER_00Um basically because I chose another game that you had.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And also I had I'd I'd written a list of about six or seven because I thought just in case we we double up. But anyway, Sentable Soccer, um the one I've got here is European Championship Edition.
SPEAKER_00Um that's the one I've got.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I just think this game is a football game which is still being played today, the in the original forms, they still have world championships of it, as like they do with kickoff in the day, back in the day, you're even Why aren't you going forward for a sensi world championship? Oh, I'm nowhere near that. I'm nowhere near that. I didn't mate.
SPEAKER_00I would buy you no straight up. If you put yourself forward for that, I would get you some like whatever were the best shin pads in the 80s, I'd buy you a pair of those. I'd buy you a pair of whatever football team you pretend support socks from that era, from the 90s, 80s, 90s era.
SPEAKER_01What do you mean little shorts?
SPEAKER_00I wasn't I was gonna let you put whatever clothes you wanted on, really. I was gonna stop there.
SPEAKER_01Thank God for that, thank you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but shorts is a is probably helpful to sell the shin pads, UCP shorts, and that's just a new add-in. And then what I've got written here on the script is a zip stick joystick, brand new sealed inbox for me.
SPEAKER_01That's either got to be a zip stick or competition pro.
SPEAKER_00Well now you're getting picky. But which one would you would you choose?
SPEAKER_01Competition pro?
SPEAKER_00Competition pro I like the I like the short because what version do they play at the Sensi World Cup?
SPEAKER_01Um I think they play the Amiga version. So you want a zip stick. Yeah, because there's a bit of a thumb killer getting the aftertouch on a D-pad.
SPEAKER_00Some people still use D-pads and that, but I think most people would Well you've been a while on you who haven't played Sensi with a stick in a while though, right? So what what what where where would you I want to field my best man in the best way. I don't want you handicapped behind some I don't want an excuse like oh, I got through the final butt lost because it w it was on pad mate. Like, get out.
SPEAKER_01Um well funny thing is when I I'm like King John oon.
SPEAKER_00When I You either bring back a trophy or you're dead.
SPEAKER_01Wow, would it this this took a sinister turn? Um when I recently played social soccer and I managed to get number two on there. Um I would use the analogue stick because I preferred it over the D-pad. So I sort of went back to almost that after touch with using a stick rather than a D-pad. Um so yeah, I'd have to use So the Sensi World Cup.
SPEAKER_00What's the process of getting selected? What's the selection process?
SPEAKER_01So I think you have to do I think they even play the Amiga version on PC, so you do elimination rounds to get through to the finals, which I believe are in Germany, I believe.
SPEAKER_00I think but straight up. I'm not like. Let's get this sorted. I'm not good. Let's get you over there. Let's make this a vlog for the UCP. How cool would it be?
SPEAKER_01Oh, no pressure.
SPEAKER_00To send you to the Sensi World Cup. You can get through the selection process, pal. You played more Centre than some of these people. They'll all be young kids, they don't know what Sensi is, they'll come in with a mega drag pad strapped to their head.
SPEAKER_01Anyway, back to the game. Um, very popular, very there's a lot of in-depth in there. You know, if you want to play a league with your teams, you can go through cup calls.
SPEAKER_00You can manage as well, can't you?
SPEAKER_01In this version, I think you can. I think I can't remember which one it is, but you can also I think it might have been the world one, but you could transfer players, one of the other versions. Um but this is just so playable. I mean, it's a lot of games that came over from Amiga, some done alright, some didn't. Sensible just went on everything after Amiga. I mean, you had Atari Jaguar ports, you had Mega Drive ports, you had uh Super Nintendo ports. Absolutely brilliant game. It's so in-depth, it's so playable. Um, you know, you've got your your one stroke, two buttons, depending on how you play. Um, it's just brilliant. The after touch is good. That's that fast action, you know.
SPEAKER_00The after touch was something that took me a lot of getting used to because it as you're coming at goal, it was quite hard to not continue with that.
SPEAKER_01Always come in at an angle, just shoot, always coming, go out wide, come in at an angle, and then also not only do you have after touch, which is quite severe, so you can really curl it in the net, not only that quite super severe, yeah. You have loft as well. So if you roll round and so if you're facing down the pitch, you're you know, because you're top down, if you're facing down the pitch, if you roll round and push up from a long distance, you'll loft an after touch, so you can do long-range shots as well as shorter shots. So it's it's it's quite technical to how you learn to use a D-pad or joystick, um, but such great fun. And the thing I like is you know, you get your modern football games, yes, they look pretty, yes, they play well. But if you want to play a league system, by the time you've trained your players, done different bits and pieces, you get a couple of hours in, you only played two matches. Sense but you know what you are getting the games done, get them in, get them done in an afternoon, you can play half a league season. Superb, absolutely brilliant.
unknownWhat's that?
SPEAKER_00You know what you are, don't you?
SPEAKER_01What you're a goal scoring superstar hero. Oh, absolutely brilliant. When they introduced that, you could actually go online, find that song, and see the girl that they had, Kelly. I can't remember her name singing it. You're a goal scoring superstar hero. Absolutely brilliant song.
SPEAKER_00So good, mate.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and they also the guys at Sensible Software would star in the videos themselves as well. So you've got them running through and playing on a football pitch and just being, you know, bit slapstick comedy, good fun, great game. Um, obviously they used it, you know, similar with Canon Fodder, the same sprites and bits and pieces.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, I would if you want a football game, I know people doesn't this trace its roots all the way back to like megalomania or something.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, originally the engine and that they used some bits and pieces, yeah. That's what it all comes from. And um, but at the d in the day, you were either kickoff or you were sensible soccer, you know, you were one or the other. Um I played super kickoff, really enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_00Um what was that other one? That French game, that that French player's game that was around at the time. Dino Deeny's Dino Deal. Was that what it was? That was a lot of people.
Streets Of Rage 2 With Friends
SPEAKER_01Dino De Nodini invented kickoff and he split and went his own way, and then he done goal, which was a very similar yeah, it was just very similar game. So Dino Dini's goal was really good on on the uh Amiga, and then they brought out a couple on Mega Drive, I think. They even done, I've got a lot of peers. four one they done with a t-shirt which didn't people don't didn't get it because the younger p generation thought oh it's a new football game I'll play it and then had a lot of top down where you had to try and you the ball didn't stick to your feet and they hated it and that bombed but it's it's actually because it was just literally the old the old game on the engine but out of kickoff and sensible soccer for me kickoff's still a really playable game and great fun but that panned right out view the goals you can get the league system I just love sensible soccer um if we go price wise you're looking if you want it boxed in really good condition I would say between£20 and£30 this is European championship one I mean mine's still got the original£39.99 on the on the box wow um that is the one I've got by the way since you held it off for the camera. Yeah um if you want it uh loose um you could probably pick it up eight to ten pounds if you just want cartridge only it's criminal it is criminal because the how much game you can have out of this is great fun the European competitions and you know yeah gas is in that one in he yeah well they've got the all the names are slightly changed so I see yeah but easy hilarious yeah yeah I can't remember how they his name spelt Paul but that's pool that's P E U L and then it's like it's Gascoigne spelt different in it Gascoiner or something but yeah brilliant there was a few the play on the names all the different names that are in there are all quite fun weren't they yeah I I hey listen I'm not even a football guy but even I had this and I've even I had this on Atari ST and I even got it again on Mega Drive you're right about Sensi is from a totally different era of football games but if you're a new gamer you've decided to get a bit retro you want to grab a football game grab the latest version of FIFA that'll feel familiar but then do yourself a favour grab this persevere with it because in there is probably one of the greatest football games ever made and that's me saying it right and I'm on the outside so yeah just yourself off and grab a copy um RGT I'm gonna I was just gonna say sorry just bear in mind the game's a hundred miles an hour and it'll be a bit confusing at first but you'll get that one after touch goal that you'll put in the top corner from outside the box and it'll click and you'll think right I'm on this now and it's brilliant fun especially if you play with friends start playing against people online I know Mike Rouse who's involved with obviously Vetro Game Boy who's involved with Ant Stream they had some they had uh sensible soccer on there and that was one of their competitions where they edit the game a bit and you have to do like high score challenges and that and that was brilliant um so you can even try it on there if you want but yeah definitely definitely check out sensible soccer well I'm gonna turn up RGT if I may be so bold with another Sega developed and produced game this time it's another sequel RGT it's Streets of Rage 2 dude what can I say about this game now the first game Streets of Rage 1 I recommend you go get that as well but if you want the shining opus of them all there's obviously Streets of Age 3 which is infamously expensive not as much mileage there as this so I think concentrate here on Streets of Rage 2 one thing you notice as soon as you start this up on the console is the leap between what was a great looking game in Streets of Age 1 to this is night and day.
SPEAKER_00Sprites are bigger the action's more impactful the music's more intense the gameplay feels easier the direction through the levels is entertaining the different sort of variations of places that you go along the way is absolute bripsnot of a of a fun time three different characters to choose from on your way in the doors hey do you know what just pick the one that you feel is the coolest or your mate hasn't picked it really makes no difference to me in terms of how you play it this game needs to be played with friends I actually think it's a bit of a tough sell on its own it feels a bit lonely and empty yeah you'll have some fun with it but as soon as you stick another controller into your Mega Drive Stroke Genesis this game comes alive because when you start walking through this game with your buddy it transforms it. Suddenly you're a cohesive unit working together back to back as you fight through these these filthy streets everything that I ever thought the Mega Drive was as a kid looking at the Mega Drive and not having one everything about it was built around this niche cool of games like Streets of Rage 2. They look like our game arcade games that you could have at home I'll be honest with you a lot of the time Streets of Rage 2 looks better than the arcades that you were playing out at Skeggy or whatever or your memory of them by the time you got home it was built really as something to threaten or allow Sega to have a hand in the market against Final Fight I actually think that they managed to go above and beyond what that game does and I actually think it's a more rewarding play I think it's more immediate in its joy factor I mean I can't wax lyrical about a game that really is involving you holding right and smashing the hell out of the D-pad but um yeah RGT I'm gonna rest it there because I presume you probably I only had this game in retrospect as I picked a Sega up as a an older guy. But you had this I presume day and day roughly when this game meant something on the street give me your historic lens on what this game meant back in the day.
Micro Machines And Party Multiplayer
SPEAKER_01Because it feels badass now quite how you felt owning this then I think unbelievable I've spoken before about Streets of Rage and my friend on on here and on the other show as well and um when I first saw that and what like what I said with Super Metroid on the Super Nintendo the hardest thing I always found that the devs had back in the day with the limited space they had on these cartridges was atmosphere. Now Streets and especially Streets of Age 2 there you you they want you to feel that you're fighting these horrible gangs in these horrible dirty back streets you've got the streets look fantastic the music really backs up what you're doing in the sound effectively neon dude it was you know cyberpunk before cyberpunk was cool you know it was it it it it was and not only that it was it was what Sega was you know the Mega Drive was just this black console that looked cool it looked mean and what do you put in it you put Street to Rage or Street to Rage 2 the games were just brilliant with friends they're brilliant on their own you know you had friends who were playing Mario on their Super Nintendo sitting on Yoshi's back running round these you're in the streets you're picking up drain pipes and smashing them over blokes heads who got a proper big boys game yeah you know and you know me and my mate still play to this day and he always has the great pattern as well so I'll stick top of the screen you stick bottom of the screen we keep an eye out when the turkeys come along you've got less hell for me you get the turkey I'll save the next one and it's just that whole whole atmosphere to the game now don't get me wrong Final Fight is is a brilliant game it's a great version on the mega CD slash Sega C D but it looks like an arcade beat em up the colour palette is an arcade beat em up Streets of Rage is this dark dingy back streets in it it's just fantastic you know and where do you go like a theme park and yeah it just goes on and on of just like this like what's next what's next you'll always have I'm sure you have do you have a lift level in two I'm sure you have there's definitely me and my mate always have our own little mini game where we see who can throw the most people off the lift level with a bridge or something from them yeah so we always have that where we can see who can throw the most people off. So if we have a case oh I've got three four oh five you know we can't see many throw each other as many off it's just it's a game that as far as I'm concerned hasn't aged there's a reason if if you haven't played this or you haven't played on the Mega Drive and but you've played Streets of Rage 4 on your PlayStation 4 or your on your Xbox One there's a reason you you can change it to the pixel art on this because that's how good that game is people still want to play it as it looked originally when four came out I actually went and dusted off the Mega Drive again and plopped two in for me and my son to play two's better than four oh yeah yeah you're right and it's just that scene they set as well like um like you do in the first one where there's the city picture as it starts and it scrolls up and that music starts I mean me and uh Carlos uh uh one of our brilliant uh sub-members over on the UCP we both bought the the vinyls of it because the soundtracks are that good the soundtracks are that good absolutely superb um that kind of it's got that kind of haunting 80s they've nailed it right on because it's got that kind of haunting eighties cop thriller New York 80s kind of feel to it it's it's a thing of beauty it feels concurrent with movies that were being made at the time it feels concurrent andor better as I said than arcade games that are prolific at the time um yeah you get this home you blink a couple of times and it's it could be heads and shoulders with those games in the arcade right and yeah this really was Sega fulfilling the whole bring the arcade home experience and Streets of Age 2 RGT without you know labouring it too much harder is right up there in the top five for me in terms of like you know obviously we mix this list up you pick some I couldn't pick others for that reason but Streets of Rage would be in my desert island games of the Mega Drive for sure. Oh without a doubt without a doubt even if I could have if if I had to have a system and one game it would be a Streets of Rage game you know one or two not so much three but one or two um and also music wise composer Yuzo Kushiro who's absolutely legendary if if you if you listening to this and you've already got a mega drive you've already got these games but you might not know this do me a favour go on youtube type in Streets of Rage live and Yuzo Kashiro and his other composer play and mix the tracks live to an audience and it is just sit down for an hour and listen it's like a cyberpunk keyboard DJ set but he plays the Streets of Rage themes and when that starts and it goes the music Streets Rage comes up on the screen behind him just superb one of the greatest you know video game music composers of all time and you can tell this is some of his best work so yeah Streets Rage 2 George absolutely perfect um hit me up with prices RGT am I going to feel sick in the mouth or happy if you want a boxed complete copy you're looking sort of£28 to£32 I think wow go about£30 complete but if you want loose cartridge£12 to£15 loose cartridge perfect window used to be a lot cheaper years ago but I think with the popularity of Streets Rage 4 a lot of new gamers to Streets Rage wanted to go back and see what the originals were like we talked about it off air but let's bring it in now I think a lot of the games that are developed by Sega I think are games that would probably be more attractive to a younger owner coming through I think they're the name that you feel safe they're the names that are attached to the brand that you know I think we talked about it earlier and I think that's why some of the prices on the games that were of the moment like Road Rash 2 have took a bit of a punishing like hit um but don't let that put you off them I think if you're a new gamer a younger gamer or someone hadn't ever had a mega drive will think of getting one yeah they've got to get stuck in RGT yeah without a doubt um definitely give it a go because they're that they haven't aged at all they're just brilliant games that play well you know beat em ups are beat em ups at the end of the day and this is one of the best this is one of the best yes I feel I think you're pretty safe um have you got an EA game coming next RGT uh no I haven't the one after that uh what have I got after that how many have I done I have done two so let me see uh yes one off that right well I'm gonna deposit this here because obviously we talked about Road Rush too earlier EA didn't actually pay licensing fees for the Mega Drive games and the carts look slightly different for that reason um they managed to get hold of a Mega Drive and then reverse engineered it to the point where they could produce carts for said console without needing to pay Sega they this obviously enraged Sega but luckily for us some of the best games on the Mega Drive Stroke Genesis are from an inform EA this era and as I say if you're collecting you're like oh I'm gonna tune in see what the flashback boys say I'll get myself Comic Zone that's official Streets of Rage is official RGT mentioned Sonic 2 that's official must have that must get that take a look in EA's catalogue because there's a lot going on in there just as a heads up outside this there's games like the 16 bit no man's sky in there I think with a game called Starflight from memory I think that was produced by EA yeah uh that is an in-depth that is a I had that as a hidden gem because when I first played that that is an in-depth game for what that is on that system that is very clever very clever super deep there's a they did a few 3D military sims word of warning I would stay well away from them they're vector 3D and they're gonna be almost unplayable to a modern player I would say but everything else even their kind of one pound sports games like your FIFA's loose and your NHLs your Maddens hours of fun 50p yeah NHL 92 getting a dust up with your mates yeah there is really they're in the wheelhouse they're a pound each what we're bringing today is the big bangers right yeah yeah yeah definitely without a doubt um what you got then lover boy next is the first iteration of a series that is um well absolutely brilliant um they done some clever things with the later cartridges as well but I've come in with the first one which is by Codemasters and that is micro machines. Ah yeah is this not referred to as the J Cart uh no they didn't do that on the first one they've done that from two onwards I believe or two turbo oh so this is the first one this is the first micro machines the OG the OG um like you George said in later games they done a J cart which if you don't know what a J cart is it had two controller ports on the cartridge yourself. So cool mate so you could play four player by two in the system two in the cartridge which was no one had ever seen anything like that before it's very without buying they had multi tap Sega had a multi tap but not in a cartridge it was just and this just saved you that purchase that yeah extra friction at the checkout of like oh do you want to play four player well I might yeah oh you're gonna need this none of that mess in here very forward thinking for a game impressive yeah and the thing is codemasters I mean David Darnell when he invented Codemasters was always so forward thinking because they could have said oh no we'll make our own peripheral for that we'll make our own peripheral for that and sell it oh if you want to play four play you need they didn't they built it all like the A did with their uh sports games you had to get their licensed four-way EA splitter that would have to work with their games yeah yeah yeah and Codemasters were just were just fantastic for that sort of thing um micro machines you you may have remembered the actual toys of them the little micro cars and transport by Galoob and the fastest talking man in the world who did the commercials yeah definitely um no that was his he was a world record fastest talking man yeah I thought you were just saying yeah he could talk fast man I might no no he was real um and basically they made can I just say I didn't know about micro machines the toy when the game was out I was an adult I stumbled across the toys during my toy collecting phase and I've got an absolute stack of them yeah and they are phenomenal things like little petrol cans open up into a world things like little toolboxes things like spark plugs that mate micro machines are absolute fire it's the subgenre of a game here I'm talking about if you want to have some cool things on your sidewall nothing looks better than a micro machines 911 baby nothing no it's brilliant my mate had the transporter I think and you opened it up and I can't remember what it was whether it was a multi-story car part or something that opened up to and you had all the different cars one side and you could run them down the tracks on the other absolutely brilliant brilliant so when they so what they done with the game was they they fed into that so yes you're racing you're top down racing but you're racing on like breakfast tables and you're racing on snooker tables because you you are a micro machine so you have to watch out for the pockets on the snooker table and you don't fall down. Now if you're playing uh same if you're playing single player but like if you're playing multiplayer with your friends how you win is you get far enough ahead so they come off the screen and then you get points for how many times you get ahead far enough ahead to also win the race as well. But it plays so well. Yes it's top down so you've got to remember your you're sort of if you drive an RC car you've got to remember your left right right left is a bit opposite when you're coming the other way but it was so much fun like the bathtub where you're in the boats and you have to dodge the sponge and um little whirlpools and they're so well designed that obviously they didn't have license for cereals and bits and pieces on the breakfast table but you had one that looked like Rice Krispies or I think it was called toppers or something like that and you dodge the cereal and you'd you know whereas on a normal game you'd hit if you say on a normal race 16 bit racing game into the screen if you hit an oil slick you'd skid out this would have milk and slow you up or you'd skid on a bit of milk it was ingenious the levels they done um and it was so addictive it was that competition that you could keep racing if your mates come round I'll stick micro machines on this let's have a you know let's have a tournament on micro machines you pick your character where you go obviously later games I believe Violet Berlin was in um yeah I think she was in that first J Cart audition was she in two I think it was two yeah or two turbo one of the two um but they went obviously went on done two they done military as well um you could use tanks and and shoot at each other and stuff um again like like what I was saying for sensible soccer it was just if you're gonna if you want a racing game but a multiplayerless good fun you aren't gonna go far wrong with micro machines um it's one of them games I always say there's many a great game but there's very few games you go back to now this is one of them games you will always go back to because it's just endless fun. What sort of experience do you have with micro machines George?
SPEAKER_00Not with one obviously I think I've revealed that as I as we've chatted but with its subsequent sequels and uh its first iteration on the PS1 lots of good memories with the game uh on the Mega Drive the J Cart that was round at Friends I'd be probably plugged in the fourth hole oh yeah if I was lucky um and do you know it was one of those games that blew me away obviously the ability to play it with friends elevates it I think I probably picked it up single player on the SNES a bit later on it just wasn't the same same with this uh PlayStation version unless you're playing with a friend it feels a bit hollow um I've recently played them on my own as an adult and there's some entertainment there's a little bit of a challenge to get through but the real fun is with friends um I like the game I like the toy I think the presentation that Codemasters did with the franchise that really has no rights being as liked as it is by grown men this really is kids' toys that we're talking about here RGT but it's insanely one of the best most playable um family friendly multiplayer games you can get on the system oh well that I would steer people towards the J Cart version for that reason but equally so I can doff my cap to the OG as it walks through the door no issues.
SPEAKER_01Yep definitely um I went with one just because it's introduction to the series and it's got them iconic scenes that you remember with the pool table and bits um but definitely I think once you've played one you'll definitely want to be hunting out the others um now if you want to purchase this uh box complete you're looking sort of 18 to 23 pounds something like that. Yeah I wasn't expecting yeah but again if you if you're happy for a loose cartridge five six pounds something like that you won't pay no more than six pounds I want to five that's better that's if you're not worried about the boxes in you I mean to be honest like what I've done on my loose carts go on Etsy now you can you can get some lovely stands that hold eight ten cartridges at a time so you can Still display them nice, you don't necessarily need the boxes, and you can get the labels are good on Mega Drive. Yeah, you can get a very cheap collection that looks good on the shelf. You don't necessarily need all the shelf space tightening up with the boxes. So if you're not worried about that, get it loose, five to six pounds, and and away you go. Absolutely perfect.
SPEAKER_00Perfect.
SPEAKER_01What you got next then, George?
TMNT Hyperstone Heist And Collector Prices
SPEAKER_00Great choice. Alright, well, my next one, RGT. And again, I know we mentioned um Mike Rouse's interview episode where he talked about collecting for the mega drive. But before we rip into this one, me and OG Tom back in the day did a history of the Sega Mega Drive, so hop on to the main channel, UCP, unofficial control podcast. That is probably one of the best ones we ever produced, to be fair. We did the history of the Mega Drive. You should like that, so go give that a listen. Um in the meantime, and we are updating the history of I am slowly as I remember, but it will be done. They will end up with a classic Vault episode style, so look out for that. The game I'm bringing in next RGT is a Konami game. Oh George, what's this? Well, calm down, never too far away from an IT 80s, 90s style icon. Let me bring in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Or if you're from the UK, you may know these as the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, which is the version of the Hyperstone Heist that you would be picking up. Yeah, ninjas are dangerous. But what you need to remember is you need to get Hyperstone Heist. I don't know why, but in the UK we decided that the idea of a ninja was so deadly to a child. I have to be injured. Just the concept of ninja that it that turtles had to be rebranded as hero turtles. That wielded ninja weapons. I don't really know what's going on there, but listen to me now. This era of turtles, especially the one that was displayed to us as kids on TV, is the least threatening cartoon you'll ever see in your life. There's barely any fisticuffs in it, and considering these guys like in the intro look absolutely badass. They spend a lot of time just playing pranks on each other and loafing around, if I'm honest with you. But eating pizza, their insane success in the 90s fueled their drive towards video games. Now we all know about the NES versions and we all know about the Amiga versions and different versions that we got along the way in Mega Drive. For me, on the Mega Drive, if you're gonna if you're gonna dip your toe in the TMNT world, it needs to be firmly into the Hyperstone Heist shoe. Now this game, a beat-em-up, much like Streets of Rage. So if you enjoyed that, you were gonna love the hell out of this game if you've got nostalgia for the turtles. This game looks a million dollars from the get-go. Yes, compared to Turtles in Time, yeah, it maybe doesn't have as much glamour, but do you know what? It's almost got as much glamour, and at times it's got more. I prefer the stylings and the kind of sprite work in this one, it feels more in line with the cartoon, in my opinion. Um, you get to see some of your favourite cartoon bad guys along the way, literally in their cartooning casting um forms as well, so it does have that sort of iconic feel. You see Shredder, obviously, he looks like the TMNT cartoon version. You see Bebop and Rocksteady, equally the same. I think in like the third or fourth level, you end up fighting the maybe one of the guys from the film. I can't explain that to you, just go with it. You fight the gator guy from the cartoon. I think you fight Baxter Stockman as well. Also, absolutely get all over this. The gameplay itself is rewarding. Obviously, you've got to collect pizzas for health, stay away from the sewers because you fall down them, even though that's where you live, it does take life away. Go figure that one out. Who would have thought their own your own home is damaging to you, RGT? There's no other game where that happens. Fall in the sewer, no mate, you're dead. But I live here. No, you don't.
SPEAKER_01Um not in this one, you don't.
SPEAKER_00Not now, no, not no, but it's all must forget it. Um, so yeah, I think the game's really cool. I think there's some really fun sections in it as well. Obviously, you can pick any turtle you want. I'm always going to pick Donatello because, in my opinion, he is the best turtle. Um RGT, did you play this back in the day? Because not many people did.
SPEAKER_01I didn't play it back in the day, I played it a lot later on. Um I'd always heard a lot about it. Um I didn't know anyone that owned it back in the day, but like I say, later on when I played it, straight away I thought, oh, this is people talk about having an arcade game at home. This is an arcade game at home. Um looks very good. Like you say, it's got that very close to the cartoony artwork where you sort of think, hmm, I think these whoever made you know the guys at Konami made this were obviously Turtles fans and obviously watched the show because they knew the details to make it.
SPEAKER_00A little bit more to more a little bit more like the Turtles in Times Turtles to me, like, yeah, they are the turtles from the cartoon, but they're more the Turtles in Time Turtles.
SPEAKER_01Whereas you mean when they sort of jumped on that, they had their own sort of animation that was different to what you'd see in the inner.
SPEAKER_00And maybe some of the artistic stylings as well. Whereas Hyperstone Heist, the minute I put that on, it just all felt it felt right. Yeah, Turtles in Time is the better product, I'm not gonna say that, but Hyperstone Heist runs it a very close second, and depending on how you play and your length of time with it, you may end up edging that Hyperstone Heist is the better game. It doesn't have some of the fancier sprite work into the screen, but everything else is there, yeah. Yeah, and some more bits that you don't get in the other versions, the the arcade or turtles in time version. So, yeah, mate, a lot of good things going on in that game.
SPEAKER_01I think as well, I mean, like a couple of my selections, you know, micro machines, for instance, sensible soccer have sort of their own controls which you have to learn. I think games like Streets of Rage, Sonic 2, for game new gamers coming into the system, and especially with Hyperstone Heist, it's a game that you can plug straight in and you know what you're doing and you're playing straight away. It's it's got that ease of use straight away, it's an arcade beat-em-up, it plays very well, it looks fantastic, it's very well sought after. Um, it's one of the more collectible titles for the system. Um but I think if you get it, if if you're a Turtles fan um and you're into retro gaming, I think it's probably a bit of a grail that it'd be a good to find.
SPEAKER_00I think in a in a Venn diagram, you're into 80s, 90s, there's a strong chance you're gonna be into Turtles. That means the console to collect is probably the Mega Drive. You need this game, but RGT, I feel you're gonna kick me in the in the shells with the price.
SPEAKER_01It's a big boy, it's it's the most expensive one we've got on the list. Um yeah, I think if you want this box to complete CIB, um you're gonna be looking at£150 plus, probably maxing out about£180.
SPEAKER_00Um, I think Wow, I've got this no manual. I've got it box no manual. I'm sure this is what I've got.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, if you've got a box no manual, you're probably looking just over£100, I would imagine.
SPEAKER_00Um my god, that's a scene.
SPEAKER_01I think these are this is one of them games where if you've built a bit of a collection up and there's a few you want to trade, keep an eye out for this because this crops up quite often at uh game market game markets, games conventions. Take a few games you've used a bit of a trade, knock a bit of the edge off that, 50 quid cash with you as well, and then you've you know it's not so hard on the wallet, and you've also got a game that is just you know as a top tier collector's item for the Mega Drive.
SPEAKER_00Have you got this in your collection?
SPEAKER_01I haven't, no. I had the chance I had the chance to buy this when we were at uh no, it was the year before we done OLL, so it was the OLL 22, I think. I was there um and I think it was it was up for£112, I think. So I probably could have got it for£100. Um and I didn't. But now looking at the prices, I wish probably wish I had done. But though I haven't that's priced me out of the market a bit for that now. Um but yeah, I think if you go loose cartridge I think if you could get it between£45 and£60, you'd you've you've got a deal on that. I think if you can get that loose cartridge for that, anywhere around a sort of£40 to£50 mark, you've done well. And I think for what game it is and what we pay for games nowadays£40 to£50, I don't think it's you know, I don't think it's terrible for the for the game. I think it's for a very well sought after game, and what and it's not that's not a shell filler, that's a game you're gonna play and you're gonna enjoy.
SPEAKER_00Um yeah, I don't think any of these that we brought today are anywhere close to shell filler. Um no, it's not art alive, is it?
SPEAKER_01No, no, it's it's you know this this is a game you're gonna play and enjoy. Yes, it is on the pricey spectrum, but we've chucked it in there because i if if you're gonna be into the the mega drive stroke genesis um and you want a you know a couple of the hard hitters, then don't look no, you know, don't look no further than getting now because they're only going one way, exactly, yeah, exactly. So great.
SPEAKER_00I reckon I picked this up in 2012 and it was about 40 quid and I winced then because I thought that's insane money for an old Mega Drive toy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, um yeah, I'm with you on that. There's a few of my games that I picked up for literally a few pounds, and when we were doing this, I was going through and checking a few of them thinking, oh my god, what why did that go to that price? I mean, Comic Zone, for instance, I mean that that was never an expensive game, but it's got that sort of unique.
SPEAKER_00I don't know if these I think it went because it was late to the system, I think it went under the radar for nostalgia for quite a long time. Now, with all these kind of hidden gem ones and retrospectives, it's because it's a Sega produced game. This is a point I was making earlier, it forces itself into the conversation because it's a late-age game that forces itself into the conversation, therefore, onto most people's well, I've got to have that list, its price is creeping up, and I think that'll accelerate in price.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think you're right. I think um I think also a lot of people say, Oh, well, the price will come down because it's on Nintendo Online. I don't necessarily agree with that because I think people who didn't play it back in the day and are collectors will play it on their Switch online and go, I've got to have that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think it's actually made it worse.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, it has, because it seemed to have spiked since it's been on there, but still an affordable way to play. Um, but yeah, great choice for the Turtles there.
SPEAKER_00Um, what's your next one, friend?
SPEAKER_01My number four is a little game by EA um called Desert Strike. Oh yes! Just the introduction music on this gets you in the mood to play this game.
SPEAKER_00Everything about this game is so good, especially of the era as well, Gulf War One, Golf War One, and everything.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they they hit on an era there, and the game came out at the right, not necessarily saying a war is good, obviously it isn't, but the actual market and of the game was at the right time. Um, if you haven't heard of this before, be surprised if you haven't. But Desert Strike is an isometric helicopter game. Um, and they went on to do jungle and urban and different games, even went into the the 3D systems. But Desert Strike, where it started for me, is the game again. I know I'm repeating myself, I know I said this a few times, but the first time I saw this playing, and I was just like, whoa, that's you know, it's isometric, but it makes it look 3D to you from the angle of the game, and you're like, Whoa, this is and and the sound effects of the chopper and the ladder coming down to rescue your hostages, you get them up, and then you follow your missions, look at your map. Oh, I've got destroyed the satellite towers off unpause, go over to one, make sure you you know save your your bigger missiles. Were they tomorrow missiles? I can't remember.
SPEAKER_00I think they were no, they wouldn't have been that, but I can't remember what they're doing.
SPEAKER_01Can't remember what they were called.
SPEAKER_00The the You had some missiles, rockets, and guns, didn't you?
SPEAKER_01Machine guns, yeah. And you'd occasionally come across the enemy in jeeps and stuff and they'd try and shoot.
SPEAKER_00Mate, can I just interrupt? Because the way the missiles came off the rail, yeah, and then kind of angled down and shot at the same when a missile comes off the rail on a whatever platform it is it's being launched from, there's a moment where it's being affected by inertia or gravity before its own propulsion systems kick in. Yeah, exactly. The fact this drops with the rail and then comes it's only a minuscule detail, but it's absolute fire.
SPEAKER_01They knew you're in like um was it not an Apache helicopter, I suppose.
SPEAKER_00Um yeah, it was launched off the back of I guess in that era it would have been like an Oliver Hazard Perry or an OHP frigate or something like that you come off because it's not an aircraft carrot, it's a little frigate just off the coast of this desert realm, isn't it? And then you come in across the sea, you know, oh mate. I I've interrupted you. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01No, you're right. It's for me there was there was that degree of learning, but it was fun. I'd always play my mates, we're taking turns on goes, and we he'd come round mine, bring a bottle of pop, big bag of crisp. We go, right, desert strike. Now, what we've got to do, right? We've got to get to here, we've got to get these shot, we've got to come back. Or don't forget though, because you do it the first time, you go, I've run out of missiles, oh we need to get ammo. Right, let's find the ammo, and then we'll destroy that, go and get the ammo, then we'll go up there and you plan out your route, how you work it, make sure you don't take too many hits, take that Jeep bait before you go to there, and you actually plan out your mission like you would a mission. You end up actually doing this little planned route, and it was just I'd never played. I mean, I'd played the game I'd played before that was Super Thunder Blade. When you take Super Thunder Blade and put it next to Desert Strike, you think you're two you think you're on two different systems. Do you know what I mean? How is this on the world?
SPEAKER_00Super Thunderblade feels very master systemy on the mega drive, it does, you know, and that just the blocks get bigger. Early game, early game, early game.
SPEAKER_01It's an early game, but you I that is the only sort of helicopter game I'd played, you know. So then I played played this and was just like, Whoa, hang on, this is a bigger boys helicopter game. This is you know, this is a proper war scenario, you've got to work it out, and then you go through the different levels of things you have to do, and this it's it's in depth, it plays very well. Like I say, and like I've said to all these games, if the moves it's good, the sound effects are good, it plays well, the controls are good, and you've got a good story to it and mission base. You can't go wrong. And this again is probably you know, higher higher echelons of what games you should buy on the Mega Drive. Yes, it's on the Super Nintendo as well. There's a version on Super Nintendo. Um, but yeah, Desert Strike for me is just another game that I can always go back to and have so much fun with it. I think it's absolutely brilliant.
SPEAKER_00I was obviously frothing at the mouth to talk about Desert Strike, it would have been on my list. Um the whole strike series on Mega Drive is special, but Desert Strike is the real deal. Um for me at the time I came at this a bit snobby because I was playing you know micropro simulators on the Atari ST, and I went to a friend's house and they're Desert Strike, and initially I was a bit like but then you start to notice all the graphical details, and you realise that although it's presented in an isometric arcadey way and is easy to play, it's hard to master. And the realism of the systems that you have to do, like first of all, you take the missiles down, then you take down the radar sites, and then you go through and you take down the other infrastructure, it's actually really cleverly put together. The way that works across other levels, fantastic. The way that works across the wider strike series, really good. But I say the holy grail and the starting point is here. From the minute that that game hits with the Apache screaming from right to left with the words desert strike on the screen, and you know you're into something a little bit sexy and special, music, you know, especially that unique Mega Drive sound, that twangy sound that just fires straight in.
SPEAKER_01You're like, whoa, hang on, we're on to something here.
SPEAKER_00Graphical fidelity of that Hilo and the background that it's raced in the past really sets the stakes for a high-level piece of kit. You get in, and the story of this rogue desert nation is kind of displayed in front of you. It's basically sad of saying if you if you're not if you squint, it is in. Um a little bit more talk, and then you plunge straight into it. Mission select screen off the back of that frigate, as I say. I don't think there's many more iconic 16-bit moments for the Genesis stroke mega drive than there than the opening level of that opening screen, and then the opening level of leaving that sort of crystal blue water as you sh you fly across that desert beach opening. It is definitely in if you were to do like a mood board at Mega Drive, that's in it.
SPEAKER_01And for me, when you lift off that frigate and when you first play it, and the noise of the chopper goes as you go, you feel all that that spine tingling when I first played it. I'll tell you what, it's unbelievable.
SPEAKER_00And when you first take off and pull back on the D-pad, and you realise that the Hilo is kind of being pulled by its rotors, and you've got that kind of almost slick level of control as you kind of pull back as the ship disappears and you spin and go, it everything about the Hilo's movements from its takeoff and everything feels perfect. And as soon as you take off being like, Oh wow, this is great, but then as soon as you realise the freedom and fluidity of the movement that it gives you, and able to see that Hilo, because normally, as I said in your MicroPros Grammes, you're sort of slammed up against a flat, almost 2D cockpit with a load of 2D buttons and dials that don't really mean a lot to you, and the tiniest little 3D render screen that you're actually looking through. Desert Strike fills your screen with glorious colours from top to bottom, from left to right. This thing is it's beautiful. I think I've said enough, but there's a lot of enjoyment there. And if you feel like you're a bigger boy or your dad or whatnot wants to come in and have a go, this is a game that's going to win him round, or it would have been in the day.
SPEAKER_01Oh, without a doubt. And I mean, like you say, the controls are superb for controlling a helicopter. You think of an RC helicopter and you think of the four ways and all that, you think, oh god, it's sound complicated. This was a D-pad and three buttons, and you're controlling it with a D-pad. Yep, it it's so smooth and fluid, and how you can guide around enemies and aim and come back, and it's so cleverly done, it is really well done.
SPEAKER_00Um your mastery as well, like when you first play it, you are a bit clumsy, you could get through the level, no problems. But when you start to get better, the mastery that you can weave this hilo with is is is magical. So big moment. What hit me with the price, RGT. I'll I'll hurt me.
SPEAKER_01If you want these complete and boxed, you're looking eight to ten pounds. If you just want to lose cartridge, you wouldn't pay no more than five pounds for this.
SPEAKER_00How is this ten quid? I know no disrespect to Hyperstone Heist, but Desert Strike is, in my opinion, light years ahead of it. It's so much better game.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, it's it's it's a not you know an isometric helicopter game. When you say it like that, saying how does that work? But it does work on a controller just with a D-pad, it works so well.
SPEAKER_00And it's got that kind of testosterone top gun feel to it in the mission briefing. Tom, if you go back and listen to I think the OG episode where we talked about the Mega Drive, I think Tom may recount a story where a a young friend of his dad was a helicopter pilot or some sort of pilot in the Gulf War, and they would it added an extra special sense of extra super secret source to it when they played it. Yeah, he got a lot of memories for that.
SPEAKER_01Brilliant.
SPEAKER_00It's magical, mate. Yeah. Um, I guess it's me to round out my list, then is it?
SPEAKER_01Yes, your your last one on the list here, I think, George.
SPEAKER_00Okay, well, this game. Late arrival again. I seem to be showing all the blue spines here. I don't know what's wrong with me, RGT, but uh walking in with another blue spine bad boy, it's Rystar. Um Sega knew they needed a mascot to compete with Mario. First out the gates, but not off the drawing board, was Rystar. Uh a game and a concept they got quite far with, and then kind of parks as they ran with Sonic a bit later on uh under another project name I that escapes me. They div they picked up the RyStar package and refactored it. Now, this game probably more closer linked to sort of nights really on Sega Saturn in terms of its colours and its presentation, but this game looks magical. It's got the same level of graphical fidelity and colours on screen as maybe Sonic 3, but it's a lot steadier. Your character is a star, obviously, and you have these kind of floating limbs, a little bit like if I may say uh Proto Magnum Rice um Rayman.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he's very Rayman, very Rayman, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um but anyway, Sega did it first, and uh you navigate his kind of USP is that he can grab things and through the medium of his gloves, he can grab. And spin and slide and climb. And Rivestar is a different change of pace to its cousin Sonic. It's a slower game, probably more inclined to say that Sonic One after the Green Hill zone was basically a really punishing platformer that lulled you in that it was going to be this rip-sorting hypersonic rip through uh through the game, and then basically made you jump lava for the next ten hours. It was absolutely brutal, was Sonic One.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But it's its slower-paced platform levels, I think, are more akin to what you get with RiseStar, but Ryestar's a little bit more forgiven in terms of its navigation and everything. Risear again is another one of those late Sega games to the Mega Drive that just looks phenomenal. Oh, it does. It's developed in-house, and again, for that reason, no doubt, as I said, I feel like these Sega produced and developed titles are probably the ones that people probably gun for more, and hence the reason why we've chosen them, but hence the reason why I think RGT is gonna absolutely crush me in a vice with the price when we get there, but we'll get there. Um if you want to change your pace or Sonic's not your scene, there are alternatives on Mega Drive, you've got Rocket Knight Adventures, aka Sparkstur, but for me, Rystar is the one that kind of says, Hey, I see you, you're a classy guy, lady, you like a slower pace, but you want your Mega Drive to sing. Ricear is your game. Um I take it from what you've talked about RGT and your exit point for the Mega Drive that you never probably had Ryestar in it's when it was current to the Mega Drive.
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_00Have you picked it up since and what's your mileage with it?
SPEAKER_01I haven't. Um the only time I've played it, I've played it at a convention before. Um because I'd seen it on so many, everyone knew about Ryestar, and I'd seen it on so many, you know, hidden gems and mega drive videos on YouTube. And they had one set up uh a convention of all the consoles. I thought I'm gonna have a go with it. And I remember when I first started playing it thinking this looks uh better than what it should on a Mega Drive. It it looks the colour palette is phenomenal, the colours pop.
SPEAKER_00It's Sonic 3 in terms of the amount of colours on screen, it feels like the greens and the variation of the greens always leads me back to Sonic 3 in my mind.
SPEAKER_01It's and and and you know, if you're star as well in his movement, and you just think the colours absolutely pop, and they have no right to look like that off a cartridge 16-bit game at all. I mean, you know, I've I've seen a lot lesser colours on 2D platformers on the PlayStation. Do you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00Just think as well for a minute, this was sort of concurrent with I'm guessing Donkey Kong Country, but more importantly from a Sega side, is it Vector Man, which was their pre-rendered version? I think Rice Star makes that look like garbage.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think Vector Man was a clever bit of development, and they were trying to see if it worked on the system and bits and pieces. But if you just want a really good, like you say, slow-paced, but more I'd say a tactical platformer, uh that's really colourful.
SPEAKER_00I've never heard that term before, but I like it. I think you should trademark it. Tactical platformer.
SPEAKER_01Tactical platformer, there you go. That's perfect, a new genre, a new genre because it's not a straight up platformer.
SPEAKER_00This is why I was kind of struggling to pigeon or rice star into something, and that's why I chose that kind of as I say, Sonic does some bait bait and switch on, you've done it, Sonic one, it's a bit naughty, really.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. I went into this thinking it was I was just gonna play like a Sega Sonic game, and then after dying, I said, Oh hold on, no, you've got to go at this a bit different. This game you've got to slow right down, you've got to slow down and pick your moments, you can grab your enemies and bits. And I just thought, This is uh this is very unique, and again, like I said with the other games, great controls, unique controls of what you do. It's almost got that sort of um curvy. That grab and pull technique.
SPEAKER_00I don't think they ever really they played with it again on that 32x game, Sonic and No uh Chaotics, yeah. Knuckles chaotics, I think it's called. There's like a dragon pull mechanic there, but it's it's different. This is like your it's a bit Kirby-esque. Like I say, there's a few things going on with Rice.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's not Kirby, yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's it's got a little bit Kirby-esque, but then he's also got Rayman stuff going on with his also the way he kind of navigates around the level as well. Yeah, with that and there's some screen. I feel like there's some sprite work going on with like some scroll scaling of sprites in a way when he does his rotations.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, definitely. It's it's they knew how to get the most out of the mega drive by this time. Um and and and RyStar shows that. And yes, it's unique but good controls, looks fantastic. It's just that slower-paced platform, and it's just great fun to play and work your way through at no silly pace.
SPEAKER_00I'm excited to know actually if this is on the um when you said that you were gonna let us know which of these are on Nintendo Online. I'm actually quite pumped now to see if you know what's on there, RGT. I'm quite hyped.
SPEAKER_01Yes, well, um, I'll go through prices first.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, and your last game, lover.
SPEAKER_01Oh yes, well we'll do we'll do the prices on this first. Um RyStar, unfortunately, if you want that box to complete, you're looking 80 to 90 pounds, 95 for a minter. Um yeah, loose cartridge. I think if you can get that for 25 pounds, you're done well, but expect 25 pounds.
SPEAKER_00I can't see you see, this is where I see a little bit of a I see a turn in the water here, because if you're gonna get Ryestar and you're gonna pay 95 bucks, you're probably all in, which means that the loose version for the players starts to you can see a massive leap there. Yeah, yeah, definitely because it is so collectible, I guess. Now I now we've talked about and I've thought about it retrospectively, of course it's gonna be worth that. But because it is the car, actually quite cheap considering. I think that's a fair price.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. I think that's that's that's a lot of game, as a very good game for the money. And like I say, if you did pick that up at a convention for for for£20, and I don't want to sound like£20 isn't a lot of money, it is, but for for how far it goes in gaming nowadays,£20 is quite a good price for that game.
SPEAKER_00I think Yeah, I think I I think£20 for Rise Star is a very fair price. I think you'd be very happy with that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think so. I think so. Alright, RGT, blow me bloody doors off, mate. What you bringing in, what you rounding this absolutely blistering top ten out with.
SPEAKER_01Well, I've gone a bit left field on this.
SPEAKER_00Uh oh, this is this could end in tears.
SPEAKER_01No, I think this is a no-brainer. I think if you're in this for the games, right? Rather than the CIBs or the collectibility of this.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
Mega Games 6 And Best Budget Value
SPEAKER_01I have gone with, and specifically a there was a few versions of these, different ones, but I've gone with this one because I think it's the best one. I have gone with uh Mega Games 6 Volume 1. Now the reason Yeah, the reason I've gone with this, because if you just want to play games on your Mega Drive Genesis, this has World Cup Italy 90, this has Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Revenge of Shinobi, Super Hang On, and Columns on this on one card.
SPEAKER_00I can get behind quite a few of those actually.
SPEAKER_01I think that's why I picked this one. There's there's Mega Games 3, it's got three games on, which you'll have a couple of good ones and in columns, and there's various ones, but I think this one The Altered Beast. Yeah. So this one for having Golden Axe, which is a great game. Streets, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Streets of Rage is top.
SPEAKER_01Revenge of Shinobi.
SPEAKER_00That's top, although mileage may vary, it's punishingly difficult.
SPEAKER_01Super Hang On, which is that's top.
SPEAKER_00And then you've got it's actually bloody good on the Mega Drive. And columns, do you know what?
SPEAKER_01I I quite like black columns.
SPEAKER_00It's Segus Tetris. Yeah. The columns itself for me is super iconic as a box art or a symbol or a logo in terms of like old curries or Dixon's ads. You know it, baby.
SPEAKER_01And then it's got World Cup Italia 90, which is a good fun top-down football game. It's not sensible soccer.
SPEAKER_00Mileage may vary.
SPEAKER_01But it's it's it's it's a decent enough game to have fun with. But what I'll also say uh Italian 90 is two players, Golden Axe two players, Streets of Age two players, Revenge of Shinobi is one player, Super Hang On is two players, and Columns is two players. So you've got all two-player games.
SPEAKER_00Super Hang on is two player split screen, it's not though, is it? Or is it?
SPEAKER_01Um I don't know, it just says two players here. I've never played Super Hang on in two players mode before, so no, me neither.
SPEAKER_00I just wondered how that works. Um but it's two player, they said it is.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um and lot I say, the reason I went for this is because this is a bargain for what you get. Yes, I've got I think I've got mega games one, two, three, and six. I haven't and I haven't I've only got volume one and two, I think, of six. I haven't got five, because I think five is the one that's quite hard to get. It's quite expensive. But I mean, if you just want to have a original game, original cartridge, but have a lot to play on it, this is a no-brainer. I mean, absolutely brilliant. And because of the value of this, this is what gets to me now.
SPEAKER_00Now do the value.
SPEAKER_01If you want a purchase make a game six, um if you want this CIB mint box,£15. If you want a loose cartridge, if you want a loose cartridge, five pounds if you want this. All then games.
SPEAKER_00Is it a blue supplying six?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yes it is, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Oh it is, yeah. It looks quite nice like that, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, it does.
SPEAKER_00That was that's a Sega Pirate TV look.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and they had I think they done three volumes of six, I believe, I think, or two volumes of six, I can't remember, but this is the first one. Um but it's I just think for even if you bought that box,£15 for even like Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Shinobian Hang On, is just worth that all day. Um and if it's your first cartridge, you've got six games straight off the bat to play while you while you pick out what other games you want to get. I just think it's uh it's unique with what Mega Drive's done with these mega collections. Some of them are a bit, do you really want that? You know, it's a couple of games are a bit you know, not great. But I just think that is the one for value for money for how many games on it, for what you'd you'd play on there, and mostly all two players. I think it's a no-brainer, really. So yeah, I'd say Mega Games 6 is my final one there, George. Have you got any of the Mega Games cartridges?
SPEAKER_00I think I've got a couple of mega games. I always steered away from them and just picked up the game separately, although that is actually quite hard to do at times. Um but now I I've enjoyed the mega games packs along the way. Um, like I say, to me, when I was in my full collector mode, I was a bit like take them and leave them. If I stumbled across one, of course I'd keep it, but I never went out of my way for them. But I think you bring a solid point. I mean, we've both brought, probably me more than you, games that have unexpectedly risen to the point of almost obscenity. Um but Mega Games 6 and the Mega Games collections are a great, great idea. Um there's one other collection, and I don't know what it runs for, but it's the it's the most cost-effective way, and it's often overlooked, of getting Gunstar Heroes RGT. Do you know the selection I mean? Altered Beast, Gunstar Heroes, is it flicky and something else?
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, I think it is the best way. I think that's oh what one is that?
SPEAKER_00That's still criminally overlooked in terms of pricing because Gunstar Heroes is a big game. Yes, it is not only in terms of its price now, but in terms of its capacity on the cart.
SPEAKER_01Without a doubt.
SPEAKER_00And it was labelled as like this almost impossible game, yet then it rocks up here, full frontal nudity, no questions asked on a mega games collection. Yeah. Someone just just someone explain that to me for a moment.
SPEAKER_01It's almost like sort of Sega's Contra, innit?
SPEAKER_00It is, but graphically it'll melt your mega drive.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um it's some frame rate dips on that when you get it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but do you know what? These compilation sets, obviously, let's focus on the one RGT brought in. Really good. Um, I actually thought the version of six I'm more familiar with had earth and centers on it, but uh, like you say, there's different versions.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there's a volume two and three, I believe. It might be more correct, me, you know, communication. Great. And do you know what?
SPEAKER_00There's not a tojam and earl in sight.
SPEAKER_01No.
Switch Online Options And Full Recap
SPEAKER_00Uh, I mean, there's a plethora of sports games we could have brought in, and I don't just mean your FIFA's, I'm talking your NBA jams and stuff like that. Um, there's the Street Fighters and Mortal Kombats that we could have wheeled in. There's so many games for this system that actually wheeling it down to ten must-haves, or definitely kind of the you're gonna get some really good mileage here. There's an action games of beat-em-up, a couple of beat-em-ups. I've brought the tactical platformer, which is the new term, which is absolutely gangbusters RGT. Get that trademarked and on a t-shirt now. Um Road Rash 2, uh a racing game. There's there's plenty going on here, RGT. You've got a military shoot 'em up on yours, you've got the classic Sonic 2 banger, you had to bring that. Absolutely, you did. Uh, a great mix there. You've got your football game, your obligatory uh sensi. Now I'm intrigued. What can I play from the comfort of my sofa using the medium of my Switch 2 and the Sega Mega Drive online collection as part of the online subscription?
SPEAKER_01You you won out on this. Three of your games are on there. Oh, which ones? Uh you've got Comic Zone.
SPEAKER_00I f yeah, Streets of Rage 2.
SPEAKER_01And Ray Star are on there. Um I've got Sonic 2 on there, but also a few of the games off the Mega Collection on there, like Golden Axe, um, I think I can't remember Revenge of Shinobi is on there, yeah. Uh Streets of Rage on there. Um so you can out of the mega games, you can play a lot of those games on the Nintendo online. Um so there is ways of playing these if you didn't want to collect. Um, I definitely, definitely play Streets of Rage 2, Comic Zone and Rystar on there, especially Ryestar for the the price itself.
SPEAKER_00Um and it's unusualness. I think if you wanna if you've listened to this and gone, what the uh it's on the internet perfect, go check it out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, if you if you're a Rayman fan, go check out Rystar. If you like that slower paced, beautiful looking.
SPEAKER_00It's even slower than Rayman though, isn't it? To give it his credit, like it's a blodathon, innit?
SPEAKER_01But it is, but it's it's if it's still punishingly difficult though, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00That's just not being around the bush.
Community Links And Closing Thanks
SPEAKER_01You've got to think about it, you know, but it's it's yeah, it's very good. Um it governs a price, but not a lot of people tend to talk about it too much nowadays, so definitely give it a check out. Um I'll run back through what we had. I had Sonic 2, Sensible Soccer, I had Micro Machines, Desert Strike, and Mega Game 6 Volume 1. Uh George had Road Rash 2, Comic Zone, Streets of Rage 2, Turtles, Hyperstone Heist, and RyStar. So they were our ten that we think if you're gonna get into Mega Drive slash Genesis collection, 10 out of 10 we think you should have. Um I enjoyed that. I think we'll do a bit of housekeeping before we uh end the show.
SPEAKER_00Um tidy up the bit.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, don't forget, like I say, we've got our wonderful Discord, the Unafficial Controller Podcast Discord. Um check out our Instagram, Unafficial Controller Podcast Instagram or RetroGamer Thomas Instagram, where we both have link trees to get you into that Discord. If you're not in either of those, you can email us at questions at unofficialcontrollerpodcast.com. We can send you a link or chat about the shows. If you want to comment on the shows, you can through the medium of the podcast and leave a comment. Um if the it will not show who's left that comment. So if you'd like us to mention you on the show, make sure you leave your you know, whatever your tag is or your name at the bottom, and we will we'll talk about that on there if you like the show or any games you've played. Um check out our website, Unaffood Controller Podcast uh website, uh Unoff Controller Podcast.com. There's a section of flashback on there, there's events we've been to, there's our challenges, challenge accepted bits and your hidden gems, mate. Yeah, there's there's a little bit of everything on there, and that's building as we go. Um, and as of recording today, we are now currently on TikTok. So check out Unafficient Controller Podcast TikTok.
SPEAKER_00Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01We'll be having reels and bits and pieces on there, so make sure you check that out um for a bit of fun and our funny little videos will be putting on there of clips of the show. Are you real? Am I real? Don't know, am I? Am I real or am I AI? You don't know.
SPEAKER_00I'm not real.
SPEAKER_01No, you're not, you're AI through and through. But yeah, so a little bit of housekeeping. Um thanks to everyone.
SPEAKER_00Back catalogue for console retro history of making of, by the way, if you are mildly interested in this content. There's a little bit more of it there if you've run out of Flash UV. We're trying to give you as much as we can weekly. Boom boom boom boom boom.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so jump over to Underfield Controller podcast, download the back catalogue. There's over 300 episodes on there. Retrospectives and history of and bits and pieces, fantastic shows.
SPEAKER_00Um recommend one show from the UCP back catalogue from to go check out right now.
SPEAKER_01Um, I did like the history of the Mega Drive. Fantastic one. Bit on piste with this, but yeah, very good. If you listen to this, go and search that out. And while you're there, download a few others as well while you're there, because you'll enjoy it. Very good shows. Um yeah, so I think we're about there. Like I say, thanks everyone for listening. Thanks for downloading. As always, thank you. Thank you, George, for joining me on this wonderful nostalgia trip with Megatron.
SPEAKER_00Oh my pleasure, glad to be here.
SPEAKER_01Um I hope you like our recommendations. Yes, there will be recommendations here where people go, Oh, you haven't said that, you haven't said that. We had to limit down to five each, and that's what we went with. There's many more we could do, and don't forget we can revisit these. We will do we've done PS2 now, we've done Mega Drive now. We will come back and do different different consoles, and we'll come back and revisit consoles because consoles like the Mega Drive and PS2. We could do top tens for for God knows how many shows because so many good games on the system. So don't worry, I'm sure your games will come up in a later in a later uh podcast.
SPEAKER_00Or maybe they already have. So get back in the Flashy V Pack catalogue.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, so on that note, I'd just like to say flashback, the games you loved, the stories you forgot. I will see you next week, George, and see you later, everyone.
SPEAKER_00See you guys, thank you. See you on GT. See ya.