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Post by allsportdvd on Nov 9, 2015 10:45:16 GMT
Okay, I've had conflicting reports on this issue Can an Australian PAL Mega Drive play Genesis games? The cartridges look exactly the same and Before I spend over $100 on Chase HQ 2 i'd like to know if anyone has played Genesis games??? Thanks in advance
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emwearz
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Posts: 189
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Post by emwearz on Nov 9, 2015 19:53:47 GMT
I own both a Megadrive and a Genesis as well as games for both systems. The answer is a confusing one because originally the PAL MD could play all games, just at a slower framerate, however Sega later started introducing measures to region lock out the game. Even later on, it is really a game by game case. On an unmodified Megadrive, pretty much any game released on or after 1993 (EA games are region free, regardless) will check the frequency the system runs at and fail to boot if it does not match. So a NTSC(J) game will check if the console is running at 60hz, if it is not, it will fail to boot giving a message about the region. Chase HQ 2 was released in 1992 and as an earlier title you should be fine. There is a list over at Sega Ages, I have modified systems so I couldn't tell you how accurate it is, however because of its release date and the fact it is not on the list, I again think you should be fine. segaage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=45&threadid=83645
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Post by allsportdvd on Nov 9, 2015 23:11:15 GMT
Thanks for that info. The other 2 titles I have bought are Twin Cobra and Super Volleyball, both released in 1991 I think. Exactly how much slower do the games run? Is it at the point where it's quite annoying or should I be fine?
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emwearz
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Posts: 189
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Post by emwearz on Nov 9, 2015 23:27:50 GMT
Almost no PAL games are optimized, so like every other game on a PAL system they run 17% slow than they were intended to.
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Post by allsportdvd on Nov 11, 2015 0:07:42 GMT
Makes sense, I'll see how I like playing Twin Cobra at 17% slower before investing in Chase HQ 2
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Post by 16bitsprite on Nov 29, 2015 2:41:18 GMT
If you are handy with a soldering iron, It is possible to mod your megadrive to run genesis games via a switch or a reset button. Some games will need this to run, others wont. You will need a 50/60hz compatible tv for this to work too. Also any region free game will always run slower on a PAL system and faster on a NTSC system. Took me a while to work out why, but basically:
Mega Drive - PAL - (50hz) - more scanlines (taller picture, more detail) - 50 FPS Genesis - NTSC -(60hz) - less scanlines (shorter picture, less detail) -60 FPS
What does this mean? As far as scanlines go a NTSC game on a PAL system will have extra space top and bottom. Unless the game is specially made for PAL system only, the games will make up for this on a 50hz console by putting a colored band top and bottom.
As far as Frames per Second (FPS), the game will be faster on a NTSC console and slower on a PAL console. So is the game running fast or slow? This is subjective to the region the game was originally developed for. A good way of telling is if the game has colored bar top and bottom. If it does it was developed for NTSC if not then it was developed for PAL.
Hope this helps
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Post by 16bitsprite on Nov 29, 2015 2:55:31 GMT
Also as a side note. The human eye sees at 25 FPS so anything lower than that you can make out the individual frames, anything higher just looks like motion.
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emwearz
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Posts: 189
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Post by emwearz on Nov 29, 2015 3:22:18 GMT
Also as a side note. The human eye sees at 25 FPS so anything lower than that you can make out the individual frames, anything higher just looks like motion. That "rule" only apply to progressive images, and people argue between 24-30, there is no science behind it as human eyes don't see in frames and there is no one rule for all people. Because it is interlaced, you need to double it to 50-60hz, but this does not mean the consoles are running at 60FPS anyhow. Things like this show you the smoothness increase from 15FPS >30 FPS > 60FPS, for 3D games this matters even more, for 2D you are limited by the frames of animation. boallen.com/fps-compare.htmlOn pretty much all 2D consoles the games were created with 60Hz timings in mind, some games have alterations made to them to play more like their 60hz counterparts (Speed up the music, changed timings, etc). But 60hz is always the best way to play retro consoles as almost all games were designed to played at that speed. (The Master System and Megadrive in particular).
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Post by allsportdvd on Nov 29, 2015 3:53:42 GMT
I'm playing Genesis Twin Cobra (there is no Mega Drive version) on an old CRT TV and the slowness is really minor, barely noticable to a novice game player I think. I'm quite happy with the version though now the Chase HQ 2 has sold so I'll wait for another to pop up (if it does)
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